Questions on doing Agility or Trialling?

[Psycho-Magnet]

We have a dog that would be brilliant at Agility (not FCR).
Also, I am looking into getting a puppy, and when older would hope to do Retrieving.

So, questions:

1. Can only ANKC Registered dogs be entered?  And if so do they need to be on the ME, or is the LR ok?
   (Family dog is not pedigreed.  New pup will be, but probably not on the MR)
    
2. What level of fitness is required from the Hooman?
   (I'm not exactly in the best shape of my life.)

[sheena]

Any dog can be entered but if they are not on the MR or LR then they are put on the Associate Register.  The level of fitness from the human is not essential because you train with the dog in front of you.  My current dog is a super fast, blink & you will miss him, border collie.  I am over 70, overweight, gone in the knees & back & can no longer run. So I train him accordingly, ie. train him to distance handle & as long as he is having fun out there on the course, that is all that matters to me, because he loves it.  My first BC got most of her Masters titles & Open titles several times over.  My second BC was impacted by Covid Lockdowns just in the prime of his agility career, so now he is 11 even though he still loves being involved, I have to retire him from competition. Jaxon is my third agility border collie & all I am aiming at is to be able to stand in the middle of a Novice Course & successfully direct him around the whole course.  The oldest person in our area still doing agility is 86, runs two Masters level dogs & has just got a new pup.  So go for it !!

[Tassie]

If non ANKC pedigreed dogs are registered on the Associate Register they must be desexed.  There is alsio an ANKC Sporting Register, which does allow for entire dogs and bitches, but they must be registered on a limited number of specified pefigree registries accepted by the ANKC ... the list is on the ANKC site .. but an example is ISDS registered working sheep dogs .. so there are many Sporting Register Border Colliws competing in agility..

 

All kinds of dogs compete in agility, but Retrieveing (except for a basic aptitude test) is linited to Certain breeds ... you can find the details on the AN KC website, and as far as I know, they must be ABKC registered.