Tell us about your dog.
California Grrrl Cinge was born July 4(ish), 2014. She is a poodle mix – her mom looks like a cockapoo type. DNA testing showed strong poodle genes, though she is quite often mistaken for a Portuguese Podengo.
How did you end up adopting her?
A Facebook friend shared the post. I live in Ontario, Canada; the pup was located in San Francisco area. I contacted the foster mom and asked if she would be willing to let the pup become a Canadian citizen. Travel miles made the trip easy to do; I made a new friend and adopted a great dog!
What about the dog made you want to adopt her? Was there something different or special that moved you to the decision?
She just had the cutest face, sweetest eyes. I love little lap dogs…I have miniature poodles. I knew she had a great start for agility because the foster mom exposed them to so much as puppies. How could I resist?
What made you want to get involved in agility with your dog? Had you competed in agility before you got your rescued dog involved or was it new to you?
I started competing about 20 years ago with a Beagle rescue. I was hooked on the sport from the get-go!!
Did your dog happen to have any behavior or training issues when you adopted her?
She flew in cabin seamlessly! She is a dream dog in the house and on the agility field.
Did you find that agility helped to improve your relationship with your dog and help with the behavior/training issues (if any)?
I find training the skills for agility to our dogs creates confident dogs mainly because of the positive reinforcement methods most of us use for training agility. Agility creates a great bond between me and my dogs.
Was there anything about training for agility or competing in agility that was a challenge with your dog?
The trait I love the most in my little Cinge is her willingness to try anything I ask of her….she offers up her best to me every time we step on the field be it for practice or competition.
What previous USDAA events prior to Cynosport 2017 have you competed in with your dog? What titles, etc. did they earn or other accomplishments you’re proud of?
My border collie rescue, Wish, took me to Cynosports about 8 years ago. Cinge qualified in all the tournaments in 2017.
What are you looking forward to this year with your dog at Cynosport?
I’m looking forward to running my dogs at one of the premier events in North America and seeing friends from across the country. I am excited to be seeing great teams running!
What would say to people who are considering adopting a dog who might want to do agility some day and are concerned a rescue dog may be more difficult to work with? Likewise, what do you think makes competing with a rescue dog a real benefit?
Any dog will learn and become a great teammate when you train with what motivates them. I would rescue again. And again.
Puppy picture by Kim Young
Agility pics by Karie Elizabeth