What Makes a Great Team? Dog Agility Starts With Your Connection

Orion and Erika practicing their teamwork. photo: Erika Slovikoski

Maybe you’ve watched your dog sprint around a park, leaping over logs, rocks, or other dogs, and thought, “Wow, my dog would probably be good at agility.” But while your dog may be performing athletically, she’s doing this all on her own, not connected to you, her handler. Basically you’re a spectator at your pup’s free form athletic event. As agile as she may appear, that’s not agility.

Agility is a team sport that dog and handler play together, requiring intense engagement and connection. Is your dog off-leash and super responsive to you even surrounded by distractions? If other dogs sprint across her path, will she ignore them to stay engaged with you? That’s where agility begins. 

When you pull up to an agility class and open your car crate door, your dog should stare at you waiting for the release cue to hop out of the crate. If your dog isn’t connected to you at the car, that’s where you need to start. When she hops out, your dog should go potty on cue, ignoring all the other dogs in your class who are also walking around sniffing for a good place to potty before heading to the agility field (sport dogs always go potty before work because there is no pottying on the field). 

When you walk toward the agility building, your dog should be excited, aroused, but focused on you; she may even look at you to gain access to the door. When you open the door,  she should walk through, then reorient to you. You’ll direct her into a crate where she’ll wait as you fill your pockets with treats and toys, tie your running shoes, and take a walk around the course to plan your run. 

When you open the crate door, she’ll wait to be released, and then focus on you as you move together to the field. It’s exciting for your dog because she’s walking out to the canine equivalent of Disneyland, but the agility course should never be more exciting than being with you.  Your dog should trot joyfully at your side waiting for information from you about where to begin. 

Agility dogs must be able to work in a group class surrounded by other teams, with dogs running fast,  jumping high, pounding through tunnels, and slamming the teeter totter to the ground with loud bangs. They aren’t bothered because they are connected to their handlers; they are working with their human teammates. There are times when they focus on the equipment ahead and times when they focus on their handlers as they receive information about where the next thing is going to happen. All other dogs and people are irrelevant. 

If your dog is not connected to you off-leash out in the world, that’s your first step to work on. Your dog must love to play with you anytime, anywhere. Similarly, if your dog is overweight or their nails are too long, take care of their health until they are lean and muscular with well-trimmed nails. Only then will you be primed for playing agility. 

Once you’re ready, agility can be an amazing sport for you and your dog. It encompasses so many skills: stay still, run fast, move toward me, move away, follow verbal cues, follow physical cues - all while running as fast as you possibly can. As an agility handler, you must be an excellent observer. You have to know when it’s time to cue an action and when it’s time to move ahead to the next one. 

Through agility training, you’ll grow to understand your dog’s behavior; you’ll see where she is looking and you’ll know what she is thinking. She’ll be watching you, too, for cues to move, stop, or change direction. Your gestures are all important. It’s intimate, joyful, and so much fun. You won’t ever be standing off to the side, disconnected from your dog, watching them sprint around without you. 

If you want to get started on agility training, begin by playing with your dog. Play with toys, play with food, hold a leaf and ask them if they are going to get it, then sprint away. If your pup follows and tries to grab that leaf, that’s an agility foundation skill. Have fun, laugh, and run as fast as you can with them. Don’t stand back as they do things without you, focusing on other dogs that they don’t know. Take long hikes, walk together, run together, and go on adventures. 

Teamwork, togetherness, play, and joy are all elements of the best relationship you can have with your dog. And that’s not just a great foundation for agility, it’s a great foundation for your life together - even if you never set foot on an agility course.