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Monday, July 1, 2019

Dog Sports, Activities and Recreation


Dog Sports
(Authors Note: This post will be updated soon to what is now available in 2019.)

Dog sports and activities

There is a long list of dog registry-sponsored activities for “dog sports” or “performance events” that are available to purebreds and mixed breeds. Depending on the dog registry that sponsors the event, it may also be available to mixed breeds. In the United States, for example, the American Kennel Club does not currently allow mixed breeds to participate in any events, performance or conformation, except for the Canine Good Citizen test. However, groups like the United Kennel Club, Australian Shepherd Club of America, the American Mixed Breed Obedience Registration (AMBOR) and the Mixed Breed Dog Club of America permit mixed breeds to participate in some or all performance events. Check with your local dog trainers, training clubs or breed clubs. They will be able to tell you what kind of training and showing is available in your specific area.

When a dog lives in an apartment, the owner is now responsible for fulfilling the dog’s entertainment and exercise needs. A wide variety of competitive and non-competitive dog sports and activities exist for every type of dog, no matter what size, breed or mixed breed. Some of these competitions include obedience, agility, rally, earthdog, herding trials, disc dog events, lure coursing and racing, tracking, flyball and freestyle meets, just to name a few. Some events, such as instinct tests, may be limited to one breed or “group” of dogs; that is, a herding trial might be limited to collies or to all members of the Herding group, while an earthdog trial might be limited to Border terriers or to all members of the Terrier group.

Dog sports are a great way to spend time with your dog and fulfill your dog’s exercise and entertainment needs. There are sports for all types of activity levels, ages, and experience levels for both dog and owner. The following list, though not complete, describes many of the wide variety of dog sports available in almost all parts of the United States throughout the year. 


Agility:
Participants in dog agility race through a predetermined course against each other and against the clock. Using voice commands and hand signals, the handler directs the dog over jumps and over or through obstacles competing in terms of both  time and accuracy. Dogs run off-leash with no food or toys as incentives. The handler can touch neither dog nor obstacles without incurring a fault at most levels. Dogs competing in agility must be highly trained and conditioned. For the pet dog, agility training can be invaluable as a confidence-building aid.

Conformation:
Dogs that are exhibited in a conformation show are judged on how close they come to a pre-set written breed standard which describes in detail how the dog should look and move and perform. Different all-breed or specialty registries have their own conformation Standards of Excellence depending on the breeds that they recognize and allow to compete. 

Disc Dog (formerly called Frisbee):
Disc dog tournaments are very exciting and fun. Disc dog is the more generic name for what is commonly called Frisbee dog. In disc dog competitions, dogs and their human disc throwers compete in events such as distance catching, called Toss and Fetch, and somewhat choreographed catching, called Freestyle. (permission granted from Wikipedia to reproduce.)


Dock Diving:
Dock diving has the dogs diving from an elevated platform into a pool of water. The dogs are judged separately on distance and height obtained in the jump. This sport is great on a hot summer day because everybody standing along the pool gets soaked!

Earthdog:
An earthdog trial tests the working ability and instinct of the small, short legged terriers. These dogs were bred to hunt vermin and other quarry which lived in underground dens. Earthdog den trials involve man-made underground tunnels that the dogs must negotiate, while scenting a rat, the "quarry." The dog must follow the scent to the quarry and then "work" the quarry. (permission granted from Wikipedia to reproduce.)

Flyball:
Flyball is a dog sport in which teams of dogs race against each other from a start/finish line, over a line of hurdles, to a box that releases a tennis ball to be caught when the dog presses the spring loaded pad, then back to their handlers while carrying the ball. (permission granted from Wikipedia to reproduce.)

Herding:
The sport of herding involves the dog moving livestock, such as ducks, sheep, or cows through a predetermined course in a paddock, an arena, a field or any other suitable venue to secure them in an enclosure. Dogs work independently of their owners to drive their livestock through or around, or into obstacles like fences, gates, or enclosures as directed by their handlers simulating a working ranch situation.

Hunting:
This sport involves different types of dogs depending on their classification by Gun Dogs (retrievers, pointers, setters, spaniels and hounds). The hound category could include both scenthounds and sighthounds. For terriers, see Earthdog. 

Lure coursing/Straight racing:
Sighthounds are trained to chase a lure usually consisting of a white plastic bag or a squeaker toy pulled by a “drag line” through a field and around corners. It is very fast and especially exciting to watch. Dogs usually compete in several “heats” in one day to determine their placement.

Musical Freestyle:
Musical canine freestyle—also known as musical freestyle, freestyle dance, and canine freestyle—is a modern dog sport that is a mixture of obedience, tricks, and dance that allows for creative interaction between dogs and their owners. (permission granted from Wikipedia to reproduce.)

Obedience:
Dogs competing in an obedience trial must execute a predefined set of tasks when directed to do so by their handlers. There are typically three levels of obedience competition, although these levels are defined differently depending on the sponsoring organization and the country in which the trial is held. The handler and his or her dog are judged on how perfectly they perform such tasks as heeling on and off a leash, retrieving dumbbells, scent identification, and sit- and down-stays for varying periods, as well as other tasks.

Protection Sports:
Protection sports are dog sports that test a dog's ability to protect himself and his handler. All protection sports test the complete temperament of the dog, not just his protectiveness. The dog must be safe for his handler and for the public. He must be able to control himself upon command. All protection sports are modeled to some extent on the way dogs are used in police work. (permission granted from Wikipedia to reproduce.)


Rally Obedience:
Unlike regular obedience, instead of waiting for the judge's orders, the competitors proceed around a course of designated stations with the dog in heel position. The course consists of 10 to 20 signs that instruct the team what to do. Unlike traditional obedience, handlers are allowed to talk to and encourage their dogs during the course. (permission granted from Wikipedia to reproduce.)

Ski-joring:
Skijoring with a dog is a sport in which a dog (or dogs), assist a cross-country skier. From one to three dogs are commonly used. The cross-country skier provides power with skis and poles, and the dog adds additional power by running and pulling. The skier wears a skijoring harness, the dog wears a sled dog harness, and the two are connected by a length of rope. There are no reins or other signaling devices to control the dog. The dog must be motivated by its own desire to run, and respond to the owner's voice for direction. (permission granted from Wikipedia to reproduce.)

Sled Dog Racing:
Sled dog racing is a winter dog sport involving the timed competition of teams of sled dogs that pull a sled with the dog driver or musher standing on the runners. The team completing the marked course in the least time is judged the winner. Dog sled racing is also a fall sport where competitors use a rig ( 3-4 wheeled cart with a locking brake and handle/steering wheel) or scooter on dirt or mud instead of a sled on snow (permission granted from Wikipedia to reproduce.)

Terrier races:
In this sport terriers chase a lure pulled by a drag line down an enclosed chute, and the first one across wins. 



Tracking:
A tracking trial is an event to encourage dogs to make use of their strongest facility, the ability to follow a scent trail. The objective is for the dog to find the deliberately "lost" tracklayer and any articles they may have dropped along the track. (permission granted from Wikipedia to reproduce.)

Weight pulling:
Several registries sponsor weight pull events. Dogs competing in this sport pull a variety of weights, usually consisting of cinder blocks or lead weights, for a given distance along a track. The weights are set carts that roll on wheels over the ground, glide on rails, or slide across snow. The dog is judged on how much weight it can pull and for what distance, based on that dog’s weight class. Owners can call or encourage their dogs to complete the pull, but they cannot use treats or toys to encourage the dogs, nor can they make physical contact with their dogs.

Author’s Note:

It can be very easy to fill up your nights and weekends attending training, shows and fun matches for practice and seminars to expand your knowledge. I did this exact same thing for several years with my cattle dog mix, Rowdy, while showing him in Obedience and Agility during the 1990’s. We traveled all over Northern California attending shows on the weekends and spending nights during the week at training classes. We completed our Mixed Breed CDX, several agility titles through NADAC and two temperament test titles.

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