Up, all you couch potatoes.Now’s the time...

Up, all you couch potatoes.

Now’s the time to build that special bond with Rover and get some exercise too.

On Saturday, pooches of every breed will participate in the 1991 Come ‘N’ Get It Canine Frisbee Championships in Pasadena. The event is one of six regional competitions leading up to national finals in Washington.

The nationwide competition is also known as the Ashley Whippet Invitational in honor of a three-time champion dog.

“All dogs are gifted and athletic,” says Eldon McIntire, national coordinator for the event. “Having a contest to share with your dog is a special dimension. It’s a wonderful way to show what your dog can do, and you both stay in shape

and keep active. It’s definitely a sharing situation.”

The first national canine Frisbee championship was held in the Rose Bowl in 1975, and continued there annually until 1982, McIntire says.

Saturday’s Southwest Regional Finals--at Brookside Park, Area H, in front of the Rose Bowl from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.--is free and open to beginners and veterans; registration is at the site.

The competition will be judged by Frisbee experts and owners of former canine Frisbee champions. The winner and runner-up and their dogs will receive a free trip to the Sept. 28 nationals from the event’s sponsor, Come ‘N’ Get It dog food.