When it comes to agility competitions, this one’s for the dogs.

Three members of the Iron Mountain K-9 Agility Centre competed in the B.C. and Yukon Regional Agility Championships in Langley back on June 7 and 8, with three of their six dogs taking a spot on the podium by finishing within the top six in their respective divisions.

Maureen Sanderson, Susan Chutter and Robin Brodie of Merritt were the handlers at the Thunderbird Equestrian Centre that weekend for the competition.

Sanderson said given the level of competition, it was amazing to have three of their dogs finish on the podium.

“You get the top dogs from all over the province and the Pacific Northwest,” Sanderson said.

Over 350 dogs competed two times each in a gambler run, a jumper run and standard run over the two-day event.

A standard course includes jumps, tunnels, contact equipment and a dog walk, while the jumping course is made up of tunnels and jumps, but no contact equipment.

The gambler course involves two parts. The first part has the handler direct the dog to run through any piece of equipment within a minute with each piece having a certain point value. The second half of the run has the dog gain 35 points by completing a few obstacles laid out in a given order within 20 seconds.

These three runs are considered master-level courses, Sanderson said.

“They’re very, very difficult, challenging courses for the dogs,” she said.

The dogs complete the runs and are scored with faults resulting in deductions to their scores. Completing a run in the allotted time or earlier results in bonus points, Sanderson said. Highest totals determine what place the dog finishes in his or her division.

Sanderson had two of her three standard poodles make the podium, with nine-year-old Jazz placing third in the 22-inch special division and nine-and-a-half-year-old Kalli placing fifth in the 16-inch veterans division. One of Chutter’s two golden retrievers, seven-and-a-half-year-old Lua, placed just ahead of Kalli with fourth place in the 16-inch veterans class.

“That was only Susan’s second regional championships ever, so I was proud of her,” Sanderson said.

Brodie’s four-year-old border collie cross, Peso, came in just behind fellow Merrittonian canines, placing seventh in that class, missing a podium finish by just one spot.

“She was in one of the most competitive divisions,” Sanderson said of Brodie, noting she managed to place just shy of the top six with a young dog.

Sanderson’s five-year-old poodle Mercedes finished 13th in the 26-inch regular division and Chutter’s six-year-old golden retriever Bella placed 13th in the 16-inch regular class.

All six of the dogs have qualified to compete in the Canadian National Agility Championships in New Brunswick later this summer. However, due to the travel required, none of the handlers will be making the trip.

Learning how to handle one’s dog through a course is the challenge of this sport, Sanderson said.

“The handler’s the team leader and they’re the only part of the team that knows where the dog is supposed to be going,” she said, adding that proper communication with the dog is critical in avoiding errors.

She said it takes a lot of hard work to get a dog trained to the point where it can compete at regional championships.

“It’s a fun process. It’s fun for the dogs, it’s fun for the handlers,” she said.