It all started 5 - some years ago. I HAD to have a dog. The time was perfect, I had plenty of time for a puppy, being right out of college and unemployed. How I came to choose a sheltie is a topic of another post.
So, to Lake Hiawatha I went, you know, just to look :)
We came to a little house on a dead end street. We walked in and saw a room, walls completely covered in ribbons and certificates and pictures of absolutely gorgeous shelties. There were two puppies left in the litter. The runt... and well... the shaking dog.
"What's with the shaking one?" - I asked
"He was born that way, he's not for sale" - Was the answer.
So I sat longer and played with the puppies. Every minutes I spent with these two pups, I knew I was falling more and more in love with the shaking one. His personality, spunkyness and a certain mischievous sparkle in his eye just captivated me.
"I'm not leaving without him" - I said.
Clearly, I got my way. How could I NOT take this home?
What to name this guy? Well.... "Shake"..... was the clear answer. I felt that was a little mean so we decided on "Shakespeare"
It was determined that the shaking was a neurological problem. It doesn't seem to affect his general health. But I do hold it responsible for some issues.
Shake's motor skills were always a bit off. He would run into walls.. and kind of drift sideways.. It was like he wasn't aware of where to put his feet in order not to topple over (more so than normal pups)
He was also a really nervous dog. He was scared of nearly everything and displayed a lot of fear aggression. When he was scared, he shook.
What to do? After scratching my head for a while, trying to train him to be less reactive myself, I had a brilliant idea. AGILITY!
So we joined a class.
Within months, Shakes was more confident, more social, more friendly and not as floppy :)
We continued with classes and NADAC competitions for about 3 years.
We had so much fun! And we were GOOD!
To spend a day outdoors and get to play, what can possibly be better?
We really would recommend agility to anyone who has ever wondered about it, wants a better behaved dog or just wants to spend a little more time with their furry friend
If agility is so fun, why not try herding?
But alas, our sports career came to a screeching halt. Shakes came down with a case of anaplasmosis. That's a nasty tick-borne disease that affects the joints, among other things. After we got that taken care of, poor kid couldn't handle a full course anymore, so we switched to being a regular, non competitive pair.
Since then, we go on hikes every week. We frequent the local dog park. We hang out. We go visit our Shakespeare-friendly friends. There is never a dull moment in Lana and Shakespeare world.
Wow what a way to make an entrance! Naurto, 
