Agility: when you and your dog are a real team!

Agility for dogs: what is it?

Agility is a special kind of sport involving a dog and a person. The team goes through an obstacle course together: the dog in the prescribed order overcomes the obstacles, and a person, called a guide or handler, directs it. In this case, the impact on the pet is allowed only by voice and gestures. The use of touch, treats and toys as a reward is prohibited in this discipline.

Where did this sport first appear? It was invented by the British in the 70s. A relatively new sport discipline with a dog immediately attracted everyone’s attention. In just a few years, agility competitions began to be held all over the world, and the award for prizes was several thousand dollars.

What judges evaluate

Judges evaluate not only the speed of passing the entire obstacle course, but also the accuracy with which the exercises were performed. It is possible to achieve high results in agility only through painstaking training, regular training and, most importantly, excellent mutual understanding between the owner and the dog.

To successfully pass the obstacle course, the owner and the dog must understand each other from a half-look. The dog must be trained enough to take on all sorts of barriers, and the physical condition of the owner must allow him to maintain the pace of the pet and guide him from one obstacle to another. Agree, this is much more interesting than a leisurely walk on a leash!

How the discipline has changed

Over time, various classes of agility were formed. For example, the standard is agility in the general sense. It is a numbered obstacle course, which includes more than 15 to 20 obstacles of various types: slides, swings, tunnels, etc. Another class – jumping – is passing obstacles to jump over. There is even a snooker class inspired by billiards, agility relay and other interesting classes.

But agility is not necessarily a professional discipline. Millions of lovers work with their pets on special grounds and independently adjust the level of difficulty and the number of obstacles. For them, agility is an exciting game that allows you to establish contact “owner-dog” and keeps both in excellent physical shape.

What is the benefit of agility

Sports games will allow the dog to throw out the energy accumulated during the day, direct it in the right direction. Imagine how many pairs of shoes will be saved thanks to this! Well, the importance of teamwork is difficult to underestimate. For a companion dog, working in tandem with a beloved owner is the greatest happiness in life!