Meet Sierra Hagar: A Dog Sports Enthusiast
Name: Sierra Hagar
Age: 15
Hometown: Council Bluffs, Iowa
Grade: 10th
Family: Jennifer Vincent, Great Aunt/Guardian, and Aiden Hagar, brother
Sierra belongs to a family that is all about dog sports. From early childhood she has helped out at flyball tournaments, disc events, scent work trials, and more. Now she is an experienced competitor who enjoys training and trying new sports with her dog as well as helping with the operations side of the events.
AKC: How old is your All-American Dog and how did he come into your life?
Sierra: Caper is an 8-year-old Border Collie/American Staffordshire Terrier mix. We got him from a flyball team member, where my aunt got her first Border Collie. He came into my life when I was 6 years old.
AKC: What got you started in training and competing with dogs?
Sierra: For as long as I can remember, I have been going to flyball tournaments, scent work trials and barn hunt trials with my aunt. When I was 9 years old, I started training our Australian Shepherd, Kylie, for scent work, mostly because my aunt was already competing with two dogs, and I wanted to try it! Kylie wasn’t the easiest to “read” and was very soft, but we had a connection. I took scent work classes with her to learn how to better read her. We had a busy first year, and when I was in the third grade, I was able to show her in showmanship at our 4-H County Fair. We made it to one scent work trial before she passed away at age 13. After Kylie passed away, I still was interested in showing dogs, so my aunt let me compete with Caper. He was already “trained,” but I still had to take him to classes, practices, seminars, and workshops to learn how to become a team. He is an exceptional sniffer and was a great partner for me to learn how to be a better handler. I started competing with him when I was 10 years old, and we haven’t looked back since. He is the best teammate!
AKC: Is your family involved in dog training/showing?
Sierra: Yes – we are a crazy dog sport family! Currently I participate in scent work, disc, Fast CAT, CAT, and flyball. My aunt does scent work, disc, Fast Cat, Flyball and Barn Hunt (and previously Agility and Rally).
I have had the privilege of helping at flyball with tasks like ball shagging, running dogs and box judging. At disc league I am able to judge and help time. I have also been able to do scent work and disc demonstrations at the Missouri River Expo event and have even helped man a Barn Hunt booth at a local dog event. I am always happy to learn new things from people and share my love of dog sports with others. Dog sports really is a family affair for us, and I even had a “job” of cleaning kennels at our local dog club where my aunt cleaned once a week. I only earned one dollar per kennel, but it was great for a first-time job.
AKC: What sports does your dog compete in and what titles/honors has he earned?
Sierra: Caper loves to do “all the things!” Currently, he competes in flyball, scent work, disc, Fast CAT and Barn Hunt. He previously competed in agility but has since retired.
Caper’s titles:
AKC Scent Work – SWE, SCM, SIM (only a couple of buried Q’s away from our master title!)
His other AKC titles include his FCAT, CA, and Trick Dog (TKN).
In Barn Hunt, Caper has his RATCHX8, REMX4, and CZ8P4.
In Up Dog Disc, Caper has his Bronze UP in Level One Frizgility, Level One 4 Way Play and Level One Throw-n-Go.
In NAFA Flyball, Caper has earned his ONYX.
I don’t know what all the titles mean, and Caper sure doesn’t know if he gets them! But we both know is that doing all the “things” is fun and any time we are doing them, Caper thinks it is the best day ever.
AKC: Tell us about what dog training has meant to you.
Sierra: I love seeing the progression of start to finish. Sometimes I am hesitant to try new things, but having a great partner like Caper and seeing what joy he gets from classes, seminars, and trials makes me want to reach out beyond my comfort zone to allow him the best possible experience. Going to classes and getting ready for trials has taught me to set goals (something that comes from my 4-H experiences) and to focus on the journey, not always focus on the outcome. I always try to look for the positive – even if we don’t “Q” at a trial, I can always find a positive thing that happened during the run, and we usually end up with a few laughs too.
AKC: Tell us about any other dogs you may have – names, ages, and what sports they compete in.
Sierra: We have Twist, who is 14 years old and retired from dog sports, but used to do scent work, flyball, agility, Barn Hunt and a little disc when he was younger.
I also have a Miniature American Shepherd named Sync. She is 2 years old. She is my first little dog. She is the first dog I trained myself, from start to finish, in scent work. She currently competes in scent work and Barn Hunt. She has started flyball with the hopes of running a line up this year. I’m hoping to maybe do rally and start her in disc and agility soon.
AKC: Do you own any “non-dog” pets?
Sierra: Besides my family’s three dogs, I have two 5-year-old tuxedo cats named Max and Smudge. We also house anywhere from 20-25 rats (they are used for the Barn Hunt club).
AKC: What are your goals in the sport of dogs?
Sierra: I would like to get Caper’s master title in AKC Scent Work and to do a few more disc competitions this year with Caper.
Do you plan do to something animal related as a career?
Sierra: I have not decided what I want to do after high school. I have been looking at design (I love art) and do a lot of animal character drawings. I’m not sure if my path will lead me to an animal career, but I know that I will always have dog sport activities as one of my hobbies.
AKC: What extracurricular activities are you involved in addition to dog sports?
Sierra: At school, I am involved with Marching Band, Symphonic Band, Winter Guard, Show Choir, Bella Voce Choir and Tabletop Club.
Outside of school I participate in 4-H, where I do my dog project, photography, communication, leadership, cats, and visual arts. I am also on the 4-H County Council in our county and I am a member of the 4-H Dog Enthusiast Club, where we explore a different dog sport each month and have guest speakers.
In 4-H, I have been able to continue my love of dog training and sharpen my leadership and communication skills. I have given educational presentations on scent work that have advanced to the Iowa State Fair. Last year, I applied for the first time for state project recognition, which involved doing a resume and then traveling to Iowa State University for an interview. I was honored to be awarded a state project award for dog. When we say we are a crazy dog sport family, we mean it. I went up to Ames (three hours from Council Bluffs) for my in-person interview. Right after the interview, I jumped in the car and drove to Wichita to compete with Caper at a scent work trial. It may have been a little backtracking, but you know you do what you must do to get those elusive buried Q’s!