Bars on the Ground
Some trainers like to introduce dogs to jumps by laying jump bars or ‘bumps’ on the ground and encouraging them to complete them like they would a regular course. This exercise helps puppies to learn about handling, cadence, stride, and running a course, without potentially damaging their growth plates.
This was how our instructor started off young dogs. We didn’t start that way only because our dog was 4 when we began agility training, so she was ready to jump (we started doing jumps around 8 inches though…she’s a 20 inch dog who jumps at 16 inches now).