The Bay Teal Agility News
April Fools Day Edition

For the 2007™ USDAA Tournament™ season, USDAA™ has announced the following rules™ changes:

Dog Agility Masters™ Tournament: all teams™ must include at least one mini™ dog™.

DAM™ Qualifying: To be consistent with qualifying rules in Steeplechase and Grand Prix™, dogs must qualify in two DAM tournaments to be eligible to compete at the nationals.

In DAM Gamble™ events: In the opening, the teeter™ may be performed back to back only in opposite directions for points. The dog's feet may not leave the surface of the teeter during this maneuver.

Steeplechase™: Only the top 2™ dogs of each height at each local Qualifying event will qualify™ for the Nationals.™

Open dogs: For Steeplechase and Grand Prix at the International Universal Grand Prix Championship of Dog Agility of the World, starting in 2007, non-Border Collies™ in the 22" and 26" jump height categories will compete separately in their own Anything but Border Collies (ABC) classes.

Jump heights: The jump-height changes instigated a few years ago have proven to be a™ dismal failure for international competitors; therefore, tournament jump heights will return to their previous 12", 18", 24", and 30" elevations.

To better conform to international agility rules, which have recently been revised, the following changes are effective immediately:

Judges' apparel: Starting immediately, all judges will be required to wear their official USDAA kilts while judging regional and national Tournament classes.

***USDAA, Dog Agility Masters, DAM, Grand Prix, Tournament, Steeplechase, Gamble, teeter, rules, teams, 2007, mini, dog, 2, Border Collies, qualify, a, and . are trademarks or registered trademarks of USDAA, Inc. LTD Co. Int'l.

MACH changes: AKC has announced that its new game, "Fifteen And Send Time", will become part of its titling program effective July 1, 2006. To earn a MACH, dogs must earn triple-Qs. Dogs already having earned double-Qs by July 1, 2006, can count them towards their MACHs under the old rules, but must complete the titles under the new rules.

Table: Effective immediately in an attempt to make triple-Qs more attainable, the table will no longer be an allowable obstacle for Standard courses.

Nonpedigree dogs: Starting in 2007, dogs not eligible for registration with AKC will be allowed to compete in all performance events. In agility, such dogs will be given a 5-point penalty for each run.

(In related news--and we're not sure who started this whole thing--the Mixed Breed Dog Club of America has posted a draft of its proposed rules for brand-new MBDCA dog agility, in which AKC-registered dogs are eligible to compete, contrary to their usual rules excluding such dogs, but these dogs will also automatically incur a 5-point fault for each run.)

Start line: Dogs who fail to wait at the start line until released by the handler will now incur a 5-point fault.

Four paw rule updated: Dogs are now required to place all four paws in the descending contact zone of all contact obstacles, or a fault will be called.

NADAC has announced new rule changes effective January 1, 2006. Responding to the usual charges that the changes were not announced prior to the effective date, Sharon Nelson responded that the rules were, indeed, presented in late 2005 at an unannounced meeting but the meeting, she said, was poorly attended.

We found these items on NADAC's "Official Hourly Updates" page:

Multiple venues: In conjunction with its recent acquisition of AMBOR, NADAC competitors will no longer be allowed to compete in multiple venues. All legs earned toward NADAC titles will be forfeited if the handler/dog team also competes in USDAA, AKC, or CPE.

Weave poles: To avoid the contortions that handlers go through to be on their dog's right side for weaves, the dog now must enter the first pole from whatever side the handler is currently on; entering opposite the handler is a fault. This is for both the dog's and handler's safety.

Ring entrance: Because an excited dog may pull against its leash and choke, no leashes will be allowed in the ring. Dogs must enter and exit the ring off leash, at a sedate pace and under control beside the handler; if, in the judge's opinion, the dog is not sufficiently sedate, the dog will earn an "E" for the round. This is for both the dog's and handler's safety.

Judging: To prevent dangerous collisions with judges, judges will now judge from outside the ring boundaries at all times. This will improve saftety for not only the dog and the handler but also the judge.

Equipment updates: Clubs will be required to make the following changes designed to improve safety for both the dog and the handler:

The teeter-totter will be lowered to a center elevation of 6 inches.

Jump uprights must be made from stiff, flexible foam. Instead of jump bars, lines will be spray painted on the grass with veterinary-approved, nontoxic, water-soluble paint.

Instead of the Aframe and dogwalk, rectangles will likewise be spray painted on the ground in the size of the old obstacles; dogs will be required to enter and exit the rectangles as if they were actual obstacles. Failure to place paws in the last 42" of the rectangle will continue to be counted as a contact fault.

Because rain will wash away the obstacle outlines and because wet grass is slippery and therefore dangerous, competitions may be run only on dry grass or in covered arenas. Safety for the dog and handler are the reason for this change.

Rules moratorium: As part of the agreement with AMBOR, and in agreement with federal antitrust prosecutors, NADAC has declared a moratorium on any additional rules changes for one full year.

Origins: Agility was invented in 1936 in Bavaria, but was outlawed during WWII because the high-grade steel used to make agility equipment was wanted for the war effort, and wasn't rediscovered until certain captured German documents were declassified by the British government in 1979.

Strange but true: Contrary to popular Scottish legends, Border Collies were developed in 1925 in Trenton, New Jersey, by a teenaged inventor dabbling with crossbreeding Poodles, Kerry Blue Terriers, Shetland Sheepdogs, and Tibetan Mastiffs. He named the new breed "Border Collie" after a popular comic-book hero of the time.

Weave poles: The fastest 60-weave-pole challenge on record was 2.83 seconds by a Basset Hound named Caffeine.

Celebrity agility: Animal Planet filmed a pilot episode of a new reality show, Celebrity Agility All-Stars, but it didn't go the way they had hoped. Competitors included Max the JRT (star of the film The Mask), who designed his own course; Tinkerbell Hilton the Chihuahua, who proved to be more of a celebrity than an athlete; Snuppy the cloned Afghan Hound, who kept doing the same course over and over; Rico the Border Collie, who was more interested in showing off his large vocabulary and in herding reporters than in competing; and the first-round winner, Babe the pig. (Rumors that Lassie couldn't appear because she was stuck in a well were unfounded.)

Club name and logo: To better reflect our membership, the Bay Team's board of directors (BOD) has voted to change our name to Border Collies Anonymous. A new logo is being designed in the new team colors, black and white, which the club's Clothing Czar Arlene Watson says will make it much easier to find team clothes than the old teal.

Treasury: The Treasurer reports that, due to an error in carrying digits, our checking account balance is not $5,027.32 as previously reported, but is actually $502,732.93. This is largely due to our USDAA Super-Regional events.

Land: The BOD has decided that we can now meet one of our original stated goals from our first meeting in 1993 by buying 20 acres of undeveloped land in Alviso. It's a real deal because the land is in a 20-year flood-plain zone and no developer wants it. It's being done in partnership with a few members to start a business running a Bay Team-sponsored destination dog event resort. They have already contacted possible contractors to design the 10,000-square-foot covered arena, and are taking bids for grading and seeding the remainder. They can't proceed on the project until they know how many RV hookups to install along the water's edge, but they are also looking at bringing in a franchised Hobee's Restaurant as the resident concession. When the 20-year floods occur, the contingency plan is to bring in the Dock Dogs people.

Members in the News

We are doubly sorry to hear about Karey Krauter's damaged knee. Not only is it bad news for her, but she reports that the injuries to her and to Bump have made her rethink her life's priorities, and she has resigned her memberships in The Bay Team and The Terv Club to devote her spare time to activities unrelated to dogs, primarily competitive needlepoint.

After a recent pun backfired when a USDAA judge misunderstood and expelled Jim Basic from the entire trial, Jim has vowed to never again tell a pun. Nancy Gyes reports, "It's punderful! I've been pundering how to get him to stop, but it just took the right kind of punishment!"

Levels: Because so many people have earned their C-ATCHs in the last year, CPE is adding 3 more levels (Level 6 through Level 8) between Level 5 and Level C. Dogs will need to complete 24 Standard Qs and 12 of each of the games at each level before proceeding to the Championship level.

C-ATCHs: Dogs who have already earned their C-ATCH but have fewer than 72 standard legs and 36 of each of the games legs at the C Level must complete that number of legs at either the Level 8 or C Level before legs will count towards the CATE title.

Completing Levels: In addition, dogs must now complete all requirements at each level before moving to the next level in any class.

One More Time: However, to keep with its goal of having all dogs Q all the time, handlers will be allowed a "do-over" on any one course during each day of competition.

Games: CPE has also announced the intention of adding two more games to the available set for 2007. Entropy (EN) and Brownian Motion (BM) will be in the new Physics Pooch (PP) category. The rules have been tentatively confirmed:

1. The course consists of three sets of obstacles, each numbered 1 through 9.

2. Dogs must either execute all even-numbered obstacles from all three sets, in grouped sequence (e.g., 2-2-2, 4-4-4, and so on) or all odd-numbered obstacles from all three sets in grouped sequence, but in the latter case they must choose one set of numbers (e.g., 3,3,3) to NOT do.

3. If a dog at any time takes an incorrect obstacle, the dog must then perform the remaining higher numbered obstacles in the opposite group from which they started (e.g., if started with odds, must complete with evens), unless it is one of the odd-numbered obstacles that they originally chose not to do, in which case they must continue with the same set of obstacles as originally planned except in reverse order in consecutive sequence (e.g., 9-7-5, 9-7-5, 9-7-5), using the alphabetical order of the color names to determine the order in which the sequences will be performed.

4. At any time during the course, the Judge may switch the order of either the odd numbers in one set of cones or the even numbers between two sets of cones.

5. After a set period of time to be announced by the judge, a whistle will blow, at which point the dog must stop the original sequence and commence a time period in which all contact obstacles must be taken twice, based on the order in which they are numbered, with the handler at all times remaining on the dog's left.

6. If, however, the dog and handler started with odd numbers, had to change order more than once, and ended with even numbers, then when the whistle blows, the dog must complete all the obstacles twice EXCEPT the contacts, with the handler remaining on the dog's right at all times except during tunnels.

7. If all contacts are not completed within the allotted time, points are subtracted at the rate of 2 points for every second over time multiplied by the point value of the last obstacle completed successfully in the opening sequence, but adding back the number of points of the first 3 obstacles successfully completed in the opening for each contact successfully completed in the closing. (Faults allowed at each level have yet to be worked out.)

1. 20 jumps are placed randomly on the course at random heights, and no walkthrough is allowed.

2. 20 dogs and handlers are placed randomly around the outside of the ring.

3. At the sound of the initial buzzer, dogs and handlers start running around the course, trying to do as many jumps as possible and resetting their own dropped bars to a random height.

4. Dogs or handlers who hesitate, stop, or turn more than 45 degrees to avoid crashing into another dog, handler, jump, the judge, or other obstacles, are penalized five faults for each such hesitation, stop, or turn.

5. A whistle blows when the competitors have reached a gaseous state.