11Mar
What a lovely cup of tea! for me?
And it looks like they’ll be fun to play with!
UKI Agility has come across the pond! This organization is a fun, lighthearted place to work with your dog and brings ‘european’ courses to America, with their tighter turns and big handling challenges without their being a huge equipment challenge- the A-frame tops off at 5′7”. Dogs have angled entries to go through, and handlers have cross-over challenges. Think of European courses as the Da Vinci’s of the Agility world- they’re real works of art, in a simplistic, understated way. They require thought and preparation but in the end… it’s oil on canvas. It’s you and your dog!
While this may not be your cup of tea, there’s more! You can bring toys’ on-course for ‘training runs’, which means you can take your trial-shy dog for fun runs with toys, and then do a real run later in the competition! Think of how much zoom you could avoid! There’s also ‘nursery class’ for debuting dogs, which I know is a blessing. You can also enter a trial online (that’s right, no postage!) and keep track of your scores online as well.
The organization is still in the infant stage here in the U.S., but check here for a trial near you and try it out- you may just find that you love it! (I know I’m going to try it once my dog is old enough!)
Tags: agility beginners, agility organizations, Events & News
17Feb
The Love-me-hate-me contest is now closed, and we have a winner! Congratulations, Kathy! You’ve won three sets of E-Z sacks to help you keep your course in place!
Thanks everybody for participating, and stay tuned here at Agility Fusion for more contest and training tips upcoming!
And the results of the contest… you all love spending time with your dogs, and most of you hate letting them down. Some of the answers made me laugh, and some made me nod in sympathy- for instance, the long wait to get into the ring. It’s the hardest part of competing. And the driving… but it’s all worth it, in the end, when your dog grins at you, and you’re off! Then, when you’re done playing agility, the happy tired dog lying at your feet, content with the world is a reward unto itself! Definitely worth it, don’t you think?
Tags: Events & News
04Feb
We all have our ‘druthers’ in Agility- and our dogs definitely do! But there are some things we love about it. Is there anything we hate about it? Comment with your love and hate for agility below! Any aspect of agility- training, trials, obstacles, or tricks! Name one thing you love, and one thing you hate. There are no wrong answers, and lots of fun to be had! The prize is a three sets of red E-Z sacks (Value approx. $45) to show the love you have for your agility course by not letting it blow around!
The winner will be selected by a random number generator, and notified via email (providing you are a registered user here). Deadline is Feb. 15th. Good luck and have fun!
This contest is now closed- stay tuned for the winner, and thanks for the great participation!!!
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How to enter this contest:
- If you have never done so before, you must first register your email address on this blog. We will then notify you if you are a winner of this contest. You only need to do this once, and you will be good for all future monthly contests (and get priority notification of when they occur)!
- Scroll to the bottom of this page and enter your comment/answer. Or, if there is no box, click on the “comments” in the upper right corner.
Tags: Affordable Agility News, Events & News, Inspirational
22Jan
As you know, body language is important in dog agility. Have you thought about “finger language”? No, not THAT finger. I mean the pointer or index finger. Time Magazine online featured an interesting article about an assistant anthropology professor who is opening a special Canine Cognition research lab to test dogs on their unique abilities, such as following fingers and more. He believes his dogs DO understand how to follow pointing fingers, and while you might not think this very unusual, no other animal seems to be able to do this. For the full story, click here.
Tags: dog fame, Events & News
20Jan
Back in May we discussed the AKC allowing mixed breeds to compete with the purebreds. There was a lot of great feedback here at AgilityFusion, and elsewhere on the internet as well, apparently! AKC has changed their stance on the Mixed Breed titling system and competing due to ‘compelling feedback’ from the community.
AKC decided to allow mixed breeds to compete in any agility trial WITHIN the same classes. This is different than their previous ’separate class’ distinction that was obviously not accepted as well and clubs thought too confusing. This means the AKC can now really compete with USDAA and CPE in their agility offerings (and rally and obedience as well!). This’ll begin April 1st (I know, really?) So your mixed breed dog can now compete head to head with the purebreds, and may the best dog win!
Clubs have the choice not to enroll in the Mixed Breed program (called the AKC Canine Partners Program), but it is anticipated that all will. Why limit your clubs’ venue by not allowing registered mix breeds? there’s money to be made in it, after all!
You can register your Mix here:http://www.akc.org/mixedbreeds/listing_benefits.cfm and you can find trials that allow mixes at http://www.akc.org/events/search/index.cfm?action=refresh_index&active_tab_row=2&active_tab_col=3&fixed_tab=8&mxb_flag=Y I think this will definitely make it easier to get competitions in areas that don’t have a lot of venue options.
Tags: agility changes, agility competing, agility organizations, dog breeds, Events & News
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