Agility One: Introduction to Dog Agility

Ali's dog Toshi doing weaves in agility

Team up with your dog to learn how to navigate obstacle courses together! Agility is a great way to build confidence in a shy dog or to focus the energy of an exuberant dog. Obstacles introduced include jumps, tunnels, and the table. Handling exercises introduce sends, calls, post turns, and front crosses. Dogs must be at least one year old when class begins.

Prerequisite: Instructor permission (Instructor permission requires a brief meeting with the instructor - about 15 minutes - to complete the Agility Entrance Skills Assessment.) If your dog passes the assessment, Ali will give you the password to the Agility 1 registration page.

Info from Ali Johnson (the instructor) about the assessment:

The Agility Entrance Skills Assessment has four parts: a 30 second off leash stay with you at a distance of 1-2 feet, a 30 second off leash casual heel/moving attention, a 30 foot recall and a 15 foot sit or down stay. For the first two items, I will be playing tug with my dog as a distraction, and we will get within 6 to 10 feet of you and your dog. These first two parts are to simulate what it is like to wait your turn in class when another team is performing a high energy exercise. The third part is to simulate what it is like when you dog takes a turn and must perform the exercise off leash without running to greet the other dogs in class. For the recall, my dog will be tethered or crated within 6 to 10 feet of your dog’s recall path. The final item is to ensure that your dog has enough training to perform a longer distance stay and demonstrates the ability to begin startline, pause table, and contact training. You are allowed and encouraged to use treats, toys and praise throughout the assessment! If your dog breaks concentration once or twice and is easily recalled back to you, they may still pass the assessment; I’m just trying to ensure that agility class will be fun and that you’ll get to spend the time doing agility training rather than chasing your dog and working on a sit stay. Contact Ali to set up the assessment.

Cost: $169 for 6 weekly sessions, includes free drop-ins to ongoing Ahimsa Dog Training classes (not series classes) on a space-available basis during your class.