Tips For Small Dog Agility

From Dog Sport Magazine:

Toy breeds often have a great desire to be physically close to you, which can be a hindrance to the agility training process. I foster distance when the dog is a puppy by attaching a string to a favorite toy. I toss the toy and let the puppy go after it. Because a young puppy probably won’t retrieve the toy, I catch up and we play together. I don’t want to play “chase the dog” so I use my string to keep the puppy from running away and playing alone. Pulling the toy toward me as I run away encourages my puppy to come to me. Once my puppy understands the game, I add commands such as “Go” for forward motion and “Out” for lateral distance.

Little dogs don’t usually have issues with being up high because we often carry them. But motion — that can be a problem. I use a wobble board and shape them to offer behaviors such as making the board tip with a paw touch and then slowly progress to the puppy walking around on the board while it moves. This teaches the puppy that he is controlling the motion of the board. Then I transition to the teeter, which I take off its base so it barely tips at the beginning and slowly add tipping distance. Training this way takes the fear out of the movement of the teeter.

Holly Schmidt
Alpharetta, GA

Dog Sport Magazine