Dog Agility Training for Your Puppy

You may be thnking, "When can I start agility training with my new puppy?" You can start immediately, with certain recommendations. Puppies are always learning, so every time you are with your pup you can be playing and socializing with agility in mind.

Tip! Dog owners can find great value in being affectionate toward their pets. Positive reinforcement has been proven to work better in a training situation than negativity.

Always remember, if you can control your puppies environment, you can teach and train the behaviors you want, left on their own, even in a fenced yard, puppies will learn and develop behaviors that later we may want or need to extinguish.

Expose your puppy to different surfaces. One of the first behaviors we teach our pups is "Box" or "Table". This behavior transfers to the agility pause table. Lure pup up on a low pause table, treat them on the table.

You can call the pause table anything you want. (If I was starting over I would name the pause table "Box" instead of "Table" for my dogs because on the agility course there is the potential to have too many "T" words, i.e. tunnel, tire, teeter, and table. The problem is I am also a creature of habit, and under pressure revert back to my default words, "table" would be one of them.).

Tip! Dog training requires generous rewards that are given correctly. Quantity and timing are important when it comes to rewards.

Teach your pup to "Box", meaning to get up on a variety of obstacles. In our training field we use "Box" for upside down kennel tops, the bottom of barrels turned upside down, bird crates, and more.

Be creative with your pup, get them to get up on all kinds of surfaces, exposing them to different shapes, sizes, and textures. Once your pup is comfortable getting up on a "Box", then you can begin to ask them to sit on the box also.

Tip! Sometimes it may be necessary to physically establish yourself as the Alpha in the pack. If your animal is being aggressive to another animal or a person, hold them by the scruff of the neck and put them in a prone position on the ground firmly, not violently.

Buja boards are generally made from plywood, 36" x 36" with a painted surface or covered surface. At first you can reward your pup for getting one paw on the board, then reward for two feet and eventually all four. Depending on your pups temperament will determine how fast they get comfortable on the Buja Board.

Perch training can also be started with young pups. The Perch helps teach pups rearend awareness. Again, you can reward your pup for getting one front paw on the perch and then the other.

Tip! When you are training your dog and establishing your leadership role, do not be adverse to letting the dog lick you on the face. This is common behavior in dogs when dealing with the Alpha in the pack.

These are just a few behaviors you can teach your young pup. Exposure to a variety of heights and surfaces will help your pup build confidence in his future agility training.

Puppies are always learning, so every time you are with your pup you can be playing and socializing with agility in mind.

One of the first behaviors we teach our pups is "Box" or "Table". Lure pup up on a low pause table, treat them on the table. Be creative with your pup, get them to get up on all kinds of surfaces, exposing them to different shapes, sizes, and textures. Once your pup is comfortable getting up on a "Box", then you can begin to ask them to sit on the box.