In Dog Agility a Different Look is Good

Has your backyard agility course gotten a bit boring and humdrum? Want to know how you can breathe life back into your agility game without spending a fortune? We have some tips to help you keep things fresh on course.

Change it up!  It may seem elementary, but rearranging your obstacles is enough to throw your dog a little curve ball. It will also challenge you to find the best handling lines to get your dog to the obstacles correctly. There are great resources online for courses, as well as some of these books.

Add Wings.  Adding Wings to your jump standards add color, good distraction, and distance to your handling that will build confidence in your dog as well. Wings also add to our first tip of changing things up. Changing the look of your course is easy by taking them off, or switching which jump has wings.

Take it on the Road. Changing the location of your course is a super way to keep you and your dog fresh. Of course, you cannot take all your equipment, but you can take jumps, tunnels, weaves, and if you have a small dog, a travel teeter.

Try a new obstacle! You don’t have to break the bank, but adding a new obstacle to your course for your dog to learn is another great way to keep them challenged. Obstacles like the spread jump or window jump are simple yet challenging obstacles to introduce your dog to. Adding a tunnel, even if you already have one can help you create many different variations on your courses as you can change the entries and exits as your dog progresses. Added before a jump chute can allow you to build great drive into the chute.

Creativity is the spice of life in dog agility. It only takes a little amount of time and the benefits will last forever. Your courses don’t have to be complicated, just focus on one criteria you and your dog need to work on and set your course accordingly.