How We Got Started Competing In Dog Sports....

[Agility Dogs]

I was running about 40 or 50km a week and wanted a mate to run with. We had a border collie as a kid and ever since there has really been no other breed for me.

We did the rounds of the local pounds, but there were none. I had to have a dog NOW so off to the pet shop we went. (It was where we got them from when we were kids and I didn't know anything about breeders.)

We got our little man, but the trouble started as soon as we got him home. 2 weeks later we decided he was lonely so we went back to the same pet shop and picked out the cutest little girl with blue eyes - she was only 6 weeks old. Totally inexperienced owners and totally out of our depth - not good.

As the boy grew he became more and more aggressive and I had no idea what to do about it. So feeling totally out of our depth we shipped him off to an in house training school as soon as both dogs were old enough.

About this time he started to limp quite badly.

Any way after he was trained you got to go back for at least 4 weeks of training, but could go back every week for the life of the pup. It was very harsh handling with check chains (not a go at check chains - it was just harsh handling, but I stuck with it and the dogs and I all improved slowly together.

When the little man was 7 months we were finally on top of his behavioural problems, but he was still limping and was diagnosed with OCD of his elbow. The vet told us 2 ops were likely to be necessary as it was the most severe case he had ever seen. We made a very difficult decision and found ourselves with just the one dog again.

I kept on going to training and the bond between us grew almost daily. I also started to read a bit about different dog sports and decided that we would havea go so we signed up at the RSPCA for a dog sport prep class and started to learn about positive or at least reward based training methods. It was expensive and I wasn't totally convinced we were training as well as we could so I joined up at a local agility club.

The first night there the class was doing hand touches - Xena hadn't done much for a couple of weeks so when I offered my hand she just launched for it. The instructor was amazed and really encouraging. (That same instructor was judging when we got our first agility pass - I'm sure she didn't ever make the connection, but I know I did.) I think from that point on I knew that we would be involved at some level or other. I didn't really know that it would become such a massive part of my life.

So, I went from clueless, somewhat irresponsible owner to heavy and ignorant thug, but at least giving the dogs some guidance to trying desperately to get some level of control over a VERY high drive BC using reward based training to a point now where I use a balanced approach and have 3 dogs who love what they do.

I love the friendships we've developed and the support that the community gives those who are willing to listen and get in and give it a go.

Now almost 4 years after joining that agility club dog sport pretty much rules our lives and I can't think of a better way to spend my time.

Edited November 8, 2010 by Agility Dogs

[piper]

This is an interesting topic!

I got interested in training in 1980 when we had electives at primary school and I was training the family dog. I was interested in it and begged my mum and dad let me go to dog school with our neighbour and her dog. She wasnt very good and when she died and we got another puppy in 1984 she was a dobermanxcorgi and started trialling in 1986 I soon found out what AOC was and said I was going to do it but I got told that I wouldnt get it as my dog wasnt good. Well 8 years later we got our AOC title. To get your AOC title you needed your UD title and TDX title. We started doing agility when that started around 87 and got our AD title and did superdogs. I would say around that time I was hooked lol. Not long after that I met my ex and trained his Jack Russell Terrier and he got his CDX title and AD title. I than got a kelpie Milo and she got her OC and her AOC title plus JDX and ADX title (around that time noone really knew how to train a fast dog so we failed quite often lol) They all got there ET title as well. I than got Xena my coolie which has her AG CH and OC title and UDX title, she is basically retired now and so did Inka my border collie. I now have my baby coolie Gabby and she has done really well as she has got her OC title and is working her way through UDX and has her ADM JDM ADO JDO SPD SDX GDX title.

So as you can see I am hooked into both obedience and agility and have been doing for around ohh my god! 30 years. Doesnt time fly when your having fun lol

And I remember Rambo the JRT and his attitude at agility. LOL.

I'm not sure how I got interested. My parents used to breed shelties and knew some other sheltie breeders that competed in obedience. They stopped breeding before I was born and when we got "my" first dog (well I considered her mine) I went to train privately with these other people my parents knew and everyone there but us (I was all of 9 or 10 I think) trialled. I hugely admired their dogs. But I think maybe I knew about trials before that and wanted to? My sheltie had some nervous issues though with other people so although she could do fantastic heelwork, stays and recalls she would never cope with a stand for exam - it took my brother 18 months to even be able to pat her. Then I became a teenager and things fall by the way side as Terranik said. I still wanted a dog to train and compete with but it wasn't doable.

When I was 18 I got my first border collie Ricky and the intention was always to compete with him. Ricky enved up attacked and nearly killed by another dog when he was 12 months old. He never ended up stable enough to get through everything after that. He would come good for awhile but a small growl would turn him into a mess and whatever we had been doing at that time would fall apart, I did manage to get him into the agility ring and gain an AD. Due to him being attacked we were oferred another pup to help him get over it and get used to other dogs. So Reagan entered the house. Unfortuantely having limited training experience and trying to train a pup and an adolescent with issues due to being attacked was hard work and Reagan never got the training or attention that he should have. In those days prelims were needed for obedience and agility - both Ricky and Reagan gained prelims in obedience but never went further. Reagan gained his ADX in agility.

Piper then entered the scene with serious intentions. She has her CD, AD (plus 4 ADX passes), JD (+1 JDX pass) and HIAsd (intermediate herding sheep and ducks) Poor Piper is a fantastic versatile dog that will turn a paw to anything and is so keen to please and as she was entering her prime for competing I gained a serious work injury so stopped training and have never really got back into it. About when I considered returning to agility she injured a leg and is no longer able to. Oh and somewhere in there the herding bug bit so driving a 250km return trip for 1 hour of herding became more attractive than attending a trial.

And Jazz - well I enjoy her and will trial her in something other than herding. Just need to motivate myself. I think she will be a load of fun to train and trial.

And that turned into an essay. LOL

[rastus_froggy]

My Staffy Froggy was a bit over a year old when I got her and she was SO active and full of energy. Every time we were out walking she would jump up on any brick fence no matter how high it was and walk along the top of it, if there was a gateway along the fence she would just jump over it and continue along the fence on the other side, I thought this habit of hers should be put to a good use so I looked around until I found a club that did agility.

At 7 and a half she still jumps up on all the brick fences and raised surfaces we walk past and if it has a slope off the end it's just a bonus as she gets to practice her contacts.

Stimpy jumps up and follows her along too, I'm sure people think I'm crazy walking along with 2 dogs on fences

So I guess I got into agility because it's what Froggy wanted to do

[OSoSwift]

I had been showing horses and doing dressage and eventing, so to do it with the dog was cheaper, easier and cost less!

My first dog when I moved out of home was Female Rotti. She was an absolute star, but bilateral OCD of her elbows shut her obedience career very short and also her life.

I had met a lady that had DObermann's which I had always admired but had only met ones with less than desirable temperments. Her male wandered into the vet hospital with his favourite Teddy in his mouth wagging his tail. I was hooked.

As I wanted an entire dog to show and also to trial, I got a male Dobe. We never got on, he didn't really have an value for humans and he was a pig to live with. I sent him back to his breeder at 18 months for an evaluation and to see if it was me that was the problem of the dog! Whilst I am sure I didn't help, the breeder said he was one of the hardest dogs he had ever bred. I did get him into the ring doing Novice but it was a very hard slog. He ended up being rehomed to a lovely couple who didn't ever ask him to do training or obedience and wanted a walking companion and a lounge pet. He excelled in that.

Whilst my male was at the breeders he had sent a retired bitch down for a bit of a holiday. She was brilliant, easy to live with loving and actually cared where I was. She also had her CDX title so I dabbled in Open at our club trials. She stayed and I had her for nearly 8 years. When she had been with us for a couple of years I got offered one of her grandaughters.

She got her Champion title, CD, CDX, ET and also her WAE(Working apptitude certificate, basically a temperment test) and therefore her Register of Merit with the National Dobermann Club, I believe she was something like the 42nd Dobe to get it since the programme started in the early 80's I think or close to anyway...

She started agility me with a complete novice but tried hard and only retired due to a spinal problem.

The other thing was to get all those titles we had to travel at least 400kms to a small country show and trial and the Perth shows were 750kms away. We also travelled to the NT twice and she went to Melbourne with the breeder. She also had a litter for the breeder in the middle. It took a lot of KMS to get that title, but she tried so hard for me and was the first dog I had ever had a title on.

In the future when I have more time I will hit the rings again with the Whippets.

[FHRP]

Fun topic, I've enjoyed reading people's history of dog sports!

At 18 I finally convinced my parents to let me get a dog and along came Bodie a Chocolate Labrador puppy. When Bodie was a 9 month old, 30+kg out of control chewing monster it was off to 'dog school' to learn some obedience! It was that or the pound my Dad threatened. Bodie and I progressed through the Obedience levels at the Club and made it into the trialing classes. Being a college student I was a little less dedicated to training at that age than I am now and often turned up to our Sunday morning training with a hangover Sadly Bodie died quite young and never made it into the trial ring, however he planted the seed.

My next dog was Flynn the Vizsla who arrivedin 1998 and I was determined to compete with him. With a little more knowledge of dog training he progressed through the obedience classes very quickly and we found ourselves in the trialing class when he was just 10-11 months old and far too immature to think about trialing. Around that time I discovered Agility at the club and signed up with Flynn. Obedience took a back seat. We entered our first agility trial when Flynn was 2 years old and had our first taste of success. Within the month he gained his AD title and we were hooked We did go back to obedience and he breezed through Novice but spent a lot longer in Open to finally get his CDX. We trialed in UD a few times, but no passses. When Flynn was about 4 it looked like he was going to be forced to retire from agility and I was devastated, so Rogan the Vizsla joined the family to hopefully be my next agility dog. Thankfully with lots of rest and treatment Flynn did get back into agility and had lots of success gaining his Masters Agiltiy & Jumping titles and many of the new Open & Games titles that came in when he was about 8 years old. Rogan has gone on to be my first (and probably only!) AgCh & Dual Ch. I discovered Gundog competitions with Rogan and competed in Retrieving for several years to gain his RRD, only the 3rd Vizsla to do so. My increased interest in the Gundog sports saw Polo the GSP arrive next who has excelled in Retrieving and is teaching me about Field Work! He's also been the best Obedience competition dog I've had even though I didn't even know if we'd do competition obedience when I got him. So each dog has taken me somewhere different with dog sports and the journey continues

Edited November 8, 2010 by FHRP

[Guest Clover]

I guess it all started with Clover who i got when i was 17 after years of begging (we had Penny who was the family dog before her). We started out at the local Obedience club when Clover was 14 weeks old and just concentrated on obedience for quite some time, we both needed a lot of work on that.

When Clover was about 2 years old we showed up one night for a Ob trialling class and got told we were coming over to learn to play Flyball . Well the rest is history, we gave Obedience trialling a little go but the BRD loved her Flyball much more. My girl was forced into retirement a couple of years back when she was 10 years old, but she would much rather be out there competing still.

I still have the 'young uns' to keep me busy. And i do hope to do Agility and get back into Ob one day.

Edited November 8, 2010 by Clover

[RubyStar]

I guess I should post considering this thread sparked from a question I asked ness about how she got started

I've only been training a short length of time compared to most people here!!

I grew up with dogs and liked them, we mostly had toy breeds as my parents had no interest in anything bigger (which is a good thing because none of our dogs were ever taught an ounce of obedience!) My parents surprised me with a Maltese puppy when I was about 13 or 14, her name was Chloe. She was cute and my "baby girl" but she certainly didn't spark my true love for dogs and training. We still have her, she is 16 and a half, but she stayed at my parent's house when I moved out.

In high school I met a girl who lived around the corner with a Golden Retriever and that sparked me to want a large dog of my own, but I liked Labradors better (even though I had always prefered long coated dogs to short coated dogs!) So I spent years afterwards wanting my own yellow Lab, but the parents wouldn't allow it. A rough patch in my life and my mum one day out of the blue said I could get my Labrador (to cheer me up :D) Ruby then came along! And along with it, my borderline obsession with all things dogs!

I knew from before getting Ruby that we would attend obedience classes as I wanted this dog to grow up well socialised and obedient, unlike Chloe and our other toy breeds we had. So off to classes we went and lots of reading up on the internet had me clicker training my very first pup and having a ball! Meanwhile, I bored her to tears doing heelwork in class, and I've been struggling to get her enthusiasm to heel back. But she absolutely loves clicker training new things, eager to offer me all sorts of behaviours. We made it through to pre-trialling obedience classes then hit the ring for the first time. She got her CCD relatively quickly, but her CD took a bit longer as I met some great trainers who inspired me to lift my criteria, so getting the best out of her took some time. She now has her CD and has done a handful of Open trials, and she will hit the agility rings next year I am also going to try this Retrieving trial thing, but we have a long way to go in our training yet!

Not really ready for another dog as Ruby hadn't even hit the obedience trialling ring yet, along came Millie anyway, an adult rescue who hadn't had an ounce of training in her life. Knowing a bit more than I did when I started with Ruby, Millie's training progressed surprisingly well. She has her CCD and is 1 pass short of her CD, and she will also debut in agility sometime next year.

I am well and truly hooked on this training thing, and want to see how far I can get with my current two before starting all over again with a new pup. I cannot wait for a new pup though!! But at the same time, I can, because I want to get it right with my two first I hope in however many years time I can share success stories of a line of dogs I've had, just like most people here have :D These stories are very inspiring

[sheena]

This is a very interesting thread, so I must add my own story. I grew up on a sheep station & we had working dogs which were always chained to a kennel (if not working) & tossed a bit of old roo for dinner. No affection was allowed, though I remember sneaking the occassional cuddle in & loved it when one would have pups. I don't think any of our dogs were desexed, as pups were sometimes found inside a hession bag in the dam. If a dog was no good then it was disposed of. Terrible, I know but that was the way it was back in the 50's. Life was tough & everyone had to pull their weight. In the 60's our family moved to Sydney & I was never allowed a dog...only cats, budgies & guinea pigs.

About 30 years ago, I moved back to the country & started farming with my two little kids & my OH, who later gave me my first border collie , for my 40th, from a BYB out of working lines. She was a great little dog, but sadly she died of a tick at about 6 months. We were all devestated & a year later we bought another BC from the same BYB. She came with all sorts of health problems, including a leaking bladder, which the Vet never seemed to be able to fix. Because of this, she was never allowed inside, but had a nice cosy verandah to sleep & eat. She was so smart & became my constant companion & loved to help out with the cattle. We made the hard decision to have her put down at the age of 13 after becoming arthritic, incontinant, deaf, blind & demented. The day we arranged for the vet to come out, she wondered off into the bush. Two weeks later someone found her & we had to go through the whole sordid thing again.

It took me two years to get over her enough that I could start to think of getting another dog. This time we decided that BYB's were not for us & also decided we would get a different colour. That's how Bindi came into our lives 3 years ago. At the time we didn't know much about training dogs or about this thing called "agility", she was just going to be a companion. But she was way too lively for that. Honestly we didn't know what had hit us, when she came into our lives. Her idea of fun was "if it moves..chase it, if it stays still, then tear it to bits" We got interested in agility, I took her to obedience & started her on agility when she was old enough & she took to it like a duck to water.

Twelve months ago I entered my first trial with her (virgin trialers) & we got a Q the first day...well I was hooked & of course the rest is history. I have become an agility junkie & can't get enough. I am now looking forward to getting our second dog maybe in about 12 months time.

ETA All our BC's have been a learning experience, but this one is different...she has taught us HEAPS & turned our world up-side-down & on it's head. :rolleyes:

Edited November 9, 2010 by sheena

[xena98]

This is an interesting topic!

I got interested in training in 1980 when we had electives at primary school and I was training the family dog. I was interested in it and begged my mum and dad let me go to dog school with our neighbour and her dog. She wasnt very good and when she died and we got another puppy in 1984 she was a dobermanxcorgi and started trialling in 1986 I soon found out what AOC was and said I was going to do it but I got told that I wouldnt get it as my dog wasnt good. Well 8 years later we got our AOC title. To get your AOC title you needed your UD title and TDX title. We started doing agility when that started around 87 and got our AD title and did superdogs. I would say around that time I was hooked lol. Not long after that I met my ex and trained his Jack Russell Terrier and he got his CDX title and AD title. I than got a kelpie Milo and she got her OC and her AOC title plus JDX and ADX title (around that time noone really knew how to train a fast dog so we failed quite often lol) They all got there ET title as well. I than got Xena my coolie which has her AG CH and OC title and UDX title, she is basically retired now and so did Inka my border collie. I now have my baby coolie Gabby and she has done really well as she has got her OC title and is working her way through UDX and has her ADM JDM ADO JDO SPD SDX GDX title.

So as you can see I am hooked into both obedience and agility and have been doing for around ohh my god! 30 years. Doesnt time fly when your having fun lol

And I remember Rambo the JRT and his attitude at agility. LOL.

I'm not sure how I got interested. My parents used to breed shelties and knew some other sheltie breeders that competed in obedience. They stopped breeding before I was born and when we got "my" first dog (well I considered her mine) I went to train privately with these other people my parents knew and everyone there but us (I was all of 9 or 10 I think) trialled. I hugely admired their dogs. But I think maybe I knew about trials before that and wanted to? My sheltie had some nervous issues though with other people so although she could do fantastic heelwork, stays and recalls she would never cope with a stand for exam - it took my brother 18 months to even be able to pat her. Then I became a teenager and things fall by the way side as Terranik said. I still wanted a dog to train and compete with but it wasn't doable.

When I was 18 I got my first border collie Ricky and the intention was always to compete with him. Ricky enved up attacked and nearly killed by another dog when he was 12 months old. He never ended up stable enough to get through everything after that. He would come good for awhile but a small growl would turn him into a mess and whatever we had been doing at that time would fall apart, I did manage to get him into the agility ring and gain an AD. Due to him being attacked we were oferred another pup to help him get over it and get used to other dogs. So Reagan entered the house. Unfortuantely having limited training experience and trying to train a pup and an adolescent with issues due to being attacked was hard work and Reagan never got the training or attention that he should have. In those days prelims were needed for obedience and agility - both Ricky and Reagan gained prelims in obedience but never went further. Reagan gained his ADX in agility.

Piper then entered the scene with serious intentions. She has her CD, AD (plus 4 ADX passes), JD (+1 JDX pass) and HIAsd (intermediate herding sheep and ducks) Poor Piper is a fantastic versatile dog that will turn a paw to anything and is so keen to please and as she was entering her prime for competing I gained a serious work injury so stopped training and have never really got back into it. About when I considered returning to agility she injured a leg and is no longer able to. Oh and somewhere in there the herding bug bit so driving a 250km return trip for 1 hour of herding became more attractive than attending a trial.

And Jazz - well I enjoy her and will trial her in something other than herding. Just need to motivate myself. I think she will be a load of fun to train and trial.

And that turned into an essay. LOL

Gee who would forget about Rambo arghhhhhhhh

Have to say he taught me lots about dog training though lol

[jesomil]

Great thread.

I was given my first pup at 11yrs old. A little Corgi that my Mum had bred.

We joined the local dog club and quickly got up to the trialling levels. We trained with check chains back then and my poor little dog didnt like that kind of training. She would heel but with no bounce. I wanted to trial her but Mum didnt think it was an appropriate thing for a young girl to be doing so wouldnt drive me.

I then got a beautiful Rottweiler when I was 19yrs old (after tonnes of convincing as we are a "corgi family") and started to learn all about the wonders of positive training. She progressed quickly and thrived on training. She got her CD and CDX in 7 trials and then got her AD as well. We had so much fun and I could drive so could finally take myself trialling.

Then I was addicted and it all went on from there.....

[Tay.]

Really interesting thread :D

I had always loved dogs but really hadn't had much to do with training until we got Bailey (Golden Retriever) when I was 11. I trained him tricks and when he was about 8 -ish months my dad took him to dog club for obedience training (as I was too young to handle him [club rules]). When our other dog Lily died, we decided to get Bailey a friend, who turned out to be Jess (Border Collie), who is my first dog. I took her through all the grades at dog club and ended up in the trialling class. In May '09 we started trialling and she now has her CCD, CD and 1 leg towards her CDX. I started agility training with her at home, then went to a club afterwards. After re-starting her agility training this year, we entered the agility trialling world in Oct. She now has 2 legs towards her JD.

And that's how my addiction started off!

[piper]

Gee who would forget about Rambo arghhhhhhhh

Have to say he taught me lots about dog training though lol

This is a great thread, I am loving the stories.

Xena98 - I also rememebr Milo on a course, LOL. Bet you wonder what you would have achieved these days with different training methods. Like I always thought Ricky lacked drive and motivation in agility but then I think back to how he was trained and some of his early lessons, no wonder the poor boy was slow and steady. I distinctly remember him being on lead (slip collar of course!) at agiltiy and trying to run ahead of me onto the dog walk at which point I was told to correct, do a sharp about turn and heel away. He was not allowed to go to the equipment until told and we had to repeatedly correct him and walk away until he would heel up to it and not look to step on :D Poor boy!! If only we knew then what we know now.

[bedazzledx2]

I was looking to get the next dog and had planned on going to the Royal Show to check out all the breeds when I got a call from my sister who was managing a Station up North with her partner. Did I want a working Kelpie puppy? I said yes so she picked the best bitch pup for me. WOW!!! WAY TOO MUCH DOG!!!! I had no idea what to do with this naughty puppy!!!!! She pushed all my buttons, tested every boundery and was soooo naughty!!!

I used to go down to my local oval to give her a run and one day at around 6 months of age she decided NOT to come back when I called her! Well I had read all about this training stuff....you pretend you're interested in something on the ground....nuthing! You run in the opposite direction....nope! OK...I'll hide behind a tree... Drive off around the oval????? Furry finger supreme!!!!!! Think I'd better train this dog!!!!

She taught me so much and despite my at times inept training skills, she got her UD and ADM and JDM which were the only agility titles available at the time.

She was smart and annoying to the end at age 16 years and I would have her again in a heartbeat!!!!! The old lament.... If I knew then what I know now.....

I have had a couple of Borders and now an Aussie who is truly my heart dog but I have a special place in my heart for another Kelpie....

watch this space

[Tiggy]

I was looking to get the next dog and had planned on going to the Royal Show to check out all the breeds when I got a call from my sister who was managing a Station up North with her partner. Did I want a working Kelpie puppy? I said yes so she picked the best bitch pup for me. WOW!!! WAY TOO MUCH DOG!!!! I had no idea what to do with this naughty puppy!!!!! She pushed all my buttons, tested every boundery and was soooo naughty!!!

I used to go down to my local oval to give her a run and one day at around 6 months of age she decided NOT to come back when I called her! Well I had read all about this training stuff....you pretend you're interested in something on the ground....nuthing! You run in the opposite direction....nope! OK...I'll hide behind a tree... Drive off around the oval????? Furry finger supreme!!!!!! Think I'd better train this dog!!!!

She taught me so much and despite my at times inept training skills, she got her UD and ADM and JDM which were the only agility titles available at the time.

She was smart and annoying to the end at age 16 years and I would have her again in a heartbeat!!!!! The old lament.... If I knew then what I know now.....

I have had a couple of Borders and now an Aussie who is truly my heart dog but I have a special place in my heart for another Kelpie....

watch this space

or a Toller ;)

[OSoSwift]

I have been thinking about this thread and I have to say before my Rotti we had a family kelpie. Lovely girl.

I was horse obsessed, but had no horse.

That little girl used to put up with me putting bandages on her legs - i made out of soft stretchy material- and looking back she was pretty well trained!

She walked , trotted and cantered on command, sat and stood on command - we didn't do drop as horses don't drop!

I went out the back of dads shed and found tyres, bits of wood, drums and made a "showjumping" course. All her "showjumping" was done off lead because horses are not led around! Some where bloody high!

She was good too! She was ever so fit and so well behaved and slept on my bed. When I went away to boarding school mum was always complaining she was getting fat. I spent hours outside with that dog every day training her and making sure she was fit.

She lived to 16 and was euthed when I was 22.

If I could get a dog like her again I would.

Edited November 9, 2010 by OSoSwift

[CaseyKay]

I grew up on a large sheep farm and we had a ton of dogs. I had two of my own in my teens, a border collie and a NZ Huntaway. They all worked the sheep and cattle and only lived at the house when they were small puppies or they retired. After I finished uni and starting work I married my husband who was then a dairy farm manager, decided I would get a puppy and spent 6 months researching breeds. I mainly wanted a companion but when I made a list (I am a very organised person) of what I wanted my dog to be like, it seemed obvious the border collie was for me. Since we figured it would also be useful if the pup could bring in the 800 cows as well we looked for and found a working lines girl from a huge sheep station. I also thought I would like to go to dog training classes as well but knew nothing about dog sports. I know now what sort of puppy NOT to get, Maddie was extremely full on, very distractable etc. She *hated* being touched or patted let alone cuddled. I took her to puppy school at 10 weeks old. She monstered the other puppies and screamed if I tried to restrain her, bit me if I tried to make her do anything. I never had any fun with her and it was very sad because I had been dogless for several years by then and had been so excited about getting a pup In fact I didn't like her much at all, and decided she would be working dog on the farm with my husband and I would try again with a different puppy. She was only 4 months old.

In the meantime while looking for a more suitable companion puppy, I thought I would take her to the local dog club to do domestic class. Again she was awful, I was so embarrassed. I cried on the way home after the first lesson. I could put up with a lot of things except the hideous, almost constant screaming noise she made, always as far as she could get from me on her lead, front legs off the ground and flailing. People gave me evil looks and made rude comments. But I started to find at home she LIKED doing stuff and I started to teach her heaps of things and HEY I wasn't so bad after all, maybe she *would* pay attention to me. But not at class. They had a graduation test where an unfamiliar instructor took you well away from the other dogs. Maddie was a star, so attentive, so good. Nothing to scream at so may as well pay attention to Owner. The lady nodded and said "Very nice! You will go straight into beginning competitive obedience class". Huh?

The wild puppy is now ten years old. She worked for 5 years bringing the cows in twice a day before we got out of farming. She has titles in obedience, agility, tracking and lately rally obedience. She has her Canine Good Citizen award. She is the easiest dog to own, so well behaved, so obedient. Can do anything with her, except she still hates physical affection. After all these years we still aren't "friends", that pup I got to be my friend is now 8 and a half years old, a very cute showlines BC, the angelic KC. I adored her unconditionally from day one, but I learnt a lot more from Maddie. If I had my sweet, quiet, easy girl first I doubt I would ever have gotten into dog sports. Now have Gael puppy aged 14 months, bit the bullet and got a working lines BC again, plan for her to do all the things that Maddie has done. Most people think Gael is pretty full on but after Maddie anything would seem easy to me. Unlike Maddie, Gael is very attentive, and can train her anywhere and she only looks to me. She is the cuddliest puppy EVER. So I have my dream puppy ten years on, loves to work and very high drive but my best mate as well.

[Tassie]

:D Lovely story CaseyKay