A Much-Needed Cyi Update

Cyi has been a part of my life for nearly six years now, ever since she retired officially from dog shows. She had spent her very pampered show dog life going between Kathleen and her (at the time) co-owner, who worked closely with Kathleen with parallel TFT breeding programs. Then, suddenly, the co-owner was gone and Kathleen was left with a number of dogs from the partnership. Several dogs came to me, with the understanding that Kathleen would remain co-owner and that we would work together in a similar manner to her arrangement with the previous co-owner. Happily, Cyi was one of those dogs. Happily, for several reasons.

I was pleased with this arrangement, as I had pretty much "gone out of" Toy Fox Terriers a few years before. Things were not the same after Beau died and I was busily trying to restart my life in a new place, with new people and new dogs around me. I had Penny to breed my first TFT litter in five whole years with me, Johnny to sire the litter, and Cyi to show if I desired. I needed to wait to get breeding rights to her--not because of Kathleen or any issue between us--but because things take a while to get squared away in the dog world sometimes. I was also happy to wait. Cyi had proven to be "spicy" when she was at Kathleen's place and I was uncertain how well she would fit in here.

Cyi spent a year decompressing and learning to be a pet on a homestead. She had always been a "pet," even as a show dog. She was integrated into Kathleen's pack, settled on Kathleen's furniture, taken runs in Kathleen's backyard. But homestead life is different from living in a three-bedroom house in town. Here, she had to adjust to outside time on walks and in ex-pens, a tiny house, goats and cats and chickens and country life. After a while, she relaxed and settled in for brief periods with other dogs. She still didn't like the other girls very much, but she enjoyed the outside time in her pen with various male dogs and she was learning to tolerate me. We took her to a couple of UKC shows--much smaller and relaxed than AKC shows--which she enjoyed. She got 60/100 points towards her championship degree and 1/3 competition wins, but she never did finish, due to circumstances beyond her control.

That brief foray into UKC got us thinking . . . We did one final AKC show, to see if she could finish her grand championship (she did!), but then the seizures came. It was bad. Her second seizure was so much worse than the first that she has never traveled any farther than the vet, ever again. It's a period that I try not even to think about. After the massive breakthrough seizures receded into history, she became a pampered house pet. Too pampered, really, and she developed a round little figure that was probably helped along by the medication. It was okay . . . sort of. I prefer my dogs to be on the lean side, so, following two years without seizures, the vet agreed that we could take her off her medication. We weaned her off the pills and it helped . . . ish. She spent another two years just hanging out, being Cyi. She started to be a little adless combative. Yaddle and she started to tolerate each other pretty well. She became less combative with other dogs.

Fast forward to today: Cyi is a happy, healthy girl, totally free of any medication. She's still full-figured, but not unacceptably so for a lady of advancing years (although Dan jokes that "you can see she has Jacobs' dogs behind her"). She's still spicy. There are a few dogs that I just have to keep her away from. However, she loves Cleo and she still tolerates Yaddle and Diva. She and Yuma stay on opposite sides of me when we all sit together. Cyi tries to be an all-around Good Girl and she's doing her best to convince me that she deserves all the snacks. Dan loves the stuffing out of Cyi and, if Archie was more willing to share his dad, she would be his 24/7 lap dog. As it is, she loves her "stolen cookies" and the attention he showers on her. She has life figured out and, in her mind, she's still the star of this movie.

And, now that she's got things sorted, Cyi is entering a new chapter of her life. She's a Toy Fox Terrier, so she has a number of good years ahead of her, God willing and the continued absence of seizures. She's already an American Kennel Club (AKC) champion and grand champion. Now it's time to add letters to the opposite end of her name. For the past seven weeks, we've been doing walks with her. At first, her little rotund body had a bit of an issue with it. She "didn't wanna, Mama!" but she trundled bravely alongside me in hopes of a piece of hotdog for good behavior. Treats were at a minimum--after all, the intention was to improve her condition. It only took two weeks before she was able to manage the 20 minutes that I consider the minimum for FIT Dog walks (4 20-minute walks for Bronze), so, five weeks ago, I started walking her "for real" and recording her time. Her condition is improving. Most of the time, she does 20 minutes or so, but she's managed to go 25 minutes, as well. She still pants heavily at times, but I'm starting to see her muscles again. I'm very proud of my Cyi.

As if getting into better shape wasn't enough, Cyi is also showing that there's a sharp little mind in that adorable little head, as well as a sharp little temperament. Some of you might remember that I favor "training walks," making bonding time spent together turn into low-pressure education. In addition to a handful of treats, I carry a clicker to capture any good or beneficial behavior. Cyi got some clicks for doing a few Rally recalls, so they stuck. She's probably okay for coming when called from a longer distance, but I'm not about to try it--yet. Eventually, to my surprise, she started walking closer and closer, on a looser and looser lead. At one point, she drew right next to me, looking up at me with expectation. You betcha that got a click and a treat. Perfect heel position with no training for it? Good Girl!

Suddenly, Cyi was not just a fat middle-aged dog doing FIT Dog walks for her health. We weren't just looking to do the Turkey Trot to pad her title application. No, Cyi suddenly had a future as a Rally dog. Not a travel-to-trials Rally dog. I am still unwilling to risk that. However, the AKC has a "Virtual Rally" program that enables dogs and owners who can't travel to achieve AKC titles. The Virtual Rally program has five set courses per level. You can practice these courses as much as you want before selecting three to submit. All it takes is a close to regulation size place to set up your "ring," cones or something to indicate the stations, and a camera. You or someone else makes a video of you and your dog performing the course in a continuous, unedited video. When you're satisfied that you've got a passing score, you can submit the video and your entry fee to the Events Department for a score. It's a win/win situation, for sure and it gives dogs who would otherwise be unable to compete something to do. Better yet, the Virtual Rally title counts for FIT Dog points, so that makes me a very happy camper.

Cyi's story is still unfolding. She has lots of life left in her and has become one of the happiest dogs that I know. Her paws beat a tattoo every time she sees the lead come out, when she knows it's for her. She yips with excitement, dashing back and forth outside, until the zoomies are consumed and she's ready to show off her "skillz." She's bright and sweet and funny and she looks forward to sniffing noses with "her" cat, Whitefoot, when we reach the end of our road. Her turnaround has been enormous and I think that she's finally come into her own. We're not ready for Rally competition. Cyi still struggles with "sit," which is a foreign concept to a conformation dog. Without "sit," we have no "automatic sit" when we stop and we lose a whole bunch of points and ability to do exercises. But now we have something to shoot for, she and I, and a heck of a lot more bonding time in the future.

Welcome to your new life as a performance dog, Cyi. I hope you'll find a lot to like about it.