Sweet Olivia

Who is this Liver-Girl?

2010-05-29T08:58:00.000-07:00

Sweet Olivia...

.....the name fits. When I met Cindy Filz from the WI German Shepherd Rescue on a Saturday in September of 2001 at the local Schutzhund club's Regional Competition and she told me about a long coat female German Shepherd that she had in her rescue, my heart stopped. And then when she told me more and I realized that this girl was related to my Teddy (an aunt :):)) I knew in my heart I had another dog.

Cindy had me fill out an application so she could check my references and we made arrangements for me to meet Olivia on Monday. It was a long 2 days. Now, before I go on, let me say that Teddy was a calm dog (except when his separation anxiety took over) and very obedient. I often have said if he was the first GSD I owned I may never have been a dog trainer because he listened and wanted to please, unlike Josephine my first German Shepherd whose favorite game was "catch me if you can"!

So Monday I arrived at Cindy's and waited for her to get Olivia ....remember, thinking that a calm dog would come through the door! So, the door opened and in burst Olivia bouncing, as I've described it many times, straight up .....straight down …..straight up …..straight down! As I watched her I was struck by her beauty! I love long coats and she was the prettiest I had ever seen!

So, after intros to Teddy, I was heading home with her. She bounced around the yard when we got home and was a happy girl. She was almost 2 ½ years old.

I did discover that she had been placed 2 times and came back because there was a larger male in the household that was too tough on her and I could see that happening with Teddy so I was careful to keep an eye out. If he chased and played too hard she would curl up in a ball and just shut down so I didn’t let them alone together. She and Ari got along great and would run and play together. Josephine, I’m sure, just did the doggy equivalent of rolling her eyes as if to say… oh my... another roommate … I’ll just have to stick with Grandma - which she did!

She was a very nervous girl I came to discover. The first obedience class I had her in she trembled not just the first week but each week for the entire class. As we took more classes she learned to channel that nervousness into awesome obedience. She was perky and would prance and as we started doing competition, people would stop to watch her.

She would not play with a toy or tug when I got her but slowly we worked that in to her training and she loved the game. We did some Schutzhund bitework but didn’t keep up with that sport because, while I was told that she most likely could get a SchH 1, it would be a long road to that achievement . So, we used the tug game to have fun and build drive for obedience.

She eventually got a CGC, a BH, a CDX, UCDX and an RN and became my demo dog when I taught classes at the Winnegamie Dog Club and for a private training school. She loved sheep and got her Herding Instinct Certificate but we never competed. The pinnacle of her obedience career was when I took her to upstate NY to a PSA trial to do the obedience part of the PSA1 which is called a TC and 2 days in a row she outscored all the other dogs in obedience.

When she was about 7 she started to show some signs of stiffness and even though she had good hips, arthritis was starting to set in maybe from all the jumping up and down. Today at 9 ½ years old (11/08) she has considerably slowed down but has never lost her happy attitude.

I’m so blessed that this wonderful dog came into my life and taught me so many lessons. She and Teddy are still best buddies and she loves Ari too. However, her best friend is Kobie who joined our household about 6 months after she did. Those 2 girls would run and play and now will hang out together. The favorite thing they do is for the 2 of them to bolt out the door with Ari at night before bed and howl at the moon for a bit as if to say… we’re here… take notice!

Good Days, Bad Days

2009-10-31T09:26:00.000-07:00

It's sad to see dogs age. Olivia developed arthritis in her back end and over the last few years her body has taken on a new look as she used her front legs more to take the pressure from her back legs. Then from less exercise she gained 10 pounds. The last time I had her to the vet I said I never thought I'd have an overweight dog but when I thought about it, she is about 15% over what she should be and, heck, so am I!!! Her bushy fur makes her look even rounder so I do a body check to see how she really feels. And she has developed I guess you would say more chin but in a dog it results in more fur to make her look like she has a beautiful mane.

Olivia's Pedigree

2008-11-18T19:18:00.000-08:00

Double click on image for reading pedigree.

From Olivia's Best (6-21-99)

The Three Amigos

2008-08-30T19:10:00.000-07:00

(this post was originally written for publication in 2005 in a local AKC newsletter)

I’d like to share a bit about the three dogs that have gotten AKC titles in 2005. I call them my Three Amigos. In 4 months, January through May, combined they achieved 7 AKC/UKC titles (21 legs). So, here goes…

In 2001, I saw Teddy’s photo online at a kennel and training facility in Madison, WI where I trained another dog. In the summer of 2000, he was dropped off with the message, “Here’s your stud fee, we can’t sell him”. There’s not a big demand for a long coated German Shepherd in the show ring, in fact, they are not shown at all (that may be changing a bit in Germany). At that time, he was 7 months old and had lived his life in a barn stall. He became the kennel dog at his new digs and was treated well. He had an official name – Parlzer vom Haus Kuhn – and when he arrived at the kennel, the gal who ran it looked at him and said – oh – you look like a Teddy Bear. Moreover, because she was from England and grew up reading books about the adventures of Teddy Edward, a teddy bear, he was officially called Teddy Edward. He was placed twice but came back - reason - severe separation anxiety and unexplained fear of loud machine noises especially traffic sounds. I adopted him when he was 15 months old and soon realized the extent of his problems. We proceeded to work them out one at a time. Teddy is the dog that I used when I conducted the Canine Good Citizen evaluations because he’s so laid back and easy going with other dogs. He has come a LONG way. And now, he’s the dog that’s training Brita and making sure she has doggy manners.

Seven months later while at a regional Schutzhund trial, I spoke to a gal from the local German Shepherd rescue and was told about a coated female from the Madison area. Ironically, her father was Teddy’s grandfather and this dog, Lasso, was a World Sieger in 1999….the highest accomplishment a German Shepherd Dog can achieve in the show ring in Europe. (www.drachenberg.com ) Olivia vom Drachenberg (affectionately called Liver now) was a very nervous, high-strung girl. She had a good life for 2 years and then her owner’s divorce landed her in the shelter. She too had been placed twice and came back each time so she had been shifted around for 4 months. Before I even saw her, I knew she was to be part of my household. That fall, I enrolled her in her first obedience class. It was a beginner’s course and she was so frightened that she trembled uncontrollably for the entire 8 weeks.

We worked through issue after issue as I trained them. They each were registered as Therapy Dogs (www.therapydogs.com ), passed the CGC test and after 15 months and 2 attempts they got their first obedience title….a BH in Schutzhund (www.germanshepherddog.com) .

Kobie came on the scene a few months later….another coated Shepherd but this time instead of a German Shepherd she was a Shiloh Shepherd. Teddy and Olivia were both 4 years old and Kobie was 2. Her owner needed to place her because she was more dog than he realized (a Sheltie person) and she was starting to run the household. She blended right in with the other two, became a Therapy Dog, passed her CGC and BH in 6 months.

The switch was then made to AKC/UKC trials and over the next few years, we worked on a CD and a UCD consistently scoring in the high 180s to mid 190s.. We traveled around and did some herding, first in New York State and then locally. Olivia and Kobie were natural sheep herders. Teddy was a sheep chaser….not good! The instructor about Teddy was “It’s hard to look innocent with wool in your mouth”.

In December of 2004, I thought Olivia could do a CDX so we signed up for the Oshkosh trial in mid January and went from barely holding the dumbbell to in 30 days a 4th place and the first open leg. From January to the first week in May of this year, we did 11 trials and got 21 legs for 7 obedience and rally titles…..a CD, UCD, CDX, UCDX and 3 RNs.

The icing on the cake the summer of 2005 was taking Olivia on a whim to upstate New York to participate in the obedience portion of a Protection Sports Association (www.psak9.org) trial that Ari was entered in. It was obedience with distractions…..gunfire, hot dogs on the ground, strings of cans tossed at her while she was on a down in front of a decoy, a bubble machine blowing bubbles, an air horn. She scored 84 of 100…..judging was tough but she scored 84 two days in a row to outscore 60 dogs entered over those 2 days and earn yet another title. Not bad for a rescue dog who trembled through her first obedience class.

These 3 amigos had NO training and stepped up to learn what I asked them to learn. Olivia did some protection work and when I got her she wouldn’t even play tug.

In September of 2005, Teddy had hip surgery and he had the femoral head removed for his one hip because of severe hip dysplasia. He’s doing really well now but retired from competition. In February of 2006, Kobie was diagnosed with Pancreatic Insufficiency and is doing well as long as she gets enzymes on her food. Olivia, in March of 2006 was diagnosed with arthritis even though she did not have hip dysplasia. Olivia and Kobie may do some Rally competitions in the future but I promised Teddy, who never really liked doing the shows that he wouldn’t ever have to do one again!

I’m blessed that these three dogs came into my life. They have given me more joy than I could have imagined!

Competition Anyone?

2008-05-29T09:07:00.000-07:00

Olivia vom Drachenberg (Olivia)

CGC,Therapy Dog, BH, CD, UCD, HIC, UCDX, CDX. RN, PSA TC

June 19, 1999

Got Olivia when she was 27 months old on September 4, 2001 from Cindy Filz and the Wisconsin German Shepherd Rescue

November 18, 2001.....Canine Good Citizen ….Petsmart, Appleton WI
December 3, 2001....Therapy Dog/Theda Clark (Neenah)/Therapy Dogs, Inc. Cheyenne WY #25
November 16, 2002.....Schutzhund "BH".....Fox Valley Police and Schutzhund Club…Appleton WI
February 2, 2003.....1st leg of a CD (187 1/2 points), 1st place (Novice A)….Amherst Junction WI
April 12, 2003……2nd leg of a CD (185 Points) 2nd place (Novice A)….Amherst Junction WI
April 13, 2003….3rd leg of a CD (184 points) 2nd place (Novice A)….Amherst Junction WI
October 4, 2003….1st & 2nd legs of a UCD (181/189 points) 4th place (Novice B)….Manitowoc WI
January 24, 2004….3rd leg of a UCD (191 points) (Novice B)….Manitowoc WI
June 20, 2004……Herding Instinct Certified (HIC)….Bonnie Leonard….Fremont, WI
October 10, 2004….Fun match (195½ points) (Novice B)….Winnegamie Dog Club….Menasha WI
January 16, 2005….1st leg of a CDX (189 ½) 4th place (Open A)….Oshkosh WI
January 30, 2005….1st leg of a UCDX (184 ½) 1st place (Open A)…..Manitowoc WI
February 6, 2005…..2nd leg of a CDX (184) (Open A)……Amherst Junction WI
March 26, 2005….1st leg of Rally Novice (94) …..Racine WI
April 3, 2005….2nd leg of a UCDX (193) 2nd place (Open A) Amherst Junction, WI
April 9, 2005…..3rd leg of a UCDX (174) 2nd place (Open A)…..Manitowoc, WI
April 16, 2005….2nd leg of Rally Novice (95 points)……Amherst Junction WI
April 16, 2005…..3rd leg of a CDX (184 points) (Open A) Amherst Junction, WI
May 7, 2005….3rd leg of Rally Novice (RN) (92)…..Madison, WI
August 19, 2005….PSA TC (Temperament and Control)(84)….Oswego, NY

Health Issues

2008-05-29T09:06:00.001-07:00

Coming soon... For now.. Click here .... Arthritis in Dogs