AGILITY

 Equipment Skills,Sequencing and Competitive Levels are ongoing. Contact us for dates and times.

And we have a lot to talk about in this sport. The result can be an amazingly well trained dog on the agility field, but perhaps more importantly, in your home and community. 

By-products of training include: increased confidence and less destructive or unappreciated behaviours. Oh, and it is  fun and good exercise for the both of you!

Agility is very welcoming to people and to their dogs – of all breeds and sizes. One of my favourite mental pictures is from an agility trial where two of my students were walking up to the gate, intensely discussing their strategies: one student was 18 and the other 76. 

People start in agility for all sorts of reasons: curiosity, wear off extra dog energy, get themselves a bit fitter, socialize ( dogs and people). I am happy to have you join us whether or not you wish to compete – as long as you and your dog are enjoying the trip.

Breeds: the best breed is the dog you have – learn, enjoy, experiment and delight in the learning curve.

Ultimately this is an off leash sport, but relax, we start on leash and build skills. Dogs must have some understanding of basic obedience cues and we improve them.
All equipment is started on the ground or very low to protect young joints.

This level is akin to driving in the parking lot before going out on the roads. The dogs will learn:

Move with You        Stay when excited

 Send                        Come

 Targeting                And Play, with rules!

Equipment skills are started at ground or very low levels. We set the dogs up to guess what we want and reward the correct choice. Wrong choices are not punished – builds a confident partner willing to keep trying.

Jump Grids over Ground Bars

Tunnels and Chutes

 Running on Planks

 Continued use of Targets and Cones to assist us ‘explain’ their jobs.

Finish teaching the equipment, and then start to add pieces together for short and then longer sequences. 

We  work on handling skills - this is how we direct them through a course. 

Growth in these skills is like any sport and provides a constant challenge to improve yourself and your partner. Challenging, rewarding and such a great way to spend time with your DOG!