Competition is underway in Spain at the IFCS World Dog Agility Championship and Christine Neklia-Thibodeau and her dog Quake are there.
The Riverglade woman says Quake has competed in Worlds once before, but never in Spain, “Last year was our first year competing, at the world stage. We worked out our jitters and seeing where we were at. We then took the lessons we learned from last year, and then figured out what we really wanted to work on for this year.”
It was the first time Quake has made a flight to Spain, but Neklia-Thibodeau says they made him feel comfortable, “We have special cookies to put in his crate with a Kong, to keep him relaxed during the flight.”
Agility competitions can include tunnels, weave poles, teeter totters and tires. The object is for the dog to get through the course under the direction of their Handler, as quickly as possible without error.
Neklia-Thibodeau says it’s important that you build up that relationship with the dog, to compete, and that you work together, “Any dog can learn at any age. It’s really just about reinforcing what you are looking for. Rewarding through praise, through treats, through playing with him to build up his confidence and building up his understanding of what you are looking for.
Neklia-Thibodeau and Quake travelled to Spain with a team of around 20 Canadians and their dogs.
You can watch the Championship live, as the events are ongoing, they are being broadcast live.
