dog sports

Dog sports are organized contests that provide physical exercise and mental stimulation for the animals, fun opportunities that allow dog owners to bond with their pets, and entertainment for spectators. There are numerous types of dog sports, as highlighted below. While some are better suited for particular breeds (such as scent work for Bloodhounds and weight-pulling contests for sled dogs including Siberian Huskies and for muscular breeds such as American Bullies), most are open to all dogs. A dog’s skill set and activity level should be considered when selecting a sport.

Agility

This fast-paced, timed obstacle-course contest requires and spurs strong bonds between a dog and its owner. The obstacles require dogs to clear hurdles, weave through upright poles, move through tunnels and across elevated walkways, mount A-frame structures, and more. Because courses can be set up in many ways, dogs rely on their owners’ hand signals and verbal cues to guide them. Dogs are judged on speed and accuracy as they display their athletic abilities and their bond with their owners, who must run alongside their pets while communicating signals. Agility is open to all dogs, and courses can be adjusted to accommodate dogs of different sizes and heights.

Obedience and rally (rally-o)

Talent and teamwork are key to rally, which is derived from obedience trials and often called “rally obedience.” As in obedience trials, heelwork and basic commands (such as sit, stay, and come) are key, but many more skills are tested in rally. Additionally, instead of taking directions from a judge, competitors (animal and handler) navigate a preset course on their own, often at a brisk pace, performing the skills listed on 10 to 20 signs along the way. Contrary to obedience competitions, rally allows the handlers to “rally” their pets with verbal commands and encouragement. The dogs begin with perfect scores, and points are deducted for missed skills or mistakes in their performance.

Coursing

Coursing is the pursuit of game, often a hare, by hounds hunting by sight, not scent. In many countries it is banned as a blood sport. Lure coursing involves sight hounds chasing a mechanical plastic white lure that is moved unpredictably across a 600–800-yard (549–732-meter) course to simulate the erratic actions of live prey. A coursing ability test (CAT) is a less strenuous version of lure coursing that requires dogs to chase the plastic lure across either a 300- or 600-yard (274- or 549-meter) course. Fast CAT is the sprinter’s version of the sport, in which dogs chase a lure in a timed 100-yard (91-meter) dash.

Nose work (scent work) and tracking

Tracking and nose-work competitions are designed after methods used to train drug- and bomb-detecting dogs. Four skills are frequently tested in these competitions—external search, internal search, vehicle search, and container search—with dogs commonly allowed two to four minutes to locate an object with a particular odor, often birch, clover, or anise. Sometimes odor detection trials are required to be passed before a dog can compete in nose-work competitions. In tracking competitions, the leashed dog is required to follow, for example, a 440–500-yard- (402–457-meter-) long scented track, incorporating three to five changes of direction, in search of an object left at the end of the trail. Variations on this model require multiple objects to be found over a longer track; in such variations, some objects may be “older” in scent and may require a greater number of turns to be found.

Carting, weight pulling, and dogsled racing

Carting and weight-pulling events are strength-measuring competitions that require a dog to pull a cart or sled, often loaded with weights, across a short course of gravel, grass, carpet, or snow. Some animal rights organizations have condemned the contests. Timed dogsled races—in which a team of dogs (usually Eskimo dogs, Siberian Huskies, Samoyeds, and Alaskan Malamutes) is controlled by a driver, called a musher—are especially popular in colder, snow-covered climates. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, held each March and raced between Anchorage and Nome, Alaska, is the most famous dogsled race in the world. Animal rights activists condemn the injuries and deaths sometimes caused by the race, though the event’s organizers highlight the many safeguards enacted to protect the health of the dogs, including mandatory rest stops and the availability of veterinarians at race checkpoints.

Herding and treibball

Herding contests test a dog’s ability to control, separate, and move animals (often cattle, but even ducks) across a field, through gates, and into pens, all under the guidance of its handler’s commands, whistles, and hand signals. Dogs are timed and scored on their efficiency, accuracy, and cooperation with their handlers. Certain breeds—such as the Border Collie, the Australian Shepherd, and the Shetland Sheepdog—excel at the sport. Treibball (a German word commonly translated as “push ball”) is a timed herding competition that requires no other animals and is amenable to dogs of all sizes and breeds, though herding dogs tend to have an advantage. The object of the competition is for a dog, often within a limit of 7–15 minutes (times can vary), to maneuver, one at a time, three to eight large balls (usually arranged in a triangle, as billiard balls in a pool match) across a field and into a soccer-type goal. Often the point ball (usually the one at the tip of the triangle opposite the goal) must be maneuvered into the goal first, before the others. Dogs push the balls, humorously called “rolling sheep,” with their head, nose, and shoulders. Handlers encourage their pets with voice commands, hand signals, and whistles.

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Dog surfing

Dog surfing competitions are popular in coastal cities around the world. Dogs surf on special soft-top boards, often covered with traction pads, and they routinely compete in heats divided by weight classes for small, medium, large, and extra-large dogs. The dogs are given 10 minutes to grab as many waves as possible. They are judged on the length of their rides, the size of the waves, and their certainty on the board, with bonus points given for tricks performed on the board. There are also tandem competitions, in which the dogs and their handlers ride together. The dogs must not be leashed to the board, and both animal and handler must wear life vests.

Earthdog and barn hunt

Derived from small-game hunting, Earthdog competitions measure a dog’s ability to uncover prey within a limited amount of time. Like many dog sports, there are variations on the competition, often based on the hunting skills of the dog. Basic competitions provide a scented trail (often by using the scent of rats) that ends in a 10-foot (3-meter) tunnel (supported with a wooden lining to prevent it from collapsing). The dog must enter the tunnel, navigate a right turn, and then find the prey at the end of the trail; the rodents are caged for their protection. More advanced competitions use a longer den (such as a 30-foot [9-meter] tunnel), require additional turns, and may even incorporate false exits to further challenge the dog. Terriers and Dachshunds, which were originally bred for hunting vermin and small game in burrows, excel at this sport. They excel too at the related sport of barn hunt, which challenges dogs to navigate a maze of hay and straw bales and other obstacles in search of rats, which are safely enclosed in aerated tubes large enough for the rodents to be comfortable and turn around.

Dock diving

Dock diving takes the fun of jumping and retrieving to the water. There are two types of competition: distance jumping, in which the pet’s owner throws a toy over the water, spurring the dog to jump as far as possible from a dock into a pool, and air retrieve, in which the dog, upon the owner’s command, runs across a 40-foot (12-meter) dock and jumps to retrieve or dislodge a bumper suspended over the water; the apparatus over the water is moved farther from the dock after each successful jump. In distance jumping, distance is measured from the dock to the point where the base of the dog’s tail meets the water; video of the jumps is used for accurate judging. Any dog that loves retrieving and knows how to swim may compete. Water-retrieving breeds—such as Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, and Labrador Retrievers—perform especially well at this sport.

Flyball

This sprint-based relay race adds a social aspect to dog sports. Two teams of four dogs each compete against one another at the same time. Each dog runs a 51-foot- (16-meter-) long course, jumping four hurdles in its path, to reach a box with a spring-loaded angled pad that releases a ball once the dog steps on it. The dog must catch the ball and then, completing the hurdles on its way, deliver it over the starting line before the next dog can take its turn. Each of a team’s four dogs must complete the course without errors, and the team with the fastest time wins the heat. The game is typically played in three to five heats and is won by the team that wins the most heats. Additional dogs can be on a team as backups or to rotate in and out of heats in a tournament. All dogs age 15 months or older are eligible to compete.

Disc dog

Often called Frisbee dog, this contest showcases the bond and partnership between dogs and their handlers. There are countless kinds of disc events for dogs, many of them cleverly titled, but most of them incorporate one or two basic types of competition: throwing and catching, and freestyle. In the former, the handler throws a disc across a field that is divided into measured zones and out-of-bounds areas. Points are awarded based on the zone in which the dog catches the disc, with zones farther away offering more points; catches in excess of 100 yards (91 meters) have been recorded. In freestyle, the owner choreographs short trick routines set to music. Multiple discs are used, and tricks include jumps, turns, and flips. Points are awarded for the dog’s acrobatics and athleticism, the difficulty of the tricks, and the handler’s showmanship. Disc dog is open to all breeds, though high-energy dogs including Border Collies and Australian Shepherds often excel at this sport.

Canicross

The sport’s name gives away its basic nature: cross-country running with dogs. The animal and handler run together, often with the dog in the lead, tethered to the handler’s waist belt by a bungee leash and directed by verbal cues from the handler. The sport is open to all dogs, though obvious care should be given to smaller dogs whose stamina will pale in comparison with that of larger, more athletic breeds. Like cross-country running, the timed contests are held at various distances, measured in miles and kilometers. German Shorthaired Pointers, Belgian Malinois, Border Collies, and Siberian Huskies often excel at the sport.