What are you most proud of?

[SpringerLover]

It doesn't have to be a title (though mine mostly are) but, what accomplishment are you most proud of with your dog(s)?

Buzz
I have two. First his NADAC Novice Versatility. Second his ARCH. It took me forever to learn to work with him and by the time we were a well oiled team, he was getting old. Those were my two biggest goals with him, and we achieved them.

Bailey
I have two for her as well. First, her VCD1 (CD, NAP, NJP, TD). Because I never, ever thought we'd get it. It took us like 3 years to get her CD (limited trialing, but still). Second, her non-reactivity in public now. She can be normal with dogs in a non-working environment. Never thought I'd see that day, so happy I have.

Gabby
Her heeling. First and foremost, her heeling. It's not "done" yet but I put so much work into it, and I am so proud of it. I'm proud of a lot of other things she does/has done but I 'blame' her genetic make up for that, so I can't take too much credit.

 

[stardogs]

Maggie I was proud of a LOT since she was my first dog and she had a rough start: passing her Delta Society Pet Partners eval, her multiple grand champions in the 4H dog show our first year there (and using clicker training instead of corrections ), and attending my first ClickerExpo with me are all highlights.

Ziva: She is aaaaamazing as a neutral dog for dog reactive dog work. This week alone, she's helped me with 5 different dogs, all who needed something just a little different, and she was just thrilled to be out working with me. When we get our ADCH, that'll be another proud moment for sure!

Kestrel: His first ClickerExpo where he heeled and settled, and generally just did an amazing job at such a crazy event for a dog. His IPO-VO title - not the prettiest scores, but our first real IPO title and we were one of the first teams to earn it in the US.

Aeri: The great strides she's making in our protection work now that we're on the same page! The day she finished her RATN title that we worked SO hard for.

Snipe: Her flyball work in general - she's so nutty for the sport and sooooo much fun to handle in the lanes.

 

[yv0nne]

Penn is such a fab ambassador for around here. This place is SUPER dog unfriendly. Penn has run in about 12 road races so far (even a half!) with glowing reviews from race directors on her behaviour. She goes to most of the events around here outdoors. Kids can grab her from behind, grab her ears, whatever& I can use it as a moment to teach kiddos& parents how to be appropriate. She is a big dog who is so sweet to everyone& genuinely such a good girl. I know I don't say it enough but she is just so wonderful.

We were at a pumpkin trail tonight with about ~150 people& didn't even knock a tick off her. I brought her to an outdoor concert last September with hundreds of people& she just chilled. I love how easy she is to have out& about.

 

[meepitsmeagan]

Harlow: When she could function again semi normally in public. Also, today with all the handling at the vet. Didn't bat an eye.

Rider: Every once in a while he just gives me moments of brilliance. I love when that happens, because originally he would work at all.

Tulsa: Tonight she gave me amazing work. She impressed me so much at the disc trial as well. I really do think that she will be one to go places.

 

[pinkspore]

For Brisbane, keeping him sound for this many years with his conformation and insane temperament. He doesn't have any titles I can point to, but getting him to the point where he fools people into thinking he is a normal dog is also pretty awesome.

 

[Southpaw]

Juno passing the CGC test was a pretty big deal. Her anxiety wasn't too bad yet at that point, but she has always, always had an issue with men, and all the exercises involving stranger interaction were with a man. The fact that she sat by my side and allowed a man to approach and pet her without moving a muscle.... shocked the heck out of me. She was also really dog reactive at that time too but did great for that portion.

 

[Red.Apricot]

I'm so proud that I was able to take Elsie, who is not an easy dog, to two weekends in a row of dog sports, and get nothing but glowing compliments on her behavior, temperament and our relationship was pretty huge.

That was not the case the first... many trials we went to.

 

[JacksonsMom]

No titles or anything. I'm honestly just proud of the fact that he's my go-to dog. I can take him anywhere in public or do/try anything and I know he's going to behave and enjoy himself. I'm proud & happy that I finally have that dog that I always wanted. Sure, he's got some quirks I could do without, but *overall*, I always just smile at him.

It's the little things. I started babysitting my moms friends little 1 year old daughter. It was a rainy day, cooped up in a strange new house, with a strange unknown child being loud, and he just made himself comfortable and curled up on the couch for a few hours with us. Then he even began to play with her even though he was slightly uncomfortable with her loud noises and fast movements at first.

Or when I bring him into my moms salon and he just sits on the floor while I get my hair washed and styled. Watches the people walk by, etc, and doesn't bat an eye hardly.

It's just... really nice to have a dog that I can depend on for that kind of stuff, as all our other family dogs are generally pretty awful in public.

He's certainly not perfect, but I really couldn't be more proud (most of the time )

 

[Elrohwen]

I'm pretty proud of getting Watson's championship. I never wanted to do conformation until I was talked into it, and I knew pretty much nothing about dog shows beyond what you can learn watching Westminster on tv. In less than a year, and in about a dozen shows. I had to learn to groom him and stack him and try to make it around the ring without doing something stupid (which I did many times). Obviously he did most of the work and he's quite good at showing (except for the standing still part). I'm proud of both of us.

 

[sassafras]

Pip, I'm so SO proud of how far he's come in his relationship with Squash. He has a lot of worries, and he doesn't care for a lot of things, yet he's been able to relearn a new attitude to the point that they pal around and play in the backyard. Probably will always have to gate/rotate in the house, but with our home's layout I can live with that, no one is isolated.

Maisy, do I need to say how proud I am of what an incredible little lead dog she is? She is just brimming with natural talent and drive, I would have had a lot harder time and a lot less fun joring if she hadn't joined our little team. I don't know why she's wearing that hound suit, but whatever. She's amazing.

My Squashies. There's not a specific thing, I'm just so proud of how resilient and fun and willing to try anything he is. He can be a stinker but in some ways he's just the easiest dog.





Aaaaand, just as I was getting all teary about how proud I am of them, someone lets out a horrible noxious fart. Oh, dogs. Never change.

 

[SpaceMutt]

I'm proud of Astro's recall now. He was so difficult to get a reliable recall on but now I can call him away from people, other dogs, you name it. Most of the time he just rockets back to me without thinking, but the times that actually make me proudest are when I see him think about it and CHOOSE to prioritize me, something that took so much work to get him to consider. I thought I'd never be able to have him off leash and now he's off leash every weekend on the trails, reliable and relaxed.

Also, his resource guarding. He went from a puppy that charged people and knocked them down over a bully stick approach, to a dog that happily drops anything I ask. Sometimes he even wants to share with other dogs now, and brings a stick over to a playmate for them to both chew on! His entire outlook changed. It was his resource guarding that got me into dog behavior in the first place, and I'm just so proud at how much he worked with me on this and how he trusts me now.

 

[PlottMom]

Liz sat through a two hour class today on the floor curled up and didn't make a peep. Mostly everyone forgot she was here, except my facilitator who loved her and kept taking photos

Then she won (well, it was a 3 way tie... but we still get a gift card...) the costume contest for being painted like a skeleton I was sooo happy - the competition was tough! So today I'm proud of Lizard lol

 

[Finkie_Mom]

For Kimma, I'm proudest that she's become my "do anything" dog. She went from a fearful, reactive puppy with a totally new stupid owner, to becoming this awesome dog. With a still sometimes stupid owner. She helps with reactive dog clients, lays on her mat while I teach classes, can demo anything anywhere, and just loves to work now.

Bubbles, I'm proudest because she's easy. I think I needed an easier dog when I got her. She didn't need much training except housebreaking because she previously lived outside, and basic manners. She's my "will interact with every person and child in an appropriate and loving manner" dog. She came to me that way, but needed a bit more tuning up to build her confidence.

Jari...... I'm proud that he's becoming the dog I wanted him to be. Confident and fearless, feisty, loves every dog and every person...

Pen I actually think I'm proudest of. He was turned in to a shelter for being untrainable. REALLY??!???!?! Look at this boy now. He's an amazing therapy dog, has great house manners, and loves all the people. Doesn't care for dogs, but then again he ignores them on leash so no worries there! My in-laws constantly thank me for letting him live with them. Makes my heart happy to know that he's getting all of the attention he deserves with them, and has made a great doggy friend in their girl Lissy

 

[Toller_08]

Journey: A lot of stuff. I'm really proud that I successfully managed to raise a dog that literally I can take anywhere and do anything with who is friendly, happy and (generally) well mannered. I was pretty sure for a while that I just created broken dogs with problems lol. Turns out that's not true. Or I just really lucked out. Maybe a bit of both. I'm also very proud of all the behaviours and tricks that she knows. She's refueled my love for training and teaching fun tricks after I kind of lost that part of me when Tango died. I did a bit with the Dobes and Dance, but I really made an extra effort with Journey and realized how much I missed it, and now all of the dogs are back to learning new, fun things. But yeah, I'm most proud when I have her downtown or somewhere else busy or on a packed train, and she's better behaved than many of the working dogs we come across. She's a fun, crazy little dog but she certainly knows just when and how to pull off calm, cool and collected too.

Dance: That I can take her most places now without her reacting to people. She still is not a huge fan of people and never will be, and that's fine, but now at least 8 times out of 10 if I take her somewhere she's going to focus on me and not bark at people. That's a huge, big thing for her. Sometimes I forget just how terrible she used to be with stuff like that.

Ripley: I don't know, to be honest. I definitely have proud moments. Like when we're out and about and somebody's dog is flipping out and my Doberman can walk by like nothing is going on, eventhough he too has struggled with dog reactivity. That feels good. And in general, he's just a good dog. And I can be proud of that, as that's how I raised him, despite some minor bumps in the road over the years. He tries hard, wants to please, and lives for love. He doesn't need to do anything special other than just be him. So, I can be proud of him for being a good breed ambassador when things matter the most.