Summary

Dock Diving is a fun, exciting, and easy sport – especially if your dog can jump fearlessly into water after their favorite toy! You throw your dog’s favorite toy into a pool while he waits on a dog about 40 ft long. On your command he chases after the toy by jumping off of the platform, landing in the water and grabbing his toy. The dog with the furthest jump wins!

This sport is ideal for water loving dogs, and toy retrievers!

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Highlights

• Fun sport to watch and play.
• For dogs of all shapes and sizes.
• You may get wet, dress accordingly!

Examples of Dock Diving

Organizations

• North America Diving Dogs (NADD)– US and Canada
  • AKC recognizes titles from NADD
• United Kennel Club (UKC Dock Jumping)
• Ultimate Air Dogs – US

Summary

Lure Coursing is a timed sprint, where your dog chases a lure (usually a white plastic bag) down a field. The lure moves fast through a course, controlled by a motorized wire and pulley system. The speed of the lure is adjustable based on the speed/interest of the dog. Your dog’s time is ‘clocked’ at the end of the course, and you learn their MPH speed.

Some coursing events are limited to specific sighthound breeds (Greyhounds, Whippets, etc), but AKC and UKC offer events that are open to all breeds; AKC FastCAT and UKC Precision Coursing.

If your dog perks up at the sight of a rabbit or squirrel running across the field, your dog will enjoy this event! There is no formal training needed, this event relies on your dogs natural instinct to chase.

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Highlights

• No formal training needed
• If your dog loves to chase, you will see the joy in his eyes during this event 🙂
• This can be a loud sport, as some dogs bark with anticipation.
• Dogs must be 12mo of age or older to compete (fully developed joints, no longer a puppy)

Example of a FastCAT Trial

Organizations

• American Kennel Club (AKC) FastCAT – for all breeds
• American Kennel Club (AKC) Lure Coursing – only for Sighthounds
• United Kennel Club (UKC) Precision Coursing – for all breeds
• United Kennel Club (UKC) Lure Coursing – only for Sighthounds

Summary

Flyball is the only dog sport where you compete as part of a team (with other dogs & handlers). Two teams of four dogs each race side-by-side over a 51 ft long course. Individually a dog runs down a series of jumps, triggers a flyball box which releases a tennis ball. The dog grabs the ball and returns over the jumps. When the dog returns the next dog on the team starts, like a relay race. The fastest team wins.

If you have a dog that loves to run and fetch this might be a sport to try! There are regional clubs that hold classes and tournaments.

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Highlights

• Fun and exciting sport to watch
• Flyball is a great way for dogs to burn off energy!
• This is a loud sport, as the dogs are often barking with anticipation.
• Dogs must be 15mo of age or older to compete (fully developed joints, no longer a puppy)

Example of a Trial Search (NACSW)

Organizations

• North American Flyball Association (NAFA) – US and Canada
  • AKC recognizes titles from NAFA
• United Flyball League International (U-FLI) – US and Canada

Summary

Agility is a fast pace sport where the dog and human handler navigate a course of obstacles. The team successfully completing the course with the fewest mistakes and the fastest time wins!

Dog Agility was first introduced in the UK back in the 70’s and made it’s way to North America in the late 80’s. Agility is probably the most well known dog sport, as competitions are fun to watch and often televised at the National competition level.

For dog owners competing in Agility, many of them have been training from 1 to 3+ years before joining their first event (called Trial’s). There are many layers to this sport, both for the handler and the dog, which require a lot of training to master. But the bond between dog and owner is priceless.

Types of Training Classes:

1. Recreational Agility or “just for fun” classes – these courses are casual and intended to introduce the equipment while also having fun training and bonding with your dog. These classes can sometimes be found at your local ‘big box’ pet and boarding stores. These can be good classes to get a high level understanding of the sport and determine if it is something that you and your dog enjoy – and want to pursue at a competitive level.
2. Professional Training – If you are interested in attending trials in the future you may want to search for a trainer that has or does compete. Finding options near you and a training that matches your learning style may take some digging. Of note, the various Agility organizations use different types of obstacles (e.g. you will see barrel or an arch in NADAC trials), so look for a trainer that matches the type of Trials you are interested in.

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Highlights

• Agility is a fast and exciting sport!
• Finding the right Trainer that aligns to your goals is important (e.g. Do you want to compete? Or are you looking for a casual activity to grow your dog/owner bond?)
• Puppies can take classes and learn foundation work, but to compete dogs must be 15 months or older.
• Dogs should be crate trained, as they will be crated when they wait their turn for the field

Example of an Agility Trial

Organizations

• United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA)
• American Kennel Club (AKC Agility)
• United Kennel Club (UKC Agility)
• North American Dog Agility Council (NADAC)
• Australian Shepherd Club of America (ASCA Agility) – Note: Not just for Aussies, any breed can compete

Summary

In addition to Barn Hunt, the North American Dog Sport Association (NASDA) also has two games where dogs search out live rats. The goal of these trials are to mimic, as closely as possible, historic field, hunting, and search dog work. As such, the search areas typically mimic those events – in an open field, warehouse, barn, etc. The well socialized rats are contained safely in special made quarry boxes.

These events are very friendly to new comers. You and your dog do not need any formal training to join an event/trial. At the beginner levels, your dog’s natural curiosity and drive for odor will generally guide your dog to the Rat.

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Highlights

• No formal training required to start Trialing, very friendly to newbies.
• There are also Puppy classes/trials
• Great for dogs and handlers of all ages
• There is also a Brace event where two dogs work as a team (off leash) to find the quarry

Example of a NASDA (Urban Location, Level 2) Trial

Organizations

• North American Sport Dog Association (NASDA)

Summary

Barn Hunt is based on the hunting and teamwork skills used by Ratcatchers and their dogs who traveled the countryside ridding farms, barns, crop storage areas, and homes of destructive vermin. 

Dogs are trained to identify the scent of a Rat (kept safely in a ventilated tube) in a barn-like area, the ring uses stray/hay bales to create climbing and tunneling pathways. The sport tests the speed, agility, hunt drive, scenting ability, surefootedness, control and responsiveness to handler direction. Barn Hunt is a very inclusive sport, open to all breeds (purebred, mixed breed, with or without a vermin-hunting history) and tripawds.

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Highlights

• High drive dogs generally _love_ this sport
• Great for dogs and handlers of all ages!
  • Handlers under 18 can enter the Juniors program
• The rats are bred for the Barn Hunt environment (comfortable handled in tube, being around dogs and people, friendly)

Example of a Trial Search

Organizations

• Barn Hunt Association (BHA)
  • Titles are recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC), United Kennel Club (UKC), and Canadian Kennel Club (CKC).

Summary

In the sport of Nosework (also called Scent Work) dogs enjoy the challenge of locating a scent and communicating with their handler where the scent is located.

Dogs are trained to identify a variety of scents of Anise, Birch, and Clove. The scent is placed on a cotton swab(s) and hidden from the dog and handler. It is up to the dog to find the scent, and handler to communicate to the judge that the source has been found.

I haven’t met a dog that didn’t love nose work, as it turns their favorite activity (sniffing) into a rewarding game! It is also a great sport for newcomers to dog sports, as there are many nosework organizations – so you are likely to find trainers and events/trials near you! There are also a variety of online training courses, if you want to try this sport in the comfort of your home.

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Experience Needed for Trials/Events:

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Highlights

• Great for dogs and handlers of all ages!
• Great mental exercise for dogs
• You can practice anywhere that allows dogs (at home, local parks, Home Depot!)
• Helps build your dog’s confidence
• Even great for:
  • Reactive or Sensitive Dogs (Some trials suggest your dog wear a red bandana to indicate that your dog needs more space)
  • Dogs with mobility challenges, that might exclude them from other sports (e.g. older dogs, or tripawds)

Example of a Trial Search (NACSW)

Organizations

• National Association of Canine Scent Work (NACSW) – United States
• American Kennel Club (AKC Scent Work) – United States
• United Kennel Club (UKC Nosework) – United States & Canada
• Canine Performance Events (CPE Canine Scent Sport) – United States Midwest, Northeast, South Regions
• United States Canine Scent Sports (USCSS) – United States
• Canine Work and Games (C-WAGS) – United States & Canada