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Ben,
FDCh-S, SGDC
Shepherd
Lab mix, born around Apr, 1999. He was adopted at the SPCA in
Comox
,
BC
when he was 5 months old. Ben was
introduced to the sport of Agility to give him an outlet for his energy.
He’s been practicing agility since 2001 and has his Starters Games title. He
loves sports, including hockey in the backyard, and flyball. An interesting
thing about Ben is that on the day he was adopted he only had about 3 hours
before he would have been put down. He’s been making up for those three
hours ever since. His favorite toys are hockey balls and his Galileo bone. He
loves driving around town and meeting anyone and everyone. A typical Shepherd,
he’s always on duty, except in the morning: he’s not a morning puppy.
Glenn and Cheryl feel very lucky to have found him when they did.
Agility
Agility
is a sport that has all of the virtues of other sports without their vices.
The philosophy of agility is to provide a challenge and competition to be
enjoyed by the handler, dog, and spectator. The main elements of the sport are
good sportsmanship and fun for the dog and handler. Even though the courses
are designed to be a challenge, safety of the dog is considered a highest
priority.
Agility
is basically an extension of obedience with some confidence equipment
included. The courses include various kinds of jumps, tunnels, collapsible
tunnels, see saw or teeter as we normally refer to it, a dog walk, and a large
A-frame. Some of the equipment allows the dog to show off athletic ability,
like the jumps, while others, like the tunnels, help develop confidence and
trust between the dog and the handler. A dog won’t normally run full speed
into a dark tunnel with no end in sight just because you ask him to. So there
are a lot of opportunities for the dog and handler to be challenged and build,
a closer relationship than can be had by simply walking him every day.
If
you have basic obedience skills pretty well cased and are looking for
something fun to do at the next level, then agility may be perfect for you.
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