The Dog Agility A-Frame: Training Your Dog   

If you have ever seen a dog agility show you know that it is quite the experience!  Watching the dogs run through obstacles courses is amazing as they are able to do it with such beauty and grace.  One of the most popular items at the shows is the dog ability a-frame.  This is essentially a ramp that is shaped like the letter A.  The dog runs up one side of the ramp and then down the other.  The key is to have the dog touch the contact point on either side of the ramp before moving to the next part of the obstacle course. 

Dog Agility A-Frame Training 

The best time to train a dog on a dog agility A-frame is when they are a bit hungry.  This will allow you to entice him or her with treats to get them up and over the frame repeatedly. 

The best idea is to start your dog on the down slope of the dog agility A-frame just above ground level. Encourage the dog to run down the ramp, and reward the dog at the bottom. Repeat this exercise many times, until your dog feels perfectly comfortable running down the low end of the dog agility a-frame. When you work in this manner your dog will see the dog agility A-frame as a toy rather than a tool. 

After you have done this, place the dog near the top of the downhill side of the a-frame, and start the encouragement process again. Reward the dog only when it walks down the a-frame, not when it leaps off the top of the frame.   Next, place the dog at the peak of the a-frame. Continue the routine of encouragement, and reward your dog whenever it runs down the downhill side of the a-frame.  This may take some practice, but when you continue to reward they will happily come down. 

After you dog has become accustomed to running down the down hill side of the dog agility frame, you are ready to move to the uphill side of the frame and begin training from that end. This time, start the dog close to the top of the a-frame on the upside, within sight of the peak.  

To get your dog going you will want them to encourage them to move toward the peak, then down the downside, which the dog is by now extremely accustomed to traversing. Continue to place the dog closer and closer to the bottom of the upside of the dog agility a-frame, encouraging the dog to climb up to the peak and walk down the downside of the a-frame.   With continued practice your dog will be a champ in no time at all! 

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