| Those planning to institute a regimen of dog agility | | | | an obstacle, it can move onto the next one. |
| training need to be prepared to donate a lot of | | | | Attempting to have the animal run a full |
| time, effort and praise on teaching their dog the | | | | compliment of obstacles everyday during training |
| tricks of the agility trade. Dog agility training can | | | | may cause the animal to become confused on |
| be common among breeds as well as size as | | | | the day of competition. |
| most agility contests are based on the animal's | | | | Dog And Handler Must Agree To Work Together |
| size and relative ability based on past | | | | Similar to a dog show, the handler is not always |
| competitions, as opposed to breed. Teaching the | | | | the dog's owner, rather the handler is the one |
| dog to conquer an obstacle course neither it nor | | | | who has administered the dog agility training and |
| its handler has seen before, will take a lot of | | | | to whom the dog faithfully listens. However, the |
| dedication for the real competitor to become part | | | | dog must be of the right temperament for agility |
| of the team. | | | | competition and one that will not be intimidated by |
| A competition of a dog's agility goes beyond | | | | the obstacles. A shy or timid dog would not fare |
| simple handling by command and begun in England | | | | well when faced with obstacles and probably will |
| patterned after certain horse competitions, dog | | | | not perform well. |
| agility training takes into account fence jumping, | | | | In dog agility training the handler will have to know |
| teeter-totter, wing jumps a tire jump and more. | | | | what motivates the dog to want to please the |
| The idea is to have the dog complete the course, | | | | handler. The dog and the handler must both be in |
| in a prescribed order with only voice commands | | | | good enough physical condition to complete the |
| given by the handler. The tricky part is the | | | | obstacle course as, although no physical contact is |
| 100-foot square course and its obstacles are set | | | | permitted, the handler typically stays with the dog |
| the day of the show and the handler is allowed | | | | through the course, giving the voice commands. |
| one walk through to become familiar with the | | | | The event is judged based on correctly |
| layout. | | | | completing the obstacles and is a timed event so |
| Most believe that dog agility training should be | | | | speed is of the essence, as well as the dog being |
| done one obstacle at a time and once the dog | | | | able to recognize each obstacle and know exactly |
| successfully and repeatedly is able to overcome | | | | how to meet it quickly. |