Pups’ pearler day at champs

Pearl the miniature poodle, who competes in the ‘‘micro dog’’ category, barks impatiently ready to run the agility course.

Wendy Reynolds and her toy poodles are not the team you might expect to find racing in the dog agility nationals.

With metal in her shoulder, deteriorating eye sight, and a team of pint-sized pups, the 68-year-old Blenheim woman says she ‘‘breaks the mold’’ in the dog agility scene.

‘It was mainly young fit females,’’ Reynolds said, and she’s not talking about the dogs.

‘‘Not as many old girls like me with injuries. But you’ve just got to get smarter.’’

The Blenheim Canine Training Club member couldn’t understand why people were travelling every weekend for these competitions, until she had a go.

‘‘Now I go all around New Zealand in my motorhome, to every show I can possibly go to.

‘‘Once you’ve won a ribbon you kind of get hooked. It’s the adrenaline rush.’’

Her toy poodle Pearl had excelled in the recent National Championship.

‘‘She’s hooked on it like I am. She gets the adrenaline buzz like I do.’’

Reynolds and Pearl scored a 1st, 2nd and 3rd in Jumpers C and placed in a number of other categories.

Fellow club member Sheryl Vincent had been doing dog agility for about 20 years. Her collie Tide won a 1st and 2nd in Jumpers C in the recent championships.

Collies were great family dogs, but also ideal for agility, she said.

‘‘For agility, they are generally structurally the best for it. They are big enough that they’ve got the ground coverage speed, but they’re small enough that they can turn tighter than say a german shepherd.

‘‘They’re a lot of fun to train and they make a great pet.

Natasha Neame started dog agility at 12 years-old and competed well with her dog Strike at the recent competition.

‘‘It’s just fun, it’s fast, it’s crazy. You just go fast and have fun, anything else is a bonus.

Blenheim Canine Training Club agility manager Gill Smith has been doing dog agility for the past five years.

‘‘It’s a sport. But it’s a team, it’s between you and your dog.’’

‘‘You’ve got to get the best out of you and your dog.

The next dog agility show would see competitors would take place at the A and P showgrounds on December 1 and 2.

SCOTT HAMMOND/STUFF Wendy Reynolds has just competed in the dog agility National Championships with her toy poodles Pearl and Crystal.