Agility FUNdamentals

Content

Agility is a sport where the dog completes a variety of obstacles, many of which can be done in your own backyard. The dog is challenged both mentally and physically when you change the order and arrangement of different obstacles.

Age Requirement

Your dog should be at least 1 year (12 months) old before beginning Agility. Your puppy’s bones must be fully developed before starting impact sports, so check with your veterinarian to determine when your puppy can start. If your dog is still a puppy, take Puppy FUNdamentals, Freestyle FUNdamentals, or Home Training FUNdamentals until she is old enough to begin agility training.

Prerequisite: Basic FUNdamentals

Goals and Objectives

When you and your dog complete this course, you will be able to complete warm-up exercises, and two obstacles – the jump and the tunnel.

Open and print the Agility FUNdamentals Checklist to record your progress for this course.

Trainer will be able to:

Select commands to use with your dog, plan warm-up exercises, and lure your dog through a tunnel and over a jump.

Dog will be able to:

Perform warm-up exercises and complete the tunnel and the jump.

Background Information:

View the Agility video to learn about this sport. Begin choosing the command words you will use. Make sure your dog is a healthy weight and start having your dog do warm up exercises like walking through a cavaletti. You will need to purchase or build a jump, and purchase a tunnel.

As you begin Agility FUNdamentals, think about these questions:

Thinking about these questions will help you use your experience with your dog while you take this course.

Does your dog enjoy climbing on and jumping over things?
What motivates your dog most? Treats, toys, praise, a clicker?

Activities and Video Lessons

Start with Circle, Bow, and Figure-8 right away. These activities are good warm-up stretches for your dog before beginning more strenuous exercises. Watch Jump Safety before teaching your dog to Jump. You will need to find or purchase a tunnel, and find, purchase, or build a jump.