Agility in the Land Down Under

The land of Oz has some wizardly dogs! Two-thirds of Australian households have dogs. With that many dogs, of course you’ll want to do something with them! What better than agility? Australia has a very active Agility community– and trials are called ‘tests’.  There is also the Australian National Kennel Club.

While the Australian Shepherd is actually an American mix, the Australian Cattle dog (AKA blue or red heelers) is all Aussie, and is a great agility worker, even if they are stockier than the shepherding types, which makes sense- they are bred for herding cows!   Keep in mind they are positive learners, and fast ones, too! Correcting them can lead to problem behaviour.  The Australian Cattle dog seems to respond best to short training sessions, and will often learn faster than the handler can teach!