Let me back up and try to explain some things for non-agility folks: In USDAA (one of many agility associations in the US) dogs can run in 2 different programs. The Championship program is more competitive with faster qualifying times needed and some height differences in the A-Frame, etc. The Performance program is more focused on an individual dogs performance and usually has lower jump heights. In championship, dogs jump their shoulder height or higher vs. performance program dogs jump their shoulder height or lower. Plenty of people enter the performance program because they know it would be asking too much for their 17" tall dog to jump 22". The only thing about performance at this moment is that performance program is not available for those who want to go to Nationals. Those dogs can still get the Q's needed but they have to jump higher than they normally do in performance. But that's a whole different topic...
My dilemma is that I have switched Shawty to performance because I am not sure how old he is (at least 9 years old) and I feel like 12" is going to end his agility career sooner than it would at 8". We don't have plans to go to Nationals so there's no harm in giving his short legs a break. The problem is, to switch programs, you must move to the level you are in in Championship. Example: Shawty has his Advanced Jumpers Title and Advanced Standard title which are Championship program titles. He is able to move up to Performance level III in those 2 classes. He only has 1 Q in the other classes (Snooker, Gamblers) except for Pairs. If he had his Pairs Q, that would earn him his Advanced Agility Dog title and he could move to Performance level III in every class. Because he is missing that 1 Q, he has to stay in Advanced (Championship) Snooker, Pairs, Gamblers. He has not earned titles for Advanced/Level II Gamblers or Snooker.
* a Q is a qualifying run. Certain criteria must be met during a run in order to qualify. Visit www.usdaa.com for more info.
Basically, we are stuck in 2 both programs until we get that Pairs Q. It sucks but I didn't feel like it was worth throwing all the other Q's away and starting back at Level II in Performance, which was also an option when I made the switch. The only reason I discovered this error was when I was reviewing our entries and trying out a new Title Tracker App on my iPhone/iPad. As I entered the results, I realized that we weren't out of the proverbial woods yet. Thank goodness I was able to catch it before it was too late but I am also left feeling deflated. Nothing is a worse feeling going into a trial for me than to realize that our future depends on a single Q. That if we don't get that Q we are stuck in LaLa Land until the next trial. I know every trial is a good experience and learning experience for us but it's so stressful knowing I have to continue to jump him at 12" part of the way and that I have to remember to enter him in both programs when I send entries in.
I have attached screen shots of the Title Tracker app below. I really like how well it works as a quick reference. Most tracker apps want all the info from each class like the SCT and your dog's actual time on course, how many yards the course was, and that info can be helpful for those training competitively with big goals. However, this app just wants to know what class, what level, and if you Q'd. It does provide a Q rate and you are able to enter how many previous Q's you have with your dog.
Left: shows number of
qualifying runs needed to earn a program title.
Right: the area in the Title Tracker app where you can enter previously earned Q's that occurred before you started using the app.
Left: A reference guide in the Title Tracker app, that can be
used to see how many Q's are needed to earn each title.
Right: If you scroll down in the Title Tracker app under your dog's titles (above left window) you can see how many Q's are needed to earn a title in each class.
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