Agility: Be as BAD as You Wanna Be!
Comin' at ya!!
Agility is becoming more and more popular with Beardie owners (and others, as well) because it's FUN and fast-paced. Many people have said that doing agility has not only improved their relationships with their Beardies, but has also managed to help them overcome the couch-potato habit themselves!
There are a number of "leagues" in which you can compete in agility. These include AKC, USDAA, NADAC/ASCA, UKC, UKC-Canada, CPE, and AAC. Each has its own set of rules and qualifications, so get yourself a rulebook for each league you're interested in. You'll need to register your dog in each of the leagues in which you want to compete. You don't have to become a member yourself, but it's definitely the best way to keep up with the events happening in your leagues.
There is also a newer agility "league" in town: DOCNA (Dogs on Course in North America). They have a corresponding Yahoo discussion group if you'd like to get in on the discussions. There's still an opportunity to help form DOCNA into the kind of agility sport you would like to participate in.
Whether you do it just for fun or you want to get into the competition, you'll
want to visit the BAD (Beardie
Agility Diehards) Web site. Libby Myers-Buhite has collected a wealth
of valuable information on training, equipment, competition in NADAC, USDAA,
UKC, and AKC agility, "war stories" from BAD members and their Beardies,
links to lots
of other agility-related sites, including the Agility Webring... the list
goes on and on. Don't forget to order your BAD T-shirt while you're there
-- legend has it that they bring good luck to BAD members who wear them to
trials!
The East Coast BAD people now have their own nickname: the BAD BEARDS. Check out the BAD BEARDS photo gallery! Seamus, Dinah, Charlie and Cadence appear on the site!
Mary Jo Sminkey's Dogpatch Agility pages contain a wealth of information on practically everything to do with agility -- check it out!
The Clean Run Productions Web site contains descriptions of Clean Run's many agility publications, plus a page on their annual agility camp.
A number of trainers run agility classes, but be sure to choose
carefully. You want a trainer that doesn't jump young dogs until they're at
least 18 months of age, and who helps to make agility class a fun and rewarding
experience for both you and your dog.
Charlie, Seamus, and I trained at It's a Dog's World. Dinah trained at Happy Tails in Portland, and we've continued training with Cindy Ratner at Tree Frog Farm. We belonged to NEAT: The New England Agility Team when we lived closer to there. NEAT has members in seacoast NH and Southern Maine. Contact NEAT for more information. (Charlie doesn't really enjoy agility as much as he enjoys jumping into kiddie pools. If he had to choose a dog sport that didn't involve kiddie pools, he'd choose tracking.)
Dinah Moe loves agility! Too bad her mom is such a klutz.
Some Local Agility Links and Resources:
- AgilityEvents.Net -- Web site that allows you to search out agility trials, premiums, and contact with trial secretaries in several agility venues. Includes a nifty "click-2-enter" function for NADAC Fun-Raiser events.
- NEAT (New England Agility Team)
- SMARRT (Southern Maine Agile Ruff Runners Team) Agility Club of Southern Maine
- Clean Run Productions
- Eastern Maine Agility Club, Bar Harbor, ME
- CATS (Canine Agility Training Society), NH -- Their site has an amazing list of links to all manner of agility resources, including clubs, equipment, event photographers, trial secretaries, email lists... you name it!
- K-9 Games: (207) 666-5882.-- Ginny Seavey in Bowdoinham offers basic obedience and agility classes, both group and private lessons.
- WAG IT! Training Center and Dog Club, Lincolnville, ME: Cindy Ratner, whom Dinah and I train with at Tree Frog Farm, is one of the agility instructors at the WAG IT agility camps. The camp also features Stacy Peardt-Goudy on the faculty.
- Arf and Running -- PVC agility equipment
- Atomic Agility Equipment: (207) 363-8425.-- Another local maker of agility equipment, based in York, ME.
- It's a Dog's World, York, Maine, (207) 363-0099. Agility classes and the occasional run-through.
- Agility Nerd -- a blog about dog agility and technology. Features some useful articles on reading course maps and such.
- A1 Agility -- Web site devoted to agility and training issues.
- Rip It Up Agility -- One of the members of EMAC makes sturdy and reasonably-priced equipment.
