Tired of just throwing the same ball in the backyard day after day? Want to do more with your dog? Back in the old days, unless you had a sporting breed, obedience was the only performance venue available. Then along came agility. Now there are unlimited opportunities to find something that’s fun for both you and your dog, from lure coursing and earthdog trials to dock diving and flyball.
Dog shows and performance events are very accessible to newcomers who want to learn about the sport. The Chicago area is very fortunate in having a wide variety of activities. Anyone is welcome to attend an event as an observer, see what the sport is all about and ask questions.
Warning: This stuff does get addictive!
Here is a list of organizations that offer titling events. You can go to any of their websites and do a search for dates and locations. Go observe an event. Ask questions. Get hooked!
American Kennel Club www.akc.org offers obedience, rally, agility, tracking, conformation, earthdog,
American Rare Breeds Association www.arba.org, offers conformation
American Treibball Association www.americantreibballassociation.org, offers treibball (ball herding) trials
Australian Shepherd Club of America www.asca.org offers agility, rally, obedience, stockdog, tracking
Canine Performance Events www.cpe.org offers agility
Canine Work and Games www.c-wags.org offers rally, obedience and scent games
Do More With Your Dog http://www.domorewithyourdog offers trick dog titles
Dock Dogs www.dockdogs.com offers dock diving events
Dogs on Course in North America www.docna.com offers agility, most active in the East
International Weight Pull Association www.iwpa.org offers weight pulls…any size dog can do this!
Lure Coursing Fanatics http://www.lurecoursingfanatics.com some string, a motor, a plastic bag and a dog
Musical Dog Sport Association http://musicaldogsport.org, accepts video submissions
National Association of Canine Scent Work http://k9noseworks.com, conducts trials in the sport of canine nosework or scent detection
North American Dog Agility Council www.nadac.com offers agility
North American Flyball Association http://flyball.org if your dog likes tennis balls, he will love flyball
Teacup Dogs Agility Association www.k9tdaa.com offers agility for dogs under 17″
United Kennel Club www.ukcdogs.com offers obedience, rally, agility, conformation and lure coursing
United States Dog Agility Association www.usdaa.com offers agility and beginning in 2013, rally
Still don’t see anything you like? Check out www.dogplay.com for more ideas.