Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Dog Update #1 - Amber

I have been so slacking on blogging lately. Lots going on but I will attempt to get back to more timely updates.

AMBER


The Amber update is long overdue. Those of you who actual follow this blog will remember my posts on the “Accidental Agility Dog”. Due to her lack of early socialization and timid nature it was clear that Amber was not cut out to be a detection dog like her parents. I made one attempt to place her in a pet home and that didn’t work out. She clearly needed a dog savvy person who understood her needs. The problem was that most people who had the dog knowledge that she needed already had plenty of dogs. They were also heavily involved in dog sports and I could not make any guarantees regarding her suitability. So I decided to keep her. She got along great with my dogs, fit into my household and was fun and sweet. Plus the more I worked with her and she traveled with me, the more her comfort in the world developed.
In addition, as her comfort in the world developed her natural drive kicked in (both parents are loaded with it) and she showed an obvious aptitude for agility. With my friend Mary’s advice I began slowly laying an agility foundation for her. I am a relative novice to agility but with Mary’s guidance I just applied the principles of other, more familiar venues of dog training. I also used whatever information I could glean from books, magazine and the internet.
Fast forward to December. I was going to be in South Carolina and Mary asked if I wanted to do some agility training when I was in town. Following that lesson Mary casually suggested that maybe Amber could go home with her than night and “see how she did”. Of course what really sealed the deal was that Amber and Mary’s Aussie Reddy LOVED each other. Instantly becoming best buddies. So Amber went home with Mary and a few weeks later became a permanent part of Mary’s family.


People have asked me how I could “get rid of her” but upon seeing how well she has fit in with Mary’s life, how could I not. Although I was no longer actively trying to place her, and indeed had become quite attached to the little munchkin, I could not deny her such a wonderful home. Although I loved her dearly she needed to be someplace where she would be "special". Which she clearly is in Mary’s house. She also naturally scary good at agility – her level of natural talent would probably be wasted with me. With my traveling schedule our training was likely to be hit and miss and she deserved the opportunity to do the sport she clearly loved.
So the Accidental Agility Dog is not so accidental anymore. After just four short months with Mary she competed in April at her very first agility trial. I will have to double check with Mary on the actual number of Q’s (qualifying runs) she had but suffice it to say she managed a 2nd and a 4th place. Anyone who could have seen what a total basket case she was just a year ago can understand how immensely happy this makes me. Like in tears happy. My brave little munchkin who was once afraid of the tv, and fire hydrants, and flagpoles, and people, and loud noises is not only able to do agility but she is LOVING it.
The best part is that, like any proud mom, I can now brag about her without actually having to do anymore of the work!!
I am having problems getting this vdeo to embed into the blog but here is the link to one of her first agility runs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw_aRulPhbE


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