New Agility Kit

[lucy97]

Dear whoever can help,
I just bought this Agility Kit: SportPet® Agility Training Kit - LTD Commodities . I have always wanted one for my dog and I. I have an old weave pole kit in my backyard already but it is starting to fall apart. I had trouble training her (Lucy) to go through them. I wonder if it is because she has hip dysplasia:msnsad:. If it is not I am wondering if someone could give me some tips on how to work with her on this obstacle and the rest in the kit. The link for the kit is above. You can click on it and see what is in the kit.
Thank you,
Lucy97

 

[tigerlily46514]

Great idea! Bet you and your dog will have lotsa fun with this!!! This kit looks a lot like one some people gave us theirs, cuz they never used it.

With Buddy, i started with only like 2 or maybe 3 poles. I had to give two separate commands at first, one to go behind the pole, "ba" (short for 'back') and another to get him to circle the front of the next pole. ("oo" for no apparent reason, except that it sounds nothing like "ba") I used real short 1-syllable noises for this, so i could say them quickly enough.

Eventually, i did not need those noises to get him to weave, but, for my dog, that is what i had to do to get him started on it. I was also luring with a smelly treat, which also got phased out over time. kinda.:msngiggle:

When he had it nailed, i'd add another pole. then another......

but, honestly, my dog is such a brat,:dogmad: we can't join in on real agility teams, we have "Team Buddy"......with only Buddy on the team, ha ha!!!

so i just make it up myself. Stand by for someone who actually knows how to do it.:msngiggle:


One thing i DID figure out, though, was, the whole trick, of agility, for MY DOG, was having him learn the NAME of each item.

Sure, was easy to get him to go through the stuff and all, BUT, having him know, when i say "TUUUUBE" that he has to then run through the tube, and when i say, "HUP!" he has to jump over that stick thing,---> THAT was the hard part...teaching Buddy THE NAMES of each item.
I tried to make up names that did not much sound like each other.


weirdly, if Buddy learns a NAME of an item as soon as he is introduced to it, it is way easier for him. :dogbiggrin: I mean, like the very minute he first SEES it, if he hears the object name RIGHT THEN, and repeatedly, he gets the name readily.


BUT If i wait til he is already accustomed to some object, and THEN try to tell him the name of it, well, he has a hard time then.:dogunsure:

 

[fickla]

Weave poles are the most difficult obstacle and there are several ways to teach it. If you are looking for independant performance, aka you not having to stand right next to them and lure the dog back and forth, my 2 favorite methods are 1. 2x2s and 2. channel.

Channel method inolves sperating the poles out so that there is a"channel" for the dog to go through. In the beginning the dog just has to run straight through, no weaving is needed. Each session you move the poles in a tiny little bit so that soon the dog has to bend a bit to make it down the center. Soon the dog is weaving.

Start like this:
. . .
. . .


2x2's are very complicated to explain but the preferred method for almost all trainers now days use it. Here's a video explaining part 1 of the method.
[MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb63MpbdxDA[/MEDIA]