Without agility, most muscular person in world couldn't win a fight against a fifth-grader. But did you know that for a dog agility is possibly even more important?

With so many of a dog's happiest moments spent running, jumping, catching, and stretching, dog agility training can really help dogs age gracefully and happily.

What is dog agility training?

You’ve probably seen dog agility training on television. The dogs run a course of tire hoops, tunnels, seesaw, dog walk plank, jumps, hurdles, weaving poles, and a 3-meter A-frame. Heeling, sitting, down stays, send-aways as well as walking off leash are also included.

Who can participate?

Anyone with a dog can do agility training. There is not age limit for people or dogs. In fact, children and puppies are encouraged to take part. All breeds and sizes of dogs without a physical disability can benefit from agility training. Be sure to check with your vet before you begin agility training if you have any doubts about your canine’s fitness.

What equipment is needed?

You as handler will need comfortable shoes and clothes that you can run in, because this is not exercise for dog alone.

Your dog needs a leather or webbed buckle collar and a leather, nylon or rope lead of fairly long length. Do not use a chain lead; it could get caught in jumps.

Agility Training Courses for Dogs

Our dogs are now, more than ever, a very important part of our families. We care for them as we care for ourselves. That includes taking a greater interest in our dogs' health care. In response, there have been many advances in dog health care in recent years:

Preventative Dog Health Care

Annual checkups with routine blood test and dental care go far in catching serious dog health care problems early, increasing dog’s duration and quality of life. Medicines targeting fleas, ticks, heartworm, and intestinal parasites prevent both pests and diseases they cause.

Diagnosis of Canine Health Problems

Dog health care benefits by interested owners conscientiously bringing their dogs for yearly checkups:

New and better blood, lab, and x-ray procedures aid veterinarian in gaining valuable knowledge of what is happening to your dog. New and improved equipment like MRI machines speed up diagnosis as well.

Not only do these factors enable more effective care, but they also save you money in long run because your pet won’t need repeated vet visits to find his problem.