Canine Hoopers, fun for all by Stella Coombes

Like agility I compete, judge & train hoopers, I love to start my youngsters off with Hoopers, it gets them to focus away from me, does no damage to bones or limbs of young dogs or old & they love it. Because Vallhunds are clever they are very quick to learn Hoopers.
Hoopers is a relatively new fun dog sport that’s ideal for dogs & owners of all ages & fitness levels. Dogs would complete a very flowing course of hoops, tunnels, barrels & tango mats, with the same speed & excitement as agility, but because the courses are flowing & never involve tight turns, therefore making it safe & kind for all sizes & everyone!
Hoopers is focused on the ability of dog & owner working together as a team.

The best place to begin is by finding a qualified instructor as they would have undergone the training with a Hoopers expert. You should be able to find group classes but some instructors do 1-1 sessions too.
The benefit of Canine Hoopers is: 
Dogs are learning working away from you, so great for giving them confidence & independence. If you have a nervous dog, it’s very beneficial because it creates confidence, it’s a known fact that hoopers can help many dogs, also because there will not be any dogs allowed to be near the ring when you are competing, so nothing to worry your dog, they cater for all at Hoopers.
It’s also very good for high energy dogs that maybe cannot do agility because of injury or any other reason, it channels their focus & is also a great energy burner.
Dogs as young as 6 months can do it. Older dogs can also join the fun as it puts minimal strain on their joints.
That’s because unlike agility, Hoopers has no jumps. Instead, dogs negotiate a ground-level course of hoops, barrels, tunnels & the tango mat. There are 4 main courses, Hoopers, mostly hoops, Barrellers, manly barrels with a few hoops, Tunnellers, loads of tunnels with a few hoops, & Tango, a course with the tango mat which is basically a mat on the ground that the dogs run over, with some hoops. 
There are a few clubs/organisations & they all have slightly different classes, rules, regs & guidelines. But they are all safe & fun for all.
The hoops are about 90cm high, 86cm wide, the tunnels are 800mm so much bigger than agility tunnels, they are 1 - 2m long & always straight.
The equipment ensures dogs of all ages, sizes & breeds can participate without having to take sharp turns or bend down for tunnels or hoops.
Hoopers is brilliant because it can include any dog & any person!

At Hoopers events/shows it is very calm, friendly & great fun, it will amaze you how quick the dogs pick it up, the better they get the more distance you get, so you can get your dog doing the course & you are not having to run with them, you get bonus’s in Hoopers for more distance. 
When you start training Hoopers, you use a lot of treats that are basically thrown forward, on the ground, to get the dog going forward through the hoop not to you, once your dog has value for the hoops you will go forward with leaps & bounds. 
Find a club or show near you & go & watch, you don’t get all the barking & noise like at agility shows, it is much more relaxed & calm.

Stella Coombes

 

 

Videos courtesy of Lynn Pallatina

 

Video courtesy of Sharon Lee