Hi Sharon,
Agility is lots of fun and great exercise for your dog. First you want to teach him some basic obedience commands since you'll need these in agility. Come, stay, sit, down. Many people use targeting while training so you may want to teach that as well. We also do training to teach the dog to watch our hands or follow our hands so when giving directions, they're paying attention.
There are many excellent books on training, you can find a class in your area, be sure and check out the instructor first. Many don't understand the terrier mentality so you may need to shop around.
I try to keep the training sessions short with my 2 guys. around 10 minutes each time so they leave wanting more. Be generous with the rewards, whether treat or praise. Always keep it fun for them.
When introducing a new dog to the equipment, you want to keep it very low and go in very small stages of advancement. For example start the dogwalk by just laying a board on the ground, eventually put it on a couple of cinder blocks so its about a foot off the ground, then gradually raise it or introduce a low dogwalk. Make sure he's very comfortable on it at each stage before proceeding further. Same with the aframe, lower it to around a foot high, and very slowly raise it, only when he's comfortable at each height and is performing it correctly and quickly.
For the weaves it depends on what you like and are comfortable with. My guys did much better with channel weaves than the weave-o-matic or just luring them with food around the poles. Some people don't like channels since they say the dog has to re-learn the footwork as they're moved closer.
Tunnels should be bunched up nice and short and gradually extended as the dog learns to go thru them. Have a friend hold the dog at one end with you at the other with a treat. The friend lets the dog go when you call him to come. After he's running thru the fully extended straight tunnel, then gradually start bending it. don't go too fast since the bends can confuse the dogs. The chute is similar. I start with no chute, just the barrel, add the chute but hold it open, also shorten it or bunch it up if possible so the dog has a very short chute to go thru. Gradually extend it and drop the fabric once the dog is comfortable with it.
The jumps should be started at the lowest height possible, or just lay the bar on the ground. Gradually raise them as the dog is more conditioned and gets to know what he's doing. There's a huge amount of information on teaching a dog to jump correctly. Many books are available on the subject on the web.
Remember to take your time, let them really learn each step of the way before advancing so they're confident and ready for the next step. Good luck!
Sincerely,
Karen Majka
Performance Events Committee Member
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