If you’ve ever wanted to see a dog at its top performance level, just watch one participate in dog sports. Impressiveness is guaranteed! This article introduces some of the most common sports and the skills that judges look for in spectacular dog competitions.

Agility Sports

Credited to UK’s Peter Meanwell, agility sports began in 1977 as intermission entertainment for dog shows. Today, the activity is well recognized as its own sport in Canada, Europe, and the U.S. And it’s approved by several well-known organizations (the AKC, NADAC, and USDAA).

To put it simply, agility sports are obstacle courses for dogs. Chances are you’re familiar with agility sports from catching them on ESPN. Dogs are asked to display their running, jumping, and crawling skills within a set amount of time, but without flaw. The best dogs, which just happen to be herding dogs, not only demonstrate these skills on time, they also demonstrate speed, grace, and aptitude. But that doesn’t mean other dogs can’t join in on the fun. Border collies, Saint Bernards, and even Yorkshire Terriers and mixed breeds can compete in this dog sport as well as the young and the old. (Note, only purebreds may participate in ACK agility sports.)

If you’re interested in having a handler work with your pet in agility dog competitions, be prepared for a lot of training. In this sport, dogs have to

• jump over single, double, triple, wing, long or tire hurdles between 8 and 24 inches high
• run and weave through 5 - 12 poles
• jump and then pause for 5 seconds
• run through an open and/or closed tunnel
• walk on a narrow beam
• walk up and down a ramp
• walk across a teeter

Flyball

Invented in the 70s, Flyball originated in California although today, it’s a popular dog sport all over the US. It’s a team relay sport in which each member of a four-dog team jumps over four hurdles and hits a mechanism that shoots a ball in the air. After catching the ball, each dog re-jumps over those hurdles so that the next canine in waiting can take a turn. The team that accomplishes these tasks first is the winning team.

As you can imagine, this sport can bring out the competitor in any dog and handlers must watch for aggressiveness or even distraction among teams. To keep dogs focused, handlers lure dogs to the finish line with treats or a game of tug-o-war.

You can learn more about the sport from the North American Flyball Association (NAFA).

Earthdog Trials

Earthdog trials take advantage of a dog’s natural hunting instinct. It’s a popular sport overseen by the American Working Terrier Association and the ACK in Canada, the UK, and in the US.

In this sport, dogs – in particular, terriers – dig through tunnels and narrow shafts in pursuit of prey. The tunnels might be natural underground channels or the more popular and least dangerous simulated above ground channels. In either location, dogs pick up the scent of its prey (protected in a cage) and venture through a series of intricate tunnels within a set amount of time.

The intricacy of these tunnels is segmented into levels. From the least difficult to the most difficult, there’s the Introduction to Quarry level, the Senior Earthdog level, and the Master Earthdog level. Each competitor has to find a level’s den hole and quarry, and then work the quarry to win.

Sledding

In some parts of the world, dog sledding is not a game at all – it’s an ever decreasing method of transportation. Everywhere else in areas like Alaska, Europe, Canada, Siberia, and even the U.S., dog sledding races teams between two to four dogs to 24 dogs at a time. Both the International Federation of Sleddog Sports and the International sled Dog Racing Association oversee U.S. competitions.

Watching such a race, you’ll see the most popular dog sledding canines: Siberian or Alaskan huskies. These are the dogs that pull a toboggan or basket sled across a long snow covered terrain. The toboggan is heavier than a basket sled, and thus more appropriate for recreation or long-distance sledding. The basket sled on the other hand is lightweight and more appropriate for short-distance competitions. With either sled type, dogs pull a load of baggage and a musher who stands on the sled’s runners.

Skijoring

Skijoring is similar to sledding except that instead pulling a sled, dogs pull a skier – on skis. The sport began in Norway and continued on in Alaska and the U.S. Today’s competitions are overseen by the North American Skijoring and Ski Pulk Association.

During a skijoring event, you might see a single, double, or triple dog team pulling a skier along a cross-country finish line while the entire sport requires very little equipment (skies, towline, skier, and dogs) .

Weight Pulling and Carting

This sport is rather simple in that its winner is the dog that pulls the most weight the farthest distance. As you can probably guess, weight pulling and carting, the sport in which dogs pull heavy loads or people, is the warmer-climate alternative to sledding and skijoring.

Overseen by the International Weight Pull Association and the UKC or the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Club of America, the sport employs a wide range of dogs ranging from the Saint Bernard to the American Staffordshire. But it’s interesting to note that many of its participants are dogs that traditionally participated in dog fighting contests.

Conformation Shows

We’ve mentioned conformation shows quite a bit in our other articles as “dog shows” because that’s what they are! Conformation shows began in the UK, but started in the US in 1877. You might have even heard of a few. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show and the Crufts Dog Show are two of the most popular – all which are overseen by the AKC, the UCK, and the ARBA (American Rare Breed Association).

In essence, conformation shows exhibit a breed’s characteristics and they’re approached with the same structure that some our own popular sports are approached. To participate in the big dog competition described above, dogs have to win the smaller ones first starting at the local level and then eventually make it to the nationals. If you haven’t seen a local, national, or international conformation show before, you might find them comparable to beauty pageants.

In this sport, dogs do little more than look and walk in a way that exemplifies its breed’s characteristics. Some breeds for instance, are known for a particular stance, head shape, or coat. A conformation show winner thus demonstrates those example qualities better than its competitors.

Now even though preparing for a show dog can be quite expensive, costs vary according to the competition. There are less expensive shows for example available for mixed breeds or children handlers.

Obedience Trials

You’ll find more action within an obedience trial than you’ll find in a conformation show. Here, dogs demonstrate how well they can follow commands. But like the conformation show, a dog must win a local competition before it can compete nationally or internationally.

The basic commands that a dog must properly respond to here are:

• sit
• down
• stay
• heal
• jump

…all of which should be performed with and without a leash, and for both short and long amounts of time.

Canine Freestyle

Canine freestyle, a 1989 brain child of Val Culpa, is relatively new on
the scene although it’s gaining in popularity all over Europe, Canada,
and the US. You might know this sport as dog dancing, or dancing with
dogs. Also known as canine dressage, dogs ranging the small canine all
the way to the Doberman move in choreographed steps with their handlers.

This sport is overseen by the World Canine Freestyle Organization. And
through the various movements, WCFO judges can assess a dog’s agility
and obedience by the way that it jumps or climbs over its handler’s
leg, lies perfectly still, and approaches or leaves its handler.

Field Trials and Hunt Tests

Field Trials and Hunt Tests give dogs an opportunity to show off their
natural hunting skills. The first field and hunt dog sports ran in the
mid 1800s, courtesy of the UK, but now they run in Canada, the UK, and
the US, overseen by the AKC, the NAVHDA, the NAHRA, and the UCK.

In this sport, gun dogs (pointers, retrievers, and spaniels) and hounds
(basset hounds, beagles, and dachshunds) are judged on their ability to
point, flush, and retrieve live prey, dead prey, or decoys. But instead
of competing against each other, they compete against a set standard.
As a result, the bar is raised just a little higher after each dog
competition.

Herding

Any dog breed can compete in herding dog competitions except for the
ones overseen by the AKC. This dog competition is additionally overseen
by the UKC, AHBA, and the NSDR, NASS, CKC, and ASCA.

In a herding competition, Australian cattle dogs, Australian kelpies,
Australian shepherds, and Border collies respond to a handler’s herding
commands. What makes this competition different from an obedience trial
is that dogs need to know when to listen to their handlers and when to
follow their own instincts.

The animals that herding dogs work with in such a competition can be cattle, llama, sheep or even ducks.

Frisbee (Canine Disc)

In Frisbee or canine disc competitions, herding dogs and gun dogs excel
at running and catching a Frisbee in mid air. The sport is overseen by
the International Disc Dog Handler’s Association and run several times
a year. You might have seen a few events at your local fair or dog show.

Bear in mind that competitive Frisbee is not the same as recreational
Frisbee. Dogs that compete in the Frisbee sport get scored on both the
number of caught Frisbees and missed Frisbees. They’re additionally
awarded points for catching the most Frisbees in a certain amount of
time, and for maneuvering complicated moves no matter how the handlers
“dish” them out (under-leg, behind the back, multiple discs, etc.).

A little background music plays in Freestyle Frisbee.

Lure Coursing

Lure Coursing began in 1972 and it’s a sport that exemplifies the
sight-hound breed like no other. You may better recognize it as dog
racing. In this AKC and ASFA sanctioned sport, dogs are lured to the
finish line with simulated prey drawn along a pulley.

Schutzhund

Schutzhund tests a dog’s ability to track and attack on command. It’s a
potentially dangerous sport overseen by the LV/DVG A and USCA.

In action, dogs track their owners through an obstacle course, heel,
stay, sit, and demonstrate a resistance to the sound of gun shots. When
commanded to attack, they’re supposed to demonstrate bravery instead of
outright violence.

And just like with the field trials and hunt tests, dogs compete
against a set standard instead of against each other. As a result, the
bar is raised just a little higher each competition.

Typical participants are Dobermans, German shepherds, and Rottweilers pinchers.

Tracking

Overseen by the AKC, AMBOR and MBDCA, the tracking sport judges a dog’s
ability to track (search) and rescue. Scents can be only half an hour
old, or they can be five hours hold. And trails can be only 440 yards
long, or a thousand yards long. To make things more challenging, the
sport requires that dogs follow a scent over various terrains – urban
and wild.