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By wpadmin, December 25, 2010 10:35 am

One cat …

Two cats …

Three cats!

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By wpadmin, November 22, 2010 7:10 am

“The Dark Horse” did it!

It was quite a productive weekend – two jackpot Q’s for Jayda to finish her CPE Agility Championship, two jumpers Q’s for Bryce to finish his Jumpers Championship (class championship – 15 Q’s at Level 5). And not to be left out, Raven got her last L3 Fullhouse Q, for her CL3-F title. So a BIG title rosette for the big dog, a medium sized rosette for the medium dog and a little title ribbon for the babydog.

And what better than a quiet park by the river on a crisp autumn day for a beautiful picture to mark the occasion .

More and a recap of the last couple of weeks in a few days when I have some time, but I couldn’t wait to post this lovely picture of my Jayd-Jayd .

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By wpadmin, October 5, 2010 6:40 am

So this past weekend we did an AKC trial. I was smart and entered the 2 days it didn’t rain! I used to do this particular trial all the time but haven’t gone to it in a few years. There’s always a conflict with something closer, but I really want to get going on Jay-ven’s AKC titles so this time it won out. It was fun seeing people I don’t run into that often … and to count the double-takes when they saw me there. Not one but TWO people I knew got MACH’s – that was nice!

Two weekends ago, we were at a CPE trial on a beautiful, secluded site. A gruelling hike to the tenting area, even from the drop off zone, but perfect for a dog like Jayda because everything was far from the rings. This weekend’s trial was a BIG outdoor trial – about 3x as many people and lots going on. I knew it would be challenging for Jayda, I think I underestimated HOW overwhelming it would be.

Jayda isn’t afraid of people – she likes most people. She just doesn’t deal well with new things and people sitting elbow-to-elbow all around the Excellent ring watching her run was initially too novel for her. Two jumps into her first run , and she had an “OMFG” moment, leading to a few extra, random jumps. I got her attention back, picked up the course at the nearest obstacle and ran the remaining 2/3 sans weaves but otherwise cleanly – to my surprise, earning us a bit of applause from ringside. It must have been a fairly impressive recovery? Aw, thanks you guys !

She was still a little stressy during Open Standard – ran a nice course but lost it in the poles.

Raven fared much better, picking up a whopping 67 pts her first time in Novice FAST (with 7 seconds to spare), and a 1st and Q in Nov JWW. Everything’s interesting, nothing phases her – she played tug with me and kept sticking her head in the equipment buckets looking at all the kewl stuff in there (Jayda wanted nothing to do with those creepy buckets.) If she had a complaint it would be that there was an awful lot of walking for her short little legs.

With Jayda popping the poles twice in a row, I was determined get in some weave review work in before Sunday. It was dark when we got home Saturday but fortunately we didn’t have to be there early the next morning, so there I was in my teeny little yard at 6:30 AM Sunday with a tape measure and my stick-in-ground weaves. While setting up, I saw some mushrooms towards the end of the little grass patch – UGH! I’m MAJOR paranoid about mushrooms, so that meant I also had to get out the trowel and dig up my yard before we could practice. By the time I was done, I had just enough time to reinforce a couple of sets of weaves – oh well, better than nothing!

Saturday was perfect weather – moderate and sunny. Sunday was cloudy, cold and windy. Wind is not Jayda’s favorite thing – things blow around, move, make noise … way too unpredictable!

Murphy’s First and Second laws made an appearance for Jayda’s runs on Sunday. I never take her out early because she stresses, but I thought I had time to check on ring 1′s timing and still get her to ring 3 in time for her run. As luck would have it, 2 dogs weren’t there and I arrived at ring #3 just AFTER they marked me absent and were setting up the next height! Ack!!! Fortunately, the judge let me run at the end of the class. Took Jayda back to her crate, went back to ring #1, which was now just about to walk Ex JWW.

Afraid of missing her run AGAIN, I kinda rushed the walkthrough. There was also a big crowd of people walking, so it’s not like it was easy to get your bearings in a couple of quick passes. I do, however, have a little trick that I use: “The Course Map Chant”.

When I’ve adequately walked a course, I do my little chant in my head while running and everything just flows. If I haven’t walked the course enough, I have something to fall back on (besides the numbers) to me keep from getting lost, though my timing will suffer. It may not be pretty but it can salvage an entry fee, and with AKC entries at a going rate of $24 for the first run in these parts, … well … salvage baby, salvage!

So I did my quickie-walkthrough grabbed Jayda and headed over to the other ring … only to have a dozen things cause delay after delay after delay. With the dog that stresses when she waits – wonderful! Between that and the wind and course builders starting to anticipate setting the next course, by the time I got her into the ring I was sure we were headed for a one-way trip to Meltdownville. I took off her leash, squeezed her shoulders, told her she could do it…

And we had an AWESOME run! We used our one-refusal ticket with a false start at the poles, but once she went in my 7AM training paid off and they were perfect.

How awesome? The judge actually came up to us afterwards and told me how much she enjoyed watching us! She thought it was “very pretty” and liked that I was nice to my dog the entire time – wow, and what a sweet thing to say !

Ran from there back to the Ex JWW ring, where it was almost our turn. By this time I was feeling more confident and knew Jayda had at least run off some of her nerves, but that was the “busy” ring again.

We had a little hesitation in the poles when she eyeballed the crowd for a second, but I got her through clean and ran the rest clean and under time! Had some wobbly spots where I had to rely on “the chant” because I wasn’t 100% sure where I was going, but Jayda’s such a good egg – she made us look good.

After a LONG break, I ended the weekend with an exhilarating JWW run with Raven, where “sticky-pup” amazed me by going into obstacle focus for several jumps, diving ahead into the poles at full speed …and sticking them! Damn, that girl can weave! Woohoo, Babydog! Just one little moment of “the bouncies” near the end to slow us down, but that was good enough for a 29″ run, a 1st place Q and a title. On to Open!

Raven also saw her cousin Zinna at the trial – the two girls thought this family reunion called for a party, but since we were waiting to run, the timing (not to mention the location) was rather innapropriate so Terry and I had to be the fun police. A play date may be in order – can you say “22 lbs of cuteness ?”

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By wpadmin, October 4, 2010 12:51 pm

First, I think I ruffled a few feathers with my last post! Wasn’t intentional – while the post was triggered by some comments on another blog, it was essentially just general venting, not aimed at anyone in particular. I participate in all venues that are within my “travel radius” and I am quick to clear up misconceptions I hear about any of them, whether they come from an “AKC person” or a “USDAA person” or a “NADAC person” or anyone else. BUT, at least in my area, there is some definite “dissing” of certain venues and a sentiment on the part of SOME people that only those which produce team members for international events are worthy of notice and anything else … well, your titles may as well have come out of a Cracker Jack box! I was on the receiving end of a couple of snide comments at an AKC trial this past weekend from someone I’ve known for years. I laughed them off, but seriously – it gets old after a while!

In the last 3 weekends we’ve done NADAC, CPE and AKC trials. I’ve realized that one of the things I LIKE about doing multiple venues is the versatility which it demands from both dog and handler. I love the challenge of running my dogs in flat out, full extension, “pedal to the metal” NADAC one weekend and attacking a technical Excellent JWW course the next. For me, it’s a rush to succeed at both .

(The down side of “cross-trialing” is it takes longer finish advanced titles in any of them – there are only so many weekends in a year and only so many dollars in a checkbook.)

If you were to ask my dogs, Bryce likes NADAC best these days. That’s because they let him run at 8″, and even though we don’t do contacts any more, there are still 4 different games he can play! OK, so he doesn’t LOVE Hoopers (he’s “old school” and doesn’t think hoops are real obstacles) but still, he’ll even take that any day over sitting it out in the car. Retirement isn’t his “thing” – once a workaholic, always a workaholic.

Jayda likes CPE best, but that’s probably more the trial sites than the organization itself. A lot of them around here are quiet and secluded – just her style. Jayda finished her ChCL (Colors Championship – 15 total Q’s at Level 5) the other weekend.

Raven likes everything. She’s been bringing her “big girl brain” into the ring more often than not as of late, and putting in some really nice runs. We still have issues to address, excessive handler-focus being one of them, but she’s a little pistol and a blast to run !

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By wpadmin, September 23, 2010 8:56 am

I’ve been playing this game for quite a while now (since 1994 – yikes!) and one of the things that’s always annoyed me is agility venue bashing or “neener, neener – my venue’s better than yours.”

AKC, USDAA, NADAC, CPE … I’ve done well in all of them through the years, and I’m game for trying anything new that comes along. When you “cross train” a lot, the first thing you learn is that every venue is different and they all have their pros and cons. Believe me, I can be a world-class whiner and could come up with a pretty good list of gripes about any of them! But to label one “better” than another? Or even more ridiculous, assume that the teams that participate in a particular venue are less skilled than those who compete primarily in another?

I spend a lot of entry fees in two venues that seem to bear the brunt of this attitude: NADAC and CPE. Heck – even NADAC people turn up their noses at CPE ! Why do I participate in them?

When I started out with my girls, those were absolutely the right venues for us at the time. NADAC’s open courses and smooth flow gave Jayda the confidence and speed she so badly needed. “Sloppy handling” is a common accusation from non-NADAC participants, but I have to say that if anything, NADAC forces me to be very conscious of my handling – a bobble or a spin or even an inefficient line can so easily put you over time (even with a “fast” dog!)

CPE is awesome for babydogs – being able to do short courses like Fullhouse and Colors is a fabulous middle step to decreasing reinforcement density in a genuine trial atmosphere. Both venues are also very accomodating for semi-retired veteran dogs – my old guy has plenty of games he can still enjoy SAFELY in both venues.

Last Spring I went from weeks of nothing but CPE and NADAC to a 3 day AKC trial where Jayda qualified all 3 days in jww – 2x 1st place in Open and again the next day as a move-up on a pretty tight/technical Excellent course – one of only 3 “A” dogs to qualify. Damn, those out-of-control NADAC dogs and their sloppy handlers .

ARE there teams running in NADAC who lack the necessary control for other venues? Yes. ARE there teams in CPE who “get by” with gawdawful handling and a lot of luck? Of course there are. But each venue brings it’s own particular “flavor” to the table and if you look at them with an open mind and a POSITIVE ATTITUDE, you’ll realize that each one offers something unique that can enhance you and your dog’s teamwork and skills.

At the end of the day it’s the relationship with your dog and how you perform as a team that matters, right? So please don’t assume my dogs and I are “less-than” because I choose to play in a different venue!

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By wpadmin, September 22, 2010 8:15 am

Cassie (the porch cat): I really LO-O-O-VE Yooouuuuu!!!!!
Raven: Ewwwww – kitty cooties!!!