Dog Sports

Is winning the biggest achievement in canine sports? What is the most important benefit dog sports provide the human partner? This blog examines why winning isn't even close to everything.

Who are the Champions of the annual AKC Agility National Championship? You may be surprised to find that blue ribbons aren't what it's all about.

The exciting sport of dog agility can be played by everyone from the athlete to the handicapped. With proper training of the dog, a handler with disabilities can be competitive.

This is a different sort of "What Every Agility Newbie Should Know" list. Whether you're new to the sport of dog agility or you have several Agility Champions, this odd list will have you thinking.

Focusing on qualifying in dog agility can be detrimental to a handler's mental game. This article will teach you how to ignore the Q, increase your focus, and sharpen your mental control skills.

What is dog agility? What are the rules, equipment, levels, and rules of etiquette? This is an all-around, general summary of dog agility for a newbie.

Music can give an agility handler's mental game a boost. This article explains some of the science behind this theory and also recommends a few song ideas to add to your dog agility playlist.

Training an agility dog to distance is hard! This article, the second in a series, gives ideas and tips to both train and handle your dog at distance.

The idea of safer competition surfaces for our agility dogs doesn't appear to be controversial, but it is. Is it important to push for safer surfaces, or should we continue as we always have?

To show a dog properly requires much more than simply buying a pure-bred dog with papers. It requires discipline, dedication, and above all, patience. And not just a bit of expendable cash!

This op-ed piece examines whether or not the newer challenges in the sport of dog agility can be handled at large distances and if these challenges are excluding those with physical challenges.

Jericho Photo by Kevin Devine, used with permission In the second article in "The Distance Series," we talked about the Out directional cue and its importance for the physically limited handler. I explained three ways to train an Out using pattern,...

Learn why feeding your dog the right emotion in the ring can make your agility team more successful. Are you feeding the right emotions?

Dogs' dew claws aren't the useless toes many people assume. Read how the active canine uses these unusual claws, and how removal of these claws might cause injury in this photo-filled article.

Do you get lost on agility courses? This article will give you six tried and true memorization tips to keep you and your dog on course. Stay on course and earn more Qs!

A detailed article on how to train the "Out" directional for agility by agility instructor, competitor and blogger Agilitymach. The "Out" command is the most important distance cue in the sport.