Oh Yeah, You Blend

Well, so Zhora had nearly three months off (her last trial was the weekend she got her MACH, which was May 7), and wow, she came back with a bang! She had a perfect weekend, earning double Q’s #21 and 22 towards MACH2, plus a Premier double Q! Nina ran wonderfully with a Jumpers Q on Saturday and a Standard Q on Sunday. We also had a major disconnect today that almost ended up with one of us getting hurt – I was prepared to take the fall to avoid stepping on her but fortunately neither happened! As much as I wish I was raising puppies right now, it sure was nice to get back to running the Z dog, not bad for a trial I entered on the last open day on a whim, because I love running under judge Lavonda Herring! We are taking it easy for a while, one trial in August only.

Nina Saturday Jumpers (Q, first place and 20 points):

Zhora Saturday Jumpers (Q, third place and 18 points, part 1 of QQ #21):

Zhora Saturday Premier Standard (Q, first place):

Zhora Saturday Standard (Q, second place and 25 points, part 2 of QQ #21):

Nina Sunday Premier Jumpers (NQ):

Zhora Sunday Premier Jumpers (Q, first place):

Zhora Sunday Jumpers (Q, first place and 14 points, part 1 of QQ #22):

Nina Sunday Jumpers (EEK!):

Nina Sunday Standard (Q, first place, 30 points):

Zhora Sunday Standard (only last half got videoed unfortunately, Q, third place and 23 points, part 2 of QQ #22 and end of the perfect weekend!):

…I have a phone consult set up in a couple of weeks with Dr Robert Hutchison at Animal Clinic Northview (he’s a renowned repro specialist vet, who did the surgical AI that resulted in the B litter!) to discuss what he thinks the best course of action for Zhora is. Further bulletins as events warrant!

…so during a sleepless night recently I was thinking about things and I suddenly realized (and I am not sure how I hadn’t realized this before) that if I breed Zhora on her next heat, she will not only miss the Invitational, but also in all likelihood the National Agility Championship next March. Missing one or the other would be one thing, but missing both…I have never gone to the NAC before, and next year it’s in Georgia, a one day drive away. I could handle missing the Invitational I suppose, although to be going with the #1 (Zhora) and the #3 (Nina) dog is pretty cool, but given that it is possible that this might be our last time going if it moves to the west coast next year, it would be tough to miss.

So after discussing it with probably more people than truly wanted to discuss it with me, I may be putting off breeding Zhora until after the NAC. I am in the process of setting up a phone consult with Dr Hutchison at Animal Clinic Northview to talk about options (he is a renowned repro vet and is the one who performed the surgical AI with frozen semen that resulted in Zhora herself!). Updates will be posted here. I am so sorry that I am in the position of having to make this decision, since I know many people have been waiting for a puppy for a long time. I welcome any questions or suggestions!

Further bulletins as events warrant!

Just Nina and I running this weekend, although Zhora came along for the ride and to see her human peeps and play with her canine peeps! I really miss running her, can’t wait for her first trial back coming up soon!

Nina had some gorgeous runs this weekend, even though we only squeaked out one Q, we were really in sync and the mojo was really working. Our Jumpers NQ today was one of the best runs I think we have had, just one lousy bar away from a Q.

Nina Saturday Jumpers (NQ but really nice run):

Nina Saturday Standard (Q, second place, 32 points, 4.24 yards per second):

Nina Sunday Jumpers (NQ but really nice run, 5.2 yards per second):