Canine Sports & Showing

Whether Champion Blackjack Porpoises’ Ship Zin UDX III is under the bright lights at a dog show or visiting sick kids in the hospital, Dr. Gail Clark knows she can count on the Portuguese water dog to behave well.

Agility tests were first seen at Crufts in the early 1970s and was devised to be ‘fun competitions designed for enjoyment by competitors, their dogs, and for appeal to spectators’. Here are some frequently asked questions about agility training.

There are lots of effective ways to train dogs. When all is said and done, training is really all about communicating with your dog. Odds are that your dog wants to please you and is totally fine with doing whatever you want. "The problem is getting your dog to understand what you’re trying to say," says pioneering dog trainer and behaviorist Dr. Ian Dunbar of Berkley, California, author of many books and training videos, including the recently re-issued Doctor Dunbar’s Good Little Dog Book (James & Kenneth Publishers).

"When balls dream, they dream of being Frisbees," says Tom Wehrli, one of only 17 inductees into the Ashley Whippet Hall of Fame, and a member of Unified Frisbeedog Operations (UFO). Tennis balls are for pet owners. Real dog people play Frisbee.

If you like to go for a regular run, you can teach your dog to join you. Exercise is just as good for your dog as it is for you, and you’ll both enjoy the company.

Dogs in some rings that are definitely the same breed, dogs in others that are not. Some dogs are just running in circles while others are doing some form of work. So many dogs look alike. How does the judge tell the difference? Let’s take a moment and unwrap the riddle of the typical dog show.

In the 20 years I have been working with dogs and the few years since I opened West Wind Dog Training, I have probably heard every question or comment about Schutzhund work and Personal Protection training (crudely called Attack Training).

Dogs – and their owners – around the globe are becoming addicted to agility – and it’s no wonder. This fast-paced, competitive canine sport has dogs jumping through hoops.