Meet Selleck, Pampa’s top dog

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Linda Lanham has shown rough collies for 30 years now. She has received grand champion titles for three other dogs. Currently, she is working with who she lovingly refers to as her “heart dog.” His name is Selleck, named after Tom Selleck, although you may know him by his show name “Wild Wind Harley’s Flashy Gent.” He was an International American Grand Champion before the age of two.

“He’s been a really good dog. I got him at four months old. At six months old, he already had the Canine Good Star. He got his Canine Good Citizen at a young age. Everything this dog has gotten, he got before he was two, which is very rare, says Lanham. “His attitude is ‘Let’s go, let’s do it.”

There is a lot of preparation that goes into getting Selleck ready for shows.

“I spend an hour grooming him up. We spray him down, comb him out and we use hairspray to help his hair stand out the way it is supposed to,” says Lanham.

“When you actually get in the ring, the judge will walk up and check to make sure he has good teeth, they will check his head, and then they will check the hair, bone, and muscle. They check the genital area for the boys and the length of the tail. This dog has to stand here and be still for the entire examination.”

Linda was happy to escort Selleck into the room and do a demonstration of how he is supposed to act in front of the judges. She got him to sit, stay and lie down. She then put his leash on him and demonstrated how the two of them are supposed to walk the ring. She even got Selleck to do his signature trick move, “Unroll the Carpet.” She placed a rolled up rug in front of him and said “Unroll the carpet, Selleck.” Selleck eagerly used his snout to unroll the rug for us. He also enjoys performing his tricks for residents at the nursing home here in Pampa.

At such a young age, Selleck has his strong points as well as a few weak points that he and Linda will be working on.

“He has a real sweet temperament, I consider that his strongest point,” says Lanham. “His weak point is that he likes to nip at my pants while we are walking the ring.”

She hopes that with maturity, that Selleck will drop this habit.

Linda is open to constructive criticism, as she always aims to do better.

“I have taken advice from a junior handler before. Sometimes other people can see something that you’re doing and you don’t realize it. I was walking behind my dog, which isn’t the right way to walk your dog. I was happy to have that pointed out to me so I could fix it and go on to do better,” said Lanham. “There’s always room for improvement.”

Linda’s ultimate goal for Selleck would be to win Westminster in New York.

“He will have to mature a lot more for that one,” says Lanham.

They will be working on obedience training in the upcoming year to prepare him for shows at a mature age.

Linda does not show her collies for money.

“It’s a hobby. If you are doing everything right and breeding them right, then you won’t make any money at it,” says Lanham.

Selleck will be traveling with Linda to Orlando, Fla. for a weekend show scheduled for Dec. 14 - 15. They will be competing in the AKC’s Owner/Handler’s series.

“If the points stay the way they are, he is going in as number 3,” says Lanham. Points are added up through various shows the dog has won or gotten points for throughout the year. You can track Selleck’s points on the AKC’s website under owner/handler rankings by searching the rough collie breed.

“They invite the top 10 of every breed to this show. It looks like we are going to be in the top 5,” says Lanham.

Linda is looking for a handler who would be willing to help get Selleck get his Agility certificate.

“If someone would like to do agility with Selleck, I can have him at practices and shows. I can get him to wherever he needs to be,” says Lanham.

If you would like to help Linda and Selleck, please e-mail Miranda Ellis at the Pampa News (mellispampanews@gmail.com).

Selleck has a number of titles already:

• 4/15/18 Brighton, Colo. – 1st place, 6 to 9 puppy class, Winner Dog/3 point major

• 5/13/18 Albuquerque, N.M. – 1st place, 9 to 12 puppy class, Winner Dog/4 point major

• 5/14/18 Albuquerque, N.M.– 1st place, 9 to 12 puppy class, Winner Dog/1 point

• 10/27/18 Greeley, Colo. – 1st place, 9 to 12 puppy class, Winner Dog/2 points

• 11/9/18 Puebo, Colo. – 1st place, 9 to 12 puppy class, Winner Dog/3 point major/Best of winners

• 11/12/18 Pueblo, Colo. – 1st place, 9 to 12 puppy class, Winner Dog/3 point major for *CH

• 1/5/19 Dripping Springs, Texas – Best of Variety, Select Dog/4 point major/Beat 1 CH

• 3/2/19 Garden City, Kan. – Best of Variety, Select Dog/1 point

• 3/3/19 Garden City, Kan. – Best of Variety, Select Dog/1 point

• 3/8/19 Kerrville, Texas – Best of Variety, Select Dog/1 point

• 3/9/19 Kerrville, Texas, Best of Variety, Select Dog/1 point

• 3/10/19 Kerrville, Texas – Best of Variety, Best of Variety/4 point major/beat 1 CH

• 5/11/19 Albuquerque, N.M. – Best of Variety, Best of Variety/5point major/beat 1 CH

• 5/12/19 Albuquerque, N.M. – Best of Variety, Select Dog/2 points

• 5/13/19 Albuquerque, N.M. – Best of Variety, Select Dog/1 point

• 5/14/19 Albuquerque, N.M. – Best of Variety, Best of Variety/5 point major for GCH Title

• 5/17/19 Abilene – Best of Variety, Best of Opposite Sex/1 point

• 5/17/19 Abilene – Best of Variety, Best of Variety/1 point

• 5/18/19 Abilene – Best of Variety, Best of Opposite Sex/1 point

• 5/19/19 Abilene – Best of Variety, Best of Opposite Sex/1 point

• Oklahoma City – Best of Variety/1 point

• 10/5/19 Alamogordo, N.M. – Best of Variety, Group 4

*CH - Champion

Selleck also has several Best of Variety Owner/Handler titles, Obedience titles, a Trick title and a Herding title. He comes from a long line of grand champion show dogs. For a complete list of Selleck’s accomplishments, certifications and pedigree, you can go online to harleycollies.com.