Training Tuesday: Foundation Behaviors for Weave Pole Training

Learn the skills that can make weave pole training MUCH easier.

Used with permission from Megan Foster's blog Fostering Excellence in Agility.

Let's talk about all the different skills that make weave pole training MUCH easier:

Reinforcer Skills

Having clear cues for how and where the reward will be delivered helps the dog mentally let go of where the reward is before they start, making it easier for them to weave under reinforcement distractions. Reinforcement strategies that I use in weave pole training include:

Click + Deliver

My “click” is my freebie marker. I can use it to deliver in ANY way, but I will maintain that way for the entire training session. For starting weave training, it's click –> deliver to pre-placed bowl.

Pre-loaded Dish 

During my capturing phases and then later, the proofing phases, I use a pre-loaded dish at the end of the weaves.

From Hand 

*Gasp* ... Sometimes, I reward directly from my hand.

I also use toys, if that's a reinforcer for the dog I'm working with, so I will need all of these skills in toy form as well!

Loopy Training Mechanics

Good mechanics and clean loops leave every moment of your training session clear and accounted for. No wasted time or energy from the dog, and once you get into a nice rhythm, you'll find your training skyrockets.

Pre-loaded Dish Loop

Click + Deliver Loop 

Turning in circles not happening? Here's a variation you can train:

Starting Points

This isn't the most popular opinion, but you need some type of stationary behavior. It can be an actual sit/down/stay stay. It can be a station/platform/mat stay. I'm not picky about what it looks like, but you do need to be able to leave your dog somewhere, move to another location, and then release them to weave.

It's much easier for a verbal cue to be paired with the weaves, if both you and the dog can be still and wait for the cue. Having an independent verbal cue makes adding distractions to your behavior much easier, because the dog can ignore the distractions (hint: you are a distraction) and just listen for instructions.

If you are thinking about starting your weave training, check these skills first. They'll help you a LOT… not just for weave pole training, either.

Happy Training!

About Megan Foster

Megan Foster has been involved in the dog sport world nearly her entire life. With over 20 years of experience, she has competed with a variety of dogs, including an American Eskimo and West Highland White Terrier, Shelties, Border Collies and Parson Russell Terriers, and has worked with an even larger variety of breeds. Her accomplishments include many titles and championships, as well as international competition. She began teaching agility full-time in 2013 through her training school, Synergy Dog Sports, which became Fostering Excellence in Agility in 2023. She believes in developing a system of communication based on the dog’s perspective and what dogs naturally understand, and then individualizing that system for the humans that train and run them. For more information, visit https://fxagility.com/about/.