Author and Owner: Vanessa Manzi
Growing up we always had dogs. Mainly Cocker Spaniels and Labrador Retrievers. At some point in my early adulthood, I was without a dog. That felt odd.
Out of the blue, my sister acquired a Miniature Pincher, and I remember her bringing it to the house and saying to her – why do you have this tiny dog? Things got more serious when my mother then started breeding min pins and showing them in Conformation. I just did not understand the draw to this tiny dog breed. However, the more I was around them the more I got to like them. They were ambitious, playful, clever, outgoing, energetic, and even their mischievous and stubborn nature intrigued me. The next thing I knew I had one. Then my sister introduced me to this sport called agility. And I started making fun of her, seeing we came from the horse world, and I did not understand why she wanted to run around a course with a dog instead of on the back of a horse. So, I went to one of her dog agility trials and I was hooked!
I had a dog at the time that did not really love agility but loved spending time with me. And in training for agility my relationship with her changed. There was a deeper bond because we were doing more things together, we were training more, we were traveling more, we were hiking more, a lot of which was for the benefit of doing agility. The more I competed the more I fell in love with the sport.
Competing with Indie, my Miniature Pincher, has been a challenge because they can be very stubborn. They are also known for being escape artists, taking their lead off and they are gone. But part of that challenge is why I love doing agility with what one would consider an ‘off breed’ – meaning some of their breed characteristics make them more challenging than others to train and compete with. To me, that is GAME ON! It is also proof that any dog can do agility. My oldest girl was doing agility until she was 15 years old. Vets told me it helped keep her in such good physical condition for so long.
Competing in sports with my dogs opened me up to a world of other things. A deeper connection with my dog, more exercise for him and me, and the chance to build wonderful friendships with people from all over the globe.
This TINY DOG has earned SEVEN Master Agility Championships (MACH 7), has been a Westminster Agility finalist in the 8″ division in both 2022 and 2023, finished 3rd in the 2023 Northeast Agility Championship and won 1st place in the 2024 Northeast Agility Championship at the Thanksgiving Cluster.
In December, 2024 Indie became the 1st Miniature Pincher to ever achieve the prestigious National Agility Grand Champion Title.
My tiny dog, Indie, is nine and is still a little rocket has a ton more booster power to launch in the agility ring.
I am honored to be his teammate and the one he knows will always be there for him – loving Mom, Course Director and Travel Agent.