 About DogPACT Dogs
Moki
Jois a
demur 12-year-old
blue merle heeler
mix whose favorite
thing in life is
to run free and
explore the outermost
boundaries of wherever
she finds herself—although
cream cheese frosting
comes in at a close
second.
Her favorite apparel
is Terry’s Big
Dog t-shirt that proclaims, “We
don’t need no
stinkin’ leashes.” Moki
was found running free
and happy as a clam
in a large field. She
initially chased anything
that moved, and provided
Terry ample opportunity
to use clicker training
and behavior modification
techniques to curb
this oh-so-stimulating
habit. Her targets
included a skiploader
(think heavy dirt-moving
machinery), motorcycles,
bicyclists, pedestrians,
joggers, and . . .
a helicopter. She now
doesn’t even
glance at any of those
pesky distractions.
Moki has attained her
USDAA Agility Dog Champion
(ADCH) title and Elite
titles in NADAC. She,
too, is still competing
in agility and participates
in DogPACT’s
consultations, providing
adolescent pet manners
to a variety of dogs
who need practice meeting
and greeting other
dogs.
Sandy
Maeis
a sassy 12-year-old
white spaniel mix whose
favorite thing in life
is anything edible
although, if she had
to choose, French fries
would be on the top
of the list.
Sandy Mae has her USDAA
Masters Agility Dog
title (MAD) as well
as her Elite titles
in NADAC. In 2000,
Sandy Mae had hip surgery
on both of her hips,
but you’d never
know it! She is an
active and energetic
gal, still competing
in agility even though
she is about 90% deaf
now. She is a also
one of DogPACT’s
top working dogs, logging
in several hours a
month teaching young,
adolescent dogs to
learn to respect their
elders. She does this
with sophisticated
canine body language
and is extremely patient
with those adolescent
upstarts.
Kiwiis
the token male and at
age 5 is still his mama’s
baby. Affectionately
identified as a Petit
New Zealand Bobtail Griffon,
or PNZBG, Kiwi has been
clicker trained since
12 weeks of age and
has an ever-expanding
repertoire of behaviors.
Terry’s favorites
are when he does “his
chores,” bringing
in the two daily newspapers
and shutting the door
behind him, and cleaning
and clearing the dishes
twice daily: he first
licks each of the four
dog bowls spotless,
then brings each one
to the sink. When Buster
was still with us,
Kiwi finished doing
the dishes with the
grande finale of shaking
out Buster’s “tablecloth” and
presenting it in exchange
for “dessert.” Kiwi
is slowly rising through
the agility ranks after
a very scary bee sting
at one of his first
trials, and now competes
at the Masters level
in USDAA and the Elite
level in NADAC. Kiwi
is also in training
for musical freestyle.
Pretzel is
truly the baby of the
pack at 11 months of age
(as of December 2006)
and all of 10 pounds soaking
wet.
Terry met Pretzel when
she was a 4-month-old
pup, driving her owners
crazy with puppy nipping/mouthing,
peeing all over the
house, and constant
motion. Terry helped
her original owners
solve the housetraining
and nipping problems,
but Pretzel’s
need for mental and
physical stimulation
were more than they
had bargained for.
When Pretzel was 6 ½ months
old, Terry got the
call to find Pretzel
a better home where
she would get the attention
she craved. Terry took
Pretzel in as a foster
(yeah, yeah, yeah)
and after an agonizing
month of evaluation
and consideration (and
still mourning Buster’s
death less than a year
before), made the leap
and decided to keep
her. Pretzel is a real
pistol and the life
of the party. Smart
as a whip, with endless
energy and love of
tug toys, Pretzel has
already begun agility
training, tasted the
thrill of lure coursing,
and gone swimming with
the big dogs (lifejacket
on, of course). Terry
has gone from sharing
her life with Great
Danes, and is constantly
surprised at how much
she loves this little
pipsqueak of a dog
who burrows under the
covers at night and
is the last one up
in the morning.
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