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| What is Agility? Agility is a competive team sport involving you "the handler" and your dog. Agility test a persons skills in training and handling of their dog over a timed obstacle course. With the use of verbal commands and hand signals competiters race against the clock as they direct their dogs to jump hurdles, scale ramps, burst through tunnels, traverse a see-saw and weave through a line of poles in a obstacle course. The sport of agility is suited for any size of dog, large or small. Any breed of dog, pure-bred or mixed. Even though challenging at times the sport of agility is fun and exciting. How to get started? Be sure your dog or puppy is full grown. This is a very physical sport with jumping that can be stressful on a young dog. It's best for your dog to be at least 1 to 2 years of age or older, depending on the breed of dog you have. A basic foundation of obedience training is your first step. Basic commands such as come, sit, down, and stay are often used in agility. The use of obedience skills and maintaining your dogs focus will be a tremendous help when your ready to work off lead. How to succeed? To succeed in agility you must work on building a strong relationship with your dog. A positive attitude, rewards and praise will help strengthen that bond. Always remember all training should be fun for you and your dog. Why we love agility? Living with two sporting dogs that love to run and play what a better way to join them in their fun. Moxy my 2 year old English Springer Spaniel was a bundle of energy as a pup. I was always looking for ways to put his energy into a positive form of play. As a young pup we went to drop in Agility classes at our local training facility " Wag'n Train". This class is greared towards dogs that had little if any experience in agility. With a young energic pup it was great. There were tunnels to play in, others dogs to meet, and it was low impact being a safe way to introduce them to some of the equipment without the jumping. After a few drop in puppy classes I knew we were hocked on agility. Soon we started taking obedience class, after obedience class. I must say we were getting hocked on that too, but that's another story. After about 4 obedience classes under our belt and exploring many different training facilities we found ourselves back at the Wag n Train for basic agility. Since early spring of 2003 we have been taking agility classes, and competing in fun events with the Wag' n train. In October 2003 we went to our first real trail held by the CKC. It was great seeing some people we met in obedience class and meeting new people from all over Ontario. Most of all we had so much fun we can't wait to do it again. So whether your intention is to find a fun and exciting activity to do with your dog or you have a competive side and would like to compete in agility trails. Agility could be just what your looking for. It's also the perfect opportunity to meet other dog-loving people and have fun with your best friend. We would like to thank Allison and the staff at the Wag' n Train for making our experience so much fun and rewarding. |
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