If you love watching dog agility competitions, why not train your own furry friend, join an agility organization and begin the fun of competing. There are many different organizations to consider joining. While each has a different mix of obstacles and rules, the following information will help you understand a little about what to expect at the competitions.
Many different obstacles are placed on the dog course, and these include jumps, weave poles, a variety of jumps, tunnels and a pause table as well as several contact obstacles, such as the see-saw, an a-frame and a dog walk. To become successful, much practice is needed. You can create your dog agility course at home using items purchased from a shop such as Carlson Agility. Here you will find everything needed for dog agility training, including such agility equipment as pause tables, dog walks, jumps, weaves, tunnels, teeter totters, a-frames and much more.
The goal is to complete a run through the course without incurring any faults. You can earn a time fault if the dog does not complete the course within the time set by the organization. Every organization has different time restrictions, and the restrictions also might vary between competition classes. Generally there will be different classes based on the size, age and experience level of the dogs. Some classes might have fewer obstacles or have more time, and this varies by organization.
Aside from not completing the course in time, a dog can incur a missed contact fault if they fail to complete a contact obstacle correctly, such as jumping off when they are supposed to walk down. If you dog turns away from an obstacle or goes up to the obstacle but pauses too long, this is known as a refusal fault. A runout occurs if the dog simply passes an obstacle, and an off-course fault happens then they run the course in an incorrect order. Failing to go through the weave poles the correct way earns a fault, as does dropping a bar or panel on a jump.
Even handlers are not immune from earning faults. For instance, handlers are not allowed to touch obstacles or touch the dog, if this happens whether on purpose or by accident, it is called a handling fault. Another fault is given if the handler appears to be training rather than simply giving signals to help guide the dog through the course. Handlers also can get into trouble for bringing incentives on to the course, such as a toy or a treat. Dogs are meant to complete the course without the use of any kind of incentive.
These are just a few typical faults that you might see when you compete. Sometimes you must run a completely clean run with no faults in order to progress in a contest. In other cases, a certain amount of faults might be allowed. Learning about the various faults and obstacles for your specific organization is an important key to success in the world of dog agility.
Many different obstacles are placed on the dog course, and these include jumps, weave poles, a variety of jumps, tunnels and a pause table as well as several contact obstacles, such as the see-saw, an a-frame and a dog walk. To become successful, much practice is needed. You can create your dog agility course at home using items purchased from a shop such as Carlson Agility. Here you will find everything needed for dog agility training, including such agility equipment as pause tables, dog walks, jumps, weaves, tunnels, teeter totters, a-frames and much more.
The goal is to complete a run through the course without incurring any faults. You can earn a time fault if the dog does not complete the course within the time set by the organization. Every organization has different time restrictions, and the restrictions also might vary between competition classes. Generally there will be different classes based on the size, age and experience level of the dogs. Some classes might have fewer obstacles or have more time, and this varies by organization.
Aside from not completing the course in time, a dog can incur a missed contact fault if they fail to complete a contact obstacle correctly, such as jumping off when they are supposed to walk down. If you dog turns away from an obstacle or goes up to the obstacle but pauses too long, this is known as a refusal fault. A runout occurs if the dog simply passes an obstacle, and an off-course fault happens then they run the course in an incorrect order. Failing to go through the weave poles the correct way earns a fault, as does dropping a bar or panel on a jump.
Even handlers are not immune from earning faults. For instance, handlers are not allowed to touch obstacles or touch the dog, if this happens whether on purpose or by accident, it is called a handling fault. Another fault is given if the handler appears to be training rather than simply giving signals to help guide the dog through the course. Handlers also can get into trouble for bringing incentives on to the course, such as a toy or a treat. Dogs are meant to complete the course without the use of any kind of incentive.
These are just a few typical faults that you might see when you compete. Sometimes you must run a completely clean run with no faults in order to progress in a contest. In other cases, a certain amount of faults might be allowed. Learning about the various faults and obstacles for your specific organization is an important key to success in the world of dog agility.
About the Author:
Cheng Bernhardt enjoys dog agility training. To discover an agility equipment for dogs, or to find useful agility dog training equipment like dog agility kit, please go to the Carlson-Agility.com website now.