Activities for You and Your Dog You certainly know of the ordinary and routine activities you and your dog can do together such as taking nice walks, retrieving things, playing with squeakie toys, etc. However, you may not be as familiar with a myriad of other activities that you and your dog can partake in.   Activities include things like:        Obedience. Where you do more than just raise your dog to      listen to you. You actually compete in events at dog shows to      demonstrate how well your dog and you work together as a      team. It's a wonderful way of strengthening your bond with      your dog and can be very enjoyable. You also don't need to own      a purebred to compete as other organizations compete under      non-AKC sanctioned shows and allow mixed breeds to compete.      The following sites can give you a little background:              The Dog Training and Obedience Page (lots of information)            The Obedience Home Page            AMBOR (American Mixed Breed Obedience Registration)        Agility. Where your dog runs through an obstacle course with      you running beside guiding through the course while you work      as a team. Agility was designed directly from rescue work. It      involves having the dog jump small fences, walk on a      teeter-totter, scale an A-frame and much more. This is      MacDuff's absolute favorite activity aside from begging me to      play. To learn a little bit more about agility, please visit the      following:              North American Dog Agility Council (NADAC)            The Dog Agility Page            The Agility FAQ            United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA)        Flyball is a relay race with four dogs on a team. The course      consists of 4 hurdles that the dog jumps until it reaches a box      that is spring-loaded and shoots out a tennis ball. The dog      catches the tennis ball and jumps back over the 4 hurdles to      return while another dog starts the course. For more      information on flyball please visit the Flyball FAQ page. One      thing to remember about flyball in comparison to activites like      obedience or agility is that your dog works independently from      you. If what you want is just for your dog to have a good time,      go for it. However, if you like working together as a team,      flyball is not the activity for this.        Conformation is the process of bringing your dog into "the      breed ring" where your dog is judged on how well it represents      the standard of your particular breed. You will find your      breeders most often in this arena. You will also find other      non-breeder dog owners who do this for fun. I strongly      encourage you to read the Conformation FAQ which gives a      good understanding of what is involved here.        Breed specific events include activities that are designed to      have your dog perform in the manner in which they were bred.      Herding trials are designedfor those dogs of the herding      variety. Lure coursing is designed for site hounds where they      run a coarse following a lure. Earthdog trials are designed for      smaller terriers and dachshunds where they "go to ground"      through an underground maze to reach their target (a rat      protected behind a grated panel). Field and Hunting Trials for      the sporting dogs (retrievers, setters, pointers, etc.).   Back to the Dog's Page

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