If you’ve never seen the sport in person or on Animal Planet, you’re in for a treat.  If you'd like to come and watch an event, check our list of EVENTS or Trial Info.

But, PLEASE DO NOT BRING YOUR DOG (s) to the event unless the event specifically allows it.

Dog agility is a sport in which dog and handler work together as a team to achieve a set of goals.  The handler directs the dog, off-leash, through an obstacle course which they have never run before.

This requires handler control, quick-thinking, confidence and good communication skills between dog and handler.

The concept of working as a team through a set of obstacles was popularized by equestrian jumpers, and dog agility made its debut at the Crufts Dog Show in 1978 (see more about this below). Since then, agility has come into its own, with an organized system of obstacles, scoring and performance objectives, and has become the most rapidly growing dog sport in North America, England and Western Europe.
Why? It’s fun to watch, and even more fun to do!

GDAC is a sanctioned affiliate of NADAC, the North American Dog Agility Council, which began in 1993 to provide North American dogs and their handlers a fast, safe and enjoyable form of the sport of dog agility.  NADAC sanctions agility trials sponsored by affiliate clubs like ours.  Trials take place all over the country, and a list can be found at the NADAC website, www.nadac.com

A little history...

This is a diagram of the first agility course that was run at the Crufts Dog Show in London, England in February, 1978.

In 1977 John Varley had to organize entertainment for the Crufts Dog Show for the break between the obedience competition and the group judging.  Varley had an interest in horse show jumping and used that knowledge to develop a dog event with obstacles. He wanted something that met three goals:

• Fun,
• Not dangerous, and
• Have spectator appeal.

The demonstration debuted for the first time on February 10, 1978 and had two teams running the course. It was a huge success.  From this demonstration came a sport that is so popular today with people all around the world.