At the end of her run on an agility course, Skye, a sheltie, and her owner, Sherri Hollenbeck, made their way to a plastic chair a few feet away. After staring at her owner during their exit, Skye enthusiastically grabbed a treat, jumped on the chair and laid down.
“She’s stressed,” Hollenbeck said in jest.
Skye was one of several dogs to compete in agility trials hosted by the Mt. Hood Doberman Pinscher Club this weekend at the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds. The trials were a qualifier for the American Kennel Club’s National Agility Championship in March.
Dogs of various breeds, sizes and skill levels participated. On Sunday, they ran through two courses, a master’s level standard — including an A-frame ramp, seesaw and dog walk — and jumpers with weaves — a number of different hurdles and weave poles.
Skye finished her run on the jumpers with weaves course in just over 32 seconds, one of the top times in her group. The dog, 7, has appeared in two national events, once finishing 12th out of 75 contestants, Hollenbeck said.
“It’s difficult to qualify,” Hollenbeck said. “A lot of people just go for the experience of running their dog in a national event.”
Hollenbeck, of Oregon City, Ore., has trained dogs for roughly 18 years after originally competing in obedience competitions. For Skye, now at the coveted excellent masters experience level, training began when she was a small puppy, and she’s competed for nearly five years.
Flutter, 5, a Cardigan Welsh corgi, has been competing about two years. At the national competition in Tulsa, Okla., she will enter a rally event, in which the dog is guided by its owner on leash around obstacles.
Flutter’s owner, DeAnn Nelson of West Richland, has trained three different dogs in 11 years. The dogs train in half-hour sessions four to five times each week, though the workouts can seem more like a party with other invited dogs and owners, Nelson said.
“A lot of people starting out, that’s what they’re looking for, just that one-on-one time that builds confidence in your dog,” Nelson said.
Marilyn Stott, of Hillsboro, Ore., wasn’t much of a dog person when she first brought home Lucy, a border collie mix, for her teenage boys. But what started as a fun way to exercise her dog after her sons went to college eventually became a hobby.
“She was a beast at it,” Stott said. “I never thought in a thousand years that I would be doing this.”
Now, Stott and Lucy, 3, have competed for roughly a year, and they took home a handful of ribbons Sunday. Stott’s origin in the sport apparently isn’t unique.
Usually it starts with one training class, Hollenbeck said. “Then they get the bug.”
