After eleven dogless years while I waited for my living situation to allow for a dog, my husband and I got our first vizsla. Bartok turned out to be dysplastic, hyperactive and excitable, and it's not an exaggeration to say that obedience training saved his life; we would not have been able to live with him without it. Bart and I managed to get a CD in eleven tries. He had an inventive streak that produced the Heel Very Free, the Twirl for Examination, the Long Sniff, and the Moving Sit Across the Width of the Ring (introduced in front of a very appreciative audience at the 1990 Vizsla Club of America National Events). Besides teaching me patience, Bart gave me another invaluable gift: the deep conviction that obedience should be full of fun and laughter. It was absolutely impossible to train Bart without laughing.

Meanwhile, we became active in the Twin Cities Vizsla Club and Vizsla Club of America. I got hooked on obedience, and Mike focused on hunting. And, naturally, we got another dog - sound, sensible Sophie, whose real passion was hunting birds but who humored me in my quest for a UD title. Our current dogs are Ginny (Sophie's daughter) who is working on Utility exercises, and Ranger (Ginny's son) who is currently in a holding pattern in Open.

All of our dogs hunt, and each has earned a Junior Hunter title. I also do the conformation thing sometimes, but I have a lot more fun in obedience and rally. I've tried flyball and skijoring, and one of these days I'm going to find time for agility. We occasionally have temporary "foster dogs" through Vizsla rescue, and each of these dogs has taught me something about dog behavior.

I'm active in the Twin Cities Vizsla Club, and Mike and I are members of Vizsla Club of America. For about five years I taught a Novice obedience class, and since then I've occasionally helped with run-throughs and puppy classes. I love reading almost to the point of addiction and have accumulated more books on dog training and behavior than I ever intended to buy. I earn my living working for a regional park district in the Twin Cities area.

Along the way, I've found that one of the best things about obedience is the comradeship among participants. There has always been encouragement and advice when I needed it (which has been often). There is lively discussion, and sometimes disagreement, but the atmosphere of support and friendliness is almost always there. This is a quality that I hope our sport will never lose.