Titan
Star of the Show
I met Titan at the Shrewton & District Dog Training Club’s annual Dog Show. I heard him before I saw him – a loud, but hoarse, seal bark. Everyone was looking around saying, “What’s that noise. It sounds like a seal!”.
Titan
Titan was in the ring with his owner, Kerry, competing for Best Pedigree Veteran and barking his head off.
Kerry later explained, “We accidentally entered him for the Pedigree Veteran Class, thinking it was the Non-Pedigree. No one really made comment on the fact that he was obviously a crossbreed!” What a victory it would have been had he won!
Although Titan didn’t win anything in the Pedigree Class, he won 3rd in the Non-Pedigree Veteran. He seemed truly pleased with himself and gave out another of his seal barks as he left the ring.
Titan wins 3rd Place Non-Pedigree Veterans
Kerry laughs, “Titan was always a high energy dog with a loud bark which he liked the sound of. Sadly now his bark is a bit dampened and he sounds more like a sealion than a dog. (Mind you, he still seems to like the sound of it.)”
Titan is a 4th generation Doberman x GSD on his father's side. His mother was a 1st cross Doberman/GSD.
“We got Ti at about 7 weeks”, says Kerry. “At the time we had 3 other dogs but now, sadly, he is an only dog. He is nearly 13 years old and is a bit arthritic.”
To help him cope with the arthritis, he swims once a week at Stan Browning’s hydrotherapy pool in Shrewton. Kerry recalls, “In his younger days Titan trained for obedience at Andover Dog Training Club. He was quite successful, winning me out of beginners in about three shows, and then gaining a first, second and third in novice in the next six shows.”
“Having young children and having to take a second job brought a halt to our obedience career, but we still manage to attend the odd companion shows and pick up the odd rosette.”
Kerry continues, “His favourite hobbies in times past were running with the mountain bikes, chasing the frisbee and bouncing up and down and then pouncing on mice. Nowadays he just plods round the block but he has a couple of cats that he likes to bark at if he can.”
I’ll bet those cats take notice of his seal bark!
