AKC Agility Judges Guidelines

• When the first obstacle in the Send Bonus is the weave poles:
– If a dog has committed to the weave poles with all four feet crossing
the center line between poles one and two, and it misses a pole while
weaving, the dog must engage another obstacle before re-attempting the
weave poles from the beginning or “FAULT” will be called. The weave
poles must be correctly completed as a single set, so long as the handler
remains outside the Send Zone.
– “FAULT” will be called if the dog back-weaves thus incurring a wrong
course for the Send Bonus, after having correctly entered the poles from
the proper direction.
• When the first obstacle in the Send Bonus is a tunnel:
– If a dog has committed to the tunnel with all four feet and does not
properly complete it by reason of exiting the entrance with all four paws,
the dog must engage another obstacle before re-attempting the tunnel or
“FAULT” will be called.
• When the first obstacle in the Send Bonus is a tire or bar jump:
– If the dog passes under the bar or between the tire and frame with all four
feet, it is considered to have attempted the jump or tire and a “FAULT”
will be called if another obstacle is not engaged prior to reattempting the
tire/jump.
Actions that Result in a Whistle Fault (Excusal)
• Harsh corrections or training in the ring, whether at the start line, during
the run, or immediately after the run prior to exiting the ring. This includes
touching the dog while on a contact or taking the dog’s collar to guide it into
the weave poles.
• Handler contact that aids the dog to the finish obstacle.
• Any action that would cause an excusal in the regular classes, excluding the
Four Paw rule. This also includes a handler that: i.e. passes through the plane
of the weaves poles, jumps over the plank of the Dog Walk or runs through
the uprights of a jump.
• A handler that stops the time at the finish obstacle instead of the dog passing
the finish line to do so.
• A whistle indicates that a fault calling for elimination or mandatory excusal
has been incurred. The dog and handler must be excused from the ring, and
the scribe sheet must be marked with an “E” in the fault section and an “NT”
in the time slot, to indicate a non-qualifying score.
Finish Obstacle
• Only bar jumps, one-bar jumps (Open and Excellent only), and open tunnels
may be used as the Finish Obstacle.
• The Finish Obstacle is always bidirectional.
• The Finish Obstacle is “live” at all times once the dog has crossed the Start
Line; time is stopped and the run finished whenever the finite line of the Finish
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