The ‘It Factor’

The ‘it factor’ is unspoken but searched for by all humans.

Whether it be – looking for a divorce attorney, best friend, work boss, spouse, grocery store check out line, and yes, even a dog.

It’s nearly impossible to put into words but I’ll try in terms of the performance dog ‘it factor.’

First and foremost, one full of playfulness. Everything is a natural game – tug is fun, going outside is fun, jumping in the truck to travel is fun, even counter surfing is fun. A dog who is laid back enough to have fun. Moo deemed anything with Madi and I to be fun. She was always seeking out a new game – new source of fun!

Biddable – wanting to please without much enticement. Don’t get me wrong Moo would work for food when asked but she preferred to be touched as her reward. And talked to. It was as if her eyes were writing the most thrilling chapter of her book when I pet her and told her she was beautiful.

Focused – has the ability to learn the leader, hone in, and complete the task at hand. Can be quickly taught that no distraction is worthy of leaving the leader behind. Love a crowd but knows when to interact with it and when not to.

Takes learning as a welcomed challenge – wants to work, wants to be challenged, isn’t quite satisfied with ‘half assing it.’ In other words, a dog equal to me.

Madi struggles with the playfulness trait – just like her Mom. We’re serious – we strive for perfection. And the play waits until the end of the day to show and it’s rarely if ever shown in front of others. It takes a lot of human work to get Madi to want to play. She’ll play tug at the drop of a hat and she’ll play fetch for hours at the park. She’ll run with pure furry of relaxation and confidence on a 10 mile off leash run in the woods. But to show off her confidence, relaxation, and speed in front of others – no way. Much like me – growing up the farm was my woods. It’s where I could be me without eyes on me.

Moo was playful to the T. Naturally playful. Natural show off in a crowd while staying focused on me and the obstacles at hand. I NEVER worked to create this trait in Moo.

She was biddable. She was focused. She loved to be challenged.

She had the ‘It Factor!’ She was adopted in December 2016 and I had her in the NADAC agility ring in January 2017 – she shined in the ring. That was her home. That was her woods – the place she was naturally herself. She was fun, relaxed, confident, and most importantly she was her whole self.

She taught me what that agility ring was supposed to be like – 30 seconds of pure fun playing with one of my biggest treasures.

Impact on Madi – she had her most successful agility year in 2017 because Moo pushed her to enjoy it. Or maybe it was pure competition between sisters that lit the fire.