HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2005-09-08, Page 30THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2005. PAGE A-9.
Thresher Reunion 2005
The gang
This photo of George Miller’s threshing outfit was taken in Medora, at the powered by straw. Miller’s great-niece Edith Taylor of RR1, Londesborough
south-west corner of Manitoba in 1909. Miller, who was originally from submitted the photo.
Brussels moved out west as a young man. The threshering machine was
Dogs entered in different levels of competition
Continued from A-8
dog."
She indicated it is much like the
feeling between horse and rider in
Grand Prix show jumping.
There are difference levels of
competition for the dogs, from
starters to masters. Not only is the
length of the course different
according to the level of the dog, but
the time the dog has to complete the
course is different as well. It comes
down to yards per second.
Gypsy, a I0-year-old border
collie, competes at the masters
levels and is almost finished her
competitive career.
It is during the competition that
the bond between animal and human
is prominent. Not only in voice
commands, but also in the human’s
body language.
"The person's body language is
‘ very important,” said Cooper.
She indicated that Gypsy has
qualified for the nationals for the
past five years, but competes
depending on where they are. In
2004 they were in Montreal and
Gypsy did fairly well.
This year, the Ontario regional
competitions were in Sarnia in June,
with the national championship
having been held in Saskatchewan
in August.
The jumps for Gypsy’s class are
22 inches.
“This is the most competitive
class, as all of the border collies
compete in this class,” said Cooper.
She indicated the height of the
jumps depends on the height of the
dog at the shoulders. Smaller breeds
of dogs compete with smaller jumps
and larger size breeds have higher
jumps.
Some of the breeds she may be
working with during her
performance are dogs that she trains
and include a Great Dane, boxer
cross, pointer, German shepherd,
shelties, Jack Russell terrier,
Australian shepherd and others.
Her own dogs include three border
collies, Gypsy; Tempo, a five-year-
old who has been competing for two
years and Maple, a reddish coloured
two-year-old who is fast and agile,
but is still waiting for her first
competition.
“She is going to be a super star,”
said Cooper.
She is looking forward to
demonstrating her dogs’ agility at
this year’s Blyth Reunion.
Last year she was at the Bayfield
Fair and one of her students
recommended she try and get in at
Blyth.
She conducts a lot of puppy
classes and feels they are important
because they allow the puppies to
socialize, not only with other
puppies, but also with people.
Many problems with their dogs
are because they haven’t been
properly socialized.
Although socializing is an
important part of her puppy classes,
they still must learn how to come
when called.
“It is one thing to call a puppy
when they are inside the house or
alone; it is something else to get a
puppy to come when called when
they are playing with other
puppies,” said Cooper.
She said that hopefully she can
___-^XONTARKL,
PARTS
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Stephen
(519) 523-4922
Londesborough, Ontario NOM 2H0
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teach people how to command their
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pets.
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