Dog Training Tips: Things I’ve Learned About Agility Dog Training

I’ve owned many dogs, throughout my life, but have never known exactly how to train them properly.  I based my training on punishment and just couldn’t figure out why that didn’t work that well.  But, almost two years ago, I started training my Papillon for agility competition.  She was extremely high-drive and I knew she’d really love it.  So, I found a good agility training school and off we went.  We’ve been competing, very successfully, for almost a year now and, looking back, I learned so many important things about dog training!

First of all, most trainers require that dogs have completed at least a basic obedience class before proceeding to agility training.  This is critical to agility training and, in my opinion, every dog and handler could benefit from a basic obedience class.  I learned that I have a food-motivated dog and that she will work her heart out for highly prized treats, not for punishment!  There are skills you and your dog will learn, through an obedience class, such as recalls, sit/stays, down/stays, and walking nicely on a leash.  Each of these skills is something you will need every time you compete, not to mention day-to-day life with your dog.

The pace of your training will always be set by your dog.  Each dog learns at a different speed and, what comes easily for one dog, may not come easily for another.  So, be very patient while training your dog any skill.  Make it a game.  Let your dog take as much time as it needs, without getting impatient or frustrated, to figure out what behavior you want from it.

All tasks must be broken down into small pieces, whether the task is a simple sit, the beginnings of obstacle training, or more complex tricks or agility sequences.  If you break the task down to something small, then mark/reward and repeat, several times before making the task larger, you will have success without stressing the dog out.  For example, when training an agility tunnel, you scrunch it up to its smallest form.  Have someone place your dog at the entrance while you sit on the ground at the exit, with a treat, and call your dog.  As soon as the dog comes through that little piece of a tunnel, you mark/reward.  Slowly begin expanding the tunnel using the same technique.  In just a few minutes, you’ll have your dog going through however long a tunnel you need.

For agility training, once the dog begins obstacle training, there is never a wrong answer.  Dogs get confused, and may shut down, if they start being told they’re doing the wrong thing, so keep the training light and never scold for doing the incorrect thing.  If the dog doesn’t do what you want it to, you simply do not mark/reward for that action.  You just ask again and, the minute you get the correct response, mark/reward and make a huge deal of it.  That will make your dog more anxious to give you that same answer again.  As you start competing, you might want to use a particular word to indicate the incorrect response, such as “uh oh,” or “oops,” but not with a scolding tone.  This will indicate that the dog will be asked to try again but everything is fine between the two of you.

Lastly, always keep the training fun for both you and your dog.  Even when you start competing, or have been competing for a long time, this is critical.  If you start getting caught up in the competition and title-winning, you might forget why you started agility to begin with: because it’s fun!  When the game stops being fun, your dog won’t enjoy it anymore and neither will you.  Agility is a wonderful sport and will forever secure the relationship between you and your dog.  Run fast, run clean, and, above all, have fun!

Dog Training 101. Or Should That Be Owner Training 101…?

We’ve always had dogs around ever since I was a kid, and even when our family was “between dogs” I adopted next door’s Boxer dog as my own. Despite this, as a family we didn’t have a clue how to correctly train a dog – as long as it didn’t mess on the floor, chew up our slippers and finally came on the fifth yell of its name we thought things were just fine.

Like many dog owners I didn’t know the first thing about training a dog. Well, we think we do because the dog sits or offers us a paw when we have a treat in our hands but those are just party tricks.

Then I bought my very own dog when I got a place of my own. As she grew she changed from loveable pup into a liability. She wandered off, never came when called and turned into the Tasmanian Devil whenever anybody called around. The final straw came when she tore into the room and scrambled up to sit on the shoulders of a visitor who had come to assess me for a voluntary position. He was not a dog lover and I can still remember the look on his face now…

Trouble was, I had always treated dogs as furry friends, always giving in to those sad-looking eyes and never realizing that the dogs saw me in a totally different way. Dogs are pack animals and as such they are acutely aware of their position in the pack – and you and your family are its pack, even if there’s just the two of you.

Grasp that little fact of dog psychology and you are well on your way to a happier dog. From now on you are going to make it plain to your dog that you are the Alpha male or leader of the pack and what you say goes. See that furniture? That’s mine. You lie on the floor or in your dog basket. Don’t feed the dog tidbits from the dinner table – in fact the dog should be in his basket while you eat, and he only gets fed after everybody else has finished.

But isn’t that just being mean and taking all the fun out of owning a dog?

The leader of the dog pack eats first. He sleeps in the best spot. The Alpha male takes no notice of subordinate dogs fussing around him when he returns from the hunt. When you consistently act as leader you are communicating to your dog in a language he understands.

When you come home, ignore your dog’s frantic attempts at attention seeking until he calms down – then you praise him. It won’t be long before your dog realizes he’s gone down a few notches in the pack hierarchy and acts accordingly. You’ll soon find that your dog greets you quietly and quickly settles down as he’s worked out that is when he receives praise from you.

Still not convinced that training your dog makes him a happier dog? Look at it from the dog’s point of view. He’s living in a human world full of confusing things and behavior he can’t understand. By not teaching your dog his place in your pack he will feel it’s his place to take charge. But this leaves him feeling stressed, resulting in an unruly and confused dog constantly trying to make sense of an overwhelming world it cannot understand.

But when you assume command as leader of the pack, you take that responsibility off his shoulders. Just like a well-trained soldier, he will be happy knowing his place, his role in the pack and what’s expected of him – and happy to defer to your leadership knowing you’ll take care of the “big stuff”.