Question to agility people?

Question

my dog is a rescue, no papers. Can she still participate in agility?

Everything I see online is geared toward AKC pedigrees.

Answer 1

1.  There are many agility organizations.  AKC and UKC require purebred dogs. But DOCNA, USDAA, CPE, NADAC, TDAA--no pure-bred background required.  For these organizations, a mixed breed dog is usually called an "All-American" under the "breed" category.  In fact, I know someone who registered her dog as a "rat terrorist" on her trial entries and another who registered her dog as an "All-Canadian."

2.  Go to www.agilityevents.net and look for agility trials in your neck of the woods.  What you'll find is that some organizations dominate a particular area.  For instance, in my area, you see a lot of USDAA, NADAC and AKC but very little TDAA, CPE and UKC.  So I registered with USDAA, NADAC and AKC through the ILP program (my dog came registered with UKC).

3.  You'll need to register with some organization.  But as I mentioned above, most don't require purebred dogs.  But in order to attend a USDAA trial for instance, you need to be registered with USDAA.  For most organizations, it's 15 months from the dog's DOB.

4.  Yeah, you can go to the Clean Run website but it's not very complete (in terms of schools and instructors).  Even the website admits this.  I suggest you use the agilityevents.net site, go observe a trial close to you and ask:  "where do you take lessons?  what clubs are near by?"  Most agility instructors and clubs tend to be...how shall we say it....administratively "lean."  Meaning they don't advertise, don't have websites, aren't in the yellowpages and aren't easy to find for beginners.  So ask people who do agility.

5.  In the meantime, here are a couple of OTHER things you can be doing before you get ready to start taking classes:

--get your dog a physical from a vet who knows performance dogs.  Explain you're getting ready to do agility and want the vet to take a look at your dog.  A dog who might pass a normal exam with flying colors, a performance-savvy vet might identify as having weak core muscles or poor procipetation or a joint you need to build up.  Nothing to be scared of, it's just like you getting a checkup before you start training for a marathon.  It's good common sense.

--start getting in condition.  Start with lots of long walks.  Add some speed work:  interval training, having your dog chase a ball.

--get clicker savvy.  There is no better way to train an agility dog than with a clicker.

--get your obedience down.  You'll need a great recall, sit-stay, down-stay and heel to do agility.

--get into tricks.  They're great agility warmup activities.  You learn how your dog learns.  Your dog starts to see you as the source of fun.  And many tricks (begging for instance) are great physical activities (the beg on the hindlegs builds balance and especially core muscles).

Oh, one last thing--prepare to become addicted because agility is a ton of fun for you and your dog.

Answer 2

yes she can no issues all you need is all her shots records and a will and drive..call your local aspca and ask them where they may be held also call groomers they'll know....now for your info AKC is usually the prime holder or funder of ALL agility comps but ANY breed reg or unreg is excepted however you do need ot complete a obediance class first in any agility training  

Answer 3

Of course!!  There are many organizations in the US that do agility - the best place to find trainers and classes near you is to go to the Clean Run web site, and find the page you can search by zip code.  Most organizations will list rescues of no certain breed as "all-American" - your dog doesn't need to be registered with a kennel club to participate.  

Good luck, and have fun - agility is a blast!

Answer 4

There is no reason why your dog should not be allowed to participate in agility, obedience, or any other dog sport.

You should talk to your local obediance club about membership- you should definately practise obediance if you are doing agility as agility is off leash and you need to have good control over your dog.

Your dog will need to be over a certain age before it can begin to train in agility- I think its 6 months for basic stuff and 12-18 months before you can do everything- this is because some of the activities involve jumping and working out in a way which could hurt your dog later in life if you try it before they are fully developed.

good luck