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Joyo is owned and loved by Sara McAulay, and lives in Oakland, California.
Joyo the Boyo, or sometimes Joyo-Destroyo, is one of the Bad Bella
Babies, a little too smart for his own good sometimes, a charmer with
a roguish twinkle in his eye. He loves to work and he loves to learn,
and has yet to find an activity that isn’t his absolute favorite —
at least at that particular moment! Learning tricks, hiking in the
hills, swimming at Point Isabel, playing “bitey-face” with his Uncle
Miko or a rousing game of chase through the house with his pal the
cat … He wakes up in the morning and greets me with “Look what I found!
It’s a day! Let’s DO something!”
For all his mischief and over-the-top energy, he was unusually focused
and biddable as a puppy, and remains so today. His main intended “job”
is agility, and he has all the tools: speed, drive, athleticism and
heart. Oh, and love of the game! He started fun matches and Level
1 CPE trials @ 15 months and has progressed rapidly, with some Novice
titles already. Ongoing, he will compete in ASCA, AKC and USDAA.
For the past 9 months or so he has been learning K-9 Nose Work, and
recently passed his Odor Recognition Tests in Birch, Anise and Clove.
He has worked sheep in the round pen maybe half a dozen times. He
showed excellent instincts, with a nice wide circle. He knew almost
at once what the job was, and set about doing it in a surprisingly
deliberate way, keeping the stock calm. I wish there were a way for
him to “go herding” frequently enough to make real progress, but more
likely it will be a once-a-month treat.
He even tried Lure-Coursing once. Loved it, naturally. But quickly
discovered that if he jumped the fence and ran across the field he
could head the fake rabbit and maybe herd it back the way it had come!
This didn’t endear him to the person responsible for operating the
lure, but everyone else thought it was hilarious, including Joyo.
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