Behavior Tips : Participating in Obedience and Agility Trials

Many owners who wish to further showcase their dog’s skills will enroll their pooch in obedience or agility trials. This form of showing is different from traditional dog shows, since the focus is on the actual skill level of the dog instead of the features of the dog.

For this reason, mixed breeds and dogs who would otherwise be disqualified from traditional dog shows are encouraged to participate in obedience and agility trials. This activity is historical and dates back hundreds of years, ever since dog owners have been bragging about their training capabilities and the knowledge of their dogs.

There are different levels for these obedience and agility trials, including novice, open, and utility. Depending on your dog’s skills and your own wishes for competitions will allow you to choose which class of showing in which you should participate. You should know that each of these classes varies in the skills needed and the rules for judging each particular class.

Regardless what class in which you and your dog choose to participate, you should know all necessary rules and regulations to ensure you and your dog will succeed to the best of your ability. Additionally, you and your dog will need to practice a great deal and successfully accomplish all necessary skills before you decide to enroll in an obedience or agility trial.

The first class of an obedience trial is known as novice. This class is a great deal less complicated than the other available classes and is considered an excellent starting point for a beginning shower or dog. Even if you have experience in the obedience or agility trial circuit but are participating with a new dog, you should consider enrolling in the novice class to slowly introduce your dog to the sport. In this class, the basics will be covered, including heeling and accomplishing the sit, down, and stay commands for different periods of time.

Each dog starts with a score of 200 and points are deducted for missteps along the way. The dog with the highest score is declared the winner of the class and is awarded a ribbon. Additionally, the shower is judged, with points being produced with more than one command per skill or needing to tug on the leash.

The second class of obedience trials is the open class. In this class, no leashes are used to guide or control the dog while in the ring. Additionally, this class focuses more on agility than obedience, as in the previous class. In the open class, dogs will have to complete a variety of tasks, including fetching and delivering a dumbbell on both flat ground and over a high jump bar.

The dog will also perform a broad jump that depends directly on the height and size of the dog. Just as with the novice class, timed stays are judged, as well as more obedience commands. The scoring is also performed in a similar method as the novice class, with a maximum score of 200, from which points are deducted for penalties.

Finally, the third class of obedience trials is the utility class. This class is generally the most complicated of the three classes and should only be entered if the dog is properly trained and capable of completing the course. This class is further divided into two divisions, A and B. The A division includes dogs who have yet to earn the Companion Dog Excellent (CDX) title and are relatively new to the sport, whereas the B division consists of dogs that have earned their CDX.

The dog must solely respond to hand signals and the shower will be dramatically penalized for using verbal commands. Furthermore, the dog will have to perform more complicated tasks and perform even longer stays than the previous two classes.