Bud Houston - 1997 - Pioneer of Dog Agility

Bud Houston of Waterford, Ohio, was one of America’s most popular agility teachers, stressing solid handing fundamentals and positive training techniques. When he started in the sport 30 years ago, there were no books or videos on agility, so he helped define the sport and became a Pioneer of Dog Agility. Bud went on to become founding editor and publisher of Clean Run Magazine. He is the author of a large body of work, mostly related to training dogs for the sport of dog agility. He also started the largest internet-based discussion group in the world (Agiledogs). Bud’s expert commentary is featured on the USDAA Nationals videotapes during the early years.

Bud has taught numerous seminars in the U.S. and Australia, as well as specialized training camps and clinics emphasizing his positive training approach. His extensive training center instruction experience includes serving as director at Contact Zonies (Scottsdale, Arizona), Good Dog Agility (Mesa, Arizona) and Dogwood Training Center, LLC (Ostrander, Ohio), and he operates Bud Houston’s Country Dream (Waterford, Ohio).

Bud’s first dog in agility Winston, a small Shetland sheepdog, was the first dog in the state of Arizona to earn the Agility Dog® title. He has personally trained and competed in agility with about different 20 dogs, mostly from the herding group. 

Bud is the president of the Teacup Dogs Agility Association (TDAA), which provides a competitive venue for dogs of small stature, without regard to breed or pedigree, and encourages course challenges that are comparable to the ones for large dog handlers in other popular venues. Bud has retired from most judging but remains an active TDAA and NDAL judge.