EARLY HISTORY OF DOG AGILITY
The fun sport of dog agility was first seen at Crufts Dog Show in London, England, in February 1978. To understand how the idea of agility first developed, we have to go back a year earlier and look at the 1977 Cruft's Dog Show.
A member of the Cruft's Show Committee, John Varley, was given the task of organising fun entertainment in the main arena. The intent of this entertainment was to hold the public's attention during a break in the proceedings after the obedience championship finished, and before the group judging commenced.
John's main interest was in horses, not dogs. With horse show-jumping in mind, John conceived a dog event with obstacles... a canine version of horse show-jumping. Not having expertise with dogs, John approached his friend Peter Meanwell, a well known Working Trials competitor and judge, John asked him to develop a set of obstacles for this fun agility event and rules based on his knowledge of dogs.
By February 1978, the first public display between two teams took place at Crufts. It was such a huge success that even at that early stage in it's development, the future of dog agility was secured.
Over the years following, the sport evolved and became the fastest growing, fun dog sport. Dog agility has spread throughout the world in a very short space of time.
Thanks, John Varley and Peter Meanwell, for such a great fun sport to enjoy with our dogs. Agility is fun!
Robert Loftus. [ Published in Clean Run (USA) Feb. 1998.]
Footnote: In the early 1980's John Varley emigrated to Sydney, Australia, to work with the PAL Superdogs Demonstration Team, (an "Agility-like" performance event, with very large obstacles). Living in the foothills of the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, a few years later John became very ill and died later that same year, (RIP).
AGILITY IS FUN
The original "Agility is Fun", an agility training series first written in 1987, and published in "Heel" magazine. Although pre-clicker, the same principles of positive reinforcement training were used throughout the series of "praise and reward" for good behaviour.
Dog agility has changed a lot over the years since those humble beginnings at Crufts, with many organisations and governing bodies regulating and overseeing the sport in many countries, each with their own view of what agility is, or should be. There is, however, one aspect of dog agility that has not changed, and should never change, that precious relationship developed with your dog through having a "fun" dog sport to train and compete in.
"AGILITY IS FUN
" part1 *
(1987.) [pre-clicker]
Most dog owners who have seen Agility on television or at a dog show and feel that they and their dogs would enjoy participating in this sport usually ask questions like: "How do I go about training my dog?", "Do I need to get a particular breed?", "At what age can my dog start jumping?", "How much does it cost, will I need to buy a large amount of equipment and half an acre to put it on?" ... feeling disillusioned!
You might be surprised to learn that the hardest part is starting, and once started there is no great expense or hard work involved, the sense of achievement as you and your dog progress is reward in itself. As for breed, the only requirement is that the dog is registered with the Kennel Club, and any dog may be registered for agility.
The best way to train your dog is by
joining a local dog training class and train basic obedience when your puppy is six to
eight months old. Train him gently with plenty of praise until he understands what
is required of him, build up his confidence, never run out of patience because what you
want is control of your dog. Never make him jump an obstacle or do something he
doesn't understand or is unable to do, a young dog's bones must have time to grow and
develop. Only start Agility training when he is over 12 months old and 18 months old
for the larger breeds as any injuries may not show until later in life. A dog's working
life could be ruined and shortened if agility training is started too early or rushed.
To train any dog you must first get his attention and the best way of doing this is with a toy and a game of Tug-of-war where you become an integral part of his pleasure. This teamwork developed in play can then be extended to working. When training a dog there is a danger of concentrating on commands and corrections, forgetting the most important praise and reward. In Agility training there is no place for training by compulsion - build your dog's confidence by the use of encouragement, praise and reward.
TRAINING
When your dog is over 12 months start hurdle training, you can do this in your back garden or in the local park using small portable jumps which can be made simply and at little expense.
CONSTRUCTION OF TRAINING HURDLE
Requirements:
Two lengths of wood, each 1"x2"x36".
Two 6" nails (cut off heads and file points round)
One length of white electrical conduit, PVC 1"diameter, 48" long.
Glue,Paint and drill, hacksaw etc.,
Mark edge of wood into 25mm. (one inch squares) and cut out as shown:
Paint and mark in mm. or inches as required.