Oh Yeah, You Blend

This was our third time showing under judge Alex Davis. She is a lovely person, always wants people to do well. Her courses were tough! Zhora picked up QQ’s # 37 and 38, just two more to go to MACH 2! Nina had some lovely runs, picking up an awesome JWW Q and a Premier JWW Q. This was her last weekend to qualify for nationals, she just needed two QQ’s to go, but sadly it was not to be. I am adopting a new strategy to try and fix the bar knocking – after pretty thorough video review and discussion with friends who have watched her run for years, the problem seems to be that she sometimes just doesn’t bother to add a stride when she should (it’s faster to just take the long spot and knock the bar – this is NOT Early Takeoff Syndrome), and instead opts to just plow through. So I am taking a two-pronged approach, a Vallhund owning friend (Hattie, who owned the late and sadly-missed Vaasa, who was so much like Nina) said she started just pulling her dog with the same problem when she knocked bars, and it solved the problem. So I am doing this (unless, of course, I think the bar was my fault). I am also SAYING “jump” before every jump to remind her to jump – I have always been someone who prefers to run with as few verbal cues as possible, and I do generally believe that showing the dog which jump is next is my job, but actually JUMPING the jump is the dog’s. But at this point….after so many NQ’s for bars throughout her career, I am willing to try almost anything. It did seem to be helping, I did pull her several times this weekend, and she did seem to leave bars up when I told her to jump (it’s an adjustment for me and I do forget to actually say jump sometimes).

Nina Friday Standard (NQ but SUCH a nice run, and I love the “AWWWWW” from the crowd when we NQ):

Zhora Friday Standard (Part 1 of QQ # 37, third place, 28 points):

Nina Friday Premier Standard (egregious teeter NQ but gorgeous run):

Zhora Friday Jumpers (Part 2 of QQ # 37, third place, 16 points):

Zhora Saturday Jumpers (Part 1 of QQ # 38, fourth place, 16 points):

Nina Saturday Premier Standard (going well till the bar…):

Nina Saturday Standard (tough weave pole entry got us because I can’t leave her on the table, nice run otherwise):

Zhora Saturday Standard (Part 2 of QQ # 38, second place, 30 points):

Nina Sunday Premier Jumpers (second place):

Nina Sunday Jumpers (fourth place, 21 points, Jessie Westover and her CRAZY FAST Papillons were there today, which is how you get a fourth place in Erie with a whopping 21 points in JWW!):

Zhora Sunday Jumpers (16 points again! At least she’s consistent!):

Zhora Sunday Time 2 Beat (9 points):

Zhora Sunday Standard (LOL at her on the table!)

Some really challenging courses from judge Alexandra Davis. Zhora had a perfect weekend in the classes that count, picking up QQ’s #31, 32 and 33 towards MACH 2! Nina had a perfect NQ weekend but wow is she running well. At one point I was chatting with Alex about Nina taking the wrong end of the tunnel in Jumpers today, and she asked how old Nina was, I told her she was 9, she said “OH! I thought that was your puppy….” LOL. I love every run with her regardless. And I am trying hard not to be spoiled by Zhora, but I will tell you that it’s sure a nice change to run a consistent dog, because there were MANY weekends I’d come home with one Q or even no Q’s before Z Dog came along!

Nina Friday Standard (NQ but so close and such a nice run! Layering!):

Zhora Friday Standard (part 1 of QQ # 31, second place, 30 points):

Zhora Friday Jumpers (part 2 of QQ # 31, fourth place (the top 4 dogs were within 8 100ths of a second of each other!), 15 points):

Nina Friday Premier Jumpers (NQ):

Zhora Friday Premier Jumpers (NQ):

Nina Saturday Jumpers (NQ):

Zhora Saturday Jumpers (part 1 of QQ # 32, second place, 18 points):

Zhora Saturday Premier (NQ, nice run):

Zhora Saturday Standard (part 2 of QQ # 32, third place, 29 points):

Nina Sunday Jumpers (I SO thought we had it….but no…and someone asked me during the walkthrough if many of the big dogs had taken the wrong end of the tunnel after the weaves and I said no…so Nina decided to show me what that looked like, training mode after that):

Zhora Sunday Jumpers (part 1 of QQ #33, second place, 17 points):

Nina Sunday Standard (ANOTHER soooo close, really loved this run though):

Zhora Sunday Standard (part 2 of QQ # 33, third place, 26 points):

Judge Windle Ewing (who it turns out knows Debbie Spence, my first agility teacher from back in Texas) designed some seriously tricky courses for us this weekend. He was the judge under whom we earned our first double double Q last year. It was ALMOST a repeat this year, but then an absolute heartbreaker of a standard NQ today happened. I reminded myself right after that this is just agility, we aren’t curing cancer and world peace does not depend on it.

Zhora earned QQ’s # 29 and 30, halfway to MACH2 already! Nina ran beautifully. It was fun. We are off for two weekends now and we need it.

Nina Friday Time 2 Beat (Q, first place, 10 points):

Zhora Friday Standard (part 1 of QQ #29, second place, 28 points):

Zhora Friday Jumpers (part 2 of QQ # 29, third place, 12 points):

Zhora Saturday Time 2 Beat (Q, second place, 8 points):

Nina Saturday Time 2 Beat (Q, first place, 10 points):

Zhora Sunday Jumpers (part 1 of QQ #30, third place, 15 points):

Nina Sunday Jumpers (Q, second place, 17 points):

Zhora Sunday Standard (part 2 of QQ #30, second place, 20 points, holy moly this course….only 2 8″ dogs qualified):

Nina Sunday Standard (HEARTBREAKER, on a double Q no less, the LAST BAR of the LAST JUMP….OMG…):

Getting back into the swing of things. New judge to us, John Defilippi, loved his courses, fast and challenging, and he is very nice, has a generous wheel, and is very generous with his calls (the agility gods truly do giveth and taketh away, since the judge gave Nina and I a gift on her dogwalk contact yesterday, but then she took a wrong course…). Zhora picked up double Q’s #26 and 27, plus two Time 2 Beat legs. She also had a wonderful Premier Jumpers run today but stepped on the metal weave pole base and slipped so she popped and earned an R for the NQ. I am seeing that when I am very clear about where she is going so she can see her lines well, she is running faster and faster, but when I am unclear or when a course is really twisty turny, she slows down. Both Zhora and Nina earned personal best points totals and YPS in Friday’s standard course, and in today’s standard run Nina had the fastest time of all the 8″ and 12″ dogs, and was within a couple of seconds of the really fast 20 and 24″ dogs! When it works, it really works.

Nina Friday Standard (first place, personal best 34 points, 4.241 YPS…IN STANDARD!):

Zhora Friday Standard (part 2 of QQ #26, third place, personal best 31 points, 4.028 YPS!):

Zhora Friday Time 2 Beat (first place, 10 points):

Zhora Friday Jumpers (part 2 of QQ #26, third place, 17 points):

Zhora Saturday Time 2 Beat (8 points and our only Q on Saturday):

Zhora Sunday Premier (NQ but nice run):

Zhora Sunday Jumpers (part 1 of QQ #27, third place, 15 points):

Nina Sunday Standard (first place, 32 points, 4.11 YPS):

Zhora Sunday Standard (part 2 of QQ #27, 26 points):

Another wonderful trial put on by HABOC! Judge Pam Sturtz, my first time trialing under her, designed some really tricky courses, but really fun to run, she was really nice to show to. Some tough challenges and some low Q rates, but you really felt your skills were getting a workout, and you need that once in a while! Zhora put up QQ # 25, and earned her second Open FAST leg and another 10 points toward her Time to Beat 2 title. Nina had a NQ weekend, although her jumpers NQ today was one I was very glad I videoed (thanks Sue!) because I could see clearly that I caused her to knock the ONE AND ONLY BAR. Zhora was 5/6 on the weekend, just a weird and uncharacteristic R at the weaves yesterday. There were almost no 8″ dogs, so I only had four or so dogs between them, so I was TIRED.

Zhora Saturday Jumpers (NQ, weird weave R, but even Zhora can’t be perfect I guess):

Nina Saturday Jumpers (NQ, obvs, but nice run):

Zhora Saturday Standard (Q, first place, 30 points, love to see her really digging in and running):

Nina Saturday Standard (NQ but such a nice run, good job of getting ahead of her in the weaves and supporting it properly):

Zhora Open FAST (Q, 71 points):

Zhora Sunday Jumpers (part 1 of QQ #25, second place, 14 points, and she saves the Q in the weaves when she keeps going after a bad entry!):

Nina Sunday Jumpers (I drop my arm and turn my shoulder as she jumps the blue non-wing and cause the bar down, but look at that front cross after the weaves!):

Zhora Sunday Time 2 Beat (Q, 10 points, first place, some experimenting, her distance work is really coming along, getting ahead of her in the weaves is not ready for prime time, although I didn’t support as I should):

Zhora Sunday Standard (part 2 of QQ #25, first place, only dog to Q in her height, 27 points):

Zhora had her second perfect weekend in a row (other than an NQ in Premier), earning double Q’s #23 and 24, plus a placement in one run (some of the fastest 8″ dogs in the country run here so that was pretty cool!). Nina had some great runs but only pulled off a Master FAST Q. Judges Mary Mullen and Laura Kuterbach designed some deceptively tricky courses for us!

Saturday Nina Master FAST (Q, third place, 63 points):

Saturday Zhora Open FAST (Q, first place, 70 points):

Saturday Zhora Master Standard (part 1 of QQ #23, 27 points):

Saturday Nina Master Jumpers (NQ):

Saturday Zhora Master Jumpers (part 2 of QQ #23, 18 points):

Saturday Nina Premier Jumpers (NQ but nice run, I got in her way at the tunnel):

Saturday Zhora Premier Jumpers (NQ, handler errors!):

Sunday Nina Standard (NQ but nice run):

Sunday Zhora Standard (part 1 of QQ #24, fourth place, 25 points):

Sunday Nina Jumpers (NQ):

Sunday Zhora Jumpers (part 2 of QQ #24, 16 points):

– He said that extender does NOT cause resorption (I have heard different opinions from different vets and breeders, but this is his view), because the extender is long gone by the time the resorption occurs (I wondered if just a short exposure to it could cause inflammation but he said no).
– He said resorptions are generally caused by uterine issues (anything from infections and cysts to just overly-thickened lining), genetic problems with the puppies, inability to maintain progesterone levels, and some medications (which nobody would be using if they were breeding a planned litter), although we often never find the reason for it.
– A recent study showed that a high percentage of bitches (30-40% I think he said) resorb at least a couple of puppies in a given litter (and this was a very small litter).
– The “genetic problems” he means are not what we’d normally think (hip dysplasia or whatever), all dogs (and all humans and all other animals for that matter) carry some lethal genes, they aren’t a problem unless a puppy happens to inherit two copies, and then they cause fetal death and resorption, this happens in every species, it’s part of nature’s checks and balances.
– He said that there is no reason NOT to do another shipped semen AI with this bitch. A surgical would allow the vet to check the condition of the uterus, but even a vaginal or transcervical would be fine.
– It’s most likely just something that happened with this litter.
– He suggested using mibolerone (Cheque drops) for a few months to thin the uterine lining out (he says he has done this successfully with quite a few bitches who had trouble carrying a litter to term), and after the next breeding, checking progesterone a couple of weeks after ovulation to make sure it was staying up (spot checking throughout the pregnancy is also a good idea).
– If it happens again, maybe consider a different stud dog just in case it’s a problem with this specific cross (I would rather try again at least once with this dog, since he is a very good match for my girl and the COI is very low, which can be hard to come by in my breed)

Well, so Zhora had nearly three months off (her last trial was the weekend she got her MACH, which was May 7), and wow, she came back with a bang! She had a perfect weekend, earning double Q’s #21 and 22 towards MACH2, plus a Premier double Q! Nina ran wonderfully with a Jumpers Q on Saturday and a Standard Q on Sunday. We also had a major disconnect today that almost ended up with one of us getting hurt – I was prepared to take the fall to avoid stepping on her but fortunately neither happened! As much as I wish I was raising puppies right now, it sure was nice to get back to running the Z dog, not bad for a trial I entered on the last open day on a whim, because I love running under judge Lavonda Herring! We are taking it easy for a while, one trial in August only.

Nina Saturday Jumpers (Q, first place and 20 points):

Zhora Saturday Jumpers (Q, third place and 18 points, part 1 of QQ #21):

Zhora Saturday Premier Standard (Q, first place):

Zhora Saturday Standard (Q, second place and 25 points, part 2 of QQ #21):

Nina Sunday Premier Jumpers (NQ):

Zhora Sunday Premier Jumpers (Q, first place):

Zhora Sunday Jumpers (Q, first place and 14 points, part 1 of QQ #22):

Nina Sunday Jumpers (EEK!):

Nina Sunday Standard (Q, first place, 30 points):

Zhora Sunday Standard (only last half got videoed unfortunately, Q, third place and 23 points, part 2 of QQ #22 and end of the perfect weekend!):

…I have a phone consult set up in a couple of weeks with Dr Robert Hutchison at Animal Clinic Northview (he’s a renowned repro specialist vet, who did the surgical AI that resulted in the B litter!) to discuss what he thinks the best course of action for Zhora is. Further bulletins as events warrant!

…so during a sleepless night recently I was thinking about things and I suddenly realized (and I am not sure how I hadn’t realized this before) that if I breed Zhora on her next heat, she will not only miss the Invitational, but also in all likelihood the National Agility Championship next March. Missing one or the other would be one thing, but missing both…I have never gone to the NAC before, and next year it’s in Georgia, a one day drive away. I could handle missing the Invitational I suppose, although to be going with the #1 (Zhora) and the #3 (Nina) dog is pretty cool, but given that it is possible that this might be our last time going if it moves to the west coast next year, it would be tough to miss.

So after discussing it with probably more people than truly wanted to discuss it with me, I may be putting off breeding Zhora until after the NAC. I am in the process of setting up a phone consult with Dr Hutchison at Animal Clinic Northview to talk about options (he is a renowned repro vet and is the one who performed the surgical AI with frozen semen that resulted in Zhora herself!). Updates will be posted here. I am so sorry that I am in the position of having to make this decision, since I know many people have been waiting for a puppy for a long time. I welcome any questions or suggestions!

Further bulletins as events warrant!