Tanner has being doing tunnels since he was a pup. Regulation agility tunnels can be between 22-26 inches tall. Tanner is 32 inches tall. However, just like in the dog door post, Tanner doesn't seem concerned about the size difference.
You can see that I throw a toy for Tanner to keep him driving straight through the tunnel. If I had an adult dog Tanner's size that I wanted to teach this behavior to, I would start with a hula hoop. I would want to dog to be comfortable to scrunching down to get through the hoop before I moved on.
The next step would be to have them go through a tunnel that is completely scrunched up and more like a thick hula hoop than a tunnel. I would gradually lengthen the tunnel while keeping a high rate of reinforcement up for the dog. Keeping training sessions short so that the dog is never tired of the activity is also important!
Awesome video. Tanner has got going through a tunnel down to a fine art:-)
ReplyDeleteInteresting video, the slow-motion is really neat to watch, and Tanner looks to be enjoying it. Amazing what athletes dogs are!
ReplyDeleteTanner looks like the tunnel is a piece of cake for him! I used a similar technique with Rex as he too is taller than the tunnel height.
ReplyDeleteTanner's quite an athlete! He looks great doing the tunnel!
ReplyDeleteAh-ha! I can find a hulla hoop. That is a great way to start the training with a TALL dog, before I would invest in our own tunnel. Thanks Tanner!
ReplyDeleteWOW! 32 inches tall! He looks great! Hope to see you guys in the obedience and/or agility rings in the future!
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