Dog training and competition

Nope, buy a horse they're equestrian type people as are most SA folks. Some of the breeds are are eaten by the indigenous folks, very much like China and the rest of SE Asia.

Good luck getting them into country, very costly.

Hope they're small otherwise very appealing. I like some of the breeds myself, specially red dogs like retrievers. High end delicacy in China, Korea and Vietnam.

I am positive I've seen dog agility parks somewhere in Ecuador.  I saw it from the bus.  I think it was in the south of Quito, in the San Rafael area, but I really can't remember now.  I wish I had more info, but I know it exists in Ecuador.   

I'm not sure if the dog eating info is accurate.  I've been to some of the poorest communities in Ecuador, and there wasn't any mention of eating dogs.   The dogs here are really skinny anyway.  Eating donkey meat however, I have heard of.

My experience is that dogs have a special place in this society. Even the street dogs are afforded a certain amount of respect, and are often fed by the locals.
Across the street from me, the folks have a course set up in their yard. The dogs are beautiful, but I don't recognize the breed. They are tall, trim, almost greyhoundish in form, but have more weight to them, and are colored like a Doberman.
They are very agile, fast, and run the course effortlessly. You will often see one of them with the master walking down the street with a basket in their mouth.< the dog, not the master >
Anyway, this all leads me to believe that there are competitive courses and activities here. I am in Cuenca, but everywhere I've been dogs are the most common domestic animal. Contrary to another post, I've never heard of dogs as a dietary staple, but suppose you could go into the jungle and find a tribe that does. Oddly, I saw a documentary of a jungle tribe that had dogs in the village. When they slaughtered a pig, and had a feast, all the scraps were given to the community dogs. Fattening them up? I think not, as I saw some older dogs, which doesn't support them being a food source.
Bring your dogs, they will love this country.
Safe Travels,
Neil