Click on any of the thumbnails to view a larger jpeg of the picture.

Contact obstacles are named for the fact that the dog is required to walk (or run!) over the obstacle. All contact obstacles have yellow areas, called "contact zones" at both ends which the dog must touch both entering and leaving the obstacle. The contact obstacle pictured here is called the A-frame.

This contact obstacle is called a dogwalk. Some people think these are catwalks, but agility people know better!

Another picture of a dogwalk. Notice the open tunnel underneath. This is actually a very long tunnel consisting of two tunnels linked together.

This obstacle is the teeter-totter, or see-saw. Just like the ones in children's playgrounds, the agility teeter pivots in the center, and normally rests with one end on the ground. Once the dog goes up it, the teeter will tip so the other end hits the ground, after which the dog can continue to descend, and exit the obstacle.

The last type of contact obstacle is the crossover. This obstacle resembles a dogwalk, but has a square center, with up to 4 planks, one on each side. This adds the additional handling requirement of directing the dog once they reach the center. Because of the space requirements, and difficulty in judging it, the crossover is seldom used anymore.

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All text and images are Copyright © 1995-2006 by Mary Jo Sminkey and may not be used without permission.