Clean Run - October 2011 - 39

Japan has another popular style of agility aside from the Japanese Kennel Club. The acronym OPDES stands for Organization for the Promotion of Dog Education & Socialization and although it follows FCI standards, it participates in and hosts USDAA tournament classes. Tom Kula is a frequent judge for OPDES agility and answered a few questions.

What is OPDES agility and how is it diﬀerent from JKC agility?
TK: The organization promotes more than just education; it focuses on the socialization and the relationships between dogs and their owners as well. Just as USDAA is open to dogs regardless of pedigree (or lack thereof), so too is OPDES.

How do the OPDES and JKC championships compare concerning what it takes to accomplish each?
TK: Just as in the U.S. many compete in both USDAA and Kennel Club venues, so too in Japan there are those that complete in both. As someone who has judged [OPDES] Grand Prix and Steeplechase finals several times, the level of talent in Japan is on par with ours here in North America. The challenges presented at the OPDES/USDAA national championships and the JKC championships are very similar in terms of diﬃculty.

Do you have any other comments?
TK: The biggest diﬀerence I see between Japan and the U.S. is the higher number of small dogs that participate in Japan. They have no performance program and their mini/medium (12"/16") class is as large as the 22"/26" group. Many small dog breeds that we rarely see participate here (Dachshunds, and so on) are very common in OPDES agility. Contrary to the thoughts of many in the U.S., these dogs can jump the required jump heights in USDAA agility.

Trial entry fees are much more expensive than in the U.S., costing between $85 to $125 for two runs (the equivalent of AKC Standard and Jumpers with Weaves). The JKC trials go by FCI rules, meaning that if a dog takes an oﬀ-course obstacle, he is eliminated and the team must leave the ring immediately. On occasions when my dog went oﬀ course early on, I amused myself by calculating the per obstacle cost. Course maps are not distributed, so many competitors watch the courses being built and plan their handling strategy through hand motions on the sidelines before and after their walk-through. For equipment, all jumps are made of wood and are winged. In addition, the contact obstacles (A-frame, seesaw, and dogwalk) are often made of wood. Broad jumps are used for every level, as well as a “brick” wall, and there are no triples. Before starting a run, a person blocks the first obstacle until the judge blows the whistle indicating that it is time for the next run. The “blocker” also manually times the run, which is used as a backup to the electronic timers. After all dogs in a class have run, the results are posted on a board. Those competitors who place (ranging from the top 5 to the top 10 depending on the type of organization holding the trial) are expected to wait until the end of the trial to stand on the podium to receive their ribbons and have their pictures taken. The pictures are included in the Japanese Dog Sports Journal magazine along with the relevant statistics and course maps from the trial. Are any training methods and/or handling systems generally popular in Japan? MU: The training methods used emphasize getting the dog through a course at top speed rather than mastering a particular handling technique. In class, our runs were timed and after some fine-tuning of handling in trouble spots, a successful session was determined by a reduction in time running the course.
October 11 | Clean Run

How is the agility championship in Japan structured? MU: Similar to AKC agility, there are height restrictions and three levels of competency that dictate the dog’s class. Also similar to AKC, there is a Standard run (called AG) and a Jumpers run (called JP). The diﬀerences are that there are no “games,” and there are only three height levels oﬀered, 12", 18", and 26". (Cody, who jumps 20" in AKC agility, was required to jump 26" in Japan.) The only way to advance in level is to qualify in three AG runs. JP runs are not relevant, except that the dog advances in JP at the same time as in AG. Dogs can begin to accumulate points toward their agility championship starting at Level 2 (the intermediate level) with each qualifying AG run. The number of points earned per run ranges from 5 to 7 to 10, depending on whether the organization sponsoring the trial is a local club, a regional group of clubs, or FCI, respectively. A total of 20 points is required to attain an agility championship, and 60 points for a super championship. In addition to the requisite number of points earned, the dog must have demonstrated a proficiency in obedience by earning CD and CD2 titles [as well] to receive an agility championship. Which parts of earning that title were most diﬃcult? Which were easiest? MU: The most diﬃcult part of earning the title for Cody was completing the obedience requirement. I guess I just didn’t make it fun enough for him because whenever we would practice the skills, he would express his disinterest and/or stress by yawning continually! We were both happy when he passed the two tests. The easiest part was only needing to qualify on the AG run to begin accumulating points, no Double-Qs necessary!
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Clean Run - October 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - October 2011