About 60 dogs and their owners are taking over Chippewa Park this weekend to show off their jumping, weaving and other agility skills.
The Thunder Bay Agility Dogs is hosting Canadian Kennel Club and North American Dog Agility Council trials that began Friday and will wrap up Sunday afternoon.
There are events for both purebred and non-purebred dogs in several different classes and the competition draws not only local competitors but some from the U.S. as well, said trial secretary Carolyn Homonko.
"It’s a great bonding experience with you and your dog," she said. "It gives both of you an outlet for your energy."
Competition judge Gloria Mitchell said what she looks for in the trials is for dogs to work with their handlers as they’re guided through the course. Each course is uniquely designed for each competition class and each trial.
They not only have to get their dogs through the course as designed, but do it without faulting any of the obstacles. The obstacles consist of jumps, tunnels, teeter-totters and A-frame ramps amongst others.
The level of competition varies from region to region, said Mitchell, who calls southern western Ontario home.
"Some people compete for their personal best; they want to go faster or they’ve had a challenge training a specific obstacle," she said. "Then some people want to place first and have the fastest run. You can pick what your competition is."
Having 18 years of agility training under her belt, Mitchell said it usually takes three to six months to train a dog to run a course, but one can never be fully prepared.
"I will still walk out on a course and see something I’ve never seen before and wonder how I’m going to explain to the dog this set of tricky turns," she said.
And while most dogs can be trained easily in a positive, reward-based training program, it can take years building the teamwork that develops between a handler and their dog, Mitchell added.
Training a second dog can be a completely new game since each dog has its own personality and can bring a whole new level to training.
"A lot of us have been doing this for a long time and still get a kick out of it and we still learn something every weekend."
The trials will start at 9 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday and will end at about 5 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. The public is welcome to come out and watch the competition.
