Boston Terriers in
Agility...
 Having
run two Collies and a GSD in agility, Katie Gurney decided that she wanted to
run a smaller dog so she began to look at breeds such as Working Cockers,
Poodles and various crosses. She decided that none of these were quite right for
her so she kept looking - and then she discovered the Boston Terrier!
George (Gorgeous George to
his friends) my 4 .5 year old Boston Terrier. If anyone has come across a
Boston, they'll know they are cheeky little monkeys and have bags of
personality.
I was told by a number of
people that they'd never seen a Boston Terrier in agility and besides, they
probably weren't the best for it because of their short noses! Thankfully George
has a good nose for a Boston and doesn't have any breathing problems. I'm very
careful in the heat as to how much I run him but I'm the same with my Border
Collie.
George isn't my first
Boston. Unfortunately I lost Banjo, my first Boston, at just three years old. I
was heartbroken but having discovered that Banjo loved agility, I decided to go
back to the same breeder and that's when I got George. I just hoped when he was
old enough that he liked agility as much as Banjo had.
 In fact, he liked it more.
He
certainly has his moments. In his first couple of years training, he was a bit
like a kangaroo and spent more time in the air bouncing up at me than one the
ground and, as you are timed, this isn't good.
With lots of extra
training for both my self and him, he is now going great. He has the same
attitude as my first Collie. He's driven, looking for what's next and wants to
please. He gives it his all when asked and just loves being out on a course
whether it's an Agility or Jumping round.
I get lovely comments
about him when we come out of the ring.
He's had
several wins and is the first dog of
mine to win out of Grade 3. He also won our club trophy at the Christmas dinner
for the dog with the most clear rounds of the year. I'm super proud of him and enjoy
running him whether it's training or at a show.
 Boston's
are really easy to train as they love to please and are just great fun to own.
It's really nice seeing other breeds in agility as the majority of dogs in
agility are either Collies or Collie Xs even in Medium and Small heights.
I've never come across
another Boston at a show yet but I hope I do.
About the author...
 Katie Gurney (40+) started
Agility with her first dog a GSD called Tylah 13 years ago. Although she'd only ever
had a handful of clear rounds that never stopped her. She was hooked.
She has
also run two Collies and now her Boston Terrier which is totally different from
running Large dogs. She absolutely loves agility and can't imagine a life
without it.
Katie lives in Haverfordwest.
First
published 20th March 2019
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