A Langley dog won the opening events at the two-day UpDog disc dog trial on Saturday April 16, with Dale Johnston and Riley taking firsts in both the “throw and go” and “greedy” competitions that morning.
Held at Telegraph Trail Park in Walnut Grove, it was the first UpDog event of the season, and the weather was close to perfect, sunny but not too warm.
Johnston said Riley, a border collie, has been competing for about four years.
“Actually Riley got us into it, because she could catch a Frisbee and we went from catching a Frisbee into playing the games,” Johnston explained, as Riley tugged at her leash, watching other dogs practice.
“She is good at it,” Johnston remarked.
“You can see she wants to play.”
Several competitors rated Johnston and Riley as a combination that wins medals all the time, but Johnston demurred.
“Sometimes [we win],” he commented.
“I wouldn’t say all the time.”
Riley went on to win a total of four gold medals, three silver, and one bronze, all in the advanced division.
In “throw and go” the goal is to score as many points as possible by the dog member of the team catching “rollers or throws” in different scoring zones.
In “greedy,” the goal is to score as many points as possible with eight discs, with the rule that a competitor who gets too greedy about running up points without scoring in each of four zones will end up with zero.
UpDog agility competitions are designed so any dog can compete, explained Dove Cresswell, event host and owner of DogWorks Training in Burnaby.
“There’s different styles of Frisbee games that play to different dogs’ strengths and weaknesses,” Cresswell said.
“It really levels the playing field so that every dog that likes to catch discs has a chance to do well,” Cresswell told the Langley Advance Times.
“We encourage everyone that has a dog that wants to catch a Frisbee to come out and try.”
Forty-two dogs took part in the Langley event, with some coming from as far away as Victoria and Washington State.
More photos can be viewed online at the Langley Advance Times Facebook page.
There are UpDog events all over the world, from Canada to the U.S., Europe and Australia, Cresswell explained.
Their goal is to double the number of dog owners participating in dog agility events.
The next major dog agility challenge in Langley is the BC/Yukon Dog Agility Championships at Thunderbird Show Park June 17-19.
Hundreds are expected to compete.
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Is there more to the story? Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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