October League ~ A Numbered Course

The final course of the summer series is a numbered course designed by Game Master Steve Schwarz.

Each of league clubs will get the scorekeeping workbook for October with their current rosters upon submitting the September league results. For anyone who’d like to establish a new league franchise download the scorekeeping workbook HERE.

The Catalog of Games

As league participation increases some clubs might be interested in weekly competitions that coincide with regularly scheduled classes.

With this in mind, the Catalog of Games has been updated with all National Dog Agility League games and courses that have published results. The courses are organized by the size of the field; so it should be relatively easy to find a challenging game or course that fits in your working space. Download the Catalog of Games HERE.

If dog agility is to remain a game we play with our dogs and our friends, we first want to shift the focus away from the infrequent and costly qualifying attempt to a light-hearted and weekly romp in the park. As well as being just plain fun, it league play also serves to strengthen relationships with our dogs. As we lighten up and get more chances to play the game, our mood lifts, our nerves settle, and our dogs have a much better time.

Running a league sounds very involved and time-consuming. But the benefits far outweigh your efforts. A wonderful sense of community is built around league teams. And every league course presents an abundance of training objectives.

Jumping in to the League

If you have interested in jumping into League Play, you still have time to play on the first course of the summer league. The workbook can be downloaded here: September League.

While it is too late to compete in the summer league, you are invited to run that course and record your scores with all previous competitors. The August workbook can be downloaded here: August League

The score-keeping workbook for the out-of-league course can be downloaded here: Pick-up Game

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Questions comments & impassioned speeches to Bud Houston Houston.Bud@gmail.com. The web store is up and running. www.dogagility.org/newstore. You’ll find in the web store The Book of Agility Games, an invaluable reference to clubs engaged in league play.

July 2015 National Dog Agility League Course

This is a bit of a late posting. I’ve had a very busy start to the month of July. And it has put me behind. The course shown below was emailed with the scorekeeping workbook to all current NDAL clubs at the end of June. New players are always welcome!

July’s course is the final course of our inaugural league.

A Numbered Course ~ Time Plus Faults

Download the scorekeeping worksheet.

Preparation for the Summer League

Within the week the Secretary will send to all of our current member clubs the proposed League Rules for our Summer League. Everyone will have about a week to comment (and perhaps influence the consistency of the league).

On the Top Dog Facebook page Daryl Pubillones commented: “Can’t wait to see the course for July! ~ I do wish we could receive the results a little quicker, I guess I’m just anxious because it just so much fun!”

Mostly our reporting has been slow and late because some league players have been slow and late. We propose in the Summer League Rules a firm cutoff date and time for reporting results. All results submitted, will accrue Lifetime Performance Points (LPP) for everyone who runs the course. But late results will not be scored in the league competition.

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Questions comments & impassioned speeches to Bud Houston Houston.Bud@gmail.com. The web store is up and running. www.dogagility.org/newstore. You’ll find in the web store The Book of Agility Games, an invaluable reference to clubs engaged in league play.

Summer League 2015 Rules and Stipulations

Following are the rules and stipulations for the National Dog Agility League Summer 2015 competition. This document is intended to be a model but should not be viewed as a constraint for future league rules.

Frequency and Duration: The league shall consist of one competition each month inclusive of: May, June, July and August 2015.

Field Size: 60′ x 70′ (or, obviously, larger)

League Scoring by Placement: The top 5 dogs for each club in each of the four league competitions will earn Lifetime Performance Points (LPP) against the field. LPP are points earned inverse to placement. For example, if 101 dogs compete, then the first place dog will earn 100 LPP. Consequently the aggregate LPP of the top five performing dogs for each club will determine that clubs score in each of the four competitions.

The league winner is determined by the highest accumulation of LPP over the course of the four Summer League competitions.

Eligibility: Dogs must be registered with Top Dog (this will be transitioned in time to registration with

Game Master: Course designers are selected by the invitation of the League Commissioner. Events (numbered courses or games) are the choice of the Game Master of record. The Game Master shall also establish the qualifying criteria and scoring basis for each event.

Rules Basis: Rules for performance are described in this document:

http://www.dogagility.org/documents/FilesForms/TopDogRules3.5.pdf

Distribution: Courses and briefings and score-keeping materials will be sent by email and attachment to member clubs and interested parties in the first week (or sooner) of the competition month. Courses and briefings shall also be published on the Internet, using Top Dog and National Dog Agility League Internet resources.

Eligibility of Dogs: Dogs must be registered with Top Dog Agility Players to record scores. The registration form can be found here:

http://www.dogagility.org/documents/FilesForms/TopDogRegistration.pdf

Presently each host club is entitled to keep the registration fee (or pass it along as a perk to their local league players). The registration forms should be collected by the host club to record the waiver agreement with each league player.

Eligibility of Clubs: Any club is eligible for play. At present there is no entry or membership fee. A new club shall establish a National Dog Agility League franchise when league results are first submitted.

Reporting: Results must be reported within three days of the end of each month. The recording fee for each event (game or course) shall be $1.00. Find the Top Dog online payment processor HERE.

Results should be submitted by email attachment to: BudHouston@gmail.com.

Sweepstakes / Awards and Trophies: This mini-league shall neither feature a Sweepstakes distribution; nor awards and trophies.

April 2015 League Courses

The Secretary’s Pick for the month of April 2015 will include two games, shown and described below. Please note that we’re still working on scores from our March competition. Those results will be posted soon.

04081560×60 The Box Game

Download Event Workbook ~ The workbook has the score sheet, the course map, and a briefing for this game. The Box game is a sequencing game that provides for bonuses for the dog working at a distance. The Box Game is scored Time, Plus Faults, Less Bonuses. This course is designed for Novice dogs to be successful and test basic skills. However, the game invites handlers of very advanced dogs who want to shoot for the high score on a ripper race track of a course.

111612B60x90 Dare to Double

Download Event Workbook ~ The workbook has the scoresheet, the course map, and a briefing for this game.

Download Results ~ This game was originally played in November, 2012. You can download existing results here. Dare to Double is a dog’s-choice game. The objective is to score as many points as possible, repeating a doubling obstacle on course (traditionally the A-frame) as often as time allows. The dog risks losing half his points if the A-frame is faulted! The dog must get to the finish obstacle before course time elapses or be penalized. Dare to Double is score Points, Then Time. Blog999 NDAL

Questions comments & impassioned speeches to Bud Houston Houston.Bud@gmail.com. The web store is up and running. www.dogagility.org/newstore. You’ll find in the web store The Book of Agility Games, an invaluable reference to clubs engaged in league play.

September 2014 Agility Challenge

The courses below will be run at the sponsor club, B&D Creekside in Latrobe, PA on September 20, 2014. The Challenge Course for the month of September shall be the Standard Course shown below (last of three, below). The first two games will be used to qualify the five dogs that make up the B&D Challenge Team in the Standard Course.

Ideally these games and the Challenge Course should be run on a field measuring 86′ by 98′ or larger. However, a space as narrow as 80′ might be used.

Dare to Double

The objective of Dare to Double is to score as many points as possible in the allotted time.

Scoring:

Dare to Double is scored Points, then Time.  Time starts when the dog crosses the start line.  Big Dogs have 50 seconds, Little Dogs have 55 seconds to accumulate as many points as possible. The table stops time and is live at all times once the dog crosses the start line. The dog must get to the table before allotted course time expires.  If the dog gets to the table after time expires then half of points are lost.

Obstacle point values:
Jumps – 1 point
Tire and Tunnels – 3 points
Dog Walk, Teeter and Weaves – 5 points

Obstacles can only be taken twice for points.  Back to back performance is permitted.

The A Frame is the Doubling obstacle.  During the run, a dog  may double his current points by successfully performing the A Frame.  If the A Frame is faulted, half the team’s existing points are lost.  Points can be doubled at any time, and as many times as the handler wishes. The A Frame may not be performed back to back for doubling, points must be earned between performances of the A-frame. However, the dog is still eligible for losing half their points if taken back to back and faulted on the second performance.

Picking Cherries

The objective of “Cherry Picking” is to direct the dog to only complete the performance of the “cherries” which can be defined as hurdles & tire. Picking Cherries is scored Time, Plus Faults.

This is a dog’s choice game, so the “cherry” obstacles may be completed in the order and direction of the dog/handler’s choosing.    If the dog completes any other obstacle other than a hurdle or the tire) a 20 second fault will be applied.    “Cherries” may be repeated without fault if you think that is an effective strategy.

Standard Course

This is the League Challenge standard course. The scoring basis is Faults, Then Time.

Follow the numbers, keep the bars up, and hit the paint.

And have fun.

How to Participate!

Anyone (club, group or individual) may set up any or all of the Challenge Courses. For results to be recorded for this event the courses must be run in the month of September, 2014, and results must be reported by midnight on September 30, 2014.

If you would like to play, these are important resources for you:

Top Dog Pup Registration Form (it’s free);
Scorekeeping Package for September 2014 Challenge Courses (Excel file);
Top Dog Rules and Regulations (Our simple system for scoring performance)

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Questions comments & impassioned speeches to Bud Houston Houston.Bud@gmail.com. Visit the web store at: www.dogagility.org/newstore. Please note that the web store carries The Book of Agility Games. This is an important reference for any club who plays the variety of games that we’ll play in Top Dog Agility Players.

The YouTube Agility Challenge

This is a test presentation of event results linking individual records to YouTube recordings. We’re excited by the possibilities. The month isn’t over yet; and we expect results from other quarters.

These results are from the League Challenge, the final round we ran at Queen City earlier this month. The experiment surely wasn’t perfect. Our novice camera-people missed some of the performances. And two of the final team runs were missed. But the world isn’t perfect.

Sharon Lafuse, Garnette, Belgian Sheepdog, 0, 45.36, 1, http://youtu.be/TAsEQqLsJk4

Brenda Gilday, Bella, Miniature Schnauzer, 0, 52.89, 2,  

Marsha Houston, Katniss, Mix, 0, 84.49, 3, http://youtu.be/BvP9M6IEwPs

Catherine Berberich, Penny, Lab, 5, 44.57, 4,  

Cindy Ponyah, Molly, Jack Russell Terrier, 5, 51.68, 5, http://youtu.be/js1BXalmHAs

Marsha Houston, Phoenix, Border Collie, 5, 55.38, 6, http://youtu.be/a_QS4dtFWdQ

Jane Dewey, Tattle, Sheltie, 5, 65.14, 7, http://youtu.be/IjON8CI9Ufc

Chris Puls, Dazzle, Malinois, 10, 54.19, 8, http://youtu.be/aY3u7TxW8WM

Linda Schwartz, Zorro, Schipperke, 10, 60.17, 9, http://youtu.be/IfWroW2UP7I

Diane Carr, Drifter, Border Collie, 10, 60.51, 10, http://youtu.be/sJdRewBbpzI

Ruth Ann Stewart, Coyote, Poodle, 10, 71.47, 11,

Catherine Berberich, Erik, Lab, 10, 75.61, 12, http://youtu.be/gKbtsfF8Zys

Brenda Gilday, Leela, Border Collie, 15, 50.88, 13, http://youtu.be/i3Vd3vNYn4M

Erica Behnke, Tressel, Brittany, 15, 60.23, 14, http://youtu.be/sfMjXCo31TA

Bud Houston, Kory, Border Collie, 15, 75.64, 15, http://youtu.be/zV6ZQk6cwcE

Kandy Robinson, Frenzie, Border Collie, 25, 74.79, 16, http://youtu.be/gpdJDjamfB0

Cindy Ponyah, Nikki, Jack Russell Terrier, 35, 55.28, 17,

Pearl Tsang, Simeon, Tervuren, 35, 77.71, 18, http://youtu.be/19mcVKbjddo

Shirley Harrison, Thistle, Border Collie, 60, 76.64, 19, http://youtu.be/LeATUJYDxe4

The number of dogs that ran the final round was roughly half of the dogs who showed up; many people bailed because they didn’t make the “team”. It’s a bit of an error in thinking, as this is the round that ultimately will earn the greatest number of Lifetime Performance points.  

It’s worth pointing out, again, that the League Team was selected before the running of the final round. As it happens this was not collectively the best performance of the dogs on the team for the evening. Indeed, the first place dog (Sharon Lafuse’s Belgian Shepherd Garnette) just missed getting a spot on the team.

It’s All About Me

As I do the editing of this file, I consider not including the video/YouTube of my own run with Kory. It was pretty pathetic. On the evening my arthritis has me nearly crippled and I cannot provide the minimum kind of movement that a brilliant distance working dog like Kory needs to be well directed. But don’t you know… it’s this human notion of self-reflection. We all have a story, an excuse, a brag, and a ponderable.

In a way that’s the magic of the YouTube recording. It’s trapped there, in amber, and forever.  Life, don’t you know, is like a movie that goes on and on. We take these snapshots of a moment in space and the overall movie is lost. It’s not the 35 year old man out there out-running a bunch of little old ladies with his pure-for-motion Sheltie. No, it’s the 60+ guy with arthritic knees running his compensatory Border Collie.

Everybody’s going to have a story. So… the YouTube stays.

Crazy Eddie

A course that is published by Top Dog is forever open to play. You must appreciate that “forever” is a very long time. You may run a two year old pup on a course today, and then run that same dog on the same course when he is seven years old. It allows the interesting prospect of comparing the performance of the dog on the course at two unique intervals in his life.

Let’s take this unusual event recording a step farther. Let’s say that in 20 years the dogs with which you competed on this course are over the bridge and you’ve moved on to a new generation of dogs. That’s what dog lovers do. Now, wouldn’t it be fun to compete on the same course or game with two separate generations of dogs?

The real complication of this is the data processing puzzle. Lifetime Performance Points are awarded on a fairly strict 1 point for every lesser score. Because the course is open for play “forever”… this means that a dog who earns 20 LPP on a course today might ultimately earn 800 points, or more, over the course of 10 years or so; even though he only ran on the course that one time.

How to Participate!

Anyone (club, group or individual) may set up any or all of the Challenge Courses. For results to be recorded for this event the courses must be run in the month of August, 2014, and results must be reported by midnight on August 31, 2014.

If you would like to play, these are important resources for you:

Top Dog Pup Registration Form (it’s free);
Scorekeeping Package for August 2014 Challenge Courses (Excel file);
Top Dog Rules and Regulations (Our simple system for scoring performance)

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Questions comments & impassioned speeches to Bud Houston Houston.Bud@gmail.com. Visit the web store at: www.dogagility.org/newstore. Please note that the web store carries The Book of Agility Games. This is an important reference for any club who plays the variety of games that we’ll play in Top Dog Agility Players.

Top Dog Agility Challenge

Queen City’s first Top Dog Agility League is in the books. The results stand as an open invitation and challenge to anyone in the world who’d like to compete on the same course.

All of the results are summarized down below. First I’d like to do a bit of analysis of the evening. This competition served as a great demonstration of several of the interesting attributes of Top Dog league competition:

An Entertaining Evening

Everybody was really into the competition and having a really good time. The club was a marvelous host. And there was no shortage of people to build courses and help with the conduct of the ring.

The Business Model

League play, as a slot in the schedule for the clubhouse has an interesting economy of scale. In a one hour slot the club could run as many as 40 dogs on a single game or course and still have time for a briefing and walk-through. A training class might be able to host 6 to 10 dogs.

The Queen City Team Score

From the first two rounds of the competition the five dogs with the best combined score were “picked” as the Queen City Challenge Team. These were the results (the last bit of each line was each dog’s overall placement against the field):

• Brenda Gilday, Bella, Miniature Schnauzer, 0, 52.89, 2
• Catherine Berberich, Penny, Lab, 5, 44.57, 4
• Chris, Puls Dazzle, Malinois, 10, 54.19, 8
• Diane, Carr Drifter, Border Collie, 10, 60.51, 10
• Brenda, Gilday Leela, Border Collie, 15, 50.88, 13

The combined score of these five dogs was actually more impressive in either of the first two rounds. But that’s the way it goes. The way a league competition works is that the Team dogs must be selected before running the competition. Under the rules of the league… you can’t just take the top five scores and call that your team (if you run more than 5 dogs).

The Judge can compete!

Our judge for the evening was Brenda Gilday. Not only did she expose this interesting feature of Top Dog competition… but she managed to get two dogs onto the team.

The Team was not dominated by Border Collies!

The relaxed rates-of-travel used by Top Dog gives considerably more weight to the “Clean Run”. That being said, the first two games were basically Time, Plus Faults, and yet the team consisted of a Miniature Schnauzer, a Lab, a Malinois, and two Border Collies.

The Agility Show is being edited by Sharon LaFuse. We hope to have it published by the end of the week. We had a little difficulty with the camera. In the final round we missed filming both Bella (the Miniature Schnauzer) and Penny (the Lab). We’re hoping that somebody outside the ring recorded these. This was supposed to be the YouTube Challenge, after all. Our camera-person got to compete too. I think her brain was exploding just a bit. Her dog Garnette actually won the Steeplechase… and won the final round. But he tanked Time Warp, and so didn’t get onto the Queen City Team.

YouTube Links ~ If you were one of the competitors and you have a YouTube recording of your dog in any of the courses and games we ran on the evening… please send the link to me: Houston.Bud@gmail.com. We’re working on a technology that will allow you to open your record online… and provide the link yourself.

Results from Steeplechase

This was a Time, Plus Faults game. Results are in order of placement.

Sharon Lafuse, Garnette, Belgian Sheepdog, 0, 36.39, 36.39, 1

Catherine Berberich, Penny, Lab, 0, 39.64, 39.64, 2

Brenda Gilday, Bella, Miniature Schnauzer, 0, 48.57, 48.57, 3

Chris Puls, Dazzle, Malinois, 5, 46.95, 51.95, 4

Diane Carr, Drifter, Border Collie, 15, 38.62, 53.62, 5

Bud Houston, Kory, Border Collie, 5, 49.53, 54.53, 6

Brenda Gilday, Leela, Border Collie, 10, 45.17, 55.17, 7

Pearl Tsang, Simeon, Tervuren, 5, 52.7, 57.7, 8

Marsha Houston, Phoenix, Border Collie, 10, 48.56, 58.56, 9

Cindy Ponyah, Nikki, Jack Russell Terrier, 5, 53.79, 58.79, 10

Maryann Chappelear, Scout, Shetland Sheepdog, 5, 54.67, 59.67, 11

Cindy Ponyah, Molly, Jack Russell Terrier, 10, 49.9, 59.9, 12

Jane Dewey, Tattle, Sheltie, 10, 51.47, 61.47, 13

Ruth Ann Stewart, Coyote, Poodle, 5, 61.08, 66.08, 14

Maryann Chappelear, Mira, Shetland Sheepdog, 15, 54.89, 69.89, 15

Pearl Tsang, Elle, Tervuren, 25, 54.37, 79.37, 16

Marsha Houston, Katniss, Mix, 10, 70.21, 80.21, 17

Terrie Ralenkotter, Seti, Basset Hound, 5, 77.55, 82.55, 18

Catherine Berberich, Erik, Lab, 20, 72, 92, 19

Ruth Ann Stewart, Homey, Toy Poodle, 20, 76.31, 96.31, 20

Kandy Robinson, Frenzie, Border Collie, 45, 51.37, 96.37, 21

Bonnie Smith, Saraphina, Papillon, 50, 54.04, 104.04, 22

Ruth Ann Stewart, Mojo, Toy Poodle, 25, 80.87, 105.87, 23

Shirley Harrison, Thistle, Border Collie, 45, 77.4, 122.4, 24

Ruth Ann Stewart, Memphis, Toy Poodle, 30, 93.05, 123.05, 25

Linda Schwartz, Zorro, Schipperke, 40, 99.89, 139.89, 26

Results from TimeWarp

This was a Time, Plus Faults, Less Bonus game. Results are in order of placement.

Brenda Gilday, Leela, Border Collie, 5, 50, 33.32, -11.68, 1

Diane Carr, Drifter, Border Collie, 0, 50, 45.03, -4.97, 2

Catherine Berberich, Penny, Lab, 0, 50, 45.93, -4.07, 3

Cindy Ponyah, Nikki, Jack Russell Terrier, 0, 50, 48.44, -1.56, 4

Maryann Chappelear, Scout, Shetland Sheepdog, 0, 50, 53.34, 3.34, 5

Cindy Ponyah, Molly, Jack Russell Terrier, 0, 50, 53.39, 3.39, 6

Chris Puls, Dazzle, Malinois, 0, 50, 53.92, 3.92, 7

Brenda Gilday, Bella, Miniature Schnauzer, 0, 50, 54.41, 4.41, 8

Marsha Houston, Phoenix, Border Collie, 5, 50, 52.57, 7.57, 9

Bud Houston, Kory, Border Collie, 10, 50, 53.22, 13.22, 10

Sharon Lafuse, Garnette, Belgian Sheepdog, 0, 50, 63.27, 13.27, 11

Shirley Harrison, Thistle, Border Collie, 5, 50, 58.95, 13.95, 12

Kandy Robinson, Frenzie, Border Collie, 15, 50, 53.42, 18.42, 13

Pearl Tsang, Simeon, Tervuren, 5, 50, 64.15, 19.15, 14

Erica Behnke, Tressel, Brittany, 5, 50, 64.64, 19.64, 15

Maryann Chappelear, Mira, Shetland Sheepdog, 5, 50, 83.84, 38.84, 16

Pearl Tsang, Elle, Tervuren, 40, 50, 61.42, 51.42, 17

Catherine Berberich, Erik, Lab, 5, 50, 97.05, 52.05, 18

Marsha Houston, Katniss, Mix, 30, 50, 76.71, 56.71, 19

Ruth Ann Stewart, Mojo, Toy Poodle, 0, 0, 61.87, 61.87, 20

Linda Schwartz, Zorro, Schipperke, 10, 0, 60.98, 70.98, 21

Ruth Ann Stewart, Homey, Toy Poodle, 15, 0, 69.21, 84.21, 22

Ruth Ann Stewart, Coyote, Poodle, 5, 0, 83.35, 88.35, 23

Terrie Ralenkotter, Seti, Basset Hound, 10, 0, 83.93, 93.93, 24

Bonnie Smith, Saraphina, Papillon, 35, 0, 60.13, 95.13, 25

Ruth Ann Stewart, Memphis, Toy Poodle, 15, 0, 87.15, 102.15, 26

Results from Standard Course, the League Challenge

This was a Faults, Then Time game. Results are in order of placement.

Sharon Lafuse, Garnette, Belgian Sheepdog, 0, 45.36, 1

Brenda Gilday, Bella, Miniature Schnauzer, 0, 52.89, 2

Marsha Houston, Katniss, Mix, 0, 84.49, 3

Catherine Berberich, Penny, Lab, 5, 44.57, 4

Cindy Ponyah, Molly, Jack Russell Terrier, 5, 51.68, 5

Marsha Houston, Phoenix, Border Collie, 5, 55.38, 6

Jane Dewey, Tattle, Sheltie, 5, 65.14, 7

Chris Puls, Dazzle, Malinois, 10, 54.19, 8

Linda Schwartz, Zorro, Schipperke, 10, 60.17, 9

Diane Carr, Drifter, Border Collie, 10, 60.51, 10

Ruth Ann Stewart, Coyote, Poodle, 10, 71.47, 11

Catherine Berberich, Erik, Lab, 10, 75.61, 12

Brenda Gilday, Leela, Border Collie, 15, 50.88, 13

Erica Behnke, Tressel, Brittany, 15, 60.23, 14

Bud Houston, Kory, Border Collie, 15, 75.64, 15

Kandy Robinson, Frenzie, Border Collie, 25, 74.79, 16

Cindy Ponyah, Nikki, Jack Russell Terrier, 35, 55.28, 17

Pearl Tsang, Simeon, Tervuren, 35, 77.71, 18

Shirley Harrison, Thistle, Border Collie, 60, 76.64, 19

How to Participate!

Anyone (club, group or individual) may set up any or all of the Challenge Courses. For results to be recorded for this event the courses must be run in the month of August, 2014, and results must be reported by midnight on August 31, 2014.

If you would like to play, these are important resources for you:

Top Dog Pup Registration Form (it’s free);
Scorekeeping Package for August 2014 Challenge Courses (Excel file);
Top Dog Rules and Regulations (Our simple system for scoring performance)

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Questions comments & impassioned speeches to Bud Houston Houston.Bud@gmail.com. Visit the web store at: www.dogagility.org/newstore. Please note that the web store carries The Book of Agility Games. This is an important reference for any club who plays the variety of games that we’ll play in Top Dog Agility Players.