Dog Agility Books:
Training Help from Beginner to Advanced

Who it’s for: This book teaches dog owners foundational agility training techniques suitable for puppies and older dogs new to agility. The author is a winner of several agility championships, a teacher of the sport, and a master’s level agility judge. Her love of dogs and the sport of agility is evident throughout the book and her career.

What you’ll learn:

• An overview of dog agility
• The foundational exercises that make up agility
• Pre-agility training & relationship building necessary for success
• Resources for people to continue to learn about the sport
• Lots of exercises, training methods, and techniques

Who it’s for: Any beginners to the sport

What you’ll learn: The author is a national agility competitor, so she has first-hand knowledge of this sport. This is a great book to learn how to use each piece of equipment, plans for easily making your own equipment, how to use body language to communicate with your dog, and pre-agility training tips necessary for success. It's clear, organized, has photos, and does a great job filling in the gaps that many training programs and classes don't have time for.

Who it’s for: Anyone getting started with agility or who wants more hand holding to get to the next level.

What you’ll learn: The authors are top agility competitors who have created a detailed book with step-by-step instructions, colored photos, and must-have tips and techniques to ensure success in the sport (whether for fun or competition).

Who it’s for: Beginners to agility who don't want to compete, but just want a fun guide for learning and practicing the sport. If you're looking for competition rules and procedures, this book is not for you.

What you’ll learn: Award-winning author Margaret H. Bonham teaches methods to help you guide your dog through agility equipment or an agility course. You'll learn in an informal, fun way what dog agility is all about.

Who it’s for: Anyone either starting out in the sport of dog agility or looking for more advanced detailed advice. This book is a great resource if you want to get a new puppy started since your dog will have to learn a great deal of pre-agility training.

What you’ll learn: The authors are successful agility teachers in Norway and Sweden and are now bringing their knowledge to North America. This book offers step-by-step instructions for all training exercises. While this is a great book for beginners, advanced students will also benefit from the over 600 photographs with detailed instructions, and their system for helping handlers communicate with their dogs. You'll learn the basics so your dog will be ready to tackle agility.

Who it’s for: Anyone who wants to learn about the sport, whether just for fun or getting into the competition ring.

What you’ll learn: You'll learn how to get started with the sport and instructions on how to use the various agility equipment. You'll also learn how to prepare your dog for the sport of agility before getting started. The author is considered an expert in the field and provides excellent guidance on handling your dog in various situations and providing solutions for common problems that can occur during training. There's also a section on how to construct your own obstacle course.

Who it’s for: This provides pre-agility training that puppies and older dogs need prior to starting agility training.

What you’ll learn: There are 17 exercises, a training log, and ideas for games. This book takes obedience training to the next level so they develop skills that lead them seamlessly into agility.

Who it’s for: Anyone who is new to agility and wants to learn how to create an agility obstacle course.

What you’ll learn: This small booklet includes detailed step-by-step instructions on how to build your own agility equipment, a list of all the materials you'll need, photos, and colored diagrams to make it easier, and has been updated to include reader suggestions for improvement. 

Who it’s for: Anyone new to agility and wants to create a backyard course with their own agility obstacles for training and fun.

What you’ll learn:  How to build a backyard agility course for beginners. 

Who it’s for: Anyone who has mastered the beginner-level agility training and is ready for more advanced training.

What you’ll learn: The step-by-step instructions and colorful images make transitioning to more advanced agility easy and fun. You'll learn detailed reward based training techniques and the body language that's essential for success between dog and handler.

Who it’s for: For those who are wanting to go beyond the basics and learn handling at a distance.

What you’ll learn: You'll learn the essential skill of handling at a distance, which includes training techniques and fun exercises to the next level. The author is an experienced winning competitor with excellent teaching skills.

Who it’s for: For anyone who is ready to move on to more advanced agility skills. Jane was a prominent figure in the world of dog agility training and has made significant contributions to the field. She is known as a top-winning competitor, a veteran judge, an award winning author, and one of the earliest pioneers of the sport in the USA.

What you’ll learn: This book is the 3rd in a trilogy that teaches more of the advanced skills to compete in agility. In addition to providing training tips, it answers many of the most common questions people have about this level of dog agility.

Who it’s for: This is for competitors who want to document every part of the agility journey, from start to finish.

What you’ll learn: You can't improve what you can't measure. This log allows you to analyze and improve by documenting various things, such as equipment, courses, judges, times, statistics, notes, etc.

Who it’s for: Perfect for documenting your beginning dog agility journey so you can make improvements and adjust accordingly.

What you’ll learn: This is a simple book that allows you to record the date, time, location, training task, rewards used, course layout, and notes to record what went well and what you can improve.