Agility...
...
is a performance competition where handler and dog must work together to
run an obstacle course that it has never seen before. Belgian Tervuren
tend to be highly successful in agility competition. Their structure and
drive make them natural competitors in this event. The obstacle skills
required by the dog include:
 | Jumping variously configured
bar and panel jumps |
| Going through open
(rigid) and closed (collapsible) tunnels |
| Weaving between a series of
upright poles |
| Walking across
a seesaw |
| Walking across
a raised, narrow board, like a bridge (dogwalk) |
| Climbing up
and down an A-Frame roughly 5 feet high. |
| Downing or sitting
atop a table |
 In
addition to obstacle skills, the dog and handler must also have a basic set of
handling skills. Such skills include
the dog working on both sides of the handler and the handler being able to cross
in front of the dog, behind the dog, sending the dog ahead of him/her and
working at a distance from the dog.
All this must be done according to a sequence
and in an arrangement that differs on each occasion.
In competition, completion of the course is timed and contains deliberate
"challenges." The dog relies on the handler's voice, and body
language to know which obstacle is to be taken next. This requires an
exceptionally close rapport and teamwork between handler and dog, as well as
strong planning skills on the part of the handler.
Agility trials are sponsored by the American
Kennel Club (AKC), United States Dog Agility
Association (USDAA), North American Dog
Agility Council (NADAC) and
Canine Performance Events (CPE), as well as a few other organizations. In AKC competition, events are separated by
level of difficulty, types of obstacles, and size of dog. Any
and all breeds may compete, and are separated only by size because of the jump
heights. Belgian Tervuren mostly compete at the 24 inch jump height, but
those less than 22 inches tall at the shoulder jump 20 inches. The levels
of difficulty are Novice, Open, and Excellent. Three classes are offered:
| Standard, which includes the contact equipment (Teeter,
Dogwalk, and A-frame), |
| Jumpers with Weaves (JWW), which consists only of jumps,
tunnels, and weave poles, |
| FAST (Fifteen And Send Time)
which is based on gathering points upon the assigned point values of
individual obstacles. In order to qualify, the dog and handler team must
gather a certain number of points as well as successfully perform a
designated “distance challenge” in the time allowed. |
These classes are also offered as a Preferred class which means the
dogs jump one height less than their normal jump height and have 5 additional
seconds (3 in FAST) to complete the course. Handlers often choose to enter the
Preferred class for younger or older dogs since there are less athletic demands
on the dog. Handlers are required to show in classes designated "B"
when they have previously titled a dog at that level. Handlers without that
experience may show in the "A" classes.
The following AKC titles are
awarded upon successful qualifying scores in three trials:
The following are
Master and Championship titles:
| Master Agility
Excellent (MX) - requires 10 qualifying scores after achieving the AX |
| Master Agility Excellent Preferred (MXP) - requires 10
qualifying scores after achieving the AXP. A numeric value will be added to
the MXP title for every 10 qualifying scores in the Master Excellent
Preferred Class. (MXP2 = 20 MXP qualifying scores, MXP3 = 30 MXP qualifying
scores, etc) |
| Master Agility
Excellent Jumpers (MXJ) - requires 10 qualifying scores after achieving the AXJ |
| Master Agility Excellent Jumpers Preferred (MJP) -
requires 10 qualifying scores after achieving the AJP. A numeric value will
be added to the MJP title for every 10 qualifying scores in the Master
Excellent Jumpers Preferred Class. (MXP2 = 20 MJP qualifying scores, MXP3 =
30 MJP qualifying scores, etc) |
| Master Agility Championship (MACH) - requires
achievement of a minimum of 750 championship points and 20 double-qualifying
scores obtained from the Excellent B Standard Agility class and the
Excellent B Jumpers With Weaves class. The numeric value in the MACH title
will reflect the number of times the dog has achieved another MACH (MACH2,
MACH3, etc). |
| Master Excellent Fast Title (MXF) –
requires XF plus ten Exc B legs |
| FAST Century Title (FTC) – requires MXF plus 100 Exc B legs. The numeric value in the FTC title will reflect the
number of times the dog has achieved another 100 legs (FTC2 = 200 legs, FTC3
= 300 legs, etc) |
| Preferred Agility Excellent Title (PAX) - requires 20
double-qualifying scores obtained from the Preferred Excellent B Standard
Agility class and the Preferred Excellent B Jumpers With Weaves class.
The numeric value in the PAX title will reflect the number of
times the dog has achieved another PAX (PAX2, PAX3, etc). |
To
get started in Agility, see the Getting Started link on this page, or contact one of the agility clubs listed at the
Clean
Run Agility Info Center.
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