Dog agility is an exciting world of fun and competition, and if you are thinking about joining in on the experience, you will need to do some basic research to understand a little bit about what is involved in training, competing and equipment. Here are a few basic bits of information that will give you a general idea of what dog agility is all about.
Dogs compete on an agility field or agility course, and these terms mean the same thing. A variety of apparatus are set up on the course and these are known as obstacles. Some obstacles are contact obstacles, and that means just what you think, the dog has direct contact with these obstacles. These include dog agility a-frames, the teeter totter and the dog walk.
There are many other obstacles set up on the course, such as the pause table. This might seem like contact equipment, but it is not classified as such even though the dog does sit and stay on this equipment for a required amount of time. Sometimes, in place of a pause table, there is a pause box. This is a square marked off on the ground. While it looks different, you practice the same skills that you would on an elevated pause table.
There are many other obstacles included on the course. You usually will see a pipe tunnel and a collapsible tunnel which also might be called a chute. One of the most amazing sites is watching the dogs navigate the weave poles, and there might be as many as one dozen poles to weave through. This is considered to be one of the most difficult elements for dogs to master. Of course, there also will be a variety of jumps including a tire jump as well as other hurdles. A spread hurdle, which is either a double jump or a triple jump, will be set up, too. These are jumps that require a dog to leap a great distance. Sometimes there are other obstacles such as a swing plank or log jumps, but these are not nearly as typical.
Each pairing of dog and handler is called a team. The handler is simply the person who leads the dog around the course using only verbal commands and hand signals. No treats are allowed. The handler is usually the dog's owner, but it might also be a professional trainer. The team is presented with a score after running the field and this score is determined by calculating the faults that are received. There are time faults if the dog doesn't finish the course in time and course faults given when equipment is not navigated perfectly.
While there are plenty of rules and regulations, dog agility is more about fun than about cutthroat competition. Obviously, it's fun to win, but dogs benefit from the exercise, the excitement and time with their owner and in the end, those are reasons why most people go into dog agility. If you want to get started, you can find all of the dog agility equipment you need at Carlson Agility. They have dog agility jumps, pause tables, dog tunnels, dog agility a-frames, teeter totters and everything else you could possibly need. You can also buy mini contact equipment, which is great for smaller dogs and puppies.
Dogs compete on an agility field or agility course, and these terms mean the same thing. A variety of apparatus are set up on the course and these are known as obstacles. Some obstacles are contact obstacles, and that means just what you think, the dog has direct contact with these obstacles. These include dog agility a-frames, the teeter totter and the dog walk.
There are many other obstacles set up on the course, such as the pause table. This might seem like contact equipment, but it is not classified as such even though the dog does sit and stay on this equipment for a required amount of time. Sometimes, in place of a pause table, there is a pause box. This is a square marked off on the ground. While it looks different, you practice the same skills that you would on an elevated pause table.
There are many other obstacles included on the course. You usually will see a pipe tunnel and a collapsible tunnel which also might be called a chute. One of the most amazing sites is watching the dogs navigate the weave poles, and there might be as many as one dozen poles to weave through. This is considered to be one of the most difficult elements for dogs to master. Of course, there also will be a variety of jumps including a tire jump as well as other hurdles. A spread hurdle, which is either a double jump or a triple jump, will be set up, too. These are jumps that require a dog to leap a great distance. Sometimes there are other obstacles such as a swing plank or log jumps, but these are not nearly as typical.
Each pairing of dog and handler is called a team. The handler is simply the person who leads the dog around the course using only verbal commands and hand signals. No treats are allowed. The handler is usually the dog's owner, but it might also be a professional trainer. The team is presented with a score after running the field and this score is determined by calculating the faults that are received. There are time faults if the dog doesn't finish the course in time and course faults given when equipment is not navigated perfectly.
While there are plenty of rules and regulations, dog agility is more about fun than about cutthroat competition. Obviously, it's fun to win, but dogs benefit from the exercise, the excitement and time with their owner and in the end, those are reasons why most people go into dog agility. If you want to get started, you can find all of the dog agility equipment you need at Carlson Agility. They have dog agility jumps, pause tables, dog tunnels, dog agility a-frames, teeter totters and everything else you could possibly need. You can also buy mini contact equipment, which is great for smaller dogs and puppies.
About the Author:
Cheng Bernhardt loves dog agility training. To discover a dog obstacle course, or to find more agility dog training equipment such as agility jumps, please check out the Carlson-Agility.com website now.
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