This post is about teaching your German Spaniel to jump for agility. We are often asked, “How many jumps should I begin with?” You can’t ever have too many solo jumps to practice agility. One suitable starting point is 4 jumps. This is the absolute minimum number of jumps recommended.
How to Teach a German Spaniel to jump: Begin with 4
You can teach the German Spaniel many exercises, skills, and drills with 4 jumps. Four jumps will allow you to develop on a short jump chute or jump grid. You can setup a “box” with your jumps and practice collection, handling, and 270 degree jumps. You can teach your German Spaniel jumping right and left. You could be outside the box and send your German Spaniel or you can handle from within the box. Your jumps can be positioned in a lateral row, so you could practice threadles and serpentines.
Teach the German Spaniel Eight Jumps
Take the next step and practice 8 jumps. Now you can setup 2 boxes with one introductory jump. You’ve now multiplied the number of drills that you can work on with your German Spaniel. Your jump grids can be of recommended size and number of jumps. You can also position your jumps in a circle with the jump bars normal to the circle or on the circumference of the circle. This pattern also enables you to develop a variety of drills.
Teaching the German Spaniel Double and Triple Jumps
The next consideration is a double jump and a triple jump. You could set 2 or 3 solo jumps together to make your expanded jump, but having double and triple jumps in your course work is especially helpful to practice. We’ve seen several German Spaniels run a clean course and the final obstacle is a triple and the German Spaniel is not prepared for it, and bang, down comes the bar.
Don’t forget to check out these other articles about German Spaniels.Was this post helpful? If so, please take a minute to Tweet and Share below on Facebook. I would also love to know your thoughts so leave me a comment 🙂
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