Therapy dogs, and Trick dogs, and CGCs, Oh my!

It feels like I haven’t posted in a while, but we have so many fun updates to share!  The collies have been very busy, they have been working their paws off earning new titles! Sophie and Addison received their certificates from the Collie Club of America, for their herding instinct titles, HIC!  And I just found a trainer who is going to teach us how to herd sheep so Addi can compete at herding trials! (And I got to meet her sheep!)  I’m so excited to give it a try, and watch as my collies learn how to do something they were originally bred to do!

Scarlett just completed enough Therapy visits to earn her THDA, Therapy Dog Advanced title from the American Kennel Club (AKC).  Addison just earned her THDN, Therapy Dog Novice title from the AKC, and she just received her Canine Good Citizen certificate in the mail for that new title.  Ryder, Scarlett and Sophie all earned their Versatility Companion, or VC title, from the American Working Collie Association.  The AWCA is a great organization, and I will be writing a post to tell you about them later in the week.

And for fun, Addison and Kori, earned their TKN, Trick Dog Novice Title, from AKC!  Kori is my 12 year old senior and also Addi’s Grandma!  My friends asked me to help them complete the test for the TKN title on their collie, Kelsea.  I decided as long as I was setting up the tricks for Kelsea, I may as well have Kori and Addi do the test too.  

Kelsea, my friend’s collie girl

Kori, my sweet, 12 year old collie girl

And last, but not least, Sophie earned the last two legs for her Barnhunt title, RATN this past Sunday!  Pending approval from the AKC and AWCA, she is now Marchello’s Heaven Sent, THD, CGC, RATN, TKN, FDC, HIC, VC! I am so proud of my collies, they have proven the versatility of the breed yet again!

I also wanted to share that my daughter’s collie, Sorsha, also did some impressive winning last weekend.  At her first Barnhunt trial, she earned her first leg for the RATN, and went High In Trial! (Did I mention it was her first time?!?)

There are new titles that we should complete before the end of the year, so I will post updates as we earn them!  I absolutely love working with my collies and helping them earn these titles so they get the recognition they deserve.  I can’t wait to see what they do next!

Busy weekend for the collies!

 We had a very busy, but fun week! Addison’s paperwork from the therapy organization came, so she went on her first therapy visit.  Which was quickly followed by her second and third therapy visits!  Just as I suspected, she has an aptitude for therapy work, and her sweet temperament and beautiful face have already made her a favorite at the many locations we visit.  

It’s a bit of a relief, as I need to start limiting the visits of my seniors, as they just can’t do as many visits as they used to do.  I want them to still enjoy doing the visits with me, without overtaxing them, so I plan on cutting them back to once or twice a month.  I think next year I am going to have Rosie take the therapy test too, I can already tell she will do well, and by then Scarlett and Ryder will be retired.

Rosie

And speaking of Rosie…this weekend I took her and ZuZu to our local collie club’s weekend event.  Both puppies passed the Farm dog test, and earned their first titles, FDC!  I was very proud of them both, as they had never seen farm equipment or farm animals, and still did everything we asked of them. 

ZuZu

Addison’s paperwork for her CGC test had been lost, so she took the test again, and passed it for a second time.  (And of course, when we got home from the test, the paperwork from the first test was in the mail!) But she still did great, and made me proud as usual.  On Sunday, both Addison and Sophie took the herding instinct test.  Sophie did good, and she passed the instinct test, but I could tell she didn’t love it as much as Barn Hunt.  We have a lesson scheduled for next weekend, hopefully we can get her last two legs on her Novice Barn Hunt title.

Sophie

When it was Addison’s turn to try herding, we discovered her true passion - Addi loves herding!  Everyone was impressed with her natural herding abilities, she knew exactly what to do! She adjusted to keep the ducks moving, she was very responsive and knew how to gather the ducks, and kept them grouped together.  She had so much fun, and was completely in her element.  I am now trying to find someone that gives herding lessons to dogs and their handlers, as I know nothing about the sport.  I hope I can find a place, I want to give her a chance to try herding again.

With two new FDC titles, a new CGC title, and two new herding instinct titles, HIC, we had a pretty amazing weekend!  I can’t wait to see how Sophie does with her Barn hunt lesson on Saturday. #collielife