Obedience Trials 2015

Jackie Boyd & Vizla "Couper", June Kerr & Labrador "Ziva" High in Trial winners from Saturday.  P
hoto by Beth Hilborn

Forbidden Plateau Obedience & Tracking Club held its annual CKC Obedience Trials competition on September 26 & 27 at Union Bay Hall.  The Judges were Karen Graham Banman of Moosejaw Saskatchewan, and Eva O’Keefe of Edmonton Alberta. Competitors came from Victoria area, Nanaimo, the Comox Valley, and the Central Cariboo area.

On September 26, under Judge Eva O’Keefe, Trial 1 was won by Jackie Boyd of Courtenay out of the Open B class, with her Vizsla “Couper”. 2^nd in Trial went to Lori Yarrow of Courtenay and her Sheltie mix, “Frida” out of the Novice B class.

Trial 2 on September 26, under Judge Karen Graham Banman was won by June Kerr of Courtenay out of the Novice A class with her Labrador Retriever “Ziva”. 2^nd in Trial went to Jo Anne Sukut and her Papillon “Ryder” out of the Novice B class.

On September 27, under Judge Karen Graham Banman, Trial 3 was won by Blair Kilgour of Saanichton and his Vizsla “Ziva” out of the Open B class. 2^nd in Trial went to Angela Gilbert of Courtenay and her American Staffordshire Terrier “Chianti” out of the Novice B class.

Trial 4 on September 27, under Judge Eva O’Keefe, was won again by Blair Kilgour of Saanichton, with his Vizla “Ziva” out of the Utility class, and 2^nd in Trial went to June Kerr of Courtenay and her Labrador Retriever, also called “Ziva” out of the Novice A class.

Our FPO&TC member High in Trial winners Jackie Boyd and June Kerr both require the use of walkers, and these handlers did a fantastic job of demonstrating that precision Obedience can be done well by a handler facing physical challenges. June and Jackie are an inspiration to their fellow competitors.

Other members of FPO&TC were successful too, with 5 teams completing their Companion Dog Titles, and 3 teams earning their first scores toward Companion Dog Excellent Titles. The Club can is proud of its members earning 2 High in Trials, 4 2^nd in Trials, and several High in Class Rosettes.

Novice A & B qualifiers from Trial 1 of Saturday September 26 , all FPO&TC members.
Left to right Sue Sorensen, Jo Anne Sukut, June Kerr, Judge Eva O'Keefe, Lori Yarrow, Aldean Riddy
Photo by Beth Hilborn

Annual Awards Night 2013

FPO&TC had its Annual Awards on Thursday bringing a close to our year of Club activities. It was a wonderful potluck, and hosted by Linda Page, thank you Linda for welcoming us to your home and warming us with your amazing fireplace!

Our Awards committee, Margot Jorgensen, Sheila Kenny, Linda Page and Lisa Christensen did a great job of getting the trophies and pins organized and over to Kim Luyten for engraving.

This year the Club wanted to recognize and honour those Founding Members who are still active with FPO&TC today, Wendy Wallace, JoAnne McLeod and Darlene Gordon. These ladies lit the spark that became FPO&TC. I think they must have all been pre-teens when they started this Club :-)

Founding Members JoAnne McLeod, Wendy Wallace and Darlene Gordon recognized for "Lighting the Spark"

Jo Anne shows the engraving on her solar light

There were many pins earned by Club members in 2013 for earning Titles in Obedience, Tracking or Rally Obedience. It's fantastic to see so many members participating in multiple venues of competition with their dogs. Title pins were were applied for and received by:

Pre - Companion Dog (PCD) Title 

1. JoAnne McLeod and "Cash" Papillon
2. Aldean Riddy and "Theo" Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
3. Aldean Riddy and "Izzy" Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
4. Aldean Riddy and "Polly" Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
5. Aldean Riddy and "Jazz" Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever

Companion Dog (CD) Title

1. JoAnne Sukut and "Simon" Cavalier King Charles

Companion Dog Excellent (CDX) Title

1. Arlene Bishop and "Sassy" Miniature Schnauzer

Tracking Dog (TD) Title

1. Sue Sorensen and "Penny" Golden Retriever
2. JoAnne McLeod and "Cash" Papillon

Tracking Dog Excellent (TDX) Title

1. Lesley Kenyon and "Bear" Golden Retriever
2. JoAnne McLeod and "Cash" Papillon

Urban Tracking Dog (UTD) Title

1. Angela Gilbert and "Chianti" American Staffordshire Terrier

Rally Novice (RN) Title

1. Wendy Wallace and "Rumour" Papillon
2. Pam Burton and "Tango" Australian Shepherd
3. JoAnne McLeod and "Cash" Papillon
4. Aldean Riddy and "Theo" Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
5. Aldean Riddy and "Izzy" Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
6. Aldean Riddy and "Polly" Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
7. Aldean Riddy and "Jazz" Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever

Rally Advanced (RA) Title

1. Liz McKenzie and "Rory" Border Terrier
2. Aldean Riddy and "Polly" Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever

Rally Excellent (RE) Title

1. Angela Gilbert and "Chianti" American Staffordshire Terrier

Liz McKenzie and Aldean Riddy receive their RA Pins

Lesley Kenyon and JoAnne McLeod receiving their TDX Pins

Two happy TD Pin recipients Sue Sorensen and JoAnne Mcleod

The Von Avent Trophy for Highest Qualifying CD was won by Linda Page and Labrador "Dart", as did the Tsolumside Trophy for Highest Aggregate Score for a Sporting Dog and the Effort trophy. Well done Linda and Dart!


Eight teams applied for and share the Princess Temperament Trophy this year, for earning a CGN in 2013. The recipients were

1. Aldean Riddy with "Theo", "Izzy", "Polly", and "Jazz" (Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers)
2. JoAnne McLeod and "Cash" Papillon
3. Margot Jorgensen and "Mitch" Standard Poodle
4. Angela Gilbert and "Chianti" American Staffordshire Terrier 
5. JoAnne Sukut and "Simon" Cavalier King Charles. 

It's awesome that our Club has so many Canine Good Neighbours represented in its ranks.

The Graham's CDX Trophy was won by Arlene Bishop and Miniature Schnauzer Sassy, as was the Improvement Trophy for the most improved score. Congratulations Arlene and Sassy!

Linda receiving on the trophies she and Dart earned

Some of the recipients of the Princess Temperament Trophy
Angela Gilbert, Aldean Riddy, JoAnne McLeod, JoAnne Sukut

Arlene Bishop receiving the Graham's CDX Trophy

Sue Sorensen and Golden Retriever  GCH Spldaishi's Urban Legend  "Penny" TD WC earned a Versatile Companion Award by earning Titles in Conformation, Tracking and Field.

Sheila Kenny and Golden Retriever Heads Up Above N Beyond "Jett" TD, CD, WCI, SH earned a Versatile Companion Award by earning Titles in Obedience, Tracking, and Field.

Angela Gilbert and American Staffordshire Terrier Divinity's Chianti Superiore "Chianti" CGN, PCD, TD, UTD, RE, CDN1 earned a Versatile Companion Award by earning Titles in Rally, Tracking and Canine Dressage.

Arlene Bishop and Miniature Schnauzer Sassy Girl "Sassy" CGN, RE, CDX, CDI 2, CDN-2T, VC earned a Versatile Companion Excellent Award with Titles in Obedience, Rally, and Canine Dressage

Arlene Bishop all smiles receiving Sassy's Versatile Companion Excellent Award

Angela Gilbert smiles at Chianti's Versatile Companion Award

A Special Award was prepared for Vida Ross and her Golden Retriever Ellee in order to recognize this team for earning their Obedience Trial Champion Title (OTCH), a very challenging Title to achieve. As Vida was unable to make it to the party, this will be presented at a later date. Congratulations Vida on a fantastic achievement. 

The Awards night brought an end to our 40th Anniversary celebrations. Congratulations to all members of FPO&TC on the goals each of you have achieved this year and on the steps you have taken toward your future goals. Thank you again to the Trophy Committee and our "host with the most" Linda Page for organizing our evening of great food and warm company. Thank you Arlene Bishop for providing the photos for this post and Maureen Ashbaugh for providing us with some hilarious entertainment.

See you all next year!

Walking Politely In A Winter Wonderland

Photo by Arlene Bishop. Back to front, left to right we have Ellee (Golden), Match (Toller), Pip & Flurry (Aussies), Chianti (AmStaff), Panda (Shih Tzu X), Dylan (Schipperke), Cash (Papillon) Guinness (Cavalier), Ryder (Papillon), Sassy (Miniature Schnauzer), Zoe (Miniature Schnauzer), Kiera (Chinese Crested), Rumor (Papillon), Rory (Border Terrier).

We had absolutely fantastic weather for the Downtown Courtenay Christmas Parade yesterday. This year the theme was Winter Wonderland, but we had sunshine and mild temperatures. It seemed like there was a great turnout this year and the crowd was enthusiastic! 

There was a nice variety of breeds represented in FPO&TC. We were right near the front of the parade, behind the dignitaries, and there were lots of ooohs and ahhs and applause for our dogs. Some of the dogs acted as the meet and greet crew, while others showed off some tricks and obedience skills. 

Afterward headed to Simm's Park to take a group photo. We sensibly, in my camera shy opinion, opted to take a photo of the dogs, not the handlers, and look at those dogs sitting for the camera. Now that's a group stay!

Thank you to the organizers and sponsors of the Parade, and to the people who came out to cheer on the participants - we had a blast!

School Visit

Forbidden Plateau Obedience & Tracking Club member volunteers focus much of their energy on hosting our events, seminars and on teaching Obedience classes. One of our favorite things to do however, if the opportunity presents itself and we have members available, is demonstrations in the community.

This week we were lucky enough to be able demonstrate some of our dogs' skills and talk about how to interact safely with dogs for a First Grade class at Arden Elementary, thanks to member Sheila Kenny and teacher Colleen Devlin. 

The students were a wonderful audience for our dogs, and listened carefully while Sheila spoke to them about standing like a tree instead of flapping like a bird, and how to greet and pet a dog safely. We demonstrated some obedience, a few tricks, and a field dog finding a "lost" (planted out of sight by a couple of student helpers) bumper. 

The dogs had fun, I think the children had fun, and we had fun - a winning situation all around. Thank you Arden Elementary and Colleen for inviting us!

Sheila with Story Golden Retriever talking to very attentive students about not flapping like a bird while Schipperke Dylan and Ruth Bridges and Standard Poodle Donovan and Margot Jorgensen look on.

Member Liz and Border Terrier Rory had a great time

American Staffordshire Terrier Chianti demonstrated some tricks 

Margo Jorgensen and Standard Poodle Donovan demonstrate signals

Sheila had the students use their outside voice to tell Story to sit.

Chianti, Dylan, Jett, Story, Mica, Donovan and Rory demonstrate group stays

Donovan - An Extraordinary Dog

Heeling at an AIOC Obedience Trial

Dogs are such wonderful creatures, and most are quite willing, with the right motivation, to work with their humans and learn to play at our dog sports, at least to some extent. Many of us who love dog sports participate in more than one, though most of us have a core couple that we compete in. It can be difficult enough to excel and earn advanced achievements in one area, let alone several.

Once in awhile though, a dog and handler team comes along who just have such a wonderful and extraordinary combination of relationship and work ethic that they excel in more than one arena. Donovan, a Standard Poodle bred by FPO&TC member Suzanne Loblaw and handled and loved by FPO&TC member Margot Jorgensen is one of those incredible dogs. Donovan's name with all of his attached Titles is a handful:

UKC Started Hunting Retriever, CKC Champion, Master Obedience Trial Champion Reigate’s Here Comes The Sun, Tracking Dog Excellent, Urban Tracking Dog, Working Certificate, Junior Hunter, Agility Excellent, Agility Excellent Jumper, Canine Good Neighbour, AIOC Companion Dog Excellent, AAC Agility Trial Champion of Canada, Master Steeplechase Dog of Canada, Bronze Jumpers, Silver Standard, Silver Award of Merit. 

"As a 12 week pup in JoAnne’s puppy class Dono looked up at me and asked “what can I do for you?” That has been his lifelong attitude and together we’ve experienced so many activities, some for Titles (obedience, tracking, agility and hunt) and others like herding, draft and nosework, just for fun. He is awesome and I am blessed." says Margot. 

As are we fellow members blessed for having the opportunity to watch Margot and Donovan's journey, observe and admire their relationship and Donovan's honest work ethic. Dono as a senior dog still enjoys working with Margot, enjoying Agility, Nosework, the occasional Veteran's Obedience class and community demos. He still looks up at Margot and asks what he can do for her today, just as he did as a much younger competitor. Congratulations Margot on all of your achievements with Donovan, and on the wonderful relationship the two of you share.

Tracking at an Urban Tracking Seminar

Tracking at an Urban Tracking Seminar

Practicing the Broad Jump

Field Tracking

Since 1973 and Still Training...

The following is part of an article written by one of our Founding Club Members, Wendy Wallace, that was published in the Comox Valley Echo in July 2013. The part of the article advertising our Canine Good Neighbour Test and 40th Anniversary Party has been edited out as the test has been completed - with 21 of 22 dogs passing! The remainder of the article is posted below, giving a little history of Forbidden Plateau Obedience & Tracking Club. Along with Wendy, other Founding Members include Jo Anne McLeod, Darlene Gordon, Carol Snaith & Marion Hespe. Wendy, Jo Anne, and Darlene are still active members of FPO&TC today, and the rest of the Membership thanks them for starting this wonderful, active Club that allows us to have so much fun with our dogs and our friends.

If you have owned a dog and taken it to obedience classes sometime in the past forty years,  it is most likely that you trained with the Forbidden Plateau Obedience and Tracking Club (FPO&TC).

Founded in 1973 by a small group of dog obedience and tracking enthusiasts, the Club has trained thousands of local dogs and their owners over the years. Most owners have taken classes simply to improve their dog’s behaviour while others have joined the Club, taken part competitions and in many cases gone on to become dog trainers themselves. 

Initially the Club’s classes were held at the rec center in Comox;  its first licensed obedience trials trials took place at the base skating rink. Later trials were held at various schools – Courtenay Secondary and Vanier. Currently they are held second weekend in September at Queenish school.

Teaching dogs to find articles by following a person’s scent was also an early interest of Club members and it was not long before the club was hosting tracking seminars and tracking tests. Initially the Club held field tracking tests in March of each year. These took place on local farms, thanks to the kindness of farmers who were willing to let the club have the use of their fields for two days. This generosity was greatly appreciated by the Club which gained a reputation in the tracking community for holding well organized tests on excellent grounds.

In more recent years the Club has expanded its interest in two other areas of the dog sport world – urban tracking and Rally Obedience.  Urban tracking test are held annually and take place in urban environments such as schools, rec centers and the college. They test the dog’s ability to follow a scent through well- traveled and busy areas. The club is very proud of the fact that the first three Urban tracking titles where earned by two club members and their dogs.

Rally obedience is similar to regular obedience but requires the  dog and handler to follow a numbered course, with each number setting out specific skills to be performed.

Formal competitions have not been the entire focus for club members. Over the past forty years club members have taken part in local parades, visited schools, entertained at the local fall fairs and provided demonstrations of trained dogs and training methods for the community. In the early years they organized and ran a children’s pet show at the CRA.

Each year the club also makes a sizable financial donation to local charities or person’s in need.

Founding Member Wendy Wallace and her dog Tammy

Entrants in the 40th Anniversary Parade of Veterans at our CKC Obedience Trials. Among them is Wendy, in yellow.