Chance for every dog to have its day

Toy poodle Tiff showed off her acrobatic skills during the national agility dog competition in Porirua. Despite the effortless low-flying pose, the three-year-old managed just fifth place in the final round of the championships yesterday.

She was out-pointed by Chelsea Marriner's Bay of Plenty sheepdog, Spy, who won the starters section.Spy also liked working with sheep.

"We ran her in the sheepdog trials at the Morrinsville A&P Show earlier this year and she finished 10th," Miss Marriner said.

Tiff lives with owner Jane Norton in a household of seven dogs including three golden retrievers and three other toy poodles in Blenheim.

The overall open section winner in the 140-dog weekend competition, which pitted dogs against each other in a series of agility tests, was Lisa Duff's five-year-old North Canterbury heading dog, Zoom.