Well John when you getting one? I bet if you go to the pound aka shelter ,you won't leave without one.
Every time I watch vids like that I miss having a dog. But I'm 70 years old. It would not be fair to the dog. Regarding that video...at the 4:15 mark there's a dog that absolutely shreds the obstacle course. I happened to catch that event live on TV just a month or two ago. He won the 12" class as an "All American" breed. That's the AKC's newish designation for mutts. Some of the other dogs either missed a gate or got distracted...not this one. That dog was focused!!! Here's a video of it. When they do the see-saw, they have to stop until the opposite side touches the ground or it's a foul. Those yellow sections at the end of the fixed ramps mean the dog has to touch there...it can't get halfway down and then leap off or it's a foul. You can't really appreciate this run unless you saw the prior competitors go a relatively moderate pace or sort of "get lost" and have to be guided by their owners. The dogs who were in 2nd, 3rd and 4th place were within a second or two of each other. This dog beat the #2 dog by 7 seconds!!
p John I'm 75 and Jakes soon be 69 but we have 4 adopted large dogs, which just 30 minutes ago I brought them in since tonight is going to be 27F. And we all had a dispute about staying on their beds, but it didn't last long, they stay. No I don't beat them, just speak loudly Jake and I drag them back to their bed let them know we aren't kidding or playing. I also think about them out living us, but the shelter wasn't good either, I hope the kids and grandkids would take them. I do understand too about our illnesses but once trained they are good to have around.
I had a coworker who raised showdogs for Agility competitions; they were Shelties. She was single and spent almost every weekend traveling the US in a van full of dogs. She was quite well known in "Sheltie Circles."
John I also understand how hard it can be training and caring for a dog, so sometimes I type without 5thinking so ignore it. You know better than anyone if you want a dog or not.
There's a diner near me that has a stack of free newspapers published by the state's Fox Hunt groups. It's fascinating to read. The horse breeders, the riders, the dog breeders, and folks who make tack all have their little worlds they travel in and who have their "stars." If you read enough editions, you begin to recognize names. Your coworker not only worked in dog competitions, she was breed-specific. Imagine how many breed-specific counterparts there are just in that subset of dog events. So many parallel existences out there, and we only encounter a handful of them.
I didn't take offense. In fact, I adopted a dog once, and they did not tell me until afterwards that they knew it had Lyme disease. They were supposed to provide meds but never did. Then it ended up being destructive inside and out, and it found the cow pasture in the property up the road so I'd have to bathe it 3x a day, and it got to be too much. I used to volunteer in animal rescue years ago. I would spit on the ground at the mention of those who adopted and then took the critter back. But that's exactly what I ended up doing. It was an ugly fight with the group I got him from. Even though I'm home most of the time, and even though I loved them to death, when my dog and cat passed away in their 20s, it was freeing. It was a mistake for me to adopt that dog, even though I very much miss having critters.
I do understand what your saying. Also, I probably best keep advice to myself or these mutts may make me eat my words.
I'm pretty good with training animals, My DIL once said, " your cats mind better than my kids". I just used a spray bottle to teach them, I'd say no, then spray, they got the point right away. I silently agreed with her. I loved all my gandkids but it did take them a couple days to realize where they were at, yet they all begged to come here. We had them all summer and school breaks when till they got older and into sports.
@john, of course a dog can also cause lots of trouble both mentally and physically, So don't take advice from me as you probably already know not to, Our yard now looks like it was bombed, and they have torn up more stuff than you can shake a stick at. And you have to be careful about infection too one of the wounds I got was hard to heal.