Training for agility competitions wrecked my dog's basic obedience

I got super into agility with my spaniel and only practiced course runs. He began blowing off simple commands like come or down in the house. It took weeks of extra work to fix his listening skills. My tip is to always mix fun sport drills with regular training days. Letting one hobby take over can really set your pet back.

3 comments

3 Comments

paige_hunt451mo ago

Ugh, totally feel this. Like @river_foster47 said, you have to mix it in. I started making my dog do a solid "wait" before the tunnel entrance or a random "down" in the middle of our backyard jump set. It felt silly to stop the fun, but it reminded him that the basic rules still apply everywhere. We even practiced a simple "come" right after the zoomies of a fast run.

john7471mo ago

Exactly! We even add a basic "sit" or "stay" DURING competition runs to really test that focus under pressure.

river_foster471mo ago

Been there. It's so easy to let the fun stuff take over. Mixing in basic commands on sport days is the only way to keep them solid.