Hailing from Maryland’s Catoctin mountains, 15-and-a-half-year-old Cocker Spaniel “Chelsie” is the oldest dog competing in the first inaugural AKC RACH Invitational on December 12 and 13, as part of the AKC National Championship Week, presented by Royal Canin. Although some calculations would make her the equivalent of 83 in human years, Chelsie continues to get up every morning ready and eager to go to work.
According to owner, trainer, and teammate Mary Lindquist, Chelsie loves all parts of AKC Rally, including performing with her owner, showing off her skills, and especially her reward at the end of each run. “Her motto is ‘If there’s grilled chicken involved, I’m interested!'” says Lindquist.
A Dog With Her Own Ideas
Lindquist’s first Cocker Spaniel was an outstanding obedience dog, but not so strong in agility. When she got Chelsie, Lindquist planned on training her to compete in agility. But Chelsie had other ideas.
“We went to the breeder to look at black-and-tan pups. Chelsie, who is brown, was in an ex-pen vying for our attention,” Lindquist recalls. It turns out the breeder was holding her back for a performance home. That was all she had to say, and Chelsie went home with Lindquist and her husband.
As planned, Chelsie did train and show through utility in obedience, and she became an outstanding agility dog, earning her MACH (Master Agility Champion). At this point, competing in AKC Rally wasn’t on Lindquist’s mind. “I had always considered Rally to be something to do with young dogs before they could do agility or with old dogs at the end of their career,” she explains. But when Lindquist suffered a serious leg injury that prevented her from showing in agility for two years, they switched their focus to AKC Rally.
“Chelsie loved every aspect of AKC Rally and became an AKC Rally superstar, consistently turning out multiple perfect scores,” Lindquist recalls. “It was obvious she didn’t have the same love for obedience, so we dropped it and have continued in AKC Rally all these years.”
Persistence Brings Success
AKC Rally is a team sport where human and dog move through a course, side-by-side, and follow instructions to perform a series of skills. Lindquist says Chelsie was easy to train “because she loves doing things with me. When she finishes her run and I praise her, you can see her face light up like she’s thinking ‘I’m awesome, I did great, let’s go get some chicken!'”
One of the biggest challenges was training a dog for AKC Rally who was an agility dog first. “We lost more than a few points for over-exuberance on the jumps or taking the jump when we really needed to heel and go past it.”
However, Chelsie’s chill personality of quiet persistence has been a huge asset, especially when it comes to sharing a home with two younger brown Cocker Spaniels—5-year-old “Remy” and 16-month-old “Mya.” “She is the calming presence at my house,” laughs Lindquist, “looking at our other dogs with incredulity as they yap and spin in excitement as if to say, ‘Really?'”
Chelsie and Lindquist have earned awards in AKC Rally, agility, and obedience, accruing many titles that accompany Chelsie’s official name: MACH PACH4 RACH7 Mrl N Dfl Whatever It Takes CD RM21 RAE24 MXB MJS MXP11 MXPC MJP15 MJPS2 PAX4 OF T2B. Their most memorable accomplishment was finishing 13th at the 2020 AKC Rally National Championship in Orlando, Florida. That year Chelsie also won the Cocker Spaniel breed medallion.
Building an Amazing Bond Through AKC Rally
As a senior dog, Chelsie continues to run at the AKC master’s level in agility and usually competes in AKC Rally twice a month. “I think all dog sports help increase a dog’s confidence, and Rally has done that for Chelsie,” Lindquist says. “It’s also a lower impact way to maintain her conditioning, which is especially important as she gets older.”
Now that she’s getting older, Chelsie doesn’t hear as well as she used to and her mental acuity isn’t as sharp. “She’s no longer the perfect score machine she used to be, but that doesn’t make it any less fun to work with her. The challenge for me as a handler is to work more slowly and to match the level of cueing she needs to be successful,” Lindquist says. “We have an amazing bond because of dog sports and especially Rally. One reason I continue showing her is that we’re so in tune and such a close team that every run flows seamlessly.”
Is Chelsie’s retirement on the horizon? “I honestly hope Chelsie never retires,” says Lindquist. “I think the activity is good for her and maintains her in better health, both mentally and physically.” However, as Chelsea ages, they no longer do back-to-back or double-trial show days. “If the day comes when she can no longer compete, we will continue training, just for fun, as well as hiking, swimming, and traveling together.”
The AKC National Championship, presented by Royal Canin, is the dog world’s biggest event of the year! Learn more about conformation and follow your favorite breeds at dog shows throughout the year. They might be competing for the coveted Best in Show title in December!