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agility question about setting up equipment



 
 
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  #1  
Old November 8th 05, 12:58 AM
MauiJNP
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Default agility question about setting up equipment

does anyone know of a good source which tells how high you should put the
hoops and poles for a dog to jump over based on their breed or height? is
there a standard? I am also interested in seeing how far apart to put the
weave poles? I have been looking on websites and in the one short agility
book I have so far but I can't come up with a clear cut answer. Maybe
there isn't one? thanks for any help.


  #2  
Old November 8th 05, 01:29 AM
Jeff Dege
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Default agility question about setting up equipment

On Mon, 07 Nov 2005 18:58:33 -0500, MauiJNP wrote:

does anyone know of a good source which tells how high you should put the
hoops and poles for a dog to jump over based on their breed or height? is
there a standard? I am also interested in seeing how far apart to put the
weave poles? I have been looking on websites and in the one short agility
book I have so far but I can't come up with a clear cut answer. Maybe
there isn't one? thanks for any help.


There are a number of different organizations, and they each have their
own standard.

With some of the breed clubs, it's easy. All dogs competing in JRTCA
agility competitions jump 12 inches. But then, all dogs competing in
JRTCA agility competitions are Jack Russell Terriers.

NADAC rules:
http://www.nadac.com/Rules_for_NADAC...#_Jump_Heights

USDAA rules:
http://www.usdaa.com/rulesReg_ObsReqs.cfm#Hurdles

AKC rules:
http://www.akc.org/rules/agility.cfm?page=3


--
When...[government] gets into difficulties it can raise money by seizing
it, in the form of taxes, from those who have earned it. So long as
such persons confine their resistance to academic protests, it will
continue well-heeled, and ready for ever new and worse extravagances.
Even when it finds, on trying to shake them down, that their pockets
are quite empty, it can still borrow on the security of their future
earning power. Legally speaking they are its slaves. It can dip into
their bank account whenever it pleases, and if those bank accounts turn
out to be too scanty for its needs, it can mortgage whatever money they
seem likely to accumulate tomorrow, or next month, or next year...It is
a millstone around their necks that grows heavier every time they try
to throw it off...The Bill of Rights gives a long list of things that
the government may not do to the citizen in his person...There is only
one provision dealing with his property: the government is forbidden to
take it without paying for it. It seems me that there is a hint here.
Why not a new Bill of Rights, definitely limiting the taxing powers of
the government? Why not...[an] Amendment restoring it to its simple
and proper functions, and forbidding it forever to collect or spend a
cent for any purpose lying outside them?
- H. L. Mencken

  #3  
Old November 8th 05, 01:32 AM
Rocky
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Default agility question about setting up equipment

"MauiJNP" said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

does anyone know of a good source which tells how high you
should put the hoops and poles for a dog to jump over based
on their breed or height?


When you start training, jump height isn't important, so keep it
low - less than 10" for your Poodle. You're not teaching your
dog *how* to jump (he already knows how to do that), but that
he's supposed to jump between the jump standards.

is there a standard? I am also
interested in seeing how far apart to put the weave poles?
I have been looking on websites and in the one short
agility book I have so far but I can't come up with a clear
cut answer. Maybe there isn't one?


Each organisation has different standards, though they're all
pretty close. In your area, you have NADAC (www.nadac.com),
USDAA (www.usdaa.com), AKC (www.akc.org), and UKC (www.ukc.org).
Cruise around their websites for the standards.

There are also plenty of email lists at groups.yahoo.com

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.
  #4  
Old November 9th 05, 03:16 AM
Sionnach
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Posts: n/a
Default agility question about setting up equipment


"MauiJNP" wrote in message
...
does anyone know of a good source which tells how high you should put the
hoops and poles for a dog to jump over based on their breed or height?


It varies from organization to organization, but it's based on the dog's
height at the withers.

In NADAC (the only org. whose rules I know well), the jump heights are
20", 16", 12", 8", and 4". There are two groups, called "height divisions",
of dogs which jump 20" - the 20+ height divisions is for all dogs over 20"
tall, and the 20" division is for dogs under 20", down to 18" tall.
The 16" division is for dogs under 18", down to 14" tall; 12" division is
for dogs under 14", down to 11"; 8" division is for all dogs under 11" tall.
Dogs which are "Veterans" - over 7 years - and those handled by juniors,
the disabled, or people over 60 years old, may jump one height lower, which
is where the 4" height comes in; it's for 8" divison dogs in those
categories.
Some long-backed breeds such as Corgis also get to jump one height lower.

AKC uses similar height divisions, with one higher one of 24" for the
tallest dogs. (I think their cutoffs may be slightly different.)

USDAA has higher requirements, which IMO are excessive.

Plus, all three organizations also have a seperate division of competition
in which all dogs can jump one height lower than the in the "harder"
division; in NADAC that's called "Skilled", with the harder division being
called "Proficient"; in AKC the easier division is called "Preferred", and
in USDAA it's called "Performance" with the harder division being called
"Championship".

My eldest dog, who is 23 5/8" at the withers, began his agility career 8
years ago jumping 24" in NADAC and 30" in USDAA. The rules changed, and a
few years later, he was jumping 20" in NADAC and 26" in USDAA.
He's now not quite 11 years old, and we compete in the Proficient Veterans
division of NADAC, where he jumps 16". In a couple of years, if he's still
around and still wants to run with me, we'll probably move to the Skilled
Veterans division, and he'll jump 12".
We don't compete in USDAA any more, since the lowest height he can jump
there is 22".

My youngest, who is 12.25", jumps 12" in both NADAC Proficient and in
JRTCA. When she's 10 or so, I may move her to NADAC Veterans and have her
jump 8". She's the other reason we stopped doing USDAA, since in order to
run in the more challenging class she would have to jump 16", which IMO is
absurd.

So the short answer to your question is no, there's no set standard for
what height a dog should jump. It depends on the dog's age, level of
training, physical ability, state of fitness, etc.

Are you taking classes anywhere, or are you just planning to play around a
bit?




  #5  
Old November 9th 05, 04:26 AM
MauiJNP
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default agility question about setting up equipment


"Jeff Dege" wrote in message
news
On Mon, 07 Nov 2005 18:58:33 -0500, MauiJNP wrote:

does anyone know of a good source which tells how high you should put the
hoops and poles for a dog to jump over based on their breed or height?
is
there a standard? I am also interested in seeing how far apart to put
the
weave poles? I have been looking on websites and in the one short
agility
book I have so far but I can't come up with a clear cut answer. Maybe
there isn't one? thanks for any help.


There are a number of different organizations, and they each have their
own standard.

With some of the breed clubs, it's easy. All dogs competing in JRTCA
agility competitions jump 12 inches. But then, all dogs competing in
JRTCA agility competitions are Jack Russell Terriers.

NADAC rules:
http://www.nadac.com/Rules_for_NADAC...#_Jump_Heights

USDAA rules:
http://www.usdaa.com/rulesReg_ObsReqs.cfm#Hurdles

AKC rules:
http://www.akc.org/rules/agility.cfm?page=3




thanks for the links, I have them marked and love reading about this stuff!


  #6  
Old November 9th 05, 04:29 AM
MauiJNP
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default agility question about setting up equipment


does anyone know of a good source which tells how high you
should put the hoops and poles for a dog to jump over based
on their breed or height?


When you start training, jump height isn't important, so keep it
low - less than 10" for your Poodle. You're not teaching your
dog *how* to jump (he already knows how to do that), but that
he's supposed to jump between the jump standards.


I see, wow, only 10". I had him jump more and more everytime and he goes to
16" so far. he is such a fast learner! guess I will pick a height (lower
than 16) and keep it the same. THANKS


is there a standard? I am also
interested in seeing how far apart to put the weave poles?
I have been looking on websites and in the one short
agility book I have so far but I can't come up with a clear
cut answer. Maybe there isn't one?


Each organisation has different standards, though they're all
pretty close. In your area, you have NADAC (www.nadac.com),
USDAA (www.usdaa.com),


anyone else having problems with this site?


AKC (www.akc.org), and UKC (www.ukc.org).
Cruise around their websites for the standards.

There are also plenty of email lists at groups.yahoo.com



thanks, I'll check it out!


  #7  
Old November 9th 05, 04:33 AM
MauiJNP
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default agility question about setting up equipment


"Sionnach" wrote in message
...

"MauiJNP" wrote in message
...
does anyone know of a good source which tells how high you should put the
hoops and poles for a dog to jump over based on their breed or height?


It varies from organization to organization, but it's based on the dog's
height at the withers.

In NADAC (the only org. whose rules I know well), the jump heights are
20", 16", 12", 8", and 4". There are two groups, called "height
divisions",
of dogs which jump 20" - the 20+ height divisions is for all dogs over 20"
tall, and the 20" division is for dogs under 20", down to 18" tall.
The 16" division is for dogs under 18", down to 14" tall; 12" division is
for dogs under 14", down to 11"; 8" division is for all dogs under 11"
tall.
Dogs which are "Veterans" - over 7 years - and those handled by juniors,
the disabled, or people over 60 years old, may jump one height lower,
which
is where the 4" height comes in; it's for 8" divison dogs in those
categories.
Some long-backed breeds such as Corgis also get to jump one height lower.

AKC uses similar height divisions, with one higher one of 24" for the
tallest dogs. (I think their cutoffs may be slightly different.)

USDAA has higher requirements, which IMO are excessive.

Plus, all three organizations also have a seperate division of
competition
in which all dogs can jump one height lower than the in the "harder"
division; in NADAC that's called "Skilled", with the harder division being
called "Proficient"; in AKC the easier division is called "Preferred", and
in USDAA it's called "Performance" with the harder division being called
"Championship".

My eldest dog, who is 23 5/8" at the withers, began his agility career 8
years ago jumping 24" in NADAC and 30" in USDAA. The rules changed, and a
few years later, he was jumping 20" in NADAC and 26" in USDAA.
He's now not quite 11 years old, and we compete in the Proficient
Veterans
division of NADAC, where he jumps 16". In a couple of years, if he's still
around and still wants to run with me, we'll probably move to the Skilled
Veterans division, and he'll jump 12".
We don't compete in USDAA any more, since the lowest height he can jump
there is 22".

My youngest, who is 12.25", jumps 12" in both NADAC Proficient and in
JRTCA. When she's 10 or so, I may move her to NADAC Veterans and have her
jump 8". She's the other reason we stopped doing USDAA, since in order to
run in the more challenging class she would have to jump 16", which IMO is
absurd.

So the short answer to your question is no, there's no set standard for
what height a dog should jump. It depends on the dog's age, level of
training, physical ability, state of fitness, etc.

Are you taking classes anywhere, or are you just planning to play around a
bit?




thanks for all the great info. right now, I am just playing around. I have
a hoop, open tunnel, pause box, high jump and weave poles. I want to take a
class but there are very slim pickings where I live. I hope to be in a
class by the spring though.


  #8  
Old November 9th 05, 04:57 AM
Jeff Dege
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Posts: n/a
Default agility question about setting up equipment

On Tue, 08 Nov 2005 22:29:50 -0500, MauiJNP wrote:


I see, wow, only 10". I had him jump more and more everytime and he goes to
16" so far. he is such a fast learner! guess I will pick a height (lower
than 16) and keep it the same. THANKS


How old is he?

Until he's closed his growth plates, you shouldn't have him jumping.
Excessive jumping can cause repetitive stress injury, damage the growth
plates, and result in improperly-formed joints.

When the growth plates close varies - smaller dogs may close by a year
old, larger dogs may not until 18 months or even longer.

You can do a lot of work with a younger dog - teaching him to run on your
left-side, right-side, to go out from you and come back on command. Get
some traffic cones and teach your dog to go out past them and come back.
Etc. Just don't do any jumping or climbing until he's a year old, and
then don't do heavy jumping exercises until you've had his joints pass an
x-ray.

As for training the jump, when he's ready, set up a jump chute - five
jumps spaced five feet apart - or whatever distance he can comfortably
jump in sequence with a single stride in between.

Start with the jumps low, and run him through a couple of times a day.
Every week, move the heights up. When you've got him working at full
height, start moving the jumps closer together.

Having the jumps close is called a compression chute, and it's purpose is
to train the dog to power his jumps with his rear legs - forcing him to
jump more vertically. It is also great for building muscle condition.

After a few weeks of working with a compression chute, start moving the
jumps farther apart - an extension chute. Teaching the dog to be
confident of reaching out on an extended jump. You still want just one
stride between jumps, but you want the strides to be as long as he can
handle.

Now all of this sounds like a lot, but you don't run the jumps over and
over for hours. Just a pass or three sometime in each training session.

--
FORTRAN, "the infantile disorder", by now nearly 20 years old, is hopelessly
inadequate for whatever computer application you have in mind today: it is
too clumsy, too risky, and too expensive to use.
-- Edsger W. Dijkstra, SIGPLAN Notices, Volume 17, Number 5

  #9  
Old November 9th 05, 05:20 AM
Sionnach
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Posts: n/a
Default agility question about setting up equipment


"Jeff Dege" wrote:

When the growth plates close varies - smaller dogs may close by a year
old, larger dogs may not until 18 months or even longer.


MAY being the operative terms there. The only way to be sure growth plates
are closed is by X-ray.
I have personally known large dogs (Labs, BCs) whose growth plates were
completely closed well before 12 months, and small dogs whose growth plates
weren't closed until MUCH later than that. The record-holder of my personal
acquaintence is a Sheltie whose growth plates didn't fully close until 21
months.
Rocsi is a small dog by anyone's reckoning - 14 lbs full grown; her growth
plates were wide open at 12 months, and still slightly open at 18 months.



Start with the jumps low, and run him through a couple of times a day.
Every week, move the heights up. When you've got him working at full
height, start moving the jumps closer together.


Or, you can just take him out in the woods and let him run and play,
negotiating natural obstacles and learning how to handle his body. None of
my dogs has ever needed any training to know how to jump efficiently; they
learn that naturally.
Rocsi never jumped in agility class until about a few weeks before her
first competition, but she earned her first Jumpers title at that trial, and
was in the Elite Jumpers class (with Superior titles in the lower levels) a
year later.


As a side note, we hit a personal best in Elite Jumpers this past weekend;
I've managed to qualify with all three dogs on the same course in the past,
but never before to do that AND take first place with all three of them
(they're in three different height divisions).
There was a videographer at the trial who caught all three runs on tape; I
was fascinated, watching in slow motion, to see that 12.25" Rocsi and 23
5/8" Brenin had nearly identical stride counts in most places on the course.


  #10  
Old November 9th 05, 05:30 AM
Sionnach
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Posts: n/a
Default agility question about setting up equipment


thanks for all the great info. right now, I am just playing around. I

have
a hoop, open tunnel, pause box, high jump and weave poles.


Just as a point of note, no agility organization that I'm aware of uses a
pause box, although USDAA and AKC still use a pause table.

I want to take a
class but there are very slim pickings where I live. I hope to be in a

class by the spring though.

It's too far a drive for classes, but if you'd like to get in some
spectating and meet some PA/MD agility folks, there's a NADAC trial in
Oxford (down towards the MD border) the first weekend in October.


 




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