In
November of 2001, Delta was a 13 week old cocker pup given to Rescue because she
had a problem coping with the pre-schooler who wouldn't stop hugging and squeezing
her. A well-known all-breed rescue kennel had told her former owner that, in their opinion, she was unplaceable. But because of her age and the circumstances, I agreed to foster and evaluate Delta for Cocker Rescue. My obedience instructor was more than willing to help work with her, so we took her to weekly sessions of puppy playgroup. Not only did she get some of the puppy rough-and-tumble she had missed by having been separated from her littermates far too early, but she also learned that she didn't have to bark at people in order for them to pay attention to her. Through the "pass-the-puppy" exercise, she learned that being held was a good thing and that a wagging tail was a bigger magnet than a fierce bark. She learned to control the urge to close her teeth on human flesh. And by hanging out at some dog club functions, she learned that people with hands in their pockets could be convinced to trade a treat for a trick.
During this time we realized that we had an extremely high energy puppy who needed a job. We knew that to place her with a novice owner would be a total disaster - but we also knew that she would be a fabulous choice for someone who wanted a performance dog because of her intelligence, desire to please and her drive. While we were waiting for the perfect home to materialize, we did a little tracking and I started taking her to formal obedience class. And my instructor posed the question, "why are you trying to place this puppy?" Mainly because I didn't need another dog....
The long and the short of it is that she ceased to be a foster. I continued taking her to obedience class, got an ILP number for her, and when she knew the exercises entered her in some shows.
Ten months after I got her she could officially be known as "Black Hawk In Flight, CD".
She got her CD title (plus a bumper leg) in straight shows and had three placements in the process. And she was not yet 14 months.
But more important, she's alive, happy and very well adjusted.