Pets World Exhibition- 04 July 2009

Place: Midvalley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur
Date: 04 July 2009, Saturday

This is the second indoor dog event for this year 2009 and we are putting high hopes on Shadow in the Midvalley’s competition. Everything looks good except that the ring was smaller compared to last year. Best thing is the ring was cordoned with advertisement boards to prevent dogs or audiences from coming into the ring and to prevent the participating dog from running out of the ring. Equipments look new and lightweight but it looks slippery due to the new paint. I wouldn’t worry much about the rules since it was clearly stated in the official website and honoured with no last minute changes. Usual thing was to memorize the course flow.

Interesting Courseflows for Jumper with Weave for Sat and Sun

Assessment:
The first competition in Midvalley last year still remained as a fresh memory to me. I still remembered Shadow wouldn't budge for the first hurdle and we were therefore eliminated. Shadow was merely protesting out of being confined to a voyager the whole morning and he was whining so loud that we can hear him from the other end of the hall. He was sulking and misbehaving at home for a whole week.

This was the second time Shadow participated in a competition in Midvalley. This time round, we make sure that he is emotionally fit to perform. I have to keep the furkid chirpy and happy with treats and more treats before the big time. And this too includes not confining him into voyager. (We learnt our lesson). Both of us did great except for a few hiccups. Missing poles, running to the wrong entry of the tunnel and worst, running the wrong course flow were something that I need both of us to improve on. We came out as the 3rd winner in Basic Jumper on Saturday. Shadow did a very good job that day and he was fast.

Malaysia Dog Day - 28 June 2009

Place: Stadium Chin Woo, Kuala Lumpur

Date: 28 June 2009, Sunday

At first, it was great to be in indoor environment for competition as to train and to expose Shadow into alien places apart from the normal green fields.

Last Sunday, we participated in the Basic Jumper for the start to 'test the water' on his performance. Basic Jumper basically are for beginner and most of the standard obstacles should consists of mostly jumps i.e jumps/ hurdles, castle, broad jumps and tunnel. However the standard of the competitions is highly debatable especially where safety is concerned. The ring are parqueted badminton courts which were not carpeted and this makes it slippery and dangerous. Dogs running at fast pace may get itself hurt or worst, broken bones if one is not careful.

On the layout course, it was funny to see that dog walk, table and 4 weave poles (just weave in out, in and there you goes?@@) are being set up in this Basic Jumper. The layout was simply insulting the intelligence of the participants and contradicting the meaning of 'Basic' Jumper. Being a training school, they should know well the meaning of Basic Jumper and I personally do not see why dog on leash and toy/treat is not allowed. Rules were written in website and not honoring it? Anyway, this is not Novice or Pre-Novice competition where all dogs goes off leash and treat/toy are forbidden. I was blowing steam upon hearing this and even redder when the organiser mentioned if you think it is slippery, just walk your dog. If they know the meaning of agility, it is a fast, swift and actionable sport and this mean you have to make the place safe for the dogs to run. We don't see dog walking leisurely from one obstacle to another in agility dog sport.

After much debates, it was concluded that they are changing back and honoring their original rules. So much so, it took more than half an hour to get everything settled and taking out unrelated obstacles bringing the numbers of obstacles from 14 to 13. I observed that they were fully utilising the space stretching13 obstacles as far from one another.

Assessment:

The course plan laid for Basic Jumper after the revision for what I believes it is a real peanut to Shadow. I regretted bringing him too early too soon for the competition as I am not aware that the Basic Jumper had been rescheduled from morning to afternoon. The 6 hours waiting had taken a toll on him and Shadow is out of energy when the time comes.

The place is too crowded and smelly and a lots have been his cause of distraction. But I would say his performance is good eventhough he managed the first run on leash with a few hesitations. Shadow had his trust on me when he hesitated to jump the castle (no.4 obstacles) . He looked up at me but he struggled a jump over (in fact, he was crawling over the top).

When he ran away to his resting area on the 2nd run off leash, I know that Shadow already exhausted and needed a rest.

I did not have the chance to stay to see the rest of competitions and the layouts. If Basic Jumper turned out at such, I am expecting the worst for the others.

Lesson on 07 June 2009

I enjoyed every minutes of the run with Shadow. And I am surprised to see lil Empress, the tiny miniature pinscher who fret of jumping the hurdles from day one and now she is jumping like a pro. As the chinese saying, a stilt can even be horned to become a needle. It is just a matter of time..


The course for this week looked smoother and still, I tend to make mistakes.. Shadow catching up much faster than I am. I will still need to run faster than him and I just dont like the arrogant look of him staring back at me saying "faster dude, you are so slow too slow?.." It is high time to build up stamina and lose some fats. serious...

Assessment: Will continuosly involves more play as Shadow tend to slow down due to running too many rounds at a short time. It was good that he ran for 5 complete rounds this week but I am starting to pull the cow when it comes to 4th and the 5th run. He was doing 65sec but the 1st and 2nd should be shorter. When it's time to pull the cow, it means it is time to stop running the course and to start his favourite ball fetching game. Shadow is just full of emo..

Lesson on 23 May 2009

The course set on 23 May 2009 came with a few twists and turns. It's a big wow and I salute to the trainer for coming up with such a brilliant course. The set up was complicated but it gaves us the opportunity to work on the footwork and a great exposure on the grease twisting patterns. In fact, to tell you the truth I was really really lost in the middle of the run and frantically searching for the next obstacles and this seems to be quite embarassing.. HaHa .. It was a relief that I am not the only one....

Once you settled for the 2nd and 3rd run, you will get the feel of it.


Assessment: Shadow has been good and responsive for the past few lessons. This had eventually moved me to document his progress in this new site from time to time. I believed that the good changes that he had may be resulted from the psychology impact from Belle's recent adoption to a new family. He had somewhat became more gluey and I just hope that his responsiveness and concentration are here to stay. I will be happy smilling from ear to ear if Shadow can settle with his emotion and run for the next Dog Agility Competition in Chin Woo Stadium and Midvalley. Finger crossed dude . X

All about Agility Dog Sport

The Dog Agility made its debut as a demonstration in the United Kingdom at Crufts back in 1978 after adaptation from Horse Agiity and today it becomes the most popular and fastest growing dog sport. It is a sport where you find dog and handler teams together on a set up course. It is fast paced, fun and entertaining not only for the dog and handler but to the spectators as well. Most important thing of all, it create confidence, motivation and bonding between the dog and the handler.

The similarity between Horse Agility and Dog Agility
The agility courses are set up with obstacles with direction where the handler directs the dog with or without leash in a correct flow. An ideal course is made up of 15 to 20 obstacles according to a pre-numbered sequence and each course is timed. The Standard Course Time (SCT) is determined by using rate of travel of 2.0 - 2.5 meters/ second. The Maximum Course Time (MCT) is set at 1.5x - 2x the SCT eg. 50 seconds SCT would give a minimum MCT of 75 seconds. In the event that the MCT is exceeded, a whistle shall be blown and team shall have to forego the rest of the run.

The dog that finishes with the least faults and the fastest time will win. The run with 0 faults will consider as a Clean Run

Obstacle of Course
Jumps or Hurdles
It includes 8 to 12 jumps in a course with various types of jumps such as the winged or wingless hurdles, double bar, triple bar, broad jump, wall or castle jump and a suspended tyre jump. Some organization may also include specialized jump such as the water jump, brush jump and wishing well. The shoulder height of the dog also determines which jump height it should enter.

Basic bar jump - Jump heights for small, medium and large breeds (12", 16", 22" - 26")
Broad jump - Jump lengths for small, medium and large breeds (20", 36", 48 - 60")
Tyre jump - Jump heights for small, medium and large breeds (12", 16", 22" - 26")
Spread jump with 2 or 3 bar jumps placed in a row. Spread is 12" - 20" wide depending on class and dog has to clear both the height and spread as well.
Commands Used: Jump, Over, Hup, Tyre,


Tunnel or Chute
Two types of tunnels used are 1) the Pipe, or rigid tunnels with diameter 10” to 20” in length which can be formed in a ‘U’ or ‘S’ shape that the dog run through and 2) the Chute, or closed or collapsed tunnel with entrance length 2 ½” and chute length is 12” to 15”. The entry portion is made of a rigid barrel of which a chute of material is attached. The dog will enter the barrel and burrow its way through the chute material to emerge on the other side. The chute material should always be straight and lying flat on the ground to prevent dog getting tangled in the chute.
Commands Used: Tunnel, Chute, In, Through

Contacts
The contact obstacles usually made of wood and it was named such because the dog has to place at least one paw on the contact portion known as the contact zone with 3” - 3½” at the start and end of each board of the obstacles. This includes the Dog walk, A-Frame, and Seesaw or Teeter and it were built in consideration of the safety feature for the dogs where they are not allowed to jump off.

Types of contacts:
Dogwalk with height range from 4” - 4½” and narrow width at 1”. The dog to ascent up, walk over and descent down a long, slim plank.
Commands Used: Walk, Step

A-Frame with steep range from 5½” – 6” with much broader width. The dog has to run up with momentum to overcome the steepness and to descent controllably to touch the contact before coming to ground.
Commands Used: Frame, Climb

Seesaw or Teeter with 2” in height and narrow width at 1”. The dog to walk up slowly to the point where the plank begins to tilt downwards and hits the ground.
Command Used: Seesaw, Teeter

Weave Poles
Weave Poles are a series of upright poles placed 20" - 24" apart that the dog weaves in and out. Dogs must enter with the first pole at their left shoulder and then proceed down the straight line of 12 poles. This obstacle usually takes the longest to train as the dog has to zig zag through which is not considered as a natural movement for them. Common fault are seen where dog misses a pole or two.
Commands Used: Weave, Pole, Twist

Pause Table with 3”x 3” square top and height ranges from 1” – 2” is a place to stop with and rest for the count of 5 seconds before proceeding on to the next obstacle. Dog will either be down or sit stay on the table depending on the rules imposed by the Judge.
Commands Used: Table, On

Faults Counted
Failure to perform an obstacle
Refusals
Running off course or out of sequence
Knocked down bars
Missed contact zones or fly offs
Sliding off pause table
Exceeding standard course time

ELIMINATION
3 refusals
Excessive handling
Fouling (pee or poo) in the ring
Running out of the ring
Exceeding maximum course time