Frankfort trainer and her Great Dane invited to national competition
July 16, 2012 2:26PM
Local dog trainer Sandy Heimberg and her Great Dane Von Scheer's Amazin Raisin CD is ranked No. 2 in the country and has been invited to compete for the Obedience Invitational Novice Championship in October in Topeka, Kan. | Submitted photo
Updated: August 18, 2012 6:02AM
FRANKFORT — A local dog trainer with a love for her dogs received a surprise invitation in the mail recently informing her that her Great Dane, Von Scheer’s Amazin Raisin CD, is ranked second in the country among Novice Obedience Great Danes.
Sandy Heimberg is the co-owner/instructor of Superdog Obedience Training School for dogs. Her training classes are held through the Frankfort Square Park District.
She has been working and training her own dogs for 15 years and has previously taught classes through the Stone City Kennel Club. This is the first year she has had her own business.
Her 2-year old, 104-pound Great Dane, “Raisin,” as she calls her, has been invited to compete for the Obedience Invitational Novice Championship at the 2012 Great Dane Club of America National contest in October in Topeka, Kan.
“I love dogs, they are my life, an extension of my heart,” said Heimberg. “I really like teaching dogs new things, to use the creative part of their minds. I teach classes to show other dog lovers how to enjoy and challenge their dogs mentally and so their four legged friends can be better pets and a bigger part of the family.”
Raisin will compete for the National Novice Obedience Title against the Top 10 Obedience Great Danes in the country. She currently is ranked second by the Great Dane Club of America.
Rules of competition
Obedience competitions are based on 200 points. Each dog starts with the total 200 and then during the different categories of obedience competition, points are taken off for mistakes. Heimberg has shown Raisin seven times. Raisin has earned an average of 194.5 points during the competitions.
“Great Danes are a difficult breed to motivate and maneuver their bodies because they are so big. Raisin is the biggest lap dog I’ve ever had. She has an incredibly sweet temperament and works really hard,” noted Heimberg.
Raisin is Heimberg’s fourth dog she has competed with. The other three are golden retrievers: Shadow, Dream and Promise.
“Promise is my third golden. She has so much personality and desire to please … she makes me laugh every time we train. She represents our personal best team effort achieving our highest score of 198.5. She also represented us being one of the Top 50 UKC Novice Dogs in 2009,” Heimberg added.
Positive reinforcement
Heimberg instructs classes in puppy kindergarten, beginner obedience and advanced beginner obedience at the Superdog Obedience Training School through the Frankfort Square Park District. All classes are group instruction and are based on positive reinforcement training.
Heimberg is employed by the Lincoln-Way High School District as a financial secretary.
“Raisin and I are going the distance in October. She has the ‘eye of the tiger’ in her. I call her my little bumblebee, she is cute like a bumblebee, but watch out, she can sting you. She is very competitive,” added Heimberg.
For information on classes, call 708-955-7942 or contact superdogobedience.sandy@comcast.net.
