Shiloh Shepherd Agility page
Among other activities Nyssa trains in agility as well. So far we have competed in several United States Dog Agility Association trials. Our future plans involve North American Dog Agility Council trials as well. NADAC rules are lot less strict and allow for a much faster progression through the different competition levels.
In USDAA Nyssa participates in the starters level of Championship Program which is judged against international performance standards. This includes the standard course with 3 contact obstacles -
A-frame
,
dog walk 
,
and teeter 
,
set of 8 to 12 weave poles 
,
one
collapsible (chute)
and one pipe
tunnel
,
one pause table
, one tire
jump
,
and a
minimum of 3 winged jumps
with at least one of them being a spread hurdle (2 sets of bars). The entire course has 14-16 obstacles and the course speed is 2.00 to 2.25 yards per second. The average length of standard courses is about 130 to 160 yards. Since Nyssa is above 21", her jump height is 26" with 6'3" A frame. She has earned her first leg toward Agility Dog® title this May 2001 at the Artful Dodgers USDAA trial with a very nice and fast run and a first place class placement.
We also participate in different agility games. These are non-titling until we obtain the Agility dog title. They include jumper, snooker, and gambler courses. The following description is quoted from the USDAA web site:
Gamblers
Gamblers is a
point-basis class wherein handler develops their a strategy for defining their
own course to accumulate as many points as possible during the time allotted by
the judge. Typically, any obstacle can be performed twice for points and
the handler may choose what obstacles they wish to perform. The judge may
impose restrictions on the sequences permissible (e.g., two different contact
obstacles may be performed in sequence without first taking a non-contact
obstacle) and may specify special challenges to earn bonus points (e.g., a short
obstacle sequence where the handler is limited as to their movement or distance
from the dog). A more detailed description of the class setting forth
requirements for title can be found in Chapter 6 of USDAA official rules and
regulations booklet.
Jumpers
Jumpers is a class
that excludes all contact obstacles and occasionally weave poles. In other
words, it is comprised of hurdles and tunnels, but may also include weave
poles. It may be scored pursuant to standard scoring or on a
time-plus-faults basis, depending on how much emphasis is to be placed upon
speed. For USDAA titling classes, standard scoring must be utilized.
Rates for establishing SCT for different levels of competition are set forth in
the rules. A more detailed description of the class setting forth requirements
for title can be found in Chapter 6 of USDAA official rules and regulations
booklet.
Snooker
Named after the
billiards game popular in Great Britain, snooker is a point-basis class wherein
a handler develops their stategy for accumulating as many points as possible
during the allotted time by performing the obstacles in "Snooker" sequence,
which is defined by color. A "Red" obstacle is almost always a
displaceable hurdle (required for USDAA titling classes) and a "Color" obstacle
refers to an obstacle designated as a color other than red (i.e., yellow, green,
brown, blue, pink or black). The colors are assigned to the obstacles with
point values as shown in the table below:
Here are some photos of us in action.
These photos show Nyssa as
a young puppy just starting in agility as well as my sister and myself goofin'
off.
These pictures were taken on a
demo course presented by American Rare Breed Association in conjuction with the
Cherry Blossom Classic dog show in Washinton, DC in April 1999.
These photos are from USDAA
trial sponsored by Artful Dodgers Agility club where we train. It was in
Arcadia, MD in May 1999. The first picture was selected for Shiloh Shepherd 2000
calendar - Nyssa was Miss December. Check out my T-shirt in the last picture.
These picture are from
another Artful Dodgers trial in Arcadia, MD from Oct. 2000. It was about 9 weeks
after Nyssa's pups were born!
These photos are from
2000.
This is a picture from
the course where Nyssa earned her leg toward the title.
For additonal agility info visit this wonderful site: http://www.dogpatch.org/agility/ .
contact us at mpshiloh@hotmail.com
