Flying high at an agility trial!
The picture on the right was taken at our first agility show several years ago. Duke was very successful at his very first event! Since then, we have learned so much throughout our training career. The number one thing to becoming successful with your dog it to make sure you and your dog are having fun. If you and your dog are not enjoying the experience, then it's time to change your training methods!
I've experienced this and have seen many people and their dogs show signs of stress even though they are taking home ribbons. For example, if you find your dog yawning, sniffing, or just plain ignoring you, then it's time for you to make some changes in your training methods. This is easier said than done. Sometime you need to experiment to find out what makes your dog motivated, upbeat, and full of attention. I have found that using a favorite toy or treat in combination with verbal rewards are perfect. If your dog makes a error, be very careful not to show your disappointment but just say "oops, let's try that again!" in a very upbeat manner. Entles can sense emotions and if you are upset, they will just walk away and find something more rewarding to do.
Hitting the contact zone is important on the teeter to make a safe and quick exit off the equipment.
Now we get to the jump where Duke is showing nice tight turn going into the correct lead leg to the right for the next obstacle. It's very important to train to be consistant in your body language in order to give your dog the proper signals for them to make the right moves and to create nice tight and efficient jumping turns.
Note the tail making balance adjustments over the jump. The tail acts as an excellent balancing tool for the dog when competing in sports.
This picture was taken at the Arizona trial where we qualified to be able to compete at the USDAA Grand Prix of Dog Agility Championships
This picture of Duke was taken at the USDAA
Grand Prix of Dog Agility Championships
in Del Mar, California 2001.
Here is a view of the USDAA Grand Prix agility ring where we competed.
Practicing perfect contact form! Weight trasferred to the rear when performing 2 paws on and 2 paws off the equipment. This helps alleviate any injury to the front end of the dog.
I'm very surprised at how many dogs that don't know how to jump safely even if they've been doing it for years! A lot of them don't even know they have back legs! Why is this important? It's better form for the dog to rock back on their rear end to launch themselves over an obstacle.
Here are some tips on what you can do to train your dogs to be more aware of their hind legs. This will also be important for them when they have to manuever across the contacts or to turn on a dime!
- Ladder work. Walk them through the rungs of a ladder. Eventually work up to a trot. Don't run or canter, just walk or trot. Reward them with a treat while they are looking ahead and while they are in the ladder. Don't make the mistake of just rewarding when they exit the ladder or when they are looking up at you.
- Teach them to walk backward.
- Teach them to walk backward up some steps.
When going to shows, make sure you get plenty of rest!
Ahhh, taking a quick nap in between agility runs.
