I am sure you already know dog agility, since it is probably the most popular dog sport (at least in Slovenia), but in case you don´t here is a short description:
“The aim of agility is for dogs to negotiate different obstacles in a set order and within a set time. It is an educational and sporting activity intended to assess and enhance the dog´s intelligence, and to improve its integration into society. It requires a good communication between dog and handler, leading to a perfect mutual understanding. Competitors must therefore be familiar with elementary training and basic obedience. FCI Agility is a dog competition open to all healthy and physically fit dogs. (FCI, World Canine Organisation).”
Dog agility course is designed with several different obstacles, that your dog has to conquer, with your help (guiding your dog to conquer the obstacles in a particular order, with no mistakes and within a timeframe).
Obstacles:
- Hurdles (dog jumps over them)
- Dog-walk (dog walks/runs over them, touching “contact zones”)
- Tube tunnel (dog runs through the tunnel)
- Wall (dog jumps over it)
- See-saw (dog runs over it, touching “contact zones”)
- Weave poles (or “slalom”)
- Tyre (dog jumps over the tire, that is lifted from the ground)
- A-frame (dog runs over it, touching “contact zones”)
- Long jump (dog jumps over it)
The design of the course depends on your dog´s age, size, skills and speed. On competitions, a judge designs the course in a way that the dogs are able to go round easily and smoothly, and the course tests different skills and abilities of both the dog and the handler.
There are 4 categories, divided by size of the dog (FCI):
- Small (S): for dogs measuring less than 35 cm at the withers,
- Medium (M): for dogs measuring 35 cm or more and less than 43 cm at the withers,
- Intermediate (I): for dogs measuring 43 cm or more and less than 48 cm at the withers,
- Large (L): for dogs measuring 48 cm or more at the withers.
You don´t need to compete in agility, you can just do it for fun – and I strongly recommend it. It is one of my dogs´ favourite activities, it is a great mental and physical activity for both dogs AND humans! In the long term you will be able to improve your communication as a team, and consequently build a great bond with your dog. The only limitation is that dog training clubs might be located far away from you, but there are also some online classes available nowadays. If you have at least a small garden space, you can already do some training by yourself.
