AGILITY


WHAT IS AGILITY?

Agility is the funnest thing to do. Imagine having an entire doggy playground with jumps to fly over, walls to climb, tunnels to run through, a plank to walk over, poles to weave through and lots more --- that's kinda what agility is all about.

Agility is great exercise. Any dog can do it. It gives you a chance to do fun things with your mom or dad. Its good exercise for your mom or dad (and lots of them need it more than we do). You can compete for titles.

My mom used to take me to agility trials but I am retired now. I qualified for one leg of my AKC Novice Agility title (NA), and two for my AKC Novice Agility Jumpers with weaves (NAJ). Mom was real happy when we trialled in Williamsport, Pennsylvania...I not only got a NAJ ribbon..but I won a Second Place Rosette too! I also have some parts of my NADAC titles. I have 1/2 of my NJC, Novice Jumpers and 1/3 of my NAC , Novice standard title.

Check out the plans for making your own jumps:

AGILITY EQUIPMENT


WEAVE POLES

These are sometimes real hard for big dogs like me to learn. There are 6 - 12 poles about 36" high all in a row. They are spaced about 20" apart. Your mom tells you to "weave" and you have to go in and out between the poles from one end to the other. When you can do it really good, your mom or dad will want you to go real fast. Here's a picture of me weaving


TUNNELS

1.Pipe tunnel The pipe tunnel is the same as the ones little kids use to play in but longer. It can be turned to make a straight tunnel or a curved one. Some courses have more than one tunnel. Click here to see me practising the tunnel

2.Chute The chute is a solid tunnel at the entrance (like a barrel) but once you get through that part, the rest is a long cloth tunnel that lies flat on the ground until you go into it. The you have to run through, pushing the cloth out of your way. This one is harder to learn because it is dark in there. Some dogs feel scared.


HURDLES

Hurdles are things you jump over.There are different kinds.

1.Bar jump: this is just a plain old jump. They can be single bar, double bar or spread bar jumps. This just means how deep they are. They are set at different heights for different size dogs. I'm a big dog so I jump over 24" bars. Sometimes they have wings on the sides, sometimes they have a barrel on each side or maybe a picture of another dog or animal. You arent allowed to knock any of the bars off when you jump. Click here to see me practising the bar jump

2. Broad jump: This is a wider jump that lies on the ground. It isnt very high but you have to jump farther to get to the other side.


TIRE JUMP

This one is lots of fun. It isnt the same as a hurdle because you have to jump through a tire that is hanging in the air. You can't run under it or your mom wont be happy with you. You really have to watch carefully on this one to make sure you go through the middle of the tire. For big dogs like me, this is harder to do. Click here to see me practising the tire jump



OBSTACLES

These are lots of fun but can be harder to learn. There are things called "contacts" that your mom tells you you have to touch. This can be hard to do when you get moving real fast.

1. A-frameThe a-frame is just like climbing over a big wall. It is a big wooden obstacle shaped like a letter A!! You go up one side and down the other - thats all there is to it!! Of course, in trials, the a-frame is really high and the sides are steeper, so you have to learn to climb up it. The sides have wooden slats for you to grip. The bottom of both sides is painted yellow - this is the contact zone. When you go up and down, at least 2 of your feet have to touch in this area. In some agility, you only have to touch coming down - more about that later.


2.Dogwalk The dog walk has slanted ramps that you walk up to get to a board that you walk across and then down the other ramp. Like the a-frame, you have to touch the yellow area with your feet.


3.Teeter or see-saw (see me on one) This is the one I used to hate but now I know how to do it I like it. It is just like a teeter-totter in a regular human playground. We have to walk up the ramp (touching the yellow area again), make the teeter go down on the other side and walk down it. I used to go too fast and it bumped when I went down - that can be scary. Mom tells me to go slow and she says it real quiet and slow so I slow down and wait for it to tip...its easier that way.


4.Bridge There havent been any of these in trials I've been to but we have one at school. Its like a big sway bridge. You run up the ramp, over the slats that sway when you walk on them and down the other side. I love the bridge - its lots of fun.



PAUSE TABLE

This is just a table that is about 36" square. It is set at the same height as the jumps. You have to jump on to the table and sit or lie down until your mom tells you to run again. When you are really excited and want to keep jumping,its hard to stay still for the 5 seconds.




KINDS OF AGILITY

There are different kinds of agility. Each one has similar equipment but they have different rules and you can get different titles. I do NADAC and AKC agility and might do AAC this year. To learn more about each of the different kinds, visit the websites for the organization you are interested in.



AGILITY TITLES
NADAC
NAC/NAC-V/ NAC-JH : Novice Standard/Veterans/Jr. Handler
NJC/NJC-V/NJC-JH : Novice Jumpers/Veterans/Jr. Handler
NGC/NGC-V/NGC-JH : Novice Gamblers/Veterans/Jr. Handler
OAC/OAC-V/OAC-JH : Open Standard/Veterans/Jr. Handler
OJC/OJC-V/OJC-JH : Open Jumpers/Veterans/Jr. Handler
OGC/OGC-V/OGC-JH : Open Gamblers/Veterans/Jr. Handler
EAC/EAC-V/EAC-JH : Elite Standard/Veterans/Jr. Handler
EJC/EJC-V/EJC-JH : Elite Jumpers/Veterans/Jr. Handler
EGC/EGC-V/EGC-JH :Elite Gamblers/Veterans/Jr. Handler
NATCH : Agility Trial Champion
AKC
NA : Novice Agility
NAJ : Novice Agility Jumpers with weaves
OA : Open Agility
OAJ: Open Jumpers with weaves
AX : Excellent Agility
AXJ : Excellent Jumpers with Weaves
MX : Masters Agility
MXJ : Masters Jumpers with Weaves


AAC
ADC : Agility Dog of Canada
AADC :Advanced Agility Dog of Canada
MADC : Masters Agility Dog of Canada







Links to Agility websites

The Dogpatch Agility Page- Great site for all kinds of agility information
AAC - Agility Association of Canada
The Dogpatch Agility Links- Links to many other agility sites  
 NADAC - North American Dog Agility Council
AKC - American Kennel Club
UKC - United Kennel Club
USDAA - United States Dog Agility Association
 K-9's Rule Graphics Page - Where I got my agility equipment graphics



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