In response to Sue and Murphy watching agility trials

[Tammy & Gracie]

I have found it depends on the group. If it was an AKC event, outside dogs (dogs not entered into the event) are not generally welcome. I'm not sure about the other groups. I have discovered that many of these people are very involved and focused on the competition. Part of this seriousness leads to not wanting their dogs to socialize there, they are there to perform. I have felt those feelings before just in my agility classes.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Okay, thanks for your input ladies. I would say that they were all very focused and involved in the whole process. I emailed the co-ordinator twice last week to see if it was okay to observe but hadn't gotten a response. Didn't see any harm in going, but I can see now that it's not acceptable at all times. I will have to observe some classes to see what feeling I get from that. I haven't decided to do agility classes yet, but I hope the classes are more laid back than this was. Too intense for me.

[Kim Williams]

Parris and I will compete in our first trial in December. I think it is better to visit agility classes before you visit a trial. You will get a better idea of what agility is about. Some dogs doing agility will NEVER go to a trial. I think you need to see that atmosphere first before judging agility. That being said, I have visited a trial and witnessed some of what you describe. I had a good experience because I knew people from my agility club at the trial. If you visited an AKC trial, there are some prejudices against mixed breed dogs..... The absolute best part of agility, is not running the courses, it is the incredibe bond that develops between you and you doodle.

[GBK]

The absolute best part of agility, is not running the courses, it is the incredibe bond that develops between you and you doodle.

I agree one hundred percent with this Kim. Whether is it agility, obedience or Rally in practice and training the bonds that are formed are priceless. You also learn so much from each dog, as each dog performs and learns differently. Even if you never go to compete, you learn to work with each other and love it :)

AKC trials do not allow dogs that are not in an event. I have met some really nice people and some really nasty people, as we do in life :) When people are competing, the dogs do need to focus mainly on their other half that they are going to do the runs or trials with. No playing with other dogs, no sniffing on the ground, as little distraction as possible at least before the trial or run takes place. Once you start training you will understand...
The dogs are off leash during competitions and you need their attention on YOU at every moment you are in the trial or ring. In training they can be perfect, but once the nerves start and you get on smelly grass or they get interested in the dog walking past, they can lose all focus and it is really hard to get them to come back and finish.

I hope you do try out agility, I think you will enjoy it alot. Like some have suggested, if you have other venues to visit that are not AKC they might me nicer. We only have AKC surrounding ourselves, so not much of a choice for us.
Good luck and keep us posted!

[TJ]

With regard to AKC events, 'outside dogs' are not welcome based on the rules set forth by AKC and not necessarily by other competitors. "Only dogs that are eligible to be shown under The American Kennel Club rules shall be allowed within the show precincts," In other words, you can take your dog to a show if it is registered with the AKC and would meet all qualifications to compete. Now that mixed breeds can compete in some AKC events, you are probably going to see some issues with this as people unfamiliar with the rules start showing up. Because even if a mixed breed dog is fully registered, they may not be able to go watch an AKC event where there was not a mixed breed trial happening.

I am not sure how trials run in other venues, but in the trials I attend, people don't stand around all day with their dogs. They normally keep them crated so any socializing is at a minimum anyway. And unless your dog (or you) are being a nuisance, most competitors could care less who is there to watch.

[Adina P]

It's odd to me that they are strict but I understand the desire to keep the crowd of dogs to a minimum.
I 'snuck' Rosco into our local conformation/obedience AKC show--we were there for about an hour, watching different things before anyone asked us to leave. And the ONLY reason we were asked to leave was because I'm a member of the club and one of the gals (who is more a stickler about rules) KNEW that Rosco was a mixed breed and shouldn't be anywhere but on the very outskirts. Not that he did anything but behave perfectly and heel alongside me as the other dogs were doing as they went from ring to ring or mingled, etc.

In any case, when I think of socialization...I do NOT expect to have my dogs MINGLING with the dogs competing at all. I only took Rosco to give him some more practice heeling amongst crowds and other dogs and holding stays. Socialization is in the eye of the beholder to some extent...to me it does NOT necessarily mean that the dogs are meeting each other...it just means they can co-exist.

[TJ]

Confirmation shows (and competitors) are a different deal. No offense to anyone who competes. If it had been just an obedience show, I would suspect that no one would have said a word about you being there. Unless this other person really has nothing better to do in life than walk around with their nose in the rule book.

So get Rosco registered with AKC (even if you don't plan on competing) and make yourself welcome at any AKC event except for conformation.

[Linda and Murphy]

Hi all. Murphy and I have been "missing in action" for awhile, but hope to be back.
Early on, our agility class instructor invited the entire beginners class to watch an AKC agility trial about 2 hours from home.
Not realizing we were "different", I took Murphy. She looked a little bit horrified when we showed up. She calmed down, explained to me that Murphy wasn't supposed to be there and simply tell anyone who asked that he was an IRISH WOLFHOUND.
Afterwards, we competed in a couple of USDAA events and the photographer (from Florida) loved Murphy. He said he had never seen a dog run with a smile on his face. Last spring, I took him to watch a second AKC event at LSU (we weren't training and I knew he missed it, and I wanted to visit with friends) This was in a huge arena. The same photographer took a picture of Murphy way up in the stands, looking pitiful, as he watched all of the other dogs compete.