A local dog training place runs what they call “agility league” every winter. This year I decided to sign Alice up since it’s a good opportunity for a green dog to get somewhere new, you can use food or toys if needed, and it’s fun. It’s also a chance for her to run on a new surface (rubber matting) and get on some new equipment with different equipment surfaces too.
These were her runs today, Standard and Time 2 Beat (it was AKC week, last week was CPE week). I am noticing that, like Nina, she tends to drop bars if we lose connection, as happened in the blind cross at the serp in Standard. That’s useful information.
She’s driving to her weaves and getting them on the first try! All that hard work is paying off!
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
We love Lavonda Herring. Even when her courses don’t love us. Alice finished her Novice Standard title (round 2 of Novice remember) and had some gorgeous NQ’s. Zhora earned QQ # 124 and then went berzerk on Sunday, Nina earned QQ # 14 toward her PACH. A really fun weekend!
Zhora Saturday Jumpers (QQ #124, third place, 13 points, she hated this course):
Nina Saturday Jumpers (NQ):
Alice Saturday Open FAST (NQ):
Zhora Saturday Standard (QQ #124, first place, 29 points):
Nina Saturday Standard (Q, first place, 34 points):
Alice Saturday Standard (NA title):
Alice Saturday Jumpers (NQ but nice run):
Zhora Sunday Jumpers (NQ, I didn’t handle the jump after the second tunnel):
Nina Sunday Jumpers (QQ #14, first place, 20 points):
Alice Sunday Time 2 Beat (NQ, nice run):
Zhora Sunday Standard (berzerker mode!):
Nina Sunday Standard (QQ #14, first place, 31 points):
Alice Sunday Open Standard (NQ but nice run, one lousy bar after the aframe when she just couldn’t collect enough to jump):
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!
Judge Mark Upshaw….he’s caffeinated…. Alice finished her Novice FAST title and ran three other awesome courses. Weaves were GREAT, she pretty much has them dialed in most of the time now, although she wants to go faster than she can so sometimes gets ahead of herself! It’s JOLT (just one little thing) now mostly. I used the new Fix and Go rule with her on one run, very useful. Zhora had a perfect weekend, Nina had two JWW Q’s but no joy in Standard. Love my dogs!
Nina Saturday Jumpers (Q, first place, 4.88 YPS, 23 points):
Alice Saturday FAST (NF title, LOOK AT THOSE WEAVES!! We had a disconnect because the judge thought the gate said “FEO” which is For Exhibition Only, and I asked him why he wasn’t calling any numbers):
Nina Saturday Standard (NQ):
Zhora Saturday Standard (QQ #122, first place, 3.6 YPS, 26 points):
Alice Saturday Novice Standard (NQ):
Alice Saturday Open JWW (NQ):
Nina Sunday Jumpers (Q, first place, 4.6 YPS, 21 points):
Zhora Sunday Jumpers (QQ #123, fourth place, 4.4 YPS, 15 points, she didn’t like this course):
Alice Sunday Time 2 Beat (NQ but NICE!):
Nina Sunday Standard (NQ, I hated this course):
Zhora Sunday Standard (QQ #123, first place 3.7 YPS, 27 points):
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!
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!):
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):
Ginger Robertson designed some tough courses for us! Zhora QQ Saturday, Nina Standard Q Sunday, Alice earned a FAST Q and finished her Novice Jumpers title (she had to go back to Novice after getting measured into 8″ regular for her final measurements, which is a GOOD THING), her weaves are really coming along!
Nina Saturday Jumpers (NQ):
Zhora Saturday Jumpers (QQ # 121):
Alice Saturday FAST (Q):
Nina Saturday Standard (NQ thanks to me getting lost!):
“That was a tough standard course to MACH on, Judge Alex!”
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):
