Flow is Helpful. Somtimes, It Wins.

Here is Judge Karen Gloor's Masters Snooker course from Driven Dogs on Janurary 29, 2010.



It's four reds (more strategic), with two combos, #5 and #7. My older dog, Scout, will either retire or semi-retire this year. I am no longer going for Top Ten, which she has been in for the past two years. My little guy, Bug, typically gets the same course as his sister because it's easiest one me, though I have been known to run different courses. This time, I chose the same course.

At first I thought I liked the #5 combo. It turns out I didn't, as it covers a lot of yardage. I avoided the #7 combo: jump, weaves, jump. 7c opens to the 5a tunnel. 7a, heading north, opens to the 5a tunnel. 7b heading north opens to the 5a tunnel. See a pattern?

I considered starting out with 1-6 and 1-6. While time was on my side (50-something seconds for jumpers with weaves), I chose something nice for my dogs. It was not a high-point course.

I chose, starting from the left, 1-3, 1-3, 1-5 and 1-4. I ran the outside of the 5a tunnel to get to #4. Combo #7 and #4 were the best entries into the closing.

Most people bit it in the opening, handling the #7 combo. When I said that the combo opened to tunnels, the dogs took the tunnel. Heck, Bug took the tunnel in the closing.

Magic Points: Video Example

This is Lisa Jarvis's Masters Gamblers course at Agility Club of San Diego in January. This post is not about the gamble - it's about the opening.



I filmed several dogs with the intent of showing point-time estimation, aka Magic Points. I filmed Performance dogs, so please don't snort at them. Most of these dogs are older but still have the spunk and desire to play.

Most medium to fast dogs need 15-20 magic points in a 30 second opening. I was unable to add the magic point text to the clips.

When you watch these dogs and see how I counted the magic points, you'll understand why it is often better to avoid the high-point obstacle.


Chute: 1
Jump: 1
Teeter: 2.5 (Most dogs are about a 2 on the teeter)
Jump: 1
Dogwalk: 4
Dogwalk: 4
Tunnel: 1
Jump: 1
Jump: 1
TOTAL MP for 30sec opening: 16.5


Chute: 1
Jump: 1
Teeter: 2
Jump: 1
Dogwalk: 3
Tunnel: 2 (It's a 20' tunnel more than 20' from the dogwalk)
Dogwalk: 3
Tunnel: 1
A-Frame: 2
TOTAL MP for 30sec opening: 16


Chute: 1
Jump: 1
Teeter: 2
Jump: 1
Dogwalk: 3
Messing around after dogwalk: 1
Dogwalk: 3
Tunnel: 1
Tunnel: 1
Tunnel: 2 (Consider the distance between the tunnel under the dogwalk to the one in the corner)
Tunnel: 1
TOTAL MP for 30sec opening: 17


Chute: 1
Jump: 1
Chute: 2 (obstacle completion plus time to get there)
Jump: 1
Teeter: 2
Teeter: 3 (obstacle completion plus time to get there)
Jump: 1
Dogwalk: 3
Tunnel: 1
Tunnel: 1
A-Frame: 2
A-Frame: 2
TOTAL MP for 30sec opening: 20



Chute: 1
Jump: 1
Teeter: 2.5
Jump: 1
Dogwalk: 4
Dogwalk: 4
Tunnel: 1
A-Frame: 2
Jump: 1
Jump: 1
TOTAL MP for 30sec opening: 18.5

The Case Against the Dogwalk
I have one dog that is about a 3 on the dogwalk and one that is a 4. For the same seven points, I can do two tunnels and a jump (look at the tunnel under the dogwalk!) for the same points and 3 magic points instead of 4. Add an extra jump in the mix, and I have 8 points in the same amount of time I can do the dogwalk and get 7 points.

Find a Flow Course. I dare you.

Seriously, I couldn't find a flow course with this one. It was, perhaps, the lowest qualifying snooker course I've ever witnessed.

The seven had to be taken as indicated, and it's a TON of handling. So the seven was out of the question.

All the other obstacles surrounding the cluster of reds were not worth many points. Those are out of the question.

There's a one near the number six obstacle, weaves. I avoid weaves. It was out of the question.

The ONE Run

I'm not going to say much other than I was in shock. Scout had been blowing me off on weave gambles. I didn't bother having anyone film it because I assumed that it would be another weave gamble failure.

I was wrong.

This 4th place run earned the LAA-Bronze and APD-Bronze.

Scout's USDAA Statistics
Standard Level - 39
Gamblers Level 3 - 16
Jumpers Level 3 - 31
Snooker Level 3 - 41
Relay Level 3 - 21
Performance Speed Jumping - 7
Performance Versatility Pairs - 6
Performance National Standard - 22
PVP Standard - 2
PVP Gamblers - 2
PVP Jumpers - 1
PVP Snooker - 4
GRAND TOTAL: 192 PIII Qualifiers!

And something else pretty cool... Scout appears in the San Gabriel (CA) Tribune.

Some Things Were Meant to Be, I guess

I've had handlers fuss at me for going for a Super Q when I don't need one. Sometimes I go for them because the current leaders huff and puff over my shoulder at the score table. Sometimes I get them on accident. In any case, I told just about everyone in this class what my course was going to be.

This is the Masters Snooker course by Jim Hibbard, at Agility Club of San Diego in June 2009.

What is most noticeable is that two of the reds are also part of a numbered combo. This requires the handler to have to remember to get that jump twice. Trust me, I forgot this when Bug back-jumped one of these.

Anyhow, when I looked at this course map, I liked the flow into the closing from either the #4 or #5 tunnel/jump combo. The other thing I noticed was how vertical the course was. In order the get all four reds with minimum running, the key was to ping-pong the course. For example, an opening of 7 to 6 means you are running without taking obstacles about the width of the ring. That's wasted time. However, a 7 to 5 looks pretty nice, that is, if you want to weave.

I ran both of my dog: the veteran and the baby. I don't want the baby to find back-jumping acceptable. (I'll back-to-back jump the tire in gamblers with the veteran). My course was a simple ping-pong.

The reds are in the corners of the map. I'll address them by their location:
BR - Bottom Right
BL - Bottom Left
TR - Top Right
TL - Top Left

I chose two 5's and two 4's. I knew I had to be careful with the #5 straight tunnel (puppy cannon) because it may lead to an off-course. My alternative course was three 5's and a four. I know that this course is not a whole passel of points. I usually try to stick with fives, sixes, and sevens. However, in this snooker, the dog would have to do a lot of running without the reward of an obstacle.

	Points	Magic Points
BR + 5	6	3
TR + 5	6	4
BL + 4	5	3
TL + 4	5	3
Opening	22	13
Closing	27	13
Total	49	26

Scout's time: 52.5s, almost double the magic point value. When I estimate what I can get done in the allotted time, I multiply the magic point value by two. My estimate was 52s.

Handling

• I led out, making a front cross half way between the BR and 5a. Dog is on left.
• I pulled the dog through the two off-course sixes, and over TR red. Dog turned right toward. Front Cross and dog is on right.
  
• Completed 5b and 5a. Had dog extend past 5a to get BR red.
  
• Front cross at 4b tunnel. Dog still on right.
• Called dog out of 4b tunnel, over 4a and TR.
• Left wrap and front cross at TR, and straight shot to 4a and 4b. Dog on Left.
• Allowed dog to extend out of 4b tunnel and then turn to #2 in the closing. Dog on Left.
• #3 and #4a were easy. I put in a front cross at 4b so my dog would come out of the tunnel, look for me on the left, and see 5a better. This front cross was KEY. If the handler was on the other side of the tunnel, the dog got a refusal at 5a.
• In hindsight, I should have front crossed at 5b. I front crossed between 6a and 6b.
• 6c to 7a to 7b was a straight shot.
  

Eavesdropping

I enjoy eavesdropping on handlers' snooker conversations. Take this course, from Tami McClung, at Happy Dog Agility on 05/25/09.

You can see that I was doing some math.

Anyhow, what I kept overhearing was, "You HAVE to do four sevens." All I can say is, "Really?"

Course Times

Height	Ch	Perf
Open	48	50
16"Ch/12"P	50	52
12"Ch/8"P	52	54

Course Choices, besides Four 7's
I considered two nice flow courses:
1-4, 1-7, 1-7, 1-7 + closing
and
1-7, 1-7, 1-4, 1-4.

The first choice involved quite a bit of running to get the last seven. The ones would be taken, essentially, from left to right.

The Math
Scout's "Magic Point" rate in Gambers is 17.5 for 30 seconds. Theoretically, in 50 seconds her magic point count is ( 17.5 mp / 30 sec ) * 50 sec = 29, rounded down. A very fast border collie I know is 22 magic points in 30 sec. This would be 36.7 magic points.

When I plan a snooker course, I subtract two seconds from the course time to account for any extra handling I may need to do. Thus, Scout's new maximum magic point count is (17.5 / 30 )* 48 = 28.

The Closing, as noted on the course map for Scout is 11mp, since I counted the weaves as 2mp. For fast weaving dogs, this closing is 10mp. The seven obstacle is 4 mp, 3 for the obstacles, and 1 for extra distance to complete.

There are four ones on the map. The leftmost will be referred to as L1. The rightmost will be referred to as R1. The bottom, center will be referred to a M1. The one in the center of the page is C1.

Four Sevens Opening
L1 + 7, 6mp
C1 + 7, 5mp
M1 + 7, 5mp
R1 + 7, 9mp (accounting for a LOT of running)
25 Opening Magic Points + 10 closing = 36 magic points. My theoretical very fast BC should be able to finish, barely, assuming NO handler error. I think ONE dog made it with 4 sevens, and it was very close.

Three Sevens, One Four Opening
L1 + 4, 2mp
M1 + 7, 5mp
C1 + 7, 5mp
R1 + 7, 9mp
21 opening magic points + 10 closing = 31 magic points (32 for Scout). Uh-oh. I am going for no more than 28. This course will not work for Scout, aside from Scout's handler not wanting to do all that running on the last seven. This course will, and did, work for a lot of BCs.

Two Sevens, Two Fours Opening
R1 + 7, 5mp
C1 + 7, 5mp
M1 + 4, 2mp
L1 + 4, 2.5mp
14.5 opening magic points + 10 (or 11) closing = 25.5 (or 26.5). Obviously, this course should work for my dog, and it did. The horn sounded as she crossed the finish line. Scout took second to a dog that was able to run the three 7's course above.

What Next? Drag your dog's corpse around a course?

I'm not going to name names or venues, but some people are just stupid. If your dog is NOT CAPABLE of performing the obstacles, perhaps it's time to retire the dog, or find something else to entertain both you and your dog.

My point of contention is lowering an A-Frame for obese dogs, geriatric dogs, and otherwise physically unable dogs. If you are dragging and coaxing a 12.5-year-old dog around the course, the A-Frame height doesn't make a damn bit of difference.

"Lowering the A-frame for my grand-vet dog made a huge difference. Everyone knew the A-frame would be lowered , when it would be lowered and I felt the time to lower it was not detrimental in slowing the run order down"

The person who posted this has an old BC that, I'm being nice here, trotted through a course. Watching this dog was like having my eyes raped. It was pure torture.

If you have a fat, legless dog, chances are pretty good it's not fast enough to propel itself up the A-Frame. Heck, why stop at legless - how about just plain fat. And the handler is torturing their dog and spectators because...? Cruelty? His misguided belief that it's agility or else? Why?

Agility is not for all dogs, just as no sport is, nor ever will be for all people. Every professional athlete has RETIRED at some point. Our dogs, however, do not not get to make this choice for themselves. Our dogs rely on their owners to determine when it's time.

• If your dog cannot meet the performance standards, it's time.
• If your dog cannot keep low jump bars up, it's time.
• If your dog cannot run any longer, it's time.
• If your dog is physically incapable (like hip dysplasia), it's time.

I suspect that there are some people out there whose desire for running their dog is so great that they will leash their dog's corpse and drag the dog's lifeless body around an agility course.

Please be fair to your dog.

Here are some of my words on the topic:

"I have both a small dog and a veteran dog. Neither have problems with the 5'6" A-Frame.

With any sport, human or dog, there is the inherent chance of injury. The best way to prevent injury is conditioning, corrective action (weight loss, surgery) or to not participate. Just as not all humans are capable of playing sports, it is reasonable to assume the same of dogs.

My orthopedic surgeon doesn't want to see me again. Ever. So he told me to give up basketball, volleyball and treadmills. It really sucks, but it's best for me. I know that Scout will tell me when her body is ready to retire from agility. It will suck, but I will do what is best for my dog."

And some more, regarding safety:

"Why stop with the A-Frame? What about teeter and its bounce? Check out the article on weaves in this month's Clean Run. Get rid of those! By the time all the concessions are made for each dog's need, what is left? Is there anything safe? No.

Not everyone, dogs included, are cut out for sports. Don't assume a tall person is a basketball player. Don't assume a really, really big dude is a sumo wrestler. Don't assume that every dog is capable of agility. Agility is NOT going to be for all dogs, as much as the handler desires it to be. What's best for some dogs is to not participate.

I am aware that I have a 9.5 year old dog. I am aware that her retirement is in the near future. I will be devastated when that day arrives. However, I will do what is best for her: stop participating."

And finally:

"The only problem I have is watching people torture their old or obese or otherwise incapable dog into doing agility because the HANDLER wants it sooooo bad. Did these people force their children into T-ball and soccer? My mom coerced me into playing volleyball when I was in fifth grade. All I had to do was stick it out one season. The decision to continue was my own. Dogs don't get to make this decision.

I took Scout lure coursing one weekend. Even though mentally she still wanted to go, physically she was done. Did I keep running her? No. I did what was best for my dog.

As I stated before, not all dogs are cut out for the sport. I played four years varsity basketball and volleyball in high school. I had try outs every year. I watched tons of girls get cut. I watched varsity players from the year before get cut the next. Not everyone is capable of playing, or of playing well enough to be on the team.

If you are going to lower the A-Frame, do it for all the dogs or none."