Echuca's Anthony Lockett and his champion dog, Alan.
We all know some dogs are smarter than others.
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And it seems when Echuca’s Anthony Lockett picked out a cute little border collie puppy eight years ago and named him Alan, he had no idea just how smart he would become.
“I had the pick of the litter from a lady at Tongala and I picked Alan purely based on his markings. He didn’t even have his eyes open at the time,” Anthony said.
Visiting him weekly, Anthony knew when Alan came home training was a top priority, because he wanted an obedient dog who could walk off-lead and come back when he was called.
But Alan took to the training like a duck to water and in what Anthony described as “our greatest achievement ever”, Alan was recently crowned the Victorian State Obedience Champion for 2023.
The championships include a combination of obedience heeling patterns, recall exercises, dropping, sitting, standing, distance control, retrieving and an out-of-sight stay for three minutes.
After securing a first place win with a score of 194/200, Alan returned to the arena for the winner of winners event, where after a tense tie break, he was crowned champion.
“State obedience champion is not something you can just aim for because so many things have to go right on the day and luck needs to be on your side as well,” Anthony said.
“We are just so proud and I am so honoured to have Alan. The win came as a real shock.”
The strong bond between Anthony and Alan is obvious to anyone that sees them together — Alan always has his eyes on his owner and follows him everywhere.
“Alan means the world to me and he just wants to please me and because he is food-motivated training him over the years has been a real pleasure.”
His laidback temperament at big events also helps as he is not fazed by large crowds or flustered by outside distractions.
Alan has been so successful over the years he even has his own room in the house dedicated to all his wins, ribbons and trophies — which include Victorian Rally Dog of the year in 2021 — Royal Show wins and a third place at this year’s National Championships.
Anthony never had any real aspirations for Alan when he first decided to throw him into a competition back in 2018 and now the duo have travelled the country.
Alan has won competitions in every state except Western Australia (they haven’t been there).
“He is bit of a celebrity in the dog world now and he has such a beautiful nature everyone loves him.
“He is not boisterous, he is just a happy dog doing whatever I am doing.”
For all of his obedience training, Alan doesn’t like cats hissing at him and he does have a deep-rooted fear of suspension bridges that Anthony can’t seem to break.
“I took him to Tasmania and paid $30 to do a walk across one of those suspended bridges over a rain forest.
“The lady said to me ‘will your dog be okay’ and I just looked at her like of course he will — after a couple of steps he just sat down with a terrified look on his face and refused to move. He had walked about five metres.”
Alan is probably at his peak in obedience training now.
“The last thing we are aiming for is a NSW state championship and a win at the Royal Melbourne Show and that’s about it.
“After that I want to do some things with Alan that are relaxed, no pressure and fun like dog dancing.”
Alan was recently crowned the Victorian State Obedience Champion for 2023.
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