Dr. Gary King, emeritus professor of microbial biology at Louisiana State University, has a nickname for his dog “Albus.” It’s “APD,” which is short for “Albus the Perfect Dog.” Although Albus once jumped on top of the kitchen counter to gobble down a traditional Christmas pudding, Dr. King considers Albus the perfect Standard Manchester Terrier, and the two of them began participating in dog sports to build their bond.
Dr. King knew little about the dog world when they first started, but he and Albus (MACH Jazzman Oasis Amicus Albus RN MXS MJG MFB TQX T2B3 CAX FCAT6 CGCA TKN FITG) are now a formidable pair. They’re also the only team from Maine competing in the 19th AKC Agility Invitational on December 14 and 15, as part of the AKC National Championship Week, presented by Royal Canin.
His Perfect Dog and Perfect Breed
Dr. King says Albus came to him serendipitously and filled a hole in his life in ways far beyond what he could have imagined. He describes his dog as adventurous and gutsy—the type of dog who enjoys getting out to do just about anything. Albus joins Dr. King on hikes and camping trips where they kayak and boat together. They’ve even participated in canine biathlons. But Albus is also an expert snuggler who is perfect at occupying a lap.
Like almost every other dog of his breed, one of Albus’ favorite things to do is eat. Dr. King explains, “When he’s not eating, I suspect that he’s thinking about eating, which is why he enjoys agility, coursing, and the other sports we play. He knows there’s going to be a treat somewhere and is quick to learn whatever is needed to get the reward.”
“He’s a wonderfully curious, athletic, intelligent, and very comical Standard Manchester Terrier,” says Dr. King. “He inspires with his canine wisdom, patience, endless love, and ability to forgive and forget the dumb things a certain human might be prone to do.”
Starting Out As Newbies
And that patience has served Albus well as Dr. King was a complete novice when they first got together. When they began participating in conformation, others realized Dr. King’s ignorance of the dog world and recommended a local obedience club to help with training. Dr. King was leery at first as he describes himself as “not very obedient,” but one of the first things he saw on the club’s website was information about agility.
He says, “Although I had never seen the sport that I recall and knew so little about the dog world that I thought Westminster must be in London, agility seemed the right thing for us. We dove in with no experience whatsoever, and I quickly discovered that most of my ideas were misguided if not completely wrong. Some of our instructors thought we were hopeless, but with Albus leading the way, we continued on and have found our place in the world.”
Albus Loves to Run
The 19th Agility Invitational features the top five ranked agility dogs from each breed. But Albus isn’t just a top agility competitor, he’s also superfast. Albus loves lure coursing, CAT, and Fast CAT too. In fact, although they focus on agility now, Albus has been ranked the number one or number two fastest Manchester Terrier since his first three runs as a 1-year-old in 2019.
Dr. King believes that coursing flows through Manchester veins making the dogs naturals at the sport. And Albus isn’t Dr. King’s only speedy dog. He has a second Standard Manchester Terrier now – a younger female named “Le`a.” She is currently ranked as the number four fastest Manchester Terrier overall and the number one female, as well as the number five overall and number one female in the lifetime rankings.
Dr. King trains the dogs separately, mostly because Le`a won’t have it any other way. Yet the two dogs get along quite well, as long as Le`a has consented to whatever is going on. Dr. King and Albus mostly fall in line with her expectations, but Albus does assert lap priority sometimes. And as Le`a runs just a tad slower than Albus, Dr. King enjoys watching them play zoomies around the yard.
Learning From Mistakes
Dr. King is happy to be part of the warm and welcoming extended family of the agility world, and he’s looking forward to seeing some of those friends at the invitational. He’s also excited to watch the amazing handlers as he tries to learn from other teams’ runs. But his favorite part of agility by far is knowing that his dogs love it. Once Albus has been to a venue, he recognizes landmarks on their return, even from miles away. He gets super excited and drags Dr. King to the ring. Le`a behaves the same way. “I get the greatest satisfaction from knowing that they are happy,” he says, “I try to remember that whenever I inevitably make mistakes or something doesn’t work out quite right.”
Dr. King says he’s still learning which is the most challenging aspect of agility for Albus. But the dog adapts to Dr. King’s miscues and late calls quite well. And for Dr. King, besides creating good handling plans for different courses, the most challenging aspect of the sport is learning how to help his dogs achieve their true potential.
He advises, “Manchesters are very smart and eager to work. It’s fairly easy these days to find classes and training, so my advice, which is generalizable, is simply to jump in. But pay close attention to your dog’s temperament and how they learn. Be patient with yourself and your dog, stick with it, and you’ll not only succeed, you’ll wonder what took you so long to find agility.”
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 dog shows throughout the year. They might be competing for the coveted Best in Show title in December!