AGILITY

More than just Show Jumping for Dogs

The Agility side of the Club meets at The Priory Equestrian Centre in Frensham on Monday nights 

from 6.45pm.

There are several classes running throughout the evening and includes all levels from absolute beginners upwards. New classes take in any standard and size of dog and train them.  The club run a couple of competitions during the year and members are always welcome to take part.

The object of agility is navigate a course of obstacles in as short a time as possible with as few faults made on the round. There are faults given for such as knocking a pole off a jump, missing contact points and refusing an item of equipment. Your dog can be eliminated for taking the wrong route or piece of equipment, or for leaving the ring. There are various types of equipment used and each has its own technique involved in clearing it. With any item that has contact points the dog must touch these points in its progress over the equipment.  

Equipment

The various types of equipment used for the course include the following:

Jumps

These can be jumped in either direction and more than once depending on the course layout. There are more jumps on the course than any other item and may even include a wall as shown above. These jumps along with other items can be varied in height to suit the size of dog.

A-Frame

The A-Frame is as the name suggests, "A" shaped and has two contact points one going up and one on the down. This is also adjustable for different heights.

Dog Walk

The Dog Walk is like the A-frame but it has a level top the dog has to walk along before coming down. It also has two contact points.

Tunnel

The tunnel (also known as a rigid or pipe tunnel) is a flexible pipe which can be used straight or bent to form a corner. The dog must go through in the correct direction.

Cloth Tunnel

The Cloth (or floppy) Tunnel  collapses so the dog cannot see through the tunnel and has to negotiate it "blind". Many dogs find this piece of equipment difficult to start with.

See-Saw

The See-Saw has to be approached from the correct side and as the dog passes the centre point it tips down. The dog has to wait for the See-Saw to touch the ground before it can leave the equipment  and it must touch both contacts.

Tyre and Long Jump

The Tyre is adjustable for height and the dog must jump through it. The long jump is not very high but the length of it is adjustable to suit the size of dog usually by adding or taking away the rails.

Weaves

The weaves are a collection of vertical poles through which the dog has to "weave its way in and out of. Weaves are normally in rows of 6 or 12. This is a very difficult item for most dogs to master.

________________________________________________________________________________

There are many more items of equipment which are not listed here but which will become more apparent as you progress through the sport such as Spread Jumps, wishing well jumps, cross overs, water jumps, table and brush fence to name a few.

Below is a course for you to try, just trace the route you think you should take around the obstacles- just for fun, there are no prizes!