Zhora had another PERFECT WEEKEND (the first since the puppy break)! Oksana Syrkin is one of our very favorite judges, her courses aren’t easy, but my dogs love them. If I had repositioned Nina at the start of Saturday Standard, she likely would have stayed and not missed her weaves, when she gets into hyperfocused stare ahead ignore Amanda mode, I know she isn’t really connecting with me. And we might have doubled. Oh well…that one didn’t get recorded, so maybe a good thing.
Judge Lavonda Herring is always one of our favorites. Her courses this weekend were pretty tricky, especially for Lavonda, and we didn’t have our greatest Q rate ever. But the dogs and I had fun and that’s what really counts as always!
Zhora Saturday Jumpers (third place, 19 points, 4.9 YPS, me blind crossing like a maniac):
Nina Saturday Jumpers (doing her usual “rabid badger” impression because of the tunnel start, NQ, there are 12 weaves Nina…I know you want to get a move on, but THERE ARE 12 WEAVES):
Zhora Saturday Standard (NQ, I was a “moose” and she didn’t see the teeter until she couldn’t get on safely):
Nina Saturday Standard (second place, 31 points, 4.029 YPS):
CONGRATULATIONS to Jennifer Corbin and Cricket (Zhora’s sister, now officially Alkemi Braveheart LS ADC) on earning her Agility Dog of Canada title in Agility Association of Canada (AAC is like USDAA but in Canada)! Cricket is a speed demon like her mother Nina, and Jennifer and Cricket have worked very hard. This is Cricket’s first title, but I doubt it will be her last, they’re an awesome team! Way to go! (Cricket also barks on the table….I fear this may be genetic LOL)
Our dear friend Sherry Jefferson was the judge this weekend. Zhora had a GREAT weekend, earning QQ’s 65 and 66 and qualifying in 5/7 runs. Nina ran wonderfully but we didn’t get a QQ together. She had a great Jumpers Q on Friday and an AWESOME Standard Q today and only knocked one bar that wasn’t entirely her fault.
I was SICK this weekend. I wasn’t feeling great Friday morning and it got worse from there. I would have come home except there was an ice storm here. So I can see in the videos that I wasn’t quite myself, but my awesome dogs came through for me as they always do.
Zhora Friday Standard (NQ, really tough weave entry for the little dogs):
While most of our peeps were in Reno at the National Agility Championship, we played agility with judge Mary Mullen instead!
These were kind of “abducted by aliens pod Mary Mullen” courses, quite tricky and with some pretty low Q rates. One of our worst weekends in terms of Q’s in a while, but some lovely runs anyway, and some really awesome, connected runs with Zhora.
Nina Friday Standard (NQ):
Zhora Friday Standard (part 1 of QQ # 64, first place, 27 points):
Nina Friday Jumpers (Q, first place, 22 points):
Zhora Friday Jumpers (part 2 of QQ # 64, second place, 19 points):
Nina Saturday Jumpers (NQ):
Zhora Saturday Jumpers (Q, first place, 18 points):
Nina Saturday Standard (NQ):
Zhora Saturday Standard (NQ):
Nina Sunday Jumpers (Q, third place, 20 points):
Zhora Sunday Jumpers (NQ, I didn’t connect at the start, but what a nice connected run after that!):
Nina Sunday Standard (NQ but nice run):
Zhora Sunday Standard (Q, first place, 29 points, only 8″ dog to Q):
Zhora followed last weekend’s perfect weekend with another QQ (#63), and then today, as I was walking the jumpers course, said to myself “Myself, be careful where you put your front cross at the end of the weaves or you’ll pull her off that second last jump”….so of course, I pulled her off the second last jump. She got standard today and won the class.
Nina had a lovely jumpers Q yesterday and then had a perfect standard run…except she felt judge Susan Stephon’s table count was too slow, and that a three count was plenty. Oh Nina….she’ll be 11 in May, she can do what she wants, apparently I’m not the boss of her.
Zhora Saturday Jumpers (part 1 of QQ # 63, third place, 17 points, just a second behind Nina!):
Nina Saturday Jumpers (first place, 18 points):
Zhora Saturday Standard (part 2 of QQ # 63, first place, 25 points):
Nina Saturday Standard (pesky table!):
Zhora Sunday Jumpers (NQ…watch where you put your front cross I said….):
Nina Sunday Jumpers (NQ, nice weaves):
Zhora Sunday Standard (first place, 26 points):
Nina Sunday Standard (yowza…I like how she takes the jump she missed near the beginning, as she comes back halfway through):
Zhora followed up her MACH3 last Sunday with a PERFECT WEEKEND! Earning QQ’s #61 and 62 towards MACH4.
Not to be outdone, Nina earned QQ #23 toward MACH2 yesterday, giving us a double double Q Saturday. I made an error in our standard run today that cost us a QQ, but she qualified in Jumpers this morning for a 3/4 weekend, which is awesome for her!
One of our favorite judges Oksana Syrkin, gave us her usual fast, fun courses and generous wheel. There’s a reason we love showing to her!
Zhora Saturday Jumpers (part 1 of QQ #61, third place, 19 points):
Nina Saturday Jumpers (part 1 of QQ #23, second place, 20 points):
Zhora Saturday Standard (part 2 of QQ #61, second place, 31 points):
Nina Saturday Standard (part 2 of QQ #23, first place, 34 points):
She earned her first MACH at the HABOC trial, and she earned her third there too!
Judge Laura English designed some tough courses, the Q rates on some were very low, but they were challenging in a good way and as I remind myself – it’s MASTERS, it’s SUPPOSED to be tough!
Jumpers today was quite demotivating at the start, and Zhora was extremely poky. She liked Standard much better and was happy to take a quick victory lap too! She got SPOILED afterwards, and her Aunt Sherry even shared her lunch with her.
She came into the weekend needing two, Friday I messed her up by talking while she jumped and cost us a double. But she was perfect after that. Our friend Zap (Saturday/Sunday videographer) multitasked and brought the ribbon to us while videoing, which looks like a “To Catch A Predator” sting on reality TV, which is hilarious.
Nina was wonderful, earning two very nice Standard Q’s. She will be 11 in May…I can’t believe it. And she still as fast as ever and loves agility more than anything.
There were very few 8″ dogs there this weekend and I only had about four dogs between them, which is quite unfair to the dogs, since you barely have time to stuff a few treats in their faces before you have to put them away and get the next one out, and the second dog doesn’t get anything like their usual warmup. I try to warm them up somewhat before we start running, but still…they cope very well with this stuff.
I am very very fortunate.
Zhora Friday Standard (NQ thanks to my big mouth):
Nina Friday Standard (NQ):
Zhora Friday Jumpers (Q, second place, 15 points):
Nina Friday Jumpers (NQ):
Zhora Saturday Jumpers (part 1 of QQ #59, second place, 15 points):
Nina Saturday Jumpers (NQ):
Zhora Saturday Standard (part 2 of QQ #59, third place, 27 points):
Nina Saturday Standard (Q, first place, 30 points):
Zhora Sunday Jumpers (part 1 of MACH3!! She hated this course’s opening, super poky, third place, 11 points):
Nina Sunday Jumpers (NQ, the bar down came down so late she was almost over the following jump!):
Zhora Sunday Standard (MACH3!!!! Third place, 27 points, the top three dogs were within like a second and a half of each other!):
Nina Sunday Standard (Q, second place, 28 points):
Some really challenging and trappy courses from Candy Nettles! I accelerated in the wrong spot and caused a bar down for Nina, costing her a Jumpers Q. She had a lovely Standard Q though. Zhora doubled for QQ # 58 (2 more to MACH3!!).
Judge Michele Fletcher designed some fun, fast and subtly technical courses.
The dogs and I are out of shape thanks to the weather we’ve had lately, we will all be hitting the treadmill.
Poor Nina had a pancreatitis flare on Friday night, and she was still feeling a bit icky on Saturday morning. I was ready to scratch her, she didn’t even want to do the practice jump, but then her meds and her love for agility kicked in, she dragged me to the ring, and off we went for a nice Jumpers Q. A bit slower than her usual, and I was more than ready to just stop and go off if she seemed off, but other than being a bit slow, she was fine. By the time Standard came up, she was back to normal, broke her startline stay, argued with me on the table, sassy. Love that dog so much.
Zhora was slow and clingy (hormonal methinks) and pulled off the LAST jump in Jumpers Saturday. Qualified in Standard. And then earned QQ # 57 today! 3 more to MACH3! Love her!
Nina Saturday Jumpers (third place, 15 points):
Zhora Saturday Standard (second place, 25 points):
