What Does That Title Mean?

There are lots of different organizations that you can earn agility titles through. One such organization is the North American Dog Agility Council (NADAC).

NADAC trials have six different classes that dogs and handlers can participate in. The Regular Agility classes (novice, open, and elite) test the dog on all possible types of equipment. Qualifying in these classes demonstrates the dog’s ability to perform on all types of obstacles safely and correctly. The other five classes require a specialized skill from the dog and handler. These classes include the Gamblers class, Jumpers class, Tunnelers class, Weavers class, and Touch n’ Go class. Listed below is an short explanation of each of these specialized classes:

Gamblers class - the handler can choose which obstacles they wish to perform during the class.

Jumpers class - requires the dog to perform a series of numbered jumps that demonstrates an efficient jumping style.

Tunnelers class - is a numbered course comprised exclusively of tunnels.

Weavers class - is a numbered course comprised of tunnels and sets of weave poles.

Touch n’ Go class - is a numbered course comprised contact obstacles (A-frame, teeter totters, and dog walks) and tunnels. There can be a mix of tunnels and contact obstacles.

To earn a title, a dog and handler receive points each time they complete a run. In the regular classes, a clean, non-fault run, earns 10 points and a faulted run (with five or less faults) earns 5 points. For the Gamblers, Jumpers, Tunnelers, Weavers, and Touch n Go classes, the dog will earn 10 points for a clean, non-faulted run.

Listed below are some of the abbreviations for a few of the different NADAC agility titles:

An “O” in front of the certificate acronym
(For example: O-NAC or O-TG-O) - is an Outstanding Performance Certificate. (100 points)

An “S” in front of the certificate acronym
(For example S-NAC or S-EJC) - Superior Performance Certificate. (200 points)