Before you can compete in agility, you need to have your dog measured. For a lot of dogs this can be quite stressful, particularly if they find visits to the vet scary. It’s a similar scenario – a stranger leaning over them and touching their shoulders with a metal object.
How Agility Dogs are Measured
A dog’s height is measured at his withers – the point bit at the top of the shoulders. We use a metal stick (basically a metre ruler) with a crossbar which lowers down onto the withers. Depending on the facilities available and the size of the dog, the measure may be taken on the ground or on a table.
There will be two measurers (and sometimes a trainee), and they will both take several measurements each. Most dogs are a bit edgy at the start of the session and will take a few minutes to relax. It often takes a while to get a consistent result – your dog may appear to keep growing or shrinking as the session progresses! It normally takes 10 to 20 minutes to measure each dog.
Getting the Stand Right
The stand position we look for in measuring is:
- Front legs at right angles to the ground (i.e. dog not leaning forward or backward)
- Back legs in a natural position with feet under or slightly behind the dog’s hips
- Weight evenly distributed over all four feet – a lot of dogs will lean sideways away from the measurer
- Relaxed, neutral head and neck – not too high, which is a common problem if the dog is excited about all the goodies on offer!
Pre-Measurement Training
There are a few things that you can practise at home or at club to make your measuring session go more smoothly:
- Practise getting your dog into a stand position quickly. Build up to holding the position for 1-2 minutes without too much fidgeting.
- Ask a couple of people at club to help your dog get used to having other people leaning over him and handling his body, especially his feet, shoulders and hindquarters. If your dog has a fear of strangers it may take time for him to be comfortable with this, so start early!
- Find out if your club has a measuring stick you can practise with. Let your dog investigate the stick first, before you attempt to measure him. Start with set the crossbar fairly high and reward him for standing under the stick. Now try lowering the crossbar onto your dog’s withers. It’s normal for the dog to flinch the first couple of times, but most will be quite happy once they realise it doesn’t hurt.
- If you don’t have access to a stick, look around for a couple of poles that you can macgyver up into a crossbar arrangement – maybe a couple of jump poles and some duct tape?
- Experiment with ways to keep your dog’s head still and in the right place. Teaching a chin target is the most reliable method that I’ve seen. Holding a cookie at the right height in front of the dog also works, if he won’t give in to temptation!
