I wasn't going to post until after both December trials for a full update, but this was too exciting to pass up - Philip got another QQ this past weekend! He ran so well the whole weekend, I was very happy with him, what a good boy! We are now officially a quarter of the way to our MACH, go Philip, go!
Oh, and he also finished his MX title with a 10th Q in Standard :)
Stay tuned for a full update after the trial this weekend.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
AKC Rule Changes (January 1st 2012)
AKC tends to have up to 3 rules changes over the course of each year (usually on January 1st, July 1st, and/or September 1st).
I went over the July changes right before I disappeared, and in September, we didn't really have any changes other than some for the clubs and how they go about registering for trials. Among them, the recording fee has gone up by 50 cents for each entry, and our local clubs are making us pay that. Doesn't seem like much, but a dollar here and a dollar there add up over time.
In January 2012, we have quite a few obstacle changes coming up though, so here they are:
- Most notably, the chute length is changing. I believe its length has been 10-12 feet up until now. Well, starting January 1st, the length is changing to a mere 6 feet (well, between 6' and 6'6" technically)! That's a crazy short chute, you have no idea. A short one like that is allowed to be used during bad weather right now, and I saw it in action at the last two trials we went to (because it was rainy and muddy, but that's another story), and boy is it short. It's practically a joke - dogs come flying out of the thing. It will be interesting to see this become the standard, but I don't suppose it'll be any advantage to me. Currently, I actually like that the chute is pretty long, and Philip gets stuck in the momentarily - it gives me a chance to catch up and collect myself, I don't get many of those on course with my lightning dog. Now they are taking even that one spot away - sigh...
- The tunnel is seeing a small change in that a 4" spacing between the ribs is now required (used to be up to 6"). No real effect to competitors from that one.
- Weave poles now officially require 24" spacing between the poles (used to be between 22" and 24"). They've been pretty standard already though, so no effect from this change either.
- Double and triple jumps are now emphasized that no solid sides will be allowed, i.e. all bars must be visible from all sides. Nothing new really, all doubles and triples I've seen so far have been non-solid.
- The wings for all jumps are now described as being 16"-36" wide (24" recommended), and 26"-42" high. Not sure what that's changed from, but it's highlighted, so I'm including it :)
That's all for January changes. More changes will be coming in July (new titles mostly), but that's still a bit away, plus it could still change, so I'll save those for later.
I went over the July changes right before I disappeared, and in September, we didn't really have any changes other than some for the clubs and how they go about registering for trials. Among them, the recording fee has gone up by 50 cents for each entry, and our local clubs are making us pay that. Doesn't seem like much, but a dollar here and a dollar there add up over time.
In January 2012, we have quite a few obstacle changes coming up though, so here they are:
- Most notably, the chute length is changing. I believe its length has been 10-12 feet up until now. Well, starting January 1st, the length is changing to a mere 6 feet (well, between 6' and 6'6" technically)! That's a crazy short chute, you have no idea. A short one like that is allowed to be used during bad weather right now, and I saw it in action at the last two trials we went to (because it was rainy and muddy, but that's another story), and boy is it short. It's practically a joke - dogs come flying out of the thing. It will be interesting to see this become the standard, but I don't suppose it'll be any advantage to me. Currently, I actually like that the chute is pretty long, and Philip gets stuck in the momentarily - it gives me a chance to catch up and collect myself, I don't get many of those on course with my lightning dog. Now they are taking even that one spot away - sigh...
- The tunnel is seeing a small change in that a 4" spacing between the ribs is now required (used to be up to 6"). No real effect to competitors from that one.
- Weave poles now officially require 24" spacing between the poles (used to be between 22" and 24"). They've been pretty standard already though, so no effect from this change either.
- Double and triple jumps are now emphasized that no solid sides will be allowed, i.e. all bars must be visible from all sides. Nothing new really, all doubles and triples I've seen so far have been non-solid.
- The wings for all jumps are now described as being 16"-36" wide (24" recommended), and 26"-42" high. Not sure what that's changed from, but it's highlighted, so I'm including it :)
That's all for January changes. More changes will be coming in July (new titles mostly), but that's still a bit away, plus it could still change, so I'll save those for later.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Updates
Wow, it's been a looong time since I've written anything here. Sorry for my lack of presence :( We are still competing, and I thought I'd give a quick update on our current status:
In AKC, we are now up to 4 QQs and 280 MACH points. I'm not even worried about the points at this point as I'm absolutely sure we'll have 750 way before we reach 20 QQs. Philip often gets a single Q in a day, and he is so fast, that he earns points like no other. Double-Qs are a bit harder to come by for us. We just got the 4th one yesterday as a matter of fact :) Philip finished his MXJ title yesterday as well (i.e. 10 Qs in Excellent JWW)
Also in AKC, Philip got his Excellent FAST title over the summer, finishing the last leg we needed in Excellent A. I was worried we wouldn't get it in time before the local clubs stopped offering FAST much, but he managed to finish it on the second to last try :) Since I was signed up for one more, I gave it another shot in an Excellent B run, but Philip didn't Q in that one,and we haven't done FAST since (not that it's been offered much anyway). I think that we are done with FAST for good though. The next title Philip could get in it would need 10 more Qs, and with how rare it has become, it would take forever to get them. Plus, it always requires lots of sitting around, waiting for the run, since FAST is usually at the end of the day.
On the other hand, we've started running in T2B instead! I'm really enjoying it, as the runs are always very quick, and our local clubs usually make them the first run in the morning, so no lingering around needed to wait for the run. Philip seems to have an "all or nothing" attitude for T2B right now. He either pays attention to me, runs fast and clean, earning 1st place and 10 points, or he fails miserably and gets an NQ because he's being a brat. So far, we've had 6 tries at it, and qualified 2 times, both with 1st place, so we have 20 points.
Other than being fun, a great advantage of the T2B for us is that it lets Philip get his "crazy" out if he has some in the morning. I'd much rather him bombing a T2B run and being collected in the regular runs than the other way around. Of course, quite often he bombs all 3 runs of the day anyway - brat!
In USDAA, we only had one trial since my last update here, which was back in June. Since Philip only needs Standard and Snooker Qs to finish his Advanced title, that is all I signed him up for. He bombed the Standard run on Saturday, and then wasn't feeling too well on Sunday (too much fun the day before = sore and slow Philip), so he had no Qs that weekend at all. So we are still in the same place in USDAA.
So there you have it, a quick update on our progress. We have 2 more AKC trials in December, and then that'll be it for this year. We'll see how it goes!
In AKC, we are now up to 4 QQs and 280 MACH points. I'm not even worried about the points at this point as I'm absolutely sure we'll have 750 way before we reach 20 QQs. Philip often gets a single Q in a day, and he is so fast, that he earns points like no other. Double-Qs are a bit harder to come by for us. We just got the 4th one yesterday as a matter of fact :) Philip finished his MXJ title yesterday as well (i.e. 10 Qs in Excellent JWW)
Also in AKC, Philip got his Excellent FAST title over the summer, finishing the last leg we needed in Excellent A. I was worried we wouldn't get it in time before the local clubs stopped offering FAST much, but he managed to finish it on the second to last try :) Since I was signed up for one more, I gave it another shot in an Excellent B run, but Philip didn't Q in that one,and we haven't done FAST since (not that it's been offered much anyway). I think that we are done with FAST for good though. The next title Philip could get in it would need 10 more Qs, and with how rare it has become, it would take forever to get them. Plus, it always requires lots of sitting around, waiting for the run, since FAST is usually at the end of the day.
On the other hand, we've started running in T2B instead! I'm really enjoying it, as the runs are always very quick, and our local clubs usually make them the first run in the morning, so no lingering around needed to wait for the run. Philip seems to have an "all or nothing" attitude for T2B right now. He either pays attention to me, runs fast and clean, earning 1st place and 10 points, or he fails miserably and gets an NQ because he's being a brat. So far, we've had 6 tries at it, and qualified 2 times, both with 1st place, so we have 20 points.
Other than being fun, a great advantage of the T2B for us is that it lets Philip get his "crazy" out if he has some in the morning. I'd much rather him bombing a T2B run and being collected in the regular runs than the other way around. Of course, quite often he bombs all 3 runs of the day anyway - brat!
In USDAA, we only had one trial since my last update here, which was back in June. Since Philip only needs Standard and Snooker Qs to finish his Advanced title, that is all I signed him up for. He bombed the Standard run on Saturday, and then wasn't feeling too well on Sunday (too much fun the day before = sore and slow Philip), so he had no Qs that weekend at all. So we are still in the same place in USDAA.
So there you have it, a quick update on our progress. We have 2 more AKC trials in December, and then that'll be it for this year. We'll see how it goes!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
How about some Q and A?
Philip and I have been going to so many trials in the last few months that I've barely had time to regroup and post about anything other than our results...
However, summer tends to be a bit slower on that end, so I'll have much more free time, and thought I should spice up the blog with fun/useful information :)
Want any particular topic covered? Have a question you've been dying to ask? Or maybe something that you already know, but think others would find useful? I know I have at least a couple of regular readers, so speak up, give me some ideas ;) Just post in the comments section, and I'll be sure to respond!
However, summer tends to be a bit slower on that end, so I'll have much more free time, and thought I should spice up the blog with fun/useful information :)
Want any particular topic covered? Have a question you've been dying to ask? Or maybe something that you already know, but think others would find useful? I know I have at least a couple of regular readers, so speak up, give me some ideas ;) Just post in the comments section, and I'll be sure to respond!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
AKC Rule Changes in July
I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but Agility is still a young and growing sport. Many different organizations hold trials and offer various Agility titles, and each comes with its own set of rules. These rules morph over the years, usually improving on the safety or the challenge level of the sport.
Starting July 1st, some new rules are going to be taking effect in AKC Agility. Since Philip and I have a couple weeks before our next trial, I thought it would be a good time to review these :)
The biggest news is, of course, the new Time 2 Beat Class. I've mentioned it now and again before, and I plan on making a detailed post about all the rules closer to date, but I'm very exciting for this new class. It's meant to run more like the tournaments in USDAA, and should be a fun new thing to strive for. This class comes with its own new titles when certain points are accumulated, but I'll explain all that when I make a separate post, I promise.
Second up is the removal of MACH point place multiplier. As you might remember from my quick tangent on MACH points before, the current system has a multiplier in place, such that any dog taking 1st place gets their points doubled, and 2nd place dogs get 1.5 times the number of points. Well, starting July 1st this will no longer be in effect, so the number of points earned will be equal to the number of seconds ahead of SCT, no matter what place the dog came in.
This is both good and bad. On the one hand, it's better for those people trying to get into the top 5 of their breed and go to the invitational events, since there won't be a bias for dogs that run in smaller classes and default to 1st or 2nd places due to sheer lack of competition. On the other hand though, those of us just shooting to put a MACH title onto our dogs won't have the luxury of getting a point boost when our dogs do run fast and beat others anymore.
Last, but not least, AKC has introduced a PACH title. This title is very similar to MACH, but it is for dogs running in the Preferred classes. Previously, preferred dogs could only get PAX (20 QQs, no points) as their highest title, but now they have new heights to strive for. To earn a PACH title, the dogs have to earn 750 points and 20 QQs (just like for MACH, but doing so in the preferred height). The very cool thing about this new title is that it is retroactive, meaning that any dogs who have completed the required number of points and double-Qs prior to this date will still get the title added to their name!
There aren't going to be any obstacle changes that I'm aware of, so I think this about covers it. Be on the lookout for a comprehensive T2B post sometime soon!
Starting July 1st, some new rules are going to be taking effect in AKC Agility. Since Philip and I have a couple weeks before our next trial, I thought it would be a good time to review these :)
The biggest news is, of course, the new Time 2 Beat Class. I've mentioned it now and again before, and I plan on making a detailed post about all the rules closer to date, but I'm very exciting for this new class. It's meant to run more like the tournaments in USDAA, and should be a fun new thing to strive for. This class comes with its own new titles when certain points are accumulated, but I'll explain all that when I make a separate post, I promise.
Second up is the removal of MACH point place multiplier. As you might remember from my quick tangent on MACH points before, the current system has a multiplier in place, such that any dog taking 1st place gets their points doubled, and 2nd place dogs get 1.5 times the number of points. Well, starting July 1st this will no longer be in effect, so the number of points earned will be equal to the number of seconds ahead of SCT, no matter what place the dog came in.
This is both good and bad. On the one hand, it's better for those people trying to get into the top 5 of their breed and go to the invitational events, since there won't be a bias for dogs that run in smaller classes and default to 1st or 2nd places due to sheer lack of competition. On the other hand though, those of us just shooting to put a MACH title onto our dogs won't have the luxury of getting a point boost when our dogs do run fast and beat others anymore.
Last, but not least, AKC has introduced a PACH title. This title is very similar to MACH, but it is for dogs running in the Preferred classes. Previously, preferred dogs could only get PAX (20 QQs, no points) as their highest title, but now they have new heights to strive for. To earn a PACH title, the dogs have to earn 750 points and 20 QQs (just like for MACH, but doing so in the preferred height). The very cool thing about this new title is that it is retroactive, meaning that any dogs who have completed the required number of points and double-Qs prior to this date will still get the title added to their name!
There aren't going to be any obstacle changes that I'm aware of, so I think this about covers it. Be on the lookout for a comprehensive T2B post sometime soon!
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