Once again, it’s time to partake in the Dog Agility BlogEvent Day!
This day’s topic is backyard training. I will admit that I don’t train much in my backyard. I even bought my first tunnel recently & borrowed 2 jumps so I could work on Stout’s foundation skills. And I still haven’t done as much as I’d have liked.
Why not? Well, besides pure laziness, take a look at the shape & size of our yard:
Our humble home - complete with Vanagon!
It’s .2 acres (including the house!) and it is shaped in a “U.” Then you throw in the patios, ponds, & hop yard (yes, John grows his own hops in our yard) and it becomes a weird maze of workable space.
Porter enjoys the fishes in the backyard more than agility back there.
So how do I work with what I have? We do lots of foundational skill stuff :)
Porter practices his weaves in that long sliver beside the house.
Stout learned to skateboard on the patios & out there in the cul-de-sac.
He learned to wrap trees & poles throughout the backyard.
He learned to drive for tunnels. He learned to follow my hand. He practiced all his tricks in the backyard.
I’ve even set up some small drills for his online Foundations class with Silvia Trkman. While we were able to squeeze the course in, it was tough trying to find a place to film from! Finally I had John come out & stand on the picnic table as kind of a “sky-cam.”
Your backyard is only as small as your imagination. And I’m learning to stretch mine!
For some other great blogs on this topic today, check out:
For even more blogs on the topic, check out the entire list of participants here!
LOL! I could have written this post! My yard is also .2 acres and I don't do much backyard training either. Mainly laziness but also I am afraid to overdo the jumping and weaving on Jimmy's little corgi structure. I think my yard is spaced out better than yours but unfortunately there are not a lot of level areas. It slopes uphill to the back fence so there is really only one place to put the weaves, and only a couple spots for good level jumping. I wrap my tunnel around trees, and use my low deck as a dogwalk :-) Plenty of room for foundation type work though. It also turns into a mud pit after a good rain. I am sure Jimmy wishes I would do more training, he loves to work.
ReplyDeleteHit the nail on the head... laziness! :) Having said that, I would still like a longer, more level stretch of yard for setting up weaves at our next home.
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