Can You Teach Agility Dogs Speed and Drive

We had this question asked to us and we though we are going to give our advice, we would also love to hear your thoughts as well. Please scroll down and leave a comment so everyone can learn more about this idea.

Q:  I understand that as your dog becomes more confident as as we become better handlers, that the dog’s speed will often increase. But aside from that, or in addition to that, can speed and drive be trained/encouraged? Thanks for your help! An Agility Student

A:  Yes there are many ways to work on drive and speed from the beginning of training onward. One of the easiest ways is the use of rewards. When working with your dog you will first reward for any try and sometimes the thought of doing the right thing. You will start looking for improvements by your dog and giving “jackpot” rewards. One of those improvements is drive and speed. While all tries in the right direction will be rewarded, jackpot rewards are saved for the extra special try.

Another trick is for you to have more speed and drive. Run a little faster than your dog and suddenly many dogs will find the game even more fun. Just use care to not get too far ahead of your dog that they feel left behind or try to catch up by leaping of contact obstacles.

You can also try finding more interesting treats and/or toys. It may be the reward does not exceed the distraction or meet the desire of the dog.

If you have more tips, please comment below.