Sunday, August 08, 2010

Agility

Friends Ward and Hazel visited with me this weekend.

They have two Havanese dogs which they are training as Therapy Dogs and one dog is also training to compete in AKC Agility Trials.

They were up for a competition being held in Sanford.

I watched for a while on this morning. It's a really cool avocation and a lot of fun to watch. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement and appreciation of the training and skills. Just like you can "get into" any other sport like football or basketball.

Here are owners / handlers familiarizing themselves with the course before one of the sets of runs.


This is practice area.


This is one of the waiting areas. Kind of like "The Pits" in auto racing.


Folks relaxing before the start of the trials.


And finally, a couple of videos of the competitions.

This first video is almost a good run. Started out great, but the dog lost his focus at the weaving station.



Here's a good run.



Notice the time stamp on this post. I went to the trials, stayed a while, then came home to do chores (yard work) and to post this entry.

Yep - it's just before 1100. The competitions start around 0800. Most of the entrants show up at the venue very early to get set up, practice and prepare. Ward says 0600 is not unusual.

2 comments:

Ward said...

The dog in the second video was eliminated because it missed a jump about mid-way through (you can hear some groans on the video). Otherwise it was an excellent run.

posts said...

I was wondering why the clapping and cheering was so subdued for this dog. That explains it.