Friday, September 10, 2010

Rule Change

Sighthound agility handlers everywhere are rejoicing at the American Kennel Club's agility rule change: No more required position on the table. In the past, the judge would specify at the beginning of the class whether your dog was to down or sit on the table for 5 seconds.
I know several greyhounds that would have progressed much further in agility if they had not been required to place hocks and elbows on such a hard, rough surface.
Luckily, I have not ever had any major problems on the table with any of my greyhounds. I have always been careful to never practice sits and downs on the table too much. Never more than once in a training session and it called for a jackpot. In practice, I often would let them just stand on the table. Now they can stand on the table in competition. Happy greyhounds and whippets everywhere!