# Poodle height and agility



## Mish17

Is it harder or easier to win agility competitions with taller Poodles?
Would a shorter Poodle end up in a more difficult division, with faster dogs?

For those of you who compete, how tall are your dogs?


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## Carolinek

All dogs in agility are measured and jump a height that corresponds with their height at the withers. So a shorter dog jumps a shorter jump and a taller dog jumps a taller jump. I think the difficulty level adjusts equally because of that, but I’m fairly new to the sport, and others may have more seasoned insight. This explains it.

My poodle mix Lily, is very similar to a mini poodle and measures at 12 inches. She is the dog in my avatar. She competed there for a while, but she is 9 now and jumps 8 inches because of her senior status. She still can jump 12 without a problem but I wanted to preserve her joints as she ages. 

Does that answer your question?


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## Quossum

Poodles can be competitive at any height, but as far as placements are concerned, the most challenging is probably the 20" height, where they'll be up against border collies and goldens. In the 16" class they're up against shelties, another tough crowd. In my opinion, it seems that poodles in the 12" class can really hold their own against the usual dogs in that division. To be in the 8" class, a toy poodle has to be really on the small side, but if well-built and agile they can be contenders in that class. 

My dog, Sugarfoot, measures about 24" and so jumps in the 24" class. He's usually second place to a tall golden in our area, but sometimes beats him. Here's one of our runs:


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## Mish17

Okay. Thanks. I was referring more to the dogs in the class that compete together. What, then are the cutoffs for each height class? 
I wouldn’t want to compete against Border Collies. I don’t have a sog yet but in looking at breeders’ dogs, I started to think about the potential size of puppies and where they’d end up competing. I guess I’m basically try to find out if a taller sog gives you a better chance of placing higher. Also, since males trnd to be a little bigger, I guess they may end up in different divisions than the females?


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## scooterscout99

Look up the rules online for the venue that you plan to trial in: AKC, UKC, NADAC, CPE, UKI, etc. You can also run in preferred class, which is a jump height lower, if it is placements that you’re after.

There are so many variables . . dog’s inherent nature, handler’s experience, availability of, and time spent training. Is this your first agility dog? It can seem easy if watching an experienced handler, but it takes time to learn even basic skills, let alone the handling style that works with a particular dog.

Most of the people that I train with are in it for the enjoyment, both for themselves and their dogs. If I ever master handling my 26 3/4” rocket, he’ll be unstoppable. Fortunately he loves it, and I enjoy playing with him at something he seems to have been born to do. Unfortunately, I waited a bit late in life to train a speedster. Neither my body nor brain can keep up with him. My beagley girl and I, however, are both the same age and the same speed!


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## Quossum

If I understand what you're asking...you generally want to be near the top range of the jump height cut off. For example, the cutoff for the 12" class is fourteen inches. A dog that's 13.5" is at an advantage as one of the taller dogs in the class, whereas a dog that measures 14.5" will have to run in the 16" class and be one of the smaller dogs in that class.

If you're looking at Standard Poodles, their typical height means they'll fall within either the 20" class (22" or shorter) or the 24" class (taller than 22").

But if you're really looking at getting placements, there's a lot more to it than height, of course. Your handling, the dog's inherent speed and ability, even the usual competitors in your area will have an influence on that.


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## Mish17

Yes, that’s what I’m asking. I have not seen the actual heights if many Standards but of the few that I have seen, the females were all 22” or shorter. So, it would seem, at least, that it would be a lot more difficult to compete with a female because regardless of any other factors, a Standard is not going to win against a Border Collie. In the events that I’ve seen, Border Collies always win, overall.


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## Quossum

Recently there was a large, white female spoo in our area who competed in the 24" class; she was actually taller than Sugarfoot! But yeah, for the most part, I think you're more likely to get a male to be over 22" in height, which is the cutoff for the 24" class.

And yeah, all other factors being equal, it's tough to beat a good border collie in Agility! In my area, we don't have many BC's running 24", but when we do, they tend to win! In my area, the 24" class tends to be a pretty small class in general, so that does help with the placements, too.


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## lily cd re

Lily, who many people think is petite (and I have had people insist she was a moyen), is 22 3/4" and a 24" AKC jumper for agility but a 22" jumper for obedience. She almost always placed in agility when we Qd. We tend not to have too many 24" jumpers in my area. Lots of BCs at 20" but also a lot of fast BCs in 26" to slow them down a bit.


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## Mish17

Would you (all) consider 21.5” for a female rather small? I was looking at puppies from a female who is 21.5 and a male who is 25, with at least one shorter frmale on the mother’s side. 
It does seem a little small for a Standard. 22.34” is significantly taller. That’s closer to 23.


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## lily cd re

No, I would not necessarily consider a 21.5" spoo small since to be a spoo the only height requirement is to be over 15".


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## Eclipse

I've got 2 Standards. My older girl's official measurements were 21.5 and 21.75 so she measured into the 20" AKC height. At 11, she is currently jumping 16" Preferred. My younger girl is 23.5 so measures into 24" in AKC. Both measure into 20" in CPE though my older girl is also now jumping 16" in the Enthusiast class. She no longer runs Standard in either venue as I don't allow her on the dog walk anymore as she is not steady on it. 

As far as height, you can't really predict size of the litter from the parents. There will be variations in every litter. My smaller girl's dam was 23" and her sire 24 or 25". The bitches in the litter ranged from mine and one of her sisters on the smaller side and several 23 or 24". It can be hard to predict final height at 9 or 10 weeks. Both my bitches were similar in size and weight at 9 weeks.


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## sitstaypoodle

Mish17 said:


> Yes, that’s what I’m asking. I have not seen the actual heights if many Standards but of the few that I have seen, the females were all 22” or shorter. So, it would seem, at least, that it would be a lot more difficult to compete with a female because regardless of any other factors, a Standard is not going to win against a Border Collie. In the events that I’ve seen, Border Collies always win, overall.


It might be rare, but it can be done. I ran a cocker spaniel who beat not only the top border collie at a trial, but every dog who ran the course that day. It was a Snooker class and she had the highest points - no other dog matched it. 

And I don't know so much about the height. I ran cockers in the 12 inch class height. My dogs were close to the height maximum for the class. We competed against a couple of toy poodles who were at the very bottom of the height cutoff for the 12 inch class and the poodles were super fast. I think a lot has to do with the dog's drive, the handler's ability, and the agility of the dog (no pun intended). I had one dog who was very high drive, "got the game" and loved agility. I had another dog who did agility because I asked her to. One did very well and won quite a bit. The other was retired after her first trial and because a couch princess because she just didn't love the sport.


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