The spotlight shines on a special senior, who is one of the oldest dogs running in League, if not the oldest! Winner is a 14-year-old Chinese Crested who still puts in great runs as a Veteran on his League team at Bayshore Companion Dog Club in New Jersey. His handler, Paul Mount, is an AKC Agility Judge, along with his wife Carol Mount, and they support Bayshore teams as coaches, judges & mentors. Paul says agility has helped keep Winner young, and he plans to keep going as long as Winner enjoys it!
Call Name: Winner
Breed: Chinese Crested (Powderpuff)
Age: 14 (b. 3/29/2010)
Registered name: MACH4 PACH Delende Koridawn The Winning Smile MXS2 PAD MJG2 MXP3 MXPB MJP4 MJPB PAX OF T2B
Handler: Paul Mount
City/State: Matawan NJ
League Team name & division: Bayshore Wave Riders, Regulation Senior
How did you decide to add Cresteds to your household and what about the breed appeals to you?
Winner is the fourth agility Crested in our household, and my second (after hairless Frannie, who in 2003 was the second ever MACH Chinese Crested). What appeals most to me is that Chinese Cresteds have a great desire to please, and I really wanted a powderpuff.
At what age did Winner start competing in agility? What has he been like to train and compete with?
He started basic training almost immediately with most classes at Jersey Agility (JAG) outdoor fields, and by age 2 had competed in AKC Novice. He has been wonderful to train, very motivated by praise, cheering, and cheese, and I offer plenty of each.
To what do you credit his longevity in the sport – and just in life? Anything you do differently now to keep him in shape?
He has been getting a joint supplement for many years and taking a class and trialing year-round that kept him in shape. (He did have a year-plus off, due to an injury which somewhat coincided with COVID, after which I dropped him to 8” Preferred as he’d just completed MACH4 when the troubles began. Perhaps those months off somehow added to his longevity as he came back to earn PACH in March 2023). Happily, League came to Bayshore about that time, and while he started in Senior 8”, the ability to move to 4” Veterans has been a huge help to keep him active!
Did he compete in other sports during his career?
He has not, although other dogs in the family competed in flyball and other sports, but I chose to concentrate on agility with the goal of Invitationals with him. (As it turned out, he was never highly enough ranked to make AGI but I went four times with Zuri, a Carol-trained Basenji; I ran both dogs many, many years together and even got Premier Standard titles on both).
What does Winner like to do in his time off?
He likes to go along on errands with me because there might be food or a nice walk involved! Otherwise, at home, the best word for it would be “lounging” – curling up in a bed close to me while I work.
What do you like best about being part of a League team?
The camaraderie and being able to help the newer exhibitors. Many participants are running their Novice A dog while I’ve been doing agility since 1998. We have several teams at Bayshore and lots of Freshmen (including our young dog – Belgian Tervuren, Palooza), and it’s great to be able to give handling advice to the teammates and see both immediate results and week-to-week improvements, as well as serve as judge and advise as new people take on course building.
Anything else you want to add?
I realize the day may soon come where he no longer earns a “Clean Sweep” but
as long as he continues to look like he enjoys running, isn’t knocking bars,
and my teammates still report that he looks happy out there with me, we will continue competing in League and supporting the trials of clubs we belong to.
Having earned the MACH4/PACH, he really owes me nothing, and I just need to give him the chance to continue playing as long as he enjoys it.
And when full retirement does come, I will savor every day I have with him at home.