Agility: Is It Right for Me and My Dog? Agility is a popular canine sport and many people consider signing up for an agility class with dogs that have "excess energy" as a way to exercise their dogs. While agility is a good way to exercise both you and your dog, there is much more required to participate in agility classes safely. Agility is truly obedience in action and requires a good working relationship with your dog. This sport is an off-leash, high excitement activity which requires a lot of training to do safely and successfully. Not every dog is physically capable of participating in agility nor is agility an activity every dog will enjoy, regardless of how active the dog naturally is. Handlers should plan to spend a minimum of one year in training before competing (many top-level agility competitors train for two or more years before they enter a competition!) With all the different types of activities you and your dog can enjoy, if agility isn't for you and/or your dog, you can certainly find something else that will be fun for you to do together. To be successful in agility, you and your dog must work as a team - you must be able to direct your dog around the course and your dog must follow your directions. You must be physically able to run, stop, turn and guide your dog to the correct obstacles. Your dog must know how to quickly sit and lie down without use of luring or food, must come immediately when called, pay attention to you at all times and be comfortable around other people and dogs to enjoy agility. Your dog must also be physically mature and fit in order to participate in agility classes. If your dog is overweight, you will need to address the issue before continuing on beyond our basic agility class. Agility is also a sport that requires a certain amount of equipment at home so that you and your dog can keep up with class. Although we have many agility students who do not choose to participate in formal competitions with their dogs, they still have made the commitment to purchasing or making basic agility equipment so they can practice each week and keep up with the class sessions. At-home practice is required of all students in order to be allowed to progress in the classes. You don't have to purchase an entire agility course, but you will be expected to purchase or make certain pieces of equipment for your weekly practice. Each class has specific pre-requisite skills for enrollment. To make sure your agility experience at BonaFide is a positive, safe and fun one, we have set pre-requisites for anyone interested in enrolling in our introductory agility course (Agility 100), based on our experiences as agility instructors and competitors. If you have any questions about these pre-requisites, please ask! Agility 100 Prerequisites *Agility 100 is offered only once or twice a year, as we have room to accept new students into our program. Please email us if you'd like to be notified when we are accepting new students and what entrance requirements will be. (info@bonafidedogacademy.com) Dog must be at least 1 year old and physically able to participate safely in class Handler must be physically able to run an agility course and help with class equipment set up/tear down Obedience/skills/class requirements will be updated as we develop our program for 2012. Dog must not be reactive to other dogs or people Would you like to see if you and your dog would enjoy agility? Check out our Pet Agility Sampler or our Puppy Agilityclasses, offered regularly! [BonaFide House Rules] [Please Add Me to the BonaFide Mailing List]     [Home] [Classes] [Private Training] [Comments] [Events] [Brags] [Privacy/Refund/Security Policies] [Memberships] [Calendar] [About Us] [Community Services] [Links] [Contact Us] ©2006 - 2012. Bonafide Dog Academy LLC. All rights reserved.