NEW AKC AGILITY REGULATIONS

[Deanna1002]

Effective 9/1/2010:
--Specialties can hold events concurrently with all-breed trials using the same judge as long as the all-breed trial excludes the breed(s) in the specialty and both events keep separate records.
--Clubs can now submit their premiums electronically.
--Clubs may now offer a wait list that can be filled after closing.
--Clubs may now place entry limits on specific classes/judges/sets of classes (not by number of total runs/day).
--Less tolerance and more information on aggressive and menacing dogs in and out of the ring.
--A-Frame set to 5'0" for 4" and 8" jump heights.
--Dogwalk up contacts are no longer judged.
--Teeters must be calibrated prior to the start of every trial - clubs are responsible for having calibration materials.
--Table behavior is now position-less. Table count begins as soon as four paws are on the table.
--Dogs must restart weaves at pole one (can't fix pop-outs in the middle of the poles) and limited to three attempts.
--During windy weather a panel jump can now be replaced by a bar jump
--Tire heights now are 4" lower than the standard height. 24" dogs will jump a 20" tire. No word on the 4" preferred tire height.
--Changes in YPS requirement (slower pace) for the 8" and 24" dogs - in Standard and JWW.
--Handlers may now reattempt contact obstacles (and the chute) if a dog falls off. After the one reattempt the dog will be excused.



Effective July 1, 2011
--No more MACH point multipliers for 1st and 2nd placements


Effective January 1, 2012
--Chute shortened to 6'6"
--24" weave pole spacing!!!
--Mandating design on the double and triple (sides have to be transparent)
--Time to beat (T2B) class becomes a titling event


Effective July 1, 2012
--MXB, MXS MXG Titles - Lifetime achievement awards at the Bronze, Silver and Gold levels in STD, JWW and FAST.


Effective January 1, 2013
--PACH - Perferred Agility Championship Title: 20 QQ's and 750 PACH points



... So why is akc waiting for 24" poles until 2012 ?!? Though good to see a lot of the venues around here are using them.
Also the table ?????? i don't see why they're worried about this but will not work to create a collapsible tire!!!!!
The re-atempting of a contact is good news. Last trial apple unfortunately slipped off the dog walk because it started to drizzle when we were on the line, an obvious NQ, but i really thought that was something that should have been forgiven.. oh well.
Last thing. The no multipliers for 1st and 2nd, now this sounds a little more fair, the bcs and shelties are the only ones taking placements thus doubling mach points.




What do you all think????????

[3TailsWaggin]

I like that the dogwalk up contact is no longer judged. My dogs have very long strides and miss this a lot.


We've started doing the table count in class. I am wondering though, if the dog get on the table with all four paws, and then stands up (and has only his two back paws on the table) does the count stop and start over when four paws are back on the table?

We have two small dogs in class that get very excited on the table and stand up. Otherwise I would never have even thought about this question.

[Milesmom]

Since I haven't done AKC agility (yet) I have no comment on the changes. I must comment on that picture of Apple. Gorgeous!!

[Deanna1002]

lol linda the little dogs with only two paws on the table sounds like the cutest thing... but good question.
Ann, Thanks! thats apple's "thinkin 'bout life's hard work" face.

[Amber The Duck Dawg]

The added time for 24" and 8" dogs will make it easier to Q with dogs that were just missing the SCT by a few seconds. Also the positionless table should also make the dogs time faster in standard. One of the downsides of the added time in 24" though is you may see more Border Collies running in 24" for the added Mach point and also For the Placement multiplier (Till it goes away). 24" will now be the only situation where you can move up a height class and get more time.
The tire rule change they did was that the tire will be set 4 inches lower than your jump height. So if the dog is running 20" regular the tire will be 16" and if the dog is running 20" prefered(jumps set at 16) then the tire will be set to 12".
They now allow a 180 in Novice class
If a dog gets tangled in the chute, tire, or falls off the ASCENT side of the dog walk, teeter, a-frame, then the handler may EITHER continue course OR immediately reattempt the obstacle they had trouble with and then Immediately leave the course.
the tripple and single bar jumps are now allowed in Novice classes.
2x thru an open tunnel and once thru a chute is now the maximum for all classes.
A single 180 is now allowed in Novice
there can no longer be a 180 from a tunnel under the A-frame to the A-frame.

Kelly

[Deanna1002]

If a dog gets tangled in the chute, tire, or falls off the ASCENT side of the dog walk, teeter, a-frame, then the handler may EITHER continue course OR immediately reattempt the obstacle they had trouble with and then Immediately leave the course.

??? so then i read it wrong...
well in my standard class where apple fell off the dog walk, i had to continue, if i had decided to retake the dog walk we would have gotten the whistle which is something the judge explained during the briefing... so then theres really no change ??

[3TailsWaggin]

the change is that the "four paw rule" has basically been expanded upon. Now, if your dog actually FALLS off the equipment, you may re-attempt it but you will get whistled off the course after. Still, I like this as Ruger did have a nasty fall off the dog walk once, and I wanted to put him back over it before leaving the ring, but was not allowed. Now, you can do exactly that.

To expound on the four paw rule... if your dog is running a course and lets say he does obstacle #1, #2, and then veers away from obstacle #3 and takes #4 (which is the A-frame) instead. He realizes you aren't there, and he jumps off the A-frame and heads back to you and obstacle #3. You do obstacle #3 and then head for #4 and take it just fine. The four paw rule would have forbid you for taking #4 again immediately (some dogs start up the obstacle and then bail, you cannot re-attempt it for a simple bail off (off course) by the dog.

That is my interpretation of the rule.

[Milesmom]

They are making changes in the spirit of safety, the one change I wish they would make would be to allow you to drop to preferred if your dog measures higher than you expect on the day of the trial. Especially since it is basically impossible to be measured until you are actually entered in a trial.

We are entered in our first AKC agility trial on June 5 and I am just praying he measures 22 or less. When he was measured for CPE, it was 21 1/2. If he measures over, I either have to scratch or run him 24 and we'll just drop bars and NQ.

[3TailsWaggin]

Both Ruger and Remington were clearly over 21 inches. Ruger is 22.75 and Remington is 23 (although, honestly, when they stand side by side, Remington is clearly shorter than Ruger so I just don't know how they are getting their measurements). Anyway, that is why I have always opted to run them in preferred.

Magnum was right at 21 and I didn't know that and entered her in 24". She completed her novice level titles and then tore her acl. But she handled the courses well and never dropped bars.

And actually, Both Ruger and Remington seem to jump better at higher heights. At home during all our practice we usually jump 16" or lower and you should see how many bars they drop. I've seen Ruger do an entire course and drop EVERY bar. But at a trial when the bars are up to 20 or 22 (USDAA) they don't drop the bars (well, Ruger usually ends up dropping one, the stinker).

I guess what I'm saying is, sometimes a dog will actually jump better and more consistently at a higher jump height.

[Amber The Duck Dawg]

Because measuring your dog is so important and will affect your dog for its entire agility career, I looked up the list of VMO's and then looked up where they would be judging and made seperate trips to get Amber measured. Being really close to the magic 22" I actually ran her till she was dead tired both times, and introduced her to the VMO earlier in the day and then had her measured in the afternoon. Both days she was measured we made the trip there only to be measured. She measured 22.00 and 21.75 and her official height is 21.88.

your other option is to enter the show in 16" prefered and then if you measure over 22" you will run in the 20" prefered class. The worst that happens is you have a couple of legs in a class you might never run in again but you and your dog had a easier first trial and have more confidence at the next.

Kelly