As a wily border collie named Rose zipped above a fake-grass-covered ring in Latrobe on Saturday, the 6-year-old agility competitor appeared to rarely touch the ground as she glided through an obstacle-laden, 230-yard course.
She cleared 2-foot-tall hurdles without hesitation. It took her about 4 seconds to effortlessly zigzag between a tightly arranged series of 12 “weave poles.”
Many handlers huffed and puffed after they ran their dogs through the course in hopes of representing Team USA in this summer’s European Open.
Jeremy Schultz, Rose’s handler, didn’t break a sweat.
“We had some mistakes out there, so we were not watching the time — we’re just building confidence,” said Schultz, 33, of Midland, Mich., a self-described “washed-up athlete” who works by day as a chemist. “This is a fun rush. … I guess I’m just one of those ‘work hard so you can spoil yourself later’ sort of guys.”
Rose — who ran the length of more than two football fields Saturday morning in 46.49 seconds — was one of nearly 300 dogs competing in the American Kennel Club’s 2026 European Open Team Tryouts. The top dogs will head to Fontainebleau, France, a commune about 30 miles south of Paris, to compete July 24-26.
The three-day qualifier, which runs through Sunday in Latrobe, brought dogs and dog handlers from all corners of the nation to a massive competition compound tucked into a field near the end of the borough’s Avenue C.
According to the AKC, one handler came from California and another from Alaska. In a parking lot overflowing with dog-friendly SUVs and minivans, vehicles bore license plates from New York and North Carolina to Kentucky.
AKC officials and the four-legged competitors’ handlers, though, were clear about one thing this weekend: These are not “show dogs.”
“ ‘Show dogs?’ That’s a beauty contest,” quipped Douglas A. Hurley, a 26-year AKC veteran and the organization’s director of agility. “We’re not a beauty contest. We’re the athletes of the dog world.”
Saturday’s first round of competition showed these athletes were not messing around.
In one section of B&D Creekside Activity Center, physical therapists and masseuses worked out kinks in dogs’ muscles. Elsewhere, businesses offered laser therapy or tips on diet and conditioning regimens.
Yes, Howl Mountain Pet Kitchen’s table was filled with dog treats such as beef hearts, pig snouts and chicken gizzards. But the Franklin County business, which is based about 50 miles west of Harrisburg, also sold pumpkin-infused water, which handlers said helps their four-legged companions’ digestive tracts.
“Everything you think an athlete would need, we have it — and it makes a huge difference,” U.S. team coach Annette Alfonso told TribLive. “These dogs are athletes, and they’re treated like athletes. What we have here is the best of the best in this country, competing for a spot on the team.”
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Alfonso has always loved dogs.
“As a kid, I thought I was going to be a vet,” she said. “I didn’t know there was a career in dog training.”
Alfonso joined Team USA in 2017. Within a year, she had trekked to Vienna as her team competed internationally.
Now coach of the squad, Alfonso relocated last year from Greenville, S.C., to Latrobe, in large part to be near the B&D facility, which has hosted the annual European Open tryouts since 2016.
“This event is so crazy,” Alfonso said. “But, for me, getting the team there (to the European Open) is the most stressful part.”
The dogs, of course, stole the show.
Before one round of runs, a “white dog” — AKC-speak for a dog that is taking a trial run — darted between hurdles and burrowed through tunnels on the 22-stop course.
“Over! Over!” a handler later barked toward a Belgian Malinois, a breed of herding dog.
“Weave!” another yelled as she hustled through the course with her dog.
“Everybody has their own dictionary,” Alfonso said. “Some people say ‘Jump!’ Some people say ‘Over!’ Some have specific words — like ‘Check, check’ or ‘Dig, dig’ — and those can be words for a tight turn.”
Competition is also fierce.
A border collie named Match, led by handler Maddie Speagle, took first place in one category after running through the 135- by 120-foot ring in 40.09 seconds. Maestro, a border collie led by handler Laurren Bastian, placed second with a time of 40.17 seconds.
The difference between first and second place: 80 milliseconds — or about 2/25ths of a second.
“This is a really good way for us to practice competing in a high-pressure environment,” said Casey Keller, an instructor from Raleigh, N.C., who was running three dogs in Latrobe this weekend.
One of Keller’s dogs, Fidget, netted a silver medal at a recent international competition.
“For me, personally,” Keller said, “I like competing when there’s something on the line.”
Pittsburgher Dawn Speer first competed in dog agility contests years ago with her Belgian Malinois, Sila. The pastime led her to launch a business, Beauty of the Beasts, around 2000.
On Saturday, Speer talked about her passion designing dog-agility-themed T-shirts and other gear — such as a handmade mesh and fur “training tug chaser” with a 36-inch handle — while her latest dog, 12-year-old Anya, paced in circles with a stuffed penguin toy in her mouth.
Agility competitions fed Anya’s desire to solve complex problems, Speer said.
“These dogs, they’re just so smart. They’re smarter than most people,” said Speer, who lives in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood. “And these events? They made her more confident. It’s a great sport for that.”