What are the Faults?
A performance standard applies to each course as well as the individual obstacles. When this standard is violated the team is accessed a fault. The faults add up and determine whether or not a team has earned a qualifying score. How and when each is applied varies among the various organizations.
The faults.
Refusals This fault has two parts, the refusal and the run-out. The dog has refused an obstacle when it stops or spins in front of the obstacle that was next in the sequence. A run-out occurs when the dog runs past the front of the obstacle it was supposed to perform, or in the case of the pause table it has run past the back of the table.
Wrong Course When a dog performs an obstacle out of sequence it is on a wrong course. The dog is not faulted for the number of wrong course obstacles it takes on a single occurrence, it is simply on one wrong course until it engages the next correct obstacle in the sequence. Once the correct obstacle is taken if the dog then leaves the assigned course to take another obstacle out of sequence it earns yet another wrong course fault.
Table Faults Jumping on and then off the table before performing the required position the dog was to take on the table earns the team a table fault. This position can be a down, sit, or stand (depending upon the organization) for a count of 5 seconds. In International agility the dog may be required to perform either of the 3 positions listed above. This is also true of AKC International classes. In AKC regular classes the dog may be required to perform a sit or a down on the table. In USDAA it is always a down.
Failure to Perform If the team does not perform the next correct obstacle in the sequence before engaging another obstacle they earn a Failure to Perform fault. A failure to perform can also be accessed for handlers touching their dogs while on course and other infractions. In AKC this can include dropping a bar or missing a contact zone. In USDAA these two items would be considered Standard Faults (see below).
Standard Faults A course fault that is not a refusal or wrong course. In USDAA this would include missing a weave pole, contact zone, or dropping a bar. In AKC missing a weave pole is considered a refusal/run-out, and missing a contact or dropping a bar is considered a Failure to Perform.
Excusal Signaled by a whistle, this fault requires that the team discontinue their course and leave the area. Infractions earning an excusal can include eliminating on the course, food or toys in possession of the handler while on course, and un-sportsmanship like behavior.
Time Faults Each course is given a standard course time (SCT) in which the team is to correctly perform all of the obstacles. If a team goes over the SCT they are faulted for each second over the SCT they were clocked in at. The time begins when any part of the dog crosses the start line, and it ends when any part of the dog crosses the finish line. The SCT is determined by measuring the course distance and multiplying that by the yards per second pre-determined by each organizations rules for each class.
Note: A Clean Run or Clear Round is a course that the dog and handler team negotiates free of both course faults and time faults.
The various Agility organizations in the US vary in how a qualifying run is scored.
