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.

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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.

Welcoming the New Year!

I am excited about the start of the New Year as we begin the marketing of Top Dog Agility Players in earnest.

Top Dog is intended to be a truly recreational venue. As such TDAP should not be compared to any of the training venues that all subscribe to essentially the same model of progression and distinction. While we aspire to eventually have our own world championship tournament, right now we modestly aim at growing participation and figuring out the complicated logistics of a competition that is conducted in more than one physical place.

Change to the Rules

I have agonized for some time over the issue of jump heights, especially. Mind you that I’m an old timer. My first agility dog, Winston the Wonder Dog, was 13″ tall and had to jump 18″ (back in the day) to earn his ADCh title in the USDAA. And big dogs actually jumped 30″ in those days. In any case, all jump heights are arbitrary and by some measure or another irrational.

We began our definition in the rules by establishing jump heights, and then providing for Jump Height Exemptions for long aback dogs, dogs with dwarfish legs, and so forth. But the more I thought about it the more I was convinced that there are any number of reasons a handler/owner might want to jump his dog at a lower height. Giant breeds, for example, might deserve a lower jump height; or the handler might have a dog that is convalescing from some injury; or who knows… I don’t really care to explore the entire psychology of jumping at a lower height.

In any case, we are going to make an important and fairly bold change to the rules (that is bound to cause smart-alecky purists to not take us very seriously). The following bit comes right out of the rule book. Red text indicates change or addition:

2.6 Jump Heights

Jump heights are determined based on the height of the dog at the withers. It is the responsibility of the judge appointed by the host club to measure and determine the correct scoring jump heights for all dogs in competition. The score sheet for an event shall contain two important indicators: 1) Jump Height; and 2) Scoring Jump Height.

A dog may jump at any jump height the owner/handler desires. Jump height exemptions are self-declared. A dog may be jumped at a lower height for any number of reasons (the dog is slightly lame; the surface is not optimal for jumping at full height; the dog is a non‑confident jumper). Top Dog Agility Players will not monitor dogs’ jump heights in league competition.

Dogs with a jump height exemption jump at their exempt height but are scored with dogs in their measured height (Scoring Jump Height). Please note that a dog can jump at any height greater than his measured height if desired. This includes 24″ and 26″ jump heights.

Scoring Jump Height is the measured height; the height at which the dog would jump if no jump height exemption whatsoever is extended.

Jump Height is the exempt height; the height at which the dog actually competes.

New Events

Opening Jan 4, 2012 ~ Closing Jan 25, 2013

This is a numbered course, judged under TDAP rules.

Competition shall be conducted by a judge and stewards appointed for specific tasks in conduct of the event. No certification process exists for judges. TDAP will rely on good sense in the selection of experienced persons to perform this task. A judge is initially registered with TDAP upon submitted event results.

The judge or appointed stewards shall observe and signal course or game faults or points. The judge alone will sign off on competition results.

The Event Closing Date January 25, 2013.

010413A60x85 ~ A numbered course for an 60′ x 85′ space.

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Visit our web site: www.dogagility.org

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.