NADAC Weekend (and videos)

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Last weekend we did the SCOR NADAC trial. Cheap entry fees and close to home – how could I resist? We lucked into some beautiful weather and had a lot of fun. BTW, totally LOVED that they chose to offer “per owner” discount pricing packages. I run multiple dogs and since I don’t run any of them in all classes I usually wind up paying top dollar for my runs. Thanks SCOR, much appreciated. I wish more clubs and venues would price like this!

And we even have some video! I rarely think to ask anyone to video my runs and I really should do so more often. I’m not the most elegant handler and I usually cringe when I watch the playback (blame my parents – I NEEDED ballet lessons, I got piano lessons) but I always come away with something to work on. Anyway, huge thanks to Jane and Sue for videoing us!

Bryce likes NADAC because not only do they let Little Old Men like him jump 8″, but there are so many classes without contacts that he gets some variety too. Several people commented on how happy he looked this weekend :). Here he is in Tunnelers:

There’s no such thing as too much Bryce, so here he is in Jumpers. There’s a hill on this field and the old man wasn’t lovin’ those uphill sprints. Can’t say I blame him, by the end of the weekend my legs felt like LEAD!

Bryce had an “interesting” Hoopers run. He started out running normally … all of a sudden he sat down and started pulling at his tail hair. TOTALLY unlike him to stop mid-run, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t anything that hurt (a leaf, maybe?) so I got him moving again. Did a few more hoops, he stopped AGAIN. “Restarted” him a second time, finished the course (squeezing in just barely 1″ under time). As soon as he jumped into my arms I reached around to see what was going on back there… and tangled in his “pants” was a 6″ long pine twig! Yep – that would do it. Poor guy – he ran the course and got his Outstanding Hoopers title with a STICK stuck on his butt! How embarassing! (Sorry – no video of this.)

(I made a point of doing “inspection” before the rest of our runs!)

Raven was looking great in all weekend. When she’s “on” she’s so much fun :)! Here she is in Tunnelers. She went wide on those 180’s – that “bungee” effect you get from some fast dogs when (ahem!) the handler stops moving (I “flailed” too – ugh!) – but she isn’t as obstacle focused as my “big dogs” so if I’d taken off running I would have risked her missing the tunnel entrance altogether. See? Something to work on.

Jayda ran well all weekend, but we struggle for time in the upper levels. She’s right on the “bubble” and the least little hesitation puts us over, which kind of sucks. NADAC’s big distances between obstacles are the worst – she’s faster on more tightly-spaced courses. For those of you who don’t know Jayda, Jayda really enjoys DOING agility but she’s a VERY nervous and environmentally sensitive dog. She’s MUCH better than she was, but it’s difficult for her to let loose and RUN at a trial. However she often makes up in steadiness for what she lacks in speed. We made time on this course and finished her Elite Regular title.

Note the little look over her shoulder as she came out of the blue tunnel. Photographer was back there, I think.

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Happy 7th, Jayda

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A very happy birthday to my Big Princess!

Jayda - 7 yrs old

(Posing is not Jayda’s favorite thing – can you tell?)

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My Clever Girls

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It finally stopped snowing … I think! Flowers are blooming, outdoor agility trials are doable again. Spring? Maybe, just maybe!

Redbud Tree

Violets

At the risk of boring you with Yet Another Stupid, Boring Ribbon Photo, I’m going to post one anyway. Here are the spoils from our first 2 (one day each) AKC trials so far this year: We do pretty well in AKC … when we actually ENTER some TRIALS :). What a concept!

Jayda and Raven - AKC, Spring 2011

Jayda finished her OAP, got her first OFP Q and her first 2 Q’s in Ex B JWW. As of July 1 she will have 6 PACH points – look out world, only 744 to go :)! Seriously, I want her MJP/MXP and think a PAX is doable. I’m not ruling OUT a PACH (anything’s possible), but unless we can pick up a LOT of points in standard it could get awfully pricey chasing those points. Then again, if there’s one thing to be said about Jayda, it’s that she’s full of surprises. We’ll see.

Raven got 2 Q’s in Open JWW to finish her OAJ and join her sister in Excellent – yay! She also got her first Novice Standard Q – which was a pleasant surprise, considering I uh – only got serious about teaching her the broad jump and the chute about 2-3 weeks before the trial :)! Her 2nd attempt the chute was a little twisted – she could have gotten through it, but she didn’t THINK she could and gave up. Back to the drawing board on chutes, and mental note to check the chute before we run and call for a “chute fluffer” to fix it if necessary!

I’m starting to taper off NADAC and CPE to focus more on our goals in AKC. Not leaving either venue completely, but I’m doing NADAC mostly for Bryce these days, and CPE … I want to finish Jayda’s C-ATCH2 in the next year (9 Q’s away) and her C-ATCH3 eventually, but CPE will become purely a winter sport for us (hard to resist 4-6 trials in our own training building!). I have to say that now that my dogs are all past the green dog stage I find CPE trials a combination of exhausting, expensive, and … dare I say it … kinda boring. Might go back to USDAA one of these days or try UKI, but Jayda’s not really a USDAA kind of girl.

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Ode to 2010

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2010, I’m gonna miss you – as years go, you were a good one.

I don’t say that to every year. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I’ve said that in recent memory. Maybe around 1998 or so – isn’t that pathetic?

Oh sure, you had your bad points – there was all the wacky weather and that little business of a 70′ spruce tree in the potty area, but at least no one got hurt. As a matter of fact, everyone here stayed relatively healthy – no catastrophic vet bills for a change (except for Kacey’s $800 ultrasound, which showed that there was basically nothing wrong with her.) The indoor head count actually increased. Sadly, we did say goodbye to a few old friends – I really wish you could have skipped that part. But for once, no plagues of locusts or flying squirrels, and business was pretty good (especially 4th quarter). And it was a good year for agility – heck, a GREAT year, if you go by swag like ribbons and titles.

So I took this picture of your last sunrise to remember you by. See? You even made a nice sunrise for me!

Here’s a recap of this memorable year!

January: Started off inauspiciously with a nasty case of food poisoning, however things quickly took a turn for the better. January 18 – after a year of chemo, Bryce is officially declared to be in clinical remission! January 20 – Bryce’s PT clears him to run agility after his back injury. Jan 24 – Bryce earns his CPE C-ATCH!

February: Hat shows up injured and I bring him inside to a new life as a housecat. Kit goes missing the same week and presumably met some sad end. Poor Kit – you hissed at me the first time you saw me every single day, but underneath you were just a big softie who liked to have a full tummy and stretch out on your blanket in the sun. Miss you, buddy.

March: Crazy weather! Huge trees snapping like twigs! No power for days! Giant spruce breaks and falls, just missing the house. I play amateur lumberjack and cut branches with a pruning saw so I have some place to potty the dogs!

April: Did some agility. Jayda turned 6. Kacey turned 14 and made friends with Hat. She’s such a “cougar.”

May: More agility. Jayda moves up to Excellent JWW and Q’s her very first time! Jayda – NADAC Novice Triple Superior award!

June: With one of her friends gone and the other living in the house, Cassie starts to make friends with Jayda and Raven. Then she starts rubbing up against my ankles and letting me pet her! More agility, and a sudden and sad goodbye to Bryce’s litter brother, Grady :(.

July: Bryce, still in remission, celebrates his 12th birthday! Kacey goes through one of her weird digestive ailments. Fluids, bloodwork, ultrasound – turn up absolutely nothing and she eventually starts eating again and acting like nothing happened. Thinking he only needs about 80 points, I decide to try for Bryce’s 1000 Lifetime Points Award in NADAC. More crazy weather (torrential rain) the end of the month.

August: Trashed my lower back. More agility, more rain. I realize I miscounted and Bryce really needs about 180 pts for that lifetime award. Decided to go for it anyway.

September: Raven turns 3, grows a Big Girl Brain and gets some NADAC and CPE titles. Bryce goes 6 for 6 at a NADAC trial. I strain a quad the 2nd front cross of the first run of a CPE trial … and somehow manage to make it through the rest of the weekend! Jayda – CH-CL! Jayda and I briefly lose our “mojo” and spend the next 6 weeks with intermittent weave and timing issues. Weird weather continues … this time, with a tornado watch!

October: Jayda has a couple of spectacular runs and a couple of spectacular meltdowns. Jayda AJP! Raven’s first AKC title (NAJ)! Bryce almost chokes himself on an apple core. We all have a really “off” day at a Halloween NADAC trial. A sad goodbye to Jayda’s little half-sister – we only knew her from the internet, but she looked so much like my Jayda, right down to her mannerisms.

November: Roof finally fixed! Bryce aces another NADAC trial for 3 titles and his 1000 lifetime points! CPE trial – C-ATCH Jayda, Bryce Ch-JU, Raven – CL3-F! Bryce’s bloodwork still good! I go to my (mumble mumble)th reunion.

December: Raven gets her NF at our Novice Only AKC trial. We have a 100% weekend (16 runs, 16Q’s) in CPE! Raven CL3-R! Final weird weather episode of the year dumps about 2 feet of snow on us the day after Christmas.

So 2010, here’s to you – you’re gonna be a tough act to follow!

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Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays!

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Reindeer?

Lame as I am about sending out snail-mail cards (I’m ALWAYS late!), this year my online card was pretty ambitious.

‘Twas The Night Before Christmas (Our Version)

And if the holiday wasn’t enough reason to celebrate, today it’s been exactly 1000 days since the bloodwork that led to Bryce’s cancer diagnosis. As of a couple of weeks ago, he’s still in clinical remission – getting older but feeling good. It’s been a good year!

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C-ATCH Jayda!

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C-ATCH Toven A Thousand Kisses

“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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