Clean Run Magazine - July 2007 - 7

Everything you always wanted to know about agility but were to ask afraid By Brenna Fender ? A friend has asked me to run her Corgi in AKC agility trials to get her Excellent A title. The dog is 9 years old and normally jumps 12". Can she change to run in a veterans class and continue with her title or will she have to go for a different title as a veteran? Or is Preferred the only way to allow her to jump a lower height? Do you have a question about agility rules or anything else agility related? Mail your questions to Brenna Fender: brennafender@gmail.com Brenna collects the questions and forwards them to us so we never see the names. The AKC does not offer a program specific to veterans or dogs of any particular age or height/weight ratio. The Preferred program, which is discussed in AKC Regulations for Agility Trials Chapter 8, is designed to offer agility opportunities for a greater variety of dogs. Any dog that is eligible to compete in AKC agility may be entered in the appropriate Preferred classes. Dogs jump one jump height lower in Preferred, so if the Corgi is 14" or under she will jump 8". The pause table will also be set at 8" for this dog. Preferred dogs are allowed an additional 5 seconds of standard course time as well. Dogs competing in the Preferred classes do not earn the same titles as dogs in the regular classes. Preferred titles include a letter P in the abbreviation. The Excellent standard title, for example, is AX in the Regular program and the equivalent Preferred title is AXP. Dogs may not transfer legs from the Regular program to the Preferred program or vice versa. This means that the Corgi in question would need to begin her Preferred career in Novice Preferred and move up. Go to www.akc.org/pdfs/rulebooks/REAGIL.pdf for a complete list of agility rules including all the Preferred titles and their abbreviations. I was thinking of doing some UKC agility soon. How does it differ from other venues? Do I need to train some special way for it? by adjustable cloth that can be raised or lowered so that dogs of all sizes must “crawl” to get through it), and several other different kinds of obstacles. Most often the unique obstacles require special training to successfully negotiate them, particularly at higher competition levels. Handlers who enter a UKC trial without having trained the obstacles can risk injuring their dogs. UKC courses emphasize control. Some obstacles require very controlled movement, like the platform jump (an obstacle made of two low tables with a jump in between; the dog is expected to get on the first table, sit, jump the jump, and sit again before exiting). Imperfect obstacle performance, which includes entering a contact obstacle from the side rather than straight on, is penalized. Handlers must also control themselves; points are lost for bending over pause obstacles and making other handler errors. UKC offers levels UAGI, UAGII, and UAGIII. The UAGI and UAGII titles are both completed by earning three qualifying legs in their respective classes. A qualifying score is 170 or more out of 200 possible points. The UACH (UKC Agility Championship) is earned by gaining points from the UAGI and UAGII classes. Points are earned based on scores (a table of point values is listed in the rulebook). The UACHX title (UKC Agility Champion Excellent) is awarded to dogs that qualify 5 times in UAGIII with scores of 196 or higher. The United Grand Agility Champion title (UGRACH) is earned by qualifying in UAGI, UAGII, and UAGIII with a combined score of 588 points or higher at 5 different trials. The UKC also offers a ranking system for UAGI, UAGII, and UAGIII. Agility All-Star points are calculated based on scores of 196 or higher. The top 50 highest-scoring dogs in each level are published on the UKC website each month. For more information on UKC agility, including a complete rulebook, visit www.ukcdogs.com. D With its more generous course times, lower contact obstacles, and lower jump heights, United Kennel Club agility sometimes seems as if it should be simple for dogs and handlers with agility experience. But with a collection of unique obstacles, complex handling rules, exact obstacle performance requirements, and tight course designs, UKC agility offers different challenges. The most obvious difference is in the UKC-only obstacles, most of which appear in the second level class (UAGII) and higher. Dogs must cross a swing plank (a suspended plank that can swing horizontally in all directions), a sway bridge (a structure, accessible by low ramps, that supports a suspended bridge of slats), a crawl tunnel (an open-sided obstacle topped NOTE: While it is not permissible to make copies of Clean Run magazine, we wish to give readers permission to make copies of this particular column for personal use. This means you are free to share copies of this column with students, friends, or club members. The information may also be included in not-for-proﬁt newsletters as long as credit is given to Clean Run. July 07 | Clean Run 7

http://www.akc.org/pdfs/rulebooks/REAGIL.pdf http://www.ukcdogs.com

Clean Run Magazine - July 2007

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