Dogs put through their paces
Caitlin Frater was two weeks old when she attended her first dog show.
Her parents used to take her along to agility shows around the country, so it was only natural Caitlin, now 19, would take up the sport.
Indeed, she’s an old hand. She was in her first competition by age five and now travels around competing with her toy poodle, Geuse (pronounced juice).
‘‘I’ve been a part of it my whole life,’’ the Hamilton teen said. ‘‘My parents have been competing since before I was born. We’ve always had dogs, so I always trained the family dogs at home.’’
Over the weekend, Frater and Geuse competed at an agility event at Melville Park in Hamilton.
Geuse – small, black, fluffy – is seven years old now. Frater got him as a wee puppy for her 11th birthday and has been competing with him since.
She does agility training with him two to three times a week, setting up obstacles in the paddock at home. They do 15- to 20-minute sessions.
‘‘I love training him. I love being able to work with my dog and do all these cool things.
‘‘I love dogs – as does everybody here – but I’m also a competitive person and there’s that aspect, too.’’
She said every event she aims for
a ‘‘clean run’’ – meaning no bars knocked over and Geuse follows the correct numbered sequence of the course with no mistakes.
She received three wins and two third placings over the weekend.
The event was put on by the Waikato Agility Group, which has been operating at Melville Park for nearly 30 years.
Club president Nick Chester said around 400 competitors attended, ranging from the younger generation to retirees, from all over the country, including Taupo¯, Mangawhai, Dunedin and Mt Maunganui. Judges came from as far away as Christchurch.
The agility course has three experience levels and four height categories for the dogs – maxi, midi, mini and micro.
A range of dogs competed – jack russells, border collies, pomeranians and poodles. ‘‘It is a numbered obstacle course where basically the idea is you guide the dog around without making any mistakes in the fastest time possible,’’ he said.
‘‘There are plenty of jumps, running through tunnels, some hoop jumps and a long jump. It’s very fastpaced.
‘‘This is a home venue for us. We’re very thankful to have this area and to be able to use it as much as we do.
‘‘The park’s been a real home for dog training and sport in the city for a long time."