A Synchronized Dance Between Partners

Liz Dole, DVM, on conditioning and mindset for peak performance.

Conditioning and mindset help Liz Dole and her Labs compete at the highest levels of the sport.

Twenty years ago, Liz Dole, DVM, started her journey in dog sports with Rosie, a rescue Labrador Retriever, by taking obedience classes at a local training club in Syracuse, N.Y. “She had so much energy that I thought the agility classes might be good for her,” she said. “The first series of classes was mostly spent trying to get her to come back to me, and I quickly learned that agility was truly a team sport.”

Liz has been hooked ever since. Rosie later earned her MACH in agility and CD and CDX Obedience titles. Then Liz achieved her first national successes with her second dog, Lexie, and moved to the international stage with her current partner, Chelsea.

Liz brought the now-8-year-old Chelsea home from the Eromit Labrador Retrievers kennel in British Columbia, Canada, in 2014 after moving from New York to central Virginia. Chelsea was a superstar in agility from the start, becoming the first Labrador to earn several titles and win rounds at many regional and national events. She and Liz also represented the U.S. on the 2019 European Open team in The Netherlands and finished fourth in the 2021 Incredible Dog Challenge (IDC) Finals at Purina Farms.

“What I love most about Chelsea is that she has been a great ambassador for the sport of agility,” Liz said. “Your average dog owner, who doesn’t own a Border Collie, can look at her run and think they can also play in our sport."

A small animal veterinarian for 35 years, Liz also understands the importance of physical and mental fitness for her canine athletes. “My medical knowledge allows me to realize the huge importance of conditioning and proper warmups and cooldowns,” she said. “Fitness plays a big role in how our dogs handle the ever-increasing complexities that we see on courses as well as the longevity of their agility careers.”

Liz’s conditioning routine includes feeding her dogs Purina Pro Plan Sport. “As a vet for over 30 years, I am passionate about giving Chelsea and Callie (Chelsea’s 2-year-old niece) the best diets for their nutritional levels,” she said. “Purina Pro Plan Sport provides complete, nutritionally balanced diets that give my dogs the energy and protein levels they need to compete at the highest levels of agility.” For more details from Liz, visit her Q & A here.

Another major part of competing is focusing on your mindset and training fundamentals. “Usually, you take some steps forward and some backward before your teamwork gels,” Liz said. “Be patient and persistent, and find joy in the process, not just the outcome. When you reach that level where agility runs are like a synchronized dance between two partners, it is the most exhilarating feeling in the world!”