Despite being harder than other training options, it is far more enjoyable. Firstly if you haven’t heard of dog agility it is a sport for dogs and owners. It has gained a massive following in the US, the UK and Australia. It comprises of a main event, of which there are lots of different courses for your dog to run. Then in these courses are contained many different obstacles. 26 is the average. Your dog has to complete the course without getting any faults in the quickest time to win. Sounds easy? Think again.
There are some easy obstacles whereas other are extremely difficult. The two different types of course which exist are agility and jumping. Jumping courses require from the dog and the owner exactly what they say on the tin - the dog to jump over various different objects of differing heights. Agility courses however require dogs to touch contact points on these obstacles. This involves a lot of hard hours training.
There is one crucial requirement which you must meet in order to compete - you must be a member of your respective countries kennel clun. If you are a member of one of these clubs your training will be enhanced greatly as you can train in a professional environment with other dog owners.
You cannot train your dog for agility unless they are 1 year old. Most agility enthusiasts have some equipment at home so they can start their dog from as young as six weeks, of course the poles from the jumps lay on the ground, and they don’t make their dog do anything dangerous. There are companies such as Jax which make obstacles and also training obstacles.
There is much hard work to do before your first proper show. In order for your dog to compete successfully, he or she must be able to complete the full run of the course.
Forgive me for making dog agility sound like hard grueling work, not the fun it really is. But, you must remember that all this training will mean that you can compete at the highest level, an experience not to be missed!
