Thursday, November 20, 2008

Dog Agility Training Requires A Skilled Dog

By Gary C. Telfork

To succeed in dog agility training, dog and owner need an exceptionally good rapport. The handlers of dogs who compete in dog agility tend to be very experienced in training dogs and knowledgeable about canine behavior. Many consider dog agility training to be a sport - the trainer needs to coax the dog through a challenging obstacle course within a set time limit. No leashes are permitted in dog agility training exercises or competitions.

Like equestrian sports (especially steeplechases), dogs have to negotiate a challenging course of obstacles to complete a dog agility training event.

Dog agility training events take place frequently in the United States and European countries. Many people turn out to see the handlers and their dogs move through the obstacles. Usually the participants and the spectators are very interested in the progress of each of the contestants.

The competition between the contestants accounts for the intense excitement of dog agility training events. In the U.S., there is a national organization which conducts most of the official dog agility training competitions and other dog agility events. Dogs and handlers alike must go through competitions to qualify for these big events.

Dog Agility Training Aims To Overcome Obstacles

The obstacles on dog agility training courses are what make these events so exciting to watch. There are many different kinds of obstacles that you can see used in competition. These obstacles are made to be challenging, but not so much so that dogs and handlers run the risk of injuries.

Just as in equestrian sports, the obstacles are designed as to fall away if touched by the dogs. This helps to prevent injury; and handlers and dogs must train well to ensure clearing obstacles to score the most points.

Dog agility training competitions are designed for all skill levels to make sure that in any given event the dogs and handlers who will compete are evenly matched. Beginning level dog agility competitions will have much less challenging obstacles than will be found on the courses in higher level competitions.

The handlers command the dogs as they both move through the course, and the more experienced dogs perform with great skill. The dogs in each competition are similar in size so the competition is fair for all of those involved. The dogs involved in these competitions come from different breeds, and these dogs do not need to be purebred dogs.

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