Sunny a Miniature Poodle competes within the Premiere Standard Course at Mcgee Park through the Durango Agility Dog Club’s Competition on Saturday. Crystal Shelton/Special to the Tri-City Record
Crystal Shelton
Durango Agility Dog Club hosts canine athletes
Some have been huge, some little. Tall or small, all completely different breeds, the 78 dogs gathered at McGee Park for the Durango Agility Dog Club Trials this weekend all shared one widespread trait: a readily obvious love of the game.
The identical may very well be stated of the house owners, 125 exhibitors not solely from the Four Corners space but additionally from Albuquerque, Phoenix and Salt Lake City.
Barks, timing buzzers and cries of “good dog” crammed the air on the San Juan County Fairgrounds in Farmington, thought of a premier web site to carry the trials. According to membership supplies, McGee Park is likely one of the greatest services within the West for this exercise. The horse enviornment used allowed the setup of two programs at one time, together with a follow space and crating area.
Dog agility places dogs and their handlers via a altering maze of jumps, tunnels, A-frame, weave poles, seesaws and extra, all on a timed foundation. The proprietor is challenged to shortly study the route of the course and the order through which their dogs should full the obstacles, then information their canine via shortly and accurately. It requires teamwork.
Dogs line up with their handlers be earlier than operating the Open Jumpers with weaves course at Mcgee Park through the Durango Agility Dog Club’s Competition on Saturday. Crystal Shelton/Special to the Tri-City Record
Crystal Shelton
Tres, a border collie with handler Amy Tanler, waits on the teeter totter of Premiere Standard Course at Mcgee Park through the Durango Agility Dog Club’s Competition on Saturday. The dogs should contact the yellow space on all obstacles and are sometimes taught to return to an entire cease on them to keep away from leaping over them. Crystal Shelton/Special to the Tri-City Record
Crystal Shelton
Sweetness, a Hungarian Vizsla, waits to compete within the Premiere Standard Course with handler, Laudi Laudicina at Mcgee Park through the Durango Agility Dog Club’s Competition on Saturday. Crystal Shelton/Special to the Tri-City Record
Crystal Shelton
The three-day trial weekend is the primary of three placed on annually by the Durango Agility Dog Club. The trials are open to all dogs, purebred and mixes, with completely different ranges from novice to masters and premier, stated Lisa Frankland, trial secretary. There have been about 230 entries every day; dogs are sometimes entered in multiple competitors. “It’s a smaller trial because it’s the winter,” Frankland stated.
“For a rural area, there’s a surprisingly strong membership base,” she stated.
Dog agility is a spectator-friendly sport, and spectators are welcome on the fairgrounds throughout trial weekends, though persons are requested to go away nonparticipating dogs at home. There isn’t any cost to attend, and for canine lovers it’s enjoyable to look at.
Cathy Barkley and her Scottish terrier Nessie have been clearly having a very good time, though it was Nessie’s first attempt on the difficult jumps course. Barkley of Loma, Colorado, has been collaborating in agility for 15 years, 4 years with Nessie.
“When you retire, you have to find a new group. Your work friends all go their own ways,” she stated. “I found a community here. Great people, great friends. It checks all the boxes – emotional, social and physical.”
Health challenges haven’t stored Barkley from competing. “I have Lou Gehrig’s. My doctor says whatever I’m doing keep at it, because I’m doing way better than she ever would have thought.”
Noelle Hufnagel of Bayfield, Colorado, has been collaborating in agility together with her border collie Layla for 5 years.
“She is my first agility dog; we started when she was 2 and now she’s 7.”
For Hufnagel, agility work is all in regards to the connection together with her canine.
“It’s seeing her joy. We got here, she knew what she was going to do, and my 7-year-old dog was acting like a puppy she was so excited. That is so precious to me,” she stated.
“The herding breeds tend to be the rock stars – Border collies, shelties, Australian shepherds – but any dog can do this. As long as they will work as a team with their handler, they can play this game; they can have fun,” Frankland stated.
If persons are fascinated about studying how one can take part within the sport, Jan Owen, president of Durango Agility Dog Club, urged a very good place to begin is by contacting Creature Comforts in Durango. Gail Gardner at Creature Comforts and Diane of Diane’s Clever K9s, each Durango trainers, are additionally members of the membership. They are a very good place to get the data and fundamentals that could be wanted, Owen stated.
The subsequent three-day trial meet for the Durango membership will once more be held at McGee Park in Farmington on May 31, June 1 and June 2.
