Hey everyone!
Some of the Canadians here might already know me as the developer behind Title Tracker and NextPup!
I’m also an agility competitor myself, and I’ve been working on another little project called NextMap. It’s been keeping me pretty busy lately, and I think it’s finally time to get some more people to try it out!
NextMap is a web-based agility course design tool, but one of the things I’m most excited about is the Public Course Library. I’d love to build a place where we can share course maps, browse courses from other people, find new training ideas, and learn from each other!
It also has quite a few other features:
2D course designer with drag-and-drop obstacles
3D course previews
Distance and path analysis
Organization-specific rule checks
Course comparison and equipment changeover planning
And a bunch of other little things I’ve been working on!
It’s still in beta, so I’m sure there are bugs and things that could be better. I’d really love to hear what people think, especially judges, instructors, and handlers who enjoy course analysis or setting up their own training courses.
You can try it here (free to try!):
https://nextmap.nextpup.app
I’ve also made a Facebook group for NextMap, and I’d love for people to join! I’m hoping it’ll become a place where we can share course designs, talk about features, report bugs, and just exchange ideas with other agility people.
Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1Jf1AfrY45/?mibextid=wwXIfr
If you get a chance to play around with it, please let me know what you think! I’m always open to suggestions, and there’s still a lot I’d like to add.
Also, if you use other course design tools, I’d love to know what you like about them or what you wish they did differently!

I don’t know how you border collie people do it. My brain doesn’t even work this fast never mind my feet and my legs. 😂

Hey this is my 5.5 yr old Aussie on our home agility course. I've been training him my own way self taught, I know it's not super precise and proper training and people probably will say it's dangerous but I do my best to keep safety first and make sure the equipment is properly set up for him but it's been working well for us so far. I do not compete and just do this for fun so I don't look for perfection.

Right now I'm not going all the way down with Teeter because I'm just really trying to make sure he's very confident and comfortable first. I have let him try the full Teeter and he can do it but there was one time he lost balance when it landed and bounced off (no injury or big deal he went right back on it) so I went back to raising it to get his balance up. I have been rewarding him at the end of the Teeter then continuing. I also slowed him down before the weaves because he has been flying into them super fast otherwise and is overshooting and missing some weaves when he goes too fast. Should I have released the frisbee earlier? I noticed in the video he looked back after completing weave, is that bad? Ive been trying to reward him right at the end forward so he knows to move forward after.

I have also been working on doing all obstacles independently. I know a lot of people recommended working on that last time. He can do all obstacles independently with me being at distance and sending him forward, but the failure rate goes up so I'm slowly increasing distance and less "hand holding" but I am aware of it.

Does anyone have a suggestion for video equipment that is not a phone? I need something that can record for 10 minutes, easy to set up, wide view and clear recording. I currently use my iPhone and hate it. I run in a 80 x 140 arena and UKI/ISC type courses. What do you love to use to record your agility practices?

Sono un conduttore stufo di cercare gli eventi in giro per pagine Facebook, siti di federazioni e chat di gruppo.

Ho costruito CinoSearch: un motore di ricerca solo per stage, seminari, webinar e workshop di cinofilia sportiva.

Cosa fa oggi: - filtri per regione e provincia - prezzo conduttore e prezzo uditore visibili subito, con badge - eventi filtrabili per disciplina e federazione - preferiti, per non perdere l'evento che ti interessa

Numeri degli ultimi 30 giorni: - 62 utenti registrati - 3.938 visite

Sono pochi rispetto a tutto il mondo cinofilo italiano. Ma sono tutte persone che cercano eventi veri, e sto costruendo in base a quello che chiedono.

Voglio sapere da chi gareggia: quando cercate uno stage, qual è la prima informazione che vi serve e che di solito non trovate?

I have a 1.5 year old dalmatian and we just completed our first pre-agility class. We had so much fun, and I really want to spend some more time practicing at home. What equipment would you recommend? What is unnecessary? Specific products or just ideas are appreciated!

My mom got me a klimb dog platform for my birthday! Would investing in a cato board also be worthwhile? Thanks!

Check it out

Hoping someone who runs NADAC Elite can settle this. I've read the handbook a few times and can't find a clear answer.

1. Elite Bonus and Distance Challenge points. Chapter 12 gives the point values (e.g. 30 for a 4-sequence Regular bonus at 100+ DRI, 15–20 for a Distance Challenge). But it never says what those points count toward. When you get a successful bonus, do the extra points:

•    count toward the class title (EAC, EJC, etc.)?

•    count toward Lifetime points?

•    only count toward the distance awards?

2. The Grounders extra 5. §6.1.7 says a clean run under SCT earns 10 points "towards their title". Staying behind the optional challenge line earns "an additional five (5) extra points". Do those extra 5 count toward the Grounders title (so 2 runs with the line = 30 points), and/or toward Lifetime points?

If you've had a bonus or challenge-line run show up in your NADAC points record, how did it appear? That would answer it better than my reading of the handbook. Thanks!

For those of you that have equipment you use in your yard, how do you store it between uses? I have accumulated 2 tunnels, tunnel bags galore, a bunch of jumps and a set of weaves for home use but without a shed or garage Im not sure how to store everything between set-ups. I can bring everything inside for the winter just fine but dragging everything in and out each setup is getting miserable. Do yall just leave the stuff out in the elements or do you put everything away each time?

After owning a dog consistently for 50 years I’ve been on a break after my sweet Bea passed. I MISS having a dog and at 55 am considering taking the plunge again. I’d like to get involved in agility training to keep both of us active and competitive.

What are some recommended breeds for someone who still works full time and is in decent shape for my age but not athletic?

IM FINALLY DOING AN AKC COMPETITION I GOT MY JUNIOR HANDLER NUMBER AND MY DOG REGISTERED AND IM RLY NERVOUS AND EXCITED IVE NEVER DONE IT BEFORE AHHHHHH

Hello!

I’m currently competing in Open Regular but know once we reach Excellent, I want to do the one time crossover to Preferred.

I have a couple trials coming up where I registered in Regular. After a trial closing date, as part of a move-up, can I also do the crossover to Preferred?

I’m having difficulty finding this information clearly online, so I appreciate the insight! First agility dog!

Hi everyone! Agility is still quite a small and developing sport in my country, so we have a limited number of clubs and trainers available.

I have a 4-year-old Westie, and we’ve been training for about 2 years. When he first started agility at the beginner level (mainly jumps and tunnels), he was actually quite fast.

However, as we progressed to more equipment and full courses, we noticed that he was easily distracted and spent a lot of time sniffing.

Now, he is much more focused. He understands the obstacles, can complete full courses, and no longer gets distracted by sniffing. However, he still doesn’t seem to have the same urgency or excitement that he has when he is chasing something.

He has a very fast chase/sprint speed, but once we are on an agility course, he changes into a much more relaxed “jogging” pace.

As the competition level around us is becoming more competitive, I’m wondering whether this is something I can still train and improve, or whether his speed and drive on an agility course are simply limited by his natural temperament.

How would you approach this? Is it possible to transfer a dog’s natural chasing drive into agility, or is this something that is largely instinctive?

I’d really appreciate advice from experienced handlers who have dealt with a similar situation. Thank you!

I had a discussion about drive and work/showlines today, I’m not going to share the wole conversation because wo both thought we were right. but I would like your opinion on this questions. you don’t have to answer them all im just curious and I really want to learn about this kind of stuff. so:

what is drive in a dog?
what makes a dog a showline?
what makes a dog a workline?

what kind of dog do you have? (I love pictures)!!

Hello!

Context about me: I've been doing agility with my pup Brodie (pictured, of course) for about 4 years now! I am a senior software engineer.

My reason for asking about app ideas is honestly, I've just been itching to build something that is helpful for people. I love dogs and training and so if I could assist people who are having fun with their dogs, that would make me happy.

I have some ideas:

- dog training app that tracks % of successful reps along with the criteria around certain reps (so you can track your dog improving as you add more and more criteria to a behavior)

- title tracking; add dogs, add what titles / awards they have gotten (pretty simple one)

- something around either club or trial management, for digital trial signups or something

I know there are options out there for any of these, so I usually talk myself out of these ideas since people may not need them.

So, I'm curious:

1. What are some pain points or inconveniences you have in dog training?
2. Are there any processes that could be automated / simplified in your club or trial signups?

Of course, I'm open to any ideas outside of this as well! Thank you for anybody that takes the time to read this post and maybe share an idea or two :)

I am considering my next agility dog and seem to have potentially landed on a mini poodle. I know some great mini poodles at our club who do very well.

I currently have a golden retriever, who has great drive and absolutely loves it but despite now being 5 years old, still has a very excitable energy that often results in her not fully listening to instructions because she wants to get to the next obstacle. She has the best zest for life and I've had the best time learning agility with her as a handler but I'd like to be more competitive with my next dog as my golden ages out in a few years.

Does anyone have a mini poodle they compete with? I think they are a good fit for our lifestyle in size, energy, and temperament (we have a child and a cat) and I am willing to put a lot of training into them before starting agility (I'm not sure any dog will top the amount of training my golden needed for 3 years just to have a reliable recall and pay attention to me!).

Hi, I'm looking for a more durable agility set for my dog. I taught him how to pass 12 pole slalom, but he has a tendency to push poles sideways. This ends with enlarging holes in the ground which the poles are inserted in and bending the pointy metal parts of the poles that are in the ground.

As you can see in the movie, some of the poles were already bent a little. 😄 After such run, I have to correct the whole track, which is quite inconvenient.

Can you recommend any type of set? If you know any tougher set types that I would have to do myself it is also ok.

It was just incredible to watch!! GB also won small!!

I have a 2.5 year old husky/poodle/other assorted varieties dog and we have gone to 8 agility classes at this point. He is super smart and loves doing the obstacles! When he is in the zone we are able to complete some nice clean sequences and he can do a decent start line stay at this point. Our trouble is his tendency to go searching for mischief/ zoom around, especially our first time in the ring during a class. The teacher has had to pick up all her cones because he steals them, steals the pillow under the teeter they have for practicing, tries to get at the sandbags, etc 🙈. I’m not sure how to overcome this, as he’s just so excited and is very mischievous in general, but he is the only dog in our class that engages in this behavior and we are bringing the chaos in a way I wish we weren’t. Any advice on practical strategies to better manage my boy?

My dog’s weaving pattern just changed within the last month. I didn’t notice initially, then randomly did when doing a dog walk exit to weaves.

Does anyone’s dog who typically single steps ever double step when entering (say the first or second pole) or exiting (right before the last pole)?

I went back through old footage and saw she single stepped almost always, but sometimes would double step after the first and/or second pole when entering and sometimes before the last pole to exit. What changed? Now she is double stepping almost every time on the right side (which would be normal for her if it was only the second or last pole).

My hypothesis (after going back and reviewing tons of footage from the last year) is that this changed 4 weeks ago when we were prepping for novice courses and I introduced her to 6 poles for the first time ever. That was the first time she ever double stepped every time on the right side.

She is currently on rest while we wait for a physio check just to make sure this isn’t something related to an injury or soreness, but just wanted to hear some thoughts to ease my anxiety!

I am desensitizing my dog to the teeter and want to work on both height and noise aspects- watching a video they mentioned bang games where the dog can put its paws on a low teeter and push it down to make a noise and then get rewarded.

Is there a way to simulate this game without a teeter? I could buy a small one but also would have no space for it lol

I’m just starting my dog with agility now she’s 6 years old and eager.
There’s no classes nearby and I don’t have much funds for equipment but just wondering if anyone could think of ways for me to practice the skills without lots of money?
I get a bit overwhelmed looking at all the different advice online and just need a bit of help thank you so much <3

Any tips or tricks to level your dog walk? My yard is very uneven and sloped weird, I've been having a hard time trying to figure out how to make the DW level on it. Are there any tools or objects you've see people use under the supports/legs to ensure the running surface is level? My dog is doing fine with the slight tilt but I really don't like it.

My pup is 20 months old. I’ve been working on agility adjacent skills since we got her at 9 weeks. We practice in the backyard most days. We have got skills to front cross, rear cross, blind cross and she understands directional cues. She is amazing at 12 weaves. She can find the entrance without me, even at weird angles. We have done a 16 week group agility course, two agility workshops, and two fun runs. She got a little curious about the corner of the ring in one of the fun runs, but otherwise stayed with me and had lots of fun. She is confident in the ring and fast. We are starting another level of group classes this week and we should be moving up to full size contacts. There is a trial happening in my area in two months. Is it too early to sign her up? Perhaps just a jumpers class without contacts for now?