jeudi 19 novembre 2015

Helpful Information Regarding Agility Equipment

By Cheng Bernhardt


While each individual dog agility organization has its own rules and regulations, there are definitely some pieces of agility equipment that you will see on just about every course. Typically, there are several different jumps on a course as well as weave poles, a pause table, dog tunnels and chutes, an agility dog walk and perhaps a teeter and an a-frame.

Jumps are always going to have a big presence on the agility course, so for those in the market for agility equipment, jumps are a safe bet. In general, dogs love agility jumps and they learn these jumping skills quickly. Generally, there will be several pole jumps, including double or triple jumps that dogs must leap across as well as panel jumps, which range from just one panel to higher, multi-panel agility jumps. It's good to just start out with single jumps and gradually increase height and then continue to increase the difficulty.

Beyond the typical pole jumps and panel jumps, there are some pretty cool jumps used by a few agility organizations, such as the United Kennel Club or UKC. One jump you might find at a UKC-sanctioned event is a window agility jump. This is basically a panel jump with a rectangular hole that acts as the "window." In addition, UKC also adds interesting pieces of agility equipment such as a hoop tunnel, a sway bridge or a swing plank. A fewer other hurdles might include the rail fence hurdle or a picket fence hurdle.

The pause table is generally an easy obstacle to teach. It is here where your furry friend must sit and stay and "pause" during their time on the course. Each organization will have different height requirements for this obstacle as well as rules about how long the dog must stay. It might not seem like the most exciting obstacle, but the pause table is a fantastic training tool and a great way to combine your obedience training with your agility training.

After jumps and pause table skills are learned, you could add in a contact obstacle. These include A-frames, dog walks, teeter-totters, collapsible chutes and dog tunnels. The chutes and tunnels can be easier to teach than the A-frame, teeter or dog walk. The dog walk and A-frame can be intimidating at first because of the height, so just allow your dog to slowly acclimate to the change in altitude. The teeter, of course, can be tricky because some dogs will not enjoy the movement of the teeter at first. Eventually, though, your dog will enjoy dash up the A-frame and across the teeter.

You can purchase just about every piece of agility equipment that you might need from an online source. Carlson Agility, for instance, sells everything you could need for agility training. You can find contact equipment, all types of jumps, weaves, chutes, tunnels, teeters, K9 training equipment, specialty UKC equipment and much more. If you are training with a smaller breed of dog or perhaps a puppy, Carlson Agility also offers most agility equipment in miniature sizes.




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