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About Agility
Dog agility is a dog sport in which a handler directs a dog through an obstacle course. The handler uses methods of voice, movement, and various body signals, requiring exceptional training of the animal, to navigate the dog around the course.
THE HISTORY OF AGILITY
The earliest trace of agility was a demonstration held in the United Kingdom in the late 1970's. This demonstration was at CRUFTS, the now very popular annual dog show.
Since this first demonstration, agility has spread rapidly throughout the UK and the world, resulting in major competitions being held all over the globe and the sport to be taken up by many as a hobby with their dog!
COMPETITION
Competitions allow for the dog and handler to race against the clock and aim for the highest level of accuracy. Faults may be given when a dog knocks a jump over, refuses the obstacle, misses a contact (The yellow part of the equipment) or when the handler makes contact with the dog. Traditionally in competition, dogs compete in the first round aiming simply for a clear round, not getting any faults. Then any dogs succeeding to get a clear round compete against the clock with the quickest time winning. Collecting faults results in a time penalty being added to the overall time.
graphics used couresy of the dogpatch