Course Breakdown
To the uninitiated, one agility course might look like any other. But in reality, there are five different kinds of agility courses that dogs can learn. These include gamblers, jumpers, snooker, standard, or weave jumpers.
Courses contain approximately 20 obstacles that a dog and its human can run into. From jumping through tires, weaving in and out of poles, crawling through tunnels to negotiating a see-saw – an agility course tests the speed and focus of both dog and handler.
How Judging Works
The competitions are so popular that organizers require massive venues to accommodate a large number of spectators. Each race in a dog agility competition takes place in an area covering 100 ft by 100 ft. Judges score handlers and dogs on how quickly they can complete the course with the least number of faults. Deductions can be given for missing obstacles, missing a contact zone, or for going off course.
As dog agility events gain more popularity, they help bring together canine enthusiasts the world over. Most events usually take place in England, Australia, and America. The trend has also grown in countries like South Africa, New Zealand, Kenya, and South Korea.