Friday, October 4, 2013

Learning Agility Handling Skills

These photos were pulled from the video footage below. Scroll down to see Rocco in action!
For today's edition of FitDog Friday we thought we'd bring you some rare footage of Rocco running agility! It's rare because at 12 months old, he's just started to put together sequences and this is one of the first agility videos we've shot of Rocco.

In this video, we are practicing handling skills using jump and tunnels.  The idea is for Rocco to stay focused, watch my cues for twists and turns and most of all have lots of fun!  Take a look!


To prepare for these types of handling challenges we've:
  • Practiced with Rocco running on both my left and my right
  • Approached jumps from different directions and angles
  • Practiced front crosses -- where the handler crosses in front of the dog to change direction -- and started working on rear crosses
  • Worked on motion and timing -- so that Rocco can read my cues and know when to turn
  • Trained at various agility fields, to help Rocco work through all the distractions
We've still got some rough edges to work out but we've only just begun! Learn more about how to get started in agility here.


The fun and games continue every Friday with FitDog Friday, the weekly Blog Hop brought to you by To Dog With LoveSlimDoggy and Peggy's Pet Place to promote a healthy active lifestyle for pets (and their people, too!) and to help combat pet obesity. Join in every Friday by linking up your FitDog story or visiting the blogs in the Hop.

27 comments:

  1. Rocco looks very handler focused. Do you have plans to compete with him?

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    1. Yes, we do plan to compete! I competed with my last Havanese Cosmo and we had a blast. I'm glad Rocco seems to think agility is loads of fun too.

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  2. PAWsome job Rocco. Last weekend, mom had a meet up with our old agility trainers. The Zoom Zoom Room should be open by the time we see you again. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar

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    1. Oh, so cool! Maybe we can go there over Thanksgiving! We need to make plans soon!

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  3. I've always avoided agility thinking it could be a little too hard with my dog BUT I'm starting to think I would enjoy a little more 'focus' from him occasionally. Your blog has got me thinking........

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    1. Ive seen all kinds of dogs do agility... and you don't ever have to compete if you don't want to. I teach a class where folks just want to have some fun with their dog and they enjoy the special bonding time. And some of those dogs are VERY unlikely agility dogs! If you do try it, let us know!

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  4. Love the Agility! Great job - even better that you are working both sides - it promotes better conditioning! Plus it is such a good workout for us too!

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    1. And it helps my memory too. Good workout all the way around!

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  5. Wow - Rocco's doing GREAT! He's going to be a rock star. :)

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  6. WOW. Rocco, I am so impressed. For a beginner you are doing fabulous - I see championships in your future.

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  7. Rocco is doing great..In my limited agility career (years ago) my handling was our biggest downfall...it's so much harder than you make it look

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    1. I know!!! When I watched the video I thought it looked like no big deal... so easy. I guess that's the way you want it to look... effortless! But you're right, it's harder than it looks!

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  8. Very nice Rocco!! Congratulations!! For only being 12 months old, he has mastered so much...we only started working on front crosses and serpentine jumps in my intermediate class, so kudos to Mr. Rocco. ;-)

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    1. I know so much more now that I'm training my second agility dog, so that helps. We just started doing serpentines but he's caught on quickly!

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  9. Mom has big dreams for my baby sister Bailie who just started puppy kindergarten this week. After her first obedience class she wants to either get her into tracking or agility. She has such a super sharp nose, we are leaning more towards tracking, but Mom likes the workout of agility, so we will see. Rocco does a great job for being only one!

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    1. Thanks pal! Bailie will have so much fun whichever one she does. I want to take Rocco lure coursing soon too. I think he'll have a blast!

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  10. This looks like so much fun! Rocco is doing a great job! We hope to get into agility for after Luna takes another obedience class.

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  11. Rocco rocks - agility is so much fun and great mental and physical exercise for dogs and humans. Love it! Have a great weekend. X TH

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    1. Thanks! We're having a blast with agility! Happy weekend to you!

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  12. Wow, that's intense. It looks like fun, though. I stopped doing agility with Pierson when it got hot this summer. I should start up again so he can gain more skill. So far, his agility tasks are pretty basic.

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    1. We used to stop in the summer too, but we were lucky it was pretty mild this summer in Atlanta. I'm glad we kept it up since Rocco was just starting out. Hope you have more agility fun this fall!

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