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Please join me in welcoming
Michelle Hoppes as my guest editor for this months article on UKC.
Since it has been years ago that I competed in this venue I wanted to
provide more current information and Michelle graciously offered to assist.
Michelle lives and plays with her dogs in Agility, which venue is right for
me? UKC? Third
article in a multi-part series on the many different types of agility available
for Goldens— UKC, United Kennel
Club, founded in 1898, is the world’s largest performance dog registry.
UKC believes that the world of dogs is a working world, and has many
events geared towards working dogs. As
well as conformation, you will find dogs having fun at UKC events doing agility,
obedience, weight pull, hunt tests, and more.
All dogs are welcome to participate, purebred and mixed-bred alike. In 1987, Charles
“Bud” Kramer started a different type of agility than that offered by any
other venue. National Club of Dog
Agility (NCDA) emphasized control and accuracy over complicated obstacles
instead of speed over basic obstacles. In
1995, NCDA became part of the UKC organization.
UKC believes that all handlers, regardless of physical abilities, and all
dogs, regardless of breed and physical structure, should be able to participate,
succeed and have fun at agility. Like the other
agility venues, you will see jumps, tunnels, teeters, and a-frames at a UKC
agility trial. You will also see
some very unique obstacles: hoop tunnel, crawl tunnel, sway bridge, and swing
plank, as well as some pause obstacles different from the table.
Dog and handler need to negotiate the course at a brisk pace while under
control. Safety is of utmost
importance to UKC, so the handling of obstacles needs to be negotiated straight
on and straight off. UKC agility is a
great place to get started in the sport. The
atmosphere at a trial is one similar to a large family reunion – everyone is
supportive of their fellow exhibitors. UKC
allows some training in the ring to help both dog and handler get their feet
wet, or even for experienced handlers to work out some training issues with
their dogs. New dogs are allowed to
do the course on leash for practice prior to their run.
No weave poles at the first level, and you get 3 attempts at all
obstacles to get it right. The run
doesn’t have to be perfect to work on those titles; you have quite a bit of
room for errors and still qualify. There are 3 classes
to compete in: AG1, AG2, and AG3. A
little different than the novice/open divisions, one can actually work on both
AG1 and AG2 titles at the same time. The
AG3 class is for those dogs that have earned their Agility Champion title.
All 3 classes are standard courses, where each level has more challenges
presented, like obstacle discrimination and handling from a 6’ distance. Golden friendly,
UKC’s highest jump height is 20”, and the courses are more wide open than
you might see in other agility venues (no tight turns to negotiate.)
The a-frame will range from 4’-5’ at the apex, so nothing too
demanding on the dogs. Since
standard course times are fairly generous, the slower dogs can have just as much
fun and success. If you have
children at home that want to play agility too, well, UKC has a great junior
handler program. Unfortunately, UKC
isn’t widely offered across the For more information on UKC agility, check out their website at www.ukcdogs.com |
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