Oh Yeah, You Blend

Well, this was our last trial weekend before the close of 2014 Nationals qualifying. And we ended just 22 points away from qualifying for Nationals. We’d have had those 22 points in Standard today if we hadn’t had a SNAFU at the start line resulting in a refusal…I am SO proud of my Squeaker-Ninabear for stepping to that start line with me and giving her all every time. She is truly an incredible agility partner. We had our best weekend to date in some respects: we were 3/3 in Jumpers, and had a 50% Q rate. I have been using the suggestions here for focus and they really do seem to be helping me.

I wish we were going to Harrisburg next March, but wow, we got SO close in just 6 months of trying.

Here are our Jumpers Q’s (the first time EVER she went 3/3 in Jumpers!):

Friday:

Saturday (Nina LOVES agility, can you tell?):

Sunday:

And here is the heartbreaker, down to the wire, standard run, where we NQ before we even start (you can hear my friend (and videographer) Zap saying “no…NO!”)…all I needed to do was put my hand on her collar before I took her leash off…oh well! It is always a privilege and a joy to run with Nina, Q or NQ:

Saturday we got double Q #5! Two first places but the points were rather stingy: 14 in jumpers (which was OK) but just 23 in Standard (I know, I know “just” is relative, since in the bigger heights many handlers would love to get that many, but having a fast little dog we usually get 30+, our lowest before yesterday was 29, so…). Today two stupid handler errors cost us another double Q – Nina was perfect and I was an idiot. Tough courses all weekend.

Jumpers QQ #5 (14 points):

Standard QQ #5 (23 points):

Nationals tally: 22/20 legs, 438/500 points, 5/4 double Q’s. So 62 points to go and just 3 trial days to do it in! Still mathematically possible but down to the wire now.

Friday we got Double Q #4! Saturday’s courses were not our friends, today we got Jumpers for the last leg we needed for nationals, but missed Standard due to handler error. So proud of my Nina!

We need 99 points now, six more trial days to go. Even if we don’t get there, it’s been amazing to have come this far in half the time most people had (we have only been eligible since May)!

Standard for QQ #4 and 32 MACH points:

Jumpers for QQ #4 and 15 MACH points:

Jumpers for the last leg we needed and 14 MACH points:

Nationals tally: 20/20 legs, 401/500 points, 4/4 double Q’s. So 99 points to go and 6 trial days to do it in!

Nina came through again for an awesome weekend!

After doing nothing on Friday, she earned her Master Jumpers title (MXJ) on Saturday with a jumpers leg and 17 MACH points (and was sooooo close to a double with just a spin before the weaves for a refusal call on a VERY challenging course), AND she double Q’d today for two more legs and 30 points in Standard and 13 points in Jumpers (I ran her VERY conservatively today, and that’s reflected in the points)!

MXJ run:

Double Q #3 Jumpers:

Double Q #3 Standard:

Nationals tally: 17/20 legs, 340/500 points, 3/4 double Q’s. So 3 more legs to go, 160 points, and 1 double Q! We will need a couple more legs to make the points. Three more weekends/9 more trial days in the qualifying period.

After getting NOTHING last weekend, we picked up another Jumpers leg today. I handled it VERY conservatively for 14 MACH points (our lowest points yet, but the Q was more important than the points!). We were SOOO close to a double today, but an evil weave entry got us. Happy with how Nina ran, no bars down today, got all her contacts. Less happy with the start line crazies, but she wouldn’t be Nina without those…

Jumpers Q:

Standard NQ, but some good stuff:

Nationals tally: 14/20 legs, 280/500 points, 2/4 double Q’s. So 6 more legs to go, 220 points, and still 2 double Q’s!

…so far anyway!

Nina got Double Q #2 on Friday (29 points in Standard, 17 points in Jumpers), plus another Time 2 Beat leg and 10 points, picked up another Jumpers leg today (17 points), and Tish got her final Open Standard leg today to earn her Open Agility (OA) title, and get completely into Excellent!

Nina QQ #2 Standard (29 points):

Nina QQ #2 Jumpers (17 points) – weird camera issue makes it look like Benny Hill:

Tish Open Agility (OA) title run (note the weaves dance to get her jazzed about weaving! I will be teaching classes in how to do this…NOT):

Nationals tally: 13/20 legs, 266/500 points (over halfway there!), 2/4 double Q’s (halfway there!). So 7 more legs to go, 234 points, and 2 double Q’s!

Nina double q’d today for the first time ever! Two more legs and 40 more MACH points. And I hadn’t planned to even come to the trial today since I had intended to visit Mum instead but still have this darned cold hanging on and I was worried about sharing it. Apparently I handle better when I am coughing and snotty!

Nationals tally: 10/20 legs (halfway there!), 203/500 points, 1/4 double Q’s. So 10 more legs to go, 297 points, and 3 double Q’s.

Nina is currently the number five AKC agility Vallhund!

Ollie (Alkemi Breaking Away LS) went for his herding instinct test and passed with flying colors, even after getting into a discussion with a large ewe and getting butted! Thanks to Ollie’s mom Pat for sending this! His bark is EXACTLY like his sister Zhora’s, with the extra high-pitched shriek when he is excited. And what a lovely “that’ll do” he has, when he’s asked to turn the herding power off, he does, and comes happily back to his mom, awesome!

Lobo (Alkemi Beowulf del Roble LS CGC) won High in Trial at a Barn Hunt trial this past weekend! Barn Hunt is a newish dog sport involving the dog searching for, and alerting to, rats. Since this is one of the Swedish Vallhund’s traditional jobs, Lobo took to it like a duck to water.

Congratulations to Lobo and his mom/handler Jan!