Jake was our first dog and the inspiration for JustJake shelties. We got Jake when we were living in Pittsburgh, PA. Jake was whelped June 24, 1995 and was seven weeks old when he came to live with us. I was working at Pheasant Hollow Farms, a riding and boarding stable, and Rick thought it would be nice for me to have a little "companion" who could follow me around at work.. Little did he know what he was starting!!
From the moment we got Jake, we knew this was a smarter than average dog who would need some obedience training... and right away! We enrolled Jake in a puppy class at a local obedience school, Keystone Canine Club and I became Jake's handler.. Jake was very intelligent and excelled in his classes; more than I could do him credit, being a novice handler myself. After Jake had taken a few beginner level classes, we were transferred to Evansville, IN. Jake's training fell by the wayside for several years. It wasn't until we got our second dog, B.J., and Rick began B.J.'s obedience training, that Jake went back to "school". At the age of 3, he began taking obedience classes in earnest. A year later, our instructor, Kara Paul, encouraged us to enter an AKC obedience trial in Indianapolis, IN at the novice level, and after that we were on our way!
Jake quickly finished his AKC and UKC Obedience Companion Dog titles. But it wasn't until Jake was four, that we discovered agility.
Trialing with Jake has been quite an experience! He loves everything about obedience trials except actually going in the ring! In spite of this, he managed to finish his AKC UD in 2003. We are still working on that UKC UCDX! In agility, which he loves, he has attained his AKC MX and MXJ, his UKC UAGII and many NADAC titles at the Open and Elite levels. Now at the age of twelve, and NEVER wanting to be left behind when there's a trial going on, Jake has gone back into the agility ring to tackle the FAST classes. In his very first time in the FAST ring, Jake won the regular 16" class by accumulating 71 points in 28 seconds!
I can't talk about Jake without mentioning his "posse" of human women that he is drawn to. We call them Jake's "Lady Loves". When he sees any one of them, he goes wild trying to get to them. I don't know what criteria he uses for picking a "Lady Love" but you sure know it when you're one of them!
We couldn't have asked for a better Novice "partner" than our Jake or a better introduction to the sheltie breed. He will always hold a special placein our hearts . |
