Glossary of Dog Trialing Events
Conformation: Most competitive events held under AKC rules are dog shows, where the accent is on conformation. After being examined by a judge, dogs are placed according to how well (in the judge's opinion) they measure up to their individual breed standard.
Obedience: Obedience training is the foundation upon which all canine activities are based, whether conformation, agility, tracking, search & rescue, disability service, fieldwork, etc.
AKC obedience trials were developed to foster training, as well as to demonstrate dogs' willingness, capabilities, and enjoyment of working with and very closely with humans. The dog's ability to perform is judged against a standard of perfection established by the AKC Regulations, where 200 points is a perfect score, and a score of 170 or above is needed to qualify.
Agility: The exciting sport of agility has taken the dog world by storm. The agility ring allows handler and dog to run full speed, while having to perform accurately and safely on A-frames, dog walks, see-saws and a wide variety of jumps and tunnels.
Tracking: AKC tracking events are the competition form of canine search and rescue. These events provide training for dogs and their handlers to meet some human needs for tracking and finding lost humans, as well as demonstrating the extremely high level of scent capability that dogs possess.
Hunting & Field Trials: hunting tests evaluate a dog's hunting abilities on different element of pointing, retrieving or flushing. The dog's ability to perform is judged against a standard of perfection established by the AKC Regulations.
Conformation: Most competitive events held under AKC rules are dog shows, where the accent is on conformation. After being examined by a judge, dogs are placed according to how well (in the judge's opinion) they measure up to their individual breed standard.
Obedience: Obedience training is the foundation upon which all canine activities are based, whether conformation, agility, tracking, search & rescue, disability service, fieldwork, etc.
AKC obedience trials were developed to foster training, as well as to demonstrate dogs' willingness, capabilities, and enjoyment of working with and very closely with humans. The dog's ability to perform is judged against a standard of perfection established by the AKC Regulations, where 200 points is a perfect score, and a score of 170 or above is needed to qualify.
Agility: The exciting sport of agility has taken the dog world by storm. The agility ring allows handler and dog to run full speed, while having to perform accurately and safely on A-frames, dog walks, see-saws and a wide variety of jumps and tunnels.
Tracking: AKC tracking events are the competition form of canine search and rescue. These events provide training for dogs and their handlers to meet some human needs for tracking and finding lost humans, as well as demonstrating the extremely high level of scent capability that dogs possess.
Hunting & Field Trials: hunting tests evaluate a dog's hunting abilities on different element of pointing, retrieving or flushing. The dog's ability to perform is judged against a standard of perfection established by the AKC Regulations.