Another issue here is that as one progresses the speed at which the dog gets round the circuit just about doubles. So you have to run twice as fast, think twice as fast, and speak or point twice as fast - for many handlers, the first tends to preclude speaking so just point most of the time . Remember, it's not just the dog that needs to learn how to 'do' agility. Often it is not the fact that the commands are late that is the problem. So many times you will see handlers in the ring gushing words at the dogs, only to have the dogs shut out all the chatter.
Most dogs follow body language to a much greater extent than the verbal anyway.
Yet, an instant replay of the situation would reveal that the dog was following the body language, not the verbal language. And the handler's body language was wrong. Don't forget that this is a team sport. You and your partner, your canine companion. You owe it to your partner to communicate the course to them.