Paws For Agility

In my youth, I used to compete in a variety of athletic competitions—from swimming and crew to football and archery. As I’ve gotten older it’s been increasingly difficult to compete at a high level, but the competitive fire still burns deep inside of my. Recently I’ve been looking for a cathartic release from this sentiment, and I think I’ve finally found it.

My wife and I recently got a new dog, and I’ve been amazed by his unsurpassed physical prowess. He simply loves chasing down balls, running through the yard and swimming in our pond—basically anything that gets his blood pumping. Since he’s so athletically inclined, I decided to purchase some canine agility equipment and train him for competitions. As I guessed, he loves the training and both of us our chomping at the bit to get into some real contests.

After training dogs for decades, I’m quite familiar with the various apparatuses used to hone a dog’s agility. Of course, each of the different types of obstacles tests a different aspect of a dog’s fitness. But when it comes to pure agility, I feel that the agility weave poles are the best way to train and the truest gauge of the dog’s quickness.

My first introduction to the weave poles was actually during football practice, but the poles used for canines are practically identical—although they have been scaled down, of course. You can either purchase individual poles to stick in the ground at designated intervals or a set that has the poles already measured out and placed for you. The individual poles offer you more versatility when setting up your training course, while the sets are obviously more convenient.