90 Posts Tagged With "USDAA"
Getting Started in Snooker - Video
18 Apr 2025
Learn everything you need to confidently enter your first dog agility Snooker run! In this video presentation with Stephanie Theis of k9nut.com, we cover the terminology, rules, planning strategies, and tips for running a successful Snooker course.
Snooker Point/Time Calculator Web App - Video
07 Apr 2025
I've created a Dog Agility Snooker Calculator to help you plan your runs, calculate points, estimate times, and explore "what-if" scenarios. Check out the video tutorial!
Titling in Agility
24 Feb 2024
People have "feelings" about earning titles in dog agility and how others feel about earning them. Here's my take.
We Kicked Your Ass! Competitiveness in Dog Agility
27 Jan 2024
A funny story about two different views on trial results
Taking Advantage of Not For Competition (NFC) and For Exhibition Only (FEO) - Video
05 Sep 2023
I've put together some notes about the Not For Competition (NFC) and For Exhibition Only (FEO) options at agility trials and how I've used them.
Flyer's and My Emotional Journey to the 2021 USDAA Cynosport Veterans All Around
29 Oct 2021
After two years of rehabilitation Flyer got the OK to run in the USDAA Cynosport Veterans Team Event and, even with a few bumps in the road, it was a dream come true. I've included all the course maps and videos of our runs at the big event.
Agility Nerd Speaks! Training Tuesday Video Interview
14 Jan 2020
During the 2019 USDAA Cynosport Games I was interviewed about my training strategy, mental preparation for a run, and a common challenge for competitors. The video was just released.
USDAA Please Require Four Paws on the Ground Before Calling an Off Course
06 Jan 2020
This contact performance is considered an off course/standard fault by some USDAA judges. I'd like them to move inline with the other agility organizations.
Agility Jump Height Calculator
31 Oct 2016
Lately there have been a lot of discussions about jump heights due to the USDAA adjusting some of their jump heights . That got me…
AKC Premier Standard Courses by Tim Pinneri and Arlyn Sigeti - Video
01 Jun 2016
This past weekend Smack Dab's Agility Club held an AKC agility trial featuring both Premier Standard and Jumpers classes each day. The…
Finding Motivation in Success
09 Jan 2016
I'm probably unusual but I thought I'd share how a "successful" agility run helped motivate me to improve my health and Flyer's skills on…
The Impact of Wings on Back Side Jump Wraps - Video
13 Oct 2014
I thought it would be interesting to see how our dogs set themselves up and jumped a Back Side with and without wings. So I setup a jump and…
More Thoughts on Goals and Success
04 Jun 2014
Five years ago I wrote an article on goals and success and I'm revisiting the subject on today's Dog Agility Action Day on Success along…
Frank Holik Masters Challenges Jumpers - Video
02 Jun 2014
Frank was kind enough to let me share his course - thanks Frank! The course was set fairly close to the diagram. If you look at the video…
Nested Masters/Master Challenge/Novice Fun Run Courses
28 May 2014
I dreamt up these nested courses for the Meeker's Pals Memorial Day Fun Run and they include all sorts of fun challenges. The equipment…
Rafael Quiñones "Minions" Practice Course - Video
25 May 2014
Rafael Quiñones was one of the judges at the USDAA North Central Regionals this year and prior to the trial he posted a fun exercise…
USDAA Spread Jumps Made Easy!
14 Apr 2014
As of this writing these are the applicable equipment regulations . Dave's technique is to build a pair of jump uprights with four feet on…
Emily Hurt - MC Jumpers - Course Analysis and Fun Video
14 Feb 2014
Earlier this month Flyer and I ran a fun and challenging USDAA Masters Challenge Jumpers course designed by Emily Hurt and she kindly…
Sheri Boone MC Jumpers Competition Course - Video
18 Dec 2013
Last week I wrote about running judge Sheri Boone's really fun and challenging USDAA Masters Challenge Jumpers course without a walk…
Remembering Courses and Conquering Missed Walk Throughs
04 Dec 2013
Just a few weeks ago I arrived at a local USDAA trial thinking we wouldn't be running for at least an hour and as I walked in to the…
Dog Agility News/Links: Jun-Nov
26 Nov 2013
Since Meeker 's diagnosis with lymphoma back in July I had been updating the AgilityNerd Facebook page more than posting here on my blog…
Handling 360 Jump Wraps aka "Over and Over" - Video
29 Sep 2013
As some US agility venues start to include more challenging handling puzzles, what I'm calling a 360 Jump Wrap has become a fixture on some…
Flyer Trialing Firsts - Video
23 Sep 2013
This month marked two firsts for Flyer : his first CPE trial and his first Starters USDAA trial. There were a lot of good moments and…
Aging in Agility - Choosing Retirement?
04 Sep 2013
I always thought that our dogs' age would determine when they should retire from agility. I figured, like any sport and any aging athlete…
June in August: AgilityNerd Elsewhere
04 Aug 2013
Yep it's August already, but here are all the links of AgilityNerd cool stuff I posted elsewhere on the web back in June: Hope you found…
Voelker - Masters Snooker - Meeker Bronze ADCH
28 Jun 2013
I planned to start bottom left and go to the top weave entrance (knowing that if Meeker missed the tough acute angle entrance I could fix…
Our 2013 USDAA NC Regionals: Bah Bye - Videos
25 Jun 2013
Well it's been a month now and I hadn't yet posted any details on our adventures! I had two goals for this regional competition: earn "byes…
May Days: Elsewhere in May
18 Jun 2013
So much agility going on and not enough time to blog about it all! Here's some cool stuff I've posted elsewhere back in May:
Flyer's 1st Trial - Julia Lane Intro Courses
11 Jun 2013
This past Sunday Flyer and I were involved in a lot of firsts! Flyer's first agility trial was Agility at the Farm's first USDAA trial…
Hanson - MC Standard - Video/Play-by-Play
21 May 2013
The course was designed by veteran USDAA judge Dave Hanson and judged by Seth Dunn. This course had a number of interesting challenges and…
Chalk Talk: 2013 IFCS CCOA Biathon Jumpers
28 Apr 2013
Yesterday USDAA posted the day's courses for the 2013 IFCS Continental Championship of the Americas being run in Ft. Worth, Texas and…
Are We Qualified for Nationals Yet?
22 Apr 2013
That is the question many competitors ask throughout the year in their agility venue(s) of choice and you can use Agility Record Book to…
What's International? International Two Jump Drills
06 Mar 2013
You don't need a lot of equipment to train yourself and your dog to master the "International" handling challenges that are coming to USDAA…
Tires, Tori, Title, Totes, & Masters Challenge
28 Feb 2013
I've decided to publish an agility news article at the end of each month. Here's what I've been commenting on since the last news article…
Masters Challenge Courses w/Video
21 Feb 2013
The judge was Francisco Berjon from Mexico. I really felt for him traveling to Wisconsin in February! It was a smaller trial with about 3…
Full Size and Small Space Courses Based on Cynosport Courses
12 Oct 2012
My students always kid me about the courses I design when I come back from a seminar or an important trial . This week I created a course…
Our Cynosport 2012 Experience
04 Oct 2012
I wasn't going to go at all; and up until the week before I didn't know if we could go! Well Nancy, Meeker , Milo , and I are back from…
Mark's Agility Equipment Pause Table
31 Jul 2012
My old pause table delaminated and warped years ago and I kept putting off making a new one. So rather than DIY I came up with a list of…
Greg Fontaine Courses Blog
25 Mar 2012
Here's a link to his blog I'm adding it to my list of agility blogs in Google Reader and looking forward to his future posts. Maybe we can…
Our 2011 USDAA Cynosport Experience - With Videos
25 Oct 2011
I was glad to have visited Cynosport last year so I was familiar with the expo center layout and the general flow of events. We left Chicago…
Cynosport Here We Come!
09 Oct 2011
Bright and early Tuesday morning Meeker and I hit the road and drive to Louisville, KY for the USDAA Cynosport Games aka USDAA Nationals…
Turning Dogs out of a Curved Tunnel - Diane Carson's NC Regional Relay Course - With Video
04 Oct 2011
Diane Carson's Team Relay course at the 2011 USDAA North Central Regionals had a challenge that many teams couldn't solve. It was all due…
Two Becky Dean USDAA Courses - A Tale of Two Ketschkers
24 Aug 2011
I liked all of her courses on the weekend but I wanted to focus on her Masters Pairs course on Saturday and a really nice Masters Jumpers…
2011 USDAA North Central Regionals
10 Aug 2011
It was a big trial (I think I heard 1400 runs?), run in 3 rings on field turf in a great facility with plenty of crating space. I love…
USDAA NE Regionals IHC Jumpers - Video
17 Jun 2011
The USDAA Northeastern Regionals were streamed live on CynosportTV (free!) last weekend. I watched some of it Sunday morning and after…
Exercises from USDAA SE Regionals Grand Prix - Video
10 Jun 2011
The USDAA Southeastern Regionals were streamed live on CynosportTV (free!) last weekend. I was interested in a couple of the courses and…
Max 200 Break-Away Tire
20 Mar 2011
I've written in the past about the need for break-away tires in agility. Well I ordered one from Max200 after seeing one at a USDAA…
ADCH Meeker and Qualified for Nationals
07 Mar 2011
Well Meeker and I finally did it and it wasn't pretty! We earned his USDAA Agility Dog Champion (ADCH) title at the Boone County Dog…
Contact Sports Agility USDAA Trial - With Video
07 Feb 2011
The judge for Masters and Grand Prix was Mike Wagner and I liked his courses. New local judge Jennifer Siegel handled Starters, Advanced…
Meeker Qualifies for Steeplechase and Grand Prix
23 Jan 2011
The judge was Judy Reilly from New York state and I really liked her courses a lot. They were challenging but fair; there was a little of…
Dana Pike - Awesome Course with Video
17 Jan 2011
I've said it before, but you have to set up this Dana Pike course. If you don't have room for the whole thing at least set up 5-10, that's…
Meeker's USDAA Return - RACE Agility 2011-Jan
09 Jan 2011
On Saturday, I was in the wrong place when the Gamble timer went off and screwed up his line into the Gamble, it hurts because it was a "do…
Two Exciting Seminars: Agility and Flyball
05 Jan 2011
I'm very excited about two upcoming seminars: "Can You Handle It?" and "Building a Solid Foundation for Competition Flyball". I am giving…
Come Train With Me!
21 Oct 2010
I'm happy to announce For Your Canine in Melrose Park, IL has asked me to give an agility handling seminar. It is titled "Can You Handle…
USDAA Rule Changes Announced
01 Jul 2010
The USDAA just announced a number of rules changes that should make competitors happier:
Backyard Course Based on Masters Pairs Jumping Sequence - Annotated Video
03 Jun 2010
I enjoyed a recent Carol Voelkner USDAA Masters Pairs Course, it had a surprisingly tricky jumping sequence for the second dog, which I…
Lisa Jarvis - Jumpers and Snooker Courses - With Video
03 May 2010
At the RACE Agility USDAA trial early last month, the judge was Lisa Jarvis from Texas and she had really challenging Jumpers and fun…
A Strategy Note for Relay/Pairs in DAM Team Events
07 Apr 2010
As I mentioned previously thus far I've only competed in one USDAA DAM Team competition. I learned something that is probably obvious to…
Peggy Hammond - USDAA Courses 2010-03 - Annotated Video
14 Mar 2010
At the RACE Agility USDAA trial this weekend , the judge was Peggy Hammond from Texas and I really enjoyed all of her courses. They…
Think Pawsitive USDAA Trial - Almost MAD
02 Mar 2010
The executive summary was we were 3 for 4 and now Meeker only needs a Relay Q for his MAD. Here is the video of our Standard and Jumpers…
Agility Engineer Blog
15 Jan 2010
I recently ran across Jessica's Agility Engineer Blog and thought other agility enthusiasts should know about it. She has a lot of good…
UK Agility International (UKI)
02 Jan 2010
I'm primarily interested in UKI because they will be offering "European Style" courses, with multiple Pull Throughs and other challenging…
Meeker Advanced Agility Dog
27 Dec 2009
This weekend Meeker and I were at the RACE USDAA trial in Round Lake Beach, IL and earned Meeker's Advanced Agility Dog (AAD) title…
AKC News/Judges's Newsletter Email and RSS Updates
21 Oct 2009
The AKC judges's newsletter contains clarifications of the official AKC rules and is sent automatically to AKC judges. The AKC agility…
Get Email and RSS Updates of USDAA News and Events
19 Oct 2009
A number of months ago I made a request via the USDAA email list for an RSS feed for the News and Events page . That page is updated with…
24 inch Weave Pole Spacing Survey Results
26 Aug 2009
Last week Susan Garrett started a survey a weave pole spacing for USDAA and the results are now in. 2658 people completed the survey and…
24 inch Weave Pole Spacing
23 Aug 2009
There has been a lot of discussion on the USDAA email list trying to convince the board to change to 24" weave pole spacing. I chimed in…
Go Jimmy Go!
19 Jul 2009
Nancy bestowed the nickname "Jimmy" on Meeker shortly after I adopted him one weekend when I left him in her care. A month or so ago, we…
One Snooker Q and Meeker AD
15 Jun 2009
Well we finally did it, Meeker 's first Starters Snooker qualifying score happened at the Cream City Canines USDAA trial in Wilmot…
Contact Sports Trial - Mental Side of Snooker
10 May 2009
From a Q perspective we didn't do very well (only 3 for 7) and our Starters Snooker Q was one of the elusive ones. We did earn our Advanced…
RACE USDAA Trial
25 Apr 2009
Here's the video (It is only missing our final Adv Jumpers run): A big thanks to everyone who videotaped us! Here are the "highlights…
Track Your Performance - Agility Record Book
22 Mar 2009
I use Dave Connet's Agility Record Book (ARB) software to track how Meeker and I do at our trials and wanted to share its features with…
Home Course Building
07 Nov 2008
I've been setting up more courses at home and I thought I'd share some steps I took to make that easier. I help build courses at every trial…
USDAA Steeplechase - Six Sequences
01 Nov 2008
I was taking a look at the USDAA Cynosport Games courses and decided to come up with sequences based the Steeplechase Semi-Finals course…
USDAA Nationals Online Video!
29 Oct 2008
The USDAA is planing on providing on demand videos and some live streaming video of the Cynosport World Games each day on their website…
Contact Sports Agility Trial
11 Oct 2008
Before I get to the details here is what I recorded in Agility Record Book : The Gamblers NQ was all my doing. Here's part of the gamble…
Contact Sports Agility - Aug 9-10, 2008
08 Sep 2008
Saturday had some good and bad moments. Meeker was quite excited and I was able to get him to tug while in the warm up area. He was…
Cream City USDAA Trial - 15 & 16 Jun 2008
18 Jun 2008
This past weekend Meeker and I trialed in Wilmot WI at the Cream City USDAA trial. It was an outdoor trial with two rings. Our judge…
Cream City USDAA Trial - 15 & 16 Jun 2008
18 Jun 2008
This past weekend Meeker and I trialed in Wilmot WI at the Cream City USDAA trial. It was an outdoor trial with two rings. Our judge…
Can You Name This Agility Game?
24 Apr 2008
I was at a Suzanne Clothier seminar in CT this last weekend and was speaking about agility with dog behaviorist and researcher Dr. Rudy de…
Meeker's First USDAA Trial
16 Apr 2008
Well Meeker and I put on our "big boy pants" and tried his first USDAA agility trial this past weekend (only my second USDAA trial…
USDAA Course Design Guidelines Document
21 Mar 2008
The USDAA just posted its course design guidelines document on its website. The news post is here . The PDF of the guidelines is…
Do We Need to Change the Tire?
20 Jan 2008
In the past month there has been a lot of discussion on the AgilityDogs and USDAA SoundingBoard email lists about serious injuries to…
USDAA To Lower A Frame
06 Mar 2007
After the annual Board of Directors meeting the USDAA has posted an announcement indicating that it will drop the height of the A Frame…
Contact Wicket
04 Mar 2007
Previously, I had made a Contact Hoop for helping Meeker hit his contacts; after working with Dana Pike on contacts she pointed out I…
USDAA 2005 World Cynosport Games Courses
21 Jan 2006
The files are in Clean Run Course Designer format. You can download the free trial which converts to a free reader after 30 days
Turning Dogs Out of Straight Tunnels
02 Nov 2005
A few weeks ago Dana Pike setup a course with a 15 foot straight tunnel followed by a 180 degree turn into the weaves. As handlers, we…
Cream City USDAA Trial - Jun 19, 2005
21 Jun 2005
Our second trial of the weekend was run by Cream City Canines at yet another fairground; this time in Wilmot, WI. It was my first USDAA…
Car-Dun-Al AKC Trial - Jun 18, 2005
19 Jun 2005
We only signed up for Saturday at Car-Dun-Al so we could try our first USDAA trial on Sunday . I didn't realize until the certificate…
Clean Run Magazine
21 Nov 2004
Over the past few years the number of quality articles in every issue has steadily increased. Now in every issue there are several articles…
