Agility Scoring and Clean Runs
Each organization has its own rules about what constitutes a fault, and whether one can earn a qualifying score with faulted runs. A completed run that passes the minimum defined standards for time, faults, points, etc., is referred to as a qualifying run and in some cases earns credit towards agility titles. A qualifying run is also referred to as a leg. A clean run or clear round is one with no faults.
Different organizations place different values on faults, which can include the following:
| Time fault | Going over the maximum time allotted by the judge to complete a course (the standard course time (SCT)). |
|---|---|
| Missed contact | The dog failing to place a foot in the contact zone while performing a contact obstacle. Leaping from a contact obstacle a long way above the descending contact zone is sometimes called a flyoff. |
| Knocked or dropped bar | Displacing a bar (or panel) when going over a jump. |
| Weave pole fault | Entering the weave poles incorrectly (the dog must enter with the first pole on his left), skipping poles, or backweaving when attempting to correct missed poles. |
| Off course | Taking the wrong obstacle on a course in which the obstacles are numbered sequentially. |
| Refusal | The dog making an approach towards the correct obstacle, but then turning away or hesitating significantly before attempting the obstacle. |
| Runout | The dog running past the correct obstacle. |
| Handling | The handler deliberately—or, in some cases, accidentally—touching the dog or an obstacle. |
| Training in the ring | The handler deliberately taking an action that appears to be for the purpose of training the dog, rather than trying to run the course correctly, such as asking the dog to repeat an obstacle that he has already completed when the rules don't allow it. The penalty for this varies by organization: the handler may be excused from the ring, elimination may be scored but the handler is allowed to continue, the handler and dog may be allowed to complete their run but are given the maximum course time, and so on. Some organizations have no penalty for training in the ring. In general it is up to the judge to determine what is or isn't training in the ring. |
| Other faults | The dog biting the judge or the handler, the dog or handler exhibiting unsportsmanlike behavior, the dog eliminating in the ring, the dog leaving the ring and not coming back, the handler carrying toys or food into the ring, the dog running with his collar on (in organizations that prohibit collars being worn during a run), and so on. |
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