First UD Siberian Huksy in Wisconsin

I like to muse that I was a reluctant dog trainer. When I got Tess, a four-month old pet shop husky, I adored her. The affection for Tess was short lived. In fact, I soon hated her and her appalling behavior. My wise neighbor, Barb Maxwell, saved the day though, She did an intervention. Barb convinced me to train Tess and drove us to obedience school twice a week.

One of Tess's many aggravating traits was that she ran away. Husky people told me the breed genetically predisposed to 'off leash deafness.' Despite this, I continued training and when I was sixteen Tess became the first husky in Wisconsin to earn a Utility Dog title. Tess also won some Highest Scoring Dog in Trial awards and got her Canadian UD in three trials.

But the biggest thrill came years before when Tess started to listen, almost 100% reliably, off leash and I learned an important lesson. Pay attention to people who are successful and ignore people who confidently spread falsehoods such as "Huskies don't listen off leash."

Tess proved to be a splendid dog and lived to the age of 12. The adjacent photo is from 1975 as I struggle to keep five-month old Tess still for a split-second.