Clean Run - June 2020 - 6

PhOtOS © leSleY MattUChiO

The

S O L U T I O N
Sequences for Small Spaces
With only about 25% of the area
of a typical agility course, my training center's inclement weather
practice space is under a 60ft. x
40ft. pavilion. Using a teeter, six
poles, 4ft. jumps and some 10ft.
and 15ft. tunnels, we can cultivate
our dogs' basic agility skills including contact performance, weaving,
and jumping, as well as work on
our handling abilities. Here I will
share some of our equipment setups and drills.
Even though we worked pause
table exercises just a couple of
months ago, recent modifications
to this obstacle's performance
requirements by USDAA have resulted in requests from our training partners to work on exercises that allow practice utilizing the
changes. The new regulations
dictate that the table is no longer
to be used in Masters classes. If
that wasn't good enough, it was
also decreed that for Starters
and Advanced classes, the dog
may perform the obstacle in any
position at the handler's discretion. You could almost hear the
cheers and applause across
the country when all this was
announced!

Common sense suggests that
handlers will most frequently ask
their teammate to remain standing
after he jumps onto the table. The
standing position is the one most
easily re-positioned so an advantage will be gained if the handler
can maneuver the dog during the
table count to a position headed
toward the next obstacle. This redirection technique is easily developed if the handler simply moves
around the table perimeter while
asking his partner to turn as well.
One more change is that there will
be only two table heights in the
Championship division: 12 in. for
Mini (10-16 in. jump heights) and
20 in. for Open (20-24 in.); and
two in the Performance Division:
12 in. for Mini (8-12 in.) and 16
in. for Open (14-20 in.). This will
bring an additional change to the
Championship division's Open
jump heights, as those dogs will
be asked to jump onto a table lower (20 in. vs. 24 in.) than they are
used to. I have given you setups
in Figures 1-3 to practice your table behavior.
Since we are already working
with a new USDAA development,

By John Reid

I thought it would be good to address one other change being offered, which makes more
workable one of their most administratively challenging programs:
the Relay, also called Pairs classes. Show-hosting clubs are now
able, at their option, to offer the
three levels (Starters, Advanced,
and Masters) of the Relay game
as one combined class, permitting
dogs from any level to work together as a Pairs team.
The single Relay Class will be run
on an Advanced/Level 2 course
and scored under Advanced/Level
2 rules. The title requirements remain the basically the same except for the removal of any level
restrictions on pairing: Starters/
Level 1 titles need three Qs with
three partners and under 2 judges, Advanced/Level 2 titles need
three additional Qs and three additional partners, and Master/
Level 3 titles will require five more
Qs with five additional partners.
The main differences occasioned
by this new approach to running
Pairs will be found in the fact that,
per Advanced/Level 2 rules, refusals are judged only on the

Clean Run | June 20

Clean Run - June 2020

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