Body language is extremely important when Lisa is working with her deaf dog, Holly.   The least little change in body movement has a huge impact on her performance.  One advantage is deaf dogs are less likely to be distracted by the sounds around them such as the teeter banging on the ground, barking dogs, or the cheering of the crowd.  However, Holly’s other senses are heightened so if she sees something or picks up a scent in the air, it is very difficult to get her attention.  Lisa had to develop her own one-handed signs for the various types of equipment on the agility course.  It is also very important for Holly to see Lisa while she is giving the signs.   She has to always be ahead of Holly on the course.  When Holly is in the chute or tunnel, Lisa must wait for Holly to emerge to give her the next sign.  This differs from hearing dogs which can be told where to go next while still in the tunnel or chute.  The fact that Holly is able to compete side by side with hearing dogs and win is simply amazing!

 Agility Association of Canada:
Gold Award of Merit (50 standard Q's, 100 games Q's) (only Dal to achieve this title)
Silver Award of Merit (25 standard Q's, 50 games Q's)
Bronze Award of Merit (10 standard Q's, 25 games Q's)
Expert Standard Gold (50 master standard Q's) - she has 52 (only Dal to achieve this title)
Expert Standard Silver (25 master standard Q's)
Expert Standard Bronze (10 master standard Q's)
Expert Jumpers Silver (25 Q's) - she now has 43
Expert Jumpers Bronze (10 Q's)
Expert Team Relay Bronze (10 Q's) - she has 20 now (only Dal to achieve this title)
Expert Snooker Bronze (10 Q's) - only 1 Q away from our Silver
Bronze Versatility Award - has achieved Bronze status in at least 3 categories (standard, jumpers, snooker, team relay)
Steeplechase Dog of Canada - need 25 for a bronze, she has about 18 but we're not pursuing this anymore

Agility Trial Champion (ATCh) – achieved all master standard Q’s and all master games Q’s

Master Games Dog of Canada
Master Snooker Dog of  Canada------------------)
Master Team Relay Dog of Canada--------------)all of these titles are required to
Master Jumpers Dog of Canada------------------)  earn the Agility Trial Champion
Master Gamblers Dog of Canada-----------------)
Master Agility Dog of Canada---------------------)
Advanced Agility Dog of Canada
Advanced Games Dog of Canada
Agility Dog of Canada (Starter title)
6th place 2009 Ont Regionals 10"VDD (veteran double drop (in height))

CKC - Novice Dog Special, Novice Jumpers Special, Canine Good Neighbour

"I first saw Holly at the All About Pet Show.  She was featured at the Dalmatian Adoption and Rescue booth and was 5 months old.  I already owned a 6 yr. old hearing Dalmatian, so was intrigued.  I immediately fell in love with her.  She was so alert and you could tell she had a great personality, very mischievous and full of spunk.  I spoke with the Rescue about her, found out she was deaf, but that wasn’t an issue for me.  For several years, I had been involved in training obedience and we’d had a deaf Dalmatian in the classes recently and were using hand signals for.  I waited for a couple of weeks and called them to see if she had been adopted….not yet.  I spoke at length again with the Rescue about my involvement in obedience.  Again, I waited a couple of weeks, and she was still available.  During that whole time I constantly thought about her.  I knew that she was meant to be with us.  Apparently, Holly had been in 2 homes by the time she was 3 months old plus her foster home.  I wanted us to be her last home."

Snooker is a little different from standard agility.  Snooker is named after a popular Great Britain billiard game.  The handler develops a strategy to earn as many points as possible in a set time period by running obstacles in Snooker sequence, which is defined by color.   This video is of Annie recently earning a Snooker Q.   Annie has two Qs in CPE Snooker.   

Annie’s breeder knew she was deaf and was responsible enough to seek out a loving home.  The breeder’s goal was to find a home where Annie would be treated like a "normal" dog.  Annie’s “mom” Lori first found out about this little deaf Beardie when she was approached by a fellow agility club member who had agreed to find this special needs puppy just the right place.  However when asked, Lori replied, "You know I don't do puppies!"  But that evening Lori keep thinking how hard it would be to find a home for a special needs puppy, so the next day she agreed to just see this little deaf Beardie.  Well the rest is history!!!

 The breeder is amazed at all Annie has done.   While some breeders or breed clubs would have turned their back on a "damaged" dog, the Bearded Collie Club of America, has embraced Annie and all her accomplishments.  In fact, Annie has been featured in the breed club’s magazine, The Beardie Bulletin.  Recently the AKC asked parent clubs their opinion of deaf dogs in companion events.  The Bearded Collie Club of America has gone on record in support of deaf dogs participating in all companion events. Even using Annie’s accomplishments as testimonial to highlight what all deaf dogs are capable of doing.  Way to go Annie!!!

Just what type of dog is a Bearded Collie?  I decided to hit the internet to find out more about Annie and other “Beardies” as they are so fondly called.  There is no real record of the origin of Bearded Collies but it is safe to say, they’ve been around for centuries.  The Bearded Collie has gone by many names including Scotch Sheepdog, Mountain Collie, and Highland Collie.   All one really knows is that over the centuries a shaggy, longhaired, hairy-faced dog developed in Scotland.  This dog was noted for its hardiness and its ability to work cattle and sheep.  Did someone say SHEEP???

Annie got a firsthand look at sheep while at “Camp Gone to the Dogs.”  Below you can see her first encounter with sheep.   She possesses the herding instinct all Beardies come by so naturally.  Although I doubt we’ll find Annie down on the farm, Beardies are still considered shepherd dogs and are a common site around the fields in the United Kingdom.

Hi!  My name is Annie and I’m a 2 year old Bearded Collie who was born deaf.  My mom adopted me when I was 10 weeks old from my breeder.  As far as we know, I am the only Beardie born deaf in the US.  Even though I’m still young, I’ve had a very busy life.  At four months old, I got to go to Camp Gone to the Dogs in Vermont with my mom and brother, Damian.  During that week, I learned most of the agility equipment, how to swim, excelled in puppy kindergarten even with long distance recalls which were done outside and the best thing ever was I got to meet my first set of sheep.  I LOVE sheepies.  I only wish I could see them more often.  I have attended three levels of obedience classes and passed my CGC and Delta Pet Partners in June of 2010.  I do pet therapy at a NY hospital and my mom has signed me up to complete a course to become a Paws for Reading therapy dog.  I started training in agility in the fall of 2009 and began competing in July 2010.  So far I’ve only gotten two Qs in CPE Snooker because I like to wander a lot when I’m out on course.  I mean after all most people are usually laughing when I get into zoomie mode so who am I to deprive them of laughter.  My main goal in life is to entertain.  Last June in addition to going to Camp Gone to the Dogs for my second year, I also was able to attend Beardie Camp in St. Louis, MO with about 100 or so Beardies.  It was really cool being around all those Beardies for a week.  Right after Christmas, I went to Williamsburg, VA for a Beardie Family Reunion.  Two of my sisters, two half siblings, my mom, grandma and great grandma were all in attendance.  We even got to walk down Duke of Gloucester Street with 7 other Beardies and my brother.  Boy did we create a scene.  As you can see, I’m always on the move.  I even have my own Facebook page and email address.

Cody O-EAS, ECC, S-EJS, O-TGS-E, S-TNS-E, WVS-E, HPS-E, Novice Triple Superior, Novice Superior Versatility, Novice All Around, Open Triple Superior, Open Superior Versatility, Open All Around, Elite Versatility

NADAC Championships 2009 5th Place overall in his Division

 NADAC Top 10 by Breed -Mini Aussie

Cody and Leanne will compete in the NADAC Championships again in October 2011.

Leanne was very fortunate in that her training club, Kinder-Pup, welcomed her new “furkid” with open arms and an open mind.  She was encouraged to believe that Cody was capable of EVERYHTING any other dog could do.  Cody went through basic and advanced obedience classes with all hearing dogs and held his own.   Leanne made slight variations in techniques, came up with some hand signs as training went along, substituted a flashlight clicker for an audible clicker, and held Cody to the same standards as all the other dogs.

When Cody completed advanced obedience Leanne decided to see how he'd do in agility. Cody has amazing focus abilities and yes, the BOUNDLESS energy of an Aussie.   Sounded like a great combination for learning a  job to do. That coupled with Cody’s love for food treats made agility training something he LOVED to do.

Cody's 2010 NADAC Rankings

#1 in the Tunnelers class
#3 in the Jumpers class
#3 in the Hoopers class (scored on speed and  accuracy)
#5 in the Touch n Go class (all tunnels, hoops & contacts)
#6 in the Regular class (all obstacles used in this class)
#8 in the Chances class (the distance class)