Ali Canova - Agility Training for You and Your Dog: From Backyard Fun to High-Performance Training

Ali Canova

Competing in dog sports since 1993, Ali Canova has trained a wide variety of breeds including English springer spaniels, papillions, golden retrievers, and Border collies. With her Border collies, Ali has become one of Americas top agility competitors.

Besides competing at a national level, Ali is codirector of Mountain Freaks Agility, where she has developed and perfected an agility training system that emphasizes teamwork and foundation training. She provides private and class instruction for some of the top agility competitors across the country and is also in demand as an instructor at agility camps and for seminars across the country.

Dr. Joe Canova

Owner and codirector of Mountain Freaks Agility, Joe Canova has been involved in the sport of dog agility since 1996 and is a national-level competitor. Joe has had multiple dogs in the national finals of both the AKC and USDAA championships and has qualified for and competed at the AKC World Team Tryouts for the past three years with his Border collie, Argos, who is an AKC and USDAA agility champion. Joe is also an instructor at Mountain Freaks and provides seminars with his wife, Ali Canova.

Diane Goodspeed

After retiring as a business analyst in 2001, Diane Goodspeed became an author and an agility competitor and instructor. With an eclectic mix of breeds, including a Border collie, a Shetland sheepdog, and Lhasa apsos, Diane has competed since 1992 in obedience, herding, and agility. She has qualified a dog for every AKC Agility Championship since 2000. In 2006 her sheltie, trained under Ali Canova, qualified for and attended the AKC Agility Nationals in January, completed his AKC agility championship in June, and won the All-Star Performance Dog tournament in August. In addition to teaching agility classes and private clients, Diane has published two books in the past two years.

For more information on Mountain Freaks, please go to www.mountainfreaksagility.com. Joe and Ali also have training DVDs available. In 2007 Joe produced World Class Weaves! This DVD showcases Joes weave-pole method and is an excellent companion to this book. Alis Running Contact DVD explains her extensive training methods for developing running contacts on the A-frame and dog walk. Both can be ordered from Clean Run Productions (www.cleanrun.com) or direct from Mountain Freaks.

Catcher is airborne over the A-frame. (Photo courtesy of Joe Canova)

We want to thank Linda Mecklenberg for her insights into jump training and want to thank all of our dedicated Mountain Freaks students, with whom we learn so much and we have such a great time.

P airs ice-skating requires balance, flow, precision, speed, and trust between partners. The accuracy and pace of a successful performance are inspiring. Each partner relies on and communicates with the other to achieve perfection. Although the team members have different abilities and skills, each blends his or her performance into the others to form a cohesive, balanced partnership. Neither member can perform alone.

Like pairs skating, agility is a team sport. A flowing, accurate performance is based on precision teamwork. Canine and human partners work togetherinterpreting and functioning in unisonto successfully navigate a demanding obstacle course. Using a shared language, often unique to each team, human and canine blend their efforts and skills to perform together, pushing for speed and accuracy on every curve, turn, and straight line. Agility showcases each species ability to communicate and function together.

Racing all out to the finish line.

Agility dogs are agile and fast. (Photo courtesy of Joe Canova)

Each team member has a different task. Racing against the clock, handlers must direct their dogs to jump, climb ramps, navigate through tunnels, traverse a seesaw, and weave through a line of poles in a configuration designed to challenge. It is the handlers job to direct the dog to the correct obstacle and ensure a safe execution. The dog is responsible for the actual obstacle performance. The precision beneath the teams accuracy and dynamic flow is based on the relationship between the dog and handler. An outstanding course run has an inherent rhythm and balance and elicits applause from spectators, whether the team is a beginner or seasoned competitor. It is this display of the human-dog bond that has made agility the fastest-growing dog sport in America for almost a decade.

Agility made its debut in 1978 as a demonstration at the United Kingdoms Crufts Dog Show. Conceived by John Varley, the event was intended to entertain the crowd during the spare time in the main arena between the end of the obedience championships and the commencement of the group breed judging. What evolved was the brainchild of Peter Meanwell. He used an equestrian show jumping format to showcase the canines strength, speed, and agility over a variety of equipment, including the seesaw, weave poles, pause table, and several jumps. Using a simple course flow, Meanwell wanted an event that was safe and fun for the dogs while providing spectator appeal. With two teams of four dogs, he succeeded dramatically. The crowd loved it, and the dogs loved it. By 1979 several British dog training clubs were training agility dogs and the first Agility Stakes competition was held at the International Horse Show in London that December. In 1980 the British Kennel Club became the first organization to recognize agility as an official sport with a sanctioned set of rules.

Agility offers a multitude of competition levels and events.

Dog agility grew quickly into a unique sport that spread around the globe. In 1985 Kenneth Tatsch, having seen agility in England, began putting on agility exhibitions in Texas, and within a year he founded the USDAA. The first national championship tournament series in North Americathe Grand Prix of Dog Agilitywas held in 1988 at the Astro World Series of Dog Shows in Houston, Texas. In 1990 USDAA began offering agility titles, and a half dozen existing and new dog organizations quickly followed with their own sanctioned agility events. In 1993 the North American Dog Agility Council (NADAC) was formed, and in 1994 the AKC held its first agility trial in Texas. Within a few years, agility competitions were being held in all fifty states, making agility the fastest-growing dog sport in America. In the first year of AKC agility, there were 23 trials with about 2,000 entries. By 2003 there were 1,379 trials. By 2007 the number of AKC trials in the United States exceeded 2,000.

As the sport grew in popularity in the United States, it began to homogenize. The basic rules and requirements to compete stabilized across venues, and the equipment began to become standardized. Although the different organizations that sponsor agility competitions continue to be unique and have slightly different equipment requirements, most now use the same basic pieces of equipment.