BCSA OBEDIENCE TRIAL DOG OF THE YEAR
CH OTCH Wildfire's Ticket To Ride UDX
Handled by Linda Koutsky

Read Linda and Ticket's story below.

BCSA Obedience Trial Dog Of The Year for 2005
By: Linda Koutsky

The Border Collie Society of America held its third annual Obedience Invitational on Friday, October 14, 2005 under the direction of Judge Mike Piefer during our National Specialty at Purina Farms. This year’s winner was my CH OTCH Wildfire’s Ticket To Ride UDX. It was a real honor for us to do well under such a respected judge, and to join the ranks of prior winners – OTCH Wildfire’s Roadrunner UDX with Dick Battig & OTCH Wirlwynd Flying Wedge UDX8 HSAds HSBs HIAs with Judy Wilson. What follows is “Tickie’s” story. I hope you’ll enjoy it…

CH OTCH Wildfire’s Ticket To Ride UDX
(CH Dreamalot Val Of Hidden Valley UDX x Norwoods Bo Peep HSAs AX OAJ)

The last thing I was looking for was a puppy. My life was in turmoil at the time. There were significant health issues in both my human and canine family. This was one of those times when those of us who play the “doggie” game consider throwing in the towel, hanging up the leash, calling it quits and getting a cat! But I’m not really a cat person and my husband and good friends know that. Just then they heard about the litter.

I remember that winter day when Cindy Siekierke pestered me to drive down to Illinois to see the pups. There were three boys and two girls, all adorable bundles of black & white fur. They were bred by Nancy Lindsay from her bitch Norwoods Bo Peep HSAs AX OAJ and a sire I had been nuts about for a long time Pat Schultz’s CH Dreamalot Val Of Hidden Valley UDX. Val had sired some pretty spectacular obedience dogs, and together with Peep they had produced two lovely prior litters. It was my first time meeting Nancy. She was wonderful and gracious. She let us hang out with the pups and I got a real feel for the litter.

Of course there was one little boy. He wasn’t the kind that tore at your heartstrings, which is good because mine were already broken. No, he was full of himself. Cocky, independent, confident, and very self aware – he made it quite clear that he didn’t need me or anyone else. Not exactly what you’d want in an obedience prospect. I loved his structure, but I saw him as a challenge during a time when I wasn’t so sure I was up for one. Nancy called him “Bandit” and when he looked at me I knew he was it. Here was a special pup just waiting for me; my second chance at that elusive “once in a lifetime” dog. And yet he wasn’t mine just for the taking. No, this boy wanted me to earn it. I named him “Ticket” because he was going to be my ticket into the ring. He was going to be my ticket to ride.

I took him home and quickly discovered that I wasn’t the center of his world. I could stand on my head and throw cookies into the air and he’d still take off for whatever caught his eye. Life was exciting and this pup clearly had his own agenda. I spent all my time those first few days looking at his cute little rear so I resorted to the only means I had of keeping him connected to me – I tied him to me. For the next 3 months whenever we were together, he was tied to me.

By day three it was pretty clear to me that this pup wasn’t crazy about food. Now I had been a food trainer up to this point, so having a dog who didn’t care to eat was a new adventure. I resorted to bribery with some really good stuff, but he wasn’t buying it. He kind of liked toys but he’d take off with them the first chance he’d get. I gave into the desire to pout and whine a little so of course a good friend reminded me that I knew what he was when I took him. Ah, friends – what would we do without them!

OK, so it’s time to get creative! Time to think out of the box and figure out how to work with this pup! Thankfully I was at a point in my life where I was ready for the challenge. I had a pretty good clue where this dog was taking me thanks to the very talented British trainer Sylvia Bishop. I had first met Sylvia at a seminar in Indiana 6 years ago. Within the first 5 minutes she had me hooked on her motivational play based approach to competitive obedience. Sylvia’s talented, really talented. She’s got a very “hands on” personal, relationship building approach that was just perfect for Tickie. There was also a quiet leadership to her method that included the balance I was looking for. Sylvia taught me how to put my hands on my pup and really play with him. She gave me the tools to become the center of his world – to become worthy of his attention and partnership. There are a lot of trainers that I’ve borrowed tools from to add to my box, but it was Sylvia Bishop who taught me how to be me! She knew where I was going. She had the road map, and she was willing to share.

It took us a while. Three years to be exact before I started looking at his face more then I looked at his rear. By this time Tickie had his CDX and we were on a wild ride in the ring. He was high maintenance, I’ll give him that. He required a high consistency of detailed demands in everything we did. He pushed me to be as focused and intense as he was. But the joy and the partnership was beginning to bloom. I had become valuable to him. This wonderful, exciting dog had given me one of the greatest gifts a trainer could be given – he had taught me to value myself! He taught me that I didn’t need the cookie or the toy if I made our relationship the center of our work. What a gift that was!

I had always done well in competition with my prior dogs. Sure they had their challenges but we always managed to get through them. Yet there was still a gap between the level of success we enjoyed in training and our performances in the ring, but not with Tickie. By the time Ticket was in utility that gap was gone – totally gone. With this boy I have what every trainer dreams for – I have exactly the same dog in the competition ring that I have in training. If I have a problem that week in training you could bet that it would show up in the ring the following weekend. Fix the problem in training and it was fixed in the ring. Speed, accuracy, attention and attitude wise I showed and trained the same dog. What a luxury! When I ponder why this is I’ve got to admit that our training and showing are very much alike. In training there is a level of play, of demands, of expectation, of honesty, and a level of joy that we can take into the ring. With this dog it doesn’t matter where we are, what matters is that we’re doing it together.

I know you’re not supposed to say this, but what the heck, we’re among friends so I’ll be honest – getting Ticket’s OTCH was a breeze. We had our challenges along the way, and we had a glitch in the Utility Directed Jumping exercise that caused me to pull my hair out as I lost sleep over it. But once we fixed the glitch and earned our UD we never looked back. It’s been a wild and dizzy year full of High In Trials (including the BCSA National), High Combineds, OTCH points, and various awards. Yet these tangible accolades pale next to the high that this dog gives me in the ring. For us the real thrill is in just being able to do it together – in being a team. Nothing else really matters.

So here’s to you bud! I love you Tickie. You truly are my Ticket To Ride and I hope I’ll always be yours…

Linda Koutsky & CH OTCH Wildfire’s Ticket To Ride UDX - BCSA 2005 Obedience Trial Dog Of The Year