Beating the Heat While Enjoying Dog Agility

For many of us, winter is far too long and spring is far too short. Now we find ourselves in the heat of summer and unwilling to relent to the demands of the heat. Summer is fun playing outside, hiking, eating ice cream and watermelon, all of which we can share with our dog.

But that doesn’t stop the fact that it is just plain hot and not much fun to work on dog agility, unless you have ways to keep practice cool. You can try to find air conditioned practice groups, practice in your house with weaves or jumps in the hallways. Or, you can try the ultimate in summer agility fun with these amazing water jumps!  There are plenty of cool options to try, from the challenging hydro hoop to the refreshing doggie drencher!

Here is where you get to continue with you agility training by taching your dog to perform and enjoy the water obstacles. It really is easy! Start out with the obstacle dry and teach your dog to navigate it. Then turn the water on very low so your dog can see it – encourage them to investigate the slow flow of water. When they are comfortable with the water, ask your dog to perform the obstacle again. Slowly increase the flow of the water as your dog gains confidence rewarding interaction and performance. Then get ready for a summer of fun with your dog all summer while keeping cool with water jumps.