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Dog Agility –
something fun for canines and their people
Agility is the most popular and fastest growing performance event in the history of the AKC. It is big – and there are agility trials many weekends in the Northwest.
Agility is a competition in
which a dog-handler team must successfully negotiate an obstacle course
with the dog performing each obstacle at the handler’s direction, within
a certain amount of time. A perfect score is 100; the judge deducts points
for course faults (off course, refusing an obstacle or not performing an
obstacle). Time faults also happen! The minimum score to pass is 85 points.
Obstacles include: weave poles, an A-frame, dog walk, teeter-totter, a pause
table, tunnels and chutes, and a variety of jumps. A complete set of rules
is on the AKC website.
The event is designed to demonstrate teamwork,
trust and communication between the dog and handler. Before competition
begins, handlers walk the course laid out by the judge, and plan their course
strategy. The dog does not see the particular course before starting. Once
in the ring, handlers cannot touch the dog or the obstacle nor can they
use any food or toy motivators.
AKC offers six classes: novice,
open and excellent Standard Agility (using all obstacles) and novice, open and
excellent Jumpers with Weaves (using just jumps, tunnels and weave poles). While
it’s a lot of fun for both dog and handler, it’s also a lot of work in
training, conditioning, strategizing and practice. Training techniques improve
every year, with the most successful methods focusing on a positive and fun
experience for the dog. It is also a sport that teaches patience to us humans
– something we all can use!
Four main ingredients of successful
agility are: motivation, training, athleticism and experience. While speed
and accuracy are important, the safety of the dog is always paramount. Most
dogs can start formal training at about nine months; even puppies can get
accustomed to tunnels, poles laying the ground to “jump” over, random sits
and downs to get used to the pause table, and having fun.
There
are several agility clubs in Washington and Oregon: Rainier Agility Team
(RAT) is near Renton, Willamette Agility Group (WAG) and Columbia Agility
Team (CAT) in Portland/Vancouver area; TOP DOG in Olympia, Hurricane Ridge
Runners in Port Angeles, Chuckanut Dog Training Club in Bellingham, and
Puyallup Dog Fanciers in Tacoma/Puyallup. Several dog clubs hold agility
trials during the year: Yakima Valley Kennel Club (KC); Bell-Vernon KC (Mount
Vernon), Mt. Baker KC (Bellingham), Olympic KC (Enumclaw), Boston Terrier
Club of Western WA, Seattle KC, Puyallup Dog Fanciers, and Washington State
Obedience Trial Club to name a few. To find out more about where to take
agility classes in your area, contact Kathy Williams at kjwilliams@earthlink.net.
To locate upcoming AKC trials, go to www.akc.org
and look under calendar of events on the Home Page.
Members of GSPC of WA who are participating
in or training/preparing for Agility trials are (in alphabetical order):
Tina Cochran, Gail Fleming, Jackie Lyons, Kathy
Williams, and Linda Zobbi
If anyone else in the club is
doing agility, please inform the Webmaster.
As we say in agility: Run Fast, Run Clean, Have
Fun!