Magic Monty
vom Erkelenzer Land

My one and only

Fabio was my first and eagerly awaited dog. After due consideration Udo and I opted to get a Sheltie and fortunately we decided to buy just this – at that time just a few weeks old – bundle of fur.

Because of his confident nature Fabio was beyond doubt the boss of our four-legged pack although a really tolerant one. But if he set value on something a short look was enough for the rest of the pack to comply (even Fiamma!).

In daily life Fabio was a calm, even-tempered, self-confident companion, he was open-minded about strangers and you could not disconcert him easily. While working – whether he was exercising Agility, Heelwork to Music or even more Competitive Obedience – he turned into a tireless “powerdog” with an unfailing “will to please”. Furthermore he had proved himself as a visiting dog to homes for the eldery and kindergartens.
Fabio´s untiring enthusiasm to work brought me to do dog sports. We started with Agility, which he had exercised with a lot of fun up to some years ago, if we found time to practise it once in a while. When he was three years old we first dared Competitive Obedience. At a moment´s notice we were gripped and it did not let us go up to now. In only two years we managed to get into highest FCI class (class III), in which we worked quite successful owing to the assistance of numerous German and foreign trainers. Since 2011 we also practise English Obedience according to the rules of the Kennel Club. Fabio was one of the four dogs that represented Germany in the Obedience World Cup at Crufts in 2012 and 2013.

In March 2012 Fabio won the VDH German Championships in Obedience, too.

After defending his previous year’s title at the Dutch-German Nations Cup in July 2013 Fabio retired from FCI-Obedience competitions. We enjoyed some really wonderful and very successful years together! But it did not get boring for Fabio, that’s for sure. Until his twelfth birthday, he took part in competitions in English obedience and since then he was undergoing his regular training programme daily.

In 2009 Fabio´s breeder persuaded me to show him in the exhibition ring, as well, and the results proved her right.

There are no words that can describe the relationship between Fabio and me. We did not need words anyway to understand each other. However much dogs will accompany my life, he will be second to none.

We are forever grateful to Angela and Martin Immeln for entrusting us this wonderful dog.