The Differences Between the AKC & CPE Agility

Dog agility is a team sport between dog and handler that involved strategy, speed, athletic ability and concentration. American Kennel Club and Canine Performance Events agility trials follow the standard agility rules and course set up, but there are a few differences in jump height, eligibility, titles and obstacles. Both AKC and CPE require the dog and handler to work together to complete the agility course in a qualifying time without treats, toys or touching.

  1. Eligibility

    • Both AKC and CPE agility require dog owners to register their dogs in the prospective organization before they can compete in a trial. Dogs must be at least 15 months old to compete in both organizations. AKC and CPE accept purebred dogs and mixed breeds for competition in agility. Mixed breed dogs must register with the AKC as Canine Partners before competing in agility trials, according to the AKC.

    Titles

    • CPE titles include Regular, Veterans, Enthusiast, Specialist and junior handlers that compete from beginners to champions. AKC titles include Novice, Open Agility Standard, Agility Excellent and Master Agility Excellent. The rules on scoring, faults and jump height vary according to the entry categories with fewer fault scores for beginners and novice.

      The Beginner level of the CPE and the Novice level of the AKC are for dogs and handlers that have not won an agility title. The CPE Veterans and Enthusiast level and the AKC Open Agility Standard are for competitors who have won agility titles but do not qualify as Specialist or Excellent.

    Height Divisions

    • The CPE height requirements differ from the AKC height divisions. The CPE allows dogs 8 inches tall or less to jump a bar set at 4 inches, while the AKC requires all dogs 11 inches tall or less to jump at 8 inches.

      CPE requires dogs 8 to 12 inches tall to jump at 8-inch heights if the dogs are at the Regular class, while Veterans, Enthusiasts and Specialists jump at a 4-inch height. Dog that are 12 to 16 inches tall can jump at 12 inches in the Regular CPE class, at 8 inches in the Veterans and Enthusiast class and 4 inches in the SPE Specialist class. The AKC requires dogs 12 to 14 inches tall to jump at 12 inches and dogs 15 to 18 inches tall, jump at 16 inches.

      Dog that are 16 to 20 inches tall in a CPE trial can jump from 8 to 16 inches, depending upon their division, while dogs 19 to 22 inches tall in an AKC trial jump at 20 inches. The CPE allows dogs that are 20 to 24 inches tall to jump at the heights of 12 inches, 16 inches or 20 inches, depending upon their division. The AKC jump height for dogs 23 to 24 inches is 24 inches. Dogs over 24 inches tall jump at heights of 16 to 24 inches in a CPE trial, while the AKC allows owners to determine their dog̵7;s jump height.

    Obstacles

    • CPE and AKC agility trials include contact obstacles. Contact obstacles require dogs to make contact with the obstacle by running over them. These obstacles include an A-frame where the dog runs up one side and down the other while all four paws touch both the beginning of the A-frame and the end of the A-frame. Two other contact obstacles are the dog walk and the teeter. The dog must also make contact with the beginning and end of these contacts. The pause table is another contact where the dog must sit until released by the handler. The rest table is required in CPE and AKC trials.

      Both CPE and AKC agility have courses with tunnels, jumps, weave poles, tire hoops and broad jumps.