Judging by eye or by camera, which is best?

Tail, because it is not purina.

ok ive never jumped with DD so i didnt know forsure how the did it i thougt i had seen them do it to the nose on som telivised DD events

DD goes to the base of the tail like UAD - I think Purina is the only one who uses the nose (I could be wrong so someone please correct me if I am...)

I have tried to keep my mouth and fingers quiet here but for the life of me I can't anymore. I will simply state for the record that having experienced both types of measurements, camera and eye, I far prefer eye judgement over camera. Milt and Brian do a phenomenal job of judging and making it fair to everyone involved and try their level best to make sure the judgements are accurate to the best of their ability.

Mathematically a camera system with one single camera has some inherent draw backs, and when it all comes down to the end it is NOT the computer that makes the call it is the judge in the tent trying to see where the dogs but hit the water, through the splash. Even though the camera is placed above the pool approximately 17 feet in the air, if your dogs jumps 2 feet or 30 feet the angle of the camera will give distortion about where the dogs butt hit the water. If you really want to use a camera system, it would need to be multiple cameras or perhaps even a moving camera system that would follow the dog as it jumped, (talk about distracting, you would have dogs trying to jump and catch the camera).

When push comes to shove, this sport is all about the dogs having a great time, doing something that is really pleasurable about them. They really don't know if they jumped 21'2" or 21'7" inches and they really don't care, they just want to jump in the water, chase their toy, and please their owners. It's us the owners that want to know how far our dogs jump to the millimeter and that's for our satisfaction and not the dogs. So let's keep UAD the way it is and enjoy the sport for what it is, Dogs having fun, doing something they really enjoy doing, and making their owners happy at the same time.

I'll take Milt and Brian's eye. It is much more personable that they are pool side getting splashed and cracking jokes at the people on the dock.
Plus with an eye right ontop of the jump I don't second guess (not anymore, Brian).

I have the best idea? we get a gps system and attach it to the dogs behind. and when the dog lands it measures the distance from the dock. they do it for golf but i guess that is with a stationary target. I may not no the whole science of it but i bet it could be done.(Patent pending just joking) Or we can just let Milt and the gang judge it and keep having fun like we all do. I think the only time the camera would be decent to do is for finals, or in lapeer when you could move the camera for the division ( if you could do that) otherwise i have never had any problems with the judging in my short time with air dogs. Good topic

I could just imagine how far my dog could jump if she had a GPS "chasing" her down the dock!

I was wondering if a camera mounted above the pool would give a more accurate reading. I am guessing you would need a tape more on the rail of the pool. I would assume that if you used a camera (video) mounted above the pool in the same spot for each event with the same lens you could easily mark the gradients to show a true jump by compensating for the angle of the lense and distance from center that the dog landed.....Just a thought. Not that I am against manual judging but I was think of how to improve on a single side mounted camera. Any thoughts on that?

TR75 wrote:

The "eyes" have it.

Ok... I am going to jump in. Most of you dont know me but my name is Melissa. I do own a well known dog named Stryker. I will start off saying I was at the event in question(with Henry it was taken in Del mar 08). The video was taken by one of HENRY"S many handlers. That is beside the point.

I feel that I have a real good judgement with my own eyes. I will let you know that this jump was well over 27' by my eye. Yes the video was shot from an angle.

Bottom line Lynn you are so right 2 ft or 28'11" they dont care.. As for Henry. He does it because someone forgot to tighten all of his screws when he was a pup. FYI Henry is now 7 1/2 years old any still running strong. If you have a chance to meet Henry or one of his many handlers please take the time to say hi... Henry might even give you a roo roo Hello.

Oh yeah the reason I like vertical is that we all know what the distance is...lol

I know this was about judging sorry for going off subject.

Melissa