Sherwood Park pooch takes top obedience prize
Patience — and lots of treats — key to near-perfect score, trainer says
Training a dog is not about the trainer, but about the animal’s heart and devotion, says a longtime trainer.
“You really have to be a team. When you go into the ring, the leash comes off, there’s no cookies or anything. It’s just you and your dog,” said Lee Kozicki, her miniature poodle, Scooter, by her side.
Scooter made his 70-year-old owner proud earlier this month when he was awarded the title of Canada’s top obedience dog of 2017.
Five years ago, when Scooter was just two years old, Lee Kozicki didn’t think her puppy had what it would take to be a competition dog.
Scooter preferred to spend his training time figuring out ways to sneak closer to his owner’s side.
“This is his favourite place to be, sitting on the couch with me,” Kozicki said as Scooter licked her face all over.
The only award the duo receives is a certificate and bragging rights. With no monetary prize or reimbursements for travel expenses, Kozicki trains purely out of passion and a love for her furry friends.
“I think what is really cool about training a dog is to teach another species to understand your language.”
For Scooter, the incentives to keep at the hard work are dehydrated chicken strips and tuna fudge, his two favourite foods.
“That’s their payday. Any job in the world, no matter how good it is, needs a pay. When I go in the ring and tell him what a good boy he is, he thinks, ‘That’s one cookie she owes me,’” said Kozicki, sharing her training tips and tricks.
His hard work paid off when he received 198.01 out of 200 points this year.
“Four of his perfect scores were at the end of a long, long line of dog shows. That says volumes of the heart of the dog. That isn’t me as a trainer. I can make it so the dog works very well, but the dog has to have heart to keep going and going.”
This is not only an accomplishment for Scooter and Kozicki, but also for Alberta, because she believes he is the first dog in the province to be awarded as the Grand Master Obedience Trial Champion since 1984.
Seven of the top 10 dogs this year were from Ontario, the other two being from British Colombia. One of Kozicki’s own students came in 12th place overall.
She began training dogs when she was a teenager, after she and her twin sister each got a dog from their parents. Since then she worked at the SPCA until retirement.
Her dogs have been in the top 10 more than 25 times throughout the years. One of her dogs, a Yorkshire terrier named Kate, landed a role in a Don Cherry Sports Select commercial.
“It’s kind of cool to have a hobby that has lasted this long. Especially when you go to a dog show, it just all comes alive.”
You really have to be a team. When you go into the ring, the leash comes off, there’s no cookies or anything.