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Sport of Agility
 Dog agility is great spectator sport, as well as a opportunity to have fun while getting you and your dog some exercise. The sport includes an off-leash dog directed by a handler through an obstacle course within a set amount of time. Originally loosely modeled on equestrian stadium jumpers competitions, the sport has evolved into a unique sport with additional obstacles, scoring systems and performance ideals. Agility made its debut as an entertainment for spectators at the Crufts Dog Show in 1979. It quickly became popular and today continues to be one of the most rapidly growing dog sport in the US and throughout Europe.
In the US, several national organizations sanction tests or trials for agility. Trials are held by local dog training clubs and are based on the original international rules and specifications that call for the highest level of dog agility in terms of speed and performance through the obstacles. There are also domestic varieties of the sport that call for less actual agility (by using lower jump heights and smaller obstacles) from the dog and focus more on the handling aspects of the game. Obstacles often include: a-frame
dog walk, collapsed tunnel, see-saw, tire or hoop and other jumps.
In competition, the obstacles are arranged in various configurations, always unique to the trial, that offer levels of challenges appropriate to the class and experience level of the competitors. All jumps have displaceable bars to prevent injury to the dogs. The handler must direct their dog around the course in the sequence that has been predetermined by the judge. Handlers may use hand commands or other signals to their dogs, but may not touch their dog or the equipment.
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