- Obedience
- Canicross, Bikejoring & Scootering
- Flyball
- Hoopers
IADSA is not directly involved in the organisation of competitions for the above sports in Ireland but many of our members actively compete or train in these sports and we love to incorporate demos where possible at our longer running shows. By inviting trainers and experts in these sports to demonstrate at our agility events we aim to help to promote these wonderful sports.
Obedience
Obedience is a fun sport which is open to all handlers and their dogs. The handler’s aim is to train themselves and the dog so that they can direct the dog through a series of highly stylized behaviours that demonstrate control, accuracy and precision from both handler and dog. Like any sport it takes training and practice to progress but it is a physically low impact sport for both the dog and handler which provides high mental stimulation for the dog. Great for dogs of any breed, size or age!
For more information on starting or competing in Obedience in Ireland, please see the following links:
https://www.ikc.ie/competitions/obedience/
http://www.wtci.ie/competition-obedience.html
Canicross, BikeJoring and Scootering
Canicross is defined as cross country running with your dog attached to you. Bikejoring is biking with your dog running out front of you, attached to the bike. And finally, Scootering which is using a special scooter with your dog attached to the front.
For more information on these sports, please click on the following link:
https://www.canicrossireland.ie/
copyright @ Kevin Morris Photography 
copyright @ Kevin Morris Photography
Flyball
You may have seen this fast and furious relay type dog races in Crufts over the past few years. Flyball is a dog sport in which teams of dogs race against each other from the start to the finished line, over a line of hurdles, to a box that releases a tennis ball to be caught when the dog presses a spring-loaded pad, then back to their handlers while carrying the ball. It’s run in teams of four dogs, as a relay. Once one dog returns safely to it’s handler the next dog is released to run.
At the time of writing there are no dedicated groups that organise Flyball competitions in Ireland. However, there are some dog training schools that offer flyball training around the country so to find one nearest to you, type ‘Flyball Ireland’ into a Google search and it will return you some options to investigate.
Hoopers
Hoopers is the new trend that began in the US and it’s popularity spread to Europe a few years ago. It has since been entered on the programme for Crufts!
One of the big attractions of Hoopers is that, unlike Agility, it has no jumps or high impact equipment. Instead, there are a series of ground-level hoops that the dog runs through along with tunnels and barrels to navigate around. The courses are flowing and don’t involve the tight turns of Agility, which make it safer for the dogs, and it means that this remains a fast paced and exciting sport.
The low impact nature of Hoopers means that it is suitable for dogs of all ages, including puppies and older dogs. Retired ex-Agility dogs can also return to dog sports by training Hoopers and yet another advantage is that it can be trained to be handled using distance handling so it could be ideal for handlers that may have restricted mobility.
Like Flyball, at the time of writing, there are no dedicated groups that organise Hoopers competitions in Ireland. However, there are some dog training schools that offer Hoopers training around the country so to find one nearest to you, type ‘Dog Agility Hoopers Ireland’ into a Google search and it will return you some options to investigate.
