MEET OUR SHELTIE
. This months Sheltie is Twister owned by Marie Potts who shares the story of Twister.
U-CD Bach Twist of Fate, CDX, ASCA CDX, RE, NAJ
How Fate brought a TWIST into my life!
Star was almost 2.5 and had been recuperating from surgery to fix a torn ACL and dislocated patella when I started looking for a playmate for her. My hopes and dreams for Star in the obedience and agility ring had changed but I wasn't giving up on her. I felt both she and I needed another dog before she got any older. So again, I started prowling the internet looking for a puppy. Not the best way to go about looking for a puppy but then again, it had brought Star into my life! I was looking on the internet and came across Bach shelties in Ohio. They had a few puppies for sale of different ages along with Twister and his brother at 8 weeks. Well, needless to say, I saw the pic of Twister and fell in love. With his unique coloring of a split face and black coat, many people don’t realize he is a bi-blue and it gets him quite a bit of attention! I knew he was the one for me. So, after a 10 hour drive there and back, he was mine.
His puppyhood was uneventful, filled with growing, playing and taking obedience classes at Top Dog. It wasn't very long before I realized he was a mama’s boy and didn’t want to stray far from me or his big sister Star. At about 1 year old, we started playing with agility. He liked it but started having issues with the see-saw, which led to A-frame and dog walk issues. I decided to stop and work on obedience since I didn't have any agility equipment and didn't feel it was fair to Twister. His Novice obedience career was awesome with placements in AKC, ASCA and UKC. We also qualified for the All Star tournament and placed 10th out of 50 dogs with scores of 196, 196 & 197. It was an incredible weekend and one I will never forget. While I was training him in Open, we got back in the ring and went from Rally Novice to Excellent in 3 months. Then it was on to Open. Time to crash and burn...... The dog that did so well in Novice was gone. My little mama’s boy didn’t like working away from me and it showed in his attitude in training and in the ring. The more worried he got, the less confidence I had in him and it was a vicious cycle. We worked our way thru an AKC and ASCA CDX but it wasn't pretty. I would get so nervous because I wanted to do well which made it even worse. We kept trying for the UKC (which he only needed one leg) but finally I said enough. While all of this was going on, I was introducing him to the Utility exercises which he seemed to like but there was still a lack of confidence on his part. I knew we had to take a break from obedience and thought it was the perfect time to try agility again. In March, we started classes and Twister loved it! It seemed that the issues he was having with the see saw weren't as much of a problem. We worked hard, and 3.5 months later competed in our first trial. Twister got a Q and 1st place in JWW at his first trial! As most of you who compete in agility know (which I now know), crossing the finish line with your dog is an incredible rush! We finished our novice jumpers title in 5 shows with 2 firsts and a third place. We are now getting ready for Open jumpers and will be trying standard in December. More important than anything else is that Twister and I are having fun again. He loves to go out and play (train). The change in his confidence from March until now is amazing. One day we will go back to the obedience ring for his UD but that will be in the future. I still have to deal with my ring nerves which are another story. I never thought I would be running agility and having so much fun, but Fate decided that’s where the TWIST in my life wanted to be.
