Fix for Slow Dog Agility Weavers

First and foremost you need to understand that the weave poles are the only obstacle that the dog must learn everything about. Some dogs take to them quickly and some need time to process each element of the weaves. If your dog is weaving correctly, but just won’t speed up, there are a few things you can do to help them build drive into their performance.

Believe it or not, a break can be a great fix as it allows your dog to digest what they are learning and help freshen their minds if they are overwhelmed or bored with the lesson. When you come back to the weaves, try a shorter set and lots of yummy treats and praise for every, and we many any, improvements your dog has. Then stop when they are still amped up. The same way you build and sustain value in a favorite toy.

Go back to foundation work or try a new foundation method. There are many ways to teach the weaves, but if your dog loses drive you may have gone too far too fast. Great ways to build drive into your dog’s weave performance is to go back to channel or V style weaves. This allows your dog to run full speed for a treat or toy without getting bogged down with the mechanics of weaving. Wired or Versa weaves can be the answer for some dogs as they learn muscle memory without having to think to much about mechanics.

One viewer shared: One thing that worked for me is a jackpot reward. The idea is if you see incremental progress on the weaves, the dog gets a big reward, and then you are finished working for that day. So number 1, you end the day’s training on a positive note, and number 2, the dog remembers that its possible to earn a jackpot (who doesn’t like that?), and will try to earnestly to earn one again! The hardest thing (for me) is to stop training when things go good, but it really pays in the long run, if you don’t have a super driven dog.

So don’t give up on your dog’s weave performance, instead try something new or give your dog more time to process the lessons. Keep lessons short and very upbeat with tons of praise and soon your dog will be a lean mean weaving machine.