The Beginner's Guide to Dog Agility

I found this book well written and easy to understand. I am a complete novice to dog agility but this book did a great job of training me - which is as important as training the dog! I gave my husband the instructions for making a jump from the back of this book and he had a very happy day making a very professional looking jump out of plumbing tubes for much less money than you can buy them for. I am now training the two cleverest and least stubborn of our dogs (the other just runs round the outside as he can't see the point in it) to jump, starting very low. They are loving it and we will move on to another piece of equipment soon. Step by step instructions so you can't really go wrong. Worth every penny.The one piece of advice I would give is to go on the kennel club website and measure your dog so you know what height to make the equipment. The jumps needed to be much lower than I would have guessed and the book doesn't tell you (I suspect as it's American their regs may be different).

This is a great book to start you off covering all the basics. It explains everything from the history, the equipment, techniques etc. Everything is based around basic obedience commands - but with a slight twist for how you need to use these things in agility, which is explained fully.The book is split into very easy and logical sections, tackling each piece of equipment at a time. I found the steps very easy to follow and simply explained.My only criticism is that it is a US book, would be great to have a UK version - but don't let this put you off buying it as the only section that this would affect would be a couple of pages near the beginning about the different Agility organisations and the American KC, which does not detract from the rest of the book.A must buy for anyone wanting to start out/thinking of starting agility, I would highly recommend it.

The book is more lovely photos than what it is practical help. Its starts at a very low basic level assuming the reader has never done any dog training of any sort & your dog has not no basic commands/skills, which is setting up dog & owner to fail Secondly it is aimed at the US market which has different standards & rules. If you were looking for a pretty picture book of dogs doing well & whilst also takes you through how to do DIY jump building. I needed a book that explained moves & this just rambles on about different peices of equipment, some of which is not used in UK agility any more. Theres a section about teaching weave poles, suggesting that one method of teaching is physically forcing your dog through the poles. This is not positive reinforcement & is likely to cause injury & possibly frighten the dog. It also would just teach the dog dependancey upon the handler rather than learning what to do.

as this seems to be one of the only beginners agility books available, I was worried. It really helped me and gave me ideas for basic training that will help me and my puppy get a good grounding in agility. Excited to move on to the next stages of the book when my pup is a bit older. Also good instructions for diy equipment if your on a budget- although written for an American audience most transfers well.

As a complete newcomer to dog agility, I bought this book hoping it would tell me how to use and where to buy dog agility equipment. It does more than that, it gives clear and detailed instructions on how to make your own as well.I am really looking forward to building our own course because I know it will make training our new puppy fun for him and fun for us and will help to keep us all fit.A well trained and obedient dog is a joy for life.

I had already began agility when i bought this book, even though it says for beginners, and i dont regret anything. The large chunks of writing seem to break down so easily! This book is brilliantly set out with preparation, performing and competing, so it is easy to understand. This book is from the USA, so some of the referances are useless to me as i live in the UK, but the infommation i have gained is so much more. Amazing purchase.

I can understand the theory in this book

GOOD BASIC INSTRUCTION AND HANDY TIPSAS A BEGINNER TO AGILITY FOUND USEFUL, HELPED ME UNDERSTAND TECHNIQUES.GOOD VALUE FOR MONEY