Written by his owner, Yolan Friedman
Wizard turns 2 on the 28th Jan 2012. In this short time on earth Wiz has travelled to 5 of our 9 provinces with me (often for work), he has met literally hundreds of other dogs (many at home at his ‘own’ veterinary clinic which we own) and loved playing with most of them; he has competed successfully in the breed ring, earning 4 CCs in his first 18 months, in the obedience ring at the beginner level and in the dog jumping, contact and non-contact agility ring. He also has his Canine Good Citizen certificate. In fact Wonder Wiz has 15 ribbons and 3 trophies to his name already!
Wizard lives with 11 other dogs, 5 horses, 2 cats and about 50 chickens. We used to have ducks but now have an ostrich next door to entertain him. He discovered a goat at 4am one morning in October and woke me with his exciting yelping. I rehomed the goat, much to his displeasure. The point is that Wizard is curious about other animals but is well mannered and kind to them all. He has a fabulous nature and temperament but lives first and foremost to work.
When we put his training box in the car, he literally yelps with excitement and is unstoppable in his race to get in. At only 18 months he was clearing contact agility courses at grade 3 level with ease and loves the challenge of every new course he encounters. He is not that good with heights and is a bit slow on the dog walk and seesaw but his accuracy with the other obstacles means he has always been placed in a show. Wizard often comes shopping with me and did his first real ‘stay’ outside Woollies a few weeks ago, greeting all shoppers happily but not leaving his spot once. We always get compliments on how well behaved he is in public! He even barked at a street vendor a few weeks ago after the poor salesman got a bit too pushy for Wizard’s liking. His protective instincts are strong and even though we have not encouraged this side of him at all, he has started showing serious aggression to strangers at my gate, making me feel super safe when home alone. He does however love people and is excellent with kids of all ages.
Wizard is on the books of a movie recruitment agent and we hope to test his skills as an actor one of these days. He has certainly demonstrated outstanding skills at learning so far and adores learning new tricks – the latest being the Spanish Walk and sitting on a chair just like a human does. We are aiming to qualify for the SA Agility Champs this year so have lots of work ahead of us. We will also pick up on the tracking work we started last year when we have a breather from his rather busy schedule….
Happy Birthday Wiz!
Yolan Friedmann