A dog trainer has found a novel way to make mutts more obedient – teaching them PARKOUR.
Sian Ryan teaches free-running to thrill-seeking pooches of all shapes and sizes.
The dogs have to conquer obstacles such as tyres, jump, balance and learn commands like ‘on’, ‘in’, ‘over’ and ‘around’ from their owners.
Sian, 44, who runs Developing Dogs in Cambridge, was the first accredited dog parkour trainer in the UK.
She said: “In some respects the great appeal of dog parkour is because the owners don’t have to do anything.
“It’s not like normal agility training, when owners have to run a course alongside their dog.”
“The whole point of parkour is that you can do it on a normal walk – you just tell your dog what to do if you come across a tree or a wall.
“They learn to pick up cue discrimination really well, understanding the difference between orders like ‘on’, ‘in’, ‘over’ and ‘around’. It helps them to listen.”
Sian, whose husband Patrick coaches the Cambridge University Women’s Boat Club, said: “One of the best things about dog parkour is that you’re only ever competing against yourself and trying to improve your own skills and your dog’s skills, so it doesn’t get ultra competitive.”
The weekly one-hour classes include a warmup and cool down for the participating pups.
A seven-week course of weekly classes costs £90 and a maximum of six dogs are allowed to take part at once.
The International Dog Parkour Association was founded in America by a vet, a physio, experienced human parkour practitioners and a number of dog trainers.
Developing Dogs was the first centre in the UK to get the dog parkour qualification and Sian believes it is the only place in the country to offer dedicated dog parkour classes.
Although there is currently no International Cat Parkour Association, Sian thinks that cat parkour is not a ridiculous idea.
She said: “Cats are trainable and they’ve got a whole heap of other skills you could include, like climbing skills. Cat parkour is certainly possible.”
