Meet the Dam

IWC CH Apsara’s Be the Leaf of Tova “Poki”, CL1, CL2, CL3, AS1, AG1, SRO, RON, VT

AKA: Poki Pi, Pi, Pi Pie, Twerp, Poki Le Pew
100% Windsprite

(Click her photo to view Poki’s photo gallery)

DOB: March 13, 2021
Height at Shoulders: 18”
Weight: 23lbs / 10.4kg

OFA Eyes: Normal
OFA Cardiac Echo: Normal
Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA): N/M (carrier, unaffected)
Multiple Drug Resistance (MDR1): N/N (clear)

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View Poki’s Pedigree
Additional Media

Handler Focus: High; Poki is very in-tune with her human and ready to respond to cues in any environment. Her intense focus has made performance sports very fun, she’s worked her heart out for me in any venue I’ve brought her to. Distance was the most difficult aspect for her in agility, because she has such focus on her handler - she doesn’t want to go on without me. Unfortunately for her, I will never be as fast as she is. She has accepted this, and will now work at a reasonable distance. Her focus does come in handy on hikes, as she always keeps to where I can see her.
She is also very emotionally in-tune and is one of the first to notice when I need a hug or a toy. She also interrupts my focus on anything that’s making me frustrated that I need to walk away from, but cannot break focus on my own. These behaviors were not taught - she offers them naturally on her own.
Handling Sensitivity: Low; Poki lets me do whatever procedure needs done. Nails, baths, eye drops, tooth brushing, no issue. She’s usually the first to volunteer to jump onto the grooming table when I bring it out.
While she does tolerate her veterinary exams without a fight or any flight attempts, she makes it clear she would rather not be at the vet by looking as absolutely pathetic as possible. A heartbreaking strategy.
Sound Sensitivity: Low; She might notice that there was a sound, but she recovers quickly. If there is a loud noise at home, she may go investigate, but not in a fearful way. More in curiosity to see what the loud sound was. For example, if I were to drop a pan in the kitchen and she were in the living area, she would probably get up to see what the ruckus was, but will go back to what she was doing afterwards.
In public, she may turn and look in the direction of the noise, but she looks right back to me as if to say “well that was weird, ANYWAYS where were we?”. She is not bothered by thunderstorms or fireworks and will often join us on the back deck when we go out to watch fireworks. Her littermates share the same opinion on sounds. Her dam, Aura, will go and rest in my laundry hamper during fireworks or a severe thunderstorm.
Startle Response: Low; as I said about, she recovers very well from a startle. Whether caused by noise or by another stimulus. For example, on a recent walk someone had a giant inflatable reindeer in their yard that was blocked by a bush, so we couldn’t see it until it was right there. She noticed out of the corner of her eye, took a big step back towards me while looking at the giant inflated reindeer and then realized it was a decoration and moved on. For science, we walked by it again the following day and she was unbothered.
Environmental Sensitivity: Low; When working in newer and exciting environments, Poki is likely to “stress up”. Meaning, when working she throws herself at things a little harder, is more excitable, and is more prone to frustration.
Prey Drive: Moderate-High; Poki will notice small animals (squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks) while out on walks and hikes, but it is easy to ask her to leave it alone and move on and/or call her off of chasing. Occasionally, she struggles to break her visual focus on a critter - usually the very brave squirrels who do not leave at the sight of an incoming dog, but she does not lose her brain about it.
However, as a teenager this was one of her struggles. You can read more about Poki’s teenage twerp behaviors by clicking here.
Food Drive: High; She’ll happily work for kibble. I’m certain she would work for invisible snacks, but I haven’t the heart to find out.
Toy Drive: High; Poki loves to work for her chuck-it, a tug, frisbee, or the flirt pole.
Confinement Distress: Low - Poki does experience FOMO when it is not her turn and she can see me working another dog. This comes in the form of whiny protest. She can now crate quietly in the crating room at trials while I walk a course, but we did need to work on this.
When put behind a barrier at home may “boof” once to let me know I’ve forgotten her, but she quiets and settles upon realizing she’s been left on purpose.
Poki does not have any issues with being left at home.
Sociability with Dogs: Moderate - Poki enjoys meeting other dogs and will often sniff in their direction when we pass by on walks. She’s very appropriate in social interactions with dogs and doesn’t come on too strongly. She may shy away from larger dogs who are very forward - but she has been run over in the past. (oops!) She adores all puppies, has very high tolerance for puppy nonsense, and has never been one to reach for conflict.
Sociability with People: Neutral; Like most sighthounds, Poki doesn’t mind that people exist and is happy to navigate places full of people. To her they are like trees - just another part of any environment. When strangers reach for her out in public, she will sometimes entertain them by allowing them to touch her, but she is more likely duck/dodge or otherwise move to avoid being patted. Not in a “Run Away!” way, but in a “Gross where have your hands been” way. If I ask her to stay still to get pets, she will. And once she’s met you you’ll receive greetings full of hugs and wiggles. She’ll also worm her way into your lap for a cuddle once she gets to know you.
Sociability with Children: Neutral-Low; As with people, she doesn’t mind at all that they are there, but will dodge attempts at petting unless asked to stay stationary. Once they’re no longer strangers she’s ready for pets and playtime.
When we’re out in public spaces Poki will give young children she doesn’t know who are bouncing about/very active a slightly wider bubble. She has learned through her kiddo and his friends that children can be unpredictable and may reach for you unexpectedly. She compensates for this by simply giving herself a little more space.
Poki adores Her kiddo, and other kids she’s gotten the chance to know them. When our son has friends over, she will check them out when everyone is stationary, but she is easily excitable when running ensues (even with me!). Because of this, we do not allow her to free-roam when Dexter has friends over as most children don’t enjoy being chased by a dog as our son does. Admittedly, we could likely easily train her to leave running children alone, but our son LOVES to run around with her both inside and in the yard so any attempts at convincing her it isn’t the best idea will likely be overridden as our son’s idea is the opposite.
Overall Health: Poki herself does not have any health issues or concerns. As a young puppy at her 6 week old health exam, she did have a luxating patella, however this is not uncommon for young puppies as they have stretchy tendons and she outgrew it by the time she went in for her rabies vaccination around 16 weeks.
Poki does have a littermate with seasonal allergies, and another with a sensitive stomach.

Additional Info: Poki is the surprise puppy from our first litter. When the litter was about 5 weeks old, it became clear that Poki was absolutely smitten with our son, Dexter, who at the time was 5 years old and so badly wanted a doggie of his own. When placements were made, we decided to keep her…and we’re so very glad that we did. She is an absolute goof ball who makes us laugh everyday. Poki’s favorite activities include whatever we’re doing and whatever we’re doing - as long as it isn’t swimming. :) She loves learning tricks, playing agility, chasing trash (lure coursing), hiking (off or on leash), practicing rally obedience, and whatever silly ideas I have cooking up for what we’re doing today. She’s always ready to work, go for an adventure, or just lounge around for the day - though she may request a piece of recycling or two to tear to bits.

Poki qualified for CPE Agility nationals the year she debuted in the sport, Placed in the top 5% at her first competitive racing event, and continues to blow me away with her drive and desire to Do The Thing. She loves to work, but she loves even more to work with her person. We started dabbling in freestyle heelwork, and she catches on so quickly to cues that revolve around handler movements. This is also where she shines in Agility. Learning the equipment she was absolutely fearless, and in fact enjoyed her fair share of A-Frame launches looking for that adrenaline rush I think.

Overall, Poki is such a fun little dog. She wakes me up every morning with silly wiggly shenanigans, and falls asleep every night in our son’s bed atop a mountain of stuffed animals.