French Ring, as the name suggests, is a high level dog sport tracing its roots back to France. From the beginning, it was a test to select the most suitable working dogs in traditional guarding and herding breeds. Today, it remains the gold standard in assessing breeding stock in France for working breeds while also having been refined into a demanding competitive sport that challenges the dog, the handler and the decoy in a unique way.

To succeed the dog must not only be athletic, but relish in his athleticism and the joy of working with his human partner. The sport demands of the dog both physical stamina and mental endurance, peak fitness and conditioning, strength and agility, obedience and independence, clear-headedness and ardor, and courage with dogged determination! The decoy and the dog challenge each other in a graceful sparring match of speed and charming bravado, while the handler must be precise and in harmony with the dog to guide him to victory.

Although there is no set routine in Ring, there are three components to the sport to challenge dog and handler:
1. Obedience, also sometimes referred to as “Flatwork” or “On the Flat”. This phase requires precisely executed commands for skills such as on and off-leash heeling, basic positions, long stays, food refusal, and conditioning to wearing a muzzle under increasingly difficult distractions.

2. Jumping, comprised of three obstacles, showcases the dog’s athleticism, precision and willingness to work. The dogs will leave you in awe as they sail over the hurdle, the long jump and ascend the palisade.

3. Protection, where all the dog’s mental and physical qualities are combined for the ultimate test: an adrenaline-fuelled heart pounding display of power, speed, precision, obedience, cleverness and determination. In kind, the highly skilled decoy must go toe to toe with the dog and make him shine by stepping up to the challenge.

Come marvel at the dog and handler teams stepping out on the field to put their best foot forward and show the truly amazing things our canine partners can do! “Ring” as it is also simply called, is one of the oldest dog sports in the world, and has nourished the indomitable spirit of the working dog for over a century.