West Islanders, canine pals gear up for obedience trials

BY WENDY SMITH

Christy, an 8-year-old Shetland Sheepdog, has participated in formal obedience and agility competitions for most of her life. Bright and eager to please, she shone inside the ring.

Last year, she lost a leg to cancer, disqualifying her from competing in matches sanctioned by the Canadian Kennel Club.

Now, for the first time in Montreal, the Lakeshore Dog Training Association (LDTA) is holding a special obedience trial that will accommodate dogs like Christy.

Sanctioned by the Canadian Association of Rally and Obedience (CARO), Rally Obedience, or Rally-O as it is commonly called, is a more relaxed approach to obedience and agility courses. Dogs zip through tunnels and weave past pylons. Owners are allowed to talk and signal to their dogs. Competitions are open to all canine entrants, including mixed breeds and handicapped dogs.

Christy’s owner, Roxboro resident Janis Carruthers, is happy to have found another competitive outlet for her pooch’s seemingly boundless energy. “It was a way to keep her active,” she said, adding that Christy manages just as well on three legs as most dogs do on four. “I took it harder than she did,” she admitted. “She went in to have the surgery on Monday, and by Wednesday she was home, jumping on the sofa.”

Sharon Gibbons’ eleven-year-old Australian Shepherd, Alex, can’t jump quite as high as he used to, but he still loves to get out and train. After a shoulder condition led Gibbons to retire her canine champ from competition last year, she found out about CARO. “With CARO, my old boy and I once again have the challenge of training for something new but now it’s without the physical stresses inherent to agility and advanced obedience,” she said. “Soon enough, he’ll be content to stay curled up on the couch. But, until then, there’s rally to keep him active and challenged in retirement.” “Traditional obedience is very, very strict. Not all dogs can do it and not all trainers can do it,” said LDTA member Kimberly Glickman, who is organizing the Montreal CARO rally. “It’s very frustrating and a lot of people fail. It’s certainly not something a lot of young people are going to take up.”

Fifteen-year-old Andrea Crowley of Pointe Claire couldn’t have taken up traditional obedience if she’d chosen to: her dogs aren’t purebreds. She’s been training the eldest, a German Shepherd-lab mix named Molly, for three-and-a-half years, through the LDTA and the Blue Ribbon Canine Centre, which offers matches for mixed-breed dogs. “I love training them. It’s so great to have [the dogs] look up to you,” she said.

For Gibbons, rallies are about more than ribbons and titles. “Training is all about finding a way to connect and communicate with this other species. It builds confidence and self-discipline and mutual trust, and out of that develops a pretty special kind of love.”

The Rally Obedience Day will take place Saturday, June 16 on the grounds of Queen of Angels Academy in Dorval. For more information, e-mail Kimberly Glickman at rally@ldta.ca.