Sophie is the uncollie. She is a Wire Fox Terrier. I inherited her when my sister-in-law passed away in the Summer of 1999. She wasn't housebroken, barked nonstop and tried to start fights with the collies. With a lot of work and patience she has turned into a model housepet and companion. She had a couple of run ins with the collies, but understands the size difference now. One thing about terriers is they are tenacious and don't understand a size difference.

I do agility with Sophie and at times that has been a challenge. I entered her in Novice Jumpers at the Agility Trial in Lubbock, Texas in October 2000. She earned two legs and two third places so I couldn't complain. She had only been to two other training facilities before the trial so she did quite well. I have yet to enter her in Standards. She was entered in her second trial in February 2001 in Denver. She earned her NAJ and first place, and had her first run at an OAJ leg. We have a contact problem so she will again only be entered in Jumpers. It also took forever to teach her to down. Terriers say "I just don't see the point so why should I do it." If I get stuck in a problem with her I just tell her I'm going to put her up and that usually changes the attitude. She's seems to really enjoy agility so it will only be a matter of time.

Another thing I have learned is if you want a Wire Fox Terrier to look like a Wire you have to strip them. It is a lot of work but they have a much nicer coat and don't lose their color. Sophie was almost all crème colored when I got her with no brown, black or white. I was totally surprised at what color she really was when I started stripping. A terrier isn't for everyone but I certainly enjoy her.

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