Agility Titles
Titles: NA, OA, AX, MX, NAJ, OAJ, MXJ, MACH
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NA
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Novice Agility
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OA
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Open Agility
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AX
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Agility Excellent
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MX
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Master Agility Excellent
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NAJ
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Jumpers with Weaves Novice
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OAJ
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Jumpers with Weaves Open
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MXJ
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Jumpers with Weaves Excellent
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MACH
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Master Agility Champion
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The purpose of an AKC Agility Trial is to afford owners the opportunity to demonstrate a dog's willingness to work with its handler under a variety of conditions. The program begins with basic entry level agility, and progresses to more complex levels. In an Agility Trial, dog and handler work together as a team combining athletic ability and training to negotiate a course of obstacles within a prescribed time period. As the dogs negotiate the course they must constantly be alert to the verbal cues and body language of their handlers.
In order to acquire an Agility title, a dog must earn 3 qualifying scores (minimum qualifying score 85 out of a maximum 100, except for MX and MXJ which require a perfect 100 score) under 2 different judges (with the exception of the Master titles, which require 10 qualifying scores).
Novice, Open & Excellent
Agility trials are divided into three classes: Novice Agility, Open Agility and Agility Excellent. As the classes become more challenging, the dog is required to demonstrate higher levels of training and interaction with its handler. In each of these classes a dog must complete a prescribed course of "obstacles," and is judged on how it negotiates each obstacle and completes the course. There are five jump height divisions for dogs of different sizes. The obstacles include:
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A-Frame
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Open Tunnel
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Tire Jump or Window Jump
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Closed Tunnel/Chute
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Dog Walk
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Broad Jump
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Pause Table
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Double Bar Jump
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Seesaw/Teeter
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Triple Bar Jump
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Weave Poles
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Panel Jump
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Jumpers With Weaves
The newest class is the fast-paced Jumpers With Weaves. This agility class is intended to be a fun yet competitive way to demonstrate a working relationship between dog and handler. Jumpers With Weaves is divided into three classes: Novice Jumpers With Weaves, Open Jumpers With Weaves and Excellent Jumpers With Weaves. In this class dogs are not slowed down by the careful performance and control required by the contact obstacles and pause table. Dog/handler teams can therefore race through a course composed of jumps, tunnels and weave poles, demonstrating a dog's speed and jumping ability.
Master Agility Champion
To obtain the Master Agility Champion title, a dog must exhibit superior performance on the agility course, with speed and consistency being the 2 major qualities of superior performance. In order to acquire the title, Master Agility Champion, a dog must achieve a minimum of 750 championship points and 20 double qualifying scores obtained from both the Excellent B Standard agility class and the Excellent B Jumpers with Weaves class in the same day.