Bring to Class

  • DOG. A happy, healthy and hungry dog. Because we will be using food as motivators, it will be to your advantage if your dog is eager to eat. If you normally feed your dog in the evening, you may want to withhold its meal on class nights, or consider the food motivators that you will use in class as its evening feeding doled out in small bits. Not only will having a slightly hungry dog aid you in getting and keeping your dog’s attention during class, but it is not wise or productive to ask your dog to jump or run on a full stomach.
  • CRATE OR EXERCISE PEN to confine your dog. These are necessary if you are training more than one dog and cannot leave your dog confined to your car. Tying dogs to trees, or posts, or on a stake in the ground is not conducive to the safety and comfort of yours or other peoples’ dogs. Crates and pens of all types and sizes are available in pet stores, on the Internet, or by catalogue. They are an essential piece of trialling equipment as invariably limited parking at various trial grounds will mean that you need to transport gear and set up away from your car to be near the trial ring. Let us know if you are having trouble locating one.
  • BUCKLE COLLAR OR HARNESS. No choke(check chain), prong, or shock collars will be allowed. Not only do the choke(check chain) and prong collars pose safety hazards and risk injury to your dog, but they send the wrong message. Agility training is not about forcing our dogs into a particular behavior, but learning how to communicate with body language and enthusiasm. A buckle collar or chest harness is sufficient to keep your dog in your immediate control.
  • LEASH. A four-foot leash is sufficient and works slightly better than a six-foot one simply because there is less leash for you to try to manage. A loop at the handler end will come in handy for some of our Teamwork exercises and for hands-free training. At some point, you might want to consider a short TAB leash as you start to work with your dog off leash.
  • CLICKER. This is a secondary reinforcer, or marking, that will be a key communicator as we train our dogs. You can order them from the website www.agilityclick.com. If you are interested in having a couple more to keep around you can pick them up at The Dog Shop at the Canine Association Grounds open most weekends when shows are on.
  • TREATS. Bring something your dog loves, something smelly and mouth watering. Leave the dry kibble at home. You can try hot dogs, cheese, liver treats, or meat bits. Depending on the size of your dog, the treats should be cut up into ONE BITE sizes. They should not be so big that your dog has to stop what it is doing to chew on them, but they need to be large enough for your dog to get some satisfaction from the reinforcer. BRING LOTS. Do not be stingy at this point. You can always take the extra home and use them later in the week as you do your homework.
  • TREAT BAG. You will need some kind of bag from which you can swiftly and smoothly remove a treat. The bag should be secured to your body somehow, such as on a waist belt or hooked to a pocket, so that your hands are free to work with the dog and use the clicker. Treat bags are available at The Dog Shop at the Canine Association grounds. You may make one of your own or fashion one from something you already have, such as a bum bag or money belt. Just be sure the opening is large enough so that you can get your hand in and out quickly and easily. It does NOT need to be large enough to hold all of your treats at once. You can restock your bag as needed.
  • TUG TOYS. We will spend a considerable amount of time teaching our dogs how to play with us. In agility, we want our dogs to think that YOU, the handler, are the most interesting object around—not other dogs, equipment, or the nearest tree or shrub. We will beat those distractions through intense interaction with our dogs—play. The best way to play with our dogs is with a tug toy. We recommend you bring at least THREE different tug toys—a ball on a string, a knotted rope, or a squeaky toy. You may not need to go to the pet store for your toys. Think about what items fascinate your dog, e.g. a tin pie plate, a rubber watering hose, a pine cone. If you know your dog likes a certain, unorthodox object, bring it. We suggest bringing at least three toys in the early sessions, so we can see what really turns your dog on. Many handlers will say that their dogs are not toy motivated, but most dogs can be taught to be toy motivated and the tug toy will teach the dog to look to you the handler for stimulus and reward. There will often be tug toys of some sort available at the Canteen or you can see one of our instructors – Simone Tolhurst, who can make braided polar fleece tug toys to order.
  • PLASTIC TUB LID such as the kind used on margarine tubs, Pringles and peanut containers or some yogurts. We will use these lids as targets as we train our dogs to move away from us and go to a specific place. Most of us have plenty of these at home. At this point, size does not matter. We will eventually fade the targets away. You could also use a plain white washcloth. One of our members Helen Moorehead makes white painted circular wooden targets $1 a piece – a great tool at a great price!
  • WATER for you and your dog. Think of class as going to the gym. You and your dog both need to stay well-hydrated. Some people also bring spray bottles or pump sprayers to wet down their dogs when it is really hot.
  • COMFORTABLE SHOES AND CLOTHING. You will be on your feet for the entire class session. You will be bending over, running, maybe even crawling through tunnels to encourage your dog. Come dressed to do so.
  • TOTE BAG, SPORTS BAG OR SMALL BACK BPACK to haul all of the above.

Training Guidelines

  1. All dogs must be leashed when not involved in a training exercise. When waiting your turn to perform obstacles, please leash or confine your dog.
  2. Be prompt when it is your turn to perform the obstacles.
  3. Reward your dog for attempts and effort. Remember, some of the obstacles can be difficult for a dog to learn and may even elicit fear. Learning to perform the obstacle successfully builds confidence in the dog and improves the relationship between dog and handler.
  4. If your dog runs off during its turn, give one recall command. If your dog does not respond, do not give the command again. Giving a second command reinforces inappropriate behavior. Instead, go get your dog quickly and return to the obstacle if the instructor has directed you to do so. If it takes too much time to retrieve your dog, return with your dog to the set and your instructor will tell you when you can try the obstacle again.

Before Each Class Session

  • Arrive early enough to set up your stuff BEFORE the previous class ends.
  • Toilet your dog. Be sure to clean up after your dog and deposit the refuse in the waste bins.
  • Lightly exercise your dog to warm them up. You want their muscles loose and warm before starting class. For high-energy dogs like Border Collies and Aussies, you may want to do a little more extensive exercise. Go for a run or throw a ball or frisbee for several minutes to take off the “edge” and wear off the “zoomies” so that you have more of your dog’s attention.
  • Look to the Instructors for guidance on the moving of equipment from the previous class to the arrangement needed for your class. THE MORE HANDS HELPING, THE SOONER CLASS STARTS, AND THE MORE TRAINING YOU WILL GET.

After Class

  • Put your dog in its crate.
  • HELP PUT EQUIPMENT AWAY!
  • Go home in a good frame of mind. Make sure your partner knows how much you appreciate the effort he or she is putting out for you.
  • Practice. Do your homework. Work on building your relationship with your dog with play. Work on stays and come-to-hands. Practice on obstacles you may have available at home.
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