Preparing Your Dog For Agility Competitions

A favorite activity of mine in terms of dog training is dog agility as it is not only enjoyable, but it also keeps you fit at the same time.

Despite being harder than other training options, it is far more enjoyable. Firstly if you haven’t heard of dog agility it is a sport for dogs and owners. It has gained a massive following in the US, the UK and Australia. It comprises of a main event, of which there are lots of different courses for your dog to run. Then in these courses are contained many different obstacles. 26 is the average. Your dog has to complete the course without getting any faults in the quickest time to win. Sounds easy? Think again.

There are some easy obstacles whereas other are extremely difficult. The two different types of course which exist are agility and jumping. Jumping courses require from the dog and the owner exactly what they say on the tin - the dog to jump over various different objects of differing heights. Agility courses however require dogs to touch contact points on these obstacles. This involves a lot of hard hours training.

There is one crucial requirement which you must meet in order to compete - you must be a member of your respective countries kennel clun. If you are a member of one of these clubs your training will be enhanced greatly as you can train in a professional environment with other dog owners.

You cannot train your dog for agility unless they are 1 year old. Most agility enthusiasts have some equipment at home so they can start their dog from as young as six weeks, of course the poles from the jumps lay on the ground, and they don’t make their dog do anything dangerous. There are companies such as Jax which make obstacles and also training obstacles.

There is much hard work to do before your first proper show. In order for your dog to compete successfully, he or she must be able to complete the full run of the course.

Forgive me for making dog agility sound like hard grueling work, not the fun it really is. But, you must remember that all this training will mean that you can compete at the highest level, an experience not to be missed!

Dog Training For Beginners

“How does your dog sit when you tell him to and mine doesn’t?", “How can your dog heel to you like that?", “Wow! He follows you when instructed" - now I'll bet this sounds like a familiar conversation between dog owners? If this is familiar, then why don't you start looking into learning the basics of dog training. It is critical to start training a dog from an early age. Doing this will ensure that you have the greatest influence on your dog's behaviour in the future.

The most basic of dog training is to get the dog to sit and come. Teaching him those commands are essential for him to learn. These commands are used for various different reasons, if you are in competition, if your dog jumps making him sit will immediately get him off and "come" is the all important one. If you take your dog for a walk, you let him off the leash and you expect him to come back to you, not run around the park with you chasing after him shouting at him to “get here right this instance”. That has to be just down right embarrassing!

Teaching your dog to come is largely a simple thing to achieve, just requiring much practice. One technique which is very simple for both owner and dog is to simply walk away from the dog with a toy in your hand. Then, when you are an appropriate distance away, call your dog back to you and reward him with a treat. Don't over-do this method though as the dog may become bored of it!

Now, getting your dog to sit is slighty tougher. When you have mastered the come command call him to you, place your hand on the end of his back and say "sit" while gently pushing down on his backside, when he sits his bottom down give him a treat and a lot of praise. A way to ensure he stays sat for longer is to feed him whilst he is sat.

Should you look into dog training you will find it to be largely extremely simple to learn and teach your dog. However, you should also bear in mind that it must be fun, especially for the dog. So try not to work on training your dog for hours each and ever day. Don’t forget to reward your dog and yourself for all the “hard” work though!!

Strategies For Training Your Dog

When you ask your dog to sit, does he or she look blankly at you? When you try to take him for a walk, does he resist? If the answer is "yes" then you need to learn some dog training techniques. Before you ask, dog training can also be fun and enjoyable for both you and the dog.

There is one canine training technique which I have tried and tested and it is great. It’s called the “Nothing in life is free” technique. It basically works on the fact that nothing is free, your dog has to do something to get something in return. For example if he wants food he has to remain seated until you make his dinner, or if you want to talk him for a walk then he has to lie down until you put his leash and collar on. This technique works as sooner or later your pet dog will understand that in order to get something he wants, he has to do something you want. What do you do if he doesn’t obey? Just walk away from him. Don’t shout at him or keep trying if he doesn’t listen just ignore him and walk away then about 5 minutes later go back and try again. He will get the message that you are the one in charge.

When dogs are born they usually have siblings and their mother is the “Leader of the pack”, when a young dog leaves his mother he starts to think that he is free and can do what he wants. When he first joins a family he starts to act dominant. He will want to be the leader. You can’t let him gain this position you'll want to show him through dog training techniques that humans are the head of your house not the dog. He doesn't have to be aggressive to get what he wants. Sometimes dogs use the sympathetic approach using their puppy dog eyes. It is of paramount importance that you never give in.

Your kids may just turn out to be your secret weapon in terms of training your dog, they are at relatively the same height and dogs see them more as friends because of this, always supervise your kids when they are around animals though.

Dog training can most importantly be fund for you and dog, so ensure it is!

Tools For Training Your Dog

Many people believe that dog training aids are just a con. This is wholly untrue. Dog training aids are there to help you succeed in teaching your dog, this could be teaching him obedience, agility or any other type of teaching you want to do. You do however need to exercise caution when picking a dog training aid as only some will be suited to your specific dog.

I find the best training aid to be treats, small pieces of human food chopped up and given to him when he has done something good has always worked wonders, that is unless your dog doesn’t really have an interest in treats. This is a really cheap method of a training aid, but if you want to blow some cash there are hundreds of options available for you.

The dog agility training aids that are available are e.g. anti bark collars. Lots of dogs have problems when it comes to agility. This is usually because when they get excited they start barking. Anti bark collars work by either giving your dog a small electric shock or a spray of water when he or she barks. Contrary to what others may tell you, this is not cruel and certainly not animal abuse. It just lets your dog know that barking is not acceptable. These kinds of collars are available from all good pet shops.

For dog obedience some dog training aids that are available are dog clickers, the newest craze out on the market which allows owners instead of associating sit with a word they use a click instead and reward with treats, no punishment allowed. Another aid available is a harness; this gets fitted around your dog’s upper body so when you are teaching him to heel, a slight tug on the harness pulls him back completely.

You can now also purchase dog training aids for around you’re home. These are both simple and effective. Lots of people turn to dog training aids when nothing else has worked but they don’t have to be the last thing you try, with aids so cheap these days there is no reason why you can't invest in something that will make your dogs learning process a lot more exciting!

Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks

They say that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, are they right, I’m sure you’ve all heard that famous phrase  “you can’t teach an old dog training tricks”, well, are those who make that assumption correct? They are partly right. An older dog will take a heck of a lot more training and dedication from its handler than a younger dog will, basically because an older dogs mind is a lot more “set” in its ways will clearly take lots more time to teach new things to than a younger dog. An older dog will have passed that crucial period in its life that influences what the dog will behave like when it is older, therefore it already thinks it knows how to behave and trying to teach him other ways to behave can take a lot of time and effort can be difficult. This is usually because an older dog already has set ways of behaving which he or she thinks are correct and are used to. Changing these ways through teaching the dog new tricks could be difficult.

It is not impossible but you can’t train an old dog like you train a puppy. You have to be a little bit stricter on an older dog because they have a lot more intelligence than a puppy and know how to drive you round the bend. An older dog will more likely do something if he thinks its his idea rather than yours, for example if he goes to sit , say sit and then praise him, he will think it was his idea and if you keep on repeating this process sooner or later you will have him sitting on command. This process will work for many of the commands, like fetch, come, stay and heel, this technique and method will prove to be very effective.

Dog training will of course be difficult but bad habits need to be broken and long term habits need to be stopped. Despite the relative difficulty of training an older dog, it has to be done. Your Dog will thank you for it in the end and the end result will be well worth the trouble. You will have a better dog in the end for it.
Training an older dog can be a grueling task but try making it fun by joining a class (they are not just for people with puppies) or try to get some support from family or friends, invest in some training products like toys and treats, or even go as far as a training school, but one thing is for sure once you’ve taught your dog what he needs to know the bond between you will grow and you will become inseparable.