Poisons can cause kidney failure, blindness, coma or death.  A big culprit is anti-freeze.Have you got objects or substances lying around your home that could injure your pet? Here are some common sources of poisoning for dogs and cats. 

Batteries - Pets can become attracted to the coppery taste of a used battery shell. Usually the animal will also have burns around his mouth if he ingested a dead battery.  

Cocoa Bean Mulch - This is a common fertilizer made from cocoa beans that is used to encourage flower gardens to grow. Cocoa beans contain caffeine and theobromine, substances, which cause seizures, tremors, vomiting and death in cats and dogs.  This is attractive gardening mulch but it really is dangerous for your pets.

 Chocolate - Known as chocolate toxicosis, symptoms of poisoning include tremors, convulsions, diarrhea, vomiting, hyperactivity and increased heart rate.  The caffeine and a chemical called theobromine in the chocolate cause this. Only twos ounce of chocolate can kill a full-grown dog – even less can do in a cat. Never every give your cat or dog chocolate as a treat and don’t give them the foil wrappers form chocolate treats to play with. 

Copper Coins - Pennies minted after 1982 contain a level of zinc that is toxic to dogs.  If your pet swallows a penny take him to the vet immediately as zinc toxicosis from pennies can cause seizures, tremors, vomiting, kidney failure and death. 

Macademia Nuts – If your dog accidentally eats one of these nuts he can suffer muscular weakness, vomiting, loss of coordination, tummy pain and muscle stiffness. If you suspect your dog has helped himself to macadamia nuts take him to the vet. 

Moth Balls - Mothball contain camphor that can cause vomiting, lethargy seizures, kidney failure and coma.  Kittens often see these as small toy balls that they should play with.

 Pesticides - Any type of pesticide is as toxic to your pet as it is to humans. If the sign says “Keep Off the Grass” keep off it. If the grass is full of pesticides your staffie could suffer from vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, respiratory problems, bleeding from the are very attracted to the sweet taste of anti-freeze so you need to keep it locked up even if it is in your garage. 

Pine tree needles - Ingesting fallen needles from a Christmas tree can cause dog and cat’s serious gastrointestinal discomfort that may require treatment from a vet.  This is because the pine needles can actually cut the inside of the intestines and cause infections that could be fatal to the poor animal. In essence watch out for cat or dog the same way that you would and adventurous toddler. The one thing young humans and pets have in common is their predilection for getting into toxic stuff.  Home is not the only place where this stuff can become a problem.  Don’t let your dog nose around in garbage if you take him or her out for a walk.

Agility competitions are not as complex as they are look. In terms of their exhibition structure they are actually comparable to a tournament. They do have an order to them that is the same at every show. The shoe is usually launched with a Judge’s Briefing where the judge summarizes how the class is judged.

After the judges briefing the handlers of the dogs walk the course with a time limit (without the dogs) to familiarize themselves with the layout of the obstacles. Most trainers will walk or run the course several times looking for potential challenges for themselves and their dogs.

Agility dogs run their courses naked, (which means no collar and no lead). This prevents the dog from catching on a piece of equipment and possibly having it collapse. It also ensures that all cues from the trainer are vocal or signals and there is no physical directing of the dog.

The Judge usually tells the handler when they may begin the course. The Timer starts the stopwatch as soon as any part of the dog crosses the start line and stops when any part of the dog crosses the finish line.

If your dog makes a mistake it is a called a fault. Common course faults include: missing a contact zone, incorrect weave entry, non-completion of an obstacle, weaving off course (taking an obstacle out of sequence), knocking a bar off, leaving a table before the judges count of 5, and exceeding the time allowed for completing the course.

Sitting next to the timekeeper is a Scribe who records any faults the dog may have which have been signaled by the judge with hand signals or by voice.

Once a run is completed the timekeeper shows the scribe the stopwatch and oversees the recording the correct digital read on the scribe sheet. A runner then takes the scribe sheet to the score tent for final calculation.

Final scores are then posted for competitors to view their placement. If they qualify they may perform another round of the same or a different course to qualify them for an agility title.

Each judge designs unique courses for each event run. One of the most interesting things about these dog courses is that rarely are two ever alike. Care is taken to make sure that the same course is never used twice. The judge is responsible for monitoring the final setup of the course to make sure it’s yardage matches up with standard international course time.

Dog agility course competitions are usually fairly elegant events and very interesting to watch whether you are new to this spectator sport or would like to get your own dog into a competitive show like this one-day.