Dogs stay the course during trials in Ridgefield

RIDGEFIELD — If you know nothing about dog agility, here are a few important points to remember.

First: all the dogs are trying their best.

Second: they’re all winners.

Third: they’re all good dogs.

The Boston Terrier Club of Western Washington is hosting an American Kennel Club Agility Trial through today at the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds. Dogs of all shapes and sizes are zooming through tunnels, leaping over bars and weaving between posts, many in hopes of going on to bigger and better arenas.

The event, free for spectators, is one of dozens of agility qualifiers that take place in the Pacific Northwest throughout the year. These dogs aren’t competing against each other; they’re working to complete courses quickly enough and with few enough mistakes to earn a spot in national and potentially international competitions.

“You get started and it’s addicting,” said Helen Johnson, agility chairwoman for the club. “You want to see how much you can achieve and how far you can go.”

Cher Levenson, an Olympia woman, competed with her 5-year-old standard schnauzer, Diego, on Saturday. The pair traveled this year to the AKC National Agility Championship in Reno, and will return to the competition next year in Tulsa, Okla.

“He’s good,” Levenson said between slipping Diego treats.

Levenson’s been doing agility competitions for about 10 years. Diego is her third agility dog.

“They love it,” Levenson said of her animals. “Any dog can do agility. They’ll just be faster or slower depending on their body structure.”

Paige Pierce, an Oregon City woman, knows all about how different dogs handle different agility courses. She’s been doing agility competitions for 30 years with a combination of border collies — one of the best suited dogs for this type of exercise — and, of all things, small mixed-breed dogs.

“Isn’t that a riot?” she said with a grin.

She was joined Saturday by her 7-year-old Pomeranian mix, Quip. Pierce adopted Quip from Multnomah County Animal Services as a 6-month-old puppy. At first, he was skittish and afraid of most everything, she said.

But agility changed her dog, and gave him purpose.

“His whole demeanor has gone from ‘I am nervous of most things, very scared of some things,’ to ‘Let’s play,'” she said.

The most important thing to know about dog agility, especially with a dog like Quip, is to take it at their pace, Pierce explained. Everyone in the ring is a partner with their dog, and the best agility trainers know how to recognize their dog’s needs and respond accordingly.

“Everything else is just gravy,” she said.

That much was evident as Brenda Veldink, a Camas woman, ran through the novice ring with her 3-year-old American Eskimo dog, Riot. All seemed lost for a minute as Riot, a white puffball of a dog, paused to sniff at a bar jump.

But with a bit of coaxing, Veldink was able to grab her dog’s attention, return him to the course and, together, the pair sped through the remaining obstacles.

“Go, go, go, go, go,” Veldink told her dog as they ran, first through weaving bars, then through a tunnel, then over another few jumps before finishing the course.

“That was awesome,” Veldink cheered at her dog. “You did it! Oh my gosh.”

It was Riot’s first run that he completed quickly enough in order to qualify for a higher level of agility. Two more runs like that, and the pair can graduate to a more difficult course.

“He’s a funny boy,” Veldink said following her run.

“We’re all a bunch of nuts around here,” she added with a smile. “Because who spends their weekend in a cold barn?”

Lots of good dogs and their people, that’s who.