All dogs need exercise and dog agility can be an excellent form of exercise. There’s also a lot of fun to be had at your local agility club and taking part in competitions. However, you first have to determine whether or not your dog is right for agility.
Generally speaking, any healthy dog can be successful at dog agility. Many people mistakenly believe that only a few breeds excel at agility, but agility is a sport that every dog, small or large, purebred or mixed, can enjoy.
It’s not really size or breed that is important for dog agility, rather it’s the attitude that counts. If a dog enjoys zipping around the course and is good at learning new skills, then he or she probably is a good fit for agility. A dog with lots of energy also can be a good fit for agility, whereas a dog with less energy might not have as much fun.
It’s also important that your dog enjoys being around other dogs. After all, dog agility is an off-leash sport and if your dog is aggressive toward other dogs, competitions might not be a great option for you. Keep in mind that you don’t have to engage in agility competitions in order to get a lot out of agility. Agility provides a great source for general training and provides truly engaging forms of exercise. You can set up agility equipment in your backyard and have a lot of fun with your dog even if you never set a foot or paw in a competition.
Before you make a decision about dog agility or start buying agility equipment, talk with your veterinarian and make sure that your dog is healthy enough for agility. For instance, a dog with hip or leg issues probably should consider exercise options with a bit less impact on their joints.
A good way to gauge whether or not agility is something you and your dog will enjoy is to take a beginning agility class at your local agility club.
You can see if your dog enjoys learning these new skills and learn some training techniques. If all goes well, you can purchase some agility equipment for your backyard.
We sell virtually any piece of dog agility equipment that you can imagine, including all types of jumps, teeters, tunnels, chutes, weaves, a-frames, dog walks, pause tables and even helpful training tools. If you aren’t sure where to start, take a look at our starter kits and simply select one of those.
For puppies, smaller dogs and perhaps a timid pooch, consider buying some mini agility equipment. We sell a full line of mini dog agility equipment, and these also are very handy because they can fit more easily into your backyard or even indoors for some fun training on a rainy or snowy day.
Brad Carlson enjoys dog agility training. To find agility equipment or to find more about training equipment for dog agility equipment, please check out the Carlson-Agility.com website today.
