Help!

[Sam_girl]

I don't know how to teach my dog agility and wenever I just put poles up he will only jump over them for a treat or else he will just run away somewhere. I need to know how to properly teach him how to do agility!

[ramanth]

I don't do agility with Kia, but hopefully someone who does can help.

But I did have some questions....

Do you have a book on Agility?

Does your dog know basic obedience? Like Stay, Sit, Heel.

If you dog does jump over the pole for a treat then that is actually a good start, I think. Working for a treat is called positive reinforcement.

Good luck!

[Crikit]

The best way to teach any dog agility would be to take it to a beginners agility class. That way you get the instruction of a teacher who has experience with both teaching the obstacles and competing in it. Although you can work on some stuff at home like getting the dog to follow the lead hand and basic stuff like that there are more complex things like teaching the dog walk and teeter that should really be done with someone who really knows what they are doing, because it's something totally new to the dog and can be dangerous when not taught properly.

Also you need to take in to mind certain things about your dog, like the dogs age. If the dog does to much jumping when it is still a pup and growing you can do some serious damage to the dog. That's why most people don't allow their dogs to take jumps any higher then 8" when they are under the age of 18 mnths. 18 mnths btw is the standard age for dogs to begin competing in almost all of the north american groups that host agility trials. I think the only exceptions would be the CKC and AKC but I'm not certain on that because I haven't had an opportunity to compete with them before.

If the dog is willing to go over a jump for treats however that's a good positive start. Almost all the classes I know of work on the reward system with the dogs and eventually ween them off treats when they run. It's a good way to keep things positive for them.

Like I said though the best way to train your dog in agility is to get it in a class and go from there, if the dog does well in the class and you both enjoy it then continue from there. I know there are classes all over Canada, you'll just have to check the yellow pages for your area and see if you can find some schools that have classes on it.

If you have anymore questions feel free to ask me.

[primabella]

Mickey will jump over something if I say "Over". He won't do it though, unless I have a treat or toy to give him at the end. I don't even have any proper agility equipment. I use a hula hoop as a hoop to jump through, and laundry baskets and shoeboxes as something to jump over. I usually have to kinda force him through the hoop though unless I have a treat. It gets frustrating though.

I think what your dog is doing is a good start. You can't expect him to know exactly what those poles are meant for. Take it slow. Good luck!