 Dexter
was never meant to be an agility dog. He came into Siobhan Beaudin's life just
after Covid during the last lockdown to keep her busy and go on adventures. Even
as a puppy, he was never an easy dog. Amongst other things, he suffered from
severe separation which wasn't easy to handle. He was seen by several
specialists, all of whom played a part in his behaviour rehab. This is the story
of how Dexter became the first Cockapoo to reach Agility Champion status.
My first dog was a Cockapoo called Rosie who
was a dream come true. She was, in fact, the reason I got into agility in the
first place. My mum had signed her up for some 'fun' classes, but then couldn't
attend due to health reasons, so I took her instead.
Sadly Rosie got injured and so we had to
stop going, but I could see how much agility helped a dog come out of its shell,
ultimately leading me to the decision to start with Dexter.
At the time, I thought it would help him
channel some of his extra energy into something productive and give him
something new to focus on. After searching online, I discovered that Margaret
and Jamie Wright taught 1-2-1 lessons near me.
 This
is where I fell down into the agility rabbit hole!
Dexter took to agility straight away and was able to
compete at some independent shows from 16 months old! At 18 months, he made his
competitive debut, coming 2nd in an agility class at a UKA show.
At this show, I allowed Jamie to run Dexter
in a Snooker class as I had absolutely no idea about the rules. Based on their
future success as a partnership, including a 2nd place in Snooker at the World
Agility Open (WAO) this year, you might think this first run together would be a
sign of things to come. However, Dexter came out of the weaves halfway through
and went to the toilet, completely disgracing himself!
A few weeks later, we entered our first KC
show where we got an Agility win towards Grade 2! Just two months, he got his
last win to go Grade 2. After a few months in Grade 2, we had one win towards
Grade 3, but needed an win to go up. I wanted to try for Novice Cup through the
summer, so I let Jamie do a few runs with Dexter to see if he could get the
elusive win to let us do that.
It was from that moment I realised the bond
forming between the boys, and Jamie and I started sharing running Dexter, both
getting wins in each grade until he eventually got to Grade 7, exactly one year
after his first KC show.
 Going
Champ
Heading into 2024 in Grade 7 meant Dexter was ready for his first Champ show. In
his first final, he ran last with Jamie and only missed out on the win due to
falling off the dog walk. Following this performance where four consecutive
finals but with no results. The best being with 5f but the fastest time!
Across the whole year Dexter made nine Champ
finals. His final ticket was won at North Derbyshire. It was such a special
moment, not only because it gave him his title win, but because the North
Derbyshire show in 2024 was where he got first Championship RCC. It was
definitely a full circle moment for his ticket collecting goals.
In the last two shows of the season, he went
on to win the Reserve CC at North Derbyshire, followed by the Championship
ticket in his final Champ of the year at Castlereagh. This him and Jamie for
Crufts 2025!
Then at Crufts this year, Dexter made the
Champ final, running second to last – not bad for his debut in the main ring!
 More
road trips
Thus far, Dexter has taken me on so many adventures including as a member of
Agility Team GB, and I am looking forward to going to Portugal and the
Netherlands. I can't wait to see what the future holds for
Team Dexter, but whatever happens I will always be proud of my crazy cockapoo!
And I cannot wait to do agility with my
young dog Rainbeau since Jamie has now stolen Dexter to run competitively. But I
can't blame him. They make the most wonderful partnership!
 About
the author...
Siobhan Beaudin Has owned dogs
since she was 16. Her first dog, a Cockapoo called Rosie was a childhood dream
come true and got her into agility.
Since taking agility a little more
competitively, she has started making her own dog toys as Dexter absolutely
loves a tug but goes through them quickly/ gets bored of the same toy. So two
years ago her dog toy business was born and has been a part-time job ever since!
After all, we all need something to fund our
agility addiction.
Photos
First published 13th October 2025
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