06/04/2026
I ran across two of my customers today while I was away from the kennel. You know how sometimes you just don't recognize people out of context and apparently that is true for me as well. We had a good laugh though and did recognize each other. I mentioned to both of them in different conversations that I competed with my dogs and both of them told me they didn't know that. So I thought I would share a little bit about my adventures. Competing with my dogs is probably the number one reason that I moved back to Louisiana. I found this wonderful boarding facility that came complete with a covered arena and a barn and so much acreage to build dreams on. Some of those dreams have come true in the 10 years I've been here, some of them have not but we move on. I got started in dog sports a little over 20 years ago while I was living in Georgia. It's going to be a long post! The facility where I took my Lucy to board had some agility equipment out in their field. So one day I asked what it was and what it was all about and it sounded like great fun. Lucy and I had long since grown tired of hooking up a leash and going for a neighborhood walk. So I asked the owner about instruction and her response to me was that she often found it harder to train older people because they couldn't get enthusiastic and happy with their dogs when they were training. Needless to say I took that as a personal challenge. Lucy was also the type of dog that needed me to be enthusiastic so it was a pretty easy job. As all my friends and family know that was truly the beginning of my dog sport addiction. I was only limited by the fact that I had to have a job to pay for all of those things and they're just weren't enough hours in the day to play. Lucy and I went on to try our hand at agility, rally, a tiny bit of dock diving, scent work long before it became so incredibly popular. We earned a few Trick Dog titles, tried some tracking and then sweet Lucy got to retire. My next sport pup was a border collie named Lizzy. I adopted her when she was about 10 months old and she was a pistol. She taught me and Lucy so much about how to have fun. Lizzy and I competed in agility for about 8 years. She was a dream. Always ready, always helping me out on course. Speedy little girl but not the fastest, she's still achieved her MACH and her ADCH and I retired her on a very fun gamblers course in April of 2021. Lizzy and I did not get to try out as many sports as we had already made the move here to Louisiana and of course owning the kennel took a lot of my time and energy. She absolutely loved dock diving. We didn't travel to do it but we never missed an opportunity to jump at the local, to us, dock in Carthage. I also started her in scent work and rally. She thought rally was ridiculous and didn't mind telling me about it all the way through the course. Turns out you get points off for barking 🤣. The red rocket came into our lives in June of 2021. I would guess that most of my customers have met Rill as she is the best greeter you could ever have. Waits patiently with the sweetest face ever for someone to say a kind word to her. I allow her to put her feet on the top of the gate that separates us from the customers. I have to say I think she sucks them right in with that pretty face and that wagging tail. Rill and I currently compete in agility. Training her has been so different from my first two that we still really don't have our teamwork nailed down but it doesn't keep us from trying. It is a rush to run with a dog that can run Fast Cat at almost 27 miles per hour. So she has to crank that down on the agility field and she has to put up with my slow speed and my slow commands and still she loves it. We dabbled in dock diving but I promised myself I would not do it unless I could give her the time and the instruction that she needed to be successful . She is such a phenomenally athletic dog it just doesn't seem right to only do it halfway. So she loves the water but we don't compete in dock diving. We compete in scent work as well. This weekend we will be attending a local trial where we are working towards her Rally Championship. We've had a great time in Rally. Some might consider it a little boring for the red rocket but her tail is always up and she's always wearing her happy face. I do have to say tonight though when I brought her to the arena where all of her favorite jumps and tunnels normally reside she looked a little nonplussed to see nothing but plastic signs out here. I think it was a good practice with distractions because she was truly surprised that we walked by tunnels and jumps. I am not a particularly competitive person but I do like to do well, however the best part of training and competing is building a relationship with my dogs. They depend on me and I depend on them. Every time we step to the line we're a team and there is no other feeling like it. I am so fortunate and blessed to have had these three great dogs. So sometimes if I'm away from the kennel please know that my employees are always here caring for your dogs, we are always in communication and all is well. Thanks for listening to my story.
Catherine Allred
