Things No One Tells You About Dog Sports
I am both a total newbie and an experienced spectator of dog sports. Starsky and I started training in barn hunt a few years ago, but only just earned his first title. (Senior dog problems! Starsky moves pretty slowly, haha.) But it has only been since bringing Ginsburg home that I have started trying other dog sports — so far weight pull and wall climb, and I look forward to trying FastCAT, rally, and dock diving. I’ve also watched numerous agility trials that my sister and her Cavaliers competed in. There’s been a few things I’ve learned throughout my time as a spectator and my recent foray into competitions myself.
1. Your dog will gain confidence
Dogs like to be biologically fulfilled. Different dogs have different biological needs: a scent hound needs to sniff and use its nose to problem solve while a herding breed will need to. Run and work. Engaging your dogs’ biological needs will teach them to. Approach challenges, problem solve, and succeed – all of which are great for confidence building.
Maybe it’s because Starsky is a scent hound, but I especially love physical challenges and scent challenges. Our barn hunt trainer frequently says that barn hunt, agility, and nose work are the best sports for building confidence.
2. It will make your dog smarter
Ok, I don’t actually know if dog sports will increase your pup’s IQ (do they even use IQ as a measurement for animal intelligence? Something tells me no, haha). But engaging your dog’s brain teaming him to problem solve will certainly make him “smarter” and better able to think through challenges that they encounter.
3. It’s good for your dog’s health (and depending on your sport, yours too!)
Mens sana in corpore sano: a sound mind in a sound body. Brain work improves your physical health and vice versa. The same is true for your dog.
Of course doing a physically demanding sport like weight pull, wall climb, agility, or lure coursing will improves your dog’s physical health. But even less demanding sports or sports modifications (Starsky drags light chains instead of true weight pull) will get your dog moving his body – and even better, the mental workout of having a job will keep your dog happy and healthy for many years.
4. There’s more than just agility
Agility is popular, there’s no doubt about that. It’s fun and accessible; there are classes and trials all over the place; it’s an exciting sport to watch even if you don’t know the details of the rules. I’ve watched agility trials for years because my sister has competed with her Cavaliers since she was young.
But there’s more than just agility, as I learned once I started looking more into sports, learning more from Instagram, and proactively discussing sports with trainers. There seems to be an assumption that dog sports = agility. Before I knew more, I never really considered sports because I made the same assumption, and I had been to enough agility trials to know that it wasn’t the sport for me.
I wish there was more education for the general public about the different dog sports options. Agility is a wonderful sport for many people and dogs, but I wish people wouldn’t jump to the conclusion or suggestion that you try agility as soon as you say “dog sports.” Perhaps if there was better education about dog sports for the general public, we could help more people give dog sports a try, reduce gatekeeping in the dog world, improve accessibility, and get more dogs into enriching and biologically fulfilling activities!
5. People are jerks
Did I mention gatekeeping? It’s no secret that dog sports are full of jerks. Just watch Eugene Levy’s movie Best in Show. Is it satire? Yes. Is it remarkably close for comfort? Also yes.
I have been fortunate enough not to experience gatekeeping myself. But I saw it a lot during my sister’s early experiences with agility. People can be cruel; rather than trying to help others get started with the sport, there are a lot of people who are all too willing to unkindly remind you how little you know. Trials made my sister super anxious.
6. People are wonderful!
Of course, there are jerks everywhere! For every jerk in dog sports, there are four amazing people. The vast majority of people I have met are incredibly welcoming and some of the kindest people I have ever met. My favorite part of barn hunt is that at every trial I have been to, the other people in your round wish you luck. And I love my weight pull and wall climb club – I showed up with a little Golden puppy, not exactly a breed known for weight pull success – and the trainer and all the other members have been nothing but welcoming and kind. In fact, we love to joke about our club is a rag tag bunch of dogs because there is no gatekeeping and every breed is welcome to come!
