Dogs as young as one year old can start training by working on hurdles and then work their way up to the more complicated aspects of the training. No matter the age of your dog, when beginning dog agility training the obstacles the dog has to overcome must be respected. Very young dogs or very old dogs may have limits based on their age when faced with an obstacle course.

Classes usually run for a duration of 6 weeks. A great deal of endurance, agility and conditioning is required to properly run an obstacle course but usually after the 6 weeks the dog will be able to run the full course. By the time the dog reaches the intermediate level he will be able to know all the obstacles by name and sight.

Our dog’s happiest moments are spent running, jumping, catching, and stretching which is all part of agility training. This training can really help your dog age gracefully and happily. Agility classes may even make your dog smarter and more energetic. This very exciting and enjoyable activity even sharpens the mind of your furry friend.

The dog isn’t the only one who will be getting a workout, so make sure you are dressed so that you can move around freely and comfortably. Agility classes allow both you and your dog to exercise while having fun with each other.

At its most basic level, agility involves a handler directing a dog through a course containing a certain number and type of specific obstacles, though each course has a unique configuration just to keep things interesting. Courses are complicated enough that a dog could not complete them correctly without human direction so they must rely on their owner for guidance – thus it is a team sport between human and canine.

Some of the key components of the typical dog agility obstacle course are an A-frame, a dogwalk, a teeter-totter, a crossover, various tunnels or a tunnel maze, and various jumps. Some other components that are also often found on a dog agility obstacle course are a table, a pause box, and weave poles.

The teeter, A-frame and dog walk are what is referred to in the agility world as the contact obstacles, they have a yellow painted area on both sides that the dogs must touch when taking this obstacle. The weave poles are considered by most trainers to be the most difficult agility obstacle to train.

A simple agility course consists of a set of standard obstacles, laid out by an agility judge in a design of his own choosing on a roughly 100 by 100 foot (30 by 30 m) area, with numbers indicating the order in which the dog must complete the obstacles. A novice course might consist of as few as 15 obstacles whereas a higher-level course might have 22.

The judge measures the path through the course to determine the optimal running distance of a typical dog. The judge uses that measurement with a speed requirement determined by the rules to calculate the standard course time, the time under which dogs must complete the course to avoid time faults.

Each dog and handler team gets one opportunity together to attempt to complete the course successfully. The dog begins behind a starting line and, when instructed by his handler, proceeds around the course. The handler must maneuver the dog through the designated course with no reward or leash.  The goal is to finish the complicated course in the smallest amount of time.

Because each course is different, handlers are allowed a short walk-through (also called a run-through) before the competition starts. The walk-through is critical for success because the course’s path takes various turns, even U-turns or 270 degree turns, can cross back and on itself, can use the same obstacle more than once, can have two obstacles so close to each other that the dog and handler must be able to clearly discriminate which to take, and can be arranged so that the handler must work with obstacles between himself and the dog. The dogs don’t see the course before they step onto the line to compete. For the duration of a dog agility competition, the contestants are judged on physical performance during the obstacle course, as well as on their speed while completing the course. As each dog and handler team runs the course, the dog is timed either by a person with a stopwatch or with an electronic timer.

Penalties can include not only course faults, such as knocking down a bar in a jump, but also time faults. As smaller dogs are disadvantaged because they can’t run as quickly they are given more time to complete the course.

This may sound like a lot of work when we talk about the training involved, the obstacles, running against a clock but it is a sport that can become quite addictive. It is addictive to the participants as well as the observers. If you have ever watched an agility event you know what I mean. The handlers and the dogs are so focused when running the course and the crowd is just as focused cheering them on. The Royal Winter Fair held in Toronto every year has an event where they combine horse and rider with dog and handler. When the horse clears the last jump the dog springs into action. It is a great event and it is very entertaining.

If you are looking for a great way to exercise your dog and you, and a way to really bond with your dog you may want to look at agility training.

Until next time

Maureen Brownell