Most people are pretty pleased when their dog learns to sit, stay, fetch, roll over and all the other usual canine commands and tricks.
But Oxford residents Linda Brady and Riggs, her six-year-old Golden Retriever, are way beyond all that.
Brady and Riggs recently attained their Master Agility Championship (MACH) title while competing in the Detroit Kennel Club Dog Show March 19-20 at the Cobo Convention Center in Detroit.
The MACH is the highest rung on the agility ladder of titles handed out by the American Kennel Club (AKC).
‘It’s not an easy feat (to attain a MACH title),? said Brady, who’s taught dog obedience since 1978 and currently operates the Canine Community Center in Warren, a school specializing in obedience and agility training.
‘Most dogs in general don’t have the speed or consistency needed to get the title. Most handlers don’t have the skills or commitment to achieve the title.?
Agility is the fastest growing dog sport in the United States. Although it began in England in 1978, the AKC did not hold its first agility trial until 1994.
In agility, dogs demonstrate their agile nature and versatility by following cues from their human handlers through a timed obstacle course. The course consists of bar jumps, tire jumps, tunnels, 12 weave poles, an A-frame, a dog walk, a seesaw and other obstacles.
Brady and Riggs won their MACH at the Detroit Kennel Club show by flawlessly completing a 177-yard course with 20 obstacles in 48.88 seconds.
‘This is something most people will never do in their lifetime,? said Brady of achieving the MACH.
For Brady and Riggs attaining the MACH was the culmination of a journey that began when the Golden Retriever, named for Mel Gibson’s character in the Lethal Weapon movies, competed in her first agility trials at age 2.
Despite taking time out to have two litters of puppies and compete in obedience trials, Riggs diligently climbed her way up the agility ladder, earning all the titles from Novice to Open to Excellent and finally to MACH.
‘She’s a work-aholic,? Brady said. ‘Her favorite thing is to be doing something. She’s very active.?
Which is good because obtaining the MACH title takes hard work, dedication, lots of obedience training, lightning speed and consistent perfection.
For example, in order to attain the MACH, a dog must achieve two perfect scores in two different rings (a standard ring and jumpers ring) in 20 different shows.
In other words, a MACH dog must flawlessly complete 40 obstacle courses in 20 shows to earn the required 20 Double Qualifying runs.
‘You have to walk in the ring with 100 points and leave with 100 points,? Brady said. ‘The hardest part about the MACH is the consistency, getting those clean runs.?
Riggs finished earning her 20 Double Qualifying runs in October 2004.
MACH dogs must also earn at least 750 ‘speed points? ? points given for the number of seconds under the expected time in which a dog is supposed to complete a given obstacle course.
When Riggs won her MACH, Brady said she was expected to complete the entire course in 64 seconds. Every second under that time would count as a speed point.
She only needed 11 points in the standard ring, but instead completed the course in 48.88 seconds, earning 15 speed points and securing her MACH.
As a reward, Brady and Riggs were given the pole off her last jump, which they proudly carried around the ring during their victory lap.
Despite all the hard work, Brady said agility is an enjoyable sport to participate in and watch not only because it’s so fast-paced and exciting, but because the dogs are doing what comes natural to them ? ‘jumping, climbing, spinning.?
‘It’s fun for the dog and handler,? she said.
However, Brady stressed that agility isn’t for every dog or every handler.
A dog competing in agility must be physically sound; outgoing and friendly; able to handle noise, strangers and confusion; and have proper obedience training, an absolute must.
Getting the dog to run the obstacle course is ?10 percent? of agility, Brady said. ‘That’s the easy part. They either love it or they don’t.?
‘It’s the handling aspect that’s hard,? she said.
A handler has only eight minutes prior to an agility run to walk the course and figure out where they need to position themselves to help their dog move in the right direction.
‘With most dogs, if they make a mistake on the course, it’s the handler’s mistake,? Brady said.
And to make things even more difficult no two obstacle courses are alike. ‘I’ve never had one course that was even similar to another,? Brady said.
With agility trials behind them for now, Brady and Riggs next goal is attain an Obedience Trial Championship and earn a spot among the top 10 Golden Retrievers competing in obedience.
When she’s not competing or playing around the house as a ‘sweet, loving? family pet, Riggs does a little modeling on the side.
She’s been in television commercials for Temo Sunrooms and Bissell Cleaners, a print ad for Standard Federal Bank and even appeared on a billboard for Coldwell Banker along I-96 near Okemos.
Champion, model, family companion ? forget MACH, Riggs real title should be ‘Wonder Dog.?