My achievements

Here Sari and Sande will someday list my agility achievements, just as they have listed Ufo's. So far,my achievements include three flower pots and the cord of a cellular phone battery recharger. All things considered, I've been a lot like Ufo as far as destructive behaviour goes. Carrying shoes around, chewing on make-up pencils, but nothing major. Sari thinks it's because I get to run around the woods in the dog park every night, so that I don't have extra energy to use on destructive behaviour.

On the 2nd of January I also started my obedience training in the Finnish Kennel Club's puppy group. Sari said I'm very easy to take into contact, even easier than Ufo. But then again, Ufo's sister was in the same group as she, so it's not surprising she had some difficulties concentrating. I learned how to point out Sari's thumb after trying it twice, so I'm getting started nicely.

My next achievement was a placing in an unofficial match show (never seen an official one so far) on the 31st of January 1999 in Myyrmäki, Vantaa. It went nicely, I trotted nicely and only jumped a few times, and Sari did not get a heart attack (it was the first time she was IN the ring), but I was a bit nervous in the strange parking hall, and the judge was so scary that I tried to back out of the ring when I was supposed to let him have a look at my teeth. Sari was surprised, because we had practised with other people and I always let them look at my teeth, but you can't expect miracles from such a small creature. The golden lab I was battling for the red ribbon won, but then in the blue ribbon group I placed second, leaving 20 pups behind me! What's more, my brother Alpo placed third! And together, we went to the best pair competition and won! So, as a practise run, it was most successful. Sari has the whole thing on tape, she intends to study it and try to learn from her mistakes, like she does with Ufo's agility competitions. Strange masochist...

The photos for this story were taken with a highly complex camera, and are not very good, sorry about that! To celebrate Easter, me and my brothers Alpo, Flash and Remu went to a show in Lappeenranta! The judge thought that Alpo was the best male puppy, and gave him an honour prize, which is something you need when you're in the puppy class, if you intend to fight for the title of Best of Breed Puppy. But Alpo did resort to bribing the judge, he gave him a kiss!). Pia was handling me, and I was the best bitch puppy, naturally, being the only aussie bitch puppy there, but I didn't get the honour prize (wonder what that would really be in English), because the judge thought I was too shy when he tried to examine my teeth (but I was much braver than in my first show!). However, he liked me a lot, he said I have excellent type and excellent movement, a well outlined head and strong bones, and that my body was correct (as in the opposite of narrow, but you don't say puppies are wide, or do you?). So, after all these compliments, Sari thought she might show me again on the 8th of May, when there is a show in Helsinki. And, by the way, there were three adult aussies in the show, and my Mom Amanda went BOB. The day was, all in all, quite a success, even if Sande looked slightly tense when we stopped the car on our way back, and it would not start again! It only took him half an hour of work to get us back on the road...

My first outdoor show was a match show arranged by the Helsinki Humane Association on the 25th of April. The day was gorgeous, there were some 20 puppies in the show, and I went to the ring with Sari. I managed to get the red ribbon, and some of that sorely needed experience; I was actually quite calm when the judge examined my teeth. Sari hopes that I know now how to behave in our next official show, but if I don't, then maybe the show after that! On the very same day, my brother Pepe placed third in the red ribbon group in a match show on the other side on Helsinki! Way to go Pepe, start the wave!

Me? Know how to behave? Bwahahahahaa! So we went to our next official show on the 8th of May. The day was sunny, cold and windy, like most days have been this spring, at least here in Helsinki. There were two bitch puppies and two junior dogs; the other puppy was Beanaruohtu Sunshine, who is a very sweet and extroverted red tri, and the boys were Dancing Skies dogs, Hobo King and Honour Bound. I had no problems at all, as long as we stayed out of the ring. I ate some bits of sausage and cheese, played a little with Sunshine, and saw a bordercollie I know, Mokka. And when we finally went to the ring, I was sooo scared! There was this flapping yellow tent that was trying to attack me, and the judge was obviously planning on making a hot dog out of me, I could clearly see him digging tomato sauce out of his pocket! I fought bravely, I ran - zing! - to the right and - woosh! - to the left, and I tried very hard not to trot, 'cause when you trot, the bogies catch you and eat you! But regardless of my brave effort, I could not escape! and Sari was offering me treats and a squeaky toy, as if a dog heading for the slaughter would care for such things! Sari's not very bright, now is she?For some strange reason, the judge said I was a strong bitch with a strong head and a good stop, strong front, good legs, good neck and form and correct teeth (he managed to look at them even though I tried to back away and up the nearest tree!). And then he said that my ears were not correct at times, and Sari, who is a not a very nice person, said that so they are, when the dog pulls her ears down so low, that they touch one another under the chin. I don't pull them down! they just go there, when a killer judge and the Tent Thing from Hell try to attack a little thing such as me. Luckily, Sari said that there will be no more official shows for me until we've completed a course for show dogs and their handlers, and survived my first season (wonder what that is?). She thought that after those I should be confident enough to start enjoying shows instead of getting stressed out. But until then, we'll continue to practice in match shows. Oh, we saw my brother Pepe at the show. Pepe has become a fine boy! We really would have enjoyed a little mud wrestling, but Sari is such a cruel person that she didn't let us kids play. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that Sunshine was the best puppy!

Let's see now, what have I done since the last brag... Oh yes, between the 11th and the 25th of May me and Sari went to a show ring training organized by a Finnish conformation judges' club. First there were three hours of training, and then a final test. For the first two hours, Ossi's boss taught Sari the proper way to behave in a show ring, and it actually seemed as if though she learned something. It was a lot easier to jog around in circles when the lead wasn't strangling me and the pace was right. Then there was another female boss person who taught us and the final testing was done by a third female boss person. The last time we went to the training, my tongue turned blue from pulling on my lead because I was in such a hurry to get there to all those nice people and sausages just waiting for me in the Finnish Kennel Club's parking hall! The female boss person who evaluated our performance said that 'This is a new team, the dog is only 9 months old. The dog has learned the things taught in class well (Sili's note: ta-daa!). The handler allows the dog to move freely and with ground-covering stride." Sari thought I behaved very well, but that it was a shame I was not able to practise with one of those monsters they call Men.

And then, on the 27th of May, 1999, I got my chance to practise with a monster called Man. The place was Kone park in Helsinki, and even Sande managed to arrive at the scene with Ufo. I'm told the occasion was a match show by the same Finnish conformation judges' club that arranged the training. Sari told me before we entered the ring that I should be on my best behaviour, because the judge was Rainer Vuorinen himself! I thought 'Okay. That sounds tasty.' But it wasn't tasty, it wasn't food at all, it was a MAN! EEEEEEK! I did everything I could to climb up the nearest tree bottom first, but then this man-thing did something bizarre. He took a couple of bits of sausage from Sari and started to play with me. Before I realised what I was doing, I was climbing onto his lap. He told Sari some interesting stuff about me, such as nicely proportioned muzzle and good, wide skull, ears are nicely set on both sides of the head, exceptional bones and excellent muscles. And then he told Sari that if I don't like strange men, I should only be taken to judges with a soft touch. Sari asked him if they've ever published a book called "The most light-handed conformation judges in Finland", but apparently they have not. Anyway, as long as I was in the ring by myself, I trotted like an old pro, and only tried to escape once. And I managed to get one of those nice red ribbons! But when I entered the red group ring, I got anxious to get back to Ufo and Sande and dashed this way and that. But after that I was free to leave, which was a good thing, because it started to rain some five minutes later! Sari was very pleased with the judge's comments, and said that next time there is a match show in the Finnish Kennel Club's parking hall, we'll go there to practise, if possible. And if it's not possible, we'll go elsewhere, and then in August we'll go to an official show in Helsinki, but they have a Canadian judge there and Sari was quite sure he would not like a long-tailed aussie who shies away from men. But my brothers will all be there, so if there's anything left of my coat, I'll be there, too, to get some experience.

My agility career started on the 10th of May with a basic course. The trainer was Nina Rintamäki, who has also trained Sari and Ufo. The jumping bit was quite clear from the first, but other than that, we've been working hard. There was this red, shaking thing on the field, Sari told me it's called a pipe tunnel, and it was trying to have me for lunch! I didn't go anywhere near it, until I was lured with sausage bits sown inside the thing. It was dreadful! It was nearly three feet long, a regular chamber of horrors! But I disposed of the sausage bits bravely, as becomes a member of my noble breed. And since I lived to tell the tale (and wag the tail), in our next training session I dashed through the thing, even though it had grown longer, having devoured all those juicy puppies! And then there was this see-saw thing, it looks like a perfectly innocent dog walk, but halfway down it suddenly becomes a descent into the Inferno! They tell me I'll need a bit more work with that one, and I guess it's OK, cause I always get a lot of sausages while climbing the thing, but I'm still a bit suspicious. We'll see. Anyway, Sari says to tell you that I was supposed to jump only very low jumps so that I would not hurt myself, being a growing puppy and all, but since I choose to jump at least three feet, or one meter, anyway, I've been jumping medium-sized jumps.

Right, so now we have taken part in a competition. On the 28th of June Nina decided to end the spring training season by having a little competition. There were three classes: competing dogs (Ufo won all four!), rookies and rookierookies, the last of which was my class. We were allowed to wear leads, but Sari took mine off, and I ran - zing! - to Sande and Ufo for safety. Well, then we started again, I got over a jump and then I ran - zing! - to Sande and Ufo for safety. After Sari called me a couple of times I decided to continue and went over the next jump, walked the dog walk, jumped one of those heavy-built obstacles and ran through the pipe tunnel very nicely, but then I started to miss Sande, and just before the last jump I ran - zing! - to Sande and Ufo for safety. Sari continued to call me until she got me over the last jump, and by then I was so excited that I jumped and took a sturdy hold of her sleeve. She rolled her eyes and said something like "Oh boy, this is going to be such fun!" I placed seventh, there were eleven rookierookies all together. I consider myself to be quite a champion. They did tell me that in a real competition those three refusals would have gotten me disqualified, but this competition was not quite that much for real. And the competition took place after I had been training for seven hours.

This concludes the tour in my story, but if you return to my secret hideout, you can check out the rest of my pages!