Category: Dog of the Month

Meet Viewlands Strike-me its “Atlas”, aka Little man / Troublemaker- our October/November dog of the month!

Atlas has been doing agility since he was a wee man (tee hee, pun intended). Atlas’s human was looking for something fun to do together and coincidentally was constantly getting agility videos of Maisy & other extraordinary CCATS club members sent to her 🙂 so she decided to check it out to further strengthen their bond. Now you’ll see them regularly at club sharpening and sharing their skills.

Atlas loves wing jumps and working those challenging weaves for treats and other rewards. His biggest agility goal is gaining ground – to be able to get a little distance between Mum & I while running a course – maybe it’s the promise of his favourite food, fresh cooked fish or a bully stick. His confidence has grown for sure and his biggest accomplishment in agility so far is conquering the A frame. It’s a very large obstacle for such a tiny little man.

When he’s not doing agility, his favourite place to be is in mum’s arms, napping on her lap any which way up or relaxing in a sunny spot. In fact, we hear his secret talent is sleeping and snoring like a freight train!! He also “convinced” mum to let him sleep on the bed when he was only 4 months old and has been there ever since. Yup, he’s a charmer alright and a wonderful member of our CCATS family.

• Favourite Toy: Your Droolly “doggie”
• Secret Talent: Snoring like a freight train
• Best Trick: Puppy dog eyes (it gets me all the best treats)

Meet Ivy, aka Dingus, Darling, Gorgeous Girly and The OGGG (The Original Good Girl) – formally known as Penteronda De-vine Ivy – Our August/September dog of the month!

Ivy’s been enjoying agility for a little over a year and a half and has already been travelling to a few away shows with her family and their campervan. You may have seen her getting really giddy for a pat when anyone gives her attention – who could resist those giddy pats! Her biggest accomplishment in agility so far is overcoming her reactivity to other dogs so she can focus on having fun and teaching her humans some great agility handling skills.

Next year, she has set her sights on competing in and achieving a clear round in NZDAC (NZ’s National Dog Agility Championships) when it is back in the South Island. She’s been working hard on her start lines, so she can be rewarded with lots and lots of her favourite obstacle, the wing jump, helped by her favourite sheepskin tug-tug and lots of consistent practice.

When she’s not doing agility, her favourite place to be is on adventures with Dad in the mountains or napping under the heat pump taking up the whole couch with her head propped up on a cushion. She’s also known to help herself to a bit of food if it is left out and her humans are out of the room, which of course makes it taste way better, but not as good as her favourite treat – ice cream – unless of course it IS ice cream – or cheese – or anything with dairy.

Ivy’s humans choose to do agility because it’s a great way to bond with your dog, it’s super fun, and it’s one of the best ways to tire out a clever border collie brain! Plus, they said they get to hang out with an awesome group of people – aww – we CCATS enjoy hangin’ out with you all and Ivy too – thanks for being a part of our family and the agility community.

• Secret Talent: She can press the pedestrian crossing button
• Best Trick: Rewind backwards through her human’s legs from a distance – impressive!
• Little Known Fact: She was very nervous around kids as a puppy but has turned out to be the most amazing big sister to her furless little brother

Meet Ruger, formally known as Canelupo Enzo, our June/July dog of the month!

Ruger started agility a few months ago and he loves it! You can spot his large grin at training and running courses from the other side of the field. His favourite agility obstacle is the tunnel and he and his teammate are enjoying learning agility skills – who knew there was so much to learn?? And there is always something new 😉

Ruger has recently shown off his skills at ribbon trial level and his biggest accomplishment so far is a clear round in Jumpers C. His goal is to keep getting better (which he is smashing by the way) and with the help of some venison treats and his favourite orange bouncy ball with rope attached – we know he will succeed. Living far away from training and competition can be challenging as can going slow enough to get things right, and we are impressed by Ruger and his handler’s efforts.

When he’s not doing agility, you’ll find him curdled up near his humans in the lounge, adventuring with his kid sister Billie (also a GSD) or at his favourite place the lake for a swim. He’s also a keen deer stalker and regularly hunts deer with his human. We hear he signals when one is nearby and is excellent at tracking and finding wounded deer.

Ruger’s human chose to do agility because it looked like good fun and a new sport to try out and get some exercise. We are so glad she did and is now a part of our CCATS family.

• Best Trick: Take a bow
• Favourite Food: The cat’s food!!
• Known for: Vocalising his presence

Meet Kiwa, our April/May dog of the month!

Kiwa is a Lhasa Apso x Poodle, who started agility a couple of years ago. In a flash, he graduated up the ranks to Senior classes and is working hard towards his goal of becoming Champion 🏆 – helped along by play and rewards with his favourite pink ball or some tasty chicken. Hard to believe this guy is a slow starter, but once he gets going – he’s motoring! His biggest agility accomplishment so far is being awarded NZ Nationals Top Dog!

When he’s not doing agility, you’ll find him curled up in a ball napping or somewhere with a bird’s eye view for surveillance and perfecting his guard dog skills. It’s no surprise then, that Kiwi’s favourite agility obstacle is the A-Frame – though he doesn’t stop to admire the view – we reckon it gives him a buzz.

Kiwa’s human chose to do agility “because it’s fun.” We couldn’t agree more, and we’re glad you and Kiwi are sharing the fun with us at CCATS!

• Favourite Treat: Chicken
• Secret Talent: Relaxing so much he goes limp like spaghetti
• Best Trick: Standing on his hind legs

Meet Scout (aka Wee Dog, Dumb Dumb, Missy Scout) our February Dog of the Month!

Scout is a 4-year-old Australian cattle dog, also known as a Blue Heeler, who started agility training just over two years ago.

Scout’s favourite agility obstacle is the one with treats or her beloved noisy, empty, crunchy Just Juice plastic bottle on the other side. After all, nobody works for free! Her biggest agility accomplishment so far is achieving 100% accuracy on her weaves in her most recent competition – including the straight and fast entries she previously found challenging – woohoo! Her next goal is to secure that second Jumpers C win to move up to the more challenging Jumpers B level and to continue working on unleashing her inner speed demon. Scout prefers accuracy over speed any day of the week, or so we’re told, and she’s always ready to demonstrate a trick or two.

When she’s not practising agility, she’s at her favourite place: the horse paddock. There, she enjoys herding her horse (or rather, running alongside her human as she rides), which she does with great enthusiasm every day, as if it’s the best day ever. She’s also known to nap on her back with all four legs stretched in various directions. Or she might be found weight training with a massive stick – another favourite pastime of hers. If it’s too big to pick up, it’s just the right size for her.

This clever girl likes the sound of her voice and knows her words. She can retrieve nearly all her toys by name – how clever is that! And she knows a trick or two and will be happy to show you. Scout’s human thought agility would be the perfect outlet for her intelligence and energy – a smart move indeed – and says they have met some pretty cool people through agility. They have a lot of fun too.

• Favourite Treat: What her human has, but cheese, always cheese
• Secret Talent: ‘Herding’ her human’s horse while the human rides
• Best Trick: Sit pretty, and we reckon her ‘bang-bang’ drop dead is a pretty class act too

Our Dog of the Month for December/January is Maisy (AKA Mayzoozles or Maisy Pup), a 5-year-old Schnoodle. And to save you looking that up, a Schnoodle is a Schnauzer X Poodle.

Maisy started her agility journey back in 2019, falling in love with it after the intro class. Since then, she has gained proud accomplishments such as winning a Jumpers B heat at the 2022 Nationals (NZDAC) and coming 2nd in her height in the Jumpers B finals – just to name a few!

Before she started her agility career, she aced all of her Puppy and Adolescent classes, and looking for another training endeavour, agility was the next thing to master; she was clearly going to be a high achiever in whatever she emBARKed on. her favourite obstacle, the dog walk, is also her biggest nemesis, with the current goal being to get those paws down in the contact zone, aiming for a 90% hit rate. Not to mention her super secret goal of beating a Borderpap (Border Collie X Papillon) in a Senior agility event based on time alone (no faults). 🤣🤣 In the meantime, she’s racking up Jumpers A challenges, so watch this space as the Master titles start to roll in.

She is often described as clingy, which is why her favourite place is within 2 meters of wherever Dad is, although like most, she does also love to be sprawled out in the sun napping on her side on a nice day.

As well as being known for being fast on the agility field, she may also be known to some as the beautiful face of the 2023 4 Paws Marathon 32km medal, and she ran the entire 32km! (Let’s just skip over the part with the human-shin-high swamp water!)

Finally, even the most dedicated of athletes needs to indulge in some comfort food, and Maisy is no different. With cheese and sausages being her menu – rumour has it that she can eat an entire sausage in 2 bites (no chewing required!) – along with her feline sister’s leftover Succulent Chicken cat food – But I am sure that’s a whole other story.

Thanks team Maisy for being such a big part of our CCATS family!

• Best Trick: Roll over (but only one way)
• Favourite Toy: Her oversized agility leash that you’ll see at every show
• Favourite Treat: Cheese (you must always pay the cheese tax)

Meet Freedom, a.k.a. Fee Fee, our October dog of the month.

Freedom gave her paw of approval for us to tell you about her love of dog agility and all the fun of being a 2-and-a-half-year-old Yorkie, or Yorkshire Terrier.

Our smallest club member, Fee Fee has been with us here at CCATS for a year now and has already gained so much confidence in herself, especially with hurdles, which are now her favourite. The weaves have been her biggest challenge so far, and she is looking forward to getting stuck into the See-Saw and A Frame.

Fun Fact – Yorkies like Fee Fee were originally bred from 3 different types of Terrier back in 19th Century England, and weigh no more than 3.175 kg!

When she is not doing agility, Fee Fee is a secret stalker, and loves to stalk her brother. She will use her special look of cuteness to get all her favourite foods and treats of lamb and lamb bones, after which she will settle down for some quality naps on Dad’s lap… the best place to be! Her other favourite place is the beach, where she can really get out and explore.

Freedom’s Mum was always impressed by people who have great control over their dogs using their voice, whether that be for tricks, agility or obedience, and really wanted to be able to get her dog to have that level of attention to voice commands, which lead her to try agility. Lucky for us, now they are hooked and part of our CCATS family.

• Biggest Agility Goal: See-saw and A-frame
• Favourite Toy: Monkey (a very small soft teddy)
• Secret Talent: Stalking her brother and using her cuteness (that look!)

Introducing our July/August dog of the month, the lovely Rae.

Rae The Last Jedi (otherwise known as Rae Rae) is two and a half years old and this intelligent and agile working dog’s first competition was a year ago where she placed both 1st and 2nd – WOW!

She’s known for being super speedy on the agility course, and her favourite obstacle to complete is the Dog Walk. She is still working on slowing down to do the weaves and with the same dedication she put toward learning her contacts, we know she will be nailing that in no time.\

Outside of agility she absolutely loves the beach, to the point at which she will squeal with excitement! If that doesn’t show how much she loves it, I don’t know what does.
Rae’s secret talent is talking (in her own way) to all the people and dogs in her life that she loves, and when she isn’t doing that, she is playing with all her toys. Rae loves toys, and any toy for that matter, she is crazy for them!
After a long day of beach walks, playing with toys, and ‘talking’ to her dog friends you will find her curled up in a ball on her chair sleeping.

Inspired by her mother to get a dog of her own to do agility, Rae’s handler “has waited a long time for this dog” and really wants to make her a Champion!

• Best Trick: Kiss
• Favourite Rewards: ANY TOY, sometimes food, avoids being patted
• Secret Talent: Talking to all the dogs and people in her life

Introducing Tui (AKA Inchcolm Tui in Flight ADX JD SN ACS NIS or ‘Tu Tu’) our June dog of the month!

Tui is a highly decorated veteran among our dogs. You name a category, and she’s most likely won it – including victories in Starters, Novice, Jumpers C, and even finals at the national level. Tui’s training journey began when she was a mere 8-week-old puppy, arriving at Christchurch Airport. The shrieks that emanated from her could be heard from a distance, and it was at that moment that Sandra realized she was in for a handful with Tui.

After getting through the difficult puppy stages, it was clear that being the highly active and intelligent dog she is, she needed to do agility. The pair have been teaching each other ever since – and once her human teammate realised Tui needed a bit more distance handling – they have been tearing up courses and putting the FUN in funnel 🤣 while working toward their current goal of super speedy 2o2o contacts.

Outside of agility, she loves to play with the tennis ball, and is skilful enough to be able to load the ball launching machine herself – I think we would all like a dog who could play fetch by themselves sometimes! Reportedly, she’s also known for stealing food out of unsuspecting people’s pockets – and we have seen her open and help herself to other’s Treat-n-Train’s – so smart and sneaky! And despite being quite clever and independent, her favourite place is anywhere she can see Mum, or adorably napping in her donut bed.

Tui also practices Scentwork, and this combined with agility has proven particularly useful for strengthening the bond with her and her Mum, making for the amazing team we see each week!

• Favourite Treat: Sausage
• Secret Talent: Impressing the kids at school and the pros with her scent work
• Best Trick: Loading the automatic ball thrower with her favourite toys by herself!

Meet Bowie, our Dog of the Month for April.

Bowie is our “Starman” this month. A Rough Collie who is our very own Lassie at the club. And just like movie star dogs, Bowie is incredibly photogenic.

Bowie is 2 years old this month, competed in his first ribbon trial back in November, and has already notched up his second Jumpers C win at ribbon trials! His biggest challenges so far have been the tunnels, which we know are all dark and scary the first few times – but are now his favourite thanks to lots of work and determination – and the weaves, which according to his human he’s starting to get the hang of, except in competition when the next obstacle is more enticing (we can ALL relate, right?). He will do absolutely anything for chicken, however, so we are sure they will have them down in no time and be well on their way to reaching their goal of competing in the Senior class.

When he is not competing or training, he loves to play with his Frisbee, which we hear he can catch mid-air and enjoys any place he can bound around in long grass.

When it comes time to relax, you won’t find him far from the couch, whether that be curled up all nice and warm, or spread out when he gets too hot, which must be often with that luscious long coat of his.

• Favourite Toy: Frisbee or Fluffy Tug
• Secret Talent: Always knowing where the camera is and posing appropriately
• Little known fact: Bowie refuses to walk on slippery surfaces like tiles or polished concrete if he’s feeling uncomfortable or stressed, making trips to the vet and groomers a bit interesting!