Skill: Gap Jumps

Training Dog Parkour Skills: Gap Jumps

Skill: Jumping between objects: Dog jumps between two walls, posts, curbs, etc. without touching the ground in between.

Benefits: Increased muscular strength and proprioception, increased confidence, increased ability to work with distractions

Other sports applications:  Agility- Jumping; Obedience-directed jumping; Flyball-jumping; Barn Hunt-Straw bale climb.

How to train: Your dog should first be comfortable with the skill of jumping on an object. Now, find a low, sturdy object with another low, sturdy object very close to it (usually start with less than 1ft away, even smaller for little dogs). It should be tall enough that the dogs see it as an obstacle, but not so tall that it is intimidating. Encourage your dog to step between the two objects and reinforce your dog when he is on the second object. Gradually increase the gap distance, the height of the objects or the speed. At first he may simply step between the two. Don’t worry about this, as you increase the distance between the objects and the speed of approach, he will naturally begin jumping between them.

Safety: Always spot your dog, be ready to catch him or provide assistance if needed. Let your dog choose to perform the behavior, and then reward. Make sure your dog has a chance to look at the gap jump before deciding if he can do it. As you get close to the max distance your dog can perform, he may hesitate while considering the distance. Allow him this time, and reinforce whatever decision he ends up making as you want your dog to make smart choices about his physical abilities. Lift your dog down from the wall or find an alternative route down if jumping above dog’s shoulder height.

Advanced Version: Train your dog to jump between small diameter objects! These require quite a bit of precision and will take time. Make sure to start low and spot your dog. Also, be sure it is of a diameter that your dog can balance on when not jumping to it!

Send your dog to jump between specific objects at a distance.

Practice obedience exercises on the objects: sit, down, spin, stand.

Dog Parkour Safety

It is our favorite time of the year again, Outdoor Dog Parkour time! Like any sport or activity Dog Parkour has its risks. These risks can be minimized by following a few basics guidelines.

Harnesses: Proper equipment is key! All dogs in our outdoor classes wear harness that clip on the back. Harnesses help people spot their dog, but they also mean that if a dog ever slips the pressure from the leash is spread throughout the dog’s body instead of just their neck.

Spotting: Always be ready to catch or assist your dog! Before you teach your dog any parkour skills teach him to be comfortable being handled, picked up and helped.

Shoulder Height Rule: Dogs should only be jumping down from objects as high as their shoulders. This is ESPECIALLY important on concrete! Jumping down is a lot of impact on the dogs body and can lead to injuries. Before you ask your dog to jump up on something more than shoulder height, make sure they have a safe way to get down. This may be a shorter drop elsewhere, or you picking him up. Dogs with long backs, young or old dogs, or dogs with predisposition for musculoskeletal injuries should be limited to even smaller drops.

Weather: This isn’t often a huge concern in the spring (although the rain does make surfaces extra slippery) but as the weather starts to warm into summer, be conscious of the heat and sun. Be sure your dog (and you!) remain well hydrated and remember that black or shiny surfaces get hotter MUCH faster than others. If the surface is too hot for you to walk on without shoes, it’s too hot for your dog.

Inspecting obstacles: It is your job to keep your dog safe! Before you ask your dog to do anything, check to make sure it is safe. Look for rust, nails, sharp edges, broken objects, glass or anything that may hurt your dog. Make sure the object you are asking your dog to interact with is sturdy and safe.

Let your Dog Choose: Parkour should ALWAYS be your dogs choice. Encourage your dog, but never force him to do anything. As your dog gets more confident with parkour be sure to teach and allow “intelligent disobedience”. The best trained dog is the one that does everything you ask within his physical limits. Any time your dog evaluates an obstacle and decides he can’t perform it, be sure to reinforce that decision. If you truly believe that it is close to your dog’s limits, come back to the obstacle at a later time and you might find that your dog’s confidence has increased.

With these tips in mind, you and your dog are on your way to SAFELY enjoying outdoor parkour!