Keeping fit during lockdown isn’t just a thing for human beings, as Gayle’s dog Toby discovers when he gets stuck into a garden-based obedience and agility session…
When my black labrador Toby was a young lad, I took him to training classes in Tealing Hall.
This was, and still is, where the legendary Margaret Thomson, aka the Dog Whisperer, works her magic on the young, the unruly, the troublesome, the cheeky and the downright rude.
With Margaret’s help, I taught Toby to sit, stay, lie down, weave between other dogs without getting too excited or dragging me off my feet (that was tricky), and be generally well-behaved.
Once the main session was over, the dogs tackled an obstacle course, which included small jumps, agility poles and tunnels.
It was fantastic fun for both dogs and owners.
With lockdown in full force, I decided it might be time to jog Toby’s memory.
He turns eight in September and while he’s pretty good at responding to basic commands – sit, stay, paw, heel, come, fetch, and the piece de resistance, “into the side”, which means he gets off the road on sits down on the verge when a car approaches – his recall could be improved.
Living in the country, I rarely put Toby on a lead because the chances of bumping into folk are slim.
However, lockdown seems to have inspired hordes of people to explore the wilderness and, as the lady who lives up the road told me last week, “it was like Piccadilly here at the weekend with dogs, cats, families and people everywhere on bikes!”.
This means I now go armed with a lead on our walks – just in case.
But there was no reason why our training session couldn’t take place off the lead, in the garden, where the warm spring sunshine was filtering onto the lawn.
First, though, I had to conduct a search for potential props.
Two sets of jump “wings” were fashioned out of garden chairs, while spare lengths of drain pipe and random iron rods found at the back of a shed acted as poles.
A pair of flower pots and an old broom made a third, albeit miniscule, jump, while a line of spaced-out garden canes became weave poles.
Because Toby is a water lover, I was keen to include a watery feature in my makeshift course.
Alas, I discovered my paddling pool had been decimated by mice, so I compromised with an old plastic bucket instead.
After a quick walk through nearby fields – it’s important to get the muscles warmed up – we headed into our garden course.
Following a few botched attempts at the jumps (head online for the videos!), Toby was soon soaring over them like a Crufts champion, although I don’t think he even noticed the tiny one, stumbling over it and knocking it down in his desperation to receive a treat.
The weave poles proved a success, Toby wiggling between the canes like a pro. Again, he improved as the session continued, and when he stopped leaping up to grab biscuits out of my hand.
Moving on to the water feature, Toby had no hesitation in pushing his snout into the clear plastic tub to retrieve the treat which was floating on the surface. Had it sunk to the bottom, I imagine he’d have been equally willing.
The final test was “hide and seek”. Instructing Toby to sit and stay, I snuck off into a corner of the garden and squeezed myself behind a tree.
It was only when I asked him to “come find” that he was allowed to leave his post and seek me out. Again, he did himself proud.
Our session was by no means professional and at the very least, it was missing a ramp and a tunnel.
On further inspection of my shed, I found nothing that could function as ramp but did discover a large pop-up garden bag.
The cogs in my brain turned for a while – could this be transformed into a tunnel? – and I even brought the thing out onto the grass.
The fact it had a “bottom” meant it was no use…unless I cut a giant hole into it. I decided to leave that project for another day.
With more shed searching, I’m confident I’ll discover more props to pimp up our agility training over the next few weeks. Hurdles, hoops, water features – the world’s our oyster!
One thing worth saying is that it’s really important to have loads of treats to hand to reward your dog. I can assure you that Toby received many!
Similarly, it’s good practice to end the session on a positive note – even if the dog hasn’t performed brilliantly – because he needs to associate it with fun. It’s a great bonding activity, and praise goes a long way.
Crufts 2021, here we come!
Info
A dog’s muscles should always be warmed up before any training session, ideally by playing a light round of fetch or running. Never feed your dog prior to training although treats as rewards are allowed.
Always have fresh water to hand and give yourself plenty of breaks. Puppies and young dogs still growing should only be trained following consultation with a vet in order to avoid stunting growth or damaging their health.
Some people believe that jumping sports like agility can be bad for dogs, but vets say if the surfaces and heights are within a safe range, your dog is healthy, and you don’t overdo it, jumping is relatively safe.
Of course, there’s a risk of injury when partaking in any sport, but if you’re careful, you can minimise any risk so it’s outweighed by benefits like increased fitness and a stronger bond between you.
