Once a dog begins agility training, practice sessions are always something they enjoy. Dogs absolutely love getting out on the training course and learning new tricks and getting in plenty of exercise, not to mention the praise they receive for a job well done. Sometimes, however, Mother Nature has other ideas and rain, storms and snow can keep a dog off the course. When bad weather hits, don't let it get you or your dog down, simply take the fun indoors.
If you are fortunate enough to have adequate space in a basement or your garage, why not set up an indoor agility area that you can use at any time? This can be a great place to work out not only during inclement weather, but also if it's dark outside and your dog needs to practice or just expel some extra energy. You can set up several pieces of dog agility equipment, including a tire jump, a tunnel or a chute, a pause table, a see-saw or perhaps an A-frame. Some homes simply don't have these handy spaces for training, but there are still other options.
When the rain hits, bring your pause table into the living room and spend some time practicing with your dog on this apparatus. While dogs really love dashing through weaves and tunnels and running up and down A-frames, the pause table is extremely important and is a key part of obedience training. The dog must learn to stay and sit on the table for at least five seconds, and a rainy day is the perfect time to practice this important skill.
Other equipment that can be fun on a rainy day would be the teeter-totter or an A-frame. This is actually a great way to introduce these apparatus to your dog. Sometimes dogs are bit unsure about climbing up the A-frame, or the teeter-totter makes them slightly nervous. Start out with a low incline and work your way up to the height that will be set during contests.
Contact obstacles include the above-mentioned teeters and A-frames, as well as a dog walk, but few homes probably have space to set up this last item indoors, and maybe not even an A-frame. A good piece of equipment that is smaller and will fit more comfortably indoors would be a contact trainer. This looks a bit like a shortened A-frame or a dog walk and it features two ramps, often separated by a small pause table. You can use it to practice the ramp skills, as well as the pause skills.
Sometimes you can build your own equipment, but this can be difficult and time consuming. There are several companies that build agility equipment that looks just like the equipment you see at a competition. Carlson-Agility.com, for instance, offers a full line of dog training equipment, including agility jumps, agility dog walks, dog tunnels, chutes, pause tables and any other training equipment you need.
If you are fortunate enough to have adequate space in a basement or your garage, why not set up an indoor agility area that you can use at any time? This can be a great place to work out not only during inclement weather, but also if it's dark outside and your dog needs to practice or just expel some extra energy. You can set up several pieces of dog agility equipment, including a tire jump, a tunnel or a chute, a pause table, a see-saw or perhaps an A-frame. Some homes simply don't have these handy spaces for training, but there are still other options.
When the rain hits, bring your pause table into the living room and spend some time practicing with your dog on this apparatus. While dogs really love dashing through weaves and tunnels and running up and down A-frames, the pause table is extremely important and is a key part of obedience training. The dog must learn to stay and sit on the table for at least five seconds, and a rainy day is the perfect time to practice this important skill.
Other equipment that can be fun on a rainy day would be the teeter-totter or an A-frame. This is actually a great way to introduce these apparatus to your dog. Sometimes dogs are bit unsure about climbing up the A-frame, or the teeter-totter makes them slightly nervous. Start out with a low incline and work your way up to the height that will be set during contests.
Contact obstacles include the above-mentioned teeters and A-frames, as well as a dog walk, but few homes probably have space to set up this last item indoors, and maybe not even an A-frame. A good piece of equipment that is smaller and will fit more comfortably indoors would be a contact trainer. This looks a bit like a shortened A-frame or a dog walk and it features two ramps, often separated by a small pause table. You can use it to practice the ramp skills, as well as the pause skills.
Sometimes you can build your own equipment, but this can be difficult and time consuming. There are several companies that build agility equipment that looks just like the equipment you see at a competition. Carlson-Agility.com, for instance, offers a full line of dog training equipment, including agility jumps, agility dog walks, dog tunnels, chutes, pause tables and any other training equipment you need.
About the Author:
Cheng Bernhardt loves talking about dog agility training. To find a dog obstacles course, or to find more agility dog training equipment like dog agility kit, please go to the Carlson-Agility website now.
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