Complaints

This course has FIVE reds. Choose three or four. What's there to complain about?

Aside from Amy threatening to go all Tonya Harding on my team, I just was not comprehending the complaints I (over)heard.

The other thing that just killed me is the quantity of people that enter an event without understanding the rules. A 16" PERFORMANCE dog is not the same as a 16" CHAMPIONSHIP dog. How hard is that to understand? I explained it to someone, and then had the judge do so. She was still in disbelief. What's the big deal? The amount of time! These people thought they had 50 seconds (a very long time on what is essentially a jumpers course) versus 46 seconds (still quite a bit of time).

However, my favorite complaint was this: "There just isn't enough time to do four reds."

Huh? Talk about selling yourself short. If you and your dog can complete a 20 obstacle jumpers course in 30 seconds or less, you can definitely do four reds on this course. I am just missing the logic here...

Anyhow, that #5 was most popular. It was surrounded by reds, and, if the last obstacle, led nicely into the closing. It was very easy to find flow in this snooker.

Popular Courses:
1-6-1-6-1-5-1-5
1-5-1-5-1-6-1-7
1-7-1-7-1-6-1-5
1-5-1-6-1-7-1-7

A March Weekend with Scott Chamberlain

Maybe I should preface this by saying that I am biased. I like Scott Chamberlain's courses. They are fair, have good challenges, and require handler thought.

Saturday Snooker
I got a little help from my friend, Maureen. This course was 3 or 4 reds, but a helluva lot of distance to cover. A nice flow is 1-3 (or 4), 1-5, 1-7, 1-7 to the closing. 7a and b were actually more awkward to handle in reality than on paper. Some people went for 4 sevens, but did not complete the closing. Fortunately the 7 combo did not have any special rules in the opening.

Maureen suggested 3 sevens for Scout, and that's what we did.

The time allowed was 52 seconds. That's about 26 magic points for Scout. The closing is worth about 13 for her (3 on the weaves, and extra for handling the seven). I can have at most 13 magic points in the opening.

I started with the #1 at the lower left of the page, ran by #2 and into 7b to 7a. This is about 5 magic points. I directed Scout to the #1 at the top right, and back through the 7 combo. About 4 magic points. The last red was the obvious - the bottom right. The last 7 went from A to B into the closing. This was about 4 magic points. All these values take into account some travel time without obstacles. Opening Magic Points: 13. Finish Time: 51.89 seconds. Worked. Could I have done all four reds? Maybe, but my initial calculation with four reds said no.

Sunday Gamblers
Sometimes you get a little help from your friends. Like when you know how to make your gamble opening, but just don't like it. Here's the course map:



To paraphrase Christopher Walken, what this course needs is more tunnel. I like tunnels because they are fast and cheap. The rules included no contact-to-contact and no contact-to-weaves, or weaves-to-contact, back-to-back okay.

Fortunately I have a friend in California that likes to discuss these strategic things with me. Yay! We discussed taking the tire twice, and that it was best NOT to teach the dog that it is okay to back jump. In the end, for my opening, she and I decided to take the tire forward and backward. (Tire is cheap! That's a quick 6 points!) I just made sure Scout could land safely and turn and do it again. If I ever do something that feels as demoralizing as that, I like it best at the beginning of the sequence, before the dog is running full steam. That's why I will not do that teeter back-to-back. Demoralizing.

Here's what I did:
I would expect about 15 magic points in a 30 second opening. The math, where "mp" is "magic point", and "gp" is "gamble point":
#1 - 1 mp - 3 gp
#2 - 1 mp - 3 gp
#3 - 1 mp - 1 gp
#4 - 2 mp - 5 gp
#5 - 1.5 mp (accounting for the sprint) - 1 gp
#6 - 1 mp - 3 gp
#7 - 2.5 mp (obstacle & sprint) - 7 gp
#8 - 1.5 mp (obstacle & sprint) - 1 gp
#9 - 2 mp - 5 gp
#10 - 1 mp - 1 gp
#11 - 1 mp - 1 gp
#12 - 1 mp (horn blew before Scout landed)

Total Magic Points:
15.5 completed

Total Opening Gamble Points:
31

You might wonder why I chose to end 35 feet from the gamble line. In one of the openings Maureen and I came up with, my last obstacle would be the A-Frame. The speed and angle to the #1 gamble jump would be lacking and awkward. I chose to have a very straight, all out run to the #1. It worked well. As Scout completed the teeter, I positioned myself parallel to the correct tunnel entrance. As she approached between the correct tunnel entrance and me, I gave her a "left tunnel" command. When she took the tunnel, I was running to the #4 jump. Got it, and took third. (Maureen and her dog took first!)

Sunday Snooker
Maureen and I co-conspired on this one, even though our dogs are in the same jump height. The special rule on this one (thanks for not disappointing me, Scott!) was that the #7 combo had to be taken in direction, but either jump could be first. In other words, from the inside out. A nice course was all 6's, with a potential off-course at the #3 jump. A few people with blazing dogs attempted three 7's. Maureen and I concluded that 6-7-7 was the way to go, and that there was enough time. I entered both Bug and Scout, and both had 48 seconds.

Bug is a young dog who already has his Snooker Master title. I wanted this to be fun for him. I did all 6's. Instead of front crossing the first #6 to get the red at the top of the page, I met him outside the tunnel and essentially blocked his view of the #3 jump. I wrapped him around the right of the next red, and all he saw was tunnel. I ran the outside of the tunnel to pick him up for the last red (bottom right). I just had to be careful of all those tempting tunnel entrances to get him to the #2, and then ping-ponged out to #3. #3 to #4 was a change in focus. If the handler was not paying attention, the dog leapt from #3 to the off-course #1 in the closing. Another popular off-course was taking #4b instead of #4a. Most handlers front crossed between #4b and #5 to the correct tunnel entrance. #5 to #6 was fast and fun. Then came the tricky part: pick up at that tunnel into #7a. I made a front cross at the tunnel exit, but pulled Bug too much. The whistle blew for a runout. Still a qualifying run. Good boy!

Scout is collecting Q's, but I was feeling rather feisty. I went for the course that Maureen and I planned. The closing, in magic points, is about 9.5, which includes 0.5 for #2-#3 and 0.5 for the handling/distance between #6 and #7a.

The opening:
Red 1: 1mp
Distance to #6: 0.5mp
#6: 1mp
Distance to Top Red 1: 1mp
Distance/Handling to #7a: 1mp
#7a & #7b: 2.5mp
Last Red: 1mp
Distance to #7a: 1mp
#7a & #7b: 2.5mp
Distance to #2: 0.5mp
TOTAL Opening: 12mp
TOTAL For Course: 21.5, which would be about 43 seconds.

What I failed to realize when I walked this was the harsh angle from #7b to the #2. Most refusals occurred at the #2. I really had to work that approach better. After that, it was smooth sailing, except Scout didn't miss #7a like Bug did. She completed the course in a little over 44 seconds, and took first place.

Where's Your Front Cross?

This jumpers from Dave Grubel at Contact Point 02/28/09 was fast and fun, utilizing a straight tunnel, also known as a puppy cannon.
I scribed Masters, so I got to watch where things went wrong.

A lead out between 2 & 3 was popular. However if the handler was not positioned well enough for the dog to think he could land safely, bar #2 dropped. In lieu of the lead out, some handled with a rear cross at #4.

A front-cross between #6 and #7 was popular if 3-4-5 was handled with the dog on the left.

#10 to #11 was a little tricky. I read it as a front cross or, presuming I was well ahead of my dog, a threadle arm. #11 was a popular dropped bar.

There was a lot of chatter about the desire to get a front cross in between #14 and #15. I can attest, it was difficult. I had to put on the afterburners and not admire my dog. The reason there was so much talk about this front cross was getting to #17 without taking the off-course #2 jump.

#18 was a triple. Some that handled that as a rear cross had dropped bars.

I don't do start lines with Scout. I did walk out to #2, called her, and then front crossed between #2 and #3. Here's what I did:

Another Well-Timed Gamble

This is from Good Dog Agility's 2009 February Trial. It was the first run of the morning. Mark Wirant judged.

A very popular opening ran the jump-time-jump-gamble jump-tunnel. My dog drops bars if I do something stupid. If my dog dropped bars on her own, I wouldn't even contemplate taking a gamble jump.
I went for 14 magic points. My course was 13.5. The buzzer did sound when I was across the field from the #1, but it was a straight run, so that's not a big deal for a dog that is reasonably fast. It would be a deal-breaker for a slow dog.

The key to this gamble was how to handle that #2 and the turn into the teeter, especially with a very tempting tunnel entrance. The dogs and handlers that succeeded either had good directionals (a left!), or added a front cross between the #1 and #2, which I did.

Point-Time Estimation for Snooker

Using the point-time estimation works for snooker, too.

I did not run this course with the "magic points" in mind. Bug, a 16" Championship dog, had 50 seconds to complete the course. He would tell me what Scout, a 16" Performance dog could do. (At the time, I was going for Top Ten points for her). Both dogs run about the same speed, even though no one believes me.
Bug's Course
Opening: R1 + 4, R2 + 4, R3 + 7
Completed Closing and crossed the finish line: 47.29

Note that amount of hauling butt you need to do to cross the finish line. If Bug crossed the finish line before the timer sounded, then I had more time to get more points. It didn't matter because he took first, SuperQ and his Snooker Master title.

With a 50 seconds to get it all done, I can do 25 magic points. Let's add.
Opening
R1 + 4 + R2 + 4 = 4mp
The run to R3 = 1mp
The run to 7a = 2mp
7a, 7b, &c = 3mp
TOTAL = 10mp

Closing
2 through 5 = 5 mp
The distance to get to 6 = 1mp
A-Frame = 2mp
7 combo = 3mp
TOTAL = 11 mp

Bug's Total: 19mp.

Scout's Course
I changed plan for Scout - went for the #4 and two #7s in the opening. Let's do the math:
Opening
R1 + 4 + R2 = 3mp
7c, 7b, 7a = 3mp
Scooting to R3 = 2mp
R3 = 1mp
Scooting back to 7a= 2mp
7a, 7b, 7c = 3mp
TOTAL = 14mp

Closing
Same as Bug's, 11mp.

Scout's Total: 25mp

Alternative Openings
The dog that placed first ran R1-5b-5a, then the remaining reds and sevens. Scout could not have run faster than this dog, but let's compute her opening estimate anyway:
R1 + 5b +5a + a scoot + R2 = 5mp
7c, 7b, 7a = 3mp
Scooting to R3 = 2mp
R3 = 1mp
Scooting back to 7a= 2mp
7a, 7b, 7c = 3mp
TOTAL = 16mp

Time wise, this would have been cutting it awfully close to NOT finishing the #7 and, had we did finish, it still would have been second place.

Scout would have needed at least a 6-7-7 to win.
R1 + a scoot + 6 + a scoot + R2 = 6mp
7c, 7b, 7a = 3mp
Scooting to R3 = 2mp
R3 = 1mp
Scooting back to 7a= 2mp
7a, 7b, 7c = 3mp
TOTAL = 17mp

I don't think we could have successfully completed the #7 with this opening.

Conclusion
In 50 seconds, I expect to get 25 magic points with Scout. The course I happened to choose, without any analysis, worked. She crossed the finish line at 53.41 seconds. Scout took second and SuperQ'd.

And, in case you're wondering, Scout did make the 2008 Performance Top Ten for Snooker.

Seeing the Point-Time Estimation Method in Action

Using "Magic Points" can easily help you with a Time Gamble.

Here is the USDAA DAM/PVP Time Gamble from Mark Wirant at Good Dog Agility in Tempe, AZ. In a nutshell, the ideal time to cross the finish jump was between 30.01 and 31 seconds in a 1-2-3-5 system.
A couple of considerations:

1. In a 1-2-3-5 system, the value of the contacts and weaves, unless one is the 5-point obstacle, is not much compared to the jumps and round things. It is to your advantage in a 1-2-3-5 system to get the 5-point obstacle twice, and focus on round things (tire and tunnel). Round things and jumps are cheap and fast, usually faster than contacts and weaves.
   
2. Tire is always your friend! It is fast and easy, and worth more points than a regular jump.

I ran this with my older, very consistent dog, Scout. She has a fast A-Frame, and, as luck would have it, that was the 5-point obstacle. I stressed because I wanted the tire twice but could not work that into a nice flow. I planned for 14-15 magic points, with the option of taking the tunnels on the left twice, depending on her speed.

I did a couple of things I would not normally do: 3 back-to-back obstacles. I did, however, allow Scout to safely exit the obstacle and nicely turn around to re-perform it.

Because of her speed on the tunnel-jump sequence that EVERYONE took on the exit, I opted to toss in a back-to-back tunnel by the exit jump.

Finish time: 30.30 seconds.
Opening Points: 28
Gamble Points: 15
Placement: 1st, P16 (my partner finished at 30.36 with extra jumps - the double the wrong direction, and a dropped bar), and highest in PVP Class

The following was my strategy, red text shows the sequence numbering and magic points, blue shows the obstacle values:

Gamblers Opening Strategy

This is not my idea. It was given to me by someone else, who got it from someone else, who... well, you get the picture. I further tweaked the method.

BASICS

1. Each obstacle has a point value based on the relative amount of time it takes a dog to complete it. I call these "magic points".
2. Obstacles are assumed to be spaced 15-20 feet.
   
3. Any dead space greater than 20 feet in a sequence counts as a magic point.
4. The better the flow, the more magic points needed.
   
5. Almost every dog, regardless of size or speed, averages 12-16 magic points in a 30-second opening sequence.

MAGIC POINTS

1. Each jump counts as one (1) magic point.
2. Each contact counts as at least two (2) magic points. If the dog has a slow dog walk, then that obstacle may count as 2.5 or 3 magic points.
3. A set of 6 weaves is one (1) magic point for a good weaver.
4. A set of 12 weaves is two (2) magic points for a good weaver.
5. Tunnels count as one (1) magic point.
6. Any dead space distance greater than 20 feet counts as a magic point.
   
7. Jumpers caveat: 4 consecutive jumps count as 3 magic points.

WHAT IS YOUR MAGIC NUMBER?
If you can't have someone track the obstacles you do in a set time, then use a standard run without a table. Count the magic points for each obstacle, divide by the time completed and multiply by 30. That is the number of magic points, on average, you need in your opening for gamblers.

The example I am posting is theoretical. Pretend that there is no table in this run:
There are 22 magic points. If I completed the course in 44 seconds, then I have averaged 0.5 magic points per second. Multiply by a 30 second opening, and that is 15 magic points.

The following is a Masters/PIII Gamblers course from 02/14/09, Saguaro Scramblers, with Sheri Boone as the judge. The opening is 25 seconds.
Scout and I sought 13 magic points (about half of 25, using my example ratio above). The buzzer blew right as she took what would be the 13th magic point. This left us with a nice entry into the gamble.
This method works nicely, of course, for time gambles, and for estimating what you can do in snooker.