Age no barrier for Chris and her dog Boston

Age is no barrier for 77-year-old Chris Hutchings and her 10-year-old labrador Boston, who will be taking on the competition at this weekend's New Zealand Dog Agility Champs.

Brought up on a large outback sheep station, the Rotorua woman has spent her entire life around trained dogs.

But her own training journey started seven years ago when her husband died.

"I had a little shitzu poodle, I started training at home, but it wasn't going very well," she said.

"I really just wanted something to do with him, so I tried the training school in Ngongotaha."

Unfortunately her poodle didn't have what it took to be an agility dog, so she began looking for another dog to add to the family.

She found the advertisement for Boston on Trade Me and made a trip to Kawerau in the pouring rain to go and meet him.

"The advertisement said he was going on 2, and he was a failed sheep dog."

When she looked up his papers later she found he was actually going on 3.

Ms Hutchings confessed had she known the truth about Boston's age she wouldn't have taken him.

But before she even had the chance to say no he had jumped in the back of her car.

Ms Hutchings put her heart and soul into training Boston, with the help of trainer Raewyn Saville.

"He's absolutely such a good dog. There's not a nasty bone in him."

Christine Hutchings and her labrador Boston are off to compete in the New Zealand Dog Agility Champs. Photo/Ben Fraser

The standard age for a competition dog is between 2 and 8, and Ms Hutchings said there were "very very few dogs" in his age bracket.

"I am not retired, I am a dog trainer. We could both be walking around with mobility walkers, except we're not.

"With the age comes experience."

She would continue to train dogs for as long as she could.

"I do it for the buzz and for the love of the dogs.

"I could have sat at home watching Netflix forever, but the dogs get me out every single day."

This weekend Boston is entered in nine categories, including agility, jumpers and flygility.

More than 300 dogs will compete over the three days.

The New Zealand Dog Agility Champs 2017 at the Kihikihi Domain, Te Awamutu, started yesterday and run until Monday.