vendredi 7 février 2014

Teaching Obedience Behaviors On The Pause Table

By Cheng Bernhardt


If you have ever seen a dog sprinting about on an agility course, navigating weave poles, leaping over jumps and going up and down teeter totters, then you know how much fun dogs have on these courses. One component on every agility course is the pause table, and while dogs prefer the fun stuff, the pause table is an excellent tool for teaching proper behavior and obedience with your dog.

If you are unfamiliar with the obstacles of dog agility, pause tables are simply raised platforms where dogs jump up and then are required to sit and stay for a period of time, perhaps four or five seconds. Sometimes they also have to lie down as well, depending on the rules of the course. Using only signals, the trainer or owner will have the dog sit and stay and then signal them to move on to the next component of the course.

Keep in mind, dogs obviously compete without a leash, obeying a variety of commands. Once you get to the point where your dog is ready to compete, they have become a very obedient animal and this is a very good thing. After all, we want them to sit and stay on command with having to use a leash or treats. This is often for their own safety, as well as the safety of others, so the skills taught on the pause table are truly some of the most important lessons your dog will learn.

When it comes agility training, puppies should not be learning how to use many pieces of equipment simply because their bodies have not developed enough and it can cause injury. Of course, they also are too small for most of the obstacles, anyway. However, a low pause table or a flat pause box can be used on puppies, and is a great start to both obedience training and agility training. Once your puppy has been weaned, you can begin teaching proper obedience skills. This training not only will improve your dog's behavior, it makes them easier to walk and handle and even cements the bond between the two of you.

Once the animal successfully can sit and stay on the pause table for five seconds, you can make it a bit more difficult by putting some distance between you and your dog. Keep in mind that treats are never allowed in competition and vocal commands often are not allowed either, so the dog needs to learn to sit and stay and go down based on signals. You can continue to increase the distance as your dog becomes more and more comfortable.

Obviously, the pause table is a great tool for overall obedience, but on the course, it also provides a quick break in between obstacles. This actually helps keep a dog focused, and without a pause table, they tend to get over-excited and either not clear obstacles or skip an obstacle accidentally or perhaps move out of order. If you are look for a high quality pause table, check out an online store such as Carlson Agility. They sell every type of agility dog equipment you will need including dog agility jumps, agility dog walks, pause tables, weaves, dog tunnels and much more.




About the Author:



Aucun commentaire:

Enregistrer un commentaire