Performance

Ridgebacks are eligible to participate in a variety of performance venues and their owners should also consider obtaining certifications from the the AKC Canine Good Citizen program, the American Temperament Testing Society and Therapy Dog work. Some performance venues are trainable skills and others rely heavily on the natural instincts of the individual dog. Not all Ridgebacks will excell in every venue, but with so much from which to choose, you are sure to find something that will interest both you and your hound. Below are brief descriptions of several performance activities and the titles that your hound may earn by participating. If you click on each activity, you will be taken to a page showing Rare Earth Ridgebacks and other Ridgebacks in action.

Lure Coursing

Lure Coursing is a performance event developed in the early 70's by Lyle Gillette and other California sight hound fanciers who hunted jackrabbits in the open field. Due to the prevalent use of barbed wire at the time, this unfortunately risked possible harm to the dogs. In order to have a safer and more controlled sport, they invented lure coursing. The idea was to recreate the physical requirements of open field coursing which would allow them to continue testing the functional abilities of their sight hounds. The hounds chase plastic bags tied to a string on a course that is laid out to simulate escaping game. The course is generally between 600 and 1200 yards long. Pullies are used to create turns and the entire setup is powered by a starter motor which drives the string with the use of a continuous loop wheel. In 1972, they started the American Sighthound Field Association (ASFA) and invited other sight hound fanciers from across the nation to join the organization. Sometime later, the AKC jumped on the band wagon and also began sanctioning Lure Coursing Field Trials. The two organizations, the ASFA and the AKC, run their trials in similar fashions, with minor variations in judging and the awarding of titles.

During a Lure Coursing Field Trial, the dogs are run twice, once in the prelims and once in the finals. Dogs are run three at a time, wearing either a yellow, pink or blue blanket, for identification. The dogs run against their own breed and are judged on enthusiasm, speed, agility, follow, and endurance.

There are three classes or "Stakes" in which a dog may be entered:

Open: Dogs that have not yet attained the title of Field Champion
Field Champion: Field Champions of Record (known as Specials in AKC trials)
Veteran: For Ridgebacks, a veteran must be seven years of age or older

Five placements are awarded based upon the cumulative scores of the prelims and finals. Any ties will be broken by a run-off or by forfeiture. Based upon their placements, the dogs will be awarded points towards a title and will also earn Bowen points towards a national ranking.

The dog that places first in each stake is then eligible to run against the other stake winners for Best of Breed (BOB). If offered at that particular trial, the BOB winnners are then eligible to run against the BOB winners of the other breeds for Best In Field (BIF).

Titles that may be earned are as follows:

ASFA Titles

FCh Field Champion
LCM Lure Courser of Merit
LCM2, LCM3, etc. Multiple Lure Courser of Merit
VFC Veteran Field Champion
VLCM Veteran Lure Courser of Merit
VLCM2, etc Multiple Veteran Lure Courser of Merit

AKC Titles

JC Junior Courser
SC Senior Courser
MC Master Courser
FC Field Champion

LCX Lure Courser Excellent

LCXI, LCXII etc. Multiple Lure Courser Excelent

Titles Common to ASFA and AKC

BIF Best In Field
MBIF Multiple BIF winner

Straight Racing

WHAT IS LGRA you ask? Large Gazehound Racing Association.

Similar to straight racing done by whippets in NAWRA, WRA and CWA, the hounds race 200 yards on a straight, flat track. These race meets are often referred to as “Other Breed” meets, meaning all other sight hound breeds except whippets. The first across the finish line wins, no judging is done based on categories as happens in lure coursing. Dogs run only with other dogs of their own breed. A race meet is made up of three programs with heats made up of a maximum of four dogs per each heat. All dogs must run with properly fitted muzzles and numbered race blankets. Dogs are started from racing boxes or hand-slipped, depending on the club and equipment available.

Hounds are graded according to previous racing experience using the LGRA 'WAVE', a weighted average of the dog's last three race meets. This “WAVE” determines which dogs run against each other in the various heats.

Winners earn points towards:

GRC, Gazehound Racing Champion, requires the dog to earn 12 GRC points
SGRC, Superior Gazehound Racing Champion, requires 30 National Race Points

Agility

Agility is perhaps one of the best known canine performance sports and it is a fast and fun sport. You and your dog compete as a team against yourself and the clock. You must guide your dog in, up, through and over an obstacle course. The course is set-up containing such obstacles as: A-frames, teeter-totter, dog walk, tunnels, weave poles, jumps as well as other obstacles. The dog is judged on how the he performs each obstacle and the handler must remember which obstacle comes next in order to correctly direct the dog. There are several types of agility competition besides the standard courses, including Gamblers, and Jumps With Weaves.

Agility is great for any healthy dog and it helps to build your dog's confidence, and strengthens the bond between you and your dog! Anyone can compete or just have fun practicing agility. Basic skills required to get started are sit, stay, come and down. In competition, the dog works off leash, but practice may be done on leash. It is also an activity that will help both you and your dog get in shape and stay in shape. Several organizations sanction agility trials such as the AKC, UKC and NADAC.

Below are the AKC titles that may be earned (please follow the above links to the UKC and USDAA for a listing of the titles they offer):

NA Novice Agility
NAJ Novice Agility Jumper
NAP Novice Agility Preferred
OA Open Agility
OAJ Open Agility Jumper
OAP Open Agility Preferred
OJP Open Jumpers w/Weaves Preferred
AX Agility Excellent
AXJ Agility Excellent Jumper
AXP Agility Excellent "A" Preferred
MX Master Agility Excellent
MXJ Master Excellent Jumpers w/Weaves
MJP Master Excellent Jumpers w/Weaves "B" Preferred
MX Master Agility Excellent
MXF Master Excellent FAST
NF Novice FAST
NFP Novice FAST Preferred
NJP Novice Jumpers w/Weaves Preferred
OF Open FAST
OFP Open FAST Preferred
FTC FAST Century
FTCP FAST Century Preferred
MFP Master Excellent FAST Preferred
PAX Preferred Agility Excellent
XF Excellent FAST
XFP Excellent FAST Preferred

Obedience and Rally

Rally was approved as a titling event by the AKC as of January 1st, 2005. Rally is a sport, held in conjunction with Obedience, where the dog and handler proceed at their own pace through a course of directional signs. The signs are numbered sequentially to indicate the course the handler must take. The dog and handler team heel from sign to sign and perform the exercises indicated on the sign at each location. Each sign contains an exercise illustrated with symbols. Rally is often used to train both dog and handler the skills required to move onto competitive obedience. A title may be earned in each of three levels - Novice, Advanced and Excellent.

AKC Rally Titles:

RN Rally Novice
RA Rally Advanced
RE Rally Excellent
RAE Rally Advanced Excellent

Obedience Trials test a dog's ability to perform a prescribed set of exercises on which it is scored. In each exercise, you must score more than 50 percent of the possible points (ranging from 20 to 40) and get a total score of at least 170 out of a possible 200 points. Each time your dog gets that magic 170 qualifying score "Q", he's earned a "leg" toward his title. Three legs and your dog has become an Obedience-titled dog! There are 3 levels at which your dog can earn a title and each is more difficult than the one before it. You may see levels divided into "A" and "B" at a trial; "A" classes are for beginners whose dogs have never received a title while "B" classes are for more experienced handlers.

Novice: This first level results in your dog earning a Companion Dog title. The title actually describes what is expected of your dog, for exampl, demonstrating the skills required of a good canine companion. The dog will have to heel both on and off leash at different speeds, come when called, stay (still and quietly!) with a group of other dogs when told, and stand for a simple physical exam.

Open: This second level results in your dog earning a Companion Dog Excellent title. He must do many of the same exercises as in Novice, but off-leash and for longer periods. Additionally, there are jumping and retrieving tasks added into the mix.

Utility: The final level results in a Utility Dog title. These dogs are the cream of the crop when it comes to obedience. In addition to more difficult exercises, the dog also must perform scent discrimination tasks.

AKC Obedience Titles:

CD Companion Dog
CDX Companion Dog Excellent
UD Utility Dog

Tracking

Although most tend to think of our Ridgebacks as sight hounds, they also use their noses and can be quite accomplished tracking dogs. A dog earns a TD by following a track 440 to 500 yards long with three to five changes of direction. The track is laid by a human tracklayer and is "aged" 30 minutes to two hours before the dog begins scenting. The goal is to use the scented track to locate an article left at the end of the trail by the tracklayer. The owner follows the dog on a long leash and can verbally encourage the dog during the tracking test.

ATTS, CGC, and Therapy Dog

There are many other ways, besides competitive venues, in which your dog can demonstrate its sound temperament and ability to function as a good companion and good canine member of society. Some examples are liste below:

CGC AKC Canine Good Citizen
TT ATTS Temperament Test
TDI Therapy Dog, there are several oraganizations that offer Therapy Dog Testing

Herding

Although Ridgebacks are not eligilbe to compete in herding events as sanctioned by the AKC or AHBA, one of the original reponsibilites of the Ridgeback was as a property and livestock guardian. They are considered drovers and, as such, many of them exhibit a strong herding instinct and are just as capable of working livestock as the traditional herding breeds.