Agility is a fantastic sport for dogs and owners of all ages to enjoy. It is one of the fastest growing sports in the UK, Western Europe and the USA. Using voice and hand signals, handlers are timed as they instruct their dogs to negotiate a series of obstacles such as tunnels, jumps and ramps.
If you’ve done some basic obedience work with your dog, you can take this to another level by having a go at agility training.
Can any dog do it?
Any dog – cross-breed, mongrel or pedigree – can take part provided he is over 12 months old, and is reasonably fir and healthy. Before starting any agility training, have a chat with your vet to ensure your dog is physically capable as the sport involves running at speed, jumping hurdles, balancing and negotiating various obstacles.
There are elementary, starter and novice classes available for dogs of all sizes including minis (dogs under 38 cm (15 in) high at the withers). There are also classes for young handlers, seniors and disabled participants.
Joining a class
Agility is so popular that you shouldn’t have to travel far to find a group of enthusiasts who will help you and your dog learn more about this exciting sport. Watch a couple of sessions first to see what is involved and help you decide whether you would like to try. Joining a class will ensure you have access to proper equipment and tuition, and it’s a great way for you and your dog to socialize with other dogs and their owners.
Obstacles
You can expect to see:
- Hurdles to jump over.
- Hoops and tyres to jump through.
- Long jump.
- Pipe tunnels and collapsible tunnels.
- A-ramp.
- Seesaw.
- Weaving poles.
Some of the obstacles have colored areas painted on them that your dog must touch with his paws as he moves along them.
Perfect timing
In a competition, dogs will tackle a course of up to 20 obstacles. Each round is timed, with the fastest clear round winning. Penalties are incurred for errors such as missing out an obstacle, knocking one down or failing to touch the ‘contact’ points. However, it’s not always the fastest dog that wins: quite often a slow, steady clear round will beat a speedy, less accurate effort.
Research
Studies show that it is the speed at which a dog travels and the force with which he hits an obstacle, rather than the height of a jump, that causes most injuries in agility. Although it is fun watching your dog go as fast as he possibly can, make sure he’s not going so fast that he is likely to hurt himself.
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Happy Dog Tip Even if you don’t go to agility training classes, you can have fun by setting up a mini obstacle course for you and your dog to negotiate. |
What do you need?
- Sensible, non-slip trainers.
- Waist bag full of treats to use as rewards.
- Non-baggy clothing so that your dog can see your hand signals clearly.
- Visor or baseball cap to help you keep the sun out of your eyes and enable you to see all parts of the agility course.
- Some trainers like to use a harness to help their dog balance when training him to negotiate contact obstacles.