Oh Yeah, You Blend

Today Nina finished her last TWO CPE Level 3 titles, earning her Level 3 Standard title (CL3-R), and Level 3 Handler Games title (CL3-H) at All Dawgs, which means her “alphabet soup” changes to just “CL3″ now. Her Colors run today was one of her best agility runs ever, she was beautifully smooth and accurate, she got her weaves on the first try for the first time ever at a trial, and she ran the course in just over SEVENTEEN SECONDS!!!  Mari said Nina banks the curves in the tunnels, which is why she rockets out of them so quickly. She also qualified in every run today, and it was a hot, hot day.  Back for more tomorrow!

Nina, Tish and I were at Ebb Tide this weekend for CPE agility.  Nina finished her Level 3 Strategy Games title.  I got us a No Time today when I forgot to take her collar off (dogs must run naked in CPE)…my only excuse is that I normally run her in a slip lead, but I’ve been using a collar and leash lately since the slip lead had become a signal to her to go ballistic with enthusiasm (or “more ballistic with enthusiasm than normal”).  But she did wonderfully and coped with the heat with her usual good grace.  Boy do I love my Nina girl.

Demi’s dad Ron brought her by for a visit, I was so looking forward to seeing them and seeing how she’d grown that I was sad to see that he hadn’t entered the trial.  But he showed up with Demi to visit me anyway!  What a sweetheart, I was so, so happy to see them both.  Demi looks wonderful, she is going through a gangly phase (surprising just how gangly these short-legged dogs can be when they’re growing up!), but she is beautiful and so sweet and friendly.  If she’d had a tail I’d have kept her, her head is almost exactly between Nina and Emil.  She and Tish had a good wrestle and zoom around.

Lisa and Austin were there of course, Austin looks wonderful, he has a Basset brother Hobbes who is his BFF.  He has a great life and he is obviously very loved.  He is gorgeous.  He and Tish also had a good play date.  I realize now that I forgot to ask Wendi to take some pictures of them playing!

It is kind of a weird experience to see these little dogs that I brought into the world (literally, in Austin’s case) out there living their lives.  They were born here, in our guest bedroom.  They played on our deck and we cuddled them every day.  And now they live with other people who cuddle and love them.  They have their own lives now. And so far anyway, this litter seems to be doing wonderfully.  We are so fortunate to have had such wonderful homes that wanted our puppies.

And Tish.  Little Tish.  Now that the decision is made and Loki has gone to her (also wonderful) new home, I can finally allow myself to fall in love with Tish.  And I have fallen hard.  What a baby dog she is!  She loves everyone and everything, wants cuddles from everyone, wags her tail and does her funny “please pay attention to me” growly-bark at people.  She is adorable.  She has almost all her adult incisors now, so when she looks up she looks like she’s wearing too-big dentures since her jaws haven’t caught up yet.  She is just so exactly what I was hoping for, so cuddly and loving and sweet and smart and a little monster at the same time, Jeannine says I’m in trouble: she has all Nina’s attitude.  I am happy.  She swam, too!  Just waded right into the pond like she’d done it a hundred times, what a girl!

…are up here. More great Wendi Pencille pictures. We qualified in only one class (NADAC is harder to Q in than CPE), and Nina regressed to herding me again, but it was fun.

On August 15-16, 2009, Nina completed all of CPE Level 1 with her Strategy Games Level 1 title, and earned her first Level 2 title with CPE Handler Games Level 2 (CL2-H) at Boom Towne Canine Center in HOT weather.

Are up here. By the amazing Wendi Pencille of Horsefeathers Photography.

On July 25, 2009, Nina earned her CPE Fun Games Level 1 title (CL1-F) at Ebb Tide Kennels with a clean run in Jumpers, after a thunderstorm, on a VERY wet field, and she ran her heart out, what a dog!

On June 20, 2009, Nina earned her first CPE agility titles, and earned legs for two more titles, with four qualifying scores in four classes at All Dawgs Academy in North Tonawanda, NY! She finished her CPE Standard Level 1 Regular title (CL1-R) with another clean run, and her Handler Games Level 1 Regular title (CL1-H).

On May 16, 2009, at only her second agility trial weekend (TDAA this time, at Canine Sports Complex), Nina earned her first agility title with a score of 288 points in Dare to Double (the highest score in the game), and qualifying scores in two other games (Full House and Gamblers), for her Teacup Games 1 title!

Wow…I need to update this thing more often. A lot has happened since that last post, my life isn’t really like “my dad died, hey, let’s go to an agility trial!”, I’m not THAT ADD…LET’S RIDE BIKES!!

Anyway, Nina and I went to our first agility trial today, and Nina earned her first CPE agility title legs with a CLEAN RUN in Standard Level 1 (in a time of 29.05 seconds , allowed course time was 64), and a qualifying run in Full House Level 1 at All Dawgs Academy in North Tonawanda, NY! (more…)