About keenk9s

Dog agility for Maureen is a "passion"! It all started when she got MACH 4 Greta Von Schnapps III, XF! Maureen has always had a dog or dogs since she was a small child. Throughout her growing years, she was always the kid "bringing home" another "lost" dog. She always liked to work with her dogs teaching them some informal basic obedience. But in May of 1999, that all changed with a little black schnauzer puppy she named "Greta". Greta was one of those "once in a lifetime dogs". Greta brought Maureen to agility! As a small puppy, Greta seemed to learn things with little effort! One day Maureen's daughter held up a hula hoop and Greta jumped through it! That was it. Maureen started some agility training with Greta and Greta took to it like "she was born to do agility". At that time in northern Minnesota, there was very little agility training available. Maureen decided early on that if she and Greta were going to compete competitively, she needed to go "wherever the training" was. Maureen has been very fortunate to be trained by some of the best agility trainers in the country**. She has attended numerous agility camps and seminars over the years. She continues to seek out training for the latest techniques. She believes in positive dog training which includes operant conditioning which really helps open the lines of communication between the dog and handler. She believes that the "relationship" between the handler and dog is the most important aspect of a strong agility team. Maureen and MACH 4 Greta Von Schnapps III, XF, became a very accomplished dog/handler team. Greta earned her first MACH (Master Agility Champion) title in July of 2006 in Houston, Texas. In October of 2007, Greta earned her MACH 2 in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Greta earned her MACH 3 at Camp Bandy in Wisconsin On January 16, 2009.Greta received her MACH 4 title on September 25, 2010. Sadly, on February 24, 2011, Maureen had to say goodbye to Greta for the last time. (See Greta's Goodbye) But Greta ended her agility career with more than enough MACH points for MACH 6 and was just several Double Q's short of MACH 5! But Greta's legacy lives on! Greta's niece, MACH Liza Von Schnapps, XF, is carrying on where Greta left off! Liza earned her first MACH title on July 12, 2009 and will have her MACH 2 soon! Maureen has, with Greta and Liza, qualified to attend the prestigious AKC National Championship 7 years in a row! Maureen's latest agility protege is Dragonward's Ava Von Schnapps, OA, AXJ. She has already earned 5 AKC agility titles since starting shows in December of 2010. She turned 2 on August 1st, 2011 and has already been accumulating MACH points!