About Agility
“Dog agility is a sport in which a handler is given a set amount of time in which to direct a dog off-leash through an obstacle course. Originally loosely modeled on equestrian stadium jumpers competitions, the sport has evolved its own additional obstacles, scoring systems and performance ideals. Agility made its debut as an entertainment for spectators at the Crufts Dog Show in 1979; it has since become the most rapidly growing dog sport in England, Western Europe and North America. Spectators continue today to get caught up watching the dog and handler’s enthusiasm in their athletic race against the clock.”
From The “official” FAQ on agility from rec.pets.dogs.activites. This can also be found at Dogpatch as the Introduction to Agility.
Agility Organizations:
United States Dog Agility Association
North American Dog Agility Council
Agility Association of Canada
Canine Performance Events
Canadian Kennel Club
American Kennel Club
DOCNA
TDAA
AMBOR
Other links about Agility:
Agility Titles
The Truth About Agility (humour)
Dog Agility (Wikipedia)
Click to join AgilityRuleChanges : This is a group started to keep exhibitors abreast of the rules and rule changes in the following venues: NADAC, USDAA, CPE, AAC, UKC and AKC. See Files and Links sections for more rules and contact information.
About Agility Titles:
What is a title, really? by Sandy Mowery
Not just a brag, not just a stepping stone to a higher title, not just an adjunct to competitive scores; a title is a tribute to the dog that bears it, a way to honor the dog, an ultimate memorial. It will remain in the record and in the memory, for about as long as anything in the world can remain. And though the dog herself doesn’t know or care that her achievements have been noted, a title says many things in the world of humans, where such things count. A title says your dog was intelligent, adaptable, and good-natured. It says that your dog loved you enough to do the things that please you, however crazy they may have sometimes seemed.
In addition, a title says that you love your dog. That you loved to spend time with her because she was a good dog and that you believed in her enough to give her yet another chance when she (or you!) failed and in the end your faith was justified. A title proves that your dog inspired you to that special relationship enjoyed by so few. That in a world of disposable creatures, this dog with a title was greatly loved, and loved greatly in return.
And when that dear short life is over, the title remains as a memorial of the finest kind, the best you can give to a deserving friend. Volumes of praise in one small set of initials after a name. An obedience (agility, flyball, herding, tracking, lure coursing, conformation) title is nothing less than the true love and respect, given and received and recorded permanently.
AGILITY ASSOCIATION OF CANADA TITLES
Click Here for the AAC Title Progression Format
NADAC AGILITY TITLES
Click here for the list of NADAC Titles and Special Awards
USDAA AGILITY TITLES
Click here for the full definitions/requirements of USDAA’s titles
Tribute to the dog by George Graham Vest, 1870
The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog.
Gentlemen of the Jury, a man’s dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert him he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens. If fortune drives the master forth an outcast in this world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies, and when the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master to its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by his graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even to death.
