If you have ever seen a dog sprinting about on an agility course, navigating weave poles, leaping over jumps and going up and down teeter totters, then you know how much fun dogs have on these courses. One component on every agility course is the pause table, and while dogs prefer the fun stuff, the pause table is an excellent tool for teaching proper behavior and obedience with your dog.
For the uninitiated, a pause table is a dog agility obstacle that is found in all agility competitions. The dog must jump onto this elevated table and then follow the owner or trainer commands and sit, stay and go down. They must sit or stay down for a number of seconds before they can get up, jump off the table and continue through the weaves, jumps and other obstacles. They are not supposed to move until they have received a signal from their owner.
The commands often are non-verbal and no treats are used nor leashes. So it is pretty amazing that these dogs will stop in the middle of the dog agility course, and it's a level of obedience that we really want all of our dogs to have because it simply makes them a happy, well-adjusted pet. It's highly important that your dog will sit and stay at any time, whether on a leash or not, in any situation. This is for their own protection as well as the protection of others, so the lessons they learn with a pause table can be some of the most crucial skills your dog acquires.
In general, puppies should not use agility equipment, not only because they are simply too small, but also because they can hurt their developing bodies. However, you can use a pause box or a very low table to teach obedience skills with a puppy. Once a puppy is weaned, you can begin teaching basic obedience commands. The puppy will be easier to deal with and you will forge a stronger bond.
Once the animal successfully can sit and stay on the pause table for five seconds, you can make it a bit more difficult by putting some distance between you and your dog. Keep in mind that treats are never allowed in competition and vocal commands often are not allowed either, so the dog needs to learn to sit and stay and go down based on signals. You can continue to increase the distance as your dog becomes more and more comfortable.
This training is not just a fantastic way to teach obedience and distance training; there is another reason why the pause table is a great agility obstacle. Without a pause during the course, dogs can lose focus easily and lose points because they have skipped something or because they are going too fast or they don't handle an obstacle with a high level of precision. By pausing and taking a quick break, they regain their focus. If you are ready to purchase a pause table or any type of dog training equipment, check out the products at Carlson Agility. They have everything from dog tunnels and chutes, all kinds of dog agility jumps, teeter-totters, agility dog walks and everything else you need to get started.
For the uninitiated, a pause table is a dog agility obstacle that is found in all agility competitions. The dog must jump onto this elevated table and then follow the owner or trainer commands and sit, stay and go down. They must sit or stay down for a number of seconds before they can get up, jump off the table and continue through the weaves, jumps and other obstacles. They are not supposed to move until they have received a signal from their owner.
The commands often are non-verbal and no treats are used nor leashes. So it is pretty amazing that these dogs will stop in the middle of the dog agility course, and it's a level of obedience that we really want all of our dogs to have because it simply makes them a happy, well-adjusted pet. It's highly important that your dog will sit and stay at any time, whether on a leash or not, in any situation. This is for their own protection as well as the protection of others, so the lessons they learn with a pause table can be some of the most crucial skills your dog acquires.
In general, puppies should not use agility equipment, not only because they are simply too small, but also because they can hurt their developing bodies. However, you can use a pause box or a very low table to teach obedience skills with a puppy. Once a puppy is weaned, you can begin teaching basic obedience commands. The puppy will be easier to deal with and you will forge a stronger bond.
Once the animal successfully can sit and stay on the pause table for five seconds, you can make it a bit more difficult by putting some distance between you and your dog. Keep in mind that treats are never allowed in competition and vocal commands often are not allowed either, so the dog needs to learn to sit and stay and go down based on signals. You can continue to increase the distance as your dog becomes more and more comfortable.
This training is not just a fantastic way to teach obedience and distance training; there is another reason why the pause table is a great agility obstacle. Without a pause during the course, dogs can lose focus easily and lose points because they have skipped something or because they are going too fast or they don't handle an obstacle with a high level of precision. By pausing and taking a quick break, they regain their focus. If you are ready to purchase a pause table or any type of dog training equipment, check out the products at Carlson Agility. They have everything from dog tunnels and chutes, all kinds of dog agility jumps, teeter-totters, agility dog walks and everything else you need to get started.
About the Author:
Cheng Bernhardt loves dog agility training. To discover an agility equipment for dogs, or to find more agility dog training equipment like obedience jumps, please check out the Carlson-Agility website now.
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