Mastiff clearly believes ‘slow and steady wins the race’ in viral agility contest video

Many of the dogs who run the agility course at competitions around the world are fast and agile. That is surely not the case for Zeus, an English mastiff that competed in the agility course at the Rocky Mountain Cluster Dog Show. Regardless of his finishing time, his slow and steady pace had the crowd cheering him on.

Zeus competes in a dog agility course

YouTube/Hans Watson Source: YouTube/Hans Watson

The competition took place at the National Western Complex in Denver, Colorado, which takes place in February each year. The competition started easily enough as Zeus lumbered into the arena. Massive in size, he began making his way through, around, and over the various obstacles.

A big boy, Zeus decided to approach the course calmly and slowly

YouTube/Hans Watson Source: YouTube/Hans Watson

First, Zeus had to crawl through the tunnel, and even though he barely fit, he was able to make it through to the other side. The crowd went wild as he came out. Then, he slowly made his way toward his first jump, which he was able to successfully navigate. Next, he made a few more slow jumps before he took the turn to tackle the slalom.

He needed a little guidance from his trainer

YouTube/Hans Watson Source: YouTube/Hans Watson

Zeus didn’t seem to quite get the slalom, so his trainer had to help him out by showing him the way. Slowly, but surely, he made his way to the next obstacle, another tunnel. You can tell Zeus is starting to run out of steam slightly at this point, after such a strong start, but he continues calmly while the crowd cheers him on.

The crowd loves him

YouTube/Hans Watson Source: YouTube/Hans Watson

Then Zeus starts the final stretch, a series of jumps, most of which he completes successfully. He does knock one of the poles off, but, overall, he did great for his size. The crowd gave him a round of applause for his efforts, and while his time was not the fastest, he seemed to enjoy himself and got some petting from his trainer as he crossed the finish line.

A video of the competition goes viral

YouTube/Hans Watson Source: YouTube/Hans Watson

A video of Zeus’ part of the competition has gotten over 4 million views and 20,000 likes on YouTube. It just goes to show that it is not whether you finish first or last, but the journey getting there that truly matters. One thing Zeus did end up winning was the hearts of the crowd and his fans online.

The journey was more important than the end result

YouTube/Hans Watson Source: YouTube/Hans Watson

As for Zeus, he seemed to enjoy himself and had developed his own method when it came to the agility course. He seemed determined to finish what he had started, even though it looked like he was running out of steam toward the end.

For more of Zeus’ record slow run on the agility competition at the Rocky Mountain Cluster Dog Show, watch the video below.

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Source: Hans Watson

H/T: TheAnimalRescueSite.com, We Love Animals

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