Let's think the unthinkable, let's do the undoable, let's prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all.
Temperament Test
(02.11.2008 – Judge: Brigitte Weber)
The 33 months old bitch is high spirited and loves to move.
She likes to play and does so intensly
There's very well pronounced perseverance, attention/focus and intrepidity (in her).
She possesses the desired physical toughness.
She exhibits very highly distinctive prey-, retrieve- and search-driven behaviour.
There's a very strong bond with the handler and lots of "will to please"
Very friendly, outgoing and secure with people, even in physically constricting situations.
Secure and independent during all acoustic and optic testsituations.
Secure, attentive and curious during the gunshots.
A cheerful and secure bitch which is enthusiastic about people.
Exterior description / Breed Selection
(25.09.2008 – Judge: Hassi Assenmacher-Feyel)
Good size, excellent type, excellent head, lots of charisma, excellent pigmentation,
flawless construction with excellent lines and angulations, extensive movement.
Excellent.
Fia – she does it all
Fia is my little jack-of-all-trades. Even as a puppy she already amused and excited me by being the one pup in the litter who tried climbing over the barrier by all means. Nothing could really stop her. And basically nothing has changed much since then, she tries everything and she succeeds in everything – or so she strongly believes...
Having grown up with my Border Collies, she seems to believe herself to be one as well, at least considering her energy, extreme working ability, cooperation and the pure enjoyment of her own speed. It's only that thing about herding that she can't quite grasp...yet.
Then again she beats them with her ability to deal with new and unexpected situations easily, and of course excels in everything having to do with retrieving and nosework (e.g. the same Search and Rescue tasks that the older of my two Border Collies solves by his enormously wide scope of experience, she, even at a very young age, was able to manage by simply applying her very fine nose).
Fia keeps astonishing (and exciting...) me ever so often.
She has so many faces.
One moment being all girly (ranging from charming to cheeky) she can switch to being a serious and tough worker in the next.
Although she loves lounging on the couch and is a true princess concerning the choice of her place to sleep (this spot on the bed right here isn't taken yet anyhow, right?) she's also the dog sitting next to me (with teeth chattering because of the cold...) that just longs to be sent for that retrieve from the icewater, the dog who enthusiastically takes on any kind of terrain and truly enjoys climbing around the rubble in disaster search.
While she (being all territorial Curly) guards our grounds ferociously (or so it sounds...), once the person actually enters she becomes all charming hostess.
Fia seems to have a special charisma that is sensed by lots of people (so they keep telling me). Sometimes it does get a little absurd though, every once in a while we have strangers walk up to her and spontanously grab and hug her from behind, sometimes even holding her tight and close to their faces. It's in moments like this that I am especially pleased with her calm, relaxed and forgiving ways...
Funny how this easy going dog that usually takes on life light-heartedly and relaxed, can also be such an (almost unnerving) perfectionist when at work (now, Fia darling do you really think it absolutely necessary to search under each and every leaf and stone?!) - sometimes we are way to much alike...
Fia's strongpoint, both in Search and Rescue and retrievertraining is directions, then again she is quite independent enough to climb a 15 feet steep ladder into a raised hide when having detected a person up there in SAR training (overtrustingly leaving the part of getting her down to me...)
It's just this great balance between being very biddable and cooperative yet independent when necessary that makes working with Fia such a pleasure in my eyes.
Together we carried on in Search and Rescue, which to me has been quite an experiment in itself, as Fia is the first Curly in SAR in Germany; and also together we explored, and quite successfully so, hunting and especially retrievertraining. In both fields she has taken me to heights which no Curly team has previously reached in Germany. (Can you tell I'm just a wee bit proud of her? ;o) )
Seeing her as a mother now is yet again a quite a different aspect of her personality.
Calm and self-assured yet touchingly caring, thoughtful...
All this is Fia.
Everything seems to come to her so naturally. Anything I ask of her, she just does it - and seemingly with a smile...
In the beginning mainly meant to be a follow-up teampartner in Search and Rescue, Fia has opened up such amazing new fields of dogtraining to me.
I am so very grateful to Kerstin Andersson and Bengt Gusstafson for letting me have this exceptional dog.
