Puppy Agility Training
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Puppy agility training is great way to build up your pups confidence and also to develop the bond with your pup. Starting early when they are eager to learn is definitely a bonus. By spending quality time with your puppy whilst training and having fun, it will strengthen your bond and limit unwanted behaviours that you would then need to train out of him or her.
Things to Remember about Puppy Agility Training
However, there are a few things that you need to remember about puppies. Firstly, their bone structure is still developing and although they need exercise, they need much less than adult dogs. This will limit exhaustion and joint damage. Secondly, their rewards should be puppy friendly and their food adjusted to include treats — check out this article on healthy puppy treats. Thirdly, they will need the agility adjusting to them for example much smaller jumps and different activities to suit their size and/or needs. If you start a puppy on an adult agility training schedule it can be dangerous because it may do damage to your dog.
Starting your Puppy Agility Training
One of the first agility obstacles that we should start with for our pups is the “Table” or “Box”. When your pup becomes an adult this will become the agility pause table. But more than that, the table is the main control point of our puppy training. It’s usually best to introduce puppies and senior dogs to the table that’s a 12 inch height. If you have a very small pup you could use an 8 inch table, but even with bigger dogs we use the 12 inch table and not higher. To begin, encourage your pup up onto a low pause table, and immediately treat him for getting on the table for positive reinforcement.
Once your puppy is comfortable getting up on the table, then give the pup the ‘sit’ command. If he doesn’t sit straight away then encourage him with a treat and maybe combine with the hand signal (lift your hand in an upward motion and this will bring the front up and the back should follow by going down!). You can also lure and…
