One weekend. Forty-one trainers with forty-two dogs.  Thirty-two German Shepherd Dogs, seven Belgian Malinois, two mixed breeds, and one Doberman. This is the 2013 Working Dog Championship, hosted by Iowa Hundesport Club in Winterset, Iowa.

                                                             Placer County Competitors

Wendy with Eiko at the 2012 AWDF Championship

Of these forty-one dog trainers and their dogs, only one hails from the Northwestern Region of the United Schutzhund Clubs of America. Better yet, this sole representative of the Northwestern Region comes from Placer County Schutzhund Club, our local dog training club. This would be Wendy and her Doberman Eiko vom Langraf IPO3.

We would like to wish Wendy and Eiko the best of luck as they head to the Working Dog Championship this weekend! They have both worked very hard to reach this level of competition, and together they make an excellent team!

Seasoned Competitors

As a seasoned dog trainer, Wendy is no stranger to the high levels of the sport, having taken multiple dogs to the national level and competing internationally in the FMBB IPO Championship with her Malinois L’Jersey Loups du Soleil. Wendy has been with Placer County Schutzhund Club from the beginning–over 15 years ago–back when it met in John Riboni’s backyard.

Wendy and Eiko have accomplished much together, competing not only in Regional Dog Championships but also at the 2012 AWDF IPO Championship and the 2012 IPO3 DPCA Fall Classic, taking home 9th place and 1st place respectively. At only four years of age, Eiko has successfully competed at national levels, and has also taken home multiple High Protection and High in Trial awards from his different trials. When this team competes, they display crisp and harmonious obedience, powerful protection, and very focused tracking — always with excellent handling from Wendy and fantastic focus and enthusiasm from Eiko.

Best of luck to Wendy and Eiko this weekend! May your obedience be precise, your protection powerful with great control, and your tracking accurate and focused!

Follow their progress at the WDC through the WDC webpage! Draw night is Thursday night, with competition beginning on Friday and running through Sunday. Good luck, everyone (but especially our PCSC representatives, Wendy and Eiko!)!