# standard vs. preferred class in agility



## hotel4dogs

I know this was talked about not too long ago, but if I could I'd like to open the discussion up again.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of each class? 
Specifically, what should I be thinking about with Tito.
He's 23-1/2 inches tall to the withers. Weighs 68 pounds. He's got a lot of bone and muscle in his front end, big ribs, etc. 
He loves to jump, and is a good sound jumper. When we were showing in utility in obedience I often jumped him at 30 inches in practice, but that would only be a few jumps, not like 20 in a row. He has no trouble clearing 30 inches, but will only clear ANY height by 2 inches. If the jump is set at 20 inches, he'll jump 22. If it's set at 30, he'll jump 32.
He's closing in on 4 years old, and has all his health clearances.
I don't have any plans to pursue a MACH with him.
Thanks!


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## Maxs Mom

The biggest difference is the location of the title. A MACH is at the front of their name, the PAX at the end. Once the PACH goes into play, that requires the same QQ's and points as the MACH... should go in front too (my opinion). 

As you know I run Belle preferred. She is my first agility dog, the one I made ALL the mistakes with. She was older than average when she started, and speed is not her forte. Running her regular, I would have had serious time issues. Lately she has started coming in below regular course time, from time to time. She no longer has her air hang time she used to. Personally, I think 24" is a big jump for a dog. Not saying I wouldn't jump it if I had to, just it is the same height as Tito's wither. That is big. Dogs are different, I get that but horses do not consistently jump their height. 

Tito is a well balanced dog, soundness should not be an issue for him which is a BIG consideration when thinking about this. The 24" division has fewer dogs usually, 20" is usually the toughest division. Last year at Nationals (AKC) the 24 & 26 jump height shared a ring. The 20" division have over 900 dogs. The nice thing about jumping your regular height, is as they age and want to continue to play, you can go down to the preferred level. Belle has no where to go, except another venue. 

Watch him, let him tell you. If he does 24" no problem, go for it. If he struggles or stutter steps, then drop him to preferred.


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## AmberSunrise

I usually run in the Regular classes and leave Preferred for issues that might pop up (if say an issue comes up with jumps I can drop back to Preferred while we work it through).

That being said, my Rowdy always ran in Preferred since he was over 7 when he first started and was not healthy from about 2 to 6; he had a long climb back to health and I was not risking all we had gained. He also had weak pasterns as a pup and I just plain was in it for fun 

You get slightly more time in Preferred and the jumps are one height lower, other than that it is the titles. 

I know some people who run higher jumps to make their dogs think (ie; bar knockers) and other folks who run in preferred to lessen potential impact. If your dogs is structurally solid and you walk away from some of the nastier Excellent courses, it is a matter of choice I think.


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## hotel4dogs

you both mentioned titles....what's the difference, other than the MACH, which isn't something I aspire to????


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## AmberSunrise

The regular titles are different as well. The Preferred titles end with a P - for example NA vs NAP for the Novice Agility titles.


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## sammydog

In preferred you jump lower (20" vs 24" in your case) and you have more time to finish the course. The titles are different, for example in novice you get a NAP and NJP verses NA and NAJ. Depending on what you are striving for the GRCA and AKC rankings are only done for the regular classes. Also as far as the point schedule for OD, OS, VC/X the regular titles are worth more points.

I think what you enter is entirely up to you based on your dog. Without seeing Tito jump, its hard to say, but for me I would go in standard unless there was a reason not too. For instance he cannot jump that height well, young or senior golden, you need more time on course, etc... But then again I am looking at getting MACHs on any dog I have, so my goals are very different. I have friends who show in preferred because based on the dogs structure, jumping 24" would not be fun or healthy for the dog...

I have never worked with horses, but I have read quite a bit about dog jumping... It's hard to compare horse jump heights to dog jump heights. Among other things dogs have a much more flexible spine, more angulation and the ability to turn sharply. This all enables many dogs to jump twice their height at the withers (not saying they should jump that high), which is impossible for a horse...


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## hotel4dogs

back in the day....in obedience, dogs had to jump 1-1/2 times their height (not too long ago). So Tito would have had to jump 36 in obedience. After a while they lowered it to 1-1/4 times, and now it's their height. Structurally, yes, a dog should be able to jump twice their height. 
Tito is a structurally sound dog, balanced and well built, but I think agility is an unnatural motion for the retrieving breeds (not so the herding breeds as much). My only concerns would be things like really tight pinwheels, where he's coming down on basically one front leg as he's heading off to the next jump already. It's a concern with the broad jump in obedience, too, which is why we teach our dogs to jump straight out and then make the swing to return to "front" position.
But then, what difference really would 4 inches make? thinking out loud here...
How much more time do you get? If you have a REALLY slow handler, ahem, it might help to run preferred....


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## sammydog

When agility first started there was only one jump height as well, 30"!!! If your dog could not jump that high, you did not do it... Sure has changed a lot!

In preferred you get 5 more seconds!

I jump Barley in 24", he is a big boy standing 26"+, with a big stride! There are times where I have to be aware of the spacing between jumps, especially like you mentioned in pinwheels, but typically we don't have a problem. The rules do require obstacles be a certain distance apart from one another. A minimum of 18 feet is required between jumps.

The nice part about picking between preferred and regular, you are not stuck with your choice. You can switch back and forth between trials...

One additional thing to note, they are totally separate as far as titling. So when I decide to put Barley in the preferred class, he will have to start in Novice!


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## RedDogs

Another horse-dog comment that may be valid in this conversation.... Chris Zink's "Jumping A-Z" book* has a nice section on weight-height ratios. Horses have a much greater weight height ratio than dogs, and cats a MUCH lower than most dogs. If you think about it, no matter how fit, an english bulldog is going to have a harder time getting his (greater) mass up and over something with his short legs...he's less able to propel himself with the short legs, requiring greater force on his elbows, hips (and carpus(es?) and lots of other parts) than a dog of -equal- height but lower mass. 

I've debated about the regular/preferred tooo (more for USDAA than AKC)...and haven't decided what to do yet either! 



*A lot of the training info in the book is probably outdated... but I really liked the chapter talking about how dogs move!


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## sammydog

I love Chris Zink's book Jumping A-Z, I read it years ago (through our club library) and that is where I read the above. I also just got her book coaching the canine athlete, which talks a lot about structure and movement. She is great!

USDAA has higher jump heights as well. Mira, who is just under 22" and jumps in the 20" AKC class would have to jump 26" for regular USDAA classes. We have never done USDAA, and not likely that we ever will since there are not many trials around here...


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