Oh Yeah, You Blend

Beautiful Cora earned her NA and OAJ titles this weekend with Jan Robles! Cora is the Zhorabert formerly known as Popcorn and is also known as Alkemi Corona del Roble LS CD NA OAJ BCAT RATS

We love judge David Hirsch! Wide open, run your butt off courses, extension, extension, extension. Zhora had a perfect weekend, Nina racked up a QQ, and Alice earned an Open FAST and Open Standard Q and otherwise just ran awesome, I am really excited about her!

Nina Saturday Jumpers (NQ):

Zhora Saturday Jumpers (QQ #124, 4.9 YPS, 19 points):

Alice Saturday Open FAST (Q):

Nina Saturday Standard (NQ):

Zhora Saturday Standard (QQ #124, 3.7 YPS, 28 points):

Alice Saturday Open Standard (NQ):

Alice Saturday Open JWW (NQ):

Nina Sunday Jumpers (QQ #15, 4.6 YPS, 24 points):

Zhora Sunday Jumpers (QQ#125, 4,5 YPS, 18 points):

Alice Sunday Time 2 Beat (NQ, nice run):

Nina Sunday Standard (QQ #15, 3.5 YPS, 30 points):

Zhora Sunday Standard (QQ #125, 3.6 YPS, 27 points):

Alice Sunday Open Standard (Q):

Alice Sunday Open JWW (NQ, nice run):

Lobo and Jan Robles set ANOTHER breed first today when Lobo became the first Swedish Vallhund to earn the Barn Hunt Crazy 8’s Platinum title! Lobo is amazing! Lobo’s AKC name is Alkemi Beowulf Del Roble Ls UD PT FDC AX AXJ BCAT RATCH CGC TKA

Sue’s doing an online course, so we were working some of the exercises from it. We were thrilled with how the babies did!

The first three videos are recalls to the weaves, this is with the handler facing the dog and partway through to all the way at the end of the weaves. Other than skipping a pole the first time, Alice nailed it!

The last video is a send to the poles from WAY back. NAILED IT!

So excited about how she’s doing!

Alice weaves recall 1:

Alice weaves recall 2:

Alice weaves recall 3:

Alice weaves send:

Just some more random training videos. Working weaves, distance, serpentines and lateral lead outs. I just love her attitude. I’ve been under the weather the last few weeks, but working with my dogs takes me away from all that. Love this dog!

Alice 1:

Alice 2:

Alice 3:

Alice 4:

Alice 5:

Alice 6:

Alice 7:

Alice 8:

Alice 9:

Alice 10:

It’s been a while since I posted any training videos. Alice is this close to having her weaves locked in, just within the last month or so all of a sudden it’s like she gets it mentally and physically. So, of couse, Sue and I worked distractions today, the one that really blew both babies’ minds was the food bowl. But they worked through it! I’m doing rear crosses, and also running ahead of her (this has been her real bugaboo, she pops when I get ahead of her), I’m thrilled with how she’s doing!

(turn your sound off if barking bothers you, the crated dogs WANT TO WORK)

Alice 1 (lovely independent dogwalk that I didn’t ask for):

Alice 2 (working not just driving to the dogwalk because it’s there and she enjoys it, reminder that I’m the one who’s navigating!):

Alice 3:

Alice 4:

Judge Christy Bowers. I was SO GLAD I went to this trial – Denise organized a nice Christmas lunch on Friday, with wrapped presents for each dog, I really felt my agility community. I was mopey because of not being at the Invitational, and with Zhora at home under house arrest while she’s in season, Nina and Alice came to play (Alice is MUCH more interested in me when Zhora’s not around as it turns out!). Nina earned PACH QQ #13 on Friday the 13th, a JWW Q on Saturday and then full on glorious rabies mode in Standard (including pronouncing the judge’s table count “bullshit” and declining to get back on the table after she felt she’d been there long enough).

Alice had a SMOKING set of weaves in T2B Friday (I ran out to reward her), a Novice FAST Q, a Novice Standard Q and a really nice Open JWW NQ. I can feel the mojo! I’m really excited about her, I feel like we’re a team.

And then I got really sick last night, likely food poisoning, and ended up coming home early this morning after a very rough night. (Edited to add: not food poisoning, several people got sick)

Nina Friday Standard (PACH QQ #13):

Alice Friday Time 2 Beat (I didn’t connect at the start and then left her turned sideways so she knocked the first bar, but THOSE WEAVES!!):

Nina Friday JWW (PACH QQ #13):

Nina Saturday JWW (Q, 5 YPS):

Alice Saturday FAST (Q):

Nina Saturday Standard (RABIES MODE, this was her best berzerker run yet, I’ll take a thousand more NQ’s like this one):

Alice Saturday Standard (Q, leg #2 for NA):

Alice Saturday JWW (Open NQ, nice run, especially the end, I could really feel the connection):

At the Butler Dog Training Club in Erie, Zhora earned her MACH6 under judge Alex Davis (this is Zhora’s second MACH under Alex!).

These were some fun, challenging courses and Zhora loved running them! Thank you so much to all our friends for cheering for us, and special thanks to Zap for the “action” MACH video, in which she multitasks and not only videos, but brings out the ribbon. On the one hand, it showcases Zap’s awesome skillz, on the other, even better, hand, it makes a MACH video look like an episode of “To Catch A Predator” .

I am so very lucky to have this awesome dog to play this wonderful game with, and equally lucky to have such awesome friends in my life.

A year ago at this trial, I held a party for several of my puppies. Unfortunately, I had to leave that trial early because Nina had a pancreatitis flare. That was the beginning of over a month of her being seriously ill, culminating in her being hospitalized over New Year’s and me being genuinely concerned that we might lose her. I am thrilled most of all that she is not only still with us, sassier than ever, still my best friend and official Best Nina Ever, but she’s feeling awesome and doing great.

Sometimes we all need a reminder that tomorrow is never guaranteed, and we never know which run will be our last with our dogs. Every time I step to the line, I try to ask myself: if this were to turn out to be your last run with this dog, would you look back on it and smile, or look back on it and be ashamed of how you felt, how you treated your dog, how you spoke to your dog? Did your dog leave the ring happy? I want both of us to be smiling after every run, even the disasters.

This weekend Nina gave me two QQ’s, and also two old-school-Nina full-on berzerker mode runs (her Standard run yesterday was so hilarious that I told Alex Davis to brace herself when we stepped to the line today!). The QQ’s might have green ribbons attached, but every single one of those runs made me smile, and the rabies mode runs make me smile most of all. Nina makes me smile every single day.

Not to be outdone, Alice had a great weekend too! A height change on her two permanent measurements meant she got to go back to Novice to start Regular instead of Preferred (which I am thrilled about). She earned a Novice QQ on Saturday with her first two legs in Novice Standard and Jumpers, and would have repeated that yesterday if I hadn’t shown acceleration after the aframe in Standard and encouraged her to take off early and knock the last bar. She picked up her second NAJ leg in Jumpers yesterday, so it was well worth staying until the bitter end of the trial and driving home in the dark! I’m very happy, she is turning into a really fun agility partner (I can feel the mojo starting to build) and she really loves the game.

Alice Friday Time 2 Beat:

Zhora Friday Standard (NQ):

Nina Friday Standard (PACH QQ #11):

Nina Friday Jumpers (PACH QQ #11):

Zhora Friday Jumpers (NQ):

Zhora Saturday Jumpers (QQ # 119):

Nina Saturday Jumpers (berzerker mode!):

Nina Saturday Standard (berzerker mode again!):

Zhora Saturday Standard (QQ # 119):

Alice Saturday Standard (Q, first NA leg):

Alice Saturday Jumpers (Q, first NAJ leg):

Zhora Sunday Jumpers (part 1 of MACH 6):

Nina Sunday Jumpers (PACH QQ #12):

Alice Sunday Time 2 Beat (nice run):

Zhora Sunday Standard (MACH 6 ZHORA!):

Nina Sunday Standard (PACH QQ #12):

Alice Sunday Standard (NQ, I should have decelerated at the end instead of accelerating):

Alice Sunday Jumpers (second NAJ leg!):

Yesterday (10/12/19) under judge Dr Steve Keating, at the Kennel Club of Buffalo show in Hamburg, Alice became CHAMPION Alkemi Clear Air Turbulence LT NAP NJP XFP! She is my second home-bred champion and my first Bred-By Exhibitor conformation Champion (Zhora earned the Bred-By Exhibitor medallion also when she earned her MACH). Alice was entirely breeder owner handled and finished with all her points (and three majors!) from the Bred-By Exhibitor class.

To say I am thrilled would be an understatement. She also earned two Owner-Handled group 4ths, and got a strong look in the regular group twice, and earned her first Grand Championship point today with another BOB win. I am so thankful for Jim and Ruth being willing to bring Orbit again so we had points available so Alice could finish.

Next weekend we’re back to agility!

Thank you so much Bethany Allsop for sitting ringside and taking some awesome video and pictures!

Judge Sue Barnett was new to us. We did quite well on courses with some pretty low Q rates.

Nina Saturday Jumpers (PACH QQ #8, third place, 4.96 YPS, 23 points):

Zhora Saturday Jumpers (NQ):

Alice Saturday Master FAST (NQ):

Zhora Saturday FAST (NQ):

Nina Saturday Standard (PACH QQ #8, second place, 4.024 YPS, 37 points):

Zhora Saturday Standard (Q, second place, 3.686 YPS, 27 points):

Alice Saturday Open Jumpers (Q, 3.8 YPS):

Nina Sunday Jumpers (NQ):

Zhora Sunday Jumpers (QQ #111, third place, 4.416 YPS, 15 points):

Alice Sunday Time 2 Beat (NQ):

Nina Sunday Standard (NQ):

Zhora Sunday Standard (QQ #111, first place, 3.861 YPS, 28 points):