What can I possibly say about Sasha and it be enough?
Sasha came to me at 9 weeks old my first show puppy an active show breeder was willing to place with me. It was a rough first year as she unfortunately came to me completely unsocialized due to it being a rough time in the breeder's life- something I only found out about years after the fact. This little pudgy 9 week old puppy was terrified of humans.
You wouldn't know that today. These day she LOVES everyone she meets. I can have complete strangers handle her in the ring. New people, both adults and children, can sit down on the floor with her and wrap their arms around her. Anything baby (puppies, kittens, baby chicks, humans babies) she insists are hers, and that she must protect and clean them. Then despite being this friendly, she will still do a persistent bork if a stranger walks into our home, until she understands we want them there- then she'll accept the love. She's my riding companion (when the weather allows), and spends about as much time in my vehicle as me, moreso if we count her naps while I'm inside grocery shopping.
She's not perfect conformationally, no dog is. I wish she had more coat length, slightly less ear, and that she didn't like to turn her front feet outward initially on a stack. But in her prime she was a beautiful mover, and sometimes still pulls that out when she's feeling particularly peppy in the ring. She absolutely loves to show, though at 7 years old now she's getting tired of long weekends (UKC shows are 2 shows a day, and 2-4 days long, IABCA shows are 2-3 shows a day and 2 days long), so she's mostly tagging along for the heck of it, and is preferring those 1-run a day AKC shows as of late.
She reminds me of Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. She is so very smart, but a gigantic air head. She always has a confused smile on her face, and though she is hard to train for something, once she's got it she's darn good at it. She became my first true performance dog, getting through both the training, and then actively competing. in 2020 alone she's earned SIX new titles, and I couldn;t be more proud of her. Though we're slowly fazing out conformation with her, she's going to have a fun time starting rally, and working towards her Novice barn Hunt title. She's so excited when she finds the rats- who she'd really, really love to lick (if they probably didn't want to bite her lol). I hope to have many more years with her, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds!
