First class

I'm a little late to the party but everyone is right--you really don't need a ton of equipment to start with. When we started, we had a wobble board (just a piece of plywood with a tennis ball taped to the bottom), a target plate (an old CD case), and 1 jump. But, even the jump you don't need.

To practice contacts we used the stairs in our house to start the targeting behavior. This can be done on the flat to begin with. There are a lot of things you can do on the ground or using household items (we still use our living room ottoman as a table!)

I made a video a while back of some things you can do with no equipment. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o05xM-dBbzg) The best thing you can do is to build a positive relationship with your dog. Make it fun!

Oh, and Toffee'sMom is right. Don't be afraid to constantly reward foundation or "beginner" activities. I've been doing agility for over 2 years and my dogs still get rewarded for staying!
 
2x2's. even if you only get one, it's excellent for teaching the dog to find weave entries. that's the only equipment i currently own. plus weaves tend to be one of the more challenging obstacles for most dogs, so it's good to have a way to practice them at home.

everyone else is right tho, focus on flatwork first, and then add more obstacles. most obstacles are like rewards for your dog, so they will be eager to perfom the obstacle once they know it. it's all the little stuff in between that needs lots of practice and reinforcement.
 
Toffee's Mom said:
For starting out I seriously recommend going the ONE jump route as your first buy... I don't know anymore who it was who had linked ONE jump exercises for me :D Also to have great sit/stand stays and get the dog to come to whichever side you want him to :D
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Here's the link: http://agilitynerd.com/blog/agility/courses/steve/OneJumpDrills.html

I love these one jump drills. They're really useful. And I do agree with everyone else, if you know you're going to compete and you're an inexperienced handler, I highly suggest you work on all the foundation stuff. When I first started I didn't think I'd get into it, so I never worked on it very much. Um, yeah. 2 years later, here I am, going back to all the foundation work that I should have trained years ago.
 
k9kreationz said:
Here's the link: http://agilitynerd.com/blog/agility/courses/steve/OneJumpDrills.html

I love these one jump drills. They're really useful. And I do agree with everyone else, if you know you're going to compete and you're an inexperienced handler, I highly suggest you work on all the foundation stuff. When I first started I didn't think I'd get into it, so I never worked on it very much. Um, yeah. 2 years later, here I am, going back to all the foundation work that I should have trained years ago.
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thanks for posting the link- I had forgotten about that :smile2:
 
k9kreationz said:
Here's the link: http://agilitynerd.com/blog/agility/courses/steve/OneJumpDrills.html

I love these one jump drills. They're really useful. And I do agree with everyone else, if you know you're going to compete and you're an inexperienced handler, I highly suggest you work on all the foundation stuff. When I first started I didn't think I'd get into it, so I never worked on it very much. Um, yeah. 2 years later, here I am, going back to all the foundation work that I should have trained years ago.
Click to expand...

These jump drills are great! Thanks for posting the link.
 
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