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The Rip Van Wrinkler, XVI, Issue 1, February 2012 Pages 12 <previous page> <next page> |
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Creative ZooZooZuri (Carol Mount photo)
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There is a Yahoo Sighthound Agility Group ~ SHAgility. Also a Yahoo Group - Basenji Sports A simple $15 lunge whip is a neat way to introduce our dogs to lure coursing & racing. Just tie a white plastic bag to the end. Lisa Voss suggested this site on our facebook page - from EveryDog Magazine, current SPRING 2012 issue:
ASCA Agility /by Carol Kuna The world of ASCA agility is a welcome reprieve to both competitors and dogs. The focus of each trial is speed, distance and, most of all, FUN! The Jumpers courses are fast and furious, with no weave poles to slow the dogs. Occasionally a tunnel is thrown into the mix, but in most cases, it is a matter of running looping courses with offset jumps just as fast as you can. You can actually see the grins on the faces of the dogs as they come over the last jump because they just spent 20-30 seconds going full tilt with their best human buddy over 18-20 jumps. The Regular courses are very simple loops or ribbons for Novice dogs as they gain experience and confidence. Elite dogs and handlers are expected to negotiate numerous traps and discrimination choices all at top speed. Dogs not only have to touch the yellow on the down contacts of the contact obstacles, but they must negotiate the obstacle safely. Close calls on the teeter are rarely rewarded because the judges want to see the teeter hit the ground BEFORE the dog leaves the ramp. In other venues, I am seeing speed on the teeter rewarded more and more, even if the dog’s front end has completely left the teeter before it hits the ground. Gamblers courses are fun for both handler and dog. The handler studies the course layout beforehand to determine how to amass enough points (15 in Novice, 18 in Open and 21 in Elite) in the first 30 seconds of the run. A horn then sounds and the Gamble is “live” and the handler must send the dog to a series of numbered obstacles at distance (10’ for Novice, 15’ for Open and 20’ for Elite) before the horn sounds a second time. A change in direction is required somewhere within the Gamble. Nothing can beat the feeling of watching your dog working in tandem with you, but at a distance of up to 20’ away. Awesome! There are no refusals or run bys in ASCA agility, but you have very little time to renegotiate an obstacle if you hope to make Standard Course Time. In the Regular classes your dog can drop one bar for a 5-point penalty, which results in a ½ Q, worth 5 points vs. the normal 10 points toward a title. There is no table in any of the classes so the dog’s momentum should never stop if a course is negotiated properly. Courses are designed with efficiency in mind and the second run of either Jumpers or Regular is basically the reverse of the original course navigated during the previous run. I live in Albuquerque, NM and our ASCA trials are the most fun EVER. Loud music is played during walkthroughs and it isn’t unusual to see exhibitors stop walking the course to dance to YMCA. We yell encouragement at each other while someone is out on course and it is commonplace to hear the crowd roar, “RUN!!!!” as the exhibitor and dog come down the home stretch. We laugh a lot, eat well and spend quality time with our dogs. I run a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in Elite and a Basenji in Open Regular and Elite Jumpers. I decided to jump on the bandwagon and adopted an Aussie pup from a local rescue and I am having a wonderful time teaching him all about our agility future together. If you have never given ASCA agility a try, I encourage you to do so. You won’t regret it! Basenjis that have ASCA titles. AKUABA'S JOCASTA KITE RV-E Info supplied by, |
