Training on the Dog-Walk:
Training your dog to properly use the dog-walk is much the same as training on the A-Frame. It is best to have a "Spotter" handy to help hold the dog, especially because the dog-walk is quite thin and can be much easier to slip off of.
If possible, set the dog-walk to the lowest possible height. Most dog-walks you can purchase have two heights; 2 feet and 4 feet. If your dog-walk does not have this option (as mine does not) you can build a temporary dog-walk out of the regular sized planks and milk cartons or boxes (something made out of wood or plastic, something that will not bend under the dogs weight
).
Give the command when entering the dog-walk, remember, you have your leash bunched up in your hand just in front of the dogs face and one hand is helping to support his body. You should also have your Spotter supporting the dog as well. A lot of dogs tend to get on these larger equipment and then lean onto their owners in an attempt to get away! If your dog does this it's okay, he's just scared. You need to talk calmly to him and gently push him into place and tell him what a good boy he is!
Slowly walk up the first plank. If you are using treats, you can place one on the first contact zone, another midway up the plank, another at the top (where the second, flat plan is), another halfway along that plank, and then the same on the descending as on the ascending plank. Remember, if your dog is treat crazy he may try to fly across the dog-walk to get the treats, so you'll have to hold him back and reinforce him to go slowly.
Once at the top tell him "good walk-it" (or whatever command you're using for the dog-walk) and as he gets about halfway across the middle plank give him a command to slow down. A lot of dogs (including my own) will FLY across the dog-walk once they've gotten over the initial fear of it, so it's good to start early on in training to teach a command to slow down and be careful. I, quite simply, use the command "careful". When you give this command, slow the dog down and make him walk across at basically a snails pace. Keep at this pace until at the bottom of the descending plank.
If you are teaching your dog to stop on the contact zones, you can start that after the dog has gone across the dog-walk (both ways) successfully and is starting to get use to it and becoming comfortable. You would teach the dog to touch the contact zones exactly the same as you would on the A-Frame;
Teaching the dog to stop at the contact zone helps slow the dog down as well as give you a second on the course to figure out where you're going next. You can use this method on any contact obstacle.
To train your dog to stop on the contact zones is really quite easy. It just takes a lot of repetition and patience! (Like all training really). You need to remember to reinforce it EVERY time the dog descends the Dog-Walk in order to have him do it automatically. If you really want to make things more complicated for you and your dog, you can use a command of your choice and selectively have the dog stop when you want to. This will take a lot more time and patience, but it is possible to accomplish. Either way, I suggest using a command to reinforce the behavior anyway. I personally use "touch" but you can use whatever command you choose.
When the dog descends and hits the contact zone, you want him to be able to stop comfortably enough on the end when you give the command. This may include having all four feet on the contact zone still, or two back feet on the contact zone and two on the ground, or even one back foot on the zone and the other three feet on the ground! Whichever, you want at least ONE foot still on that zone. If all four paws are off the zone you must take the dog back and make him do it again.
When the dog gets into this position, and you are just starting training, you can physically stop the dog while giving the command. Wait just a moment and then praise and give your release command ("okay", "Lets go", or whichever you choose. You can also use the next obstacle ahead on the course as your release command). Repeat, repeat, repeat, until the dog stops on his own.
If the dog does not have at least one foot on the zone you can either bring him around and have him redo the entire obstacle, or pick up his back end and place it back on the zone. I usually use the latter because dogs can have very short memories and attention spans sometimes and the quicker you get them back into the position you want them in the better. Praise once the dog has held that position for a moment.
Once the dog is stopping on his own you can extend the time (though you don't want him to hang there too long as when you start trialing your dog it will be timed and a good time is something to aim for).
Once your dog is comfortable on the dog-walk you can do like you did on the A-Frame; remove your hands from physically touching him but keep them close just in case he slips. Always watch your dogs paws and keep an eye on what his body is doing. Even the most experienced dogs can accidentally slip off the dog walk because it is much more narrow than the A-Frame! If his paws slip, GRAB HIM! Say 'OOPS! Careful!" and put him back on. At two feet off the ground it won't seem like much of a tumble to either you or the dog, but at 4 feet it can be a lot more dangerous! Its better to teach the dog to walk across safely now than later.
Keep practicing at 4 feet until your dog can successfully, and comfortably, move across the dog walk without you or your Spotters aid, and he is hitting and/or stopping on the contact zone when necessary.
Keep practicing at this height until long after your dog is comfortable. Use this time to teach him to slow down when you tell him to 100% and to hit his contact zones every time. These are things you need your dog to be perfect at so it is best to get them taught now rather than later.
Now that your dog has been comfortably and properly using the dog-walk for some time you can move it up to 4 feet. At 4 feet you will start training exactly as you did at 2 feet. Your dog may either be scared of the new height or over confident at the old height. Start from square one with your Spotter and reinforce the dog to be very careful. Don't worry, it won't take as long this time
A few times reinforcing the dog to walk across the dog-walk carefully with your support should be all that is necessary. It is just in case and a way to help teach your dog to safely use the obstacle at all heights.
Remember to keep an eye on your dogs paws, even once he's mastered this obstacle. the second you see he's getting lazy and slipping too much tell him to be Careful and slow down! You will use your dogs body language to determine whether or not he is using the obstacle safely or if he's gotten TOO comfortable with it!
Good Luck, and Have Fun!