Saint Bernard 鈥淪hayna鈥� likes to be right. If Shayna returns the wrong dumbbell in an obedience trial, she spits it at her owner, Sarah Friedlander of Middleburg Heights, Ohio, as if to say, 鈥淗mph, no, you鈥檙e wrong.鈥� In the agility ring, Shayna would sometimes circle around the dog walk, rather than walk across it. In addition to her occasional antics, she is still a top obedience and agility dog. With only the top five dogs from each breed invited, Shayna is the sole Saint Bernard competing in the 18th annual AKC Agility Invitational and the 10th annual AKC Obedience Classic. These events are part of the AKC National Championship, presented by Royal Canin week, including the biggest dog show of the year on December 16 and 17 in Orlando, Florida.
Transferring Obedience Knowledge to Agility
For Shayna, winning a slot in these elite events wasn鈥檛 the luck of the draw. The six-and-a-half-year-old dog has worked hard with Friedlander to attach a string of AKC performance titles to her name, RACH Swissmiss Shayna Snowflake CDX BN RM4 RAE2 FDC MXP AJP MFPB DCAT SWN RATN CGCA CGCU TKP ATT. The Saint knows how to achieve distinction in agility, obedience, rally, scent work, and trick dog.
It鈥檚 the second year that the team has qualified for the AKC Agility Invitational. For a 130-pound dog, learning to scoot through a tunnel, leap over bars, and maneuver tight turns around weave poles takes determination, skill, and a knowledgeable handler. Fortunately, Friedlander is no novice to dog training. Her first dog, 鈥淜elly,鈥� was an anxious German Shepherd Dog who required extra attention, so Friedlander took her to obedience. 鈥淜elly taught me everything I know about dog training,鈥� Friedlander says. 鈥淪he died in February at age 10, so we鈥檙e running the Invitational in her memory.鈥� This will be Friedlander鈥檚 first time going to the AKC Obedience Classic with Shayna.
Friedlander鈥檚 training journey picked up speed when she started prepping other agility dogs for friends and family. The various breeds and different dog鈥檚 ages that she dealt with helped her handle other dogs. These include her aunt鈥檚 dog 鈥淥livia,鈥� a 3-year-old Cardigan Welsh Corgi, and Friedlander鈥檚 friend Linda Schmidt who owns 鈥淨uasar,鈥� a 7-year-old Flat-Coated Retriever. Friedlander herself added a 9-year-old Papillon, 鈥淏ruiser,鈥� and 鈥淜eegan,鈥� a 4-year-old All-American Dog, 鈥淲ynnie,鈥� a 2-year-old Cardigan Welsh Corgi, and 3-year-old 鈥淪harona,鈥� a Bernese Mountain Dog to the mix, giving her a well-rounded training experience with many different kinds of breeds.
Defying Stereotypes for Large Dogs
When Friedlander鈥檚 grandmother first bought her a Saint Bernard puppy, Friedlander knew she wanted to compete in dog sports with her new dog. But people told her it wasn鈥檛 the breed for agility. 鈥淚 never owned a Saint, but when well-meaning friends told me, 鈥楴o, you don鈥檛 compete with a Saint Bernard because they鈥檙e too big,'鈥� Friedlander says. 鈥淚 luckily refused to listen.鈥�
From the beginning, Friedlander knew what she wanted to teach her dog to do. Shayna鈥檚 education began on her first birthday. 鈥淎t the end of our agility practice, she liked to jump and hug me,鈥� Friedlander recalls. 鈥淚n obedience, she loves retrieving the dumbbell but has no patience for the articles. She thinks she鈥檚 got better things to do.鈥�
鈥淎s we began training, Shayna was receptive to everything, but was somewhat of a challenge. She never thinks she鈥檚 wrong and jumps at me when I tell her otherwise.鈥� As training progressed, Shayna collected a Masters Standard title and eight legs of her Jumper鈥檚 title. In Time-2-Beat (T2B) titling class, Shayna has 10 legs. With speed and strategy, dogs and handlers race against the clock. This class is a hybrid class of Standard and Jumpers With Weaves.
There are always good runs and ones that could鈥檝e been better. At the last AKC Agility Invitational, Shayna had two near-perfect runs, but she knocked one bar over and hit the tire.
鈥淎t the very least, my dog doubles up on personality,鈥� Friedlander says. Every time Shayna leaves a ring, she lets everyone know she accomplished something. 鈥淭his dog walks around and barks to anyone who will listen.鈥� Knowing she鈥檚 the center of attention only prompts her to puff herself up even more.
Prepping for The Big Week
Shayna and Friedlander have been busy preparing for not one, but two events during the week of the AKC National Championship. There are some things that Friedlander aims to keep in mind during the competition. 鈥淭he only thing I need to remember in agility is to give Shayna a lot of space,鈥� Friedlander says. 鈥淚f she鈥檚 feeling exuberant and I get in her way, she鈥檒l knock me down.鈥� She says that Shayna prefers waiting to hear what鈥檚 coming next. 鈥淚f I don鈥檛 call out the obstacles, she turns and barks at me. She鈥檚 that special.鈥�
Despite Shayna not being the fastest agility dog or the most traditionally obedient, Friedlander is looking forward to competing with her. 鈥淚鈥檓 super excited. You never know with these big dogs, and I don鈥檛 expect to win anything,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 special to compete at this level.鈥�
The AKC National Championship, presented by Royal Canin, is the dog world’s biggest event of the year! Learn more about conformation and follow your favorite breeds at . They might be competing for the coveted Best in Show title in December!聽