WalterWalter was born on October 15, 2001, the 100th anniversary of the birthday of Walt Disney. Kristin Kleeman of Derby Swissies had indicated to us that this was her “W” litter so the registered names of the puppies had to begin with “W.” Hence, Walter started life as Derby’s Whistle While You Work from the Walt Disney film, Snow White.
It’s hard to say that Walter was the cutest puppy Dori had laid eyes on because all Swissy puppies are absolutely adorable. But, there was something about Walter that made Dori want to squish and hug him all the time. 
He was and still is the sweetest male Swissy we’ve ever known.
Despite Walt having a congenitally deformed toe on his right rear paw, Dori started to show him in conformation. “The Toe,” as it came to be called, did not upset Walter’s balance at all. He walked, gaited, and ran quite normally. It was the bilateral OCD of the shoulders that derailed Walter from the conformation ring. Following surgery and 9 weeks of recuperation, at 15 months of age, Walt was ready to start obedience classes.
Walt proved a very fun dog to train because he has a lot of enthusiasm and is always up for the game – whatever that game is.
Walt is a very outgoing and has never met a human, dog or cat that he doesn’t think is his best friend. However, Walt has a tendency to be hesitant around inanimate objects with which he is not familiar. Therefore, introducing him to drafting apparatus was not an overnight slam dunk. It took about 3 months, working several times a week, to train Walt to be confident backing up while hitched to the cart. Once Walt became comfortable, his self-confidence never left him and he became one of the best and most reliable draft dogs we’ve had the pleasure of knowing. He earned 5 Draft Dog legs for his Master Draft Dog title, as well as his Brace Draft Dog title.
In obedience, Walter loves heeling and recalls. He had no problem with the Stand for Exam exercise. Therefore, earning his CD title with decent scores was not a difficult matter. He even went High In Trial at the 2004 GSMDCA National Specialty in Lexington, KY! That was the thrill of a lifetime for Dori. After earning the CD, Dori and Walt decided to train for Open obedience, the CDX. Had Dori known she wanted to try for a CDX on Walt, she would have started training Walt on the dumbbell and retrieves as a puppy. Beginning Open training with an adult Swissy can prove a long road on a reliable dumbbell pick-up and retrieve. Walt did eventually earn his CDX, but not until March of 2007. At that time he was only the 13th Swissy to earn an Open obedience title, and there is probably good reason for that.
Most owners who do obedience with their Swissies don’t begin training retrieves with their dogs until they are adults. Starting retrieve training with a puppy will show reliable results much earlier in the game.
Walt even found the courage to weight pull, earning four legs for his WWD. His most weight pulled was 1,760 pounds!
Walt will be 10 years old in October 2011, so he is retired now from performance events, but he still enjoys a good backyard romp with the other dogs, and his 3+ mile walk around Hinckley Lake. And, if you spy Walt in our living room, he’ll probably be laying on his back, waiting for someone to come and rub his tummy.