Shared with permission from the coonhound companions website
http://www.coonhoundcompanions.com/fun-and-games.ht
HOUND SPORTS, ACTIVITIES & COMPETITION
Truly, it’s not hard to get involved in dog sports. There are a myriad of activities you can do with your dog. Granted, if you want to be the best of the best, then you’ll want to find trainers that can lead you down that path. Even the people at the top of the game pay coaches to remind them how to overcome challenges and to strive to be better. However, if you just want to have some structured play time with your pet and test the waters, never fear, there are many games out there that will more than welcome your participation!! Most dog sports are designed to have different levels, so you can start by entering the easiest level and work your way up if you decide it’s the game for you.
Visitors are always welcome at events if you want to go watch a competition or two and see if it’s something that appeals to you. A dog that is not entered in the competition may not be welcomed, so you’ll want to check before you go to see if your dog will be a welcome guest also. Organizations like the American Kennel Club and United Kennel Club have an Events Search where you can find competitions and training events in your area. Many formal competitions will have what’s called a “match” or “fun day” event the day before. These events are a great way to get your feet wet in a no pressure, fun format that doesn’t count towards any official titles. They are often designed to help train dogs and to help newcomers get started. Matches and fun days are commonly listed on a “premium list” or “entry form” for the following days formal competition.
We’ve put together some links and information about many of the different games you can play with your coonhound or foxhound.
GENERAL
Here is an introduction to some great things people do with their dogs. Most activities welcome all dogs, whether purebred or of mixed breed heritage. Some of these activities are classed as “working dog” activities, but are also done on a recreational basis, or as a public service. Some dog activities are purely recreational in nature, while others are competitive dog sports. Many of these activities may be new to you. These links have been chosen based upon how welcoming they are to the merely curious.
Great Activities You Can Enjoy With Your Dog
http://www.dogplay.com/index.html
WorkingDogWeb©
http://www.workingdogweb.com/wdcompet.htm
Activities, Sports & Work
TRAINING, BEHAVIOR & RELATIONSHIPS
Patricia McConnell, PhD
Your source for science and soul in dog training and behavior
Suzanne Clothier
http://www.suzanneclothier.com/
Relationship Centered Training™
Temperament testing
Want to build a resume to defend your adored hound against challenges to his character? Or just prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that your dog really is the sweetest, best dog ever? Temperament tests do just that and take no training beyond socialization and basic household obedience.
Canine Good Citizen
http://www.akc.org/dog-owners/training/canine-good-citizen/
Canine Good Neighbour
http://www.ckc.ca/en/Default.aspx?tabid=91
American Temperament Test Society
www.atts.org
USING YOUR NOSE
Your dog is quite literally “led around by the nose” – her own nose, that is. As every dog owner is aware, canines have incredibly sensitive snouts. They learn about the world through their sense of smell. All that sniff-sniff-sniffing your dog does during nearly every waking minute is part of nature’s design. But did you know you can channel your dog’s keen sense of smell and love of sniffing into an activity you can do together?
Nosework is a fast-growing activity that dogs and owners love! Dogs are challenged to use their power of scent to solve simple puzzles. This is fun for novices as well as experts.
National Association of Canine Scent Work (NACSW)
Making K9 Nose Work® the Best Smelling Dog Sport Ever!
http://www.nacsw.net/
Healthy Pets
K9 Nose Work: Channeling Your Dog’s Natural Instincts into a Fun Activity
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/22/k9-nose-work-training.aspx?e_cid=20121022_PetsNL_art_3
K9 Nose Work
Nothing Smells Better Than a K9 Nose Work Dog
http://www.funnosework.com/
Scent Games – Educating Your Dog’s Nose | Suzanne Clothier
http://suzanneclothier.com/the-articles/scent-games-educating-your-dogs-nose
CANINE THERAPISTS
Therapy dogs bring joy to residents of nursing homes and patients in hospitals, as well as students learning to read. Coonhounds and foxhounds have great social skills; many have become cherished therapy dogs.
Pet Partners (formerly Delta Society) for Therapy Dog Training
Therapy Dogs International
http://www.tdi-dog.org/
SHOW COMPETITION & TRAINING
Front & Finish and K-9 Legends
https://haspi37.wildapricot.org/
H & S Publications is an organization devoted to dog ownership, training and the associated canine performance events. Front & Finish® magazine is a publication devoted to dog training and showing. Initially published as a tabloid newspaper, Front & Finish® later evolved into a printed magazine, and now is provided as a monthly e-zine. Their First & Foremost® and Delaney® rating systems are nationally recognized rankings of teams competing in AKC Obedience and Rally competition. The purpose of K-9 Legends is to develop an anthology of legendary dogs and their owners for posterity.
Obedience
Maybe your practice in obedience for temperament tests or your desire to make sure that your independent hound doesn’t pull on his leash and always comes when called has led you to the suspicion that you could compete in Obedience. Don’t let anyone tell you that hounds can’t do it. Here’s a bit of advice from a Coonhound Companions member who’s done it:
“A couple of my favorite methods for teaching some of the skills you’ll need for Obedience include a method called “focused attention” and “choose to heel”. For the more advanced levels, I like to use the “inductive retrieve” training method. A quick web search will yield lots of books, videos and other training aids to introduce you to those methods. These methods help to keep an easily distracted or bored hound very focused and ready to work for you!
“Here’s a link to my hound pup working in his first Obedience competition. He was VERY stressed by all the commotion at an official trial, but you can see how happy he is and willing to work. We’ve in no way mastered Obedience, but it’s a great start and it’s a lot of fun for us!”
American Kennel Club – Obedience
http://www.akc.org/events/obedience/
http://www.akc.org/events/obedience/getting-started/
Demonstrating the usefulness of a dog as a companion to humankind, AKC Obedience is a sport with rules, regulations, judges, conditioning, training, placements and prizes.
United Kennel Club Obedience Program
http://www.ukcdogs.com/Web.nsf/WebPages/DogEvents/Obedience
Obedience events test the training of dogs as they perform a series of exercises at the command of their handler. There are several levels of competition, ranging from basic commands such as “sit,” “come” and “heel” to scent discrimination and directed retrieves over jumps. The classes are further divided by the experience of the handler as well. All dogs start their competition with a perfect score of 200, and points are deducted according to the performance of dog and handler. Obedience events offer an opportunity for the handler and dog to form a special bond of trust unequaled in other events.
Rally Obedience
http://www.akc.org/events/rally/getting-started
Rally’s first level starts all on leash which can be comforting when you’re starting something new with a hound. If you like variety, you might like rally more than the formality of obedience. Unlike obedience, which has a set, very formal pattern to it, rally involves a course that constantly changes.
World CynoSport Rally
http://www.rallydogs.com/
AKC Rally®
http://www.akc.org/events/rally/
Agility
Agility is a sport that appeals to all dog lovers – from young people to senior citizens. It has great spectator appeal. Agility is designed to demonstrate a dog’s willingness to work with its handler in a variety of situations. It is an athletic event that requires conditioning, concentration, training and teamwork. Dog and handler negotiate an obstacle course racing against the clock.
AKC Agility
http://www.akc.org/events/agility/
UKC Agility
http://www.ukcdogs.com/Web.nsf/WebPages/DogEvents/Agility
The sport of dog Agility was introduced to the United Kennel Club in 1994, when the National Club for Dog Agility announced that they would be merged with the United Kennel Club.
The rules for which NCDA events operated under were adopted into the United Kennel Club and have been used as the basis for the UKC Agility program. The rules set forth by Charles (Bud) Cramer and the NCDA were not focused on which dog could complete a series of jumps and tunnels the fastest, but to see which dog and handler teams had the ability to maintain control and quickly maneuver their way through a set course of various obstacles. The United Kennel Club has worked very hard to maintain the teamwork focused mentality of this sport as it was since the very first UKC Licensed Agility trial held in 1995.
AKC Conformation Dog Shows
http://www.akc.org/events/conformation-dog-shows/
For Junior Handlers:
Junior Showmanship Resource Center
http://www.akc.org/events/junior-showmanship/
The Junior Program
http://www.ukcdogs.com/Web.nsf/WebPages/DogEvents/JuniorProgram
The purpose of the UKC® Junior Program is to encourage young handlers to become fully involved with the world of dogs, by encouraging participation in conformation and performance events, breeding dogs, and promoting responsible dog ownership. The unofficial UKC motto is “Our Dogs Do Stuff™.” One very important goal of this program is to encourage UKC® Juniors to embrace this philosophy.
AKC Field Events
http://www.akc.org/events/field-events/
AKC Tracking
http://www.akc.org/events/tracking/
UKC Dock Jumping
http://www.ukcdogs.com/Web.nsf/WebPages/DogEvents/DockJumping
Dock jumping is a simple, yet exciting sport that has been exploding all over the country. UKC is excited to add it as another performance event, through Ultimate Air Dogs; yet another way to have fun with your dog! There are two different forms of jumping that UKC dogs will be able to obtain titles in: Ultimate Air or Distance Jumping, and Ultimate Vertical.
Lure Coursing
http://www.ukcdogs.com/Web.nsf/WebPages/DogEvents/LureCoursing
Is your dog a star at bunny chasing? How about those pesky squirrels? If your dogs lives to chase the creatures of the wild, check out UKC Lure Coursing.
Weight Pull
http://www.ukcdogs.com/Web.nsf/WebPages/DogEvents/WeightPull
Does your dog pull you along the sidewalk every time you take him for a walk? Does your shoulder ache from your dog’s constant straining at his leash? Well, your dog might be a star at Weight Pull! Weight Pull Events give dogs an opportunity to perform a function that comes naturally to many dogs, one that they obviously enjoy. Dogs use a harness to pull a weighted cart a prescribed distance within one minute. The weight vehicles operate either on wheels, on snow or on a rail system. The dogs work toward earning titles based on how much weight they pull in proportion to their body weight so from the smallest to the largest, all dogs can compete. Never count out even the tiniest of dogs in this exciting competition!
DRAFTING & DRIVING
For centuries, dogs have been trained to pull carts, wagons and sleds. Today drafting has evolved into a sport that some participate in for competition, and some just for fun. High-energy dogs particularly love these sports, and that includes many of our beloved hounds.
Fur Wheel Drive – Dog Carting
http://furwheeldrive.com/
Got fur? Get some wheels and join the fun!
Welcome to the official web site for the New England Drafting & Driving Club, Inc.
Thoughts on Carting
http://furwheeldrive.com/cindy.htm
Cindy Scarpa, Caesar Danes
Sources of Carting Equipment
http://www.cartingwithyourdog.com/cvendors.html
Wilczek Woodworks
http://www.wilczekwoodworks.com/
Wilczek Woodworks offers fine quality Dog Carts, Dog Wagons, Siwash Harnesses and other equipment for canine draft work.
Introduction to the Sport of Dog Scootering
http://www.sleddogcentral.com/scootering.htm
CANINE FREESTYLE
Welcome to the Musical Dog Sport Association
Canine Freestyle is a dog sport in which training, teamwork, music and movement combine to create an artistic, choreographed performance highlighting the canine partner in a manner that celebrates the unique qualities of each individual dog.
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