Dog agility a sport for owner and pet

By Steffanie Costigan - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on June 30, 2023.

File photo by Steffanie Costigan Evelyn Sera and her standard poodle Solo take part in agility classes earlier this year.

A dog may be mans’ best friend, but Evelyn Sera’s dog will jump through hoops for her – literally.

That takes a special kind of relationship, and a whole lot of training, particularly if dog and owner participate in dog agility competitions.

“Agility is basically a sport, a dog sport,” Sera says. “The challenge of agility is the fact that it basically is the teamwork aspect between the owner and the dog because you’re now having distance. You now have the dog working on obstacles where the dog is actually a significant distance away. And, of course, that is what the goal is…to have basically verbal nonverbal communication with your dog, even though they are at a distance away from you.”

Dog agility is a sport in which dogs, for master level, race through a set of obstacles spread over a field the size of two basketball courts.

The handler works alongside the dogs using a series of strategic commands. Sera, local owner of Perfect Pooches Dog Training, has been involved with agility since it began in Lethbridge 26 years ago.

“I opened the business here in Lethbridge in 1997,” Sera says. “I probably got involved with agility when it first started. We had a group called Festantic Agility Club and my girl was seven. I just thought oh, that looks like fun. I’ll just try that, and she loved it. She was a crazy girl, but she loved it.”

Sera has been working with her dog Solo, a four-year-old male standard poodle, who has learned his expert level in rally and obedience. Sera and Solo are training to compete in the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) agility events. She says the challenge in agility is achieving teamwork and nonverbal communication between the dog and handler.

According to the publication American Kennel Club by Sassafras Lowery, published on March 10, 2023, agility dates back to England in 1978.

“Dog agility’s roots go back to the United Kingdom and the legendary Crufts Dog Show. In advance of the 1978 Crufts annual show, as part of the show committee, John Varley was tasked to create an event that would entertain the audience between existing conformation and obedience’s segments of the show. Varley collaborated with Peter Meanwell to create the first dog agility demonstration.”

Debra Patterson, masters level judge of Agility Dog Association of Canada (AAC), says agility builds more connection and is an enjoyable experience for the owner and their dog.

“It’s a bonding experience between you and your dog, and I believe the more you do with your dog the better the dog adjusts to our world,” Patterson says. “It’s just that they are more confident and comfortable, and you have a pet that enjoys being with you and doing stuff.”

Patterson became a judge about five years ago because of her own love of the sport and to encourage the sport to grow.

“I became a judge to promote the sport because I love this sport. What I do as a judge, is I design courses for people to run to challenge the dog and the handler with their training. It’s not a competition between the other dogs; it’s a competition with you and your dog against the course.”

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