Page 125 - K9News_Issue12_July2020
P. 125
As luck would have it, or maybe it really was has unfortunately been me. My lack of skill and
fated to be, we found a breeder with a recent knowledge has held Dexter back with agility,
litter. We were looking for a male with black and though we continue to endeavour on.
tan markings. When speaking to the breeder we
discovered there was only one within the litter. Though we have been avidly involved with field
At every turn it was feeling more and more like sports for many years, many of the gundog
this was meant to be. breeds were not suitable to our situation. With
the German Pinscher being such a versatile
Just a month later I was picking up the newest working dog, we hoped that working with
member of our family. The moment he was in beaters would be a suitable challenge. Though
the car with me, I knew it was the best decision I I can honestly confess that retrieving is not
ever made. Of course, like any good dog owner Dexter’s strong suit, he is an excellent flusher.
knows, from that moment on our lives were He is agile, extremely fast and surprisingly quiet.
never the same. Though 3 years later I can Having Dexter with us during the winter months
happily report they have never been better. of wind, rain, mud and snow has made it so
much more enjoyable, even if he does dislike
As a breed the German Pinscher might not be the rain. He has been coming with us since his
for everyone, but for us, they are more than first winter. If you could see him in the car as we
perfect. For anyone that wants a dog to enjoy approach the shoot, no one can deny how much
life to the fullest with. To take part in as many he loves it there and how much he loves the
activities as you can think of. A dog that has work.
huge amounts of character and an intellect that
is so evident you can see them thinking. From the moment that we got Dexter home we
have kept in touch with his breeder. Throughout
Since Dexter joined our family, he has brought the first weeks he was always available to
so much more to our lives. As I am sure answer any of our questions and was always on
many dog owners before us have, we tried hand with advice. It was thanks to him that we
to ensure we were as prepared as possible. were introduced into the world of competitive
We researched all the things that were dog shows.
recommended to do with a new puppy. Though
we started some training at home from the I have watched Crufts since I was a child and
start, we knew that we wanted to
join puppy training classes and
socialisation early on. It was clear
as soon as we started training how
intelligent he really was. We quickly
moved through the basic training
and worked our way up through the
classes.
At this point we knew that we
needed to be doing more with him.
He was so quick to work things out
I knew I needed to look for more
areas of stimulation. Here we turned
our hands to agility. A fantastic
pastime that we found Dexter
thoroughly enjoyed. I am slightly
ashamed to say that we are still in
the basic stages. Dexter of course
being perfectly made for this sport,
picked it up very quickly. The holdup
125
K9 NEWS DIGITAL / JULY 2020