German Shorthaired Pointers in Agility

By David Nauer

The GSP is a versatile dog.  In the field and at the show Shorthairs have proven their excellence, and continue that tradition in hunt tests, obedience, tracking, and the hottest growing canine sport on the planet – Agility!  Dominated by the herding breeds, agility demands speed, nimbleness, and drive.  The GSP can exhibit all of these characteristics.  Our breed was one of the few represented at the highest level in the sport when Diane Lewis from Florida and her GSP Ch MACH Vonweys Morgen Sonnenschein CDX JH AAD JM became the first GSP ever to earn the Master Agility Championship (MACH), and the 97^th dog in AKC history to earn a MACH title.  Since that time Kathy Marshall has earned two different MACH titles on GSPs.  In Colorado, several GSPs have earned open titles, and some are close to AX and AXJ titles, and Marilu Baskin’s rescue GSP, Dede, has earned an AXJ title!What is agility, and how does it work?  There are four major venues which feature agility competition – since we are an AKC club, the most prevalent for us is AKC Agility.  The others include USDAA, NADAC, and UKC agility, each with a different set of rules, titles, classes, and goals. AKC agility features “standard” agility, where the table and contact obstacles are included, and “jumpers with weaves” class, which features only tunnels, jumps, and weaves.  AKC offers a non-titling class called “international” which mimics European agility rules to prepare possible international team members for a different style of agility. AKC has two main divisions in standard and jumpers classes, each representing a separate set of titles.  “Preferred” classes allow the dog to jump 4” lower than “Regular” classes, and 5 seconds of additional time is allocated for each Standard Course Time (SCT).  “Regular” classes are the standard from which MACH titles can be earned, and require the dog to run a full SCT and at their full height.  The 24” height class is for dogs over 22” at the withers, so many GSPs run in this class, with some running in the 20” height class (GSPs at or under 22” at the withers).  In “Preferred” those heights are 20” and 16” respectively! You start with 100 points, and any mistakes made are deducted from that score.  At most levels a minimum score of 85 is needed to qualify, but at the highest levels a score of 100 is needed to qualify and/or earn credit towards the MACH title. 

The levels are: 

Novice:  This is the first level.  The NA and NAJ titles can be earned from the Regular classes in Standard and Jumpers; in Preferred the NAP and NJP titles can be earned.  Novice regular is also divided into “A” and “B” divisions for competition purposes.  Basically, if you’ve never earned an agility title before, you can run in “A”, otherwise you should run in “B”.  At this level you can suffer two wrong courses, two refusals of obstacles, and 1 point deducted for each full second over the SCT.  You must score an 85 to qualify, and not exceed the other deductions.  Wrong courses, refusals, and table faults all deduct 5 points for each occurrence.  The weave poles are present in both standard and jumpers, but at this level refusals are not judged in the weaves – you just have to get the dog into and through the weaves to get credit for the obstacle.  There are 13-15 obstacles on the course, and the layout is “easy” with few traps and difficult handling decisions.

Open:  This is the “middle” level where the OA and OAJ titles can be earned in regular, and the OAP and OJP titles are earned in preferred.  You can enter the appropriate Open class after you’ve earned the corresponding Novice title (e.g. you must have an NA title to enter regular open, and you must have a NJP title to entered preferred open jumpers, etc.).  Open courses generally follow many of the Excellent Level courses (sometimes they are almost identical), but you get one refusal, one wrong course, one table fault, and some time faults (2 points deducted per full second over SCT).  You must score an 85 to qualify.  This level really challenges both the dog and the handler, offering numerous traps and handling challenges.  The weave poles are always present and refusals are judged (e.g. if you miss a pole or miss the entry, you get a refusal!).  Many new agility handlers find this the most difficult title to achieve, as they have not yet perfected their handling style – which is critical at this level. 

Excellent:  This is the “top” level and is divided into two important divisions.  “A” division is for dogs that have not completed the AX or AXJ titles, and scores of 85 are required to finish.  No refusals, no table faults, and no wrong courses are allowed, and THREE points are deducted for each second over SCT.  “Preferred” Excellent A follows similar rules towards the AXP and AJP titles.  “B” division is for dogs with AX or AXJ titles, and is the first place where points towards the MACH title can be earned.  The dog must score 100 to qualify (in standard a score of 85 will qualify through 31 Dec 02).  The dog must earn 10 qualifying scores in “B” division to earn the MX or MXJ titles.  For a MACH, the dog must earn qualifying scores in both Excellent B and Excellent B Jumpers on the same day, and do that 20 different times (this is called a double “Q”).  Additionally, the dog must accumulate 750 points.  The dog gets a MACH point for every full second UNDER SCT the dog runs, and if the dog finishes first or second, the points are doubled or multiplied by 1.5 respectively.  “Preferred” dogs follow similar rules, except there is no “preferred” MACH title offered, so the highest title to be earned in preferred is the MXP and MJP titles.  

The MACH represents the pinnacle of this sport, proving consistency (20 double Qs) and speed (accumulate 750 points).  GSPs do succeed at this level, but they are few when compared to Border Collies, Shelties, and even Papillons (these are the #1, #2, and #3 breeds represented in the first 100 MACH titles ever awarded). In general, GSPs can attain the higher titles, but few put the time and effort to do so.  Various obstacles challenge individual dogs, and no “problem” obstacle really exists for the breed.  My first agility GSP, Erin, had significant “challenges” with the tire jump.  She just wouldn’t do it.  Magic, my second GSP is slower and hates the weave poles.  Jill, my third GSP, appears to be careful about tunnels she hasn’t seen – so various obstacles can affect each GSP differently.  The most troublesome obstacle for the Papillon I run (Rocky) is the pause table! 

There are numerous agility classes available in the Denver area.  Go to: 

http://www.cleanrun.com/agilityinfo/clubs/clubsearch.cfm  and select “Colorado” in your search.  There are 27 different agility organizations and class offerings listed.  There are even more than that – you can get information on agility lessons at shows, and I’ll be glad to offer advise if you are interested. 

Other venues:  USDAA is perhaps the oldest agility format in the USA, and comes closest to international competition.  GSPs would jump at 26” or 22”, depending on their height.  Usually GSPs will jump 26” as the cut off is 21” at the shoulder.  USDAA offers a “Performance Class” which is similar to AKC’s Preferred class in that the dog gets more time and jumps lower heights.  For GSPs jumping 26”, they would jump 22”, and for GSPs jumping 22”, they would jump 16”.  USDAA features several “games” beyond Standard and Jumpers, and includes “Gamblers”, “Snooker”, and “Relay”.  USDAA rules are different than AKCs – for example, wrong courses are always elimination in USDAA; and a knocked bar off a jump is a fault in USDAA, where it is elimination at all levels in AKC competition.  Other differences include the “cross-over” obstacle and a higher A-Frame than AKC.  USDAA allows “all American” mixed breed dogs to compete in their venue.  NADAC is a growing format that emphasizes speed and has open and flowing courses.  NADAC offers Six formats, including Regular, Jumpers, Gamblers, Tunnelers (tunnels mainly), Weavers (a lot of weave poles!), and Touch’n Go (contact obstacles).  I personally enjoy NADAC the most because you get six runs with your dog each day, and the format and rules are much more laid back.  There is no “refusal” scored – you either do the obstacle, or you don’t – but you lose a lot of time if you run around an obstacle (usually a refusal in AKC or USDAA) and go back to do it.  I highly recommend NADAC as your second agility format behind AKC.  All breeds and mixed breed dogs can run in this venue. UKC is a format that emphasizes control and speed, with more concern for control.  The second tier of competition (U-AGII) has a completely different set of equipment than any other venue, including swinging planks, hoop tunnels, crawl tunnels, and platform jumps to name a few.  I have enjoyed UKC competition, but it is very different from the other three agility types, more approaching a mix of obedience and agility.  It is interesting to try, and if you have a dog that can earn a title at the novice level in the other three venues, you probably can compete for an U-AGI title.  UKC recognized breeds can compete in UKC events. 

Other Agility Links: 

http://www.akc.org/dic/events/agility/ -- American Kennel Club Agility link.

www.usdaa.com -- USDAA web site

www.nadac.com -- NADAC web site

http://www.ukcdogs.com/agility.html -- UKC Agility Link

www.cleanrun.com -- a great agility information and product location.

http://www.dogpatch.org/agility/ -- Another research page for agility enthusiasts! 

They’re many many others, but this should get you started! 

Enjoy.

  Run Fast, Run Clean!