Mia Passes Her CGC Test!
Written by owner, Serena:
On December 28, 2007 I adopted a rescue dog and named her Mia Hamm. So much research went into finding the right dog. I knew I wanted a border collie, I had been appropriately warned by 100’s of people about the destructiveness of the breed if/when they get bored. I took my chances and spent lots of time looking for the quintessential border collie personality as looks were not important to me.
At the shelter, I spotted one dog that outshone all the others vying for attention and the ball. She watched. She waited. She observed my abilities with the ball. She weaved in the back of the pack watching intently while the others slobbered and panted their way to the ball. I saw her anticipating my next movement and we began our relationship right there volleying the ball back and forth to each other. She was “it”.
I tried different training techniques and finally found a trainer in St. Cloud. We started classes and haven’t looked back. There are some kinks such as her age. I have no clue what her real age is! She was owner surrendered but I think she was kept isolated because she does not know how to “play” at the dog park. My trainer, Norma, suggested that I work on other skills rather than trying to socialize her at a public dog park. Norma said that Mia Hamm was such a strong herder that agility bored her. I must be honest, agility bored me with all the rules, gestures, and rigidness of the training. We still practice some basics but mostly we just have a good time. Another kink I found out about was her obsession with balls. Balls: basketballs, soccer, tennis, raquet, football, etc., etc., etc.! It was so intense that she forgot everything including being attached via leash in which I the human clung to with dear life. I went rollerblading at a park with paved trails and had to pass by a basketball court. I ended up walking in rollerblades on the grass because she wasn’t able to pass the court! Little embarassing let me tell you. After training and working with her, we can walk by someone bouncing a basketball and she doesn’t stop everything to obsess about the ball. A recent kink I discovered this summer at our family reunion in the mountains; she loves loves loves loves to herd the Canadian Geese in and out of the water. Mia also got a chance to herd some extremely tame deer as well. To date I have not started any training in the herding arena. That’s going to be a big priority because Mia will herd to the nth degree and not stop. When she’s engaged in her task, she hears nothing nor does she see humans desperatly trying to catch her. So that will be our next big goal.
I am so proud of her and I have to admit I’m proud of both of us because we passed the Canine Good Citizen Test. Know that we haven’t been to training in a year. Because Norma gave us the tools to learn how to train ourselves and with daily practice, we showed up out of the blue and took our CGC test…and nailed it!
I am so proud of my rescue dog. Everyday it’s an honor and a blessing to have her in my life as we grow old together.