WENATCHEE — From the start, Enrico is ready to go, panting and eagerly watching for his cue.
Through the hoop and tunnels, up and down the teeter-totter, over the hurdles, between the weave poles — he’s got this. He races through the obstacle course without skipping a beat, and his reward is a green, squeaky toy.
It’s a workout for the border collie and his owner, Linda Harbury, of Leavenworth.
“He’s 10 years old, and look at him: he’s in perfect condition,” Harbury said. “He gets lots of exercise, his little brain is working all the time, and he’s working with me. He has a job.”
The two often compete in this sport, known as agility. Harbury said after her daughter took some classes, she wanted to try.
“I got a little dog and had so much fun. Just kept going and going and going,” she said. “This is my second agility performance dog.”
Harbury said the favorite obstacle for her and Enrico is probably the tunnel, but the weave poles are challenging.
“He hates them because it slows him down,” she said.
Agility is one of several courses the Wenatchee Kennel Club offers. Others include rally, in which dogs perform obedience skills, and barn hunt, in which they search for a (safely enclosed) rat hidden in a hay maze. There’s also show handling, scent work and tracking.
Lynda Pheasant, events chair for the Wenatchee Kennel Club, does agility, scent work and barn hunt with her 6-year-old Australian shepherd, Jett.
“We compete all over the state, those who want to compete,” she said. “With this dog, I’m more on a recreational level and just enjoying it. She’s working in Excellent and Master. … It’s a way to make me get out and exercise. I’m addicted to agility.”
