Fastest dogs in AKC agility

[alligande]

As most of us know AKC agility rewards accuracy not speed making it suitable for many more breeds than a venue like USDAA, but someone has taken the time to break down the fastest dog in AKC agility and the results are not surprising although I would not have been surprised to see an Aussie ... Border Collies were the top 10 in the 16", 20", 24" and 26" jump heights no other breed is listed. The lower jump heights papillons and shelties dominate but a couple of other breeds at least make the list.

 

Edited to add the link... This is becoming a bad habit.

http://baddogagility.com/the-bad-dog-agility-power-60-for-2013/

[Sekah]

Sounds about right. I have never seen an Aussie rival the speed of a BC. Dogs like Malis just don't seem built for the tight turns at the higher levels of competition. I've heard stories of Poodles which can rival the speed and accuracy of top tier BCs, but I haven't ever seen anything like that myself.

 

I've seen a few very impressive small, sporty ACDs which put down some incredible times in the 16" group. Oddly enough, I don't see many sport mixes in agility in my area (and I suppose you may not see many of them in AKC events...) -- they're hugely prevalent in flyball however. Other than that, it's pretty much all BCs (and then Shelties) in the top tiers.

 

I run an Aussie in AAC and she's a great speed for me as a novice but competitive handler. The dog can be a wrecking ball sometimes (which most BC handlers get to avoid it seems) and can place first in her class, but only if the uberfast BCs fault.

 

How does USDAA reward speed? Do faults not automatically NQ you in a run? Is it the course design?

[Laurelin]

I have seen working bred aussies run agility and beat/match the border collies. But these are dogs that essentially look like border collies with no tails. Small, light, not very hairy. I've also seen some goldens that routinely beat most the BCs but they all seem to be from the same breeder/handler.

 

USDAA has faster course times and higher jump heights if I recall correctly. I have not done AKC and have only done USDAA and my papillons very much stick out. It's a sea of border collies and sport mixes.

[alligande]

Regular classes in USDAA are just like any other venue, clear round under time. To get an ADCH, I believe you need three Super Qs in snooker at masters level, a super Q is based on a formula of the # of competitors in your class but basically you need to be in the top grouping and to get that you need a boat load of points in the class and you need speed and skill for that. USDAA also places a lot of emphasis on their tournament classes where you win money for placing and also gets you byes into Cynosports. I have never found the course times tight, infact a friend of mine running a rather slow spaniel did better there than NADAC because the course was not so spread out. I think it's best summed up by the ribbons USDAA generally has large placement ribbons and small q ones, NADAC has large Q ribbons and small placement ones

 

I see a lot of Papillons in the 12"/8" class in USDAA

[vanillalove]

Not surprised by this list! I've seen some fast Aussies but when compared to a lighter boned BC, they just don't compare. Unless you find a nice working breed Aussie, then things can get more interesting

[Laurelin]

 

I see a lot of Papillons in the 12"/8" class in USDAA

 

I think that's an area thing. I've only seen one papillon other than mine run in any venue around here (AKC). The small dogs are mostly schnauzers. There's not too many shelties even.

[mum24dog]

Dogs like Malis just don't seem built for the tight turns at the higher levels of competition.

 

 

I'd be happy if our collie was as tight as this but he isn't built for it -

 

 

And of course dogs with a longer stride can pick up time between obstacles even if they don't scrape the paint off the jump uprights. And bigger dogs often don't look particularly fast when running but the clock may say different.

 

Just for grade comparison, if US dogs come here to the UK to compete

 

US Novice dogs enter our Grade 2, or Grade 3 if the handler has previously got higher than Novice.

Open or Excellent enter our Grade 4.

Masters or Champ dogs enter our Grade 6.

 

Our top Grade is 7. To be able to compete in a Championship class a dog has to be Grade 7. To become a Champion a dog has to win 3 Championship classes under separate judges (or 1 and a Crufts Championship). (The above Malinois has.) To win means beating mostly collies, up to 200 or so in some classes.

 

There are so many collies in this country they are bound to dominate all grades because amongst that large number there are going to be a lot of fast dogs.( A lot of less fast or even slow collies too.)

 

In KC competitions, mostly the top grade non collie competition here at Large jump height (26in) will come from kelpies or working beardies, although there is a 3 year old lab and some super fast lurchers that are doing well up there too.

At Medium jump height (nearly 18in) collies are taking over at top level but that's partly because non collie dogs of that size hadn't had to up their game much before they had to face the collies. Time alone will tell how they rise to the challenge in the future. Some of the working cockers are very fast.

Collies don't ever jump lower than 18in unless they are old, new to competition or incapacitated in some way.

 

Not many shelties or paps at Small size. Quite a few poodles and miscellaneous terriers. Working cockers are on the increase because of their sheer speed and tendency to provide a real roller coaster of a ride..