• Cart$0.00
  • Log In
  • Cart
  • Checkout

Power Paws Agility

  • Home
    • Message Board
  • Training
    • Classes
    • Articles
    • Seminars
  • Camp
  • Blog
  • About

Archive for month: November, 2012

  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Join our Facebook Group
  • RSS

our dogs of the nineties

this entry has 20 Comments/ in Biography, health, History / by Nancy Gyes
November 1, 2012

The last of our “agility dogs from the 90’s” left us this week. My husband pointed out that all our first & second generation agility dogs born in the last century have sadly departed the life we shared with them. Wicked was almost 16 years old, born in February of 1997. She joins Scud and Mick, 1991, Riot and Swift, 1995, Toast & Winston 1993,  and Spy 1999.

Wicked was so decidedly not “wicked”. She loved every human and animal that she met. She was bred in England to be an agility dog and not to be one of those “herdy border collies”. She shocked us all when she showed such calm talent at moving the sheep around our fields, surpassing in skills some of our other collies who were better bred for the job.

She was the easiest dog I have ever trained, and rarely put a foot wrong.  She helped many of my friends and students learn to do agility as she got to be the lesson dog, when visitors came to train without their own dog or needed a backup dog to run at a camp. You knew you got it wrong if there was an error in the run as it was so rarely ever her mistake. She retired from her agility career at 12 years old on the same day as her best buddy Riot when they both got their 500th platinum qualifying legs in USDAA. She and I had some great moments together over the years, winning the USDAA National Championship  in 2000, and winning the DAM  team tournament with Spy and Trigger in 2004 and taking third at AKC Nationals in 2005.

One of my students called her the Phyllis Diller of dogs, she was funny and silly and could not sit still while watching her friends run. A friend penned these drawings of her many years ago, and for the life of me I can’t recall the artist. Wicked would stay on the table while I trained another dog, but not very calmly. She was usually jumping up and down, spit flying from her mouth, but she never ever left her spot on the table. These drawings are how I remember her best.

Our life is emptier and sadder without her at our heels, always a riot tug in her mouth and a smile on her face.  God speed Wickie.

NJG

Fresh Posts

  • What to do when it falls apart on course
  • Endings AND Beginnings
  • Fully Engaged
  • Life of Pie
  • old dogs rule and old dog rules
  • backyard training at power paws
  • our dogs of the nineties
  • Agility World Championships 2013, my thoughts
  • Team USA 2012
  • Howdy
  • Execution
  • what I know now and wish I knew then…
  • Scoop OAJ
  • cautious optimism
  • momentum
  • Happy Holidays
  • turkeys
  • searching
  • world travelin’
  • here’s the scoop on Scoop
  • Scoop Take 2
  • An absence of sadness…..
  • the babiest dog
  • volunteerism
  • working dogs

Posts by Month/Year

Categories

Latest tweets

  • Loading tweets...

Follow @@powerpaws

Contact

Power Paws Agility
Nancy Gyes & Jim Basic
10711 Crothers Road
San Jose, CA 95127
408.729.6942

Email

nancy@powerpawsagility.com
jim@powerpawsagility.com
Contact/Directions

Newsletter

© Copyright - Power Paws Agility - Wordpress Theme by Kriesi.at
  • Send us Mail
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Join our Facebook Group
  • Subscribe to our RSS Feed