Agility
Agility is a great sport.  Both the people and the dogs competing in Agility have a blast.  The following introduction to agility was written by Geri Richman for us to use.  Geri and Tristan, her Doberman, compete in Agility. Tristan was born in November of 1994.

Tristan came home when he was 12 weeks old. We have been either training in obedience or agility since he was a baby. Tristan is my first Doberman.

We started to train for obedience seriously when I realized how much we both enjoyed working together.  I originally decided to try agility because I felt that we needed a break from serious obedience work. Little did I know how totally involved we would become in doing agility.  We've been training with Peggy Timm, of the Paws Zone, at BC Dog Training since Tristan was 18 months old.

The first 10 to 20 weeks of agility training are dedicated to learning the equipment and some of the handling skills. There are 3 pieces of contact equipment: Dogwalk, Teeter-Totter, and the A Frame.

Your dog must be taught, initially, to stop on the contact zones, which are usually painted yellow, while getting off and to touch the contact zone when getting on the equipment.  The other pieces of equipment are the tunnel, tire, collapsed tunnel or chute, weave poles, pause table and the jumps.

 

In the States there are 4 agility associations: United States Dog Agility Association, North American Dog Agility Council, United Kennel Club and the American Kennel Club.  Your dog must be pure bred or have an ILP # to compete in American Kennel Club trials; all the other associations accept mixed breeds.  Each association has its own rules and regulations that can be found at their web sites. However, the courses from each association, are very similar in design.

At the Novice level the main goal is to test the dog's ability to perform the obstacles safely at a moderate rate of speed. At the Open level the goal is to test the handler and dog's ability to perform the obstacles faster and with more directional and distance control. The Elite level tests more complex handler and dog skills. You need to earn 3 legs to get a title before you can move on to the next level. All dogs begin at the Novice level.

Hopefully, Tristan will earn many more obedience and agility titles in the future. He is currently 1 leg away from earning his AKC Novice Jumpers with Weaves title, and 2 legs away from earning his NADAC Novice Jumpers title.  On Aug. 1, 1999 Tristan earned his first leg towards his AKC Open title. We are in the process of training for his Utility Dog title from the AKC.

Doberman Rescue of North Texas would like to thank Tristan and Geri Richman of Gurnee, Illinois, for writing this introduction to Agility, sending us these pictures of Tristan, and allowing us to share them with you.
For more information about Doberman Rescue of North Texas, please feel free to email us or phone the rescue.