Love for the dog agility sport

What is it about?

Dog agility has become a worldwide steadily professionalized and entrepreneurialized sport with reputable coaches and training programs over the last decade. This change raises concerns about the pressures placed on dogs. We look at the potential incommensurability of ‘loving’ a dog as a companion animal and making the dog engage in competitive sports. We evaluate texts, photographs and videos from successful agility coaches and identify four types of loving relationships through which the coaches express their commitment to the sport. While an affinity for dogs appears important for building the coaches’ reputation and provides the justification for engaging the dog in physically and mentally demanding sports, the question remains whether this dogmanship can be straightforwardly turned into action.

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Why is it important?

Our findings show that while an affinity for dogs appears important for building the coaches’ reputation and provides the justification for engaging the dog in physically and mentally demanding sports, the question remains whether this dogmanship can be straightforwardly turned into action.