How To Get Into Dog Sports
- Courtney Ducey
- Oct 5
- 8 min read
Updated: Oct 6
And Start Titling Your Dog
Before I got my first dog, Bagel, I distinctly remember telling my friends that I wouldn't get my dogs into dog sports. I'm not a competitive person, I'm not a very active person, and I've heard that the sport world can be very "cliquey" and I'm not interested in that. Yeah well, look at me now. I have been trying almost everything with Bagel. We've done barnhunt classes, dockdiving, rally, scentwork, and competing in FastCAT is his favorite. And I'll get into what all of those are in a bit, but clearly, I'm a liar. I love spending time with my dog and trying new things, and dog sports are a really fantastic way of doing that, and a really great way to spend my money. It's also an incrediby overwhelming space, where do you go? How do you get started? What are the rules (there are TOO MANY and a lot of them don't make sense).
Your first step - register your dog. You may think you'll never want to compete (me less than a year ago) but the bug will bite you and you'll want to be ahead the game. Head over to the AKC website and there are 4 options;
Purebred Listing - if your dog is from an AKC recognized breeder, your breeder should have already helped you with this. If you are unsure of your dog's AKC number feel free to contact your breeder!
Purebred Alternative Listing (PAL) - if you have a purebred dog but not from an AKC recognized breeder, you can register under this option. Your dog needs to be spayed or neutered and you will need to submit some photos of your dog.
Canine Partners - for mixed breed dogs that are spayed or neutered. This is what Bagel falls under!
Foundation Stock Service - This is typically reserved for purebreds who have not been recognized by the AKC yet, but are on their way to becoming recognized. Check in with your breeder if your breed qualifies for this vs. Purebred listing.
The process is fairly straightforward. My favorite part is coming up with your dog's registered name. This is the name that the AKC will recognize your dog as vs their call name, which is their name at home. So Bagel's registered name is Gabaghoul Gremlin, and his call name is Bagel. It can be fun and silly like that if you'd like. For Purebred Listings, you typically have to follow some rules based on the kennel your dog came from and the litter, but your breeer should have already gone over that with you prior to registration.
You will eventually get something in the mail from the AKC that looks similar to this (but in better condition, clearly mine has been through the wringer);
Keep track of this! You'll need your dog's AKC number to register them for trials and events. Maybe take better care of it than I did mine. You will also make sure that you add your dog to your AKC account if you haven't already so you can track titles and points. Make an account on akc.org, go under "My AKC" and add your dog under "Manage My Dog". If I remember correctly I had to manually add Bagel, but double check that your dog is listed under your account so you can see all of your dog's accomplishments!
The AKC website has an abundance of information. You'll find all of the rulebooks for every single sport, you can search for trials and events in your area, merch for your breed, and plenty more that I haven't even uncovered.
FastCAT
FastCAT is one of many sports you can do with your dog, but I believe it to be the easiest entry sport. it requires almost no training and I think almost every dog can do it. I've been to 4 trials now (sometimes just to watch!) and I've had a blast at every single one. FastCAT is an 100 meter timed run where your dog is chasing after a lure, typically just some plastic bags, but sometimes I've seen them have fake squirrel hides on the line! Here is a video of one of Bagel's runs.
This sport technically requires some level of prey drive in your dog, but I've also seen people rely on their dog's recall to get them to run! Someone releases your dog at one end (thanks Jimmy!!), and another person has to catch them at the end. Not sure if your dog will run after the lure? A lot of these events will have fun runs where you only have to pay about $10-$15 (rather than the usual $23-$26) and you can find out if your dog has the need for speed like Bagel! I have seen a lot of dogs who are confused for their first run, but once they catch on, they get a feel for it and their next run they get it!
Bagel's first two runs he parkoured off the huntmaster (the worker who is in the release pen who will tell you when you can release your dog) and then decided he wanted to run after the lure - LOL!. Now he goes to every event SCREECHING like a lunatic because he needs to run.
All tracks are different so your dog may be faster at one trial, and slower at the next. And every qualified run your dog accumulates points. After 150 your dog will get their first title - BCAT! Bagel just got his which was SO exciting. Not only that, but he finally ran under 8 seconds, which I wasn't sure he was capable of (I never should have doubted him) and he ran 7.94 and 7.85 (he did 2 runs). That is what landed him his beautiful rosette. For the next title, DCAT, he will need 500 points, so we'll keep running!
Sport Classes
Many of the other sports require some level of training, so that is where I would recommend getting into classes with your dog. Bagel and I have tried a few so far, although not to where we can compete just yet! Dock diving is a sport I have always been interested in. I love being in the water, I love watching my dogs in the water, so it was naturally one of the sports I gravitated towards. There aren't many docks in the Lancaster area, but I took Bagel over to Barkby Plungers in York for a few private lessons. We haven't been able to get him off of the dock yet, but I am hopeful that next season we will! We did get him confident in swimming in deeper waters which I am thrilled about. I need to be more consistent in my training with this and I had a bit of a crazy summer so that is defintely my problem, but I had a great time with Dori at her dock.
I recently started taking (was bullied into) Rally classes in the hopes of titling Bagel in Rally Obedience. Rally is a dog sport where you and your dog work together in the ring to navigate a bunch of obedience signs in the hopes of qualifying, and potentially titling. Obviously both Bagel and I much prefer the fast sports, but I do appreciate the team building aspect of Rally and getting him to slow down a bit and being able to refine my skills as a handler. My friend Cory with Delaware K9 started offering an Intro to Rally class (after I bullied her back) and we've been having a great time! Our friends Allison & Jace and Sabrina & Rou (you may have seen them at our pack walks!!) are also attending so hopefully we can all attend trials together.
I think that's my favorite part about dog sports - the community. I've known Cory, Allison, and Sabrina for awhile, all in different aspects and arenas, but now we can all come together to compete with each other and our dogs and make new friends together. It is really easy to go to an event or a trial and make new friends. Occassionally you'll be somewhere and someone will be awful, but that is honestly not often.
Virtual Titles
Still want to title your dog but sports aren't your thing? Or is your dog reactive and you're not ready for the sport world yet? Have no fear, virtual titles exist! You can check out the list of virtual titles here, but I would suggest starting out simple!
The test for this includes things like;
Petting and grooming your dog
Sit on command
Down on command
Come when called
Playing outside
and more
You can check out the full list here. If your dog can't do these things right away, that's okay! Start training today. When you're ready, take videos of each skill and send to your evaluator and wait for your certification in the mail!
Trick Dog Novice
There are a few different pieces to this. If your dog already has their Canine Good Citizen, they only have to do 5 tricks (Bagel is not a Canine Good Citizen he is a menace). If they do not have their CGC, they have to do 10, the list can be found here. These are all fairly easy if your dog has a solid marker AND in the novice level you can use a food lure! So you'll just need to record your vidoes and send to an evalutor. For this one you'll get your certification and if you pay extra... a rosette!!
FIT Dog Bronze
This one is a bit more time intensive, but if you and your dog walk and/or hike a lot is worth it. There are a few ways to get this and you can find out here. Bagel got his by having his BCAT and by doing independent hikes (75 minutes/week for 8 weeks). So as you can imagine, tracking that is a bit of a pain. This one doesn't require an evaluator, but it did take quite some time to get approved. A certificate will be mailed to you, as well as a medal if you pay extra!!
When you're ready to submit your titles, you can do so here.
Now you will all need to call Bagel by his full name, Gabaghoul Gremlin BCAT TKN VHMA FITB :)
Put the Dog Before the Sport
What do the titles mean? The titles mean that I work with my dog really hard, and I have a really good relationship with him and we have fun. To Bagel? They mean nothing. He doesn't care about the rosettes, the ribbons, the medals, the letters at the end of his name because he doesn't know what any of that means.
I see way too many people caring about qualifying and titling and putting so much weight on this, and part of me, a very small part, understands that. We are all working very hard with our dogs, and it can be disappointing when things don't go our way. But if my dog is having a good time, I do not care. I know, or am at least fairly certain, that when I take Bagel for his first Rally trial, he will probably act a fool. Probably because he will be so excited about all of the people and the judge. And if he decides to Scooby Doo run to go say Hi to the judge instead of doing what he's supposed to, at least he is having a great time, and we will try again! I'm not going to become suicidal because my dog didn't perform well, I'm not going to base my entire worth off of the fact that my dog NQ'd once or twice or three times. I'm also not going to force my dog to do a sport simply because I want to do to the sport. Do it because the dog wants to, because the dog has enthusiasm for it, do it because you enjoy spending time with your dog and you want to have fun together.
Go forth and have fun with your dog!!! Try not to take it too seriously, because your dog surely isn't.
Loved reading this and love seeing you at events! Congrats Bagel on your BCAT!