Kai is my second Aussie. By chance I came across a photo of him when he was nearly 6 weeks old. I wasn’t planning to get another dog at all. Juno had just turned a year old, and that first year had been an incredible challenge. But I saw this boy, and I instantly fell in love with him. Really, I was head over heels – I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat! I needed to have this little boy in my life! I’m definitely not one for buying on impulse, but I never regretted acting on my intuition here.

You wouldn’t think it now, but Kai was born with white tips in his coat, giving his coat a grey look. It might have looked like he was a diluted black (which he isn’t!), except the skin on his nose and eye lids wasn’t grey, which is necessary for it to be dilute. Also the fur on his head has been pitch black since the start. This phenomenon is called "fever coat". To be fair, I loved his silver look, although I knew it was unlikely to stay that way. And indeed, his fur continued to darken as the weeks passed, and by six months he had fully traded his silver puppy jacket for a beautiful pitch black coat.

Kaaiman Lawaaiman, my whimsical biggest friend

Kai, or Kaaiman (cayman, alligator) as we affectionately call him, has been an absolute pleasure to live with ever since we welcomed him into our home.
Kai has always been a clown. He's always had this joyful, not too serious approach to life, which actually gained him his nickname of Whimsy as everything this dog does is whimsical! I swear it's his mission to put a smile on your face every single day. And he does that – gladly, and loudly!

Kai is by far the most vocal dog I've ever owned. It earned him the nickname Kaaiman Lawaaiman – where lawaai means noise, racket. Basically, he's a noisy man! This dog talks all day!

My introduction to dog sports

Kai was my second Aussie but in so many other ways he was my first.

You know, back when I got Juno, and then shortly after Kai, I never actually considered doing agility with them. I couldn’t really comprehend how it could be interesting or fun to let your dog take a couple of jumps 😅

But hey, I enjoy doing “stuff” with my dogs, so when my dear friend Danielle asked me if I wanted to come along to a pre-agility class she was interested in joining, I thought why not. This was back in 2013, Kai was already 2.5 years old.
I wasn’t sure if I should start with Juno or Kai. I was thinking Juno because she had a more athletic build and was more (toy) driven in general. I did a couple of the pre-agility classes alternating the two. My instructor at the time, Renee, actually saw more potential in Kai. So I continued with Kai (Juno following soon after in a separate class ).

Starting agility with Kai is possibly one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. He’s introduced me to the world of dog sports, working dogs, trialing, and with that so, so many dear new friends. Life would not be what it is today if it hadn't been for Kai.

Not sensational, but happy to be along for the ride

I say this with a smile on my face and in no way do I mean to talk down my biggest friend, but Kai really wasn’t particularly talented as an agility dog. But as the name of the book by Ryan Holiday goes, the Obstacle is the Way.

And man did we have our obstacles:

• focus for the game in trials – so many potential friends to greet!
• too much handler focus, little to no obstacle focus so distance handling was a challenge
• inconsistency in contact zone performance
• knocking bars

To name a few.

Some dogs save their handlers. Kai did not. Ever. He was relentless. One wrong action from me and he’d let me know instantly.

But… It made me grow as a handler. I had to be perfect for him to be perfect. Of course, often I was not. But despite my flaws he continued to show so much joy and enthusiasm for the game, for playing WITH me. With ME. He allowed me to learn. I felt so blessed with his drive and trainability, allowing me to work through our obstacles together.

I wrote this when he got his first Agility Trial Championship title:

His focus problems have been long gone.
He has a healthy balance of handler/obstacle focus now.
He is rock solid on the dog walk contact (I still can’t quite believe it myself)
He… still knocks the occasional bar. But his jump form has improved so much! He ran 3 of 4 jumpers clear this weekend and the ASCA weekend before that as well. I remember the struggle of getting his title in jumpers because there was always that one (or more) bar…

Sure, he wasn't the fastest dog on the planet. But despite his.. well.. tank build, he continued to have very decent speed until the age of 11.5 years, when I decided it was time to retire him. Not because he was getting slow or weak but because I would never forgive myself if we finished his career with an injury when this dog had never had an injury in his entire agility career.

At now 13 years of age, he is still in great health and very fit and mobile.

I hope he continues to bring us joy and lots of noise for many more years. Love you Kaaiman, my biggest friend! WOOF!