Agility Friends

Marley

Marley, ADC, CGN

Labrador Retriever mix, born around Dec, 1999. He was adopted at the SPCA in Comox , BC when he was 3 years old. Glenn and Cheryl were initially fostering him, and felt that he fit in so well that they had to keep him. He had been abused before being abandoned, and was afraid of everything when he was adopted. He had to be carried down to his bed the first couple of nights we had him because he was so afraid of the stairs. He was introduced to agility to help build his confidence, and it’s proven invaluable. Marely’s been practicing agility since 2003. He’s still a little shy sometimes, but agility has helped him with meeting new people and dogs. He also does Rally-O, which is more his pace. He tried flyball, but couldn’t handle it because of the high energy environment. His favorite toys are squeaky toys and hockey balls. Oh yeah, he sleeps a lot.

Agility

Agility is a sport that has all of the virtues of other sports without their vices. The philosophy of agility is to provide a challenge and competition to be enjoyed by the handler, dog, and spectator. The main elements of the sport are good sportsmanship and fun for the dog and handler. Even though the courses are designed to be a challenge, safety of the dog is considered a highest priority.

Agility is basically an extension of obedience with some confidence equipment included. The courses include various kinds of jumps, tunnels, collapsible tunnels, see saw or teeter as we normally refer to it, a dog walk, and a large A-frame. Some of the equipment allows the dog to show off athletic ability, like the jumps, while others, like the tunnels, help develop confidence and trust between the dog and the handler. A dog won’t normally run full speed into a dark tunnel with no end in sight just because you ask him to. So there are a lot of opportunities for the dog and handler to be challenged and build, a closer relationship than can be had by simply walking him every day.

If you have basic obedience skills pretty well cased and are looking for something fun to do at the next level, then agility may be perfect for you.

Glenn & Marley