Kamis, 01 Mei 2014

How Scores Are Tabulated In Dog Agility

By Cheng Bernhardt


Dog agility is a highly popular sport and is fun for the dog, the handler and the spectators. There are quite a few different organizations around the country that host dog agility contests. While each group has their own course designs and scoring guidelines, here is some general information that might help you learn what to expect if you compete.

Many different obstacles are placed on the dog course, and these include jumps, weave poles, a variety of jumps, tunnels and a pause table as well as several contact obstacles, such as the see-saw, an a-frame and a dog walk. To become successful, much practice is needed. You can create your dog agility course at home using items purchased from a shop such as Carlson Agility. Here you will find everything needed for dog agility training, including such agility equipment as pause tables, dog walks, jumps, weaves, tunnels, teeter totters, a-frames and much more.

Dogs are separated into different classes, and usually this is based on the height of the animal. The dog's age and their experience level also determine the class, and there are a few other classes, as well, but those are the basic types. Your dog must complete the course is a set amount of time or a time fault is given.

Aside from not completing the course in time, a dog can incur a missed contact fault if they fail to complete a contact obstacle correctly, such as jumping off when they are supposed to walk down. If you dog turns away from an obstacle or goes up to the obstacle but pauses too long, this is known as a refusal fault. A runout occurs if the dog simply passes an obstacle, and an off-course fault happens then they run the course in an incorrect order. Failing to go through the weave poles the correct way earns a fault, as does dropping a bar or panel on a jump.

Even handlers are not immune from earning faults. For instance, handlers are not allowed to touch obstacles or touch the dog, if this happens whether on purpose or by accident, it is called a handling fault. Another fault is given if the handler appears to be training rather than simply giving signals to help guide the dog through the course. Handlers also can get into trouble for bringing incentives on to the course, such as a toy or a treat. Dogs are meant to complete the course without the use of any kind of incentive.

These are just a few typical faults that you might see when you compete. Sometimes you must run a completely clean run with no faults in order to progress in a contest. In other cases, a certain amount of faults might be allowed. Learning about the various faults and obstacles for your specific organization is an important key to success in the world of dog agility.




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