A man’s best friend… and training partner

Combine canine athleticism with human coordination and you have the thrillingly fast-paced sport of dog agility.

Ballito’s Craig Perelson and his border collie, Flirt, are two of the local proponents of the sport which merges functional training and competitive adaptability.

In competitions, dogs are led through an obstacle course by their trainers, which might see them hop hurdles, sprint through tunnels and balance on narrow beams, among many other surprises on the day.

“We only get to see and walk the course for 10 minutes before the run, so it tests the dog’s training and the trainer’s ability to keep track of the direction,” said Perelson.

Dog’s are judged on their overall speed, but also on accuracy, with points being deducted for missed obstacles or obstacles done incorrectly.

Too many inaccuracies or refusals and the dog will be disqualified.

“The connection between the dog and trainer is crucial. We use both body language cues and voice commands depending on where in the course the dog is,” he said.

Aside from the main event, some agility meets also include ‘gamblers’ or ‘snooker’ formats, which test different skills than speed alone.

For now, Perelson and Flirt are just finding their feet in competition, with the duo only having completed three so far.

“Dog safety is paramount in the sport of course, so dogs are only allowed to compete from the age of 18 months. Flirt has just turned two, so we’re slowly getting more used to the atmosphere and challenge of a meet.”

Perelson is also getting back into the sport as a trainer himself, after administrating provincial meets as the regional director of the South African Dog Agility Association (SADAA) for over 10 years.

He was first introduced to dog agility as a 10-year-old when training the family dog, a German shepherd called Tammy, later training his second dog Roxy, a Papillon.

“I started with dog obedience, but found it a little boring as a kid, so wanted to try something new. Tammy wasn’t particularly obedient in any case but we still loved doing the events!”

But after moving to Ballito from Johannesburg seven years ago, Perelson has been looking to start training again and Flirt has so far been the perfect student.

“Working dogs often make the best dog agility competitors because they respond better to training. But the events are graded so any dog is catered to.”

Although the sport is not huge in Ballito yet, Perelson said it is growing countrywide and in KwaZulu-Natal, where regular local meets see upwards of 35 pairs entering.

They are organised in conjunction with SADAA and the Kennel Union of South Africa (KUSA).

To find out more about the sport, visit their websites at sadaa.co.za and kusa.co.za.

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