Once upon a time in the small community of Black Diamond, Alberta, a litter of siberian husky puppies was born. Out of this litter came a little female with eyes of brown and coat of gray who soon became the wonderful pet of Al and Shirley’s Pace. We named her ‘Alvasha’, which was a combination of my first name (Al), the name of our first siberian husky (Va for Vayna) and Shirley’s first name (Sh). This little dog was destined for greatness…we thought.

As Vasha grew older, it soon became apparent that some sort of training would be necessary to make her ‘sociably’ acceptable. "Obedience training", ordered Shirley. "Quite right", agreed Al. So, for the next ten weeks it was "Hi-ho, hi-ho, its off to obedience school we’d go" every Thursday night. By this time we had a second siberian husky, "Honey", and of course they both had to go to get ‘sociable’.

At school it was heel, sit, no, heel, sit, no, no, no…Sometimes, the dogs actually gave in and did what they were told. More and more, they became sociable little animals. More and more, I became a more obedient husband. After a period of ten weeks and countless hours of training, graduation night arrived. We were ready. But, after we enjoyed the thrill of our first graduation test, we experienced the agony of disappointment. Our two sibes were the only dogs in the class who flunked. We began to suspect that our idea about these dogs being smart was not entirely correct.

But we didn’t give up. Realizing that both dogs were still very young and that their brains probably hadn’t developed yet, we consented to give them a second chance at being smart. Besides, I had nothing to do on Thursday nights. So we hi-ho’d off to obedience school for another set of ten week classes and more training. Another graduation night. This time, Vasha decided to put on a show and recorded the second highest score in the class. Everyone congratulated us. We didn’t have the nerve to tell them it was our second time around. Even our other dog, Honey-Oohs, passed by the skin of her teeth. Now we were ready to attempt training off lead.

During the time that all this obedience training was being done, we were also showing the two sociable little animals in conformation. Vasha succeeded in becoming a Champion in the summer show at Mackie’s farm. This event made us decide to get serious about obedience. Maybe we could get a ‘CD’ for the little tyke too.

Back to school we went for training off lead this time. Heel, sit, down, stay, come, over and over until were doing it in our sleep. We practiced and practiced until we could do no wrong. A week before the November show in Lethbridge, graduation night was held. Vasha passed with flying colors. We were so proud of her. Visions of a ‘CD’ in the three trials at Lethbridge floated before our eyes.

We entered the ring on the first day and performed admirably until the recall. Stay…and I walked to the other end of the ring. When I turned around to call my dog, who should be right behind me…Vasha. ZERO. The rest of the trial was practice. My balloon was burst, shattered. Maybe we could get two out of three. The next day all went according to plan…right up to the looooong sit for only one short minute. She decided to lie down. ZERO again. Maybe we would salvage one out of three. The third day. She performed well again…right up to the now infamous looooong sit exercise. ZERO again. A pattern was developing. This dog was so smart, she’d figured out that lying down was less trouble than sitting. On the way home in the van everything was quiet…expect for the occasional sob from the driver. But, Vasha was happy. She was going home to play in her back yard with Honey-Oohs.

‘Twas the time before Christmas and all through the area the members of the Canadian Rockies Siberian Husky Club were getting ready for their first parlor show at Command Dog College. Obedience was forgotten. However, when the big day arrived, we decided to support the club and enter Vasha in the novice obedience. Again she performed all the exercises…until the loooong sit. Vasha laid down…again. The pattern was now obvious. More work was needed to break her of this terrible habit. We practiced again and two weeks later entered her in another trial at Command. Everything went well. This time she did the loooong sit perfectly. Our troubles were over. Ha! How silly of me to think that. I should have seen that sneaky little gleam in her eye. She was baiting me. On the three minute down exercise she decided to check out the aftershave on the dog sitting next to her. Another failure. What were we going to do?

The big show in Calgary was fast approaching. We talked to our obedience trainers at Chinook Obedience School and they suggested to bring her in for the next three weeks for some brush up classes. Good idea! Off we went again. We practiced and practiced. No troubles at school. Vasha enjoyed going. Maybe this was part of her game plan all along.

The week before the Calgary show we entered her in another sanction match. Another sit. Again she laid down. I was fit to be a dog biscuit. Back to school on Thursday…the night before the show. There she sat…one minute…five minutes…ten minutes. I was falling asleep. Finally Vasha laid down. A quick correction by Lola who was acting the part of the judge. What a surprise for little Vasha. She didn’t realize that judges and ring stewards might correct her too. So, home we went to get some sleep. 6 A.M. comes early.

4:30 A.M. Yelp, yelp. Vasha had a problem. She was approaching her season and had developed a soreness in her rump. She was afraid to sit down. This dog seemed determined to drive me bananas. We went to the show anyway. Not being able to withdraw her and get our money back at this late date, we decided to enter her into the trial on Friday anyway…just for the heck of it. What could we lose? Besides, Isobel Hogben was there with her siberian, Hawk. He was entering his first trail and we were routing for both sibes to do it this weekend.

Into the ring we went. Heel, sit, ouch. Vasha performed the exercises like a little trouper. The sits were murder. She was penalized severely for her squats. They don’t count as sits. But, on the loooong sit and the loooong down, she was too sore to move. We passed with a score of 183. What a surprise! Who would have expected it! Even Hawk did well with a score of 190. Both sibes had their first leg toward their ‘CD’.

Saturday came and into the ring we went again. Vasha performed very well on this day. The soreness seemed to be gone. The sits were done. The looooong sit and the looooong down were done correctly. But, we only got a score of 185. What a tough judge! But we passed and Hawk passed too with a 179. Two down. One more to go.

Sunday morning. This handler was never more nervous in his whole life. Vasha, on the other hand was as cool as a cucumber…are cucumbers really cool? Off to the show we went. Into the ring we went for the final trial. The exercises were done as expected until the free heel. I almost lost Vasha in the back stretch when she became interested in a little kid at ringside with a toy. But we recovered nicely with a neat maneuver. Next came the recall. No problems there. Now, only the long sit (our nemesis) and long down stood between us and the esteemed ‘CD’. Into the ring we pranced with about 15 other dogs. Sit your dog. Leave your dog. I walked to the other side of the ring. One minute. The longest minute of my life. Finally those magical words, "return to your dog". I walked quickly back to Vasha. Exercise completed. One more to go. Down your dog. Leave your dog. I tiptoed to the other side of the ring. This three minutes seemed like a lifetime. Have you ever held your breath for three minutes? How many times did I look at the clock? It never changed for the whole time. What was going through Vasha’s mind? Did she realize this was it? Would she decide to sit up? Would she sniff the dog next to her? All these thoughts. I was driving myself crazy. Finally, a little voice from somewhere. Return to your dog. Should I run over…no…stay cool. I sneaked back…my head was almost dizzy. Exercise completed. Hooray! We did it! What a terrific little dog! Such a smart little animal! We passed with a score of 190.

It was a banner day for siberian huskies. Hawk had also passed with a 186 and go his ‘CD’ in his first three trials. Who says huskies aren’t intelligent and can’t be trained. Clae Wagler’s siberian, Banner, had passed in the ‘Open’ category with an excellent score of 193 ½. He now has two legs toward his ‘CDX’. Congratulations and good luck in your next trial.

Vasha now had her ‘CD’ in obedience and her ‘CH’ in conformation. But the story didn’t end there. At about 7 P.M. Sunday night she came into season. Talk about timing and cutting it close. Maybe she thought that by being in season she wouldn’t have to go to any more trials. Well…is she in for a surprise. Next week she’s bound for Lethbridge and breeding. She’s going to be a mommy and have smart little puppies just like herself. I wonder if she knows what is coming…but maybe she already has it figured out.

Editor’s Note: As it turned out, Vasha had spondylitis of the spine and never did get to produce those smart little puppies after all. Yes, she had it figured out all right, she was going to be THE ‘One and Only’ Vasha!!