Classes >> Agility >> Beginning Agility

Beginning Agility

Beginning Agility is for dogs who have successfully completed a Paws Abilities Dog Training Pet Obedience or Puppy Kindergarten class.

Dogs and owners who have completed an obedience class from another program and can demonstrate equivalent skills are also eligible to participate. Owners who are not familiar with clicker training will need to complete a one hour clicker seminar prior to the start of class. The $25 clicker seminar fee includes a clicker, handouts and instruction on how to train with the clicker. Group rates are available. Contact us prior to enrolling to see if your dog is eligible, or to request a clicker seminar.

While dogs who have higher levels of obedience training will have an advantage in some activities, we feel Agility provides excellent training assistance for high-energy dogs who are having problems with standard obedience discipline. It is also helpful for building confidence in shy dogs to help support further obedience training. Much of the Beginning class is on-leash, but it's not a surprise to see dogs zooming around out of control every once in awhile. As such, if you've met the minimum requirements but your dog's not an "Obedience Trial Champion" and you want to try Agility, go for it!

All dogs under 14 months of age will jump at ground level or minimal height to help protect their growing bodies. Lack of height is not a concern, since the goal is not height but to get the dog to pass over the jump on command.

This class teaches you and your dog the agility obstacles. All obstacles are introduced in a manner that helps your dog succeed and gain confidence. The teeter totter, for instance, starts as a board on the ground and is slowly raised and tipped as your dog gains confidence. As dogs master single obstacles, we begin doing simple sequences of twos and threes. You'll be surprised at how fast dogs learn agility!

The goal of this class is that your dog will confidently and safely do each agility obstacle on command. In addition to the obstacle names, the command "Touch" is taught for safety and as a foundation for future training. Beginning hand changes (teaching your dog to move from your right side to your left or vice versa) are also taught as owners start to guide their dogs through the obstacles.

Beginning Agility classes have a lead instructor and several assistants trained to teach the agility obstacles. Most classes have a 3 to 1 student:teacher ratio.