Paige came home with me in December of 2003 after a two year wait to get the right field spaniel. I had high hopes
of having not only a show dog, but one that was also capable of earning performance titles. Little did I know that little
brown ball of perpetual sunshine would grow up to be everything I hoped for!
Her show career started off with a bang by earning reserve winners bitch (5 pt major) at
the FSSA national specialty
trailer show. Being the youngest girl in the ring at only 6 months 2 days old, this was a huge win against some very tough
competition. Paige earned her championship easily at just over 1 1/2 years old, with 2 BOB wins over specials, garnering
3 majors along the way. Her next time out as a special Paige went BOS at Waukesha 2005 supported entry.
During her time in the show ring, Paige was also busy working on her performance skills. She had been in training for
tracking and obedience since 8 weeks old. On October 17, 2004 the hard work began to pay off when Paige earned
her TD on her first attempt. Six months later to the day, at 1 1/2 years old, Paige made history by becoming
the first field spaniel bitch (and youngest field ever) to earn the TDX.
This was just the start
of an exciting performance career. Paige went on to earn the Rally Novice, Rally Advanced and Companion dog title earning
multiple placements. In the fall of 2006 Paige and I made our official debut in the field. Paige qualified in 4/5 hunting
events and earned her Junior Hunt title in 4 weeks. I was extremely proud of her as she is my first dog I have
ever trained in hunting and she made it so much fun!
In the fall of 2009 Paige Currently
Paige is working at the Master Hunt level. We
participated in a Master Hunt match in August 2008
and Paige did an outstanding performance. She
qualified in everything except for the marked
retrieve. I was very proud of how well she responded
to commands, as well as being steady to wing and
shot. I hope to be working towards her MH
title this fall.
In 2009 Jay and Paige started earning the agility
titles.
In May of 2009 Jay and Paige made their debut in the
agility ring and earned a leg in both the Novice
Standard Preferred and Jumpers Preferred classes.
Paige earned a 1st place in both classes. Since then
Paige has continued to move forward in her agility
career and in the first part of 2010 Paige and Jay
moved into the excellent preferred class! Not bad
for a novice team.
Although Paige has accomplished
many things so far and we aren't done yet. Her incredible performance drive and willingness to please is every
trainer's dream, and makes training her a pleasure.
Paige is always trained and handled by me for all
her titles with the exception of agility- where she
happily works with her daddy Jay.
Watch
for Paige in 2010 in both the field and performance
ring.
