Agility 101

by Susan Weber, February 25, 2009

Perhaps you have been flipping TV channels and come across a show where dogs are running around a field jumping over things and flying through tunnels.  Or, you've driven past a yard filled with brightly colored equipment.  Maybe a friend keeps talking about some strange thing called agility.  If you're wondering what this is all about, keep reading.

The basic objective of the game is for the dog to successfully navigate a numbered obstacle course within a set time limit.  The trick is that, while the dog knows how to perform the obstacles, they have never seen the order of the course.  That is why the person is present.  The human part of the team has a short time to walk and memorize the course.  It is then up to them to direct the dog around the course.  Sounds simple, right?

Let's start with the equipment found in most of the different agility organizations.  The most common and most prevalent piece on a course is a jump.  The bar on the jump is set at a designated height based on the height of the dog.  There are a number of different kinds of jumps.  How many can there be you ask?  There are jumps with a single pole on each side.  There are jumps with wings - instead of just a pole on each side, there is a wall type attachment made out of more poles or lattice or solid wood.  There are doubles (two jump bars parallel to each other on the same jump), ascending doubles (the two parallel poles are at different heights), and ascending triples (you got it – three jump bars at ascending heights).  There's a tire jump which is a tire suspended in the air that the dog must jump through instead of over.  Then, there's a totally different jump called a broad jump which is basically boards on the ground that have to be jumped in a certain direction.  This is like a human long jump as compared to the high jump.  Good so far?

The next most common piece of equipment is the tunnel.  They can be of varying lengths and shaped like an S, C, L, or I.  This is usually the dog's favorite thing because they can just blast through as fast as they can go.  You will notice that they are often held in place by tunnel bags filled with sand or tunnel straps nailed into the ground.  This is because the bigger dogs bank off the sides of the tunnel much like a skater in a roller derby and can cause the tunnel to move several inches.  There is a second type of tunnel called a chute.  It is a short hard tunnel with a long (usually 12') tube of fabric attached to the end.  It is more difficult for dogs because the end is closed cutting off visibility and requiring them to push through it.

There are three pieces that are called contact equipment.  They are so called because they have an area on the end (the contact zone) that the dog must land at least one paw in on the way up and/or down.  The teeter is exactly what it sounds like - a teeter totter or seesaw depending on where you grew up.  The dog walk is a narrow plank that rises several feet in the air, levels off for a long stretch, and then descends. The A-frame is made of two wide boards that form an A with the apex anywhere from 5'3" to 5'11" high.

There is a table that is used in some venues.  The dogs are required to either sit or lay down on it for a count of 5.  This requires the dog to control themselves and stop and stay in the middle of a fast run.  It also gives the person a chance to catch their breath.

The final piece of equipment included in every venue is the weave poles.  This is a set of 6-12 poles that the dog must enter to the right of the first pole and then weave through the rest of the poles.  Note of interest - you will see that the bigger dogs will single step through while the smaller dogs will hop through with both front feet together. 

That's it.  Now, you put 17-22 of those obstacles on a field and number them and you have an agility course.  I don't mean to mislead you - there are many fine points to designing a course.  The different venues have different rules as to the number and makeup of the obstacles.  They must be a certain distance apart.  There are also safety considerations that specify which angles of travel for a dog are acceptable, especially for access to the contact obstacles.  Based on the level of mastery achieved by the dog, there must also be a certain number and difficulty of "traps".  A trap is a configuration of obstacles where a dog is just as likely to take the wrong obstacle as the right one.  This is where the communication between human and dog and the training becomes evident.

That takes care of the equipment.  Next there are the dogs.  This is a game that all dogs can play.  Some breeds have the structure which lends itself to excelling at this sport.  While all breeds may not have the natural aptitude for it, they can all play and have fun.  (The only caveat here is that the AKC agility organization only allows purebred breeds recognized by their registry to play.  Most the other venues allow any breed or mix to compete.)  The difference in jump heights helps to even some of the differences.  Training and practice can go a long way.  The obstacle specifications and course designs in the different agility venues may work better for some dogs.  That's the beauty of it - you have so many options!!  If you are very serious about competing and winning in agility, you can certainly pick a breed that excels at it.  Just go to a trial and you will easily see which those are.  However, if you love your breed, go do your best and have fun with your dog.  People love to see the less common breeds competing.  And, let me tell you, Farmdogs have the structure, intelligence, speed, and fun-loving personality that allows them to be very good at it. 

We still need you - the human part of the team.  Again, everyone can play this.  You're too slow?  Aw, you will need to work on distance skills (training the dog to work at a distance from you so they aren't limited by your speed).  Too out of shape?  What a fun way to get more exercise and get fit!  OK, you're not a natural athlete.  So what?  Don't be self-conscious.  Get out there and have fun.  If you watch the people at a trial (most spectators are watching the dog), you will see all types.  There are slim girls who float and twirl around the course like a ballerina.  There are the guys stomping around it flat-footed and yelling out commands.  (I guess all their dogs are hard of hearing.)  There are kids and grandparents.  You see people who trip over their own feet, who run into the equipment, and who fall, roll, and continue on.  (I personally have a spectacular fall of mine on tape.)  The one thing they all share is the big smile on their face and the evident love for their dog at the end of the run no matter how they did.  Probably, the most amusing part of a trial is watching people walking and memorizing the course.  Imagine what an alien might think seeing a bunch of people walking around a field waving their arms and talking to some imaginary being.

The last ingredient in a trial is the judge.  You will see him/her raising their hands - one, two, open fist, closed fist.  They might wave their hands in front of them or blow a whistle.  Any of these is signaling that there was some type of fault.  It could be dropping a jump bar, not hitting the contact zone, taking the wrong obstacle, etc.  A whistle usually means that the dog was eliminated due to some major fault.  You will usually see the dog continue to run, but at this point it is purely for fun.

 Hopefully, this gives you a good idea of what the sport of agility entails.  Agility, of all the dog sports, builds and requires the closest bond between a person and their dog.  Freestyle is close, but it is a rehearsed routine whereas the agility course constantly changes.  Most dogs are more attuned to body movement than verbal commands.  So, a turn of the head, a dip of the shoulder, a flick of the hand can send your dog somewhere totally different.  This can appear like mind-reading to spectators ...and maybe there is some of that too.  So, go out there and give it a try!!

All graphics above were courtesy of www.dogpatch.org. 

Agility Venues:

AKC -  www.akc.org/events/agility/index.cfm
UKC - www.ukcdogs.com/WebSite.nsf/WebPages/DogWhatKindsOfShows
USDAA - www.usdaa.com
NADAC - www.nadac.com
CPE - www.k9cpe.com
DOCNA - www.docna.com
ASCA - www.asca.org/Programs+/Agility
Teacup - www.k9tdaa.com

Agility Titles

Canine Performsance Events - CPE

CL1 - CL4 - Levels 1 through 4. The letters following the level are;

-R Regular (Standard Class)

-H Handler games (Colors plus Wildcard)

-S Strategy games (Jackpot plus snooker)

-F Fun gamrs (FullHouse plus Jumpers)

CATCH - Level 5 Agility Trial Champion

CADE - Agility Dog Extraordinaire.

North American Dog Agility Association - NADAC

NAC - Novice Agility

OAC - Open Agility

EAC - Elite Agility

NJC - Novice Jumpers

OJC - Open Jumpers

EJC - Elite Jumpers

NGC - Novice Gamblers

OGC - Open Gamblers

EGC - Elite Gamblers

NATCH - NADAC Agility Trial Champion

Note: O-, S-

Outstanding, Superior Peformance, prefixed to any NADAC title

United States Dog Agility Association - USDAA

AD - Agility Dog (Starters/Novice)

ASA - Advances Standard Agility

AAD - Advanced Agility Dog

MAD - Master Agility Dog

SG - Starters Gamblers

SJ - Starters Jumpers

SR - Starters Relay

SS - Starters Snooker

SSA - Starters Srandard Agility

SM - Snooker Master

GM - Gamblers Master

PM - Relay Master (Pairs)

JM - Jumpers Master

ADCH - Agility Dog Champion

Farmdogs That Do or Have Done Agility

• Anna
• Annika
• Blondie
• Cheyenne
• Dakota
• Emma
• Frisco
• Gemini
• Kikka
• Lego: ASCA: Jumpers Novice M
• Lexi
• Nellie
• Samson
• Suzy: CPE: CL3-R, CL3-H, CL3-S, CL3-F
  USDAA: SSA, SJ, SG, SS, SR, AD, AG, NAC, NJC, NCC, TN-N, TG-N, WV-N
• Target: CPE: C-ATCH
  USDAA: AD, AAD, SAM, JM, RM, TM
• Vago

This article was written by Susan Weber for the use of the Danish/Swedish Farmdogs Club of America, Inc. (DSFCA) Web sites. This article shall remain a part of the DSFCA archives.The article was freely submitted for posting not copied, thus granting an implied license. Permission to use this article other than on www.farmdogs.org must be granted by the author and DSFCA's Board of Directors. - First published on farmdogs.org 02/29/2009