Soakie VenomAhsoka, or "Soaks" as she is more affectionately known is the Finnish Lapphund who made Shell fall in love with Finnish Lapphunds! Soaks has always had the spirit of a puppy, with so much energy and joy it just exudes out of her. Don't tell Ahsoka that she's supposed to be an "old lady" now, because she still thinks she's 2 years old! Although she has started to slow down at the ripe age of 12, she is still always up and ready for action, especially if it involves food!
Soaks has always shown a strong aptitude for a number of dog sports and has succeeded and thrived in every challenge I've thrown at her. She has competed in obedience, rally obedience, flyball, agility, tracking, endurance, backpacking, herding, lure coursing and online trick work. She also competed in the show ring. She absolutely lives for training and learning new things, and being a massive foodie and extremely handler focused has helped her grasp new concepts and sports rapidly. Soaks' favourite sport is flyball. She is the easiest dog to run, able to be handled by anyone, run anywhere in the order and onto any dog. She has been handled by almost everyone at the clubs we have raced with and she is the ultimate beginner 'point and shoot' dog. Even 2yo toddlers are able to run her! Soaks is well and truly a shared member of both Nik and Shell's family, having spent a couple of years living with Shell after Nik was required to work interstate and overseas. Nik will be forever grateful that Shell opened up her home to our special girl. Soaks now retired after enjoying a ripper of a sports career and now lives the high life as gazebo security, couch warmer and cuddle queen. She still loves going for long walks and cracking out her tricks whenever food is on offer! |
ANKC Registered Number: 3100207321
Microchip: 961001000018749 Colour: Black & Tan DOB: 17th July 2008 |
Height: 45cm at the withers
Bred By: P Francis - Magpielane Kennels Owned By: N Boyd - Pawformance Lives with: Nik (Adelaide) |
Hips: Untested
Elbows: Untested Eyes: Clear (October 2015) |
prcd-PRA: Clear
Canine Degenerative Myelopathy: Untested GSD-II (Pompes): Untested |
My Dad | Tarka Fjallfarmens Ummiko (Imp Swe)
Tarka is a gorgeous boy with a sweet temperament. He is an absolute snuggler and loves being around people for the chance of a pat.
Hips: 0/0 | Elbows: 0/0 | Eyes: Clear (2007) | prcd-PRA: Carrier
|
My Mum | WinterMagpielane Alkutalvi
The apple didn't fall far from the tree with Soaks and her mum, Winter. The same sweet expression and same sweet personality, Winter is a bundle of fun and loves her people.
Hips: 5/5 | Elbows: 0/0 | Eyes: Clear (2008) | prcd-PRA: Clear
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Show Ring HighlightsTitles Gained:
Australian Champion (Ch) Neuter Champion (Neut Ch) |
Soaks achieved both her Australian Championship and her Neuter Championship during her show days, but she is now well retired from the show ring, preferring to cheer her buddies on from the sidelines!
|
Obedience HighlightsTitles Gained:
Community Companion Dog (CCD) |
Soaks loves obedience, even now at 12, she loves to bang out a sweet heelwork pattern... Unfortunately she also thinks that stays are the most boring thing in the world, often expressing her displeasure by howling in the middle of a down stay - during a trial. For this reason we decided to take a step away from the formal obedience trialling ring recognising that it was unfair on the other trialling dogs. Soaks' talents are much better suited to Rally Obedience where she doesn't have to do stupid things like lying still for 3 minutes.
|
Rally-O HighlightsTitles Gained:
Rally Novice (RN) Rally Advance (RA) Rally Excellent (RE) |
Soaks and Rally were a match made in heaven! She started her Rally career competing in the first ever Rally trial in NSW in 2012 and quickly moved up the levels between other sporting commitments. She thoroughly enjoyed the challenges and constant surprises of the various courses. She is now retired from Rally.
|
Agility HighlightsTitles Gained:
Jumping Dog (JD) Jumping Dog Excellent (JDX) Snooker Dog (SD) Strategic Pairs Dog (SPD) |
Soaks adores agility and is such a fun dog to handle! Though if she could speak, she would tell you about having to bark at me when my handling is not up to her standards! Of course with Soaks' increasing age, we are monitoring her for the right time to hit the retirement button. It will be a sad day when Soaks steps into an agility ring for the last time.
|
Flyball HighlightsTitles Gained:
Flyball Dog (FD) Flyball Dog Excellent (FDX) Flyball Dog Champion (FDCh) Australian Flyball Champion (AFCH) Flyball Master (FM) Flyball Master Excellent (FMX) Flyball Master Champion (FMCh) Flyball Master Champion - ONYX (ONYX) |
I remember hearing about Flyball for the first time and thinking I didn't need another sport to get involved in - we were busy enough! Fortunately for Soaks, I decided to give it a go anyway and the rest is history! It is by far Soaks' favourite activity and she is an absolute joy to run! She's so easy, I can run her with verbal cues only, while my arms are occupied by holding a small child! I sometimes wonder why I'm even needed at all!
|
Herding HighlightsCertificates Gained:
Herding Instinct Certificate (HIC) |
While Soaks has gained her Herding Instinct Test, her desire to work with sheep was squashed by a herding instructor we unfortunately came across, who did not understand Lapphunds and their temperaments.
|
Endurance HighlightsTitles Gained:
Endurance Test (ET) |
Soaks' herding test sure was memorable - making the trip all the way to Grafton in the middle of winter so it was nice and cold! Soaks did a beautiful job and she was so calm, relaxed and ready for her ET that her heart rate and temperature literally didn't change between any of her vet checks before, during and after the ET.
|
Lure Coursing HighlightsTitles Gained:
Junior Courser (JC) |
Soaks had a short career in Lure Coursing. She absolutely loved it and had good agility and follow, but given the requirement to turn sharply on her now ageing joints, she is retired from the sport.
|
Backpacking HighlightsTitles Gained:
Working Pack Dog (WPD) |
Soaks completed her WPD title in 2017. She did a great job keeping up with the likes of Dexter and Solo, however it would be unfair on her at her age to ask her to compete at the WPDX level, so she has been retired from packing. On our family hikes she is not asked to carry anything but the wind in her hair.
|
Tracking Highlights
Titles Gained:
|
Embracing the opportunity to start tracking training while living on acreage, Soaks easily took to the sport and developed strong article indications. Unfortunately we are now living in the 'burbs and have little time to dedicate to the sport.
|
AccreditationsAccreditations Gained:
Delta Therapy Dog |
With Soaks' beautiful gentle temperament it made perfect sense to get her accredited as a Delta Therapy Dog. She passed the test easily and was approved to work with young children. She and I visited a local nursing home, enjoying all the pats and doing a few tricks for large groups! These days we unfortunately don't have time to do therapy work.
|
NSW Breeder Identification Number: B000685661 | Victoria Source Number: EE102260
Dogs NSW Member Number: 2100088743 |
© Pawformance 2023
|