Home | Dog Sports | What’s New | About | Contact | Store | Links
Agility | Conformation | Disc Dogs | Dock Diving | Earth Dog Trials | Flyball | Herding
| Field Trials & Hunting | Lure Coursing Obedience | Rally-
Dog Agility Scoring at AthleticDogs.com
Agility Scoring -
Each agility sanctioning organization has its own regulations regarding clean runs, faults, and the requirements for agility titles. A qualifying run requires that you and your dog meet the established limits for time, faults, points, and the like. A “clean run” requires no faults and a time that is under the organization’s established minimum. Be sure to be clear on the organization’s standards before you compete...typically this information will be provided during the briefing with the judge.
To gain an agility title for your dog, you will need a specific number of qualifying runs, or legs. Generally, these qualifying runs are accumulated over time and through many different sanctioned events. The AKC and other organizations require two clean runs in one day to achieve the champion agility status.
Faults
Different sanctioning organizations set different values on faults. In general, the following errors are considered faults:
Time Fault: Going over the standard course time (SCT) set by the judge.
Missed Contact: Contact obstacles require the dog to place a paw in the contact zone on both the ascent and descent of the obstacle. Failure to make contact is a common error, especially coming off the obstacle too early and jumping over the contact zone, called a flyoff.
Dropped Bar: Dropping a bar or panel when going over a jump is another common fault.
Weave Pole Fault: The weave poles are generally the toughest obstacle to master, especially at high speed. A fault will be recorded if the dog enters from the wrong side (must enter with the pole on the left of the dog), skipping poles, or backweaving (attempting to correct missed poles).
Off Course: Skipping an obstacle on a numbered course or completing them out of order results in an off course fault.
Refusal: A refusal fault occurs when the dog approaches an obstacle and balks by turning away or otherwise refusing to complete the obstacle.
Runout: If the dog runs past the assigned obstacle, a runout fault is recorded.
Handling: A handling fault is recorded if the handler touches the dog or an obstacle. Generally, the touch must be deliberate, but some organizations count the fault even if the contact is accidental.
Training in the Ring: Most organizations have rules against training in the ring during agility trials. That is, any action taken by the handler that appears to be for training purposes rather than intended to complete the course correctly. A few organizations do allow training, to the extent that they will allow the team to complete the course and perhaps even post a score, but most disqualify the team and many require the team to leave the ring immediately. The judge makes the call on whether an action is considered training or not, and their say is final. The theory here is that competing dogs should be trained already, thus the competition ring is not the place to do that. An example of blatant training would be to have your dog repeat an obstacle that has already been completed to improve his or her performance on that obstacle.
Pause Fault: The dog leaving the pause table or area before the judges count.
Miscellaneous Faults: There are always a number of additional potential faults, depending on the organization. These typically include the dog biting the judge or handler, the dog relieving himself/herself in the ring, the dog leaving the ring during the run, the dog wearing a collar (if disallowed), the handler carrying toys or treats in the ring, and the like. Unsportsmanlike conduct is not allowed – yelling at the dog or overly harsh handling can result in the judge blowing the whistle and stopping your run. Be sure to review the sanctioning organization’s rules and regulations prior to your agility trial.
Check out the Agility Equipment available through theAthleticDogs.com store.
AthleticDogs.com’s ebooks on training for agility are coming soon!
