Running around an agility course is great fun, but it's hard work and your furry friend definitely needs to be in top shape in order to compete in dog agility. Here are a few tips that will help you keep Fido in great condition and ready to hit the agility obstacles at a moment's notice.
While you can't use treats as a reward on the course and probably should never use them during training, we humans often have a hard time not giving treats to our dogs at other times. While the occasional tidbit is fine, too much of any type of food can cause your dog to gain too much weight and this definitely can affect their performance and stamina. Talk to a trainer and your vet about the proper amount of food and the type of food you should be feeding your dog to ensure optimum health.
Every dog is different individually as well as different by breed and size. All of this must be taken into consideration when choosing activities. For instance, while all dogs love a good walk, some also will enjoy a long run with their person. For instance, a Boxer or an English setter or Huskie might excel at running. On the other end of the spectrum, a small dog such as Shih Tzu or a Yorkshire terrier might wear out quickly from this type of vigorous exercise. For those who are just walkers, stick to local parks, flat beach trails and easy hikes for exercise.
There are many exercises or activities that you can do at any time at home. Hide and seek is a lot of fun for dogs, so hide a toy under a pillow or in a basket or behind a door and have your dog search for the toy. Dogs are great at fetching items, and running after a thrown toy is a great way to get the heart rate up. Playing tug is another great activity for dogs. All of these activities provide an easy way to improve obedience, as the dogs will learn to obey your command to fetch or stop tugging. Learning commands and signals is important for agility training, so playtime can be a great time for learning because dogs are highly motivated.
Of course, practicing your agility skills is another great exercise and you probably will spend quite a bit of time working with the obstacles. To get started, you will need to purchase a few pieces of agility equipment from an online retailer such as Carlson Agility. They sell all types of agility equipment, such as pause tables, weaves, teeters, a-frames, all types of jumps and many more items.
Carlson Agility also sells a full selection of mini agility equipment, and this is an ideal choice for many dogs such as puppies and smaller dogs, as well as a timid dog that is new to the sport. The mini equipment also is a great idea if you want to set up a full course in your backyard but are limited in space.
While you can't use treats as a reward on the course and probably should never use them during training, we humans often have a hard time not giving treats to our dogs at other times. While the occasional tidbit is fine, too much of any type of food can cause your dog to gain too much weight and this definitely can affect their performance and stamina. Talk to a trainer and your vet about the proper amount of food and the type of food you should be feeding your dog to ensure optimum health.
Every dog is different individually as well as different by breed and size. All of this must be taken into consideration when choosing activities. For instance, while all dogs love a good walk, some also will enjoy a long run with their person. For instance, a Boxer or an English setter or Huskie might excel at running. On the other end of the spectrum, a small dog such as Shih Tzu or a Yorkshire terrier might wear out quickly from this type of vigorous exercise. For those who are just walkers, stick to local parks, flat beach trails and easy hikes for exercise.
There are many exercises or activities that you can do at any time at home. Hide and seek is a lot of fun for dogs, so hide a toy under a pillow or in a basket or behind a door and have your dog search for the toy. Dogs are great at fetching items, and running after a thrown toy is a great way to get the heart rate up. Playing tug is another great activity for dogs. All of these activities provide an easy way to improve obedience, as the dogs will learn to obey your command to fetch or stop tugging. Learning commands and signals is important for agility training, so playtime can be a great time for learning because dogs are highly motivated.
Of course, practicing your agility skills is another great exercise and you probably will spend quite a bit of time working with the obstacles. To get started, you will need to purchase a few pieces of agility equipment from an online retailer such as Carlson Agility. They sell all types of agility equipment, such as pause tables, weaves, teeters, a-frames, all types of jumps and many more items.
Carlson Agility also sells a full selection of mini agility equipment, and this is an ideal choice for many dogs such as puppies and smaller dogs, as well as a timid dog that is new to the sport. The mini equipment also is a great idea if you want to set up a full course in your backyard but are limited in space.
About the Author:
Cheng Bernhardt loves dog agility training. To find an agility equipment for dogs, or to find further about training equipment for dog agility jumps, please check out the Carlson-Agility site now.
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