Story after story (or, blog after blog) here at the Presto Dog web site expounds on the world of dog shows. We generally cover the dogs, the people and drama of these weekend jaunts into this exciting sport. But today, I'm blogging about a different type of activity you can enjoy with your pooch. As a matter of fact, if you look back at some of the initial posts here at Presto Dog, you'll see that we covered this specific activity numerous times.  I'm talkin' about...agility. (If you want to read some of these stories/blogs, go to the "search..." box over to the left-hand side of this page, type in the word "agility" and either tap the <Enter> button on your keyboard or click on the "Go!" button.)

In case you're not familiar with agility, here's a brief overview I wrote a while ago when I was selling agility equipment hand over fist on the world's on-line market place, eBay:

Have you ever flipped through your TV channels and watched a dog jumping over obstacles, running through tunnels, contorting its body in a seemingly unbelievable fashion as it courses its way through weave poles, all the time immensly enjoying itself? Congratulations, as you've undoubtedly witnessed an agility competition.

Agility pairs a human and dog, usually its owner, in a sport where the team with the fastest elapsed time are the winners. Points are deducted (in the form of seconds added to a dog's completed time) if an obstacle is missed or the dog refuses to make a jump or run through an obstacle. It's important to note that the dog is not always to blame in the event a mistake is made. Many times its human counterpart gives it incorrrect signals that prompt the dog to turn the wrong way, run through a tunnel instead of a set of weave poles, etc.

A typical agility trial starts when a dog trips a timer at the beginning of a pre-designed course. The course can include jumps set at a height that takes into consideration a dog's size, tunnels that a dog must run through, a steeply inclined A-frame that requires the dog to speed up one side and down the other, a pause table where a dog needs to come to a complete stop for five seconds, weave poles and a variety of other items that are challenging to the dog.  

Not to be overlooked is the bond that has been strengthened between man (or woman) and dog as hours of enjoyable training were realized as both prepared for their agility trial. This is perhaps best evidenced by the happy expressions on the team of human and dog as they work their way through the course. For many, merely completing an agility course with no faults is rewarding enough as the team has then attained the much coveted "clean run" status.

This morning, we took our alpha Sheltie, Declan and our li'l show dog Maggie to an agility trial held on the grounds of a near-by community college. It was hot once again & we made sure we kept our charges cool and hydrated. For those of you who might be here for some visual stimulation, we also managed to take a few pictures of the day's activities.

Here's a Sheltie running full speed through the agility course:

Sheltie Running Full-tilt

The folks who entered their dogs in today's match are seen here going over the course, making sure they know where the jumps, weave poles and other equipment is located so they (hopefully) won't make any mistakes:

Scoping Out the Course

Another Sheltie rocketing through the course:

Sheltie Flying

Still another Sheltie running through a set of weave poles:

'Nother Sheltie

Did you happen to notice that even though we were at an event that had all the various breeds recognized by the AKC that I somehow managed to snap shots only of Shelties? Guess it's a bias I'm gonna have to deal with some day, eh?

Perhaps not!

I thought I noticed it last evening as he was following me out into the kitchen. Declan's left rear paw (driver's side) has something wrong with it. He's heavily favoring it; sometimes hobbling around on only three legs.

We're not sure what the heck is wrong with it; either. We made the dutiful inspection, which included triming away the hair & grooming him up but there was nothing wrong as far as we could see.

Thinking back about last evening, I remember that he had run down toward the center of our property in the back yard. I was throwing a ball or something with the other dogs & when I glanced back once again in his direction it seemed as if he hadn't moved. In retrospect, I thought it was odd but paid it no never mind at the time.

Thinking about the situation, the thought crossed our mind that perhaps Declan had stepped on a bee or wasp? We remembered that a couple of weeks ago, our tri-color Collie Dougie had also limped around for a few days. We never discerned what had happened to his paw but in about two-three days he was O.K. But for the few days that he was encumbered he was walkin' around like a guy who had taken a serious kick to the leg or something.

So, we'll keep an eye out & see if he gets any better...or worse. I can't say it's an imminent vet trip but who knows? Perhaps we'll be forking over a C-note to said Vet...or not.