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Dog-agility training builds teamwork Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Diane Quarq plays with Treasure, her 7-month-old Australian shepherd mix Pet Expo will include coaching sessions By Meg Landers EAGLE POINT � Dogs love to play. Fetch. Tug of war. Hide and seek. But sometimes, the old standbys aren�t enough. One way to physically and mentally challenge your dog, trainers and experts say, is with dog-agility training. "Agility builds teamwork between dog and handler, creating a special relationship and deepening the bond between them," says Kay Boydston of Medford, one of the founders of Rogue Canine Agility Inc. In dog agility, a dog navigates an obstacle course of hanging tires, jumps, dog walks, tunnels, tables, weave poles, A-frames and seesaws. If you go What: Pet Expo 2000 � pet shows and contests, demonstrations, seminars, vendors. Pets welcome. Where: Jackson County Expo Park, Central Point. When: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Cost: $3 per person, $10 for families. Information: Southern Oregon Humane Society, 779-3215 or Dogs for the Deaf, 826-9220. The dog�s handler runs alongside, guiding and cheering the dog on. Dog agility is a sport for all dogs, large or small, mixed-breed or purebred, young or old. "For most agility dogs, an agility field is like a giant doggie playground," says Boydston. Sound intriguing? Curious dog owners can check it out firsthand at the Pet Expo Saturday and Sunday at the Jackson County Expo Park. The Pet Expo will feature agility coaching sessions. Interested dog owners can try out the agility equipment, or just watch. The coaching sessions are sponsored by RCA, a local nonprofit club started in 1992. It offers classes for beginner through advanced and holds two or three trials per year. "People from all over the West come to participate in the trials," says Joyce Brackney, president of RCA. "The dogs really enjoy it. It�s a positive way to work with them." So positive, in fact, that in RCA classes the "N" word � no � is forbidden. Corrections are mild and praises are many. When people ask Brackney how they would know if they have a good agility dog, she says here�s no way to tell. "Until you get out into training, you don�t really know," she says. "Dogs should be in good condition, and it�s important that you have a good relationship with your dog." Interested dog owners are invited to come observe one of the classes, which are held at the TLM horse arena in Eagle Point three times a week. Call Boydston at 772-4452 or Lynell Dewey at 776-3825 for more information on classes and enrollment. The beginner class has a waiting list, but the instructors say you can start your homework now by working on your "sit," "stay" and "come" commands. Dog agility is an activity that people can become as involved in as they like, say its fans. Owners can treat it as a spectator sport, participate casually in classes or seminars, or become intense, year-round competitors. About 60 students plus several instructors and assistants are currently active in RCA. "The dogs love it," says Dianne Quarg, an RCA member who�s been participating in agility for four years. "If the dogs didn�t want to do it, they�d leave. There�s nothing keeping them in that arena." Quarg and her dogs (four "mutts," she proudly admits), love it so much that she now owns all the agility equipment herself. "Before agility, I didn�t have much of a relationship with my dog Kira," Quarg says of her 10-year-old white shepherd mix. "She was a couch potato," Quarg says as Kira trots around the back-yard agility course. "I don�t ever plan on competing with her, but the difference since agility is just amazing." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.