Agility- This activity is a favorite among dog owners. What owner (and dog!) wouldn't have fun navigating through an obstacle course of jumps, tunnels, weave poles, teeter totters, etc.? Not only is it great fun, but it also fosters teamwork between you and your dog (you navigate them through the course, signaling to them which obstacle comes next). It is definitely physically AND mentally stimulating to the dog, and if you are a regular fan of my blog, you know how important I think those are! Perhaps my favorite thing about agility is that it builds confidence in the dog. If you can get a dog to shoot through a collapsed tunnel (they cannot see an opening in the other side), sprint up an A-frame (very steep on both sides), and balance on a teeter totter as it flops to the other side, surely he can deal with simple nuances while out on a walk!
Wikipedia has a great article about agility here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_agility
The only down side to this sport is that it takes a lot (and I mean A LOT) of equipment and space. Unless you are ready to go head first into the world of agility, you may want to find a local club or trainer who has the equipment and will give you lessons on how to introduce your dog to the obstacles. If you are the DIY type, you can just begin with a couple of homemade jumps in your backyard and go from there! This Old House has a great page on how to build a few basic agility obstacles: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/intro/0,,20296555,00.html#
For those of you in the Topeka area that are interested in Agility, I hope to have an agility course available for lessons sometime in the Summer of 2012!
Treiball- For those of you who may have a herding breed but no access to livestock ( or even a non-herding breed!) They have come up with a clever new sport that utilizes some of the aspects of herding but with exercise balls instead of sheep! Now this may sound silly at first, but it is actually quite ingenious. You see, it allows you and your dog to work together as a team. You and your dog are working together to round up all the exercise balls and put them in a particular place. This hobby is physically stimulating, mentally stimulating, and promotes teamwork between you and your dog! Perhaps the greatest part about Treibball is that it takes very little equipment (just a few large exercise balls).
For those of you who are visual like me, go to www.youtube.com and type in "treibball" as your keyword search. There are PLENTY of examples for you to look at.
The Whole Dog Journal also has a great article about Treibball http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/14_4/features/Treibball-Canine-Sport_20234-1.html
For more information on this fun new sport, you can check out the American Treibball Association's website at : http://www.americantreibballassociation.org/ . While I do not currently offer Treibball group classes, look for them to begin sometime in the future!
Dock Dogs- I am always amazed at the wonderful ideas people come up with for hobbies with their dogs. The next activity that I will be sharing with you is called "dock dogs". It is a great way for people who have sporting dogs (or just about any athletic, high-drive breed) to burn off some of that energy! A dock dog, as the name implies, will jump from a dock to retrieve a "dummy". There are 3 different areas that the dogs can compete: distance of jump, height of jump, and speed of retrieval. Obviously this is a sport best played during the warmer months, but it is a wonderful way to get out there and exercise your dog!
The national website for dock dogs is: http://www.dockdogs.com/
I also found a club in Kansas City that practices during the summer months at Kemper Outdoor Education Center: http://www.mokandockdogs.org/index.html (Maybe someday we can have a place to do all of these great hobbies here in Topeka!)
Wikipedia has a great article about agility here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_agility
The only down side to this sport is that it takes a lot (and I mean A LOT) of equipment and space. Unless you are ready to go head first into the world of agility, you may want to find a local club or trainer who has the equipment and will give you lessons on how to introduce your dog to the obstacles. If you are the DIY type, you can just begin with a couple of homemade jumps in your backyard and go from there! This Old House has a great page on how to build a few basic agility obstacles: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/intro/0,,20296555,00.html#
For those of you in the Topeka area that are interested in Agility, I hope to have an agility course available for lessons sometime in the Summer of 2012!
Treiball- For those of you who may have a herding breed but no access to livestock ( or even a non-herding breed!) They have come up with a clever new sport that utilizes some of the aspects of herding but with exercise balls instead of sheep! Now this may sound silly at first, but it is actually quite ingenious. You see, it allows you and your dog to work together as a team. You and your dog are working together to round up all the exercise balls and put them in a particular place. This hobby is physically stimulating, mentally stimulating, and promotes teamwork between you and your dog! Perhaps the greatest part about Treibball is that it takes very little equipment (just a few large exercise balls).
For those of you who are visual like me, go to www.youtube.com and type in "treibball" as your keyword search. There are PLENTY of examples for you to look at.
The Whole Dog Journal also has a great article about Treibball http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/14_4/features/Treibball-Canine-Sport_20234-1.html
For more information on this fun new sport, you can check out the American Treibball Association's website at : http://www.americantreibballassociation.org/ . While I do not currently offer Treibball group classes, look for them to begin sometime in the future!
Dock Dogs- I am always amazed at the wonderful ideas people come up with for hobbies with their dogs. The next activity that I will be sharing with you is called "dock dogs". It is a great way for people who have sporting dogs (or just about any athletic, high-drive breed) to burn off some of that energy! A dock dog, as the name implies, will jump from a dock to retrieve a "dummy". There are 3 different areas that the dogs can compete: distance of jump, height of jump, and speed of retrieval. Obviously this is a sport best played during the warmer months, but it is a wonderful way to get out there and exercise your dog!
The national website for dock dogs is: http://www.dockdogs.com/
I also found a club in Kansas City that practices during the summer months at Kemper Outdoor Education Center: http://www.mokandockdogs.org/index.html (Maybe someday we can have a place to do all of these great hobbies here in Topeka!)
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