Clean Run Magazine - November 2007 - 71

The Judge’s Debriefing By Kurt Matushek One of the methods agility judges can use to increase the complexity of their courses is to move obstacles closer together, thereby forcing handlers to turn their dogs tightly to keep them from taking an off-course obstacle. Because of the tight control needed to negotiate such courses, handlers are challenged to ﬁnd ways to maintain their dogs’ speed. At the other end of the spectrum, judges can increase the complexity of their courses by opening them up and putting handling challenges farther apart rather than closer together. Because such courses encourage dogs to increase their speed, handlers are challenged to ﬁnd ways to maintain control. A good example of the latter type of course is the AKC Excellent JWW course in Figure 1 from the Canine Capers Agility Club trial in Alpharetta, Georgia. The trial was held under cover on packed dirt. The opening was straightforward, allowing handlers to choose from a variety of strategies. Those with a reliable stay on Results 8" Division, SCT: 42 sec, 138 yds Winner: Candella Cloudberry; Papillon; owner K Wlodarski; 28.38 sec 12" Division, SCT: 42 sec, 138 yds Winner: Taywils Wolfs Bane; Lowchen; owner D Roback; 30.91 sec 16" Division, SCT: 41 sec, 144 yds Winner: Karefree Ticket To Ride; Shetland Sheepdog; owner L Galgano; 24.77 sec 20" Division, SCT: 40 sec, 149 yds Winner: Top Shelfs Rapid Attack; Border Collie; owner M Sheard; 25.85 sec 24" Division, SCT: 40 sec, 149 yds Winner: Water Dog’s Can’t Stop Me; Labrador Retriever; owner C Parente; 29.07 sec 26" Division, SCT: 40 sec, 149 yds Winner: JEWL’s Fate; Pharoah Hound; owner B Brown; 31.49 sec November 07 | Clean Run their dogs typically led out along the right side of jumps #1 and #2 and executed a front cross or rear cross between jumps 2# and #3. Others chose to use a lead-out pivot, and some even chose to lead out to the left of jump #1 and push their dogs from jump #2 to jump #3. With nearly 20' between the double and jump #6, none of the dogs really looked at taking the off-course jump. Thus, regardless of their strategy, handlers could smoothly negotiate the opening. The transition from jump #4 to the tunnel at #8 presented handlers with their 1 ﬁrst real challenge. Generally, handlers executed a front cross between jumps #5 and #6 and picked their dogs up afterward on the left to send them over jump #7 and across the ﬁve-sided box into the tunnel. Alternatively, handlers kept their dogs on the right through the whole sequence while treating jumps #5, #6, and #7 like a serpentine and pushing their dogs away from them into the tunnel. Both strategies proved successful, but both also posed problems for handlers who did not anticipate the speed their dogs carried out of the opening pinwheel. AKC Excellent JWW Canine Capers Agility Club Alpharetta, Georgia Saturday, March 24, 2007 Judge: Kurt Matushek 13 12 14 5 4 11 6 1 15 3 10 18 17 7 16 2 8 9 F 19 1 F S S 71

Clean Run Magazine - November 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - November 2007