Agility is one of the most popular of all the modern sports for dogs today. Agility first appeared at Cruft’s in 1977. The dogs seemed to like it and the sport became success. Dog agility is a sport where dogs move through an obstacle course with the guidance of their handler. Dogs run off leash, so the handler’s only control is their voice and body language. This requires exceptional obedience training of the dog. In the competition both accuracy and speed are important. You can find out more about agility and agility events nationwide on The Kennel Club website at
Flyball
Flyball is great for dogs and they love it, it’s great to watch as well as play. It is a race involving two teams of four dogs. The dogs spring over a series of jumps, run to a box, activate the catapult machine by touching it with their forepaws, they catch the ball that flies out and race back to the start with the ball. The dog has to clear the hurdles and keep a smooth approach and landing to clear the maximum distance in a minimum of time. The dog turning at the box can mean the difference between winning and losing, so a lot of effort goes into teaching the dog to do it well. Find out more about this sport Flyball
Obedience
A more relaxed sport, Obedience nevertheless requires extremely high levels of concentration and motivation from both dogs and their owners. The sport involves simple disciplines such as 'Sit', 'down', or 'Heel' and retrieving. But it progresses to cover tests of character, like controlling dogs at a distance. You can find out more about obedience training and events on The Kennel Club website at
Dog Diving
This is a fairly new sport, hugely popular in the US, where it began as Dock Diving; Dog Diving is now a big crowd pleaser at UK exhibitions and events. The sport involves canine competitors diving from a ramp into a pool of water to retrieve a toy. The winner is the dog that dives the furthest. And don't worry about the competitors: you can see the fun they have in the wagging of their tails.
Flying Disc
Competitiverly the catch and retrieve event is the backbone of the sport. It consists of a timed round where teams of one dog and one thrower, attempt to make as many successful throws/catches as possible before time runs out - rounds usually last one minute. Teams score more points for longer throw/catch combinations, so watch out for some serious party tricks!
Heelwork to Music
Popularly know as 'Dog Dancing', this fascinating activity has recently developed and expanded very rapidly important, but cooperation and co-ordination between dog and owner are vital to success. The dog and his owner make one team and dance according to the music. The Kennel Club website at
http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/
Flying Disc is another of the dog sports that catches the eye, although you'll probably know it better as playing Frisbee in the park! The sport got its start in the early 1970s, paralleling the rise in popularity of human Frisbee sport. But the definitive moment came in August of 1974 when US college student Alex Stein jumped the fence at a nationally broadcast baseball game with an amazing dog named Ashley Whippet. Ashley astonished the crowd with eight minutes of catching frisbees, running 35 mph and leaping 9 feet in the air to snag discs. The stunt was so novel that the game was stopped and commentators continued to announce the action on the field. Alex was escorted off the field. But the seed was planted and a new sport was born.
www.thekennelclub.org.uk/activities/heelwork.htmlwww.thekennelclub.org.uk/activities/obedience.html
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