AKC Agility Invitational

This past weekend, the AKC held its national championship practically in our backyard. The Orange County Convention Center in Orlando was converted, temporarily, into a massive dog show – conformation events, dock diving, obedience, agility, vendors, demos, a huge RV camping/parking area where serious travelers could camp out for the weekend. I've been to plenty of smaller dog shows – regional UKC and AKC shows, ADBA shows, AADR shows – but nothing quite as massive as this one.

I'm a pit bull person, and since the AKC doesn't recognize the American pit bull terrier as a breed, I immediately went looking for the closest thing the AKC does recognize: the American Staffordshire terriers and the Staffordshire bull terriers. There was no booth for Amstaffs in the (huge) showcase of breeds, but we quickly found the SBTCA booth and met this cool little guy:

 As Rob can attest, he was a fantastic ambassador for his breed:

We also got to see some salukis lounging ...

Samoyeds lounging ...

Setters wandering the halls ...

And a really cute Amstaff showing off in the ring. He was a character, and he placed (second, I think) in the Bred By Exhibitor terrier showcase.

But really, we went to the show so I could watch the agility trials – more specifically, I wanted to see the Amstaffs and Staffordshire bull terriers competing in agility. The AKC Agility Invitational is a pretty cool and unique event because, as one of the competitors I talked to told me, it's not dominated by any particular breed. The top in the sport in their breed are invited to participate, so you get to see everything from basset hounds (which were a ton of fun to watch, by the way) to dalmations to whippets to mixed breeds. The top dogs in their classes at the invitationals compete in the finals. This year, for the first time, a bull breed actually made it to the finals: MACH6 Buster Brown, owned by Janet Boggs placed 8th in the finals. I saw him do one run while I was there on Sunday, but I walked in as he was running the course so, sadly, no photos or video. But I did get some photos and video of some other American Staffordshire and Staffordshire bull terrier competitors doing the breed proud. One thing I have to say about all of the dogs, whether they performed poorly or well, is that they showed tons of enthusiasm out there on the course.

The last dog in the video above is the adorable and sweet and super-sleek Mr. Peabody, owned by Emily Sieger. I've been acquainted with emily via internet forums and blogs and whatnot for a while, and I finally got a chance to meet her and her lovely dogs, Lulu and Mr. P, in person.

Here's a nice shot of Mr. P:

And one of Emily with Mr. Peabody and Lulu, during a break in the action.

It was a great weekend ... definitely made me miss being more involved in dog sports. Maybe 2012 I'll dust off one of the clowns and try to do something with them again. I think Tucker could handle some rally, and maybe I can buckle down and get Doc his next tracking title. A lot of the dogs competing this weekend were way older than he is, which means his advancing age (9) is not a good excuse to let him hold down my couch!

You heard me, Doc. No more laying around in the sun. Time to get back to work.