(Afghan Hound Database and Breed Information Exchange)
A true story from Janis Nixon, Stormbringer Afghans Canada.
At eight years old, Shendi was not only the oldest dog in the obedience
class, he was the only Afghan. We were working on retrieving and he was
doing rather well, better in fact than many of the more "intelligent"
breeds present. This episode happened at our graduation and speaks
eloquently about why many Afghan owners do not compete in official
trials!
Here in Canada, we have an exercise known as the retrieve over the high
jump. The dog sits at your side while you throw the dumbbell beyond
the jump, then you must send the dog to get it, he brings it back
and gives it to you and then returns to heel position. Simple eh?
Sure... .
At our test, the instructor called Shendi and I onto the floor to begin
this exercise. The rest of the class and in fact the entire next class
sat on the stage watching. Shendi sat at my side perfectly. I was told
to throw the dumbbell. I did. "Send your dog," the instructor commanded.
"Take it," I said to Shendi, and he left my side, vaulted the jump
flawlessly and turned to pick up the dumbbell.
Then it happened. In turning, Shendi the ham spotted the crowd on the
stage. His tail began to wag. I gulped. He then treated the audience to
about four minutes of him whacking the end of the dumbbell with his paw to
make it flip into the air, all the while eyeing the crowd for the appreciative
laughter. When he had completed his performance, he picked up the
dumbbell, flew over the jump and sat in front of me. Perfectly. I took
the dumbbell and told him to heel. He circled me to the precise heel
position and sat.
Strangely enough, we were docked only a few points. The chuckling
instructor told me that the entertainment value helped us pass the test!
Needless to say, we were warned that this sort of thing wouldn't be
appreciated in a trial.
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