ICCKC AGILITY

Agility began as “working trials” for police dogs years ago in England. The working trials included obedience, tracking, and agility. The police used Labrador Retrievers but civilians were invited to compete in these trials. The original equipment came from children's playgrounds and from coalmines. The teeter came from the school playground. The tunnel was a ventilation shaft from the coalmines. The tire was originally a hole in a wall. The chute was wire hoops with canvas and both dog and handler had to crawl the 30-foot length. The jumps were originally 36 inches tall. And the A-frame was originally a 6-foot wall. The early agility competitions included a retrieve that was later replaced with the table. Agility as a spectator sport began in Great Britain in 1978 with a small demonstration at the Crufts Dog Show after which it became a very popular dog sport, and the fastest growing dog sport in the United States. The first AKC agility trial was held in 1994 in Oklahoma and the first AKC Nationals was held two years later in Texas.

The sport is open to people of all ages. There are kids as young as seven and seniors over seventy competing.

In general, it is a timed event where the dog must execute a variety of jumps and obstacles in a specific order. The handler runs with the dog to give him/her direction as to which way to go.

The courses are always different and the handler walks the course beforehand to memorize it and plan their strategy. In AKC agility, they compete on two different types of courses:
• Standard – These courses consist of the Dogwalk, A-Frame, Teeter Totter, Jumps, Tunnels, Table, and Weave Poles.
• Jumpers with Weaves – These courses consist of Jumps, Tunnels, and Weave Poles.

The dogs compete in five different jump heights depending on their height at the withers. These heights are 8”, 12”, 16”, 20”, and 24”. Placements are awarded in each jump height. Titles are awarded when the dog reaches different levels of competition.

As a member of the American Kennel Club, the Idaho Capital City Kennel Club promotes the sport of agility, as well as all AKC purebred dog sports including obedience and conformation competition. A four-day dog show is held every October at the Fairgrounds in Boise that includes three days of AKC agility competition. The club actively promotes responsible pet ownership and provides educational opportunities to the community. For agility information, contact Mary Hunter at 938-2300 or dogsaflying@msn.com or Tom Kruger at 362-4854 or k9agility@earthlink.net
 
 

Chanse Hills 10yrs. old with Clint	Tom Kruger– 60+ years old with BJ
Alan Armstrong’s Cruise	Mary Hunter and Katie

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 

AKC link to Agility: http://www.akc.org/events/agility/index.cfm
Return to ICCKC Home Page
email: info@icckc.org