How to Send Out a Dog in Agility

In dog agility, sending a dog out away from you toward an obstacle can be a bit of a challenge, especially if the dog is used to running beside you. Sending a dog out is very important in gamblers courses and other courses that require the dog to go ahead of you. Before you attempt the send-out, your dog needs to know the basics of performing agility obstacles, including jumping over a hurdle.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Two hurdles (jumps)
• Treats

1. Set up the hurdles so that they're in line, 10 feet away from each other. Set the height 4 or more inches below your dog's regulation jump height.

2. Command your dog to jump the first hurdle, running with him so that he'll take the first hurdle.

3. Stop yourself after the first hurdle and give your dog the command to jump the second hurdle. If you and your dog are fast enough, your dog will see the second hurdle and will commit to it.

4. Give your dog praise and a treat for going over the next hurdle. If your dog balks at the hurdle, call him back and try both again, only this time, run halfway between the two hurdles and send your dog over the second hurdle the moment his paws touch the ground from jumping the first hurdle.

5. Increase the distance between you and the dog before he jumps the second hurdle with each success.

6. Increase the distance between you and the dog before he jumps the first hurdle. Instead of running right up to the first jump, give the command to jump the first hurdle and stop yourself about a foot before the first hurdle. Then the moment the dog's front paws touch the ground, give the command to jump the second obstacle.

7. Vary the obstacles. Once your dog is comfortable with send-outs, try it with different obstacles.

Tips & Warnings

• Reward your dog with treats for each successful completed exercise. Use a unique command to tell your dog to jump such as "over" or "jump."
• Practice agility in an enclosed area so that if your dog gets away from you, you can catch him. Keep jump heights several notches below the regulation height so that you limit the possibility for injuring your dog.

References

• Introduction to Dog Agility 2nd Edition, Margaret H. Bonham, 2000, 2009.
• Having Fun with Agility, Margaret H. Bonham, 2004

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