Quilt maneuvered gingerly through the timed course, his white and tan hair swishing with each step. The 4-year-old collie ran up and down a seesaw, leapt over fences, slalomed through posts and zoomed through a tunnel before exiting the arena.
His human, Kathy McDaniel of Oregon City, Ore., said he was slower than normal because he was scared by a barking dog. Quilt is still a good boy. And, his fear wasn’t unfounded. There was a bit of barking Saturday, partway through the weekend’s all-breed agility trial at the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds.
“It’s just a fun sport to play with your dog,” McDaniel said.
As she spoke, Quilt gazed longingly at the treat bag by his owner’s side, willing it to dispense his prize for completing the course. Some competitors anticipated treats while others dug into a good rope toy upon finishing their run.
“He loves his food and his treat bag. That’s his most favorite thing in the world when he’s here,” McDaniel said as she doled out treats.
The agility trial, which continues Sunday at the event center and is free for spectators, is one of three hosted yearly by the Boston Terrier Club of Western Washington. Dozens of pups and their handlers from around the Northwest compete to see how quickly they can complete a course while making as few mistakes as possible. They hope to advance to bigger competitions.
Helen Johnson, trial chairperson with the Boston Terrier Club of Western Washington, said there are agility events going on most every week in the area. Portland Agility Club Trials are next weekend, then Mt. Hood Doberman Agility returns to the fairgrounds and the Portland Agility Dog Show happens mid-March.
When Johnson first started doing agility, she was “scared to death of it.” As she kept at it, agility became a welcome challenge. And yes, her Boston terrier can compete in agility. The course is altered for dogs of different sizes and abilities.
“It’s kind of like having kids in sports except you’re participating,” Johnson said. “Some dogs just love the sport.”
Often people have one dog competing and another, younger dog waiting in the wings to be trained for competition.
Blynn Baker of Covington has competed for 20 years and taught agility classes for a dozen years. While she’s done obedience competitions and shows, agility is more exciting. Her border collie, Franky, is a “very young 5” and very much likes pets on his lower back.
“He looked like he was having fun,” Baker said.
Cher Levenson of Olympia and her 6-year-old standard schnauzer Diego won the master agility championship ribbon Saturday afternoon.
“This is a highly prized ribbon for those us who have black-and-white dogs,” Levenson said.
She explained that she and Diego have a partnership and learn to better communicate with each other through agility competitions.
Plus, it’s just plain ol’ fun for Diego, who did a victory lap through the course when presented with the ribbon.
“That really is a huge amount of the benefit,” Levenson said.
