This blog is about how to teach your English Cocker Spaniel to jump for agility. Often we are asked, “What number of jumps should I start with?” You can never have too many solo jumps to teach agility. One suitable starting point is four jumps. This is the fewest count of jumps recommended.
How to Teach a English Cocker Spaniel to jump: Begin with Four
You can teach the English Cocker Spaniel many skills, drills, and exercises with four jumps. Four jumps will allow you to work 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 English Cocker Spaniel jumping left and right. You could be out of the box and send your English Cocker Spaniel or you can handle from the inside of the box. Your jumps can be positioned in a lateral row, so you can practice threadles and serpentines.
Teach the English Cocker Spaniel Eight Jumps
Take the next step and develop eight jumps. Now you can setup 2 boxes with one introductory jump. Now you’ve increased your routines that you can work on with your English Cocker Spaniel. Your jump grids can be of suggested size and quantity of jumps. You could also setup your jumps in a circle with the jump bars normal to the circle or on the perimeter of the circle. This pattern also enables you to develop a variety of skills.
Teach the English Cocker Spaniel Double and Triple Jumps
The next step is a double jump and a triple jump. You could chain two or three solo jumps together to make your expanded jump, but having double and triple jumps in your course work is really valuable to practice. We’ve seen several English Cocker Spaniels run a flawless course and the last obstacle is a triple and the English Cocker Spaniel is not ready for it, and bang, down comes the bar.
Don’t forget to check out these other articles about English Cocker 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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