Paws For Agility

Let’s say you want to train your dog, but there’s just no space in your home.  What do you do?  Simple.  Get one of those agility tunnel bags, go to the nearest park and set up.  It’s that easy.  Agility tunnel bags contain the most popular agility tools that you would need.

Never again would space be a problem.  You can bring your agility tunnel bags anywhere.  To the park, the beach, or even to the local campground.  From set up to clean up, the process is uncomplicated and trouble-free.  You can train your dog without any worries.

If your dog is showing signs of lethargy or is shy around people, chances are your dog is suffering from low self confidence.  One surefire way of boosting your dog’s confidence is to work on its agility.  Dog agility tunnels are perfect for this specific purpose.  Agility training tools are available everywhere.  Choose one that suits your dog’s needs perfectly.
 
Before you begin training your dog, here’s a few tips on how to best achieve your goal:

1.  Set up your training equipment where your dog is most familiar.
2.  Stock up on patience.  Chances are, your dog would require a ton of encouragement before he gets comfortable enough to use the training equipment.
3.  Rewarding your dog is important.  This encourages your dog to work harder.

This Leash Tab is a 6 inch coil that expands to 2 feet when stretched to full length.  It really works well with small dogs so that you don’t have to bend over to maintain control. Leash Tabs allow the trainer to release the dog to go through tunnels or over obstacles without it interfereing with the movement of the dog or snaging on the obstacle.  Leash Tabs are also made in Leather and cloth at fixed lengths.

 This Coiled Leash Tab is available from Agility Tools by Windryder.  AgilityTools.com is a dedicated web site for Agility Equipment and related products.  Windryder was founded by Bobbie and Fred Lutz of Winchester, VA.  Windryder has customers for their products from around the world.  I guess you could say that they are World Wide.

Pets are parts of the family. When you buy luxuries for everyone you love, you may also find that buying dog products for your beloved pooch comes naturally to you. Dogs thrive on attention and proper care. Many dog products enable pets to live longer and healthier lives the same way humans’ overall well-being is enhanced by things that make them happier.

Make sure that your dog gets enough exercise, otherwise his health may suffer. As much as possible, give him opportunities to play outdoors so he can exercise his muscles and gain coordination. Consider purchasing agility products that will help you reach these goals.

Traveling?  Do you need to train while you are on the road?  There are many ”Take it with you Tools” such as this Mini Travel Teeter.

This teeter colapses into 4 sections making it easy to take along with you on your next trip or even take it to a remote location. Perhaps we should call it “Teeter to Go”.  This will make it very easy to have the agility tools that you need to practice with your dog.

The Pause Table is like a 5 second rest stop. The dog must go onto the table and either do a sit or a down, at the judge’s descretion, while the judge counts down, “five, four, three, two, one and go.” If the dog breaks the stay, the counting starts again at the begining.

If the handler has confidence that the dog won’t break the stay, the handler might start preparing to go to the next obstacle. This Pause Table is lightweight but sturdy and meets competition specifications

How low can you go?

This is an obstacle that the dog goes under to crawl at less than it’s sholder height. Unlike the jumps which are “up and over” this one is “down and under”.  A good nickname for it could be the “Australian Crawl”.  It is a great training obstacle and I believe that it is only being used in competion at UKC (United Kennel Club) trials.

The Crawl Tunnel will keep your dog limber as they have to stretch and compress muscles to maneuver under it.

Yes, a ladder can be used in training but it isn’t the stepladder that is used to change a lightbulb. It is horizontal and laid on the ground and the dog walks through it stepping between the rungs so that they are made aware of where their back feet are.

It has the same effect for dogs that running through tires has on football players.

Another variation of the ”Horizontal Ladder” was introduced to me by Cristina Popa from Romania. This is a little trickier but also effective.

Dog agility is becoming a very popular sport around the world.  In order to test the dogs, they have to be challenged on a  variety of dog agility equipment.   Some of the equipment as pictured above are tunnels (both open and collapsed), weave polls, tire jump, and multiple regular jumps.

The equipment might vary with the organization that sanctions the agility trial.  Some of these organizations are:  AKC, UKC, USDAA, NADAC, and ASDAA.   For instance, UKC has a piece of equipment called a crawl tunnel.  No other US organization has this piece of equipment.

I have four dogs; two standard poodles, a beagle and a mutt. I know from first-hand experience pet products can get expensive. My dogs routinely got through a 30-pound bag of dog chow and 12 cans of soft dog food per week. I have searched long and hard to find high-quality discount dog products in stores. It’s been a challenge, but I finally managed to find some great stuff online.I think that pet owners can get much better deals shopping online. I was able to order a month supply of food, four fleece dog beds, flea and tick medicine and dog shampoo for around $250. I definitely plan to shop online for my pet products from now on. Online ordering also saves me from having to take time out of my busy schedule to shop.