|
From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, by MultiMedia |
Dog agility is a sport in which a handler directs a Dog through an obstacle course in an accurate race against the clock. Dogs must run off-leash with no food or toys as incentives. Consequently, the handler's only controls are voice and body language, requiring exceptional obedience training of the animal. In competition, the handler must assess the course, decide on handling strategies and direct the Dog through the course, with precision and speed equally important.
In its simplest form, an agility course consists of a set of standard obstacles, laid out by an agility judge in a design of his own choosing on a roughly 100 by 100 foot (30 by 30 m) area, with numbers indicating the order in which the Dog must complete the obstacles.
Agility field left side: A competition agility field showing (clockwise
from lower left) a tunnel, the Dogwalk, the judge standing in front of a winged
jump, two additional winged jumps, Dog executing the teeter-totter with his
handler guiding, and the tire jump.
Agility field right side: The right side of the same agility field
showing (clockwise from foreground) the weave poles, the pause table, the
A-frame, two winged jumps, the collapsed tunnel (or chute), and a wingless jump.
Numbered orange plastic cones next to obstacles indicate the order in which the
Dog must perform them.
Because each course is different, handlers are allowed a short walk-through before the competition starts. During this time, all handlers competing in a particular class can walk or run around the course without their Dogs, determining how they can best position themselves and guide their Dogs to get the most accurate and rapid path around the numbered obstacles.
The walk-through is critical for success because the course's path takes various turns, even U-turns or 270 degree turns, can cross back and on itself, can use the same obstacle more than once, can have two obstacles so close to each other that the Dog and handler must be able to clearly discriminate which to take, and can be arranged so that the handler must work with obstacles between himself and the Dog, called layering, or at a great distance from the Dog.
Course map showing the layout of the course in the preceding photos. Maps like
this are commonly used by handlers to help design their strategies. This is a
fairly simple, flowing course, probably used for novice Dogs.
Handlers often use printed copies of the course map to help plan their course strategy. There is standard format used course maps, with obstacles having standard icons, measurements and grid having fairly standard dimensions (in the U.S., the grid is drawn in ten-foot squares), and numbers indicating the order in which the obstacles are to be taken.
Each Dog and handler team gets one opportunity together to attempt to complete the course successfully. The Dog begins behind a starting line and, when instructed by his handler, proceeds around the course. The handler typically runs near the Dog, directing the Dog with spoken commands and with the position of arms, shoulders, and feet.
Because speed counts as much as accuracy, especially at higher levels of competition, this all takes place at a full-out run on the Dog's part and, in places, on the handler's part as well.
When all competitors have run, scoring is based on how many faults are incurred. In addition to course faults, such as knocking down a bar in a jump, time faults which are the number of seconds over the calculated standard course time, which in turn is determined based on the competition level, the complexity of the course, and other factors.
Although different organizations specify somewhat different rules for the construction of obstacles, the basic form of some obstacles is the same wherever they are used. Obstacles include the following (note that dimensions vary by organization, so consult the regulations for each organization before purchasing or building equipment):
Teeter-totter - Dogs, such as this
Welsh
Corgi, must be in control as it hits the ground but then continue
running.
Tunnel - This
Boxer
demonstrates how most Dogs run full speed through a tunnel, often using the
back of a curved tunnel rather than trying to remain vertical.
Winged single jump - Jump heights, and often course times, are
adjusted so that small Dogs such as
Jack Russell Terriers compete against similar-sized Dogs.
Labrador Retriever demonstrates fast weave poles.Each organization has its own rules about what constitutes faults and whether one can earn a qualifying score with faulted runs. A completed run that passes the minimum defined standards for time, faults, points, or so on, is referred to as a qualifying run and in some cases earns credit towards agility titles. A qualifying run is also referred to as a leg. A clean run is one with no faults.
Different organizations place different values on faults, which can include the following:
| Time faults | Going over the maximum time alloted by the judge to complete a course (the standard course time (SCT)). |
| Missed contact | When the Dog fails to place a foot in the contact zone while performing a contact obstacle. In popular jargon, a flyoff is when the Dog misses the descending contact zone because he leaps from the obstacle a long way above the zone, often in a spectacular flying manner. |
| Knocked or dropped bar | Displacing a bar (or panel) when going over a jump. |
| Weave pole fault | The Dog must enter with the first pole to his left and proceed through the weaves without skipping any. Entering incorrectly, skipping poles, or backweaving when attempting to correct missed poles can all be faulted. |
| Off course | Dog takes the wrong obstacle on a course in which the obstacles are numbered sequentially. |
| Refusal | The Dog makes an approach towards the correct obstacle, but then turns away or hesitates significantly before attempting the obstacle. |
| Runout | The Dog does not directly approach the next obstacle, instead running past it. |
| Other faults | Can include Dog biting the judge or the handler or other unsportsmanlike behavior, the handler exhibiting unsportsmanlike behavior, the Dog eliminating in the ring, the Dog leaving the ring and not coming back, the handler carrying toys or food into the ring, the Dog running with his collar on (collars are prohibited in some organizations), and others. |
Given the available set of obstacles and possible faults, there are many permutations of games, or classes, that one can play on the agility field. A typical course is laid out within a 100 by 100 foot (30 by 30 m) area, with roughly 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 m) between obstacles.
Judges design their own courses (with the exception of NADAC where judge's pick their courses from a book) using the rules of the sanctioning organization. Each organization decides which classes are valid for achieving titles and how each must be performed, but there are many similarities.
Some of the common classes are
Although each organization has its own rules, all divide Dogs into smaller groups that are close to each other in size and experience for purposes of calculating winners. This means that there will be winners in each group for each class (or game) over the course of a trial.
Dogs are measured in height at the peak of their withers (shoulders). They are then divided into height groups; for example, Dogs measuring between 12 and 16 inches (30 and 37.5 cm) might compete together with the jumps set at a height of 16 inches (37.5 cm). This ensures that Dogs who might have an advantage on a particular course because of their size (larger or smaller) keep the advantage to a minimum.
Dogs are further divided into their experience levels. So, for example, you might have the 12 inch (30 cm) Novice Dogs competing, the 12 inch (30 cm) Intermediate Dogs competing, and the 12 inch (30 cm) Masters Dogs competing. Dogs typically have to have certain numbers of successes at lower levels before they can move up to compete with more advanced Dogs.
Some organizations even further divide Dogs into special categories because the Dogs are older (usually over 7 years) or have junior handlers (usually under 18) or the like.
Dog agility is a fairly new sport, created as merely a demonstration in the late 1970s in the United Kingdom. It has since spread rapidly around the world, with major competitions held worldwide.
Its first widely-documented appearance was as entertainment at the Crufts Dog show in 1978. John Varley, a committee member from the 1977 show, was tasked with coming up with entertainment for the audience between the obedience and conformation competitions in the main ring. Varley asked Dog trainer Peter Meanwell for assistance, and they presented a largely jumping-style course resembling something from the equestrian world to demonstrate Dogs' natural speed and agility. It was reported in Our Dogs newspaper in 1974 that Meanwell had either been a witness to or participated in such a competition at an agricultural fair, thus pre-dating more widely published accounts for the start of Dog agility. (By some oral accounts, there was an earlier demo with similar intent using playground articles such as a teeter-totter and a tunnel, although this has not been documented. Another account attributes the other obstacles to exhibitions by the Royal Air Force K-9 Corps exhibitions of the time, which is more plausible, given the nature of the first regulations for Dog agility in the UK.)
At the 1978 Crufts, the demonstration immediately intrigued Dog owners because of its speed and challenge and the dexterity displayed by the Dogs. People wanted to see more, and indeed wanted their own Dogs to be able to participate. The demonstration was so popular that it grew into local, then national, and eventually international, competitions with standardized equipment. In 1980, The Kennel Club became the first organization to recognize agility as an official sport with a sanctioned set of rules. By this time, agility equipment included some additional elements modified from the training of police Dogs and Schutzhund competitions, such as the A-frame and the Dogwalk.
In the United States, several people experimented with Dog agility based generally on the KC rules. The first exhibitions took place in the early 1980s.
In 1985, Kenneth Tatsch collaborated with his local obedience club and others, and began putting on exhibitions in Texas. A year later he founded the United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA) and incorporated in January 1987 in Texas. To promote the sport, USDAA secured Pedigree Dog Food (formerly Kal Kan Dog Food, a sister company to Chum Dog Food, the guiding sponsor in the UK) as a sponsor, and the first national championship tournament series in North America—the Grand Prix of Dog Agility—was introduced in 1988 at the Astro World Series of Dog Shows in Houston, Texas.
Until 1990, USDAA agility competitions were only for placement ribbons, but at that time the USDAA began offering agility titles, for which the Dog had to perform to certain standards in several competitions to earn scores towards the various titles. At first, the only titles offered were the Agility Dog (AD), or starters-level title; the AAD Advanced Agility Dog (AAD), or intermediate-level title, and the Master Agility Dog (MAD), or expert-level title. This increased the appeal for all Dog owners; one's Dog did not have to be a superstar to succeed at agility, but could simply be good enough and fast enough to meet the requirements to earn title points. USDAA's vision was far broader than a single class, and in 1994, USDAA introduced an expansive titling program to incorporate title recognition in each of four nonstandard classes (those other than the basic form)—gamblers choice, jumping, snooker agility, and relay.
In 1988, almost no one had heard of Dog agility in the United States, while meanwhile in England it had become an extremely popular sport, drawing hundreds of spectators. By 1989, however, when the USDAA Grand Prix of Dog Agility was first filmed for TV, nearly 2000 spectators attended the final round. Just a year later, attendance neared 4000. The event's popularity sparked interest around the country, and in 1989, Tatsch expanded the tournament to include local qualifying events, hosted by groups formed by competitors in attendance at the Grand Prix the prior year in Texas. The tournament grew rapidly, jumping from 8 events in 1989 to more than 150 local and regional championship events in 2004, in five countries, leading to a World Championship event. Tatsch also named his first Advisory Board composed of experienced trainers and agility enthusiasts from different parts of the country, who began working on a set of regulations for titling programs that were adopted in May 1990.
Meanwhile, the agility equipment used by the USDAA mirrored its British counterparts, as did the basic rules for the standard agility course. USDAA also introduced Jumpers Classes and other nonstandard classes from Great Britain, such as Gamblers and Snooker, which encourage handlers to design their own courses under strict sets of rules established by the judge on the day of competition, and the Relay, which pairs up two Dogs and two handlers to take on a course resembling the standard agility course.
The AKC, which for decades had sanctioned Dog shows, obedience trials, and other Dog sports joined the agility world. In 1987, Charles (Bud) Kramer founded the National Club for Dog Agility (NCDA) in Manhattan, Kansas with the goal of convincing the AKC to recognize agility as a sport. When the AKC entered the field each competition had only one standard course. The first AKC event to include a sanctioned agility match was held in August at the St. Croix Valley Kennel Club Show in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. Sanctioning by the AKC made the rapidly growing sport nearly explode in the United States, as AKC handlers began exploring USDAA and NADAC competitions as ways to expand their agility experience. A few years later, AKC introduced its own version of the Jumpers course, which included weave poles as did the International rules but which NADAC and USDAA did not include.
Bob and Marliu Basin created the American Agility Associates in Colorado. Neither of these organizations lasted much beyond the early 1990s. In 1993, Sharon Nelson founded her own agility corporation, the North American Dog Agility Council (NADAC), using a slightly different set of rules and concepts. At that time, NADAC and USDAA used the same equipment and had similar rules for the standard numbered and jumpers courses; NADAC also included the Gamblers event in its rulebook.
The United Kennel Club (UKC) introduced its own rules at about the same time; UKC agility has evolved into a different kind of sport than that provided by AKC, USDAA, and international agility organizations, involving more control of the Dog over complicated obstacles rather than speed and accuracy over basic obstacles.
When the FCI introduced its international agility championships, it continued its affiliation with purebred kennel clubs around the world, including the AKC, allowing the AKC to choose a team from among its registered competitors. As a result, many top-level American Dogs without AKC registration were shut out of international competition. To compensate, two additional organizations--the International Agility Link (organized through email) and the World Dog Show--sponsored international competitions starting around 1996 that allowed any competing Dogs to be part of their country's teams; the World Dog Show affiliated with the USDAA, while the IAL remained independent. The World Dog Show hosted a couple of international championships but financially could not continue, so the USDAA began pursuing its own affiliations with other organizations and clubs worldwide to start its own International Championships. In 2001, the Grand Prix of Dog Agility®, previously national in scope reached beyond North American boundaries and became a truly international event, hosting teams from several countries on other contients..
Meanwhile, in the early 1990s, the Australian Shepherd Club of America (ASCA) decided to provide its own sanctioning rules for agility in lockstep with NADAC, so that one could earn either ASCA or NADAC titles, or both, at dual-sanctioned events. However, over time, NADAC has moved away from the International standards, focusing on its own vision of a faster but less physically stressful environment. It has gradually eliminated or changed many of the obstacles so that its equipment specifications and many of its rules no longer match those of the USDAA, AKC, or FCI. As of May 31st, 2006, ASCA and NADAC will no longer be dual sanctioning trials as the ASCA agility program returns to an earlier set of rules that more closely match those of the rest of the agility community.
In 1995, Canine Performance Events (CPE) was founded by Linda Eikholt, who preferred an environment that was less intense and with less rigorous requirements than those preferred by the USDAA, yet retained the variety of events and the invitation for able-bodied Dogs of any ancestry to compete. CPE agility continues to grow in the United States.
The sport of agility continues to grow and change. Every year brings the addition of new clubs and new classes. The rules for each organization go through periodic review as well, requiring that competitors in each organization keep up with the current rules, regulations, and class offerings.
The first agility competition in the United States took place around 1986 under the rules of the newly-formed United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA).
The following organizations have rules for agility performance, titles, and equipment in the United States. These organizations sanction clubs to allow them to host agility competitions ("trials" or "matches").
See the following website for information about Agility in Canada:
For most sanctioning organizations, there are a variety of titles that a Dog and handler can earn by accruing sufficient qualifying runs--also called legs--that is, runs that have no more than a certain number of faults (typically none) and are faster than the maximum standard course time (SCT).
For example, under USDAA rules, a Dog can earn novice-level titles in Standard, Jumpers, Gamblers, Snooker, and Pairs Relay classes by earning 3 qualifying runs in each of the classes; the Dog can also earn intermediate-level titles and masters-level titles in the same classes. After earning all of the masters-level titles--five qualifying runs in each, with some that must be in the top 15% of Dogs competing at each trial--the Dog earns its Championship. Other organizations have similar schemes; in AKC, to earn the Championship, the Dog's qualifying runs must be earned two at a time on the same day; in NADAC, the quantity of qualifying runs is much larger; and so on. Most champion titles have "CH" in the title: NATCH (NADAC Agility Trial Champion), ADCH (Agility Dog Champion for USDAA), CATCH (CPE Agility Trial Champion), MACH (Master Agility Champion for AKC), TACH (Teacup Agility Champion), ATCH (ASCA Agility Trial Champion) and so on.
In addition, each sanctioning organization holds its National championships each year. Dogs must meet certain minimum scoring requirements to qualify to compete in the annual championship; for example, must earn qualifying scores in at least 50% of the runs at each of at least 3 trials during the year; or must place in the top certain percentage of Dogs at certain trials; or must have a qualifying run in special regional qualifying events; and so on.
Just as with any agility competition, there will be national champions at each height category because it is not really possible for Dogs of greatly different sizes to compete equally. For example, USDAA has 12", 16", 22", and 26" (30, 40, 55, and 66 cm) jump height categories; it crowns 4 national Grand Prix champions each year, as well as four Veterans and four Performance (lower-level performance) Grand Prix champions. It also holds championships for its Dog Agility Steeplechase® and its Dog Agility Masters® Three-Dog Team tournament series.
Some competitions invite qualified entrants from multiple countries, thereby making them International Championships. Examples:
Teaching a Dog the basic execution of most obstacles takes only a small amount of time and simple training techniques; most Dogs can be readily convinced to run through a short, straight tunnel to chase a toy or to go to their owner, for example. However, to compete in agility trials and to develop speed and accuracy, both Dog and handler must learn a wide range of techniques for doing the equipment, performing sequences of obstacles, and communicating on course while running full out.
The teeter-totter and the weave poles are probably the most challenging obstacles to teach, the first because many Dogs are wary of the board's movement, and the second because it is not a behavior that they would do naturally over a series of 12 poles. However, it can also be challenging to train the Dog to perform its contact obstacles in a manner that ensures that they get paws into the contact zone without sacrificing speed.
Training techniques vary greatly. For example, techniques for training the weave poles include using offset poles that gradually move more in line with each other; using poles that tilt outward from the base and gradually become upright; using wires or gates around the poles forcing the Dog into the desired path; putting a hand in the Dog's collar and guiding the Dog through while leading with a toy or treat; teaching the Dog to run full speed between 2 poles and gradually increasing the angle of approach and number of poles; and many other techniques.
In addition to the sanctioning organizations listed previously, general information is available at the following:
Dog sport forums and email lists link the agility community and allow people to learn more about agility and to communicate with other agility enthusiasts:
Dogs, made by MultiMedia | Free content and software
This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.