We chat with Petfirst Lincoln customer Shelley and her Petfirst calendar stars Spyro, Sonic and Bella about agility!
Dog agility is a powerful form of enrichment that benefits both the mind and body. In New Zealand, many pet parents are discovering how navigating obstacles, learning cues, and solving problems provides meaningful mental stimulation for their dogs.
This type of enrichment helps reduce boredom, anxiety, and destructive behaviours by giving dogs a positive outlet for their natural instincts to move, think, and work. Alongside improving fitness, balance, and coordination, agility builds confidence and focus. Training together also strengthens the bond between dogs and their humans, supporting emotional wellbeing and creating calmer, more fulfilled dogs at home.
This year’s Petfirst Veterinary calendar features two agility teams, including September’s OutwestK9's Agility Team, led by Shelley Baikie.
Shelley began agility at the age of nine after watching a demonstration at her primary school. A local parent, Heather, had brought along her dogs and invited the children to try running them through a simple course. Shelley was instantly hooked!
She soon convinced her mum (and Heather!) to let her tag along to the local agility club each week with the family dog, Meg, a Border Collie/German Shepherd cross.
More than 30 years later, Shelley has competed across New Zealand from Invercargill to Whangārei, and almost everywhere in between. Her most successful partnerships so far have competed in the top grades and placed at a national level.
These days, her breed of choice is the Border Collie, and her youngest dog, Spyro, is gearing up for his first full year of competition, including the NZ Dog Agility Championships to be held over Labour Weekend 2026 in Tokoroa.