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Frequently Asked Questions

What is dog agility?

Agility is a sport for you and your dog. As with most sports, also agility can be trained and competed at different levels. It can be a nice shared hobby for you and your dog in your free time or you can compete more seriously at top-level international competitions – while remembering it is all about having fun!

Agility can be practiced with all kinds of dogs, no matter what the size or breed. A good way to start is to contact your local agility club or an experienced coach, who can help you to start your new hobby safely. It doesn’t matter if your dog is a puppy or adult – contrary to common belief, old dogs can learn new tricks!

Read more about dog agility...

What is OneMind Dogs methodology?

OneMind Dogs methodology is based on dogs’ natural behavior. Any dog, from anywhere in the world, will instantly understand us. We achieve good results without a lot of repetition, because for dogs, it simply makes sense.

OneMind Dogs techniques are based on seven key factors:

  1. Movement
  2. Positioning
  3. Contact with the dog
  4. Chest laser points
  5. Legs
  6. Arms
  7. Voice.

All handling techniques include elements of these seven factors. This way, we support the dog’s movement on an agility course and make it as easy and effective as possible for them. The beauty of OneMind Dogs lies in its simplicity. Once you understand the concept, you can easily learn the techniques - and begin to understand things from your dog´s point of view.

Is OneMind Dogs methodology suitable for me even though I’m not so young anymore and not a fast runner?

With the help of OneMind Dogs, the handler does not have to be faster than his dog. The different handling techniques offer tools to handle from a distance, reach critical points more quickly and even to think faster. The faster your dog is compared to you, the greater advantage you get from mastering our techniques.

Why every technique has to have a name?

The individual handling techniques have been clearly named to make it easier to teach our students. Every technique has a definition of how it should be performed successfully. When the handler knows how all the handling elements work in every single technique, the technique can be performed correctly time after time. The handler also knows exactly where the dog is landing after performing a certain technique. It is easier to learn and also teach people when you use defined terms every time. The handler and instructor can also discuss the technique online or over the phone with no confusion.

How often do you train your dogs?

When we have a puppy, we do a couple minutes flat work training every day for example before the puppy gets her food. Our dogs do agility approximately once a week.

The learning process for dogs is easy and you can train both young and older dogs using OneMind Dogs methodology. Younger dogs need minimal training. You don’t need to do repetitions after repetitions because the method is natural for the dogs.

At what age do you start to jump your dogs?

The greatest part of the training with puppies and young dogs is the flat work. Dogs learn smoothly to understand the handling through different kind of games and playing with the handler; no obstacles are needed.

At the time when the jumps are first introduced into training we use bars at the height of the dog’s hocks. We believe that keeping the bars a little bit lifted from the ground the dogs learn to focus on their movement and steps from the start. If the bars are on the ground dogs usually learn to ignore them and what is most important, they learn not to focus on the movement and using their body correctly.

We raise the bar gradually depending on the dog’s growth at the age of 6-12 months. Our dogs do not jump full height jumps until they are 18 months and are allowed to start to compete.

Our dogs have all been healthy and they haven’t had any problems with elbows, hips, shoulders or backs and they drop bars very rarely. Our way to train dogs is not harmful for the dogs and we can achieve good results without a lot of repetition. 

Can the OneMind Dogs methodology adapt to me and my handling style?

OneMind Dogs methodology is very adaptive to different situations. Performing each technique requires 7 different elements, of which voice and hands are the least important. If you prefer to use a different word or hand for a technique but you still focus on getting the correct movement, position, connection, chest laser and feet then you can still perform the technique correctly. If you have an injury that restricts one or two of the elements, you can still perform the technique by focussing on having the other elements correct. For example students and coaches have run entire courses with their hands restricted or with injuries allowing them to only walk. OneMind Dogs is for everyone!