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Doggie Olympics?… Well Kind Of!

Ever wonder what a dog dreams about? It’s not that T-bone on his master’s dinner plate…it’s not saving Timmy instead of Lassie. It’s winning the “United States Dog Agility Association National Championship”!

It’s not the high jump, or the hammer throw, or the Luge but for doggies being a USDAA champ is just as rewarding. Stuart & Pati Mah are like the “Bela Karoli” of the dog agility training world. They have the reputation for being some of the best trainers in the world for teaching dogs the skills that are required to be a champion. Their resume reads to have trained 6 National Champions and a Triple Crown winner! Stewart also was inducted into the USDAA Agility Hall of Fame in 1991, and was the USDAA’s Agility Person of the Year for 1995.

Dogs that go through their training program learn rhythm, balance, coordination and timing through becoming experts in running a series of obstacles. Stewart’s advice to dogs that would like to go through the training is; “You don’t have to have any official obedience training, and it doesn’t matter what kind of dog you are.” He’s trained everything from Chihuahua’s to Great Danes.

And his advise to the dogs owners; ”The thing that’s the most fun with agility training is that the dogs and their owners are always together…it’s a team effort!”

If you are on an Olympic team, the Olympic motto is…Faster, Higher, Stronger. This seems to fit well for Stewart’s athletes as well.

Would you like to know more about agility training? The United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA) is the largest independent agility dog training organization in the world. They have over 30,000 dogs registered and produce more than 500 competitions each year world wide. For more information on the USDAA contact Kenneth Tatsch at 972-487-2200.

And remember when Stewart mentioned the obstacles that the dogs needed to be proficient at? Well here is the total list that is used in the competitions: