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Cheryl May's Dogsports Agility Page


Agility is fun!


My dogs and I got into agility because my sheltie, Rocky, adores the sport. He always did obedience trials because I asked him to. He does agility because he likes it. This is akin to a human who gets to retire early and play golf just for fun. Agility is Rocky's version of golf. When he finished his UKC utility title in August 1997, he immediately retired from obedience and has been pursuing his beloved avocation ever since in NADAC, AKC and UKC.

He has been very successful in terms of titles, ribbons, placements. All that is secondary to the joy I have running a fun sport with my sweet, wonderful dog. He should never know whether he Q'd or not! Each run ends the same way for him -- by being told he is the most magnificent dog on the planet, and suggesting he might like a dog cookie -- he would! He is 10 years old now, still healthy and still competing. He celebrated his 10th birthday at an agility trial with a Q and a placement. Every time in the ring is a gift, and I appreciate and treasure each run.

If you think that you and your dog might enjoy agility, I suggest you visit classes taught by instructors in your area. Compare methods. Be a wise consumer. Look for kind and positive methods of training. Compulsion has no place in agility! Train with kindness and you will be rewarded with a happy and enthusiastic partner. Our dogs' lives are very short, compared with our own. How sad it would be to look back at the end of a dog's life and regret harsh treatment delivered in pursuit of personal glory for titles and ribbons.


Here are a few agility articles that I hope you will find helpful.

  • A basic explanation of Rocky's favorite agility game, Gamblers
  • Beginner's guide to UKC's Agility I class. This is an article I prepared for students in a beginning agility class.
  • Conquer Ring Nerves! Advice on getting over those pesky ring nerves which have bothered most of us at one time or another.

    Agility resources

     
    Mary Jo Sminkey's Dogpatch.

    You can look up agility events anywhere by visiting the Events Calendar. And don't miss the agility course of the week which, although no longer adding courses, still has numerous courses you can print out and study.

  • Agility Ability Katie Greer's very comprehensive agility home page

  • Agility articles from PowerPaws - Nancy Gyes' homepage.

  • Agilitynet Dog agility in the United Kingdom, where the sport was developed.

  • Clean Run Magazine
    Home page features a new agility exercise each month.

  • Agilitynet United Kingdom agility site with articles on health issues, performance tips and more.

  • Look under the Training Exercises link for agility exercises by Barbara Mah.

  • Just for Fun New agility group organized by Bud Houston for all dogs, regardless of pedigree. Committed to low-cost participation in agility.

  • NADAC home page

  • AKC home page

  • USDAA home page

  • UKC's home page

    The best source of United Kennel Club information on the World Wide Web is the UKC site maintained by Pat Kalbaugh

    E-mail discussion lists related to agility


    The Internet provides a great community for sharing agility ideas, training techniques, brags, and more. Here are some of the available lists: Agile Dogs Subscribe by writing to listserv@apple.ease.lsoft.com. Leave the subject line blank and type in the body of the text: subscribe agiledogs
    Agility Follow the directions at the site to subscribe to this list. Agility
    Clean Run members discuss training articles featured in the magazine, discuss the content of their books, and pose training questions and ideas for future articles.Clean Run
    Just For Fun Agility a discussion list for the JFF style of agility. Just for Fun
    NADAC agility discussion group for NADAC Agility. Follow the directions at the site to subscribe. NADAC agility
    Novice A is a place where dog agility enthusiasts new to the sport can talk freely about the experiences of being new to agility, in an open and non-critical atmosphere. Follow the directions at the site to join. Novice agility
    UKC agility discussion group for UKC agility. UKC agility


    Rocky in action

    Rocky, U-UD U-ACH Tartan's Dream Catcher, UD, AX, EAC, NAJ, NGC, NJC, CGC, retired Delta Pet Partner

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