Articles and tips on starting agility foundation training with your puppy or beginner dog — whether you plan to compete or not, agility is crazy fun.
Most handlers have had a run where something went wrong and they couldn't tell you exactly why. The dog took the wrong obstacle, or turned wide on a turn they've done a hundred times before, or the whole thing just felt rushed and reactive from start to finish....
There's a post you see in agility groups fairly regularly. It goes something like: "My dog is amazing in training, super fast and keen, but the moment we get to a proper course he just switches off around halfway through. Is this a confidence issue? Is he not ready?...
There is too much to learn, too many techniques, too many videos, too many things being explained at once. They do not know where to start so they try to learn everything simultaneously, and they end up feeling like they are failing at all of it.
When people picture agility, they usually imagine jumps, tunnels, weaves, contacts, and fast sequences. But agility starts long before any of that. In fact, some of the most important agility training happens when your dog is still a puppy, and it has nothing to do...
One of the biggest turning points in agility training often comes when teams start developing independent obstacle skills. At first, many handlers feel like they need to guide their dog through every step of the course. They run close, point a lot, and try to control...
If you compete in agility, you already know how much a start line stay matters. Modern courses are bigger. Lines are longer. Dogs are faster. And being able to lead out with confidence changes how you handle the entire course. When your dog can hold position calmly...
his natural reaction to human movement is one of the most powerful handling elements we can utilise in agility.
“Focus” is one of the most common challenges faced by dog owners and handlers. How do I get my dog to focus on me? Why does my dog get distracted so easily? Why won’t my dog listen when there are other dogs, people, or noises around? Here’s the part that surprises...
If there is one pattern we see again and again in dog agility training, it is this: handlers are eager to move on to the “real” skills and skip the foundations that make everything work. This is completely understandable. Agility looks exciting. We see advanced...
Our mission is to give a happy life to dogs by helping people become amazing dog owners.