Agility help?

Question

I'm training my dog to do some agility stuff. Not for competition or anything, just for fun.

I have her going over single and double hurdles pretty good. Then next thing I want to teach her is the weave poles. I stuck some poles in the ground, stuck a treat on a stick and made her follow the stick that I weaved through the poles.

It didn't go how I wanted it to. She was scared of the poles, so I didn't try anything else because I didn't really know what I was doing anyway.

Any body have tips they could give me on how I should approach this?

Thanks!!

Answer 1

Set the poles up in a staggered pattern
-----X
X
-----X
X
-----X
X
(ignore the dashs and think about the Xs as were the poles are - I had to put the dashes in to keep the off set pattern)
So it is straight path down the middle
Make the path as wide as it needs to be for your dogs to be happy walking between the two rows of poles.
- get your dog use to going fast down the middle with your running with her on either side. If your dog can do sit stay you can go to other end and call her to you.
Then start moving the poles very gradually toward the center to narrow the path
Gradually you will get to a straight line.
Remember that the dog should always enter the weave poles so that the first pole is on the dogs left.

Answer 2

Start with three poles. Since weaves must always be entered from right to left, start her to the right of the first pole. Keep her on leash and place a small target with food after the third pole. If you can, tilt the poles to sort of "block" her from going the wrong direction. First pole tilted left, second right, third left, etc. Give your command to weave and let her pull you on the leash through the poles to the food on the target. Stay on leash and with only three poles until she is willingly going through the poles to the reward on the target. Add poles before trying it off leash. Try to make her "find" the correct way to enter the weaves by starting her in different positions relative to the entry. Once she's up to 6 poles and will enter from any approach direction start placing the poles more upright. Use verbal encouragement throughout and don't forget to let her pull the leash through the weaves - this helps create drive and allows you to restrain an incorrect move. If she makes a mistake, don't correct her, just start over. ( I say in a cheerful voice "Uh-oh, what happened? Let's try it again!") She should not get the treat at the end until it's done correctly. Once she is working consistantly well on the leash with 6 upright poles you can try doing it off lead. You might have to tilt the poles again at first as a reminder. This is only one way of teaching weaves...I'm sure others will have other suggestions. Pick a method that seems to work with your dog and stick to it.

Answer 3

Join a fun training club if possible. Agility requires confident communication between you and your dog. He should be able to work along side you, then toward you, then away from you. Weave poles are a more complex training obstacle. Maybe start with a tunnel. Eventually set the poles up and run through them yourself, or let your dog watch other dogs weave. Avoid any situation of disciple around obstacles, this just builds fear rather than opens enthusiasm for learning.

Answer 4

Put the poles on the ground and have her walk over them. Praise her when she does it successfully and when she makes good tries. Elevate the poles bit by bit, until she is able to learn to weave. Place treats between each pole to show her they aren't scary and aren't going to hurt her. Good luck =)