What is dog agility all about? A very good question and the first one I asked when approached by Sue & Helen Jones at the dog obedience club I was attending with my dog Kes.

So along I went one Sunday afternoon to see for myself.

Sadie weaving around posts

My first mistake was thinking that all dogs that do agility are Collies - how wrong I was. In fact I couldn't get over how many small dogs there were.

My second mistake was believing that the 'agility' was meant for the dog. I seemed to spend more time climbing up, crawling through and jumping over things than Kes did in the first few weeks.

It seemed I had to show her how to do everything first!

After those few weeks of basics, like the jumps and making sure that Kes stayed with me, the Dog walk, A-frame and Seesaw were our next mission - these are all contact obstacles - you must touch within areas leading on and off the apparatus.

Kes in competition

We did the Dog walk first and I was relieved to find for once I didn't have to go first.

Not so much joy for the A-Frame though - once again I found myself climbing up one side to try and coax Kes up and over - it took six weeks before she would do it on her own. Not every dog does everything first time it seems!

Once we'd covered everything; jumps, tunnels, contacts and weaving poles, the fun really began - combining it all together to make courses and as our confidence grew we finally began working together as a team.

I never intended to compete with Kes I just wanted to find a fun way of training her with mental and physical stimulation, but the progression seemed natural after all the hard work.

Kes with her first rosette

Our first rosette was a 'special' for trying! The next was in September 2002 when we got our first clear round in competition, 32 seconds of pure concentration on both parts, and the reward a 6th place in Elementary Agility.

That seemed to be our turning point - we have achieved a clear round or had a placed finish in nearly every competition since.

It's the only way I know to keep fit, train your dog and make new friends whilst having great fun all at the same time.

If someone had told me I would be willing to get up a 5.30am on a Sunday morning to travel to a competition when all this started I'd have said they were mad, but when your bitten by the bug.

One of the others great activities we do at the club is Flyball which I shall be watching at Crufts this year with great interest.

Pipper doing the Flyball

We have a team from the Hull Dog Agility Club - a very special team made up of all rescue mini and midi dogs and not a Collie is sight.

Now there's another misconception shattered, Flyball is something else ALL dogs can do and enjoy.

So if you think Dog Agility is for you and your canine friend take a look at some of the web sites and find your nearest club.

agilitynet.co.uk or agilityeye.co.uk are great for information and what's going on in the wonderful world of Agility.

Tracey.