Knife River hosts dog agility trial

• Teacup Dogs Agility Association

The Knife River Recreational Center hosted the third Teacup Dogs Agility Association trial for northern Minnesota in August.

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The Knife River Recreational Center hosted the third Teacup Dogs Agility Association trial for northern Minnesota in August. TDAA offers dog agility venues for dogs 17 inches and under at their withers. The equipment and ring are smaller than in other dog agility venues to give the smaller dogs the same challenges as the big dogs. Another unique feature of TDAA is the number of games available for a judge to choose from in addition to standard runs.

The Arrowhead Small Dog Agility Association ran the trial.

Thirty-two dog and handler teams competed in six standard and six game runs.

Many teams advanced to higher levels during the weekend, including Knife River Yorkies Lilly and Winnie, with handler Judy Casserberg. Both Yorkies earned two titles each.

Entered in the Knife River trial was one TDAA national champion and two national champion finalists. TDAA has a yearly event where teams compete for nationals, where Minnesota teams have done well. Last year, three of the four final champion teams were from Minnesota and a number of other state teams made the final runs.

A Two Harbors team, Sadie Libal and her all-American, Jenny, made the final cut but had to leave before running so Sadie could be back home to go to school the next morning. They ran well in the Knife River trial.

The next area trial will be indoors Oct. 23-24 at Arrowhead Dog Training Academy in Duluth. Expect to see trials return to Knife River next summer.

If you are interested in dog agility and have a small dog, you can contact Judy Casserberg of Knife River at 834-5957. The TDAA Web site is at www.k9tdaa.com. If you are interested in dog agility training, you can contact Diane Craig at Arrowhead Dog Training Academy, www.arrowhead dogtrainingacademy.com.

Tags: two harbors, community, knife river, dog show