[Michael Romanos]

We could have a good discussion on agility competitions and the way they are set up. New Zealanders like meaningful titles and so competition is geared here to that end. Other than the stupid all sizes-in competitions, our events are similar to a world championship event, so the competition structure is set at a high level and every kind of title (which there are relatively few) have to be well earned. This I believe does not suit the American psyche which revels in giving every dog a chance to win something and so you have all these variations and strings of titles.
I would like though to win a title with Taylor and his best chance is what we call here a basic AD. This involves achieving two clear rounds within a strict time frame, involving intermediete type courses which includes every kind of obstacle and contact as well as a table (for jumping onto and going into the down position for five seconds) and a seesaw contact. To date, I have yet to train Taylor on the seesaw and need to focus on that. He is not happy with a seesaw so I'll get a plank and put a small block of wood underneath it and start him practicing from tomorrow at very low heights and with a gentle downward thrust. In NZ our competition seesaws are set at the height as for big dogs.
You mentioned the UK and a separation of Border Collies from other breeds in competition. This is of course the organisation that only allows pedigree dogs to compete. In NZ any dog breed and non-breed can enter into competition. Our best competitors are Border Collies (of course) and farm Heading Dogs (which are mixed breeds with usually some Border Collie).