S is for super smart and speedy...
Lian
Knight grew up in little town in Malaysia with a large pack of dogs! Her late
father had six German Shepherds and two Dobermans. She watched her father train
the dogs in what we would now think a very old fashioned way. When she was 13, her
father passed away, and her late mother rehomed all the dogs. No wonder she felt
lost without a companion.
When I got
married to Colin Knight, we lived in a flat on the outskirts of London. I wanted
to have a dog of my own, but Colin wouldn't agree to have a German Shepherd or
Doberman. After much research and discuss and visiting some dog shows, we
eventually decided on a Shetland Sheepdog.
Shetland sheepdogs, aka
Shelties, are not 'miniature collies' even if they they look a lot like a
smaller version of the Rough Collie. Dating back to 1800s. the breed comes from
the Shetland Islands where they were used herding dogs. Instead of herding sheep
into a group, they were used to protect crops on the farms from the sheep. Their
job was to herd the sheep away from the fields and back toward their fold.
My
first Sheltie was Sing (age 14 now). At the time we got him, we had a cat named Tikka
after Tikka Masala. When I asked Colin what his favourite Chinese food was, he said
Singapore noodle, so Sing's KC name is Fenstyle Sing Mai which in Chinese means
Singapore noodle!
I
took Sing to puppy training and then Obedience. When my trainer
Paddy Driscoll moved out of the area, she suggested I try Agility. I immediately
found Agility far more excited than Obedience.
Seagull, who passed away a couple of years ago, was our second
Sheltie. We were going to name him Netto but, when we collected him from
Halesowen. he yawned like a seagull all the way back to Mitcham. Hence, we
called him Seagull. Our third sheltie as Saturn who is a big boy with 3/4 white collar
which is how he got his name. Our fourth Sheltie Skye (also
passed away now) was named after the Scottish isle of Skye. Not until we got our
fifth Sheltie Sizzle did we realise that all their names started with the letter
S. From
Sizzle onwards, we've had
Sipzie,
Samber, Sonic, Suzi, Sianna, Sherri and Sirius. We now
need think hard for a
'S name' for our Shelties.
About training Shelties
Shelties are a
very clever, intelligent, smart, versatile and agile breed. They have a
reputation being a nervous breed but, like many other breeds, each and every
individual is different. Also, I believe in how you raise the puppy,
socialisation and the early expose to many other experiences and things will
help building their confidence. I always socialise my puppies at the early age,
taking them to town centre, train/bus station, school, coffee shops to meet lots
of people.
I
find Shelties are very easy to train, they are easily motivated by treat or toy.
A mixture of both works best to provide
variety. Too much food leads to a fat Sheltie. Toys have the advantage that
they
can be thrown ahead. Shelties can have a short attention span so I find it best
to train in short bursts. They don’t like to make mistakes so I have to be very
focussed and positive all the time. Whenever I make a mistake, Sonic turns
around and barks to tell me off!
The only 'drawback' of running a Sheltie
I believe is that they can get easily demotivated if something goes wrong on course.
They can be sensitive. If I were
to go to wrong, I normally carry on so as not to upset it.
My dogs
I only have one competing sheltie Sonic (age 5) at the moment. I have retired my
first sheltie Sing, who is Sonic’s dad (age 14), Saturn (age 11) and Sizzle (age
8). I have a six month old puppy calledbyt Sirius who is Sonic's son.
Sing taught me so
much, from clicker training to how he excel himself in Flyball and Agility. He
loved agility, but I didn’t know how to train him properly. He was a very honest
little dog that just wanted to please me all the time. He got up to Grade 6, but
then he picked up an injury which turned into arthritis in one of his front
legs, so it was time for him to retire.
Saturn was my
next Agility dog. I knew a little better about Agility then. Saturn is a big boy
and he is a real mummy’s boy. He was eager to please me. He was fast. For me, it
was a challenge as I used to handle Sing with him next to me all the time but
Saturn ran like a Collie and I felt like a fool. Unfortunately, my in-consistent
handling 'ruined' his contacts. He very often ran up to the peak of the A-frame
and would not come down, especially in Newbury Showground.
My next agility
dog was Sizzle, He was very small and eager. By now, I’d learnt how to raise
Shelties to be outgoing and confident. I applied my knowledge and agility
experience to train him as best as I could. When Sizzle came out at the shows,
he won every class immediately and was up to Grade 7 in just four months. He got a RCC
in his second year
competing. He has represent Team England in WAO 2012; Team GB in IFCS 2013, 2014
and 2015. He got a 3rd in
the Gambler in WAO 2012. Bronze Medal with Team GB in IFCS 2014 Team event and
Bronze Medal with Team GB in IFCS 2015 in Gambler.
Sonic,
Sing's son, is
home-bred. He is very focused and fast. He loves agility
and he is very gobby. I just wish I was as fast as he is! Sonic is Grade 7. He
has represent Team GB competing in IFCS 2014, 2015 and 2016. I have used Sonic
for stud and I was worried that he’d lose interest in agility. I need not have
worried, when he can do agility he gives me his full 100% attention. Nothing
distracts him.
I love competing
with my shelties home and abroad. They always give me their best.
About the author...
Lian Knight
was born in Seremban in Malaysia. Following the 1998 Asian
financial crisis, she relocated to the UK. She married Colin in 2001, and they
got their first Sheltie whilst living in London.
Lian moved from the city to become a farmer as she enjoyed
working with animals. She runs a sheep farm near Rugby with 200 commercial sheep
and a small flock of rare breeds. She has a side business offering B&B and dog
agility holidays
First published 2 August 2016 |