Showing Off Your D.O.G. Trivia Quiz

Answer: FCI

So, what do kennel associations have to do with competitions and dog trials? Apart from providing registry services for dog owners and playing a significant role in the legislation of our dog society, kennel clubs will also conduct and foster events for your perfect pooch. The AKC (American Kennel Club), for example, promotes the National Dog Show and the AKC National Championship. It also conducts the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, an event that commenced in 1877 and predates the arrival of the AKC, which was formed in 1884.

The CKC is the Canadian Kennel Club, and the NADAC is the North American Dog Agility Council. The FCI is the Federation Cynologique Internationale or, in English, the International Canine Federation. Formed in 1911, it is based in Belgium and is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs. Since being set up the FCI has gained members from countries across Europe and the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Oceanic nations. Neither the AKC or the CKC are members of the FCI but do have working partnerships with it.

Answer: True

If you're looking to enter your dog into agility competitions, you need to be aware that there are two types of event; Standard and Non-standard. Dogs competing in Standard will be separated according to age and size but the equipment they utilise will be, generally, the same. These include A-frames, teeter, dog walks, weave poles, a pause table, an open tunnel and collapsible chute, among others. The United States Dog Agility Association Inc (USDAA) conducts four classes under the Non-standard banner; Gamblers, Jumpers, Relay and Snookers.

Snooker, which takes its name from the cue and ball table game, is a complicated event where the dog will enter the field and complete certain obstacles that are assigned different colours. Just like table snooker, these colours carry different point values. Also, similar to table snooker, the dog must first complete a red obstacle followed by an obstacle of their choice, back to another red, then their own choice, a third red and their own choice. They cannot do the same red jump or obstacle twice. Once they have completed this combination, they must complete the remaining coloured obstacles.

Answer: MAD

A dog winning an agility title is similar to an athlete winning an Olympic medal. If that title is earned through a sanctioned event held by a major kennel such as the AKC (American Kennel Club) or the CKC (Canadian Kennel Club), then it is allowed to show off that title at the end of its name. For example, if you see the papers for a dog and they read "Noah's Ark AX" it will mean that the dog is from the kennel "Noah", its name is "Ark" and the "AX" means that it has won an agility title.

MAD is a title used by the USDAA (United States Dog Agility Association) and it stands for Master Agility Dog. The other three (AKC titles) are Novice Jumper with Weaves (NAJ), Open Jumper with Weaves (OAJ) and Excellent Jumper with Weaves (AXJ).

Answer: HT

The AKC (American Kennel Club) conducts both "trials" and "tests" for herding. The "tests" are non-competitive and are designed to provide owners with a gauge as to the dog's instincts and trainability. There are three tests here; the instinct test, to which no title is awarded, the herding test, which earns the dog the HT title (mentioned in the question above) and the pre-trial test, which earns the PT title.

"Trials", on the other hand, are competitive and dogs are pitted against each other. The kennels test the dogs over a range of differing courses, difficulties and varieties of livestock.
- The courses are labelled A to D. A is a standard course inside an arena, B is conducted on an open field, C involves tending to grazing livestock and D is a custom obstacle course.
- The difficulty levels are; Starter (HS title listed above), Intermediate (HI) and Advanced (HX).
- There are three forms of livestock; sheep or goats, cattle and ducks or geese.

Answer: Germany

Schutzhund, which means protection dog, is a series of tests developed by the Germans in the early 1900s to judge the suitability of, at the time, German Shepherds as police dogs. Today that has been extended to cover five breeds of protection dogs. Aside from the Shepherd, this list includes the Boxer, Dobermann, Riesenschnauzer, and the Rottweiler. As a sport, the competition is dominated by the German Shepherds and their close cousin, the Belgian Malinois.

The traits that these dogs need to exhibit include strength, endurance, agility, and scenting ability. Handlers will also be looking for the dog's desire to work, whether or not it has protective instincts, how easy it is to train, courage under duress, intelligence and, ultimately, how well it will bond with its handler and the progeny it is likely to produce.

Answer: Field Dog

Field dog trials are aimed at pointing breeds, and they're designed to test that dog's senses and intuition. Dogs will compete against each other and are given tasks such as following prey, marking a fall, listening to handlers and retrieving prey from a distance.

It will test their stamina, their athleticism and their courage and, basically, it's designed to enhance their natural instincts. These trials are amongst the oldest and most traditional of field events.

Answer: Hunting vermin

Earthdog trials are aimed at the smaller dogs such as Dachshunds and short-legged terriers that were bred to hunt vermin or small creatures that live in burrows. Dogs are presented with a series of man-made tunnels and a quarry (usually a rat). Their task is to identify the quarry's scent and then "work" it. Working a quarry can mean a range of things, and these include barking, scratching or pawing, staring and digging.

This is all done in a controlled environment so that neither the dog nor the quarry, can be harmed.

In the United States the AKC (American Kennel Club) sanctions these events as does the AWTA (the American Working Terrier Association). In Europe the sport has been banned since 1992, as the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals classifies it as dog fighting.

Answer: False

Even better, your dog is now a Flyball Master. The AKC (American Kennel Club) joined forces with the NAFA (North American Flyball Association) to conduct Flyball championships. They recognize four awards under this banner with the abovenamed Flyball Master being one of them. So, what is Flyball? It is a relay race that involves teams of four dogs.

A gun is fired and the first dog races out over a series of low hurdles until it reaches a small box. Once there it uses its paws to trigger a spring-loaded pad which, in turn, releases a tennis ball into the air.

The dog catches it and returns to its handler at the start line and the next dog is set loose.

Answer: Coursing Ability Test

The AKC (American Kennel Club) fashioned the Coursing Ability Test (CAT) on the sport of lure coursing. Lure coursing brings out a dog's natural instinct to chase, using a series of pulleys and mechanized lures to simulate the unpredictable nature of chasing live prey. This is usually limited to sighthounds. The course could be in a fenced-in area or on an open field. The aim is to chase the prey without getting distracted and going off-course.

The CAT is similar in nature, but it removes the competitive nature of the sport and is open to most dogs. Dogs are assessed either as pass or fail. A dog is set free to pursue a lure (alone) and, to pass, must complete the course in a set time and without interruption. The beauty of the event is that it provides dog owners a healthy activity for their dogs.

Answer: Excellent

The AKC (American Kennel Club) defines obedience trials as "demonstrations of the dog's ability to follow specified routines in the obedience ring and emphasize the usefulness of the dog as a companion to humankind. The objective of obedience trials is to recognize dogs that have been trained to behave in the home, in public places, and in the presence of other dogs in a manner that will reflect credit on the sport of obedience at all times and under all conditions."

The Utility Dog class is the most challenging of these events and it will take the dog through, among others, scent discrimination, directed retrieves, jumping and silent signal exercises. The dog will need to earn three qualifying scores from at least two judges. To achieve UDX (excellent) the dog must first complete the UD. Then it would need to qualify in both the Open B and Utility B classes on the same day at, not just one but ten different events.