Tricks Dog Zorro

SUMMARY: AKC titles applied for.

Last winter, Zorro and I did Circus Dog classes. Not the intense, full-day classes that you can get in some places, and the tricks were fairly basic--a lot of overlap with what I taught Remington on my own, back in the day.  And Zorro already knew several of them before we got to the class.

He loved the class, loved doing things, the attention, and the treats. He picked things up quickly: In class, we'd work on each trick for about 10-15 minutes, and for almost everything, by the end of that time he'd be doing the trick with little assistance. (Some we really struggled with, though.)  Maybe not spectacularly--for example, he'd hold something on his nose/face for a few seconds, but not a lot longer than that until we practiced a lot more.  We practiced at home on most (those we had the gear for).

At the end of it all, we put together a routine that we performed in front of the rest of the class (required for graduation).  For someone who's spoken in front of sometimes huge crowds in my life, I was by far the more nervous participant of the two of us, and despite having crib notes, left out several things (and left a key component of one of our tricks at home).  (And OMG! What's with my jeans in that video?!)

Still, the instructor verified that Zorro could do at least the minimum number tricks for each of 4 of AKC's Trick Dog titles, so filled out and signed our title application forms for Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, and Performer.

I'm not always a super fan of AKC, and I waffled about this for a long time, but today I registered him with AKC for  his mutt-dog (er, sorry, "Canine Partners") registration number, scanned copies of all the forms, and put them with a check into an envelope to mail on Monday. Then it's just waiting!

Here's the cleaned-up routine that I'm sending in for the Performer title.

Dogs Try Hard

SUMMARY: Just sayin'--they're usually good pups.

I have not yet moved the dogs into sleeping off the bed at night. Chip isn't the problem. You know who is.

At least now Señor Z moves off my side of the bed when I tell him to Move. Firmly. Maybe even only 2 or 3 times.  I thought we'd never get there.  Even Tika, who was stubborn about it, was moving on command within a month or so of starting on the bed (as I recall--certainly didn't take 2 years!).

They really do try hard when I give them a chance. And they both know so little. They’d love to spend more time with me. I’m still just feeling meh about it.

AKC has just announced a new Tricks titles progression, and a friend (Sparkle's/Ben's/McKenzie's human mom) has announced that she's going for it and is teaching tricks.

This half motivated me.¹ So in the last few days I've done teeny tiny bits of tricks work:

• (a) Hold biscuit on nose. (b) Then toss it up and catch it.
  This is new for the boys. Chip wants to lower his nose. Zorro wants to raise his.
  
• Crawl or walk backwards (Z & C, respectively).
  Have worked casually at this for a while. Very casually. Almost invisibly.
  
• Shake left, shake right depending on which human hand is offered.
  (C has done this for a while. Z is not completely solid, but almost.)
  
• Spin Left or Right on command.
  (Have been working on fading the hand/finger swoop assistance. Getting there slowly.)
  
• Touch nose to (a) hand (b) target.
  (Both do hand very very well. I've lackadaisically worked on a separate target.)

Others that we've worked on in the past:

• Find It.  I hide a treat in the other room, dog has to find it.
  Also part of this--dogs have to stay in Down in first room while I'm out of sight hiding the treat.
  
• Paws Up. Front paws on whatever I indicate.
  Z does this naturally pretty often. When I practice, I combine with "Off" (as another "trick") . As in, Off (treat) Paws Up (treat) Off (treat) Paws Up (treat) Off (treat).
  
• Roll over.
  Jeez, I started this with them once and never went back to it. I should. This is in the basic half dozen things that every dog should know. IMHO.
• Blow bubbles in a bowl of water
  (I got stuck on making progress and so stopped working on it)

Things my previous trick dogs (Remington, Tika, Boost, Jake, Amber, in that order) have done that I would add to the list if I were really working on tricks:

• Figure 8 around my legs (a) standing still, (b) with me walking.
  
• Speak.
  (Well, actually only Rem ever knew this. Only thing I succeeded in this with Tika and Jake was that they no longer barked at things that used to make them bark. Opposite of what I was trying for.)

Everything we work on, they behave so differently from each other!  Style differences in napping--

Both cute, though.

---

1 Not that I'm likely to ILP these boys with AKC. But, who knows--a couple of years back I bookmarked this other organization that started offering tricks titles. Just didn't want to pay the fees for them, either.

On Breeding, Breeds, Cross-Breeding, and Mutts

SUMMARY: Some thoughts on appearance and behavior.

In an online "random topic" discussion group for folks who think that Cesar Milan's training methods are abusive and represent only the ignorance of dog training from half a century ago, someone asked whether your next dog would be from a breeder or from a rescue or Other.  This naturally evolved into a discussion on whether purebreds were better than mixes or rescues in various ways--temperament, bad habits or destructive instincts, physical health, and on and on.

I agree that breeding affects a dog's likely temperament or ability to do various activities, but I also agree that it's not a guarantee.  Just being in agility for all these years, around huge numbers of competitors and what I'd consider to be truly responsible breeders¹ and dogs who compete that are mixes, purebred (presumably) rescues, siblings from the same litter, same breeds from different litters, I've seen a huge variation in what one can expect.

One of the things that I've learned through dog sports and through two years of working to grow the [at the time] nonexistent Wikipedia set of dog articles is that people's opinions about what a breed should be, and whether cross-breeding² is a valid thing to do, can be very strong (to put it mildly).

This is why there are different registries (in the US, anyway) for working border collies and show border collies, for working labs and for show labs, etc. I find it interesting that the AKC breed club standard for border collies describes their working instincts as the defining characteristic of the breed, yet there is no requirement for their championship that they prove it--conformation and herding are completely different tracks, so temperament and trainability and working instinct can be quite different. And that, in the world at large--by which I mean average Americans--an AKC championship, or a dog from AKC championship lines, is assumed to be the ideal Border Collie.

Or that black and brown Belgian shepherds (aka Groenendaels or Tervurens, respectively) can be born in the same litter, but by AKC rules, both parents have to be the same color and the offspring the same color as the parents or they're not "valid", whereas in other countries' breed standards, they're just types of the same breed (like different colors of cocker spaniels are the same breed) and probably have the same working instincts (depending on whether they're bred from lines with proven working instincts or from purely show lines where a heavier coat is preferred and working instinct is incidental (as with BCs).

That German Shepherd Dogs (GSDs, aka Alsatians) are very different conformationally in the US vs Europe, in that the US breed's rear legs are deemed to be more beautiful if they're very long, which means that they've been bred into having horrible hip dysplasia issues (and fear-biting is said to be more common in the American lines). That Golden Retrievers and Flat-Coat Retrievers are really the same breed--oh, no, wait, they aren't, because true Flat-Coat breeders will cull the yellow ones (is that a "responsible" breeder?), but really they'll be very similar in temperament. Here's one article talking about how these splits happen and what the possible dangers are to the breed(s) from focusing on such specific details.

My point is, if you decide that you want a specific breed, be very certain that you know exactly why you want the breed. Is it because of the way it looks? Because of the way it behaves? For example, if you want a field Lab, AKC registration isn't necessarily the best (or only) place to look; similarly with Border Collies or any other working breed. That's not to say that there aren't working dogs within AKC registries--my own BC comes from a long line of herding and (more recently) agility champions, and they're AKC registered. But they'd likely never make it in the show ring. The American Border Collie Association, however, doesn't even have conformation trials, just focuses on the breeding of working dogs.

And, of course, every breed is the result of the crossing of other breeds at some point in their history. Which, in my view, means that any crossbreed or mixed breed or whatever you want to call it--mutt--is perfectly as capable of being beautiful, hardy, healthy, intelligent, competent, and loving as any pedigreed dog, or sometimes even more so.

I find this to be endlessly fascinating; I mean it as a reminder that there's a lot going on in genetics and breeding and separation of different breeding stock that not everyone is aware of. And the results can affect your ability to get the temperament and trainability (and physical soundness) that you really want.  You can't ever do that just by looking at the pedigree.

No matter their type, let your dogs know every day that they are appreciated and loved.

---

¹Maybe another post eventually on what a responsible breeder is, in my view.

²"Cross-breeding" generally means breeding dogs of different breeds for a specific purpose. I sometimes want to extend that specific purpose to include "two dogs of opposite sex who found each other and had the specific purpose of having sex," but, eh, whatever.

UNbarkingBELIEVABLE

SUMMARY: I'd have never believed USDAA & AKC would do this.

I heard the rumors--maybe you did, too--that USDAA was up to something big.

MADE up my own ideas of what that might be--more titles? Change the Performance title abbreviations to something that--gasp--actually made sense? Announce that the nationals would permanently be in San Jose, California (hmm, not sure whether I'd be happy about that or not). Add herding as a titling event?

UP to now, of course, the only hint we got--and none of us caught it-- was the whole Andy Hartman brouhaha. Oh, right, boo hoo all the AKC members were upset that he got kicked out of AKC after running a really excellent agility ship for them, and then USDAA did the big announcement that he's actually joined a real agility organization.

THIS, it turns out, was a huge smoke screen! There was no falling out! No, USDAA and AKC are merging their agility programs! Can you barking believe it? I'm wondering if someone blew it by letting the news out now, right as the AKC Nationals are starting back east (BTW, good luck, Bay Teamers! and everyone else I know who's there now). Maybe Ken Tatsch wants to make the final awards presentations like he does at USDAA nationals. Who knows!

WHOLE batches of things are going to change in the combined program. AKC competitors, of course, will now have to learn how to do Snooker. (ha, will love to see those Excellent or whatever they call them dogs trying THAT for the first time.) The worst news is that USDAA's championship will now incorporate the "double-Q" concept--except that now, to earn your championship, it will be TRIPLE-Qs: You must Q in a least 3 out of 5 of the basic classes on a single day to earn points towards your CH--so in addition to the usual 5 standard, 5 jumpers, etc, you will now have to have 20 triple Qs! I can't believe my own eyes!

THING is, I've been thinking about giving up agility anyway. Maybe this is the final straw.

FOR more information about this post, you're going to have to hunt a little from top to bottom.

YOU can do whatever you want, but I might just go take up flyball. Or knitting.

Time to Get Buns In Gear

SUMMARY: Work on those agility issues before the president comes and kicks my--er--butt!

Once again I'm almost entirely frittered away my huge gap between agility trials during which I was going to Fix Everything Once And For All. Instead, we play some fetch in the yard, run through some tunnels, sometimes go for walks and play frisbee in the park.

Dogs are actually bored; I can tell this because Boost disassembles the dog beds and empties the toy buckets everywhere, thereafter tossing the toy bucket around.

I passed up my chance this last weekend to attend the first actual UKI trial in California, at which some of my agility friends earned, say, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd UKI titles ever given in California. They will probably also earn the first UKI championships ever given in the U.S. Maybe. Who knows.

It's not a venue that seems likely to give me free entries for working the score table, since they do the score table. Maybe crew chiefing, but I'm not very good at that with 2 dogs in different groups (championship & performance, or even 22" and 26"), I've discovered.

Plus I'm trying to do less agility, not more.

Plus do I want to start on the title track for yet another organization? Tika, for example, already has legs towards her NADAC titles (is in Elite in several things, but not everything since we haven't competed in NADAC in ages, but that's maybe ok because), she also has legs towards her ASCA titles (is in Elite in some things, not as many as NADAC because not all the NADAC trials we did earlier were dual-sanctioned). Plus is now maybe halfway to her CPE C-ATE, which at our current pace will take maybe 10 more years at one trial a year.

Plus Bay Team is having trouble finding trial committee for our CPE trials, so maybe we won't do any? We have no trouble getting people to attend and pretty much fill up 2-ring CPE trials, but those of us who wanted to chair/secretary/etc. have pretty much done our share (and sometimes more than our share) and are really ready for a break. Maybe all those people competing aren't actually Bay Teamers and maybe that's why we can't get a committee out of them? We do have someone who seems to like being trial secretary for CPE, so that's lovely. Anyway...I'm seeing NOT more CPE in my future.

We could start AKC, now that mixed breeds are welcome (at some clubs, not all). Tchyeah, like that'll happen.

Anyway--the point was that Boost still knocks bars and has trouble with serpentines and rear crosses, Tika's contacts are getting worse, I'm not doing any running of any kind except in class these days, and in fact am not even getting out for hikes or walks, so I'm in no great shape at the moment.

Where does all the time go?

Time to get a move-on! As soon as I've put in 50 hours at work to make up for all that vacation, sorted all 2700 photos--oh yeah plus a couple hundred more for two nieces' graduations, cleared all the stuff off the table, finished organizing & photographing the ribbons spread all over the living room floor, arranged for a blackberry sorbet party for next weekend and cleaned up the whole yard...

OK, any day now. SOMEone better start kicking my butt or this mess will NEVER get cleaned up.

Mixed Breeds in AKC trials

SUMMARY: Nice article on one persons's experience.

From The Washington Post, "After 125 years, American Kennel Club opens competitions to mutts".

Sibling--Well, Probably Not Rivalry

SUMMARY: Boost's brother starts out well at AKC Nationals.

I haven't been watching the AKC nationals in Tulsa, although you can buy a subscription for live videos (some events started yesterday).

Just heard that Boost's littermate brother, Derby, placed 3rd in 26" International Style Standard today. Derby belongs to Tammy, Boost's breeder. Good on ya, bro!

Can't say there's a rivalry there--we can't even get a dang Jumpers Q. So we're cheering them on full-heartedly.

Several other Bay Teamers and locals placed in events today, as well. Go, BT!

Former classmate and defending 16" champion Luka isn't there this year because she came up sore a while back and Ashley has been treating her recovery with the utmost care; they're barely back at rehabilitation stage now, after weeks of rest.

Good luck, all you many Californians out there in Tulsa who braved snow(!) through New Mexico to get there.

AKC Wises Up

SUMMARY: Almost as if someone read my earlier post.

"While each club’s participation in the AKC Canine Partners program will remain voluntary, clubs may now choose to allow mixed breed participation at any AKC Agility, Obedience or Rally event. Mixed breeds will compete in the same classes and earn the same titles as their purebred counterparts."

Here's the complete letter in PDF.

The Importance of the World Around Us

SUMMARY: Haiti, civil rights, dog agility equality, me and the Merle Girls.

There has been some discussion among dog bloggers about whether a blog that says it's about dogs (or dog agility, or any other specific topic) is too self-centered if it ignores when the World Out There is undergoing events of great import.

Agility for all?

For example, my agility club has a policy of promoting only agility that allows all healthy adult dogs to compete. So--AKC premiums? Forget it, they're not going out on our email list. Recently, Teacup Agility has come into existence, and we've occasionally seen info on those events come around. But we've called that into question--it allows only dogs under a certain height to compete. So is that exclusionary in the same sense as AKC? Even more recently (effective this year), AKC has allowed its clubs to choose to allow non-AKC dogs to compete in their events. However, they do not compete equally against AKC dogs; they have their own events and their own titles and so on, and aren't eligible for the national competitions. So, is that still exclusionary? (Supreme Court has said "separate but equal" is not in fact equal. Does that apply to dog sports, too?)

This is a highly charged issue, and we're trying to be consistent and nonemotional about it. But does writing about that really make sense when one of the greatest civil rights battles of my adulthood has now started its hearing in the federal courts? Should I be silent when an earthquake has wreaked unimaginable destruction and death on a nearby country (or any country, for that matter).

It's not at all that I don't care about what's going on. I do, in fact, care deeply. But this blog is, after all, "surviving and thriving in dog agility."

But, OK, today. Two unrelated topics. You can skip either, but I ask that you give them a read.

Earthquake

As you all know by know, a 7.0 earthquake devastated the most densely populated parts of Haiti. I've watched and heard the reports come in. My heart has lurched at the sight of the national palace collapsed. (Can you imagine the white house destroyed? Or the capitol building--of your state, let alone your country?) The statistics, guessing up to 100,0000 could be dead. The population of Port au Prince is only a million--that's one out of every 10 people, dead. Ten out of your hundred facebook friends, dead.

They're a poor country and so, we like to think, their infrastructure isn't built as well to withstand earthquakes as is ours in California. And yet, well, who knows.

And not just the average Joe who's been taken down. The president is homeless--national palace destroyed. The archbishop is dead--national cathedral destroyed. The head of the UN in Haiti is missing--whole UN building destroyed. Can you imagine that in your city? Your country? It's almost unimaginable.

I have donated money for the relief effort through the Clinton Foundation. If you want to donate there, or anywhere, I suggest that you check whether the group is on the Institute of Philanthropy's list of top-rated charities. (You can see their worst-rated charities only by becoming a member to get their printed list. So if your charity isn't on the list here, doesn't mean it's not good. Just means do your research on it more carefully.)

And now, on the home front:

Civil rights

I have friends who have lived together for 20 years and love each other deeply. They are wonderful human beings. One is a retired VP of a high-tech company, the other is a skilled accountant. One loves dogs; the other loves photography. Normal people; they've bought a house together, vacation together, plan their retirement together. But, by law, they are not allowed to marry, simply because they are the same sex.

There is no logical reason why they shouldn't be allowed to; it is discrimination, pure and simple. The California Supreme Court said so. The people of California in a fit of reactionary pique approved (but very narrowly) Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment that explicitly bans marriage between people of the same sex.

I have other friends who have been together going on 10 years. They love each other very much. One is an avid mountaineer who is often conflicted between love of the challenge and the desire to spend weekends at home, since they both work during the week. Normal people; they've bought a house together, live together, deal with bills and stopped-up sinks and cars that need to go to the repair shop and all that stuff, together. They are married, but only because they rushed in during the narrow window between the Supreme Court decision and the passage of Proposition 8 and hurriedly put together a simple wedding. And the Supreme Court, while it did not throw out Prop 8, also did not invalidate those marriages, which speaks volumes. So they're in an odd position where they are married but none of their friends can hope to share the joy and legal protection of marriage to their loved, long-term partners.

This week, Proposition 8 began its hearing in Federal court. I know that, no matter what happens, it will be appealed by the losing side. It is sad that it is so, as sad as when people fought *for* laws *against* the right of black Americans to vote, to attend the same schools, drink out of the same water fountains, and, yes, marry (gasp) white people. The U.S. Supreme Court stated clearly that even "separate but equal" was not equal.

I've joined a couple of casual groups of "Heterosexuals for Gay Rights." (Don't know enough about them yet to recommend them.) I'm on the mailing list of Equality California to keep abreast of what's going on. I posted NO ON PROP 8 signs on my lawn, the first time in my life I've ever posted election-related material. I donated to their campaign.

If the opportunity ever comes to you to vote for equal rights for all Americans, I encourage you to do so. It's likely to be one of the few major civil rights issues during our lifetimes that we'll be able to proudly say that we fought for.

Why Are There So Many Agility Organizations?

SUMMARY: In some parts of the U.S., you have almost a dozen sanctioning organizations, or "flavors," to choose from. So--why?

In my previous post, I listed the various organizations that provide rules under which people can compete and earn titles in dog agility. So, why so many flavors?

Let me ask you this: Why so many types of vanilla ice cream? There's regular vanilla. There's premium vanilla. There's low-fat vanilla. Sugar-free vanilla. Vanilla bean. French vanilla. Vanilla with chocolate chips. Vanilla with cookie dough. OK, which of those would you regularly stock in your freezer? Which would you never touch with a ten-foot set of weave poles? Sure, they're all vanilla, but the differences are important.

The agility organizations are just like that. Sure, they're all dog agility, but the differences are important.

Here are just a few examples (note that I'm not fluent in many of the organizations so most examples are with those I'm more fluent in):

• How often do the rules and/or the equipment specs change? Examples: 
• USDAA has a reputation for moving slowly and ponderously, much to many people's frustration (just ask about allowing 24"-spaced weave poles, to name one). ]
• NADAC has a reputation for changing things frequently, seemingly at the drop of a hat. 
• Either of those extremes can drive people nuts, especially club organizers and equipment purchasers.
• What equipment is allowed?  Examples:
• NADAC has disallowed the teeter-totter and spread jumps as dangerous.
• UKC allows (even requires) the swing plank, sway bridge, and crawl tunnel, which none of the other organizations do. 
• USDAA allows double and triple spread jumps. 
• Some people don't want their dogs doing certain equipment--or DO want their dogs doing certain equipment.
• What are the specifications for individual obstacles? For example, 
• NADAC prohibits slats on the aframe and dogwalk as safety hazards (dogs stub toes, break nails, etc).
• USDAA requires them as safety elements (prevents slipping, gives dogs better grip going up, etc.)  
• CPE allows either one but the club is supposed to state it in its premiums. Some people feel that slatless dogwalks confuse their dogs versus the teeter. Some people feel it makes no difference.  
• As another example, the length of the yellow zones on the contact obstacles vary. If you have a long-strided dog with a running contact, you might prefer CPE's longer contact zones over USDAA's.  USDAA's Aframe was considerably higher (therefore steeper) and NADAC's considerably lower (therefore more running than climbing) than "average" for a long time.
• How obsessive are the rules? For example, 
• AKC has become extremely strict (some say unreasonable) in stating exactly when you must remove the leash from your dog at the start line, what you can and can't do at the start line, and what penalties you face if you don't leash your dog immediately at the finish line. 
• USDAA is much more relaxed, although all organizations want the dogs under reasonable control.
• How many faults are allowed and what kind? For example,
• in USDAA Jumpers and Standard, your run must be clean to earn a Q, even at the Starters level. 
• In CPE Jumpers and Standard, you can earn Qs with a variety of faults, which decrease as you go up in levels. 
• USDAA and AKC count runouts and refusals; CPE and NADAC don't. 
• USDAA judges the up contacts as well as the down contacts; I think that most or all other organizations don't.
• How high does your dog have to jump?  
• All organizations base the jump height on the dog's shoulder height and then some throw in extra qualifiers (length of dog's back versus legs, age of dog, etc.). But where they divide the jump heights and how high those heights are varies considerably. 
• For example, my dog Tika must jump 26" in USDAA unless I move her to Performance, where she can jump 22".  Boost must jump 22", unless I move her to Performance, where she can jump 16". 
• In CPE, Tika's *regular* jump height is 20" and Boost's is 16"; CPE gives two additional tracks of competition, one 4" lower than regular, the other 8" lower than regular. So I could in theory jump Tika at 12" and Boost at 8". 
• Some people do not want their dogs jumping the higher required jumps or their dogs simply can't jump the higher jumps, usually for structural reasons (some dogs aren't built for jumping).
• What's the atmosphere like at trials? 
• CPE participants generally find that it's a relaxed atmosphere.  CPE has so many levels and height groupings and low qualifying requirements that lots and lots of people earn Qs and placement ribbons. In addition, CPE trials tend to be smaller--CPE allows clubs to limit entries.  
• USDAA events tend to be intense. USDAA has many fewer levels and fewer height groupings, so placements are harder to come by. USDAA trials can be huge; USDAA does not allow clubs to limit entries. Around here, 3- and 4-ring trials are not uncommon.
• What are the courses like? 
• NADAC and ASCA courses tend to be open and flowing. 
• CPE courses tend to be small and generally fairly simple. USDAA courses are usually large (using most or all of the 100x100-foot field) and can be technically challenging. 
• AKC has a bit of a reputation for tight, choppy courses. 
• Teacup courses are designed exclusively for small dogs, who may have a variety of challenges on courses on which much larger dogs also run.
• How fast does your dog have to be? 
• CPE's course times are extremely generous. 
• USDAA has some classes that require that your dog be in the top 15% in his class to earn a Q. 
• NADAC times are extremely tight; your dog had better be fleet of foot, particularly in the upper levels.
• What variety of classes are offered? 
• AKC for the longest time offered only Standard and Jumpers; recently added the FAST (sort of gambly like). 
• USDAA offers Standard, Jumpers, Gamblers, Snooker, Pairs Relay, and the tournaments Steeplechase, Grand Prix, and DAM Team (although the tournament classes are really just slight variants on the regular 5 classes). 
• CPE offers 7 different classes, some of which are similar to USDAA classes and some of which are entirely their own. 
• NADAC offers 6 or 7 classes (I've lost track), which  are mostly different from those offered anywhere else. 
• Some people (like me) love the variety. Some people (particularly those who start in AKC) find the variety intimidating and prefer the clarity of simply  numbered courses.
• Are mixed breeds allowed to compete? 
• Can you say "AKC" (not)? Other organizations don't care what your dog looks like, as long as she's healthy and sound and old enough.
• Do you want to compete at the top of the sport, possibly including internationally?  
• AKC's program is affiliated with the FCI for their world championships. 
• USDAA's program is affiliated with the IFCS, lesser-known and not [yet] as prestigious.
• CPE has no international affiliation. It's not a particularly competitive venue. Only a few of those who are at the level where they could be finalists at AKC or USDAA national events will compete in CPE trials. 
• Some people feel that competing against the best that the sport has to offer helps them to improve their own performance. Others prefer not to have to compete against those who have made agility competition their primary focus.
  

I could list many other chocolate chip or low-fat variations, but this should give you an idea. Now time for some nice peppermint-stick ice cream.

nYAAO! Yet ANother Agility Organization

SUMMARY: In case the umpteen variants currently available aren't enough for you, here's another one coming your way.

Noted agility seminarists Greg Derrett and his significant other, the formerly Bay Area local person Laura Manchester [Derrett], are bringing their new agility organization to the U.S. You can read about it on the UKI (UK Agility International) web site.

That's  in case you aren't already flush with conflicting rules and equipment in these other umpteen agility organizations, almost all of which are available here in profusion although perhaps not in your neighborhood (in alphabetic order):

• AKC (American Kennel Club's program)
• ASCA (Australian Shepherd Club's program--rules are what NADAC used to be)
• CPE (Canine Performance Events)
• DOCNA (Dogs On Course North America)
  
• NADAC (North American Dog Agility Council)
• TDAA (Teacup Dog Agility Association)
  
• UKC (United Kennel Club's program)
• USDAA (United States Dog Agility Association)
  

And that's not to mention the Canadian org's if one happens to live in that vicinity. And if you compete internationally, there's the FCI and the IFCS agility venues as well. Eeeegads.

I'm not saying that any existing agility organization is perfect or couldn't use improvement. UKI might be the be-all and end-all of agility that solves every issue that anyone has ever had with agility and people would be willing to drop their lifetime title pursuits in other organizations to start over there. But wait, how about this: Hey, the Bay Team is a big organization with a lot of ideas and experience; maybe we should start our own flavor of agility, because WE know how to DO IT RIGHT!

We Don't Get No Respect

SUMMARY: AKC and the public perception of agility.

My sister brought me a souvenir from her recent trip: An in-flight magazine (USA Today Open Air Magazine) containing the article "See Spot run...and jump" by Steve Dale. A full page article about dog agility! Cool! Some people get souvenir t-shirts from their relatives. I get copies of free magazines. But she knows what I like!

Even cooler: It mentioned 6 people from around the country, and I know 4 of them! (Laurie Leach, local, author of The Beginner's Guide to Dog Agility and USDAA nationals winner with her sheltie a couple of years back; Marj and Bruce Vincent, used to own Starfleet Agility--now WAG--in Elk Grove; and Sara McKinley and the local Haute Dawgs Agility Group.)

Gives contact info for AKC, USDAA, NADAC, and DOCNA (wth? no CPE? Which has been around twice as long as DOCNA?... weirder, DOCNA's not even mentioned in the wikipedia article. Guess I'd better fix that.)

But, OK. Here's the thing. The article starts with a brief intro sentence and then, WHAM UPSIDE YOUR HEAD, "Dog agility is a bona fide dog sport, sanctioned by the American Kennel Club." [italics mine] Argh! Like, it's not a bona fide dog sport if it's NOT sanctioned by the AKC? There wasn't even any AKC worth mentioning when I started; USDAA was already big and televised regularly before AKC agility got any traction. USDAA pretty much started agility in north america (short of a year or so of effort by Bud Kramer), and USDAA is huge. USDAA isn't even mentioned in the article until 3/4 of the way through. All the statistics about how many dogs are competing are AKC statistics.

Fah.

When AKC associates their name with something, then they own it. In the public's view, at any rate.

Fah, I say.

Of course, USDAA added to the confusion by cleverly creating a logo by taking the AKC logo, changing "AKC" to "USDAA" and adding a little yellow tint here and there.

And, P.S., the author missed an excellent opportunity to say the sport is a bona fido sport. Or bone fide sport. What's the world of professional writers coming to?

AKC Confirms that Mixed-Breed Dogs Aren't Real Dogs

SUMMARY: New program for mixed-breed dogs in AKC performance events segregates them from the "real" competitors.

Details are in three posts on this site; read all 3.

And here's a PDF link to the original AKC document that this is a copy of.

It's About Time! Saving Purebred Dogs

SUMMARY: British Kennel Club makes it unacceptable to breed dogs whose features make them unhealthy.

The RSPCA (British version of ASPCA) pulled out of Crufts (the major purebred dog show) last year over concerns about the bad effects that breeding for exaggerated appearances have done to dogs. The Kennel Club (British equivalent of AKC, but older, possibly first in the world) has since revised its standards somewhat, among other things now disallowing incestuous breedings to be registered. Mixed reviews, not surprisingly. Read the article.

North America (and AKC) is already far behind Europe, where most laws now prohibit docking of tails and cropping of ears. We'll undoubtedly be way behind in this, too.

AKC Nationals Ongoing

SUMMARY: Partial results

I don't follow the AKC circuit except to know how friends are doing.

Elite Forces of Fuzzy Destruction's post today reminded me that they're going on right now and she posted course maps, too; thanks! First day's results (International Sweepstakes Class (ISC)) are posted on the AKC site.

Our instructor for several years and her super BC, Rachel Sanders and Fable, are competing in ISC; Fable when running clean usually whups Tika's butt by a mile and a half. In 26", they placed 5th of about 60 dogs:

Class Hgt: 26
26667 0 25.228 Voucher Blake 1 QUALIFIED
26638 0 25.847 Scream Braue 2 QUALIFIED
26668 0 26.015 Focus Hernandez 3 QUALIFIED
26662 0 27.087 Jive Jones 4 QUALIFIED
26685 0 27.123 Fable Sanders QUALIFIED

but wow, almost 2 seconds slower than #1? I'm curious what the difference in time came from. That's an amazing speed difference at this level of competition. But, still, 5th in this group is danged good.

Fellow Bay Teamer Jammer Strenfel came back from a torn ACL (I think it was) last year to place 6th in the really huge 20" group (200 dogs?). Fellow Bay Teamer Epic Dunn also qualified with a clean run. Fellow Bay Teamer Thyme Freilich also competed with an excellent time but one disqualifying fault, and kennel-mate Cirque also competed.

In the 18", agility blogger Team Fernandez-Lopez earned a qualifying score. Classmate Luka apparently had a bad day, racking up a few faults, bummer! Oh, well, if you're going to have a fault, you might as well have all of them.

In 16", Bay Teamer Heath had the fastest time but that one annoying DQ fault.

Lots of names I recognize but don't really know; skimming quickly through all those dogs it's easy to miss some whom I might know. Congrats to everyone who did well; here's hoping for great luck to all my friends, teammates, classmates, and fellow bloggers for the rest of the event.

Friend at Westminster

SUMMARY: Elliott makes the trip.

Elliott the Frenchie, with whom Boost played wildly as a puppy (and the two of them still play enthusiastically when given a chance), went to Westminster this year! They didn't win any awards according to their results page--although Patty Hearst's (!) Frenchie came in 2nd--but they show up pretty early in this official video; she's the third one in line at the beginning, in the pale peach suit. (There are videos for all the breed competitions, in case you know anyone there. Or in case you want to be amazed at the fat Border Collies, all of whom look like they could afford to lose 10 pounds. Can those guys actually WORK?? OK, OK, don't go there--)

Wed, Feb 13, 10:45 a.m: Wait, OK, sure, let's go there. Here are comments so far:

wishy the writer said...

How can we be sure those are border collies in the video? I didn't even see the sheep in the ring. Were the sheep hiding behind the gal in the suit and high heels? I'm confused.

9:04 AM

Elf said...

The AKC breed standard starts out saying "the Border Collie's intensity, energy and trainability ... are features so important that they are equal to physical size and appearance." To which I ask: "So why are those items then summarily ignored in the rest of the breed standard?" and "What makes anyone think that *appearance* should be anywhere near *equal* in importance?"

Boost is AKC registered. Because she was eligible and because AKC has dog agility. That's my excuse, even if I'm never likely to compete in AKC agility.

-ellen

9:17 AM

Another AKC Survey About Mixed Breeds

SUMMARY: AKC is still gathering opinions...

...about allowing mixes in performance events in this new survey.

Please pass the info along; post in your blog, etc.

It's just time for AKC to let all dogs perform in performance events--this isn't the breed ring.

AKC Mixed-Breed Survey Results

SUMMARY: Results from the survey done by AKC a few months back have been released.

I couldn't find them on the AKC site, but their press release is quoted in full on this blog.

AKC Statement on FCI and Docking

SUMMARY: US News and World Report (or something--)

Another blogger (Team Fernandezlopez) has posted a statement from AKC: Read it here.

More on FCI and Docked Tails

SUMMARY: Still trying to find specifics about the ruling. Meanwhile, here's a tidbit of background info.

From 4Rottweilers.com:

Why do Rottweilers now have natural tails?
In 1999 the country of Germany passed a law that made it illegal to dock a dog's tail or crop a dog's ears. The basis for this law was the fact that the practice of docking and cropping was deemed to be inhumane treatment of animals.

In order to comply with the new law, the ADRK revised the Breed Standard for the Rottweiler and this new breed standard required a natural tail. The FCI translated and adopted the new breed standard and gave all FCI member countries several years to comply with the new breed standard.

A docked Rottweiler does not conform to the current FCI breed standard. As each FCI member country finalizes their adoption of the new breed standard Rottweiler breeders in those countries will no longer be allowed to dock and docked Rottweilers will be disqualified at shows and prohibited from breeding.

The AKC (American Kennel Club) is not a member of the FCI. AKC does not follow any of the rules and regulations set by the FCI for the rest of the world and they do not always follow the breed standards set by the countries of origin. The AKC Breed Standard for the Rottweiler has always deviated from the FCI standard and they are currently struggling to deal with the breed standard regarding the tail.

There are a number of Rottweiler breeders in the United States that follow the FCI Code of Ethics for breeding and strictly follow the FCI/ADRK Breed Standard for the Rottweiler and those breeders will all leave natural tails on their dogs.

(Read the rest of the article, including more position statements on tail docking in general and in Rotties in particular.)