Tuckercreek.net

THE CANADIAN NATIONAL AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2011 Top Obedience Dog ~ Flash
Can ASCA Ch HCHA WTCH VCH A Little Flash of Tucker Creek HX RD RTDc PATDsc , AFTDd , HTDIII, OFTDs, CDX, RN, AGI, RV-O, JV-E, GV-O - Blue Merle Male - DOB May 1st, 2000 (HOF HOFX WTCH CH Las Rocosa Tom`s Thunder HA CD RA HTDIIIsd x HOF HOFX Diamondaire Tucker`s Among some of Flash`s accomplishments this year the highlights were earning his Versatility Championship in both ASCA and as recognized by the CANASA. We had a wonderful time at the Canadian National Specialty and he enjoyed the honour of High Advanced Stockdog in Herding. For our third consecutive year we qualified in the top 20 or 30 for the world stockdog finals for the Australian Shepherd Club of America and had a very successful Nationals in Waco Texas, earning 7th overall in the Most Versatile Aussie competition making this his 7th or 8th Flash was from the first litter we had officially as Tucker Creek Australian Shepherds and I had kept this puppy back for myself. His litter mates went on to other great things including TCHX VCH Jasper Lil`Bear of Tucker Creek ATDds OTDc HA CD UTDX (plus more agility titles earned by him and his human partner Karen Boyes). Flash has been primarily a herding working dog and took over the real farm work from his father as the years went by. He also became my next working trial dog and tested just about every nerve I had. Over time I learned to appreciate his unique approach to livestock and we established a very special working relationship that moved from herding to agility, tracking, conformation and obedience. I wasn't much of an obedience person I must admit, but it was at the first CNASA Nationals that I watched a woman (whose names I now don't remember) working with a dog named ``Ribbon`` (notice how we all remember the dog's name). I was so taken with the performance of this dog and the obvious delight she took in delivering each request that I simply had to ask the gal who owned her what she did to make what I thought was a rather dull and restricting sport, into such an enjoyable activity for her and the dog. Her answer, and that of a couple of other people whose performance I always enjoyed, were much the same. I learned at that moment how important it was to make obedience and all its required elements, a game. It truly was a turning point in my journey as a dog trainer and inspired me to become a better trainer in a sport where motivation was THE CANADIAN NATIONAL AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2011 key, where my inhibitions about rules and the fear of breaking them inadvertently in a sport that seemed stuffy and In our first trial to earn our CD, we not only qualified in all four trials over the weekend but we were the first to accomplish this in several years of the club's recent history. Earning our legs and a bonus leg, plus receiving the award for High aggregate for the weekend was simply icing on the cake. In Fall of 2010 we had ironed out some of our earlier bugs from lack of commitment over the summer to once again have a very successful weekend toward our CDX. We now have our CDX in Canada and will be working on finishing the last leg of our CDX in I have recently purchased my first set of dumbbells - my very own and have started to train scent discrimination and I'm very excited about the prospect of someday earning a UD with Flash and maybe another dog down the Flash has become a very special companion for me and shares a room at night still with my 6 year old who won't shut the lights out without him. Flash is a constant source of energy and his exceptional quality of sharing his excellent sense of humour , although it has cost me many runs in herding and in obedience, is a welcome source of relief when times get tense. He has helped me see with my own eyes, the calming signals dogs give to their handlers in all performance events where handlers suffer the worst kind of performance anxiety. He has always been willing to try new things and never asks for anything in return except maybe some applause when he manhandles a stuffed toy or catches a difficult cow on the farm. I love him dearly and we are currently still working towards finishing 2 Elite gamble legs in Agility to earn the award of Supreme

Source: http://www.tuckercreek.net/news/Flash-CNASA-Summer-2011.pdf