Agility Star:  Kirby’s Story

My name is Terri Fischer.  My husband and I bought a female 'pet' puppy from you back in 2001.  She was from the N litter, born on 5/18/01.  I think she was AKC registered as Nickle (started out as Nickie, but they didn't read it right).  We call her Kirby.

I just thought you'd like to hear how she's doing and to put my name into your queue.

Turns out, I became addicted to agility, mostly because Kirby loved it. Who knew! I'd never heard of it before they showed us some tunnels after our first obedience class.  She's 25" at withers, which is just at the
edge of making her too tall to fit through the 24" tunnels at speed. Her long curly tail has been a challenge because it will grab the plastic jump standards and pull the whole thing over.  (However, I'm
told by other GSD people that the tail is often a problem. Ha!)

We eventually ended up competing mostly in NADAC.  In 2006 Kirby was #8 overall in the country in Skilled Jumpers.  In 2007 Kirby was #8 overall in the country in Skilled Regular.

In 2008, we didn't make the top ten overall, but she was the number 1 German Shepherd in all 6 NADAC events in the country.  But, the important part of all that is that she and I had a hoot doing
all those runs.  Sometimes she gets so excited and silly that I just stand in the middle of the ring and laugh.  What a wonderful dog.  I expect I'll be comparing all my future dogs to Kirby who's just been the best dog.

I've been toying with the idea of getting another female pup.  If I do, I'd like to assume that I'll be doing agility with her.  For me, an ideal agility shepherd would be friendly and toy motivated.

Friendly is important because we come face to face with so many dogs and people (and children) at trials.  (I think that was my number one request when we got Kirby.)  There are so many dogs out there that have shepherd phobias or bad experiences that it's been helpful to have a fairly non-reactive dog.  And being amiable with people (if not gregarious like a Golden!) is just expected.

Kirby will try to stare down other dogs, but she's generally wonderfully mellow (until it's her turn) and stays in a short x-pen at trials (no crate needed).  I don't worry about her charging dogs that walk past or
even barking.  I get many complements about what a wonderful shepherd she is and how nice it is to see one that just chills out.  She goes all out when we get on course though.  Yowling with excitement.

Toy motivation is important for me to be able to get speed and distance.  NADAC is all about fast, flowing courses and there are extra challenges available if you're able to work 10', 20', 50', or even 80' away from your full-running dog.  It's hard for me to train for distance without the extra enthusiasm of a dog that really, really wants that ball.

Other wishes: Smaller is probably better than bigger, mainly because of the tunnels.  'Normal' coat, not long-haired. Athletic - able to run distance (up to 12 slow miles).  Happy, not stressed.

I'm not sure of my timing for a puppy or, given the economy, how much I can spend.  But I wanted to get my name to you in case you come across a female that looks just right for me.  I don't want to wait too long (years) because I want to get a puppy while Kirby is still young enough to play energetically with it.  I do want a puppy though and not an older dog.  For me personally, it's important to start bonding when they're young.

I will never do bite work or official Schutzhund training, so a pup that isn't that interested in biting would be good. I also don't plan to breed and would spay. I expect to continue competing with Kirby as long as she's able.  I've dropped her jump height down to 12" (from what would be her normal 20" in NADAC) as she's aged and her hips have gotten stiffer (and because of that darn tail).

We have 50 acres of woods in Vermont. We're set off of a non-busy dirt road, have a dog-door, a very large fenced yard, a pond (outside the fence), and many trails in the woods.  When we're not at an agility event, the dogs are typically off-leash, particularly when jogging with my husband.

Anyhow, I think I'm done rambling away.  Hope you'll keep me in mind if you see a special girl that would like to play agility.  And thank you for Kirby all those years ago.  She's really special.

Regards,
Terri Fischer

ADAC # 1 German Shepherd -- in country -- in all 6 events -- for 2008