Improving Agility Organizations - Suggestions not Criticisms

This is the quarterly Blog Action day, where agility bloggers across the globe share their ideas on a designated topic.  This list of links: Improving Agility Organizations, will no doubt be read by the various agility organizations and maybe they'll glean some new ideas.

First, for family and those unfamiliar, there are many dog agility organizations.  In America, there are 5 major organizations.  Outside the US, there are many others, whose activities include setting up rules for holding matches and trials, establishing titling criteria, training judges, helping local clubs get organized, etc.

Agility is rapidly growing in popularity, and rapidly evolving.  Rules and equipment are changing in response to safety concerns, keeping the game challenging, attracting new handlers, providing a stepped program of incentives and titles on the way to championship, considerations for uniformity of equipment across all platforms, etc.

Here's my Lucky Lucy, a 4 year old
Southern Black Mouth Curr, a breed
as yet unrecognized by AKC, but an amazing young
athelete working her way towards MACH.

That said, my only extensive experience is with AKC and I think they do an incredible job!  I train 2 purebred papillons, but am most grateful that AKC has begun to allow All American Dogs to register and compete for the same agility titles as AKC's recognized breeds.  I think it will shortly be proved that breed recognition, or pure breeding, has little to do with any atheletic dog's ability to participate in and excel in our great sport.

With that great big proletarian "thank you" on record, I have only a few more concerns or ideas to share in the spirit of evolving AKC agility, which may apply in some measure to other venues as well.

1. Masters vs. MACH -
   I've never understood why dogs with 9 Q's under their belt and just admitted into the Master's Standard (or Masters Jumpers) category of competition, should compete for placement with MACH 1 dogs, who have earned 20 QQ's!  Or MACH 6 dogs with 120 QQ's.  It's obvious to me that there should be some additional layer of difficulty added once a dog becomes a champion, and they should be judged within their own group. This might not require any additional course setup, but maybe shave off the SCT by a few seconds, with book keeping no harder than how Preferred is handled vs Regular -- same course, different designation on paper.  Or to make it more interesting maybe yes, introduce more international handling, an extra trap, tweeking the angle of a jump or two to require tighter turns, a harder entry, a longer serpentine or threadle, an extra jump or two at the end requiring more stamina.  Nothing too hard on the ring crew nor taking much time to adjust.  No moving heavy equipment. Judges could design courses with just a little tweeking in mind.   I look forward to the day when Champions compete against each other, leaving the greener teams to compete amongst themselves!
2. Matches -
   In my neck of the woods, matches are hard to find, maybe one every 2 years or so.  This is a new trend because when I got started in agility 4 years ago, many trials held a match, and we were all advised to enter as many matches as possible to get our green dogs used to being in the ring, yet able to motivate with toys and treats.   About 2 years ago it came to pass, no doubt because handlers would spill treats or intentionally throw them on the dirt and dogs competing the next day would be distracted by the smells, allowing treats in the ring fell out of favor.  Not so good for dogs with no tug/toy drive, but better than nothing.  And now that I can't find a match anywhere, I've been asking various Trial Chairmen about this and got these responses:
   
   "Matches are too much trouble" . . . . . .  Gracious sakes, I read the AKC Regs on holding matches, and they are way too much trouble!  If AKC's purpose is to teach new clubs how to hold trials with a few dry runs first before holding a real trial, the Regs make perfect sense.  But once that's done, fun matches are all we need and these rules should be relaxed.  Why, for instance, is there a rule that only club members can participate in a club's non-sanctioned "fun match"? People attending the trial from several states will happily come in a day early to practice their dogs in an arena situation.  Why can't they?  What's the point of this rule?  I do, maybe, see the point of limiting fun match participation to dogs that aren't champions. Champions with all their experience don't need so much proofing against distractions.  They don't have ring jitters. It could be argued that champions might gain an unfair advantage being prematurely exposed to a club's peculiar equipment before the trial begins.  Going in cold is an added level of difficulty that could be required of champions, but not so much with greener dogs.
   
   "The club looses money on matches" . . . . . I think the obvious answer is to charge more. Everyone knows arenas cost money and the cost has to be covered. The going rate around here used to be $5 for 2 minutes in the ring.  I'd gladly pay more to give my dogs ring experience.
   
   "It's too hard to find staff" . . . . . finding perks to draw 5 or 6 core staff shouldn't be too hard -- free match runs, ice water and a few cookies would do it for me, free trial entry fees would be even better. We have to quit expecting core volunteers to slave away for free.
   
   "Matches aren't necessary, just enter and run your dog at enough trials and they'll get used to it" . . . . .  the people saying this are experienced competitors who trial often and have little need for matches themselves.  They are also the ones staffing the trials and don't want the extra hassle.  But I feel they've lost sight of the needs of the newcomers, and the advantage of training green dogs in an arena situation.  I wrote AKC a few months back wondering what they might do to encourage clubs to add matches to their trials, at least once a year.  I haven't heard back yet.
3. See Saw Flyoffs -
   We have all witnessed, time and time again, dogs not faulted for obviously leaving the board before it hits the ground, presumably because judging the see-saw accurately is so extremely difficult that the norm is to cut every team some slack.  BUT
   
   AKC judging rules are very clear: To properly perform the seesaw, the dog may not exit the plank until the elevated edge hits the ground for the first time  . . . . . . . . . Exiting the plank before its elevated edge hits the ground is faulted with an "F" for a flyoff . . . . . . . . the dog must still be in control and have touched the contact zone at the same time or after the plank touches the ground.
   
   If it is impossible for a human to accurately judge this (as in recent discussion about Masher, the 8" papillon who won at Nationals, whom some witnesses claim dismounted the board a fraction of a second early), I hope some kind of electronic sensor can be developed.  This would encourage handlers to train a solid dismount more vigorously, since they could no longer hope to squeak by without it.  This is mostly for the safety of the dog, but also, of course, in the interests of fairness in who Q's and who doesn't.  Some kind of proximity sensor strip embedded in the contact zone?  A touch pad under the rubberized surface that sets off a red light on the side of the board if the dog looses contact before the board hits the ground?  I don't know, but surely someone out there is clever enough to design an economical solution.
4. FAST classes -
   Few clubs and few judges have wireless mikes, so the scribe often can't hear the numbers 1-10 called out by the judges (each obstacle taken adds value to a cumulative score).  Sometimes judge's heads are turned away, other times the judge has a soft voice, or loud fans overhead, or a barking dog behind the scribe table makes it impossible for the scribe to hear.  I've timed enough FAST classes to witness scribes missing calls or guessing calls to know that FAST scores aren't all that accurate.  I think AKC should require judges to purchase wireless mikes and bring them to all the FAST classes they judge.  An adequate system costs around $200, and judges could bump up their compensation package by a few bucks a day to cover the cost.  I also think that judges should be required to provide the scribe table with a course map showing the value of each obstacle, so if the scribe can't hear a number, she can glance at the map and tell what it is. 
   Of lesser concern is the lack of electronic eyes measuring when to start the timer.  Depending on a person to press a button when they think the dog's nose crosses an invisible start line is inexact at best.  No human timer gets it exactly right every time, but it's probably not more than a second off . . . unless their finger slips or they aren't paying attention.  At novice levels it makes very little difference, but at championship levels, maybe it does.
5. Agility Commentators -
   Sarah and Estaban, of Bad Dog Agility, working up and sharing their Power Score statistics in their AKC Nationals Preview article and publishing their podcast: Episode 33: 2013 AKC National Agility Championship Wrap-Up opened a Pandora's Box for me of what is possible.  Their sports analysis comparing various dogs'  and handlers' careers and runs was state of the art, in my opinion.  I believe it points to a more exciting future for our sport.  Like the way olympic figure skating has Peggy Fleming and Scott Hamilton in real time discussing and describing what we are watching --  the tripple lutz, the quad, etc., and every football game has a desk with commentators discussing the plays, the players, the coaches, bringing the viewers to a higher level of understanding of what they are watching, our sport needs that to gain in popularity.  For example, when I bring family members to an agility trial, they quickly lose interest after watching me and a few teams run, on the grounds that "they are all doing the same thing".  It takes a practiced eye to see the vast differences in handling, speed, extension, collection, tight turns, etc.  Which leads me to discussing the PA system at AKC Nationals.  I wasn't there in person, but why was the video commentary streamed by AgilityVision so garbled?  I could hardly understand a thing that was said.  Either the placement of the microphones, or the PA system itself . . . . something needs improvement.
6. Scholarships to National and International competitions -
   I have suspicions and have expressed elsewhere my concerns that there are probably some top notch AKC competitors who can't afford to go to these expensive competitions.  So we never see them on the US team.  I was thus gratified to hear on the latest Bad Dog Agility Podcast: Episode 36: The 2013 EO and AWC USA Teams, that AKC does fund some teams to these events, and has a donation portal on their website for other donors to help finance certain teams.  I suppose some portion of our trial entry fees are earmarked for this fund.   I'm still not sure if the qualifications for funding have anything to do with financial need, but I hope that becomes the criteria in future. Not to sound too bourgeois, again, but money is no measure of atheletic excellence.

Okay, that's all I've got to add to this conversation.  I look forward to the rants, wise council and/or wild ideas of our other bloggers.

Men are never so likely to settle a question rightly

as when they discuss it freely.
- Thomas Babington Macaulay

Upwards and onward!

Number Cones

Bold blocky 3" numbers show up well!

A few years back I took it upon myself to keep our dog club's number cones in good repair (3 sets, as we have a large agility field with 2 full courses set up most times, plus a mini course).  For years we've made our own using upside down 8" flower pots and 3" stick-on mailbox numbers. These work okay, except that the pots become brittle and crack after about 6 months in UV light. The stick on numbers start to peel off after a few months, even if they are sealed over with clear package tape, which also starts looking ragged after awhile. (Even the number cones you purchase include decals, which don't last long outdoors despite their being expensive.)

So last winter I decided to try something different-- 3" numbers stencilled then hand painted on smaller, sturdier 5.5" pots, using an acrylic paint pen, then sprayed with 2 protective coats of Krylon Crystal Clear.  These take awhile to paint but they are proving to last a long time.

The first set I made was yellow pots with black italicized numbers, which took 2 coats to cover and still looks great on the field after several months of use.  It hasn't needed any touchup.








This red set, finished yesterday, is white paint on red pots, which took 4 coats to cover.  I won't use white paint again!

We prefer the block numbers to the italicized.




Project Tips:

• Lay your stencil over the pot and draw the outlines with a pencil or colored pencil, not a pen which bleeds upward through the paint.
• Remove the stencil, trace over these lines with your paint pen, then fill in. A steady hand is required!
• Don't let the paint touch the cardboard stencils, which gets them wet and they lose their sharp edge.
• Also, even if using vinyl stencils, the paint bleeds under the stencils making a huge mess.
• Clean up mistakes quickly using mineral spirits!  Have it handy because these paint pens drip and you will inadvertently drag your finger through the paint at some point.
• Doesn't hurt to have a paint pen the same color as the pots, for tidying up numbers that got too wide or tall and won't come clean.

The bottom cup makes
these pots extra sturdy.

These Misco pots are sturdier than most -- thicker plastic that doesn't seem to disintegrate, more flexible but stronger, and with a snap-on bottom cup that makes them double strong.  A case of 24 pots can be ordered year round from Misco Home and Garden for about $1 apiece. We got ours individually from Walmart at $.97 each but they are seasonal items and they rarely have enough of one color at one store, and since it's a good idea to have a few extra pots for when a few of them get kicked, squashed, chewed up, or disappear, a case of 24 is perfect.

I'll report back how these pots are holding up over time.

Upwards and onward!

Monroe Agility Trial March 1, 2, 3 2013

Maxie: 4 runs 3 Q's 1 QQ, 3 2nd places, 30 MACH points, 4 videos
Lucky Lucy: 4 runs, 2 Q's, 2 3rd places, 6 MACH points, 4 videos

Left BR Thursday at 1:30 planning to arrive West Monroe before dark.  Oops, before I got on I-10 I noticed my gas peddle was flopping around.  I whipped into Firestone, they did a “curb side” check and sure enough, the pin holding the pedal onto the shaft had broken.  They rigged up a nut and bolt to get me going.  That put me 1/2 hour later on the road.  Didn’t bother me.  Uneventful trip, beautiful drive, little traffic.



RV park at the IKE Convention Center.  I'm on the left.

First time RV’ing at the IKE Center, a vast asphalt parking lot with no shade, no beauty, little grass to potty the dogs, and a 4 minute hike to the arena from my spot up close to the back.  Arrived, picked a spot way back by the grassy area, backed in, leveled the RV, then discovered the electric was 50V, which I didn’t have an adapter for.  S#%T!  By the time I went looking for a 30V it was pitch dark and no night lighting whatsoever.  Running around with my flash light, I found most of the boxes were locked down.  I finally found a 30V connection open close to the arena, then leveled the RV in the dark in 35 degree weather.  So much for picking my favorite spot!  And with all my strength I could not open the water valve, so I did without city water all weekend. Somehow, none of that stressed me out either.
 

Only 2 channels came in on my dinky little AIR antennae, but I got to watch Jay Leno for a change.  He’s gotten funnier over the years.  I opened up my couch and used it as a bed for the first time.  It’s so comfortable, I fell asleep watching TV and woke up there in the morning!  But I noticed the RV walls got cold. Heater worked great after I directed all the vents towards the center of the rooms – they were all facing the floor.  Heater ran almost continuously with temps ranging from 28-55 all weekend (4 days), and used up about 3/4 of my LP tank.   Also learned I don’t need to bother with connecting up the water line.  1/2 tank is plenty for all my flushing needs, and I bring 4 gallons of drinking water for coffee, cooking and dogs.

Our crate space -- daytime home for 3 days.

It was too cold to set up my outdoor yard, and since the arena was far away I set up my crate space indoors. It’s easy as pie to set up if all you do is drive up, level up and plug in. Yahoo!  (But first, be sure you can plug in.)

Now, on to the trial: I only got in for Friday and Sunday, so Saturday I just hung out and tinkered. Dogs ran tall to small all weekend, making Lucky the 6th dog on the line in each class, and Maxie was second to last! Only one ring, which went smoothly and Tanya Lee, Trial Sec, says it goes just as fast as with 2 rings if the judges nest the courses properly.

GOALS SET/GOALS MET:
Maxie:  1 QQ, at least 20 MACH points, and running weaves/got my QQ plus another Q and 30 MACH points, but no running weaves which helped cause his 4th clean run to be 3 seconds over time.
Lucky Lucy:  1 jumpers Q, 1 standard Q, at least 5 MACH points, and running weaves/got both Q's and 6 MACH points, but no running weaves.
Pepper:  better leash behavior, off leash sit/stays in arena at practice bar, attentiveness to me, ease with other people and trial environment/got all except better leash behavior.

Theresa and Breeze, a tiny sheltie

FRIDAY:  Maxie QQ’d with 2 2nd places, placing that high only because Breeze, who usually beats Maxie by 10 seconds or so and working on his 4th MACH, got pulled.  The little 8” sheltie took off from the start line walking– by the 3rd obstacle Theresa picked him up and pulled him out for the weekend – they’re supposed to compete in Nationals in 2 weeks.  She reported he had given a yelp at the practice jump just before his turn.  Musta pulled something. How heartbreaking is that?  Lucky Q’d in Standard by 5 seconds despite walking her weaves, but scratched in Jumpers by walking her weaves plus a refusal in a threadle and taking the table twice. Someone just had to comment that she doesn’t have a good “work ethic”.  I guess that means she lacks drive?  Another chimed in saying I’ve slowed both Lucky and Maxie down by demanding perfection, over-practicing, and not making it fun.  That’s all such bulls#%t, I hardly practice and don't demand perfection, but I wish they’d apply their “make it fun” standards to encouraging me.  I’m going to follow Joe’s advice (who had overheard their comments) –  “Don’t listen to anybody.”

Found out that some clubs comp the runs of their Trial Secretary, Chief Course Builder and Gate Steward, confirming what a few of us have been thinking/talking about recently -- It’s too darn much work to expect key positions of a trial to be filled by volunteers for free, especially when trials are netting thousands of dollars.  We are outgrowing our "hobby" status.  AKC trials have CUSTOMERS who expect competent SERVICE for the thousands of dollars they spend each year.

Tanya Lee studies her club's new tire.

Saw a breakaway tire for the first time, and several of us studied how it worked, with electromagnets holding the bottom sections together. The tire did break apart for several dogs, but Judge Mary Mullens didn't fault that because nobody was sure how to set the tension.  It's clear, several dogs do nick the tire.

Here's a video that explains AKC's new requirement and shows how the breakaway tire works.

Here’s a link to a collection of YouTube videos showing Scary Tyre Accidents, which I’m sure contributed to AKC’s new rule.

Mary Mullens was the most pleasant judge I've encountered so far. She was gracious, supportive, clear, concise, kept things running smoothly, her courses flowed, she nested the courses well.

Dawn in pink with her new pap puppy, Theresa in green
with her new pap, me in red with Maxie & Pepper.

SATURDAY:
Didn’t make it off the waiting list to run Maxie and Lucky, so Saturday was Pepper’s day.  We hung out all over the place. I had several people hold him while I walked away. We stayed in the bleachers awhile, ringside awhile, alone in the crate awhile, did some heel work, and I worked him off leash in the warm up area.  He sniffed a lot but didn't run away. For those who don't know, this is called "proofing the dog", i.e., desensitizing them to the trial environment long before they ever compete.  It's very important because arenas are very noisy, busy and stressful.   Talked with 2 new papillon owners and we had a little party. Theresa helped me measure him and he's definitely going to jump 12" with his 11 3/8" height.  Sorry, boy, you're going to have to run with much larger, faster dogs.  I hope I can learn to keep up with you.

SUNDAY:  Maxie had 2 clean runs and I really thought he had QQ'd a second time with a 1st place as no other dogs in his class qualified.  Much to my dismay, when the results of the last run were posted, he was 3 seconds over course time.  A first for him. In fact, his YPS all weekend were down, in the 2.8 - 3.2 range whereas he's usually in the 3.25 - 3.8 range.  He seemed to run with nose to the ground a lot, and he never once ran his weaves.  This despite running weaves every day at home for the last week and him begging for more turns.  He sits at the end of the weaves or on the see-saw and refuses to budge.   I literally have to fetch him out of the yard to end his turn. Lucky's Q in Jumpers was icing on the day, with her fastest run time all weekend at 3.68 YPS.

RAFFLE:  Great raffle karma this weekend.
 

Bought my usual $10 worth, got 15 tickets, and put 5 into each of 3 choices.  I knew I'd win the Addidas baseball shoes because mine were the only tickets in the bag.  I tried them on, they fit perfect, and I have been wanting cleats for training in wet grass or muddy conditions, and the leather cover over the tied shoe laces means they can't come undone while I'm running around.  Worth between $30-$60.

My other two choices had lots of other bidders, so I didn't expect to win.  I was surprised, then, to win a WOOF Leash Rack and assorted dog toys in a plastic sterlite tub.  The rack and tub will go in the RV. We chew through toys quickly so those are always welcome.

And while I didn't win the little plush dog bed, I did congratulate the lady who won it and to my amazement she said she didn't want the bed, just the stuff in it.  I offered her $5 for it and she agreed!  Said it paid for her raffle tickets! Willow is sure I brought this incredible bed home just for her, but they all take turns nestling in. It is very very plush and very very soft, unlike the other cotton, terry cloth or velveteen lined beds around my house. Can they really feel the difference?  The bed seems always occupied, even by Lucky who barely fits.  Except for FoohFooh the dingo, who doesn't go for such froo froo.  In 12 years I don't think I've ever seen him go in a dog bed!  He prefers the hard floor.

L to R:  Willow, Pepper, Maxie, Lucky Lucy

And as I write my last paragraph, I look over and see this vision of adorableness -- Pepper and Maxie curled up together.  Whipped my iPhone out and snapped another pic to show you.  Couldn't resist. It reminds me what the lady said who gave me the bed:  "It wouldn't suit my dog" (a mid size dog but not sure what kind), "but is perfect for your Papillons."  She was right! Before this, I would never have gone out and purchased a plush bed or blanket for my Paps, but by gum, they really can tell the difference and prefer plush to plain!!!

 

Another bonus: While packing up to leave the arena, I sought out the manager, told him about the dark parking lot on Thursday night, the locked electric boxes and no water, and he refunded me Thursday night's reservation fee -- $20. More details on IKE’s RV accommodations available on my Trial Site Summaries page.  Got home about 8 p.m. and John had dinner cooking for me -- spaghetti and meat sauce, french bread and a big green salad.  Plus he helped me potty and feed the dogs, and unload the RV.  I was quite tired by then, and really appreciated the warm welcome home!

 

Monday morning I noticed the azeleas had popped open all down my driveway. Picked some for my window sill and used them for Maxie's QQ photo. He didn't much like posing amidst those flowers. Lucky would barely pose. I never could get her ears up and she kept looking at me with those huge brown eyes one is always in danger of falling into, as if to say "how much longer must I endure this torture".

Still have my videos to watch and study, so the trial isn't over yet for me.  I look forward to that, but tomorrow is another Agility Bloggers Event so I have to concentrate on that right now.  I also need to catch up on the 2 courses I'm auditing from the Daisy Peel Online Classroom. Not to mention the rest of my life, which is in a state of complete neglect because it is nowhere near as much fun!

Upwards and onward!

 

My New A-Frame

My new light-weight A-frame, on wheels,
matches my 9' yellow tunnel.

Last week one of our club's newer competitors posted notice she was selling all of her agility equipment.  Her border collie had been diagnosed with epilepsy and displasia, preventing her from pursuing the sport further.  It was very sad.

At the same time, it was a boon for several of her clubmates who bought the equipment at half-price or less -- jumps, tunnels, table, weaves, baby dog walk, sand bags.  Our club scored a steerable A-frame mover, very well built, heavy gauge steel, and brand new, which we have sorely needed but could not afford at full price.

I drove over immediately to look at the equipment and possibly make purchases for myself and others.  I presumed it would all sell fast, and most of it got snapped up quickly. Clubmate Ken and I returned with his big van a few days later to pick up his tunnel, tire jump, table, the club's A-frame mover, and my stuff.

I bought 6 small tunnel sandbags for $10, and a home made light-weight A-Frame in LSU colors for $200 -- what I offered when nobody else wanted it because the metal frame is sway-back, the rubberized coating is coming loose, and the bare wood will eventually rot.  It isn't competition grade.  Nevertheless, I got to thinking that the frame, being made of channel steel, could be reinforced, straightened and re-used when the current top is replaced, and the unit, as is, is adequate for training my wee little dogs at home.  The tipping point for me to purchase was when I realized the way it was constructed, the wheels and axles I had on my old wooden A-Frame would slip right through the tubes at the bottom.  Also, she agreed to reduce the price down from $550.



Underside construction,
wheels hold it 1" above the ground,
1" square tube top and bottom
allows my axles to go through
the bottom ones.

It took John an hour or so to finagle the A-frame into the back yard (no easy task as fencing had to be removed).  It took him an hour or so to swap out the wheels (wing nuts were rusted on, of course), but now I have a light A-frame which I can wheel back and forth across the yard to mow underneath.  I don't have to wait for John to get home or someone to come over to help me move it.  The wheels also keep the A-frame itself from direct contact with the ground.  In the lawn where it had been sitting, one end had sunk about 3" under the ground and grass had rooted in the rubberized surface.  It took me about half an hour to tear out the grass. 

I still need to repair and re-glue the rubberized surface and paint the wood.  I'll probably use epoxy on the glue project, and spar urethene exterior varnish on the wood.  I may wait until it's cooler.

I tested it out this morning, and even though it's much lighter than my old solid wood A-frame and has a good bit of flex, the weight of the dogs hitting the upside or pushing off the downside, even Lucky's 50 lbs, doesn't roll it, so I don't need to chock the wheels.  But I could if I needed to for a larger dog. 



Dogs L to R:  Lucky, Pepper, Maxie

Maxie & Lucky seemed thrilled to have an A-frame again, and Pepper zipped right over it too, at full height, without the slightest need of encouragement.  Getting Maxie and Lucky to stay on top for a photo was difficult, with many a STAY, HALT, STOP, KISS ME, PLEASE STAY WHILE DADDY TAKES OUR PICTURE. I didn't realize how well they have internalized our NEVER PAUSE AT THE TOP rule!  They clearly didn't feel right about it.  Good!

Maxie (top), Pepper (bottom)

I even managed to crop a really cute photo of Pepper and Maxie posing together at the top. Too bad it's not sharp.

We are all feeling lucky today.  Now when will Lady Luck send me a dog walk I can afford?  The wooden one I built has rotted out in only 3 years. I don't want another wood one, but it puts a real crimp in an agility dog's lifestyle not to have all 3 pieces of the contact equipment handy.  For my dogs, at least, they are the most fun.

Upwards and onward!