Accuracy and speed are paramount here, and are the key to victory in the contest. Unleashed and disallowed prodding or bribery by their owners, the dogs must navigate the course themselves. No incentives, and no input from the owners save of the verbal variety, as well as hand signals. Obstacles on these courses include tunnels and ladders. Usually, about a thousand square feet in size, the obstacles are numbered in the order in which the dogs are to overcome.

Complicated Courses

Dog agility courses are complex by design. For the most part, coaching is needed by the owners in order for the dogs to get through the course. Owners often analyze the course beforehand to try to develop a winning game plan for their dog tailored to the course. Owners are permitted a map, important as the dog is ideally to run the course without making any mistakes.

The Score

Scoring is based on how many mistakes the dog makes while running the course. Usually, you will find the owners following their dog through the course, coaching their animal along the way.

Failing to make it through a tunnel, or knocking over an obstacle are penalized. The game is called dog agility, after all. Completing the course in longer than the alloted time is also penalized; this is known as a time fault. The time limit on any particular course is dependent on its complexity, the competition level and other concerns.

Dog walks, teeter totters and jumps are all par for the course. There are a lot of challenges along the way for the contestants, to say the least. The owners must train too, there is also a lot for them to learn. Dog agility competitions can be thrilling to watch, a solid form of entertainment.

Tags: Dog Agility, Dog Agility Obstacle Course, dog obstacle courses, dog obstacles, obstable courses

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 5th, 2011 at 10:48 pm and is filed under Dogs, Pets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.