Clean Run Magazine - March 2008 - 7

Everything you always wanted to know about agility but were to ask afraid By Brenna Fender I know that the AKC has always had a rule requiring dogs to be on lead on trial grounds, but suddenly this rule is being strictly enforced—even in the motor home areas and fields that are apparently technically “on the grounds” of the trial although they are nowhere near the rings. Why can’t I have my under-control dog off lead to play ball when there is nothing else going on and I’m far away from the trial action? According to an AKC representative, “The regulation has never changed since the inception of [AKC] agility.” The Regulations for Agility Trials, Chapter 4, Section 10 state: “Dogs shall be on leash at all times when on the show grounds, except in the ring and the warm-up jump area.” It is the Trial Committee’s responsibility to ensure that all AKC regulations are followed at the trial. An AKC field representative’s presence helps to ensure that the Trial Committee is enforcing the regulations. According to the representative, handlers who have their dogs off leash at a trial will be asked to put the leash back on. Failure to comply would result in a misconduct for “failure to control.” The club would also suffer consequences, including having the incident logged on its record and written up in the representative’s field report. After being warned, if the club does not enforce the regulation, the club can be fined or even lose its licensing. The AKC representative expressed concern about the safety of dogs on trial grounds if off-leash dogs are present: “Dogs off leash are an accident waiting to happen.” Note: The trial grounds consist of any area named as such on a club’s application to hold the trial. If you are at a location for the purpose of attending a dog agility event, most likely the surrounding area is considered part of the trial grounds. What’s the best way for a competitor to contact agility organizations with suggestions for improvements to the sport, rule changes, and so on? Representatives from each organization prefer to be contacted in different ways: • Agility Association of Canada: You can contact AAC’s regional directors with suggestions for improvements and rule changes via email. Each regional director’s email address is listed online at www.aac.ca/EN/Contact_Us/Main/Directors.aspx. • AKC Agility: Sharon Anderson, director of AKC agility, welcomes comments and suggestions any time via email: sxa@akc.org. In 2009 the AKC Agility Advisory Committee will meet. Before this meeting happens, you will be able to submit suggestions via the AKC website. As details become available they will be posted online at www.akc.org/events/agility/index.cfm. • Australian Shepherd Club of America: Contact ASCA through its general email box at agility@asca.org. Suggestions for improvements received at that address will be forwarded to the agility committee or to the ASCA Board of Directors. Do you have a question about agility rules or anything else agility related? Mail your questions to Brenna Fender: brennafender@gmail.com Brenna collects the questions and forwards them to us so we never see the names. ? • Canine Performance Events: CPE has a “contact us” page on its website at www.k9cpe.com/contact.htm and competitors can select which department to send their queries to. Rule suggestions can go to the “general questions” email box. • North American Dog Agility Council: You can email president Sharon Nelson at NADACSharon@aol.com with feedback, suggestions, questions, and so on. NADAC also offers a Yahoo group (http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/NADACagility) where competitors can communicate their thoughts. • Sweepstakes Agility: This organization has a “contact us” link on the main page of its website at www.sweepstakesagility.com. Any suggestions, questions, or other comments can be shared through the form on that page. • Teacup Dogs Agility Association: Contact TDAA with suggestions through its website at www.k9tdaa.com. There is a “contact us” link on the main page that takes you to a complete list of contact information for any subject. You may also write to Teacup Dogs Agility Association, PO Box 158, Maroa, Illinois 61756, or phone (217) 521-7955. • United States Dog Agility Association: The best way to contact USDAA with suggested improvements or rule changes is through the mail: PO Box 850955, Richardson, Texas 75085-0955. A letter provides a hard copy for the Board’s agenda file, which gets reviewed when the agenda is assembled. Competitors who prefer to email may do so using board@usdaa.com, but a USDAA representative warns that because it’s a published email address, it gets a lot of spam and a legitimate message could be erroneously filtered. Can you run agility with your dog’s name on your clothing? It depends on which organization you patronize. ASCA, CPE, NADAC, Sweepstakes Agility, TDAA, and USDAA do not have rules that prohibit handlers from wearing their dogs’ names on their clothing. Of course, profanity or tasteless words might have repercussions in any agility ring. Special circumstances (like televised events) might dictate limitations on clothing. The AKC does not allow competitors to wear their dogs’ name on clothing while in the agility ring. It is considered a form of advertising and as such it is prohibited. The AKC’s complete clothing policy can be found at www.akc.org/events/agility/clothing_policy.cfm. D NOTE: While it is not permissible to make copies of Clean Run magazine, we wish to give readers permission to make copies of this particular column for personal use. This means you are free to share copies of this column with students, friends, or club members. The information may also be included in not-for-proﬁt newsletters as long as credit is given to Clean Run. March 08 | Clean Run 7

http://www.k9cpe.com/contact.htm http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/NADACagility http://www.sweepstakesagility.com http://www.k9tdaa.com http://www.aac.ca/EN/Contact_Us/Main/Directors.aspx http://www.akc.org/events/agility/index.cfm http://www.akc.org/events/agility/clothing_policy.cfm

Clean Run Magazine - March 2008

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