The Art of Agility Training

Baloo making an agility tunnel turn in 2019. photo: Dawn Kovell

As a dog trainer and behavior consultant for the Behavior and Training Department at Marin Humane, I often tell our clients that one of the first steps toward preventing and solving behavior problems is to ensure that the dog’s emotional cup is full. 

I know this to be true, but a recent mishap really brought it home to me. One of my sports dogs, Velo, injured his ankle and had to have surgery. He’s been in a cast for three weeks (they call it a splint, but it’s a cast up to his rear thigh). He must be kept quiet and his daily walks are limited to one-third of a block, mainly to attend to his personal business.

Needless to say, Velo’s medical situation changed all our routines. While I was dealing with Velo, our other two dogs also had their activities dramatically reduced. It took a week before unexpected behavior problems started to crop up in all three dogs. Now I really know how important it is to meet your dogs’ needs, to keep that emotional cup full.

One fun way to mentally stimulate your dog’s brain and physically satiate your pup is to learn a dog sport, like agility. One of the fastest growing dog sports in the United States, agility is visually appealing even to those who know nothing about it. People drive by a lovely outdoor field with brightly colored jumps and obstacles and observe dogs and their people running around playing with toys in the sun. The sight brings a smile and sometimes even halts traffic as people pull over to watch the idyllic scene.

Agility is basically an obstacle course for dogs whose handlers tell them which obstacles to take via visual and verbal cues. To be clear, this does not mean sitting in a lawn chair shouting verbal encouragement while your dog exercises himself into a state of happy exhaustion. Agility is definitely a team sport in which dog and handler learn how to communicate as they run the course together. In fact, the onus is on the human to provide timely information while the dog easily executes the physical aspects of the course.

Is agility the right sport for you and your dog? Agility training classes are generally conducted in a group format, particularly at the novice levels. Therefore, it’s important that your dog be comfortable around other dogs and people. Your dog should enjoy learning new things for food or toy rewards and be at an appropriate weight. He should also have basic obedience skills including a “sit” with duration and distractions, as well as off-leash engagement abilities.

As for the humans, perhaps the ‘running the course with your dog’ bit was slightly alarming. While agility does require a minimum level of physical fitness, don’t count yourself out if you aren’t a peak athlete. If you’re motivated and enjoy training, you can teach your dog distance and verbal skills so your own speed (or lack thereof) isn’t a limiting factor. 

If you think agility competition may be in your future, you may want to look into the various sanctioning organizations. Depending on your geographic area, there might be five or six different options. Each organization holds its own competitions with slightly different jump heights, obstacles, and course types. Organizations skew these variables to make their venue more or less challenging, depending on their mission objectives. 

For example, in the North Bay, the American Kennel Club (AKC) is considered an in-between skill level organization with less stringent obstacles, smaller courses, and many options for agility trials. But the AKC’s smaller courses may be less appealing to larger dogs and ambitious handlers. Those folks tend to gravitate to the United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA) whose spacious courses emphasize speed and distance.

Agility training does require both time and a financial commitment. While you can practice in your yard or at the park, it’s best to have a skilled trainer and a local facility to work with. 

Agility meets your dog’s needs by stimulating his brain to learn an additional communication system while strengthening his body. While it’s nice to have a tired dog who doesn’t have the time and energy to develop behavior issues, the best payoff is the deepening bond you’ll have with your furry buddy. It’s an amazing life-changing experience to have an active, constantly evolving relationship with another species based on mutual communication and respect. You’ll both be refreshed in body and spirit. 

In fact, agility or other advanced training helps turn your relationship with your dog into a true partnership. I guarantee it’ll keep his emotional cup full - and yours as well.