Laura
Simonelli -
Agilitypaps.com
Laura owner / trainer of two very well known
Papillons, Both are in the AKC top 10 for 2008. We are pleased to
announce that Laura has made Youtube Agility Instruction video's available
for viewing here at showpaps.com
Laura is also an agility instructor, if you would
like to arrange to take classes from a Papillon Agility Specialist, She is
available to reserve a space for you and your special dog to attend her
classes at her own site.
http://www.agilitypaps.com/classschedule.htm
Many thanks to Jill Blum owner of our Forevr grand pap
"Dallas" for assistance in the making of the videos and providing a
beautiful site to train at. As well as Katie
LaMorte for letting Laura use her Forevr puppy "Rhett" as her Youtube
student. |
MACH 6 StarStruck Moonbeam, RN "Astro"
Astro is a CH En-La's Bravissimo, SOD son |
|
The
exciting sport of Agility has become the premier performance event for
Papillons.
Why? Because the Agility ring allows handlers and dogs to
step out of the normal routine of training and just let Butterflys
fly!!! The Papillon handler and their dog can run full speed
off lead in the arena, while having to perform accurately and safely on
A-Frames, Dog Walks, See-Saws and a wide variety of jumps and
tunnels. The great thing about agility is your having fun, the Pap
is having fun, and if you mess up, so what, it was just good challenging
fun.
Agility began
in England in 1978 as an "intermission" between events at the
Crufts International Dog Show. It was so enthusiastically greeted that
it became one of the most popular dog sports. The USDAA was organized in
1986 and has grown to over 80 affiliated clubs nationwide, and more than
16,000 registered dogs. When the American Kennel club adopted agility,
the sport was opened to a whole new group of dog fanciers. In fact,
since its introduction, in the summer of 1994, agility has become the
most popular and the fastest growing performance event in AKC history!
Agility is a contest of fun, that Papillon fanciers are discovering
every day.
Dog agility
provides a great opportunity for people and their dogs who want to
stay in shape, have fun and challenge themselves to compete for agility
titles.
Agility
training a puppy can start as early as 8 weeks of age. With training as
simple as learning how to go over a bar or their first experience at the
tunnel and the see saw. Puppies are so eager to learn and so happy to
please. They really pick things up quickly. But the key to a successful
training session is to keep the lessons SHORT and POSITIVE. Use lots of
rewards, from special food treats to toys and pats on the head and hugs.
Agility
training works for improving confidence in a shy puppy. The other huge
benefit is the socialization that will help your puppy grow into a very
well rounded dog.
Papillons are
very competitive toy dogs when it come to competing in Agility. As far
as the sport itself it is pretty much the same for all breeds of dogs. Handlers
direct their a dogs over a timed obstacle course. Courses can be run
indoors or out of
doors. Dogs race against the
clock as they jump hurdles, scale ramps, race through tunnels, balance
on a see-saw, leap through suspended tires, run across a plank 4 feet
off the ground,
and weave through a line of poles! Agility Certification Tests are being
offered for several levels of difficulty in standard agility, snooker,
jumpers, gamblers, and pairs relay. Scoring is either based on faults,
as in equestrian jumping events, or on point accumulation. Competitors
who achieve a specified number of clean runs (no faults) in their
standard agility class, earn a title at that level and progress to the
next level of competition. Because of its fast pace and simple,
objective scoring system, dog agility is an exciting spectator sport.
The standard
agility class is comprised of fourteen to twenty obstacles adapted from
the equestrian world and military canine corps, set out in a pattern of
the judge's choice. Handlers are permitted to walk the course without
their dogs to develop strategy prior to each class. Course faults are
assessed for errors such as knocking poles from hurdles, failing to
touch the yellow zones on ramps of the "contact" obstacles
(the A-frame, see-saw, and dog walk), jumping off a pause table before
the end of a five second count, missed weave poles, and running off
course. Course faults and time penalties are combined for a final score,
with the lowest score being the winner.
Snooker is patterned after the
British billiards game of "Snooker". The obstacles are labeled
as to their color and point value which ranges from 1-7, with 'red'
jumps having a value of 1. There is an 'opening' sequence of point
collection, requiring the dog to successfully complete a 'red' jump
prior to attempting an obstacle of any other color, followed by a
'closing ' sequence of a set pattern for obstacles 2-7. Jumpers consist
primarily of hurdles and may include a tire and tunnels and must be run
in a pattern set by the judge. Gamblers consist of a course with no pre-determined route and each obstacle is assigned a point value. In the
'opening' period the handler seeks to accumulate points by performing
the obstacles of his/her own choice in the time allotted. At the
conclusion of the 'opening' the handler attempts the 'gamble', a
sequence designed by the judge to be handled from a distance, for
additional points. Pairs Relay consists of a standard course with one
dog and handler running a portion of the course, followed by a baton
exchange to a second handler and dog who run the second portion of the
course.
The Dog
Agility Masters® Team Championship is a pentathlon event which places
emphasis on dog agility as a team sport, with each individual on a
three-dog/three-handler team competing in each of five classes of
competition: standard agility, snooker, jumpers, gamblers, and three-dog
team relay. Team rankings and placements are based on the cumulative
scores through the five classes of competition.
The
USDAA®
Grand Prix of Dog Agility® is a single tournament class, offered as a
local qualifier. Competitors earning 7 or less faults in each of two
local qualifiers, may advance to one of six regional qualifiers across
the country. The USDAA® Grand Prix of Dog Agility® World Championships
will be held this November.
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strictly prohibited without prior written consent of Danny & Ruth
Ann Ford and Forevr Papillons. |