What is Dog agility?

Dog agility is a sport in which a dog moves through an obstacle course with the guidance of his or her handler. Dogs run off leash, so the handler's only controls are voice and body language, requiring exceptional obedience training of the animal. In competition, both accuracy and speed are important.

That's the definition now here is what I get out of it!

A sense of achievement as I see my dogs learning new things and enjoying their life, and amazement when I learn new things. Agility can be hard work, frustrating, tiring but agility is FUN!

I have been working with my dogs for since 1996 and OK I have not set the agility world alight but I have a great bond with my dogs andI have made some great friends. I have got up ridiculously early throughout the summer months to drive for two hours for just four 40 seconds runs and mostly came home with nothing but an empty packed lunch box.

I started off in 1996 with Kira, after I moved out on my own my Mum convinced me that maybe it would be a good idea for me to get a dog to keep me company. As we had two boarder collies when I lived with my parents I did not even consider another breed. Kira was a collie cross her dad was a rough collie and her Mum a smooth coated collie. Through friends from my obedience classes I found out about Milton Keynes Dog Training Club.  So I turned up one night in 1996 and I'm still there.

Kira never liked working on the right and she span like you wouldn't believe (unless of course you've seen me run her). Mostly my fault, something to do with the fact there is a 3 second time delay between my brain and my mouth, and my love of savoury food! Unfortunately I lost Kira in February of 2008 when she just stopped eating probably due to heart failure, so I made the hardest decision of my life and let her go. RIP old girl.

I got Libby in 1999 she is a boarder collie she is fast and could do agility in her sleep but again she is held back by me. Libby and I finally got it together in June of 2007 and we won an agility class at the RVA show and have now reached the dizzy height's of grade 3.  She is my soul mate and although getting on in age now she still gives agility 110%.

Spencer came along in 2005 and he is a little sweetie who is showing promise, although not as fast as a collie he is doing really well and is my first consistent dog, he's had more clears in one year of competition than Kira's had in her whole career. 

My Mum said she did not mean for me to have so much company and will not take responsibility for my collection of dogs!

Unlike most agility people I was already into camping and owned my own caravan before I got the competing bug, (Yes I have been a boring old lady from the tender age of 28).  I used to belong to the caravan club and camp in total luxury on hard standings with electricity and lovely clean and warm showers.  Now I camp in muddy fields with my three dogs and a load of other like minded daft agility people, with porta loo's, sometimes no showers and generators. But would I swap and go back to the time before agility would I heck! I no longer have holidays abroad because all my holidays are taken up with week long dog shows, besides it would probably cost too much to kennel my three mutts.

So why do agility? Because you'll get a kick out of it, I do :o)

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