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:: ~Thoughts about Bear~ ::
WTCH Range Rider Koala Bear TDX,UDX,RDX= 5th Classic 1995 Utility
March 27, 1985 to October 9, 1999
Bear that little bundle I brought home from Olympia WA. He was born on the beach and his mother had taken care of the puppies till they were found. His mother wasn't doing so well so the breeder placed the puppies at 5 weeks.
Ron & I knew nothing about dogs or a puppy Bear was our first dog. The first nite he stayed out side in calf hutch. I am sure no one will believe that. He was fine in the morning but was figuring out how to get out of the calf hutch. Second day he was sick they thought he had Parvo or Corona. Never found out what he had. The illness may have been do to the nite in the calf hutch however the vet would never say that was the problem because he was raised outside. Two days later he came home he moved into the bathroom. He thought that was much better but he still was very mobile. That was when I learned about kennels and crates.
Bear went to the barn with me. He had a crate while was milking that he could sleep in and while I feed the calves I would carry him around in a backpack. Bear got a unique start that non-of my dogs since then have gotten. He spent every moment with Ron & I on the farm. He went from backpack to long line staying with me everywhere I went. When we got home from the barn he would sleep on the heater in the bathroom while I took a shower. He loved his warm spots.
The early beginning is what established the great farm dog that he became. Bear worked hard on the farm. He learned all the jobs by the time he was 6 months old he was helping us with all the chores that needed to be done.
I started trialing him in the ASCA program. He didn’t have the style that people were use to in a Kelpie. I always felt it was the time spent in the barns in close quarters he never developed eye. He was my best friend and a great companion. He finished his WTCH (Working Trial Champion) by the time he was 3. I had Rose now and they had a rivalry that wouldn't compare. Bear never liked herding trials so he was retired for many years. He didn't trial again till Ron trialed him in a 3-command trial in Iowa. A group of friends and ranchers put a pool together for his entry fee. Ron & Bear won because Ron never gave him many commands there is a picture on the web site of this fun day.
Bear got to do a lot of fun things in his life. One summer we visited my cousin in Montana and went horseback riding in the Yellowstone River. Bear ran along with us and had a GREAT time. He went to many states in the union and could have had frequent flyer miles. Loved to play in the water with my nieces and nephews he swam like a fish. He loved to play in the snow.
When Bear was about 2 we started Tracking. We had lots of tracking with Ron. We started tracking when we lost a calf in the corn and didn't know how to tell Bear to go get it. So that was the beginning of the fun sport of tracking. Bear got his TDX ( Tracking Dog Excellent) first time out for both of us. The odds were really against us. Tracking tests are impossible to get into and we got in the first try. First time for us in a test. We passed with flying colors. I learned later that the odds of me passing were like 11 %. Bear was the first Australian Kelpie with a TDX.
Obedience became our game. I had been working with Rose in obedience and I was at a seminar and everyone met Bear. Very out going and friendly to people and dogs. They asked 'why I wasn't doing obedience with that dog'. I said 'he is our farm dog'. Bear began to do obedience and he loved it. He loved the high of the shows and would show better then he trained. We went along ways in the obedience world. He receives Dog World and High in Trials. We worked like a real team. Bear started to tell me that I needed to find another way to train he didn't like the traditional training and the further it went the harder it became. That is where the exploring of positive methods came in. Bear wasn't sure positive was all for real real. He thought I had jumped off the truck in training. He would stare at me like " are you sure you are not going to correct me". Slowly he realized that we were having fun and the corrections were gone and we had all these new silly games we would build our confidence together. We went on to finish his UDX and had 50 points to OTCH. I decided to retire Bear at 10 after he had a farm accident.
The farm accident was a cow came skidding at Bear and he didn't move out of its way he decided to try and stop it. The cow slid and fell on top of him. Bear was fine but very sore and stiff.
Bear has been retired from many things but he was the main yard dog and housedog. He loved going on road trips and having fun. He got really good at finding all of Ron cereal, biscuits and good treats in the house. He would always voice his opinion of what he wanted - In the house - Out of the house - cookie. Every once in a while Bear would come join me for herding class. He was impressed that things had changed since I had trained him and he would always look at me very funny. He loved to visit all the people and say hi.
Bear was a very special friend. Morning and night I would always spend a couple of moments snuggling with my dear friend. He would do zoomies in the yard and try to get all the dogs to play. He always had a smile on him face and a happy time. I am going to miss you Bear. I will never forget the time we spent together. I love you Bear.
Jan & Ron
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