There is such a wide selection of dog agility equipment, where
do I begin? There are several factors to consider when making
your agility equipment purchases. Two major factors are your
goals and your dog.
Are your goals to develop a deeper bonding with your dog by
taking agility classes together, having fun, and seeing how far
you and your dog can progress with agility skills? Do you have a
timid dog and want to develop confidence in him? Or do you have
a high drive dog and want to help him burn energy in a
controlled manner? Do you want to do agility as a just for fun
activity or are you setting your sights on making it to the
nationals and becoming an agility instructor? All the previous
factors are important to consider when purchasing your
equipment.
An agility course has contact equipment, jumps, weaves,
tunnels, closed tunnel, and possibly a pause table (depending
on your agility venue). It would be wonderful to have a full
course of agility equipment in your backyard, but it's not
necessary to learn the sport. Contact equipment consists of
dog-walks, A-frames, and teeters. It is a good idea to have at
least one contact obstacle. Many people select to purchase a
teeter because the motion often causes a dog hesitation. If you
can't fit a regulation piece of equipment in your yard, consider
an 8' dog-walk instead of a 12' or even select from mini-contact
equipment that is available to train your dog on.
Jumps. You can never have enough single jumps, but you also
might think about a double jump or triple jump. If you cannot
purchase a double or triple jump, you can place two or three
single jumps together to practice. Eight single jumps give you
lots of drills and exercises to practice and interchange.
Tunnels, chutes, and tables are variations to add to your
course. Tire jumps are very popular to have in backyard
training. Pause tables are essential in our agility training
program. They are our center and focal point for developing our
directional commands and building distance.
Weaves, critical for having at home. The type of weave to
purchase depends on your method of teaching. Is your agility
class using weave chutes, angled weaves, or straight lined
weaves. If your instructor is teaching a specific method, than
its easiest to purchase the same type of weaves. We have
trained five different agility dogs, each with a different
method and in the end they all have nice weaves.
There are a variety of training aids that can help you develop
the behavior you want from your dog on the equipment. Buja
boards are excellent for timid dogs that need to build
confidence slowly. Contact trainers are great for back chaining
your contact behavior, and they are smaller so you can bring
them indoors for winter training also.
About The Author: Brad Carlson is a dog trainer at Agility by
Carlson. For more training details, visit our website at
www.carlson-agility.com.
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