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Agility
Dog agility is a sport in which a handler is given a set amount of time to direct a dog, off leash, through an obstacle course. It is considered the fastest growing dog sport in the U.S. There are two types of AKC agility classes: the Standard class, which consists of contact objects such as an A-frame, dogwalk and seesaw, and the Jumpers with Weaves class, which has only jumps, tunnels and weave poles with no contact objects. Each has 18 to 20 obstacles to clear. Dogs are classified in one of five height divisions. The judging is based upon the time in which it takes a dog to complete the course, as well as how "clean" the run is, meaning without mistakes. No errors are allowed in earning championship points and points are earned by running faster than the Standard Course Time. To earn a MACH title, a dog must earn 750 championship points and 20 Double Qualifying Points by qualifying in the Standard Class and the Jumpers with Weaves class on the same day. Over 400,000 dogs compete in agility trials each year, of which just over 20,000 of them earned titles, and only 213 were named MACHs. Sophie, the Tibetan Terrier pictured above earned her MACH or Master Agility Champion title in April of 2003 and is the only female Tibetan Terrier to ever do so in the nation at that time. Sophie is owned and handled by Dianne Hammons. They are one of just a handful of teams in MO to have earned a MACH. TSKC starting offering the public training classes in both UKC and AKC agility in the spring of 2000. We host agility Show n Gos each year in our newly expanded, fenced, 120x150 ft outdoor training yard. Our instructors have numerous titles on their own dogs and we hold classes for puppy agility, beginner, intermediate and competition agility. For a complete description of classes offered, please see the section for "Frequently Asked Questions." For a current class schedule and prices, please see our "Class Schedule" section.
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