There are many types of jumps used in agility. The most common
is a single bar jump, which may be either winged, as seen here,
or non-winged. Winged jumps are often decorated as this one is.
The height of the jumps is determined according to the dog's height
as measured at the withers (shoulders).
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Here is another spread jump. This is a triple bar jump, which uses
fewer bars for smaller dogs.
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The last type of jump used in agility is a tire jump, which is
exactly what it sounds like. The dog must go through the center
of the tire.
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Also used in agility are spread jumps, which are wide as well as
high. This is a double bar jump.
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There are two types of tunnels in agility, the open and the closed
tunnel. This picture shows an open tunnel, also called the pipe
tunnel.
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Here is a dog entering the closed tunnel. This tunnel has a rigid
opening and then a long cloth that the dog must push through |
A dog exiting the closed tunnel at top speed!
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Contact obstacles are named for the fact that the dog is required
to walk (or run!) over the obstacle. All contact obstacles have
yellow areas, called "contact zones" at both ends which
the dog must touch both entering and leaving the obstacle. The contact
obstacle pictured here is called the A-frame.
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This contact obstacle is called a dogwalk. Some people think these
are catwalks, but agility people know better!
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This obstacle is the teeter-totter, or see-saw. Just like the ones
in children's playgrounds, the agility teeter pivots in the center,
and normally rests with one end on the ground. Once the dog goes
up it, the teeter will tip so the other end hits the ground, after
which the dog can continue to descend, and exit the obstacle.
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The last type of contact obstacle is the crossover. This obstacle
resembles a dogwalk, but has a square center, with up to 4 planks,
one on each side. This adds the additional handling requirement
of directing the dog once they reach the center. Because of the
space requirements, and difficulty in judging it, the crossover
is seldom used anymore.
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These are known as weave poles. The dog has to weave back and forth
through a line of 6 to 12 poles, without skipping any. This is often
the hardest obstacle in agility to teach.
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The last obstacle in the agility journal is the table. In USDAA
agility, the dog must jump on the table and lie down for 5 seconds
without getting up. The table may be as high as the jumps the dog
has to do.
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