Dogs display agility, skills

Photo by: Geoffrey Hauschild

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WHAT'S UP: Skyy, a standard poodle, seems more interested in the camera than in his owner, Shelly Wallens of Bainbridge Township. Wallens was taking Skyy out of his crate for a little walk during the dog agility trials at Four Seasons K9 Athlete Center in Washingtonville.

Photo by: Geoffrey Hauschild

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LOOK, UP IN THE SKY. IT’S A DOG? Troy, a shetland sheepdog owned by Denise Letterman of Moon Township, Pa., runs the obstacle course during agility trials Saturday in Washingtonville.

Photo by: Geoffrey Hauschild

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Dog agility trials at Four Seasons K9 Athlete Center in Washingtonville.

The dogs learn to follow the body motions of their handlers.

WASHINGTONVILLE — Dogs of many shapes and colors filled the Four Seasons K9 Athlete Center.

Though some were black and others were brown, some were short and some were tall, they all had one thing in common: They could read their owner’s body language.

They had a couple of other things in common, too: American Kennel Club accreditation and the ability to run and jump around an agility trial course.

The dogs and their human handlers were participants in Youngstown All Breed Training Club’s AKC Agility Trials on Saturday.

The event is open to any AKC-registered dog, said Sandy Irish, chairperson.

There are three levels of competition: novice, open and excellent. The dogs compete against other dogs of similar size on two types of courses. On the first course, jumper, the dogs jump over bars of various heights and widths and weave in and out of poles. The second course, standard, includes obstacles such as a seesaw.

“It takes extensive training to be able to do this, even at the novice level,” Irish said.

Dogs are judged on speed and accuracy. Ribbons are awarded to those finishing in first through fourth places.

Anne Ujczo of Auburn Township, Ohio, began entering dogs in agility trials in 2001.

Her first dog was a natural.

“He used to go to the park and jump over things and climb up the slides and do all kinds of things, so we figured he needed something to do,” she said. “I liked it; he loved it. It’s a nice little hobby to do with your dogs.”

Ujczo has four dogs and attends about 45 shows a year. She brought Braylann, a Shetland Sheepdog who has been running since May, to Saturday’s show. He competed in excellent standard and open jumpers.

Dogs and handlers build a rapport as they work train together. The dog watches the handlers body as well as listening to voice commands.

“Most people say that if your body’s doing one thing and your voice is saying something else, most of the time they do what your body says, because they’re looking at your feet,” said Lynn Uram of Eighty Four, Pa. “They follow your motions more than your words.”

Uram attended the event with her dog, Geraldo, a Shetland Sheepdog. She has been entering agility trials for three years.

“[Geraldo] and I are kind of like an old shoe,” Uram said. “We’ve done it long enough that even if I give him a halfway decent signal, 90 percent of the time he’s going to figure out what I meant even if it wasn’t a really good signal.”

It’s a different story with her new dog, Zelda. She takes everything literally, Uram said, so they need to work on their teamwork.

“And that’ll just come with time: The more we run together, the more we train together, we’ll eventually learn to predict what each other is going to do in a certain situation,” she said. “We just haven’t quite gotten there yet.”

But figuring out what makes each dog tick is part of the fun, she said.

Saturday, 196 dogs were entered. The agility trial continues today.