Beautiful and yet…

October 23, 2010 at 8:15 pm 12 comments

hauntingly cringe-inducing.
The latest in our series of videos on non-traditional agility.

Parkour, or l’art du déplacement, is a sport where one traverses existing found obstacles in the environment. The goal is to traverse between obstacles provided by surrounding structures as quickly and efficiently as possible.

This dog is beautifully strong and acrobatic – but I wonder how long he can do this before sustaining a crippling, or life-ending, injury…

Entry filed under: dogs. Tags: agility, video.

October is… Can it feel good to feel bad?

12 Comments Add your own

1. Rob McMillin | October 23, 2010 at 8:28 pm

Maddy will find out for him.
2. SmartDogs | October 23, 2010 at 8:33 pm

She is a truly brilliant traceuse!
3. ruthcrisler | October 23, 2010 at 8:38 pm

Yikes. I mean, plenty compelling, but, yeah, yikes.
4. Christopher@BorderWars | October 23, 2010 at 9:20 pm

WOW. I wonder how much of that, if any, is trained, and how much of it comes from the dog. I particularly like how the dog is smart enough to lower itself down a bit on big jumps down.

Getting over the fences and the ladder climb are amazing.
5. Erin | October 23, 2010 at 10:44 pm

Wow. The dog does look like he’s gleefully throwing himself at the “game.” Methinks like Christopher says a lot of that is because the dog would naturally do a lot of that on his own, and it would only take encouragement. But yes, scary. Don’t let Maddy see this video!
6. Vivian | October 24, 2010 at 8:09 am

I noticed that the dog is sometimes wearing a harness and sometimes a collar, which means that it was not taken at the same time.
The dog must have been told to do it, he’s obviously not choosing what to jump.
It reminds me of a video I saw of people doing the same thing through town.
Interesting, great dog, in any case.
7. ruthcrisler | October 24, 2010 at 8:52 am

There’s a local trainer I know casually, whose website comprises mainly pics of his pit bull perched precariously on various tall objects.

I’m not gonna say it isn’t plenty impressive, but I do wonder about this particular subculture of trainers. Like, what sort of calls do they get? Do people contact them for help with getting their bulldogs to balance on the heads of pins, or what?

I know it’s about building confidence, agility, etc., but it still strikes me as a little fetishistic.
8. SmartDogs | October 24, 2010 at 9:15 am

I’ve taught my dogs to balance on small objects, jump over (and crawl under) weird things and walk on narrow or otherwise difficult obstacles – but – I avoid tall or otherwise dangerous obstacles. Having my dog balance on the well head or a large can of tomatoes may not be as impressive as having him (or her) perform the same trick on top of a five foot pole, but it’s a helluva lot safer.
9. Donald McCaig | October 25, 2010 at 4:03 am

er, what’s the point?

Donald McCaig
10. EmilyS | October 25, 2010 at 9:22 am

hmm.. based on a few of the comments here, I’m inferring that some people only appreciate certain types of canine strength and agility? What’s the point of anything? Why is this fetishistic but, say, agility or sport herding is not? (actually I think most serious sports ARE fetishistic)

My biggest beef is that the dog is too fat for what he’s doing, and needs to lose several pounds.
11. Rick | October 27, 2010 at 6:39 am

I agree. I also wonder how long he can go before she tears her ACL.
12. Eleanor Herrick | October 27, 2010 at 10:21 am

“I’m not gonna say it isn’t plenty impressive, but I do wonder about this particular subculture of trainers”

When I first saw this, I thought of Vicki Hearne and her description of her bully breeds only getting really engrossed and committed to retrieving if they had to work extraordinarily hard to do it, such as scaling a 6 foot wall or something.

I think, for the most part, she just had regular calls, and this sort of thing sorta sprung up on a personal level.