Contact Obstacles

Training on the A-Frame:

Like every other obstacle on the agility course that involves height (especially the large height the A-Frame involves), the A-Frame needs to be taught at the lowest height possible. The lower the height and less of an incline the better.

The A-Frame can often be scary and imposing to a dog just learning, so you need to take it easy and go at the dogs pace. Keep the A-Frame as stress-free as possible.

Some dogs take to it right away. If you have this kind of dog (as do I), you will need to really stress training the dog to slow down and be careful! A tumble off the A-Frame is NOT something to be taken lightly and CAN seriously injure your dog! These are the types of dogs that will rush up it and not watch their footing, and then LEAP off the descending plank without even stepping a toe on the contact zone! Those zones are there for a reason so use them!

When you begin training you should keep a 6 foot (regular walking) leash attached to you dogs collar, as you would when you start training anything. This will help you lead the dog and gain control (help prevent him from jumping off). You will want to hold your leash bunched in one hand as close to the collar as possible and right in front of the dog's face, and use your other hand to help support and hold the dog's body. If possible I would suggest having a "spotter" help you. This will be someone who can stand behind you and hold onto the dog to keep him from jumping off; this is especially useful for large dogs.

Slowly (and I mean SLOWLY) guide the dog up the A-Frame. If you train with treats (which I would suggest for starting agility), you can place random treats up and down the A-Frame before the dog ascends. This will help motivate the dog and associate the A-Frame with something positive. However, I do warn that if you have a treat-frenzy dog it may encourage the dog to move up and down the A-Frame quicker. You may want to have your Spotter place a hand on the dogs chest if this is the case. You will probably also need an extra hand on the dogs chest when descending to teach the dog to slow down (this is why it's best to have a Spotter ).

Once your dog is ascending and descending comfortably at a low height with you and your Spotters help, you can slowly remove hands from holding the dog in place (and remove treats if you are using them). Keep one hand free and close to the dog (as well as for your Spotter) just in case the dog decides to bolt off the A-Frame. You want to be able to catch the dog and put him back in place if this happens, but you don't want to be touching the dog to teach him to do it himself hands free!
If you're using treats and removing them at this point, you can keep on at the bottom of the descending panel (on the contact zone) to reinforce the dog to touch that contact zone!

Once your dog is comfortably moving up and down the A-Frame at a low height, without the aid of your Spotter or you, if you choose to, you can train your dog to stop at the contact zone.
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 A-Frame 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 completing the A-Frame at a low height fluiently and with or without stopping at the contact zone (whichever route you choose) you can raise the panels to the next height. You may need to bring your spotter back in if the new height becomes scary for your dog.

Keep practicing and raising the A-Frame until you reach your dogs specific A-Frame height (this depends on his height at the withers. You can find the chart for this height on the "What is Dog Agility" page).

Remember to move slowly and keep practicing at the height your dog feels comfortable before moving it up. In fact, keep practicing at this height until long AFTER your dog is comfortable on it before moving it up. It is better to have a dog with full confidence and control on the A-Frame than a dog that is likely to be scared or blow off the top or over the contact zones.
Also, remember to train your dog to go up and down either end of the A-Frame. You don't want him thinking only one way is acceptable

Good Luck, and Have Fun!

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!

Training on the See-Saw:

As I mentioned above, the Teeter (as I will be referring to it as from now on) can be quite scary for a dog to learn. The Dog-Walk and A-Frame are generally scary the first couple of times and then a dog becomes over confident, which is why it is important to stress safety in training. The Teeter however, can be scary for quite a while for some dogs. This is why you teach the Teeter after the A-Frame and Dog-Walk. The dog has already learned what it's like to go over a contact obstacle, he's learned how to maneuver the small width of the dog-walk and thinks he's now ready for anything! He'll most likely try to fly up the Teeter the first time as if he's entering the dog-walk, but once he hits that balance point and the Teeter begins to move he realizes he's in way over his head!

With the dog-walk and A-Frame I told you I highly recommend using a "Spotter" but that it wasn't 100% necessary. I'm going to tell you now with the Teeter that it IS 100% necessary. Unless you have a small dog you can hold onto with one hand and use your other to hold the end of the Teeter you will NEED someone’s help. So if you haven't found anyone to help you in training yet, you'd better find one before even trying the Teeter!

You will have your Spotter Standing at the descending end of the Teeter (unlike the Dog-Walk or A-Frame, the Teeter is a ONE WAY obstacle) with their hands gently under the end that is in the air. Make sure they are out of the way from the Teeter hitting them or coming down on their feet (have them practice bringing it down a couple of times first). Trust me, getting smoked in the head by the end of the Teeter is not fun You want your Spotter to be READY, if they're standing there off in la-la land they won't be prepared for how heavy the end of the Teeter becomes with a large dog on the end and the end may drop too quickly.
If the Teeter drops too quickly it does two things; it bounces and CRASHES making a really loud noise. The noise and bounce can scare a dog really bad. I've known several dogs that were ruined in Agility because of being improperly trained on the Teeter. All it takes is one bad experience to have a dog terrified of the Teeter.

I know what you're probably thinking at this point... I thought Agility was supposed to be fun? So far it sounds very dangerous to my dog!
Well yes and no. It CAN be dangerous if trained wrong and used wrong, but everything I'm telling you is just a caution. It's very important to take safety on the Agility course seriously because of that ONE chance your dog takes a tumble it could not only seriously injure him but also damage him mentally and he will never want to set foot on an obstacle again. It's best to teach your dog how to use each piece of equipment safely from the very begining to prevent this from happening.

So, you've had your Spotter practice carefully dropping the end of the Teeter and you are now ready to begin. On the Dog-Walk and A-Frame you had your Spotter mostly holding the dog while you guided him across the obstacles. This time your Spotter isn't touching your dog at all, and it is your job to hold onto him! If you feel your dog is too strong for you to keep him on the Teeter, you may want to invest in another Spotter to help you hold him on the Teeter

Wrap one arm around your dogs waist and hold your leash in your other hand bunches in front of the dog like you've been doing on the A-Frame and Dog-Walk. If you need to, hold the leash and put your hand against your dogs chest. Very slowly guide him up the Teeter.
For the A-Frame and Dog-Walk I also suggested using treats. I am not going to suggest that for the Teeter. It IS possible, but the problem I've found with placing treats on the Teeter is that you do not, AT ALL, want to teach your dog to bolt across this piece of equipment for one, and for another they tend to just fall off the Teeter anyway and then you've got a dog who bounds OFF the Teeter after the treats!

Very slowly (and I mean SLOWLY) guide your dog up the Teeter. If you feel your dog is panicking and getting ready to jump off feel free to stop and just hold the dog in place for a moment. Tell him it's okay and that he's doing good. Once he's calmed a big continue. This is why I told you it's important your Spotter at the end of the Teeter not doze off in la-la land; because it's going to take you some time getting the dog to the balance point.

Where is the balance point?
This completely depends on the size of your dog. The larger the dog the closer the balance point is to the base of the Teeter. The smaller the dog the closer it is to the end of the plank that is sitting in the air.

If you are holding your dog properly and going slowly you should be able to feel when the Teeter begins to tip down. This is when your Spotter will HOLD the end of the Teeter. Your Spotter will also have to 'feel' for the Teeters natural movement as the dog enters the balance point. You don't want your Spotter holding the Teeter up in the air long after it should have descended, and you also don't want it crashing down too fast and hard. The Spotter is to slowly lower the plank down to the ground. The smoother the fall the better the experience on the dog.

Praise your dog! He has just successfully lowered the Teeter for the first time, and trust me, that is one scary thing to do for your dog!

Don't let him run off the end just yet, you still have to successfully and safely complete the obstacle. Slowly walk him down to the end so that he touches the yellow Contact Zone as he exits the Teeter.

Repeat this whole process until you feel your dog is becoming comfortable with the Teeter moving under his feet and he is learning where the balance point for him is. Once he is getting to be more comfortable you can have your Spotter gently lower the Teeter by just keeping their hands under it to prevent it from CRASHING, but let it fall a little faster and more naturally.

You will have your Spotter use less and less pressure against the Teeter as it falls as your dog becomes more and more comfortable until the dog is dropping the end completely on his own!

Once he is getting comfortable you can also let go of holding onto your dog. Don't let go completely, keep your one arm around him still close enough to catch him if you need to, but don't touch him. He needs to learn to do it all on his own.

Keep this up, work slowly and at your dogs comfort level, until eventually you don't need to guide him with your hands and he's dropping the end all on his own.

At this point you can teach him to stop on the contact zone if you'd like. The problem with teaching this on the Teeter is that if your dog pops off the end and the plank goes back up into the air you can't exactly pick him up and put him back on the zone. You will have to do the obstacle all over again. Just keep practicing until he's stopping on the contact zone on command like you would like.

That's it! The Teeter is pretty easy to teach you just have to go very slowly and keep at it. If your dog bails off at any point, don't quit! Make sure he does it again right away! If your dog becomes scared after a tumble and you don't put him back on right away he may never use the obstacle again. It's like the old saying about getting back on the horse

Good Luck, and Have Fun!