AGILITY
UPS and DOWNS

part 1

A U.K.C. Agility championship is similar in its requirements to an A.K.C. Obedience Championship. First your dog must earn the required titles before you are allowed to compete for championship points. In Agility, 100 points are required for your championship and a minimum of 40 of those points must be earned from the Agility II class. The Agility I class shows that both you and your dog are familiar with the equipment and are able to safely negotiate the course in the allowed time. The Agility II courses are longer and more challenging for both handler and dog. It is in Agility II that voice control and the ability to send your dog ahead ( or get far ahead of your dog!) really can pay off in top scores. As in obedience, all teams start out with 200 points - and it's usually downhill from there!

I began keeping a journal on our trials as Deb and I competed for our championships with Ricky and Casey. I hope the following will encourage at least some of you to try this great sport with your Cresteds!

AGILITY UPDATE

200 = 10 POINTS
199 = 6 POINTS
198 = 4 POINTS
197 = 2 POINTS
196 = 1 POINT

Pride goeth before a fall!! On February 18th Deb and I attended our first trial with the hope of acquiring championship points. We were so sure of ourselves and our dogs. And why not? We had - fairly quickly - obtained both titles required before you are allowed to accumulate points towards your championship. We truly believed this was going to be easy. So here we were at our first try for points and we couldn't even correctly read the schedual!! We were actually "out to lunch" when our division was called for run-throughs for the Agility I class. We did make it back in time for the actual class but in a new (and dark) building on strange equipment it was just asking too much of Casey and Ricky. Both dogs balked at some of the equipment. Deb and I wasted valuable time since we were unsure of the order of all of the obstacles. To make matters worse, I accidently barely stepped on a few hairs that happened tp be attached to Casey's toes. The poor dog complained loudly, then limped, then just sat. I had no choice but to pat his little head and tell him he would live. After which he happily finished the course. But...touching your dog is an absolute "no-no" and brings with it automatic failure. Ricky did pass this course, but barely. Not even within screaming distance of getting those first points!

In Agility II Casey fared better and did manage to pass - but barely. Ricky was now the one who NQed by taking forever to get through the weave poles.

We certainly learned a lot today and we will give this another try. We know the dogs can do it!

Go Cresteds! On 2/26 Ricky placed 1st in Agility I with a score of 200 (his first !). Casey placed 4th with a score of 197. Our first points!

Also on 2/26 Casey placed 1st in Agility II with a score of 200. Ricky placed 2nd, also with a score of 200. Casey's time was better by 8+ seconds despite the extra time he spends rearranging his hair! These three scores of 200 were the ONLY 200's in our size division on this day. Go Cresteds!

Another good day! On 4/2 Casey scored big with another perfect 200 in the Agility II class for a second place - right behind a fast little Cocker. Ricky came in with a 4th place score of 198. Ricky was cutting those corners again!

In Agility I, Ricky placed 4th again but this time with a score of 199. 'Twas those darn corners! Casey, vain little dog that he is, had to stop after the closed tunnel and rearrange his crest! It would never do to run with your hair out of place! And there went the time!! He lost 6.5 seconds in time and finished with a 193.5, Hard to hold it against a handsome dog tho!!

To Date:

Ricky: 30 Points (14 from AG II)

Casey: 22 Points (20 from AG II)

The ups (and downs!) of Agility. On 5/6 Ricky had a super run in Agility I and despite telling off the judge from atop the A-frame he scored a perfect 200 for 2nd place. Casey also had a great run in the same class but was so anxious to get to the closed tunnel (his favorite!) that he cut a corner on the dog walk. Good score tho of 199 for a 4th place.

In Agility II ricky decided to re-write the rules for the platform jump and even though he eventually did it correctly the judge saw nothing but faults! A score today for Ricky of 178. Casey however came through with another 200 (and 2nd place) even tho he is now stopping to rearrange his crest before entering the crawl and tunnels!!

This is not going to be the "Piece of Cake" we had hoped it would be! On 5/7 Ricky tried his best in Agility II to break his personal record for slow! His score was a 183 for 3rd place in a very tough class. Casey also went over the allowed time (but his "do" was perfection!!), finishing with a 193 for 1st place. But no points for either boy! In Agility I Ricky must have cut a couple of corners noticed only by the judge. His score - 198 for 3rd place and 4 more points. Casey backed him up with a 197, losing 3 points by jumping from the teeter a few steps too soon. Oh well, there's always tomorrow!

To Date:

Ricky: 44 Points (14 from AG II)

Casey: 40 Points (30 from AG II)

We went, we survived (barely!) and we won't do it again!! Eight classes (plus eight run-throughs) in two days is just too much for all four of us! Saturday a.m. Ricky started outdoors in Agility I with a bang - 200 points! Unfortunately that was only good enough for a 5th place. Casey scored a 198 and I don't even remember where he lost those two points. Then we headed indoors for Agility II. Ricky had a great 200 going for himself but NQed on time faults. Casey also NQed for time. After lunch the wind picked up and the sky began to darken. We headed back outdoors for Agility II. The first couple of dogs made it through dry. By Casey's turn it had begun to sprinkle. And anyone who knows Cresteds knows what they think of RAIN! Well, he not only got through it (including a crawl on wet grass) but he scored a 200 for a 3rd place! A couple more dogs ran the course in light rain before a rain delay was called while it really poured. Ricky was the first dog back in the ring after the rain. Wet dog. Wet grass. Wet everything! And only a 172 for Rick. Off to the warm, dry indoors to await Agility I. Ricky did well in another really fast course and came in with a painful 199.53. Les than 1/2 of a second over the time!! Casey had a respectable 198.57 - again just time faults.

Enuf already for one day!

Day two was bright and sunny tho also cool and windy. Casey started outside in Agility I on a course designed only for fit teenagers and long legged dogs! Another NQ, but not just on time - we sprinkled in a few other faults also. Ricky qualified, but barely. Indoors for Agility II and Casey scored yet another 200 for another 3rd place. Ricky suddenly forgot how to do the weave poles and scored a 182. A quick lunch and then back outside to the "Speed Demon" Mike Bohanan for Agility II. Casey had a fantastic run of 196.44 losing time only because of me. We placed 4th and were darn happy to get it! Ricky again could not recall how to correctly do the weaves and NQed. There were NO 200's awarded in this Agility II class in any division. The dogs are pooped, as are we. Three weeks and we go again!!!

Yes, Casey shook that head frequently and always looked GREAT!

To Date:

Casey: 69 Points (51 from AG II)

Ricky: 60 Points (14 from AG II)

Mike built a better mousetrap and we got caught! At our last training class we practiced TUNNEL, TUNNEL, and more TUNNEL! Did it pay off? You bet - in spades! On 6/11 the first class of the day was Agility II under Mike Bohanan - whom we now know is "affectionately" called The Hanging Judge. Mike admittedly is very fond of challenging courses liberally sprinkled with traps. Todays course was no exception. And the very first trap involved The Tunnel! The opening to the tunnel was directly in front of the end of the dog walk. No problem you think? Not if the next obstacle is the tunnel. But in this case the next obstacle was the box, which was set off to the right and directly at the center of the tunnel. We can't tell you how many dogs took that tunnel out of sequence (there were many) but we can tell you Ricky and Casey were among them! The clock continued to tick while we re-did the box and said good-bye to those precious points! A 182 for Ricky and a 186 for Casey. That 186 was good for a 4th place, which just shows how many dogs goofed up on this one! In Agility I we did considerably better (remember who the judge was!). Course time was 76 seconds. Casey, just moping along because he hated the surface (a dirt horse areana), came in with a time of 77.28 and a score of 198.72 for 2nd place and 4 much needed (wanted?) points. Ricky scored 197. Which would have been a 199 but Deb's body language got out of hand. A cut corner quickly became blocking. Two points for Ricky.

On the other course our judge was Robin Swander, a judge fondly remembered for her easily flowing courses and adequate times. Forget that! With an allowed time of 71 seconds in Agility I, Ricky scored a 198.03 in 72.97 seconds - good for 3rd place. Talk about a heartbreaker! Casey too had a good score going but couldn't make the time - 196.31 in 74.69 seconds. Not my fault this time. He just absolutely hated the dirt. In Agility II Casey balked at the crawl. Dirt again! He did it finally, but he was not happy. He then walked over the next two obstacles. Casey did do a drop in the dirty box on the first command but then wasted valuable time needing voice corrections on the weave poles. A run-by on the final jump was easily corrected but the clock just kept running. And running. Ricky too ate up the time and also had a refusal at the crawl. But since more than half of our class had refused to drop in the box Ricky's score of 183 was good for 4th place.

Next stop - The Premier

On the brighter side, we did do well in the raffle!

To Date:

Casey: 74 Points (52 from AG II)

Ricky: 66 Points (14 from AG II)

Total, absolute MELTDOWN! In mid-July you might expect to have to suffer through the hottest weekend of the summer. This weekend turned out to be the hottest, and deadliest, of the century. The Premier weekend had an entry of about 1300 dogs in conformation, obedience and agility. To everyone's credit, not a single animal was lost and I only heard of one case where a dog was even endangered due to the extreme heat. The actual temperature was above 100 degrees on both Friday and Saturday with only a little relief on Sunday. The THI hovered in the neighborhood of 125 degrees! Most exhibitors, at least in agility, did choose to run their dogs despite the heat. We were in an open-sided building with ample shade (and those darn shavings for a floor!). Wading pools were provided for the dogs and several fans were positioned around the ring. Deb and I carried ice water (Gallons!!) and "cool ties" for ourselves and the dogs each time we went to the ring. In addition, Casey had his summer clothes that could be soaked in cool water - this helped him more than anything else we did to combat the heat.

Casey was first up on Friday afternoon in Agility I, again under Robin Swander. Robin had given both boys 200's in the past so at least she knows they can work well. But not today, though they were good for a couple of laughs. On the dog walk Casey found a stray breeze and just stopped dead to enjoy it - arching his neck and turning his head to catch every bit of it. All the while I was in the sawdust waving and calling to him, trying to explain that the clock was running! After about 15 seconds he decided to follow me and continued on with no problems until the A-frame. On top of which was yet another breeze! Casey managed to qualify with a 177.03. Another perfect run but over the allowed time. Ricky qualified with 177.05 - spending too much time looking for those cooling breezes.

By 6 p.m. Casey had about had it with the weather and in Agility II he needed a number of corrections on the weaves and absolutely refused the crawl. On top of that, the word "sit" seemed to have disappeared from his volcabulary! Another NQ. Ricky also NQed but at least was funny. Seems he and Casey must have had a discussion about the shavings on the floor. Once Ricky was on the sway bridge he decided he would just stay there - making three trips across it without ever touching ground! Besides the points lost doing this new trick, the time was impossible to make up in the heat. Disappointed, we headed to our friends air-conditioned home for the night.

Saturday was as hot, or hotter, than Friday. In Agility I Ricky barely made it with 170.5 points. His time was terrible and he insisted on taking one of the obstacles out of sequence. Casey did the same but with an even slower time and a different obstacle. We finished here just in time to make it to the conformation building - about two city blocks away! Then back to the van to cool down for a couple of hours.

By now Deb and I both knew that the boys were not cut out to be fantastic workers in this heat. Believe it or not some dogs were giving top notch performances and bringing in those 200's! In one class with an allowed time of 80 seconds a Toy Poodle completed the course with a score of 200 in 35 seconds! Our Agility II course turned out to be more of a training session than anything else. Once we knew we wouldn't be in the points we freely corrected mistakes, almost getting me into really hot water! Casey's first correction was for another forgotten "sit" and while it was a firm correction, it was not harsh. But Casey is a screamer when he thinks it will get him something. What it got was a tongue lashing for me from the judge after the class was completed. I accepted it in the spirit given and was just glad it ended there.

Saturday night brought a little rain and somewhat cooler temperatures for Sunday. Not much cooler but the mid-90's felt pretty good to us! Casey went into Agility I much happier than the past two days, worked well and finsihed with a score of 181. Time faults only. Ricky was having a pretty good time in the "cool" of the morning too - so good his score was only 171. In a hurry to finish the course he happily approached the teeter and totally missed the contact point, jumping directly to the center of the teeter. This is a major fault ( a 5 point deduction) and the obstacle must be repeated. Taking time, lots of time. As soon as we were done here it was back again to the conformation rings, then back to the van.

By mid-afternoon the temperatures had risen again and I decided to scratch Casey from the final run. He was tired and had had a good run in the morning and I saw no reason to push my luck at this point. Since Deb and Ricky still needed those points from Agility II for their championship she decided to go ahead and run him again. Once again Ricky put in a pretty good performance but NQed for time.

So.....we now know that our boys will work far better when it is 20 below zero than 90+ above. And we know, without a doubt, that they hate the shavings used in horse arenas! There are no more shows for them until November - and if that doesn't sound refreshing I don't know what does!!

written by Lynne Dauber
and published in
The Chinese Crested Review
Volumn 3 Number 2
March/April 1996






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