Simple fast agility definitions

I'm sure my agility posts are boring and confusing for most (if not all) of you. So here's some definitions that will (maybe?) help. If you are at all interested.

contacts: in a trial, a dog must touch the contact zone (painted a different color) at the bottom of the contact obstacle (either the teeter, A-frame, or dog walk). If the dog doesn't touch the contact, that is a non-qualifying run

The red part of this A-frame is the contact

qualify (or "Q"): If you follow all the rules during a course (not knocking over poles, getting all the contacts correctly, not going off course, etc), you can qualify with that run. You need a certain number of qualifying runs to compete in the next level of agility.

non-qualify ("NQ"): If you make ANY big mistake in a course (go off course, miss a contact, fail to finish the weaves), or make too many (the number depends on the organization)  little mistakes (refusal to jump, or up and down off the table), that is a non-qualifying run. But you can still place if all the other dogs NQ as well.

organizations: There are several agility organizations. The 3 that Lexi and I compete in currently are UKC (United Kennel Club), USDAA (United States Dog Agility Association), and AKC (American Kennel Club). Each has its own rules and titles.


title: A prefix or a suffix that is attached to a dog's name after earning a title with a specific organization. You have to have a certain number of qualifying runs to earn different titles, and you have to earn the titles in order--for example you can't complete for your AKC Open title until you've got your Novice title. Titles are MORE important than first place ribbons in the agility world!

weave poles: when a dog is doing the weave poles, they must always start with the first pole by their left shoulder. If they do it any other way, that is a failed weave entry and an NQ run. Also, they must finish all the poles...if they leave early it's called a pop out and is an NQ.

Here's a REALLY cool video of a 60 weave challenge. Dogs do either 6, 9, or 12 poles in competition (usually 12) but this was a special event and it's really fun to watch.