How Scores Are Tabulated In Dog Agility

By Cheng Bernhardt


If you would like to be a part of dog agility, you are not alone. This sport has become hugely popular since its creation in the 1970s. Every dog agility organization is a little bit different. Each has designed its own unique dog obstacles courses and each has its own rules and restrictions, but here are a few bits of basic information that might help those who are just starting out.

There will be a mix of obstacles on your course, and this will include contact obstacles, tunnels, jumps, a pause table, weave poles and perhaps a few other items. Typically, the contact obstacles include the a-frame, a dog walk and a teeter totter. Obviously, it takes a good deal of practice to navigate each obstacle correctly. At Carlson Agility, you can find all the agility equipment you need for agility training, including the dog agility a-frame, dog agility jumps, tunnels, teeters and everything you need to create your own dog agility course.

Dogs are separated into different classes, and usually this is based on the height of the animal. The dog's age and their experience level also determine the class, and there are a few other classes, as well, but those are the basic types. Your dog must complete the course is a set amount of time or a time fault is given.

You also must navigate all of the obstacles correctly, or other types of faults are given. The contact obstacles must be completed correctly, or your team (a dog and handler form the team) will earn a missed contact fault. If a dog completes the course in the wrong order, this is called an off-course fault. Turning away from an obstacle or pausing for too long in front of an obstacle is a refusal fault. If the dog passes an obstacle, this is called a runout fault. You also will earn faults if you knock down a jump or don't make it in and out of the weave poles correctly.

However, it's not just the dog that has to do his best; the handler also must be following the rules. If the handler appears to be training the dog rather than guiding, sometimes this is consider a training-in-the-ring fault. This is a very subjective type of fault and not applicable for every organization. Bringing a treat or a special toy into the ring also can be penalized. If you touch an obstacle or touch your dog, even if it was by mistake, this is called a handling mistake and a fault is given.

These are just a few typical faults that you might see when you compete. Sometimes you must run a completely clean run with no faults in order to progress in a contest. In other cases, a certain amount of faults might be allowed. Learning about the various faults and obstacles for your specific organization is an important key to success in the world of dog agility.




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