Friday, January 24, 2014

Agility Jump Training: How Many Jumps Do You Need?

By Cheng Bernhardt


Agility training is an excellent idea for almost any dog, large or small. Not only does it improvement overall obedience, it's a great way for your dog to exercise and it even improves the bond between animal and owner. You can even set up agility equipment in your own backyard for your dog to practice and enjoy.

Agility jumps are a big part of training, and many people wonder how many jumps they should set up in their backyard. Dogs love jumping, and it is a crucial skill if you ever plan to compete, so at the very least it is recommended that you include a minimum of four jumps in your training circuit and perhaps as many as eight jumps in all.

There are quite a few different kinds of jumps, and one of the most basic is simply known as a single jump. This is just a single pole that the dog will leap over and the height can be adjusted. Begin training with several of these single jumps and have your dog approach the jump from the right and the left and in combination with other skills such as a teeter, a tunnel or the pause table.

As they become more confident with jumps, there are double jumps and triple jumps to consider, where the dogs will jump a longer distance over two poles or three poles. There are also panel jumps to consider, and these are simply jumps with panels rather than poles to jump over. Panels can be added or removed based upon your dog's size and ability level. A tire jump is another common agility obstacle, and these also can be adjusted for almost any size dog.

You might be tempted to simply place two or three single jumps together to form a double or triple jump, but your dog will be more successful if you have a true double and triple jump on your course. The triple jump is especially difficult, so it pays to be able to set up a course in your yard that has a true triple jump.

Dog agility equipment can be purchased online from retailers including Carlson-Agility.com. They offer handy starter kits for dogs and owners just getting started with agility training. In addition, they sell every imaginable piece of agility equipment you could ever need. You'll find every style of jump, as well as weave poles, dog walks, teeters, pause tables, chutes, dog tunnels and much more.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment