Human collie Toco gets mixed reviews from dog training experts after running agility course
It was a real dog and phony show.
The Japanese man known online as Toco the human collie appears to have been barking up the wrong tree when he recently filmed himself tackling a canine agility course.
Video released this month shows his attempt to navigate parts of an agility course in the realistic $14,000 dog costume.
However, the wannabe pet came up a little short with dog trainers consulted by The Post, who viewed the footage posted online and said he needs lots of improvement before he’ll be able to compete with the big dogs at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
“I don’t know how he maneuvers in that contraption because it looks like it’s challenging for sure,” dog trainer and owner of Trinity Border Collies, Brianne Farr, told The Post.
In the video, Toco immediately fails to clear a jump, instead landing on the bar a few feet off the ground. This would have led to an immediate disqualification in competition, according to Farr.
His slow momentum leading up to the jump was what sealed his fate, she noted.
But she credited him for entering the ensuing weave poles correctly even as struggled to make his way through them quickly.
Toco then tried to conquer the steep A-frame, but never appeared steady enough to make the daring climb and rolled off the side in defeat.
Even the broad jump was too difficult a task, and Toco tripped his way through that.
“He definitely needs to work on his jumping skills,” Farr said as she laughed, adding. “Overall, I think it was a bit of a struggle for him.”
Another dog trainer was more direct after watching the clip.
“Good effort by a short-legged, overweight collie,” said Andrea Samuels, who is a six-time national agility champion at the American Kennel Club.
But Toco has faced his doubters before.
Top collie breeders and dog-show judges have previously said they weren’t impressed with Toco’s physique in his hyper-realistic costume.
He burst onto the scene earlier this year when he posted a video on his social media pages of him wearing the costume.
Farr, who has participated in the AKC national agility championship, doesn’t think all hope is lost for Toco if he digs his paws into training.
She suggests he should undertake body awareness and body conditioning exercises to be more agile, and lower the A-frame so it’s less steep.
“I have had dogs come to me for training that really lacked coordination and jumping skills and things like that because some dogs don’t have the natural ability and there’s a lot of training to help teach them how to do that stuff,” an amused Farr said.
