Finnesse Rock You Like A Hurricane NS, RI, CGN, SGDC, ADC, ATD, CHIC
"Helix"
Date of birth: 2020-10-27
Betterbred: .70 OI, .14 IR, 1002/2001 & 1012/2003
Helix is a medium energy, medium drive dog with a brilliantly intelligent mind, an optimistic and happy personality, and a clownish sense of humour. A true medium-sized poodle standing just 19” tall, Helix is a solid, rustic, masculine fellow weighing a strapping 35lbs.
Helix is a fun-loving king of the head tilt, and you can often see the wheels turning as he tries to solve the mysteries of humankind.
He learns incredibly quickly (beware), and his favourite games involve problem solving in partnership with his person -- preferably with food and personal play as his payment.
Helix is titled in CKC Sprinter and Canine Good Neighbour, and happily earned his Advanced Tricks title with DMWYD. In the Agility Association of Canada (AAC), he earned six qualifying scores in Jumper, Gamble and Snooker to achieve his Games title, and four qualifying scores in Standard to earn his Agility Dog of Canada title. Helix prefers rally, scent and tricks activities to agility, so we have since completed his CKC Rally Intermediate and plan to explore CARO and dip our toes into scentwork.
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Thanks to a slow, low-pressure approach to water, Helix is an excellent swimmer with steady entries. He particularly enjoys swimming with his favourite people!
Health: Helix is the most supple and flexible dog I own and yet his hips are incredibly tight and healthy. His outstanding genetic diversity means he is unrelated to the vast majority of standard poodles, and reduces his risk of developing (or producing puppies who develop) autoimmune disease.
Helix is an enthusiastic eater who has no food sensitivities and has never reacted to a vaccine or any flea/tick medication. He has routinely received vaccinations for rabies and leptospirosis, and has tolerated Simparica without issue.
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More about Helix
Structure & Type: Helix was blessed with outstanding functional structure, gorgeous carriage and movement, and a wonderfully dense, harsh coat. He has a long neck, excellent shoulder layback, and an unusually deep, full chest paired with a beautifully tucked up waist.
Even though he has a lot of bone, he is a very handsome dog who moves cleanly, with elegance and grace. His front angulation is matched by his beautiful rear, and his stride is long, powerful and ground-covering. He has good feet and the most beautiful, straight, thick tail, which he carries at 12 o’clock.
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He is somewhat courser than I prefer with a somewhat short muzzle, shorter-than-ideal leg length, more loin than ideal (in a poodle) and less underjaw than ideal.
Temperament: Helix can be pushy, and presents as rather brash, outgoing and sometimes rude. He is environmentally brave, curious and stable, and embraces unstable surfaces like teeters (in fact, contacts were his favourite part of agility).
Despite this, he is at heart a sensitive and even slightly reserved dog. We’ve gotten great results through a gentle and low-pressure approach to training and handling.
Helix is deeply gratified by strong relationships with his humans, which tend to be somewhat selective and very deep. He is friendly with relaxed children and strangers. He responds to pressure in social situations or training by seeking space. In contrast, he is enthusiastically dog-social and does not discriminate between sexes or hormonal status.
Overall, Helix is a quiet dog who barks quite rarely. He crates quietly, travels happily, and is unbothered by sirens, engines, barking, loud speakers, thunder, etc. Although he hates being “left out” of any fun (often yelling for a few seconds when left behind), he settles quickly. And while he doesn't enjoy being "dressed," he tolerates wearing clothing and harnesses, and happily hops up on the grooming table for nail grinding.
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Helix has excellent agility skills, however his very favourite pursuits are problem-solving games (like trick training and nosework), rally obedience and hiking. While he gets bored with fast reps in an agility context, I’ve marveled at his ability to drill seemingly endless reps in our trick-training and rally obedience.
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More than anything, Helix values working in close partnership with his person. The key to his heart is to invest time and attention in building a relationship through play and shared games. He enjoys chasing toys and will tug occasionally. He’s most delighted to work for food, personal play and praise.
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