If you are preparing to enter the world of dog agility, there's much for you as the dog owner to learn and understand. Dog agility is not just an activity; it is an exciting world of fun and adventure. Once you enter this world, you will hear a lot of common agility jargon. If you aren't sure what it all means, here is some basic information for those new to the sport.
The area in which dogs compete is known as an agility course, or sometimes this is called an agility field. Either way, what you find is an area that contains anywhere from about 14 obstacles up to as many as 20 obstacles. An obstacle is simply what they call each piece of equipment on the course. Contact obstacles are one type of obstacles and the dog will climb on these pieces of equipment. They include a see-saw or teeter totter, a dog walk and an a-frame.
While it's probably not as much fun for the dogs, another obstacle is the pause table. Dogs must stop zooming about and jump on the table and pause, by sitting or lying down, for a set number of seconds. Sometimes it's not a table, but a pause box. This "box" might simply be a square of grass marked off clearly or it could be a square board. No matter what it looks like, the dog does the same thing when it reaches this obstacle.
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.
The area in which dogs compete is known as an agility course, or sometimes this is called an agility field. Either way, what you find is an area that contains anywhere from about 14 obstacles up to as many as 20 obstacles. An obstacle is simply what they call each piece of equipment on the course. Contact obstacles are one type of obstacles and the dog will climb on these pieces of equipment. They include a see-saw or teeter totter, a dog walk and an a-frame.
While it's probably not as much fun for the dogs, another obstacle is the pause table. Dogs must stop zooming about and jump on the table and pause, by sitting or lying down, for a set number of seconds. Sometimes it's not a table, but a pause box. This "box" might simply be a square of grass marked off clearly or it could be a square board. No matter what it looks like, the dog does the same thing when it reaches this obstacle.
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 enjoys dog agility training. To discover a dog obstacle course, or to find additional agility dog training equipment like agility jumps, please check out the Carlson-Agility.com site now.
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