Learn dog agility basics: Table, over, and under. Dog agility will give your dog a job to do and reduce stress, anxiety, and aggression.
Does your dog ever jump on the patio picnic table or your living room couch? If yes, dog agility is in your dogs future! Dog agility benefits dogs by not only providing a job to do, but a alternate activity to refocus stress, dog anxiety, and dog aggressive tendencies. By conditioning your dog with daily dog agility obstacle exercises, you will notice more calmness and control with your dog.
1. Table. Table obstacle is a 3ft. by 3ft. platform where the dog will do a down/stay command for up to 5 seconds. This hold time will provide focus and added control so the dog becomes more conditioned for calmness and stress reduction. I teach my customers with high “prey” driven dogs or mild aggressive dogs to use the table command as a distraction technique for any oncoming potential “trigger” response stimulus, i.e. dogs, bikes, or skateboards. Begin looking for obstacles on your walk you can use for the table command, i.e. picnic tables, large rocks, or park benches.
2. Over. The over obstacle can be used with either a single or multiple raised obstacle. The appropriate height will be determined on the athleticism and energy of your dog. Of course, never judge a dog by its cover! Certain breeds like Jack Russell Terriers have been know to jump upwards of 6ft. Begin looking for obstacles on your walk you can use for the over command, i.e. parking curbs, picnic table benches, or fallen logs.
3. Under. The under command can be used to have your dog go under a obstacle such as a picnic table bench, local sign, or any small enclosed area. The benefit of the under command is decreased anxiety and claustrophobia in small spaces. The under command is most beneficial to smaller prey driven dogs.
By routinely practicing the 3 mentioned agility commands you will see great dog training results from your dog. Not only will your dog develop increased focus and attention span, but through the use of agility a greater mental and physical challenge as well.
Happy dog training!
Since 2005, Mark Siebel has trained over 6000 satisfied K’9’s and customers alike. The goal has always been to show owners how to properly integrate their dog into the home setting. Consulting on what breed of dog to buy, where to buy/rescue from, preparing your home for your new puppy and health/nutrition are just a few ways DOGGIE STEPS helps its customers.