#nadac dog agility

[abirddogmoment]

There's only one thing Mav loves more than tunnels, and that's looking around to make heart eyes at all his fans while waiting at the start line.

[groenendaze]

Do you have any tips for getting into dog sports? I've got an 8-month-old dalmatian/gsd/pit mix (my absolute best friend and also the bane of my existence, teenagers are a menace lol) who's crazy smart and athletic. The stuff you do with your pups looks awesome and I think we'd both really enjoy it! I'm just not sure where to start to look for clubs/events/etc. Any advice is appreciated!

Dog sports are one of those things where you either just happen to accidentally fall into it or you fight tooth and nail to find a place.

Some of the best ways to find places are to reach out to trainers/competitors in your area or close to you (FB and instagram are the easiest for this imo - if you have found any!). The rest depends on the sports you want to do and where you're located. A good way to try and find more sports would be to see if there are any in your area: google your city + "dog training club" or the sport you're looking for. See if any places offer classes (classes are a GREAT way to get started and test the waters!). Or look for events in your area and go watch! I wouldn't recommend trying to volunteer my first time watching an event, but it's a great place to get started and look for people who might know more people in your area that could help you. Most people are nice and like helping newbies out, but there are always some bad eggs in the pot!

Unfortuently, I'm not super great at finding non-American events, so I apologize if you aren't in the US! But if you are, there are a couple websites that you can check out. For AKC sanctioned events (FastCAT/AKC agility/Rally-O/Confo/etc), AKC has an event calendar.

For things like disc, you can check out UpDog's event page, Skyhoundz event page, USDDN (international), UFO (international), Quadruped, or AWI.

Agility has a couple besides AKC: UKI, CPE, NADAC, and USDAA.

Dock has a few with the main one being NADD and Ultimate Air Dogs.

For flyball, UFLI has a tournament list page. NAFA also does tournaments but I only do UFLI and NAFA's website looks like hasn't been updated since, like, the 90s.

There are other sports, like bitesports (PSA/IGP/Mondio/French Ring) or racing (AOK9, etc) but I know nothing about the racing world and bitesports are one of those sports (much like Flyball tbh) where you'd need to reach out to a club first because a club will make or break a dog.

I got into agility back in like, 2019 or something because I took classes from a local facility and went to some AKC events and asked around. I got into PSA because I googled "bitesports [city]" and found the closest club was an hour a half, so I emailed them. And then made that drive every weekend for 10 or so months haha (I put so many miles on my car). Moved to Wisconsin and reached out to a disc club local to me asking for a private lesson in disc on Facebook, ended up accidentally getting invited to play Toss & Fetch and my disc obsession spiraled from there. Ended up getting into flyball because I made friends with a lot of flyball people at disc. Everything else I've tried (like barn hunt/herding/etc) was a combination of looking on the AKC event page and going "I can do that", a friend going "you can do this, come to X event", or me frantically googling locations or sports or classes or private lessons.

When I first started out, I struggled a LOT. In Texas, there were quite a few places and clubs around me, but I only had about three months of that before I moved to Arkansas, which was a dog sport dead zone. I didn't have the connections or knowledge to even know where to look to get access to those places. It took me months to find the one single place where I could rent an agility field. I spent most of my time throwing a frisbee in a park not even knowing that disc was a dog sport I could compete in. Luckily, where I am now is pretty dominated by the sports I love and I've made a lot of really amazing connections which helps with knowing the who's/what's/how's of everything!

Good luck and I hope this helps!

[wyrddogs]

Something that is on my mind currently: The formality of AKC events vs the more lax nature of most other organizations.

Thoughts? Which is your preference and why?

This is a great question and I've been chewing on it all evening. We'll just train-of-thought it:

So I am obviously involved in a bunch of dog sports and I also regularly volunteer for four different clubs. I am at a mixture of AKC and non-AKC events more or less equally.

For conformation, I've been to one (1) AKC specialty and had a negative experience. My dachshund is 75% workingline and he does not match what is winning in the ring. The judge was rude to me and the club president told me to stick to sports. I'm more pissed than upset, but it has affected me. I've entered Zaku in the terv specialty next weekend and oh my god I am so anxious. I don't want to be treated badly again.

I love UKC confo shows. They're so relaxed. You can wear whatever you want. At the Western Classic I 100% planned to dress up but the nosework trial started an hour late so I ended up doing containers with Kermit, then picking him up and running back to my car so I could grab Zaku and run to the herding dog ring. It's the big huge regional on the West Coast and I walked into the ring wearing jeans and a t-shirt and no one batted an eye.

They're also super welcoming. I see so many people who like. don't show. at all, and they enter their dogs just to try it out and other competitors just adopt them into the fold and give them tips and lend them show leads and the judge will patiently walk them through how to gait them. It's so nice.

For agility I've done CPE, AKC, and USDAA. I did CPE for quite some time before I went, wait I'm not enjoying, this, and allowed myself to quit. I dislike points games and you have to get up to Level 5 in every single points game to get your CATCH. Also, CPE is only offered by one single facility in my area and I don't care for a lot of the people there (love the facility owners, can't say the same for their employees). I haven't gotten into NADAC because the closest NADAC shows are held at this facility and there is a lot of overlap in attendance.

I like AKC agility just fine. There is a Lot of Shit that goes on at AKC trials, and the atmosphere is a hell of a lot more competitive than CPE, but I'm not really turned off or anything. The one USDAA trial I've been to was a lot like AKC, but I think that's because there's a ton of overlap in the people who attend. The cool people who I like that do AKC also do USDAA. I may have opinions on course differences now that I have a fast, competitive dog, but with Kermit and Bindi I don't really care? Though USDAA courses are super long so Kermit may struggle. We'll see.

I have no real interest in any of the European clubs. Like ISO or whatever it's called. I am not that competitive and the vibes kind of repel me.

I've only done AKC tracking and a lot of the people are super lovely and I enjoy spending time with them.

I've been to AKC earthdog and AWTA den trials. The earthdog trials I've been to are put on by the dachshund clubs (aka the club I left in aggravation and the club I refuse to join), so that kind of colors my perception. The AWTA den trials have been put on by real terrier people-- little old ladies in their 70s and 80s who have been hunting their terriers underground on tough game for 50 years. So they are very no-nonsense and they know more about dogs than I ever will. I like them. In terms of setup the tunnels and rules are basically the same. They're even held at the same locations.

Nosework-- I've had very limited experience, though my goal for this winter is to get Kermit through Novice and make good headway on Open (or Advanced?). I'd like to get his L1 someday but NACSW offers so few shows close to me at times that are convenient for me, so who knows when that will happen.

Tons of overlap. Everyone who is volunteering at trials is competing in both venues. A lot of people who are really serious about nosework (students of the sport) are competing at both venues. I will say the NASCW diehards tend to be pretty snobby towards AKC. I think both venues have a lot to offer so it kind of depends on how you feel. The single UKC nosework trial I've been to is even easier than AKC because they allow faults in Novice.

Racing/Fast CAT-- I will say Fast CATs tend to be a hell of a lot more chaotic. They also take a lot longer. And I've seen way more loose and runaway dogs (as in, leave the track and rapidly leaving the parking lot too). I think it's mostly because it attracts casual people who may or may not have trained their dogs, and LGRA tends to attract people who are a bit more serious about racing? Also, the LGRA/CWA meets I volunteer at offer practice sessions which are SO. INCREDIBLY. HELPFUL. when you are starting a dog. Sometimes a dog only needs a ten foot bump to start out and that's it! You can also start your baby puppy in practice sessions. You can spend their first year doing really short sprints so they learn the ropes (this is what I'm doing with Zaku) before they start competition runs. It is incredibly helpful.

With a Fast CAT your dog runs or it doesn't and it's at the club's discretion whether they are willing to work with you or not. Also Fast CATs are super expensive compared to LGRA.

I will say that CWA does have whippet snobs, which is kind of annoying. But the extremely lovely whippet people do make up for it. And honestly most breeds have snobs, so whatever.

I don't have as much experience with CATs/lure coursing but honestly the same clubs are putting them on so the same observations apply.

I am probably leaving something out but these are my observations. Also I volunteer whenever I am not actively warming up, cooling down, running, or exercising my dogs, so people tend to be very nice to me. That definitely influences my opinions; if I kept to myself more people might not be as welcoming.

Thank you for asking!

[trubluebecca]

I’m vending at an agility trial held at the same location as 1) a big conformation/obedience/rally show, 2) Cynosport next week.

Today, all I sold was 6 fleece tugs I threw together last weekend. I am glad I’m not paying a vendor fee (donated a print and some greeting cards to a raffle). I don’t know if paying $$$ to be in the conformation building would have paid off. (There was another portrait artist with jewelry, painted bags/shirts/etc, and regular portraits, so I really don’t know how I would have done). I figured we might get some people trickling over to see what’s going on, but nope. I have no idea what the fee was, but I’m pretty sure it would have been over $100 based on what I have seen. The dog toys have covered my parking fee for 3 days.

I did not offer sketches at the show today, but will tomorrow because I was really bored. Apparently they put out a second premium that had Intro on it, so I could have run Mud in Jumpers. :/ Also the rally and obedience was super close! I don’t think they had a show layout in the premium, so I didn’t know that would be the case.

This has me a little concerned for next week and also has me feeling like agility trials just won’t be lucrative…at least NADAC. This is a huge show for NADAC and I’m not getting much traffic. I don’t know if this is a Friday thing, because it sounds like more handlers will show up tomorrow. So hoping things go better. If not, I’ll just head home and skip Sunday.

[pawsitivevibe]

Agility people, how friendly is NADAC to 12-year-old brachy dogs who don't really run super fast and jump 4"?

I want to try it and there are some trials a few hours over the border BUT I don't know that it's worth taking my current agility dog or if I should just wait for Leia or the puppy to be ready. I kinda am scoping it out as something to bring to my club that's a much better alternative venue fit for us than UKI. We mostly do AAC trials, but people want other options now and we're apparently running a UKI trial but like our club is focused on foundations, fun, and introducing newbies to the sport. NADAC would fit us better than UKI.

[toccata11]

"Zip is a multiple champion. She competed in three different agility disciplines (AKC, USDAA, and NADAC) and achieved the championship title of Master Agility Dog Champion (MACH) four times in AKC... But on January 8, 2011, everything suddenly changed. Zip was fetching sticks with a group of children at a Saints’ playoff party when she became the victim of a “hit and run” reckless speeder. Her very active lifestyle came to an abrupt halt.  Emergency surgery was performed that night to repair her broken back (technically, a T-13, L1 dorsal vertebral subluxation) and the tear in her lungs from broken ribs. She also had a left ischium (hip) fracture... [after surgery and rehab] Then one day I brought her to agility practice. It was too hot to leave her in the car so my husband put her on a mat near the field. Suddenly Zip appeared at the base of the AF. She’d crawled 60 feet from her mat; she wanted to play agility. A friend and my husband decided to put the bars down on the course and I was handed a leash attached to Zip’s wheelchair. They said, “Run her.” I had reservations but Zip was gleefully barking by this time..."

[twobigears]

wyrd66 said: I really wish that AKC wasn’t as expensive as it is. I’m never going to be able to afford to trial two (or three, soon!) dogs five runs a day, for two days, for each weekend, per month. CPE is cheaper but is less fun for me, which is why I switched to AKC. I’m likely going to try out NADAC in the future, and possibly USDAA. If they’re cheaper than AKC, then I might switch over.

AKC is the most expensive per run, another reason of several that I don’t really do AKC agility anymore. And when I did, I pretty much just did Standard and JWW since that’s all that is “required”, even though it would have been nice to have the variety of the extra classes. I just didn’t want to throw that money out there, plus the schedules would often have the extra classes first thing and then our Std/JWW classes at the end of the day, or vice versa, so that sucked.

The other venues are cheaper per run, however you generally have to do more classes for most of the titles. So the cost can end out being about the same in the long run. CPE was fun when I had a smaller dog, but much like AKC, my German Shepherds just don’t fit on the tight courses.

And yeah, dog sports with multiple dogs is always a nightmare for the wallet. 

[abirddogmoment]

Not to exclusively post agility videos, but Mav is really improving in his confidence and obstacle commitment!

[wally-whippet-blog]

I got to do my favorite thing today! I am a little slow because I am so tired from playing all week. 🌮 . 🚀🚀🚀. . #tunnelvision #jumpers #agility #nadac #nadacagility #dogsport #windsprite #silkenwindsprite #greyhound #whippet #sighthound #bordercollie #sheltie #dogs_of_instagram #dogsofig #instadog #dog #agilitydog

[pbgvparty]

So Rowan is now in a true beginner agility class and HOT DANG he loves it. I wobble between "I wish I started him sooner" and "He would not have been ready before now".

Last night, we worked on contacts- he loves the teeter (Anything that makes loud noises is DA BEST); the dog walk and AFrame were also fun and I wasnt expecting that.

Hes got solid channel jumps and he's learning wraps (Send vs wrap for left/right); weaves are being trained as channel weaves which he's picking up on.

Honestly I cant wait to have a dog to trial with. We might start with NADAC or something before AKC.

First trial planned for April 2020!

[wyrddogs]

Hello!

I am interested in getting my pup involved in a sport* and possibly a breed club. Your posts about that world have helped build the courage I needed to explore this world, so I wanted to ask a few questions.

I've been looking into the breed clubs for my dog, and there are a few large ones, but nothing obvious in my area. I suspect some of these issues are breed related - he's a Pomsky - but am hoping that I'm just not looking effectively. With that in mind, I had two questions for you:

1. How do you vet a breed club? Or, when you are looking at different options, what factors do you take into account?

2. How do you find local clubs? I have tried mostly various Google searches, as well as checking the individual larger associations for local chapters with no luck.

Thank you! I appreciate your time and knowledge. (photo of the boy in question attached)

*We have tried some agility and some scent but haven't committed significant time to either one yet, he is enthusiastic about both. He is enthusiastic about most activities.

What a cutie! Welcome to dogworld!

You didn't say what country you are in, so since I am American, I will answer using American clubs since that is what I am familiar with. People in other countries are very welcome to weigh in.

Also, for full disclosure, I consider myself still a noob in the breed/sport club world. I've been a member of terv club since 2017 and a board member since 2020. I joined dachshund club in 2021 and left at the end of 2022. I've been in an agility club since... 2020? 2019? I'm an honorary member of a racing club but don't pay dues so don't have voting rights. I was in a couple of obedience clubs in 2011/2012 but quit because I find competitive obedience boring. So I don't have tons of experience, but I'll share what I know.

Placing this under a cut because it got long!

If you're interested in joining a breed club, their first goal is going to be the preservation and celebration of the breed. What that means will vary from club to club. Some are focused purely on conformation, others will include sports and/or celebration of the breed's historical use. Some breed clubs only allow members that are active breeders. So that will be something to look into when you're checking them out.

There are also clubs that don't focus on one specific breed and are instead dedicated to one or more sports. It's a great way to get involved with people who enjoy the same activities that you do.

In the US, there are two levels of breed club. There is the national level (example: American Belgian Tervuren Club, or Dachshund Club of America), and then the local clubs (may be by state, county, city, etc.). A good way to find local clubs is by going onto the national club website and seeing if there are any in your state. Depending on the rarity of the breed and the size of the state, there may be zero or more than one. Then you can just use the contact info listed on the website to email the club and ask if you can come to an event.

To find a local sports club, I googled "agility club [city]" to find one close to me. You can go to events that they host to see how they run things.

You can also go onto AKC's website to see what agility (or other sport) events are being held in your area to see what clubs are hosting. If any of the clubs look interesting, you can contact them. (You can also do this for CPE, NADAC, USDAA, etc., and other sports venues.)

Also, never underestimate word of mouth. Talk to your trainer and fellow students about being interested in joining a club. They may have ideas! Go to dog events and talk to exhibitors and workers (when they aren't busy). I have landed every single one of my really good trainers via word of mouth, not google. Recommendations count for a lot. If you're nervous, that's okay! Everyone was new once, and I have found people to be largely super helpful and kind.

For vetting... I don't know. XD I want a tervuren, so I cold emailed terv club and they invited me to a tracking event. They were extremely welcoming and enthusiastic about their breed, and about me joining. The club is very tightly run, with quarterly newsletters, frequent meetings (both in person and via zoom), and a variety of events and fun days every year. Even though I don't have a terv yet, they have featured both Bindi and Kermit in their newsletters, and take an active interest in Kermit's competition career.

I attended a few dachshund club field trials and then applied to join. The club is very poorly run, both passively and actively hostile to new members, and the people are gatekeepy and incompetent. I've been involved in dogworld for over a decade at this point so I am deeply unimpressed. So I left.

So basically all you can do is go to events and see if the people seem like assholes or not. XD And if they are, don't let it get under your skin. The problem does not lie with you; it's with the asshole. For some reason some hardcore dog people (in conformation and in sports) feel threatened by new blood, so they feel like they need to lash out to feel powerful. They are not worth your time.

And even though there are assholes out there, there are also really wonderful and kind people. I've met so many good people through dogs. It might take a bit of searching, but you can find your group. It's worth it.

Good luck! I hope you have fun, and wish you and your buddy the best of luck!

[trubluebecca]

I finally started to work on a print for Cynosport today after doing some thumbnails the other week. My thought was to do a Wild West theme. It would kind of go with the piece I did for 2017 NADAC Championships that featured agility in space.

I just haven't been feeling it. Today I was playing in SketchUp to try and layout the background at least somewhat realistically for an agility course and get some help with perspective and all that. That's all the progress I've made with just over a month to the show.

Then I realized all the work is probably going to result in only a couple sales of $20 prints. Of course every piece is valuable experience and has potential to be used in a portfolio or sold forever as prints. That said, if I value this as a $300-$500 illustration, add on the cost of prints, a couple purchases won't cover the investment.

My NADAC Champs posters weren't wildly popular each year I did them. I think I sold more the first year than the second. The second I wasn't selling them in person. I just sold pre-orders online and shipped a few to the site to be sold by someone else.

I suspect commission orders are going to be the bulk of my "sales" at the show. I'm planning to offer gift certificates, which I also suspect will do well so close to the holidays.

For kicks here is my SketchUp mock up with the photo I wanted to use as a base for the dog slapped on top of it, lol. I was planning to modify the dog to look more like the one in the logo on the Cynosport website. Pretty much just need to color change the the dog to have an urajiro pattern, lol. I wanted to have a desert background with saguaros and stuff. Maybe make the equipment look kind of ghost towny, lol.

Another factor in my lack of motivation is that I'm not so well acquainted with USDAA staff and feel like I might be stepping on toes if I try to sell a print too closely inspired by their logo. Wouldn't have a problem contacting NADAC staff, but USDAA (or any other org, lol) I'm not as comfortable with.

I had two commissions come in this week, and I'd like to get them done before I end up swamped at the end of the year. I'd like to get the rest of my products order from printers this week. Maybe I'll change my mind if I get everything else done and have the time to finish the piece and get prints ordered, but I have my doubts it will happen.

[pawsitivevibe]

Wait wait do some people really think you actually CAN'T compete in dog sports with a mixed breed?

Like jokes aside, the CKC (Canadian Kennel Club), AKC, and most other KCs have a way of registering mixed breeds for performance events. There's also all the sports organizations that don't give a crap about breed whatsoever. Here we have the Agility Association of Canada (AAC), and the Canadian Association of Rally Obedience (CARO). There's also UPDOG Challenge for disc, several dock diving organizations, barn hunt orgs, scentwork orgs, UKI, NADAC, USDDA, more disc dog stuff, heelwork to music, trick dog, etc etc ...

It's literally just kennel club conformation and a few breed-specific kennel club sports (field tests, lure coursing, herding, earthdog) that don't allow mixed breeds. So if you're like "ah shame my dog is a mixed breed, he would have been so good at agility" .... No? Dog sports in general don't actually care about breed. Get him in agility asap!!

... sorry yeah I know most dogblrs know this but I saw some tags attached to a recent post I made about the kennel club drama and was like 'wait what?? You think mutts can't compete?' So like do general pet people think that's the case? Cuz if so, I'd like to put that one down and encourage people to pursue sports with their mutts!

[itsybitsyblitz]

just some more random agility class musings...

we had the first class of our 4 class series of “teeter with confidence” tonight!

there are 4 of us, and the other 3 are all black poodle or poodle-like. 2 wee mini poods and a 90lb doodle thing. blitz is the only herding dog.. that��s gotta be a first lol.

he was a bit full of beans for the first couple of turns. tried many techniques including jumping off and back on the teeter, going past it to the target plate on the table (the teeter was propped up by a table), etc.

what finally ended up making it click was just.. luring him pretty much the whole way then having a big ol party at the end. after that we were good to go!

i do think he was fairly nervous for the first little bit, of the movement and sound. he doesn’t show it so much in hesitation, but more like.. skipping the scary part to get the treat at the end, going extra fast?

i think in our last turn he nailed every rep. so that’s promising.

teeter is still not at full height, it’s going down about halfway to a table. but he was really confident towards the end so hopefully full height teeter in no time.

or maybe we’ll just do NADAC forever.... :P

[ainawgsd]

The Blue color has been controversial in Weimaraner circles since the late 1940’s when one of the first Weimaraners imported from Germany hit U.S. shores. His name was Cäsar von Gaiberg, also known as “Tell.” He was an unusually dark Weimaraner, and is considered the progenitor of the Blues in America. The German Weimaraner Club issued Tell’s papers and as such considered him a purebred Weimaraner. The AKC accepted these papers and also registered him. Shortly after issuing his papers and his registration with the AKC, the Germans seemed to have changed their minds about Tell’s purebred status. However, there is no indication that his German registration had been revoked, nor is there solid documentation that he was crossbred although many believed that that Tell was a product of cross breeding. Others believe that the blue color occurred due to a genetic mutation. There are also those that believe the blue color was simply called mouse-gray in Germany and had been around all along. All three of these positions can be well argued, although, to date, no theory has been proven. Most likely we will never know the real answer as to how blues came into being since many documents were lost or destroyed in Germany after WWII.

Any AKC registered Weimaraner bred to another purebred AKC registered Weimaraner, regardless of color, is considered purebred and AKC registerable. The Weimaraner Club of America voted to disqualify the blue coat color in 1971, but they may participate in any AKC event. A Blue Weimaraner would be disqualified by the judge in the conformation ring at a bench show; however, since performance events do not evaluate conformation and disqualifying faults, Blues may compete in obedience, agility, field trials, hunt tests, tracking, etc. They are also welcome to participate in testing with the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA), North American Dog Agility Council, Inc. (NADAC) and the International All Breed Canine Association of America (IABCA). They are not allowed to participate in WCA Ratings Tests unless they are altered.

Because most reputable breeders do not breed disqualifying faults, Blues have suffered from poor breeding practices over the years. Many breeders target them for their coat color alone and sell Blue Weimaraners as “rare.” Blue Weimaraners are not rare! They are not subject to any health problems related to their coat color, such as Color Mutant Alopecia (sometimes known as Blue Dog Disease or Blue Doberman Disease), any more than Gray Weims. However, a poorly bred Weimaraner of any coat color may be more subject to health or temperament issues. Even if Tell were crossbred, so many generations have now passed that that point is moot. Additionally, Gray offspring from Blue parents are considered to be purebred Gray and will never pass on the blue coat color genes. Some Blues today may descend from champions several generations ago, since the disqualification did not appear until nearly 30 years after Tell arrived to the U.S., and a large majority of well known and well bred Gray Weimaraners have Tell in their background.  Blue Weims are Weimaraners through and through, in temperament, physical activity level, etc., and only differ in their coat color.

For more information, visit www.blueweimaraner.com

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