Agility
About
Agility is personally one of my favorite sports! It is a complex sport that requires a lot of dedication from the owner, but is very rewarding. When competing with Kai Ken in Agility there are a few things you must keep in mind: learning the obstacles can be tough! Although Kai Ken love to climb and are very quick, it is very important to teach the teeter totter, dog walk, and a-frame in a safe and controlled manner so that it is positive and fun. The environment can be hard for your Kai Ken, they are quite sensitive dogs and at agility there are a lot of wound up and frustrated dogs that are barking and causing a ruckus. Be patient with your dog and support them, they may look distracted because they are stressed by the environment and a lot of stress behaviors (sniffing, looking away, yawning) look like what we typically associate with a distracted dog. Types of Agility
Agility has quite a few different games you can play depending on what organization you decide to participate in: AKC: Regular- Regular is a standard agility course that contains jumps, tunnels, weave poles, and contact equipment (A-Frame, Teeter, Table, & Dog Walk). Jumpers- Jumpers courses contain only jumps, tunnels, and weave poles, the Standard Course Times for these are much lower compared to regular courses. FAST- This is one of AKC's agility games that allow you to make up whatever course you want as long as you get a minimum number of points and complete the distance challenge. Time2Beat- This is a 'Regular' course minus the table, but is intended to be fast. The fastest dog sets the time and dogs who are close to that time receive points. Premier Regular & JWW- These courses are a bit like international courses, they have more backsides and discrimination than the other courses, requiring more skilled handling. |
AKC Agility Titles
Tests
(Dogs must not have a Novice title to achieve these, they are Optional) ACT1 = Agility Course Test 1 ACT2 = Agility Course Test 2 ACT1J = Agility Course Test 1 Jumpers ACT2J = Agility Course Test 2 Jumpers Novice
NA = Novice Agility Regular NAP = Novice Agility Regular Preferred NAJ = Novice Agility Jumpers NJP = Novice Agility Jumpers Preferred Open
(Dogs must complete the appropriate Novice title to move up, i.e. NA is required to enter OA) OA = Open Agility Regular OAP = Open Agility Regular Preferred OAJ = Open Agility Jumpers OJP = Open Agility Jumpers Preferred Excellent
(Dogs must complete the appropriate Open title to move up, i.e. OA is required to enter AX) AX = Excellent Agility Regular AXP = Excellent Agility Regular Preferred AXJ = Excellent Agility Jumpers AJP = Excellent Agility Jumpers Preferred Masters
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