The whiskey is flowing and the stubbies are being
cracked at the Booth household. Eric and Theresa are grinning
from ear to ear after their latest trialing achievements
at the recent obedience trial held by Knox Obedience Dog
Club.
What started out looking like a total waste
of time due to the weather and ground conditions and catalogue
problems, turned out to be the most memorable day of their
trialing careers. It just goes to show that you never
judge a book by its cover and even If the odds appear
stacked against you just give it your best shot and who
knows what will happen.
Eric and Theresa’s dog ‘Bonnie’ has
just received the highest accolade in obedience titles,
that of Obedience Champion. An obedience champion title
is gained after first having gained the title of Utility
dog, that dog then goes on to receive a further 5 passing
scores of 185 or higher under 3 different judges in the
Utility class.
This is not only a tremendous personal achievement it
is also a proud moment for the club. BDOC started as an
Obedience Club in 1977 and Obedience remains its foundation
discipline.
As the club celebrates its 30th year of operation ‘Bonnie’
has become the first and only dog to have achieved this
title for the club in that time.
Bonnie started her career at the tender age of 6 months
when she entered her first Obedience trial. She was pig
headed but full of enthusiasm as she breezed through the
encouragement and novice class. Her first time in open
and she got a pass, then the wheels fell off the wagon.
It was another 15 months before she got her next pass
[always something different went wrong] but the penny
eventually dropped and the Open title followed soon after
that.
The Utility class proved to be a challenge, she knew
the work backwards but there was always something that
would go wrong, UD is like that, but she always remained
full of enthusiasm. Her Enthusiasm and love of work is
an attribute that has been admired by many.
She finally got her UD title a little over 2 years ago
and had been trying for her O.CH title since then. Her
Agility career started at about 18months of age and she
was such a ‘hoon’ and just wanted to do her
own courses. It’s rare to see a dog leap on to the
‘A’ frame and jump right over the top without
touching the white area and landing ‘spread eagled’
on the floor, fortunately without injury. Bonnies safety
was the main reason for withdrawing her from agility before
she gained her masters titles. It wasn’t worth risking
an injury caused by Agility.
At the other end of the Obedience scale Theresa has just
gained ‘Clementines’ CCD title after getting
two second place passes at Mildura and then getting two
first place passes at Knox. ‘Clementine’ is
only seven months old, so it just goes to show what you
can achieve if you put the time and effort in.
Eric and Theresa are still celebrating as they ponder
over ‘Bonnies future. Mmmh Tracking Maybe!!!
Bonnie is dual trained, handled, and loved by Eric and
Theresa Booth
