Clean Run Magazine - December 2008 - 53

classes I read Purely Positive Training by Sheila Booth as my guideline for behaviors and how to reward. To avoid injury and extend your dog’s career during this initial puppy class: ■ Never jump your dog beyond his wrist start your training immediately. Having a close bond with you and being well-socialized with other dogs are two essentials your dog needs. O nce you have your puppy, height to avoid injuring his growth plates. ■ Avoid bending his spine by eliminating weave poles altogether. Sit this lesson out, because he will learn these quickly later. ■ Do not run any A-frame set at full height. The steep angle of the ascending and descending ramps may damage his wrists. When he has enough bladder control, take him to stores where dogs are welcome. Walk down city streets, go to parks where there are large crowds, and allow people to interact with your pup. These activities teach him about rides in the car and dealing appropriately with new surroundings. One note of caution: at this tender age, avoid public dog parks, where negative experiences can leave long-lasting impressions. Kesä learning contacts on a low A-frame. ■ Keep the dogwalk at a low puppy height in case he falls off. Another point about protecting your future agility star: don’t let him jump off anything high, such as the bed or the back of the minivan. If he can jump that high, be sure you’re there to lift him down. By attending classes you have begun to Formal Obedience After your pup has breezed through puppy class, enroll him in an obedience class. The more obedient he is, the better agility dog he will be. If you have a high-drive dog, he will probably find parts of obedience class boring. Don’t avoid class, but do find ways to train and entertain him during those lulls. I recommend the Agility FoundationTraining DVD by Greg Derrett, where he shows how to play with your dog while teaching valuable skills, such as cues for left and right. teach your dog as much as he can learn, but this once-a-week activity alone is not enough. You need to practice at home on your own equipment, daily. With a little talent and money, most of your equipment can be homemade. It can even be scaled down, if your backyard is small. Clean Run and the Internet have many how-to articles for making equipment yourself. Having equipment at home and using it will accelerate your dog’s learning curve. Getting used to the barrel part of the chute. Continuing and Supplementing Agility Classes Your objective for each agility class should be to graduate to the next class as fast as possible. This was my goal, so I practiced agility daily for about 10 minutes and tried to work on obedience every day, whenever the opportunity presented itself. Whether you live in Arizona, where there are no classes in the summer or Minnesota, where Puppy Agility Class The next class to enroll in is puppy agility. Search your area to find the best agility club or training center available. This is easily done by learning where all the best handlers attend. You may need to get your name on the list several months in advance, so plan accordingly. December 08 | Clean Run Practicing outside of class is a critical part of training. To create a very soft landing area, I used an 8” layer of wood chips. 53
Clean Run Magazine - December 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - December 2008
