My Klein Poodle - Dash

Author: Tracy Jobe

I live in Illinois and have three Miniature Poodles with whom I compete in obedience and agility: we also do therapy work. Two of my Minis are from Poodle Rescue in Indianapolis, the other is from a breeder in Michigan. My male Mini has become too nervous to compete, my little brown Mini female is not interested in agility, only rally obedience and therapy work, and my little white Mini is close to finishing her agility career, so I decided to look for another Poodle to train. I wanted a small Standard, about 18-inches at the shoulder.

Searching the Internet, I came across Sandi Savedra-Dixon’s Sunset Poodles website. I emailed Sandi who said she had a new litter of Kleins. In the U.S., Standard sizes start at 15 inches, although most Standards here are 20-plus inches. In Germany, the klein-sized Poodle fits in the niche between Minis and Standards. Sandi has imported German stock for her Klein Poodle breeding program. I explained to Sandi my interest in dog sports and therapy work, telling her that I had a Mini who was too nervous to compete, and that I was looking for a confident dog to train. She said she would evaluate her current litter and let me know what she had. Several weeks later, she sent me a picture of a black boy who had white on his chest and white on his back toes. My husband Bill fell in love at first glance. Sandi said this boy would be very good at agility and would also have the temperament for therapy work. We arranged our schedules and, on March 9, 2007, Bill and I went to pick up our new puppy.

The puppy was about the size of our little white Mini and, at first, was shy about coming to us. Sandi brought out her white Mini Savannah, and when Savannah came to play with us, the black puppy decided we must be okay and came to play also. We had picked out the name Dash for this little black and white boy. On the long trip home, Dash was great – he never whined or barked – just sat in his crate or on our lap in the back seat. When we stopped for potty breaks, he did great on-lead with all the noise of vehicles and trucks going in and out of the rest area. Our three Minis were not sure about this newcomer; however, before long, the girls were romping and playing with Dash. Our male Mini Beau took a little longer to warm up to him.

I began Dash in a puppy elementary class at our dog club, and he did very well. He is easy to train and picks things up very quickly. In June, I had a private class with agility instructor Sherry Kleuver. Sherry showed me things to begin training Dash on before he would be able to start jumping. We worked on the teeter totter, how to stay on a contact zone, weave entrances, the very flat weave poles, and just going between the jump stanchions with the bar on the ground. When we trained on Sundays with a group of friends, we worked on Rally Obedience. I would start Dash out on the rally course and just do the things he already knew, and he did very well.

To help socialize Dash, we took him to our friend’s jewelry business that allows dogs. We took him to the Cancer Walk and walked around the track and in the crowd, and he did very well with people clapping and the band playing. We wanted him to be relaxed in all environments. Dash came with us to dog agility trials where he was crated and also walked him around the shows to help with his socialization. Dash loves everyone and all dogs. We are very happy with his personality and the confidence he shows. He is a very handsome boy: he has his mother Thumbelina’s beautiful face. I think he gets his intelligence from his dad Casey.

After Puppy Elementary Class, we went on to Home Companion Class. In October 2007, I took Dash to a tracking seminar and learned how to teach him to track. After the Home Companion Class, Dash was tested for his Canine Good Citizen certificate and passed with flying colors. His instructor Jim was very impressed with Dash’s progress and said that he could compete in the ring now. Dash was doing so well in class that in January I entered him, and he did very well watching me and not pulling on the leash. I could walk around the ring with the lead around my neck, and he would walk next to me.

To see if I could begin jumping him, I had Dash x-rayed to make sure his growth plates were closed. In February, we also had another private lesson with agility instructor Sherry Kleuver where Dash learned to go up and over the A-frame and stop on the contacts; he learned to start weaving with the poles being raised; and he learned to jump properly over a jump. He is very quick to pick up on things and is a joy to train. Dash has a Lab friend named Pearl, who is close to his age, that we train with. Dash and Pearl love to run around and play keep-away with toys. I love watching them play and seeing how they figure things out . . . like how to get the toy away from each other.

The first weekend in March, we headed for Lafayette, Indiana, to Dash’s first Rally Obedience trial. Dash’s house sister Mocha was also competing in a Rally Advanced Class. On the first day, Dash was ready to go: he was watching me and sitting every time we stopped. Dash was first to go in for Novice B. We started out down the first three signs. Dash did great. He stayed with me, not forging ahead and was watching me. We turned and started towards the crowd at which point Dash stopped and just stood still watching the crowd. He looked up at me as if to say, “Mom, they’re watching me!” I told him, “Yes, everyone is watching you.” The judge was standing behind us and just laughed. I was finally able to get Dash’s attention, and we finished the course with a score of 88 out of 100. We got a leg but did not place.

A photographer at the trial took a couple of great shots of Dash while he was in the ring. She said she just loved the white toes on his rear feet. When told his name, she said that he was very “dashing.”

The second day, Dash did better. He paid less attention to the crowd and was able to finish the course with a score of 93 out of 100. He tied with second place but, because of his time, placed third. Dash now has two legs towards his Rally Novice title. Our club will host an Obedience/Rally trial in June and, hopefully, Dash will be able to finish his Rally Novice title then.

Dash has finished his Sub Novice class and is moving on to Novice class later this month. Our instructor just loves the way Dash prances while he is heeling. The other night, while Dash was doing a recall, the instructor said she didn’t know how he could possibly prance any better than he does.

With the weather warming up, we will start working on our tracking skills again.

I will continue this article when Dash starts his Novice class and competes in our club’s obedience trail in June. Also, in June, Dash will start his first Agility Preparation class.