Oh Yeah, You Blend

Zhora has been invited to the Invitational every year since she got into Masters. She’s been such an amazingly consistent dog, and every run with her I am cognizant of what a privilege it is. Anyway, since Orbit and Ruth qualified for the AKC National Owner Handled Series Finals this year, Ruth and I packed up the dogs and headed to Orlando! Orbit and Ruth’s adventures will be in a separate post.

Zhora went 3/4 in the Invitational, and also qualified in Time 2 Beat. The one NQ was my fault. We weren’t our fastest, we weren’t our fittest (I had a foot injury that meant we got way less exercise and practice than usual in the months beforehand), but we showed up and ran! Z finished 66th out of 148 dogs, not bad!

Thank you as always for this experience, Zhora!

Time 2 Beat:

Round 1 Jumpers:

Round 2 Standard (our only NQ because I disconnected, but also my favorite run):

Round 3 Hybrid:

Round 4 Jumpers (Zhora had a reverse sneezing fit right at the startline, she was sneezing and wheezing for the first half of the course, but she just kept going, she has so much heart and so much working drive):

It’s been a dream of mine for several years now to take a dog to the National Dog Show in Philadelphia. This show is recorded (it takes place on the Saturday before Thanksgiving), and broadcast on Thanksgiving Day.

I’m going to the AKC Agility Invitational this year with Zhora, so I didn’t think I had it in the budget to go to the National Dog Show with Alice too. But then Ruth said she’d always wanted to go, so there you go. She took Orbit (just as well I didn’t enter, since that was the weekend of the big storm), they got up at 3 am and drove to Philly last Saturday. Orbit won best of breed, and that meant he’d make it to group, which is what gets televised.

While he didn’t get featured in the group, they do upload all the judging, so here it is

Lots of fun and very challenging courses from Zach Davis and Janet Budzynski. Zhora had a perfect weekend with two more QQ’s (running slower than usual because she really didn’t like these courses), Alice got a very tough FAST send on Saturday, and earned a “moral” QQ on Sunday, with a Master Standard Q AND an Excellent JWW Q to finish her AXJ (on a course I thought we didn’t have a chance of qualifying on). Such great girls.

Alice Saturday FAST (Q):

Zhora Saturday Standard (QQ #144):

Zhora Saturday JWW (QQ #144):

Alice Sunday Standard (Q):

Zhora Sunday Standard (QQ145):

Zhora Sunday JWW (QQ145):

Alice Sunday JWW (AXJ!):

Evie is six months old now. I have done SHOCKINGLY little with her to be honest. Playing, relationship building, a few tricks, conformation handling, but very small amounts of each. This puppy is HUNGRY to learn, she LOVES to work, she is EXACTLY what I wanted out of a Zar/Alice baby. I am so excited about her. She is so smart, she is so willing, she has SO MUCH sticktuitiveness.

Here is a tiny bit of training from yesterday, the good the bad and the ugly. We have done MAYBE three sessions of tiny sequences before this. She’s done a few tunnels, she’s done a handful of “offering the jump” sessions, this is about as untrained as you get. But she figures it out, she wants to play, and she wants to RUN.

Love this puppy!

Favorite judge and friend Sherry Jefferson gave us some tricky, trappy courses. Friday we managed a single Q (Alice in Master FAST). But SATURDAY! Zhora earned MACH7 (her seventh agility championship) and Alice earned her Agility Excellent (AX) title, she is now in Master Standard and starts earning MACH points. Still two legs to go for her AXJ (Excellent Jumpers) title, she would have had it yesterday but I overhandled a tunnel near the end and she did exactly what I asked her to do, which was the wrong thing.

We’ve had a lot of time away from agility and I can feel it and it shows. We aren’t fit enough and we aren’t in sync enough. Rusty rusty. Still, my girls are working hard and doing what I ask! And it’s still agility!

Alice Friday FAST (Q):

Zhora Friday Standard (NQ):

Alice Friday Standard (NQ):

Alice Friday Time 2 Beat (nice run but NQ):

Zhora Friday Jumpers (NQ):

Alice Friday Jumpers (NQ):

Zhora Saturday Standard (part 1 of MACH7):

Alice Saturday Standard (Q and AX title):

Alice Saturday FAST (NQ):

Zhora Saturday Jumpers (MACH7!!):

Alice Saturday Jumpers (nice run, handler error!):

Conewango Valley Kennel Club AKC show in Dunkirk. In 2019 Orbit and Alice won their first majors, and won BOB and BOS every day to take the majors every day for three days. Then it was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 for obvious reasons.

This year it was back, smaller and only 2 days, but back. And what an incredible weekend it was!

I am so thankful to have such amazing puppy buyers and co-owners to share my dogs with.

Mel (and Rick) and Enzo (Alkemi Desperado LT RATN TKN): he went Reserve on Sunday and shows better and better each time, Mel is working really hard and it’s paying off, the boys take a long time to mature.

Nichole (and Chris) and Jovie (Alkemi Daydream LT): she went Reserve to the major on Saturday and took Winners Bitch on Sunday for her third major. She is looking gorgeous.

Ruth (and Jim) with Orbit (GCH CH Alkemi Cosmic Curiosity LT RI): what can I say? This was a dream weekend. BOB both days for 5 point majors each time. Saturday OH group 4 and regular GROUP THREE. And SUNDAY?!?! OH group 1, regular GROUP 1!! And then?!?! OWNER HANDLER BEST IN FREAKING SHOW!!!

Kat (and Tim) and Ellie (Alkemi Elise At Kleinhaus LT) made her AKC show debut and showed wonderfully in BPUP.

Alice (CH Alkemi Clear Air Turbulence LT OA OAJ NAP NJP XF XFP) won BOS both days for 5 point majors each day towards her GCH.

And Evie (Alkemi Evija LT) realized that showing is a job, and remembered she is a working dog, and rose to the challenge. She showed AMAZINGLY well, and won Beginner Puppy BEST IN SHOW on Saturday.

Orbit Herding Group 1:

Orbit OHBIS Judging:

Orbit OH Best in Show!!:

Evie Best Beginner Puppy in Show (and AKC show debut):

Today the puppies went on a road trip to Sue’s agility building. I was thrilled with how they did. Longest car ride yet, new surface, new smells. It was REALLY windy and noisy and they all dealt with it perfectly. They had a GREAT time! So thankful to Sue for allowing this!

Carpet cleaner = loud. Puppies who’ve had sound desensitization at the right age/stage (thank you Puppy Culture!) = no problem.

Only their second time on the table and they did great! Stills from video so, you know, quality.

Red Girl:

Orange Girl:

Yellow Girl:

Green Boy:

Blue Girl:

Purple Girl:

Pink Boy:

As usual, video is unforgiving and my timing isn’t as good as it should be, but they all got the idea! You can see that a couple are in mild fear periods, but they played anyway! This is really just to get them to understand the idea, I start with a few click then treats (baby food), then start right into clicking and treating for looking at/touching/approaching the box. I have never really felt that charging the clicker more than these few times is necessary, and I think it can even muddy the waters.

Loving these puppies so far! (also, this is the room they were born in, but they haven’t been back in here since they moved to the big house, and they haven’t been here since the whelping box was taken down, so it’s a pretty new environment for them too).

Red Girl:

Orange Girl:

Yellow Girl:

Green Boy:

Blue Girl:

Purple Girl:

Pink Boy: