Aardehond Border Terriers
   

Agility is the perfect sport for dog lovers: spectators are thrilled by it, handlers get lots of exercise, and dogs have a blast! In this colorful event, dogs demonstrate their agility by following handler cues through a timed obstacle course of weave poles, tunnels, jumps, and other types of apparatus. All registered breeds compete on the same courses, with height adjustments appropriate to the breed. The most popular breeds competing today are Shetland Sheepdogs, Belgian Tervurens, Border Collies, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Cocker Spaniels, Welsh Corgis, and Papillons.

Reggie on the bar jump

 

 

 
Photo by Tien Tran

There are two classes of Agility: Standard, and Jumpers with Weaves. The Standard class includes obstacles such as the dog walk, A-frame, and seesaw, while the other has jumps, tunnels, and weave poles. (See photos at right.) Each class has four levels of increasing difficulty, including Novice, Open, Excellent, and Master titles. Scoring and other regulations for Agility are quite complex, and more information can be found on this AKC web page.

Reggie picked up his first Novice Standard (NA) leg and his Novice Jumpers with Weaves (NAJ) title on June 24, 2005, and went on to earn his first Open Jumpers with Weaves (OAJ) leg on December 30, 2005.

Not content to rest on his laurels, he finished his Open Agility Jumpers (OAJ) title on June 22, 2006 at the Border Terrier Club of America's National Specialty, and his Open Jumpers with Weaves (OAJ) title two months later on August 28.

Reggie made more progress in 2007 by earning his Excellent Standard (AX) title on April 8. We are still working on Excellent Jumpers.

Halo debuted in December 2007, and by February 2008 had already earned her Novice Standard title.

 

Click a photo below to enlarge Agility dogwalkAgility dogwalk Agility long jump Agility open tunnel Agility teeter-totterAgility weaves

Photos courtesy of Dogpatch.org

 

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