Poco the Amazing Circus Dog
FDX CGC V-NJC (Retired)
_____________________________________________________________________________
POCO COMES OUT OF RETIREMENT
Wins 2 Rounds of Tunnelers at 10 Years Old!
WAG NADAC Games Only Trial - Monmouth, OR
April 29-30th, 2006

I was excited to try a 'games only' NADAC trial for several reasons, and one was that Tunnelers is PERFECT for older dogs!  So Poco got to come out of retirement to play.  She ran four runs over the weekend, and surprised me by coming in first in two runs!  Poco can still really move when she gets going ... granted I had to keep her from taking a little naps while we were waiting at the gate for our turn.  Poco seemed to enjoy the weekend, but probably had more fun out playing in the field than actually doing agility.  Poco's a good sport though, and my best girl!  Go, grandma Poco, go!

_____________________________________________________________________


Full Name: Poco the Amazing Circus Dog CGC FDX V-NJC
Call Name: Poco (pronounced 'po-ko')
Nick Names: El Pocotio, and, occasionally as people don't know how to say her name, Cocoa and Paco
Date of Birth: Approximately 1996
Adopted: March 2000 - Humane Society of the Willamette Valley
Affiliated With: North American Dog Agility Council (03-05193), the X-Fidos Flyball Team (CRN 031150)
Breed: Gerbull
Weight: 52 lbs
Height: 20 inches
Description: A medium sized, muscular, short haired brown/red shepherd tick dog with rose ears, a long tail and soulful brown eyes.
Strengths: People focused, obedient and gentle; vigorous when engaged; athletic with a good prey/toy drive
Weaknesses: Very submissive, sensitive dog; shuts down very easily; prone to falling asleep in class; can be overly cautious; requires a lot of reassurance and cheerleading

Poco was your classic 'pound dog', a medium sized brown dog of mixed heritage, recently pregnant and completely untrained.  Just another stray dog picked up by dog control and never claimed.  She spent four months at the shelter looking for a home, her tail had been split open from wagging against the concrete walls so many times the vet felt the hair was unlikely to grow back (but it did!).  She had thick calluses on her elbows from lying on the hard ground, her nails were completely overgrown and her ribs were sticking out as she wouldn't eat she was so depressed.

She was the first dog we saw when we went in to look for a companion for us and our all feline family.  She was being kept up in the adoption area itself, the staff had been hoping that the exposure would help get her noticed in the crowd of similar hard luck stories.  She just lay quietly next to the desk, never making a sound, with big sad brown eyes and the sweetest disposition.  How funny that after spending the day in the adoption kennels we came back out and it was Poco that spoke to us the most.  We went home to think about it for a week, we weren't quite ready for a dog yet … but there was something about her that stayed with us, and she seemed to fit perfectly what we were looking for!

So the `plain' brown dog came home with us, our first dog, and the first time she had ever lived indoors.  She ended up being a perfect match for our crew of cats that had never been around dogs before.  She refused to look at them and certainly the thought of chasing them never crossed her mind.  From the moment she walked in the house the cats were completely comfortable with her, and her perfect introduction to the world of dogs gave the cats such confidence that they've never been afraid of a dog since.  Now housebreaking … that took about 9 months.  But she got the hang of it … eventually.

Poco has been a story of surprises.  When we brought her home she didn't know what toys were, had no concept of playing.  But lo and behold Poco was a natural retriever, and was soon a total fetch whore.  She was also so painfully fearful of … everything.  Just looking at her the wrong way would send her running under the furniture in fear.  Men terrified her, she would whine pitifully if we even went on a walk to the mailbox, she just didn't know how to cope with the world around her.  I never thought she would change, and we slowly introduced house manners and basic behaviors using only positive methods.

Then a funny thing happened, Poco met a Doberman puppy that she just adored.  When she was around this puppy she became a totally different dog.  We had never considered having two dogs; we had assumed Poco would be happiest as an only dog.  So we brought her to the shelter and after introducing her to an assortment of dogs she picked out a PUPPY, and a little BASTARD puppy at that, LORD FENWICK!  And suddenly she wasn't afraid of men anymore, and stopped getting carsick, and miraculously she became the bravest, most confident dog you've ever seen.  After a year of living with such a shy, fearful Poco … it was like living with a whole new dog!

Poco has never looked back, at heart she's happiest living as the alpha female, keeping the other dogs in line.  Still a sensitive, gentle, affectionate dog with people - while she rules the canine household with an iron paw.  Formally scared, nervous nelly Poco confidently meets the world head on these days, and still surprises us even now.

At seven years old Poco started agility and flyball - and taught herself the teeter!  She has an amazing ability to just watch another dog being trained and be able to perform the behavior flawlessly.  When we got our first puppy, it was Poco who tolerantly let him chew on her and gently taught him how to play appropriately with other dogs.

Poco is slowing down a little as she gets older, but she still doesn't let the other dogs beat her to the ball!  She's still a very active and happy senior, and I hope she will remain so for years to come.  Isn't it funny how one scrawny little brown pound dog can change our lives so completely!