Dog Agility - article about Dog Agility

Dog Agility – Obstacle Course

Dog agility is basically a contest which involves the dogs maneuvering through an obstacle course. Speed and not making mistakes are the two major factors in determining the winner. The dogs are not on a leash and the owners of the dogs are not allowed to entice the dogs through the course with snacks. They are not allowed to provide any other types of incentives in order speed their dog through the course in a fast time. The owners of the dogs are allowed to talk to the dogs and yell out commands and make different type of body signals.

The dog agility courses are filled with various obstacles such as tunnels and ladders. The courses are typically about one hundred by one hundred feet and the obstacles are provided with numbers to display the order that the dogs have to complete the various obstacles.

Complicated Courses

The dog agility courses are typically designed to be complicated and are usually too difficult to be completed by the dogs without the coaching provided by their handlers. The owners can make it easier for the dogs to complete the course by spending some time to analyze the course and develop a strategy that will make it easier for their dog to rapidly run through the course without making mistakes. The dog handlers are allowed to use a map of the course in order to help them develop their strategy for the dog agility competition.

The Score

Typically the dog only has one opportunity to complete the course during the competition. While the dog is rapidly running through the course the owner of the dog is usually running behind their dog giving out commands. The score the dog receives is based on the number of faults he made during his run through the dog agility course.

Dogs will be penalized for such infractions as knocking down a bar or failing to run through a tunnel and the dogs will be penalized with time faults which are basically the number of seconds over the amount of time that has been allowed to complete the course. The amount of time that is allocated to complete the course is determined by the difficulty of the course, the level of competition at the dog agility contest as well as other factors.

The courses are filled with obstacles such as an A-frame, a dog walk, teeter-totter, a crossover, tunnels, jumps and other types of obstacles to challenge the dogs while they are running through the course. The owners of the dogs spend a lot of time training their dogs to run through a course. A dog agility competition can provide the audience with some exciting entertainment.

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