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Agility,
which venue is right for me? -- First article in a multi-part series of articles on the many different types of agility available for Goldens-- AKC wasn’t the first organization to offer agility as a sport but probably one of the most well known. Although agility began in England in 1978, it wasn’t brought to the United States until 1986. AKC held its first agility trial in 1994. AKC is most known for its two main classes.
The first is the Standard Class, which includes obstacles such as
the dog walk, the A-frame, and seesaw. The second is Jumpers with Weaves. This
class only has jumps, tunnels and weave poles. Both classes offer increasing
levels of difficulty to earn Novice, Open, Excellent and Master Titles.
The newest offering from AKC is the “FAST” class. FAST is an acronym for Fifteen And Send Time. As indicated by the title the Fifteen And Send Time Class uses fifteen (15) point valued obstacles and/or obstacle combinations. FAST encourages the dog and handler to work at a distance from one another. FAST is quickly being introduced across the country with clubs hosting demos and fun matches to allow handlers to give it a try. Effective Jan 1, 2007 FAST is sort of a course within a course. A regular course with standard obstacles is set and obstacles are assigned a point value and within that course is a series of obstacles that come with bonus points. There is a course time assigned to the course and handlers completing the course and the bonus under that time get full points, if the team goes over the time allowed those seconds are subtracted from the points earned. The handler can chose to attempt the bonus points at any time during their run. It’s quite fun and challenging to try and I think most handlers will find it fun after they get over the initial confusion about how to play the game. What I like about FAST………. It gives dogs and handlers another game to play; it encourages the dog and handler to work away from each other which, in my opinion, can help to increase the speed on course. Un-attaching the velcro dog gives the dog confidence and in some cases this increases speed. Most of our Golden’s love to be close to us. In agility however, that clinging Golden can often get stressed when the handler gets too far away. Training for FAST might just be the key to unlocking some of those velcro Golden’s. Another thing I like is the idea of getting to do 3 runs a day with my best friend. Although I enjoy volunteering and spending time with friends at trials sometimes spending the entire day at a site for just 2 runs gets a little old. What I don’t like about FAST…….Excellent dogs have to start out in Novice. I should mention that I feel the same about the preferred class program as well. Dogs and handlers who have proven their abilities to perform at a certain level shouldn’t have to start at the beginning. It’s not fair to those true beginners and it’s a waste of money. Another issue I see in my region, Colorado, is how a club is going to host 3 events in one day when 2 have become difficult. Clubs currently hosting 2 ring trials that are filling will either have to reduce the number of entries or host 3 ring trials. If these trials are held indoors it will be difficult to find a location that can accommodate 3 rings. One thing that sets AKC agility apart from other organizations is that it’s only open to AKC Registered dogs. There aren’t any set reasons to choose one organization over another, mostly its personal preference. AKC is a good match for Goldens in that it tests the dog and handlers skills in a variety of ways that suit the personality and nature of the Golden Retriever very well. AKC agility tests a dog and handler for speed, agility, consistency, obedience and a variety of other skills. In order to excel in AKC Agility the team must be well rounded, consistent and able to perform with enough speed to make time on the course. Sometimes the very fast dogs and handlers find AKC a bit more difficult to excel in as the speed might be great but the consistency isn’t there to obtain the double qualifying scores required to become an AKC Master Agility Champion. Other venues don’t have such rigid requirements for consistency and therefore attract speedy yet less consistent teams. What I like about AKC… *I like that is tests the dog for accuracy as well as speed. *I like the safe height of the A-frame *I like the lower jump heights; I feel their height requirements are better for the dog in the long run *I like the consistency of the program. Although in the past few years it seems that a lot of changes have been made and some don’t seem too well thought out. I’m hoping this is just a phase and things will get back to the way they used to be with changes only being made for the safety of the dog. *Nationals competition each year to qualifying teams *Availability of events…Since many clubs are affiliated with AKC there seems to be more AKC trials than other organizations in a lot of areas of the country. What I dislike about AKC… *Cost. Depending on where you live and play, AKC agility can cost up to as much as $18 per run and you only get 2 runs per day. *Only 2 runs per day. *Entry limits In future articles I will discuss some of the other organizations that also offer agility. If you and your Golden compete in UKC, CPE, DOCNA or NADAC agility and you would like to help me with future articles please contact me at goldenpaws@qwest.net |
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