Agility is great fun. You and your dog navigate a course of jumps, tunnels, weaves, A-frame and dog walk as quickly as possible. You can go on to compete with your dog if you find you like the sport.

Please remember that Goldens need to be at least 12 months of age before they are allowed to do high impact exercises. A good level of obedience is needed before you start your training, but this time can be put to good use achieving the obedience required.

Find out more here.

Agility

Credit Bobby Jo Photography

Association of Pet Dog Trainers

The APDT is the largest not-for-profit dog training organisation in the UK. They keep a register of assessed dog training instructors so that dog owners can find accredited APDT CIC instructors to help them train their dog.

The APDT Good Companion Awards have been carefully designed. There are five levels, Puppy, Foundation, Improver and Advanced. Each level has a number of set exercises, together with three optional exercises to introduce you to the different dog sports. ​

Althought not as well known as the RKC Good Citizen Awards, these Awards are a good way of taking your training to a higher level and getting to explore the different dog sports you might like to take up.

Flyball

Flyball is a fast-paced relay race consisting of two teams, a Flyball box and a ball! There are usually four dogs in each team.

The teams race to jump over four hurdles, trigger the flyball box to release the ball, the dog has to catch the ball and then race back over all four hurdles. They have to allow the next dog to pass them, nose to nose, into the lane via the sensor gate. It's like a relay race for dogs, promoting teamwork and agility.

Flyball is an energetic, fast paced addictive sport.

The UK Flyball League has teams across the country who compete and train using a variety of methods with the safety and welfare of their dogs at the forefront.

If you think flyball might be the sport for you, click here to find details of regional mentors.

Heelwork to Music

Heelwork to Music is a dog sport that combines obedience training with choreographed routines set to music which can be up to four minutes long. In this sport, dogs and their handlers perform synchronized movements, showcasing the dog's ability to follow commands and move in harmony with the music. It emphasizes creativity, precision, and the bond between the dog and handler. HTM is divided into two categories - heelwork to music and freestyle. Most competitions stage official classes in both categories.

For more information please click here. 

Hoopers is a fun and low-impact dog sport that has been gaining popularity in the UK. It's a great alternative to traditional agility, designed to be easier on dogs' joints while still providing mental and physical stimulation.

Hoopers involves a course made up of hoops, barrels and tunnels, which dogs must navigate in a specific order. Unlike traditional agility, there are no jumps or contact equipment like A-frames or seesaws. It is possible to train your dog to run the course whilst you stand in the middle shouting instructions to your dog, making a great sport for those less physically able. 

Hoopers

Royal Kennel Club Good Citizen Awards

The Royal Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Training scheme was established to promote responsible dog ownership by teaching owners to train their dog for everyday life situations. There are four award levels: Puppy Foundation, Bronze, Silver and Gold.

Once you have completed your Bronze Award, you are eligible to take part in The Royal Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Training scheme Special Pre-Beginner Obedience Stakes. The purpose of the test is to encourage Bronze Award achievers to take part and enter the world of obedience competition. The stakes test is a combination of the current Good Citizen Dog Training scheme exercises and the pre-beginner obedience test.

Dogs that have qualified for Crufts in their own breed and have also achieved their Good Citizen Dog Training scheme bronze award or above are eligible to enter the Good Citizen Dog Training scheme class.

Members of NWGRC, who attend our Ringcraft Classes, are offered the opportunity to train for all levels of the scheme.

Mantrailing is training a dog to follow an individual human’s scent trail without being distracted. This skill is utilised by search and rescue teams to find missing people but is also an established sport in some countries and is now growing in popularity in the UK. Find out more here.

Mantrailing

Competitive obedience is a wonderful sport that assesses a dog's ability to perform a series of exercises with precision and obedience. Handlers and their dogs work as a team, and judges score the exercises based on adherence to set standards. The sport evolved from Working Trials and offers different levels of competition.

Recently the Royal Kennel Club introduced the Introductory Class, as a graduation from the Royal Kennel Club Good Citizen Awards. This class is to introduce and support newcomers to obedience competition. In this class only incentives in the form of a toy or rewards are allowed to be carried by the handler in the competitive ring and may be given to the dog at the end of an exercise or in between exercises.

If you feel you would like to have a go at Competitive Obedience, it is usually better to try and find a training club that teaches for this.

Obedience

Rally involves you and your dog working as a team to navigate a course with numbered signs, each indicating different exercise to perform. Unlike obedience where the handler follows instructions from a Steward, in Rally you work your way around the course following the instructions at each station. There can be up to 18 stations on a course, and there are about 80 different Rally signs, so there can be a lot of variation on each course and you will never know exactly what to expect on each course.

For more information on Rally please click on the sign below.

Rally

Scentwork is a relatively new dog sport, and one that Goldens excel in. It is a game of hide and seek that taps into their most powerful sense of smell. For those new to the term, Scentwork is an activity where dogs use their sense of smell to find specific odours or items. It’s a rewarding, stimulating, and enjoyable activity that builds trust and relationships with your best friend. Scentwork provides both mental and physical exercise, it builds confidence, strengthens your bond and is suitable for dogs of all ages. Puppies can enjoy the fun of the hunt, while older dogs can engage their minds without too much physical strain.

You can find our more about Scentwork here.

Scentwork

Scurries

Gundog scurries usually take place at Game and Country Fairs. There are different types, but the aim of them is always the same, for a dog to retrieve a dummy in the quickest time possible.

Scurries range from a straightforward marked dummy to more challenging exercises such as the ‘pick & mix’, where only certain dummies should be picked and some even have a distraction element.

Scurries are great fun for both the handler and dog, whilst testing your dog’s abilities in the atmosphere of a gundog competition.

Although working trials tests were originally based on training for police work, for today's participants working trials are purely a competitive sport. They are designed to test the working ability of the dogs taking part.

The exercises are basically divided into three sections, Nosework, Agility and Control.

Working trials rewards the efforts of the team, with the emphasis on reaching a standard rather than winning. To find out more about working trials click here for more information from the Royal Kennel Club.

Working Trials