Page 20 - Demo

Carrying on in the family tradition, Reese shows good form in her early training.
me through fellow herding enthusiast, Jean, and I made sure that hers did not meet a similar fate.
Bonus was competing in the advanced classes when she was four years old, and Ace followed a year later. Once they earned their titles they needed to place in the class to earn championship points, so all the little details of the run became more significant. Bonus earned her first points under Robin Penland, who was one of the toughest judges I had ever shown under. I had the opportunity to attend one of her clinics, and she helped with some key points of my performance. I have also benefited from the advice of John Holman, Steve Shope, and Kent Herbel. I have always found something useful to add to my skill set when I attend a clinic.
Bonus became a Herding Champion in June of 2006, the same year that she won Most Versatile Aussie at the USASA Nationals for the second time. Ace had also done well at the 2006 Nationals, winning Reserve High in Trial followed by an All Breed High in Trial on ducks. His overall performance for the week had also earned him a second place MVA award. The next weekend he finished his herding excellent titles and began to earn championship points. During this time I did not concentrate on running courses, but more on working random patterns so my dogs did not always anticipate what was going to happen. I participated in AKC, ASCA, and AHBA herding events, so I needed them to be flex- ible. Aussies are great at figuring out what you are trying to accomplish and then helping to achieve the goal, but too much repetition can give them the idea that they do not have to be attentive to commands.
Ace won an excellent duck class in November of 2006, which left him just one point shy of finishing his cham- pionship. I knew that my next trial would be the 2007 USASA National Specialty, so I hoped he would earn that last point at this very special event. Bonus must have sensed that her brother would get the most attention for finishing his championship, because she turned in two unbeatable performances for me, earning High in Trial awards for sheep and ducks. Ace won Reserve High in Trial in ducks and became an AKC Herding Champion by taking second in the excellent duck class. It had been an amazing day for all of us; I know I wore a huge smile as I realized how much we had accomplished.
I realized that if I wanted a puppy from Bonus at the
age of seven I could wait no longer. I had seen Diane Bettis’ Slick (Ch Malpaso’s Spur Em’On Los Suenos CDX OA OAJ STDds) on several occasions and each time I was drawn to him. Slick is descended from conforma- tion and working champions and his temperament is sound even though his desire to work is high. Bonus was an exceptional mother to her four puppies, atten- tive when they were vulnerable and authoritative when required. The red boy, Java (Paws Zone’s Red Bull, JHD), is making Vicki Hacker’s dream of owning a herding dog come true, and the black girl, Grace, is a cherished pet in Minnesota. I kept a black tri male, Puzzle (Paws Zone’s Conundrum OA NAJ) and a red tri female, Reese (Paws Zone’s Simply Irresistible NA NAJ NF). Both of my pups are competing in agility while they develop their herding skills to follow in the family tradition.
I was not able to attend the 2008 USASA National in Colorado, but I was anxious to return this year.
The early part of 2009 had been difficult time for me, beginning with the loss of my beloved agility dog, Q (MACH ATCH3 NATCH3 VNATCH Paws Zone’s Quantum Leap, OF) to cancer. Due to a combination of bad weather and health issues for Ace and Bonus, train- ing time was limited before the 2009 USASA Herding Trial. Despite that obstacle, Bonus handled the sheep well, proving that all of our foundation work and prior experience had been worth the effort. Carol Hartnagle was the judge presiding in the sheep arena, and she awarded Bonus with High in Trial. Ace also won his first National High in Trial by defeating Bonus by one point in the Duck Trial. Both of the dogs were pleased with themselves after their runs. Bonus ran around the arena after the sheep were penned looking for a stick to carry in victory, and Ace did his happy dance as we walked to the gate. Winning High in Trial is a great honor, but the true reward is the bond that has been created between me and my dogs. I know they will always do their best for me, and it is my responsibility to do the same for them.
18 The Australian Shepherd Journal November/December 2009
Puzzle prefers agility!