AGILITY IS FUN

A Judge’s Perspective

Le Hammer

Le Hammer has owned,trained and bred German Shorthaired Pointers for more than 35 years, she has shown 7 show champions, has dogs with titles in obedience, flyball and gundog work. During the last 10 years she has been involved in agility. With her partner, Keith Edwards, she has owned, trained and trialled 5 dogs with multiple masters titles, and represented the state with two of her dogs in National competitions. She has been an agility judge for 5 years and has judged in many different states including National competitions. In her spare time she is a qualified veterinarian and, with Keith, runs a full time agility training school called Canine Fun Sports. She can be contacted through her website at http://www.caninefunsports.com.au

 As well as the handler and dog out on an agility course, there is one other person. The judge. It is the judge’s job to set a puzzle for the handler to solve, and then check to see how well that solution is executed.

As a judge, I try to set a course for which I can see a clear solution. I can picture a certain handling technique that will allow the handler to smoothly guide the dog from obstacle to obstacle, while maintaining high speed, and for any tight corners, the  handler should be able to be in a position to slow the dog just for a moment, then drive off at maximum acceleration. Judges can set all sorts challenges: side changes, obstacle discriminations, tight turns, pull throughs, push throughs, call offs, handler restrictions or perhaps setting an awkward approach to an obstacle such as testing if the dog has been trained to find the entrance to a tunnel from a distance, or to test if the dog can find his own entry to the weavers.

Handlers, when they walk a course, not only need to find out the order of the obstacles (and commit it to memory); they also need to figure out how they can guide the dog around that course as smoothly as possible, so the dog is always running as fast as possible. If the handler is able to move into a position that gives the dog early information on where to go next, then the dog can start to accelerate earlier, and you have more chance of beating that time, or even winning.

RALLY COURSE OR RACE TRACK
Every course is different. Some courses suit the Ferrari style of dog - they are fast and flowing with longer spaces between obstacles, often having less obvious challenges – potential off courses that may not be seen when you are walking a course, but because our dogs have developed more speed, they may be a little bit heavier on the steering. With the larger dogs, it may be like handling a Mack Truck, without the power steering. Subtle changes in direction might be needed. And with the extra speed, a handler may not be in a position to delicately push or pull a little on the dog’s path to get the subtle change in direction that is required. The result is a refusal fault, or perhaps an off course jump that you thought your dog would not have seen.

Other courses may have more obvious in-your-face challenges that need a dog that is happy to work close to the handler. Although the dog may not have the chance to open out to full throttle, to do well on a course like this, a dog must be willing to accelerate and decelerate quickly and not “close down” because the handler is always calling the dog off an obstacle that looks like the obvious one to do. These courses still need speed, but a high performance Mini Cooper S might be more likely to do well on this course, rather than a formula one racing car.

Of course, there are also courses that give you a mixture – an open all-out-speed section, often ending in a tunnel to turn your dog back in your direction. Then a tight control section where you need to be up close to your dog – your job is to send your dog out to that tunnel so you have time to get into position to control those tight turns, to signal your dog to decelerate – to put that extra half stride in before take-off so the dog can wrap nice and tight around the jump upright and accelerate off in the new direction (and not jump that tempting obstacle that the judge has placed right where the dog will see it.) But then you have to keep your dog moving while you just take a step in toward him, to push him out to the wide tunnel that is set right next to the dog walk. Thankfully, your dog’s favourite obstacle is the tunnel, but that won’t help you on the next pass, when you just have to drop your arm close to your side, and steer your dog close to you, so that this time you can send him up the dog walk – keeping him away from that tunnel that has suddenly become a big vacuum, sucking your dog right in.

So the ideal dog is one that changes gear easily – will open out to full throttle on the straighter stretches of highway driving, but will change down a gear to corner nicely on the hairpins and corners of mountain or city driving. (Have I taken this car analogy too far?)

DEGREES OF DIFFICULTY
In a novice course, most of the challenges are simple. Our aim, as a judge, is to see whether the dog can execute the obstacles correctly, and see if the handler can maintain the dog on a smooth path around the ring. At the excellent level, the path is more intricate – you may have to call a dog off an obvious obstacle to turn him to the right path. And there will be a few more potential wrong courses and direction changes. At the masters level, you will see a complex pattern, where the path often crosses over, creating many opportunities for the dog to go the wrong way – except, the handler is there to give the dog guidance. A challenge might be quite complex including a choice of which side-by-side obstacle, with another obstacle nearby that interferes with the handlers path, and a side change is needed to direct the dog onto the following obstacle. At this level, the courses are pretty tricky, and the handler has to be there to guide the dog – not a moment to lose concentration.

THE RIGHT COURSE DESIGN
Our judges have to be able to design all these different courses – not just for agility and jumping, but also our games and open classes. Not only does the judge have to accommodate the different level of competition, but the course design must also be safe for the handler. No-one should be likely to trip over the end of a dog walk, or run into the end of the see-saw. The course must be safe for the dog so he is unlikely to cause ligament sprains or more major injuries from colliding with equipment. The course must fit into a certain sized ring and sometimes you have to set a course to avoid running into poles or potholes. There may be limited equipment available. The course design must also conform to a set of rules, where obstacles can only be a certain distance apart, or can only be negotiated a certain number of times. Further to this, often a judge has to design many courses for the one day and to move all that equipment for every course change is a bit time consuming. So most judges also “nest” their courses so only a few obstacles have to be moved. Course designing as a complex skill!

So next time you are out on course, look at it as a puzzle. You are out there looking for the solution that best suits your dog. There is usually some handling technique that will give you a smooth path. Hopefully, you have taught your dog that handling technique, and you can do it successfully. Otherwise, give it a go anyway, but realize that you either concede there are some courses you cannot do well – or go home and practice so that next time you will be successful. Sure, there is the occasional “rally” course where you feel there are two may trees to zig and zag between, and you risk doing an injury to your dog because it is near on impossible to get into a position to cue the dog for the direction change, but those courses are few and far between. Your judge has put a lot of time and effort into giving you a chance to have fun (and often left their own dogs at home and given up their own opportunity for fun). Go out there and accept the challenge. Work out your best solution to his puzzle and go for it. 

Agility is fun.

 PHOTOS: OUR JUDGES HAVING FUN WITH THEIR DOGS

1. Graham Elven sending Border Collie T Ch Wraysbury Magic Tarot AD JDX GD SD SPD through the tyre.
Photo by Le Hammer

2. Allan Schmidt revving up his Border Collie “Ferrari” Ag Ch Jack ADM ADO JDM JDO GDM SDX SPDX before a run. Photo by Le Hammer

3. Eddy Szmelter trying to outrun his “Mini Cooper” Jack Russell Terrier Wildenfox Sugar n Spice ADX JDX GD SD ET
Photo by Le Hammer

4. Le Hammer urging Ag Ch Brenilly Winona Ryder ADM7 ADO6 JDM10 JDO7 SDM GDM SPDX to go faster
Photo by Michelle Johansson

5. Pat Walsh cuing Tiana ADM JDX GD SPD for a turn with her body language. Photo by Le Hammer

6. Keith Edwards with his young “ racing Mack Truck” German Shorthaired Pointer Fenrik Liquorice Alsports JD GD. 
Photo by Le Hammer