What is dog agility?

Agility Animation courtesy of Brandy's Website Service and Dog Agility K9 Kartoons

Dog agility is the fun sport for you and your dog. The team of dog and handler negotiate a course of obstacles. Actually, the dog negotiates the obstacles with the handler providing direction through the course.  The handler provides direction through body motion, speed, hand and voice signals.

 

The obstacles include different kinds of jumps.  These include what are "winged" and wingless jumps and a tire

 There are also tunnels, both open and closed also called a chute.  Most dogs love tunnels.

Wing Jump

Tire

Open Tunnel

Chute

 

Weave poles require the dog to wind its way through a series of closely spaced poles.  This is one of the most spectacular obstacles and a difficult one for dogs to learn as there is nothing analagous to weave poles in a dogs natural environment.

There are "contact obstacles" the dog scrambles over. They're called contact obstacles because the dog must contact the yellow section on the way down.
duncweave.jpg (75886 bytes)

Duncan does the Weaves

A-Frame

  

Teeter

Dog Walk

 

 

Table

With the table, the speeding dog must hit a "down" or "sit" and hold it until it is released after a count of five seconds.

The emphasis is on speed and accuracy -- negotiating the course as quickly as possible while not knocking over jumps, missing weave poles, going off course, missing a contact and so on.  The sweetest words an agility team can hear are "clean run!" meaning no faults.  An example of an agility course is shown below, in this case, the final round of the 2006 USDAA Northwest Grand Prix.  A course like this requires the best of both the dog and the handler. 

Healthy dogs of all sizes can participate -- jump heights are adjusted for the size and  age of the dog.  And because this is a team sport, handlers may find out that they need to get in somewhat better shape if they are to keep up with their speeding dogs.

Why do agility?  Agility training is great fun for most dogs and their handlers as well.  It provides a way to burn off excess energy and learn to be a responsive part of a team.  Agility builds a dog's confidence and builds bonds between handlers and their dogs.

Agility had it's beginnings in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and has spread rapidly throughout the world.  You can find agility in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and many European countries beyond the United Kingdom. There are now several different organizations that sanction agility trials in the US.  They include the American Kennel Club (AKC); the United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA); the North American Dog Agility Council (NADAC), Canine Performance Events (CPE), the United Kennel Club (UKC) and the Australian Shepherd Club of America (ASCA).

The Columbia Agility Team began in 1993 when 15 Portland area dog enthusiasts banded together to practice and promote dog agility.  Since that time, CAT has grown into one of the larger and more active dog agility clubs in the West.   CAT offers agility training, practice facilities, fun matches and  sponsors six or more trials each year.  CAT only sponsors trials that are open to all dogs, pedigreed or mixed breed.

Explore this web site to find out how CAT can help you and your dog enjoy  agility with training, fun matches, competitions and more.

 

Home  Graphic images courtesy of Mary Jo Sminkey and the "Dog Agility Page"