| Organizations |
There are four organizations in the United States that govern dog agility. They are the North American Dog Agility Council (NADAC), United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA), AKC, and United Kennel Club (UKC). The UKC hosts very few events in California, so we're not real familiar with them (Woody has never competed in a UKC event). Since we refuse to have anything to do with the AKC it would be difficult for us to give any real insight into their agility events. That leaves NADAC and USDAA. These are the two organizations we work with the most often. NADAC and USDAA have similar rules, similar obstacles, and similar skill levels. USDAA is the older organization and its courses are often considered to be more challenging than NADAC's due to more stringent rules regarding what is a "clean" run and what is a fault. USDAA Skill Levels are, in order: Starters/Novice - Stars is for dogs new to agility with handlers that are also new. Novice is for new dogs with experienced handlers. Advanced - Basically the level you to when you're done being a beginner. Masters - At this point you and your dog are pretty much comfortable with the whole Agility Thing and are now working towards accumulating points in the various games to get your National Champions (NatCh) title. Masters and NatCh titles are offered in the following courses; Standard (aka Titling), Jumpers, Snookers, Pairs Relay, and Gamblers. NADAC Skill Levels are: Novice - The beginner's level. Novice is split into Novice A and Novice B. These two are roughly equivalent to USDAA's Starts/Novice classes. Open - Intermediate level. Elite - Advanced. The NADAC titles are given for the following courses (for all levels); Standard, Gambler's, and Jumpers. |
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Courses |
Since both USDAA and NADAC's courses are fairly similar, we'll just explain them both at the same time. Standard (aka Titling) - This is your basic, straightforward event. The judge designs a course and calculates the time that each height class will have to run it. Each dog & handler team must negotiate the course in the allotted time without screwing up any of the obstacles in order to have a "clean" run. The winner is determined by finding the team with the fewest faults (no screwed up obstacles) and the best time. Just like the Olympics, this frequently comes down the a fraction of a second between First place and Suck. NADAC will usually have two standard runs per day at an event, making four possible runs per weekend. If you're really curious about how titling works, visit the NADAC web page for details. Jumpers - This is a games class. Both USDAA and NADAC offer it. It's a titling event for NADAC at all levels, but is a non-titling event until the higher levels in USDAA. The course consists of only jumps and tunnels and moves very quickly. Most dogs enjoy these courses the most. Gamblers - Another Games class offered by both USDAA and NADAC. The titling rules are the same as Jumpers'. There are two aspects to the course: the first is an open course with many obstacles, each worth a specific amount of points. The handler can send the dog over any obstacle they like, but they can only to any obstacle twice. The object is get as many points as possible before specific period of time expires. Once the time expires the handler must have the dog negotiate the gamble. This consists of between 3 to 5 obstacles that must be run in order. The hard part is that the handler is not allowed to cross a line on the ground, so must have good distance control over their dog. Many spectators love watching Gamblers since an excellent run can be completely thrown away at the last second (so to speak). Very suspensfull and loads of fun. Pairs - USDAA is the only organization that offers this game. It consists of a Standard type course split in two. Two dog/handler teams run the course in a relay fashion (one runs the first half of the course, hands off a baton, and the second handler completes the course). Snookers- USDAA is the only organization that offers this game. If you're not familiar with, or are new to, the game it can be very confusing. Once you understand the game it's one of the most fun to watch and participate in. Each obstacle is given a color and a point value. The run consists of starting with three red obstacles that have to be completed in the following order: Red - color - Red - color - Red - color ("color" is any obstacle that is not Red). After the beginning (opening) sequence, the final (closing) sequence must be performed in order. To qualify the entire course must be completed. |
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Obstacles |
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Contact Obstacles |
This is a group of obstacles that have a yellow "safety area" painted on them. In USDAA the dog must place at least one paw (toes count) into this contact zone on both sides of the obstacle. NADAC only requires both contact on the Teeter, the A-frame, and the dog-walk.
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Weave Poles - One of the toughest
obstacles. These consist of a straight line of
upright poles (the poles are in sets of six or
twelve) that the dog must "weave" through (the
dog must enter the poles by passing the first
pole on the left shoulder, then slalom through
the rest of the poles). Some dogs are
incredibly good at this and are amazing to
watch.
Tunnels - A 24" diameter flexible
tube between 10' and 25' in length. They are
able to be bent into various shapes (curves,
'U's, etc). Dogs generally love the tunnels, so
they're frequently used as "traps" beside other
obstacles in an attempt to get the dog to take
the wrong obstacle.
Collapsible Tunnels - Another
style of tunnel. The front end is a barrel
approximately 3' long. Attached to this barrel
is a 10' (approximately) "sock" that the dog
must push through.
Teeter-Totter - Much like the
playground toy. When idle one end is always on
the ground. The dog must enter the obstacle on
this end, pause just past the center line
(causing the other end to drop to the ground),
and exit the other end.
A-Frame - The name basically
describes it. It's a ramp with two sides that
come to an apex, forming an 'A'. Because of the
speed on the down-side of the A-frame contacts
are frequently missed. USDAA has the A-frame
height set higher than does NADAC.
Dog Walk - While not actually a
cat-walk, that's what it most closely
resembles. It's about 10" wide from beginning to
end. It has a middle board about 10' long, and a
ramp ascending and a ramp descending.
Table - Technically not a contact
obstacle, but what-the-hell. NADAC says that
this is a valid obstacle, but we've never seen
it used at a NADAC trial. The obstacle is a
table approx. 3'x3' and set to the same height
as the jumps. Usually the dog must jump onto the
table and then lie down while the judge counts
to five. If the table is the last obstacle in a
gamble then the dog merely has to jump onto the
table.