CH Kizmar 5280 Someone's Halo Slipped JH OA OAJ OF BCAT ACT1 ACT2J SWM SCME SHDM RATN CGC TKA SSB NW1
NAVHDA Natural Ability Prize 1 (Perfect Score)
Specialty Select Bitch & Award of Merit Winning
Cheeky was our keeper from our Halo x Kai litter, the Baby Halos. Cheeky (fka Farrah) was born second, came out screaming that she wasn't first and stayed feisty! In the litter she was a pretty pushy puppy. Loved to tug, loved to train. She scored very high at the temperament test, which solidified what we had seen in our home, a bold puppy that was always going to need a job. Luckily, we have some plans for her to keep her busy!
Cheeky kicked off her performance career at a young 5 months of age when she completed the requirements for her Trick Dog Novice title. Cheeky had to complete 10 tricks twice to qualify! That was a lot for a puppy, but she did a fantastic job! Then, at the Vizsla Club of America National in West Bend, Wisconsin, Cheeky was able to complete the requirements for her Trick Dog Intermediate title! During the early days of the pandemic, Trick Dog went virtual, so we were able to submit the requirements for Cheeky's Trick Dog Advanced title! In 2023, we were at a huge cluster dog show and decided to go for Cheeky's Canine Good Citizen title -- she passed with flying colors at an insane venue. So proud of her!
At exactly 6 months of age, Cheeky stepped into the conformation ring and walked away with Winners Bitch for her first major. Her second major came just shy of one year with a Best of Opposite Sex win over a special under Eva Berg! She was shown selectively over the summer of 2019 only to judges who we knew would be awesome and kind with a puppy. She picked up 2 more major wins under Dana Cline (Best of Opposite over specials) and Breeder/Judge Alessandra Folz (Best of Breed over specials.) She finished her Championship on September 21 at Arapahoe Kennel Club. It was a fun and fast trip to her CH title. Before the pandemic started in 2020, we were able to show Cheeky twice. She picked up Best of Opposite and Select Bitch to earn 2 majors with Champions defeated and earned 8 points towards her Grand Champion title! After a long show ring hiatus, in August of 2023, Cheeky attended the Rocky Mountain Vizsla Club Specialty Show and took a Select Bitch nod for a 5 point GCH major. At the end of 2023 she picked up two more Select nods for two more points, leaving her with 15 points, all her majors, and all her champions defeated. This title isn't high on the priority list, but perhaps we will wrap it up in the future!
One thing I wanted to try with Cheeky that I've never tried before was NAVHDA. I was lucky to take Cheeky to a couple training days with the Rocky Mountain NAVHDA Chapter and worked on her bumper retrieves at the lake by our condo in Vail. In August of 2019, Cheeky took on her Natural Ability test and with 4 points, a beautiful track, and two swims under her belt, she walked away with a 112! That gave Cheeky a perfect score and a Prize 1!
After her great performance in NAVHDA, I knew Cheeky was ready to try her hand at AKC Hunting Tests. At the Vizsla Club of Colorado test in early October 2019, she picked up 3 junior legs with me handling! It was the first time I had ever handled any of our dogs in a hunt test. Cheeky garnered herself scores that were all 8+ too! Then a couple weeks later, Marc took Cheeky out to the Rocky Mountain Vizsla Club test and picked up leg #4, making her a Junior Hunter!
In the beginning of 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic hit the US. One of the first dog sports to open up was Barn Hunt. Cheeky debuted in May and picked up 2 legs including a High in Novice win. She wrapped up her title in July 2020 with her final Novice leg and also scored her first Open leg!
Cheeky's agility career started by testing for the Agility Course Test -- a new program created since we started Karma. In early 2020, Cheeky was able to pick up her ACT 1 title, which signifies that she could sequence several obstacles. Later that summer at Vizsla Nationals, Cheeky picked up 2 Novice Fast legs. She managed to pass two ACT JWW level 2 tests the day before she earned her 3rd Novice FAST leg, giving her a NF after her name. We also dabbled in UKI agility where Cheeky WON the 20" consolation Speedstakes in October of 2021, earning enough points for her SSB, or Beginner Speedstakes title. To finish up 2021, she also picked up her Open FAST title and her Novice Jumpers and Standard titles before taking a break to have puppies. Post puppies, Cheeky got her brain back and finished her OA and OAJ titles in October of 2023.
Where I really saw Cheeky shine was in Scent Work. It was going to be offered at the Vizsla Club of America National Events held in Estes Park Colorado in August of 2020. With that date in mind, I started training Cheeky to try and earn those titles at the National. Her first dry run was a couple weeks prior to the National. At this event, Cheeky went 10 for 10 to earn two legs in all elements (including handler discrimination) and she went High In Trial and High Combined both days. At the National, Cheeky again went 5 for 5 to finish all Novice element titles with a perfect record and capped her day with High in Trial Vizsla, High in Trial All Breed, and High Combined! She repeated her performance as a move up to Advanced, again going 5 for 5, HIT Vizsla & All Breed, and High Combined. It was a National to remember! By March 2021, Cheeky had earned her overall Scent Work Advanced title and was well on her way to Excellent which she completed in August of 2021. By October 2021 she had her overall Master title!! She also started working on her Detective title in September 2021 and had with the rare opportunities to test had 2 legs before a forced hiatus to have puppies. Another organization, NACSW, allows bitches in season to compete, and so even though she was fresh off a season, Cheeky was able to certify and earn her ORT (odor recognition test) in January 2022. With that certification out of the way, Cheeky headed to her first Nosework 1 trial on February 26th, and she ROCKED it. She received pronounced honors in Interior and Vehicle. She was 2nd place overall in the Vehicle search and 1st place overall in Exterior. She qualified in all four elements to earn her Nose Work 1 Title and out of the 37 dogs competing, she was high in trial for an Overall 1st Place NW1. What a way to head into maternity leave (and hopefully she imprinted on those babies!!). In 2023 we finally had a chance to dive back into Scent Work and Cheeky finished her Container Elite title and finished the year with 5 Detective legs -- halfway to that awesome title!
Like Scent Work, Cheeky debuted in Rally at the Colorado Vizsla National. She picked up her first RN leg in definite style!
In the Fall of 2020, in an effort to get Cheeky some exercise, we entered her in a FastCAT trial (100 yard dash.) She took to the sport immediately and picked up 92.45 points in her first 4 runs. The opportunity to try it again didn't present until Spring of 2021, when she was able to pick up another 46.6 points, just lacking a few to finish her BCAT title! In September of 2022, her daughter Boujee was showing in Beginner Puppy and they happened to have FastCAT onsite. With 30 mins before ring time, we ran over and Cheeky completed the last leg needed to earn her BCAT title!
Stay tuned, and for more updates on Cheeky, check out her tag on our blog.