(Photos taken from 7 weeks )

Pogo is the newest and youngest member of the K9 Freestyle team. She has been taking part in the arena displays at country shows and fetes during 2005 and has proved a big hit with the crowd and now realises when she is in front of an audience and can be a right little show off!

She is quite a sensitive little soul and requires a different approach to the other dogs but is still quick to learn, having learnt technical moves like paw over face and back leg up by the time she was six and half months.

Update - Pogo is doing well and getting more confident as time goes on. During the summer of 2006 she has made her debut at obedience shows and has won the required two firsts to get her into the higher class. At present she is being a bit of a teenager and can sometimes take advantage especially during displays when she knows I am talking to the crowd on the microphone and not paying attention to her.

Later in 2006 Pogo attended her first competitions in the HTM class and i was delighted that she won on her debut performance which was a routine set to The Great Escape. Using this same routine she went onto win at her next two shows in intermediate giving her the required number of points to get into advanced. Her first advanced htm class was in April 2007 and it just so happened to be one of the crufts semi final qualifying shows and I am glad to say she won!! what was very pleasing was that her attitude was much better and more what I had been looking for.

2008 - News update

Pogo started the year well by winning the Crufts Heelwork to music semi finals at the Coventry competition performing her innovative snooker routine. It is difficult to find good music for HTM but I felt the theme from Pot Black TV show would give me a reason for doing heelwork. the only problem was that I needed a snooker table as I wanted the balls to disappear a the end of the routine. Its a good job I have a large van and people to help me at shows as the table weighed a tonne!

After winning the semi's it was only ten days to Crufts, we got the running order of number one which is the most unpopular place to be. Pogo worked well and lead the class to the last dog where she was piped by 0.03 of a point into second.  Also Pogo had her part to play in the best in show routine with Mary Ray and me which for a dog of only just three years old I think she coped with well.

Disco

I must admit to being a bit worried "Was I going to be able to teach to the standard I wanted"?? "Were the methods that I have used to teach competition obedience going to work on this other breed"?

In the short time that I have had her she has amazed me with her ability to learn. This is the first dog that I have used more of the clicker training methods , which has been interesting as well. She certainly requires a different approach, needing a lot of motivation but anyone that knows me is aware that people call me "Mr Motivator" as I always seem to be on the go!!

2003 saw Disco firstly qualify for breed at Crufts which was a nice start of her year. Then i plucked up courage to enter her for her first obedience shows in Novice. Out of the two shows she competed at she came first and second which being as the classes are dominated by Border Collies was particularly pleasing.

2005 saw her perform LIVE!! on Blue peter to promote Crufts and also she entered her first freestyle competition performing to Make em laugh a clown routine which suited her well!! amongst hot competition she scored 27.73 WINNING the novice class. This made her the first Portuguese water dog to win in freestyle and following that win she performed it again in the special events ring at crufts 2005 which proved popular.

June 2005 saw Disco win her second novice class in obedience at our first obedience show of the year and then she WON Intermediate freestyle at Paws n Music show making her the only Portuguese water dog to be Advanced only!

In February 2006 Disco competed in the qualifying class for Crufts at Coventry. Performing a routine to Combine Harvester by the Wurzels she got her place to work in the finals at Crufts. For Crufts it was decided to revert back to her clown routine with a different start. Disco did her best considering the distractions around the ring and surprisingly won!! This made her the first PWD to win at such a high level and proved that you don't need a collie to win.

Jazz I had known since she was a very young pup as she belonged to a friend, Jazz would stay with me whilst her owner was away.Then unfortunately her owners situation changed and she offered her to me, at that moment Sybil was still young so the timing was not right and I declined the offer. A few months later she came to stay again and I decided then that she was not going back. I have never regretted that decision as she really is a special dog.

Her heel work has always been her strength and her willingness to work and please me, is what a lot of handlers would give their right arm for. She started in HTM when I got bored one winter and said to myself that if I was a good dog trainer I should be able to teach her the moves. At first she appeared a bit thick (meant in the nicest manner) but then I hit the button and we have never looked back.

She is the dog that perhaps most people know as she performed the winning routines to the music of the Great Escape and Mission Impossible. Up until 2003 she attended four shows and won her class every time including winning novice and intermediate at the National Pedigree HTM competition at Coventry. 2003 saw her in Advance Freestyle for the first time but she was beaten by 0.17 of a point. 2004 saw Jazz win a first in the advanced freestyle class at the National competition at Coventry performing to Thriller!

Jazz has also performed at Discover Dogs and Crufts in the special events ring as was featured on the Crufts TV coverage doing a bit of her Great Escape routine. 2005 saw Jazz participate in the first HTM competition at CruftsAlthough Jazz has now been retired she still enjoys taking her place in the arena entertainment that K9 freestyle provides for country shows, fetes etc.

Sybil

Sybil has taught me a lot about the needs of various dogs before they go into the ring, I have to make sure that I have done a good amount of work with her before she goes in the ring to get her focused. Its very important I feel to examine the individual dogs needs and discover what works for them.Sybil was the dog I started with in HTM and has achieved many firsts and places in both HTM and freestyle. She has also performed demonstrations many times at Discover Dogs and Crufts in the special events ring.

In the canine freestyle arena display Sybil comes into her own with her willingness to work, she enjoys being part of the ring attraction and acts like a two year old not the nine year old she really is!!!

Click here to read about my background in dogs and HTM history