Trial results

We just finished our first trial of 2012.
I ran Blast & Bizzie in 3 runs each day opting out of challenge & Snooker - don't think they are the best thing for building confidence...
Sat was a little disappointing - no Q's, but both dogs were running happy, which is my first concern. The gamble was pretty difficult - only 5 dogs Q'd out of maybe 80 dogs.
Biz is still getting off courses - those tunnels are so rewarding to her! Blast continues to like 10" & is running pretty well - I have to remember how far he has come! Ditto came to hang out & meet new people & dogs... she did very well. She's still very forward & pretty much loves everyone.
Sunday, we ran Steeplechase & both dogs ran it very well - in the same time! 4.59 yps - I'm happy with that! The other 2 runs were both standard runs & a little tricky... off courses got Biz again & Blast decided to blow contacts.
It was really cold inside & out so it was nice to get home into a hot bath!

2012

Well, it's now a new year & hopefully new & exciting times lie ahead!
Ditto is pretty much grown up now, well, her body anyways - she can be quite a willfull puppy so although she likes to work, she can be very independent... still working on that recall & on retrieves. She won't be a year until Feb, so she's still young.

I decided to move Blast to specials, so now he just has to jump 10". Although he really is a good jumper & quite athletic, dropping him to 10" seemed to take some pressure off & he seems happier & running much faster - which of course is a problem - for me! I need to get into better shape so I can keep up!

Bizzie is still a work in progress - still building confidence - she has some great runs & some OK runs. Trying to keep her body in good shape seems to be a bit of a problem - just had her at the chiropractor today & she really seems to need regular adjustments to be able to run well. I probably need to get her on a regular program of massage & chiropractic adjustments.

Boo is still the little nuisance in the house - he just has the most annoying bark - something between a crow & a duck! He still loves to tear around the yard with the rest of the crew, & barks at all the birds...

Definately lots to work on this year - as long as we all stay healthy I'll be happy!

Puppy Antics

Well I can't believe it but Ditto is 8 mo old now! Where did the time go?

She has been quite the little character! Here are some random photos.

She tried to climb the ladder when I was painting, played with the aloof sheltie,
& got her head stuck in a ball!

Training is going well I think - she's quite willful so she can be challenging, but she loves to work & learn! She can now do a teeter & is starting to learn a 2 on 2 off contact for the frame & dogwalk. We have started some jump work & we are still playing lots!

I'm enjoying her so much!

Drum Roll Please........

Last weekend we went to a wonderful trial in Lethbridge hosted by the Go Dog Go kids.They have such a wonderful group there, they set a great example for agility clubs!

I just took Bizzie & Blast & stayed in a hotel (haven't done that for awhile)

Bizzie & I still have lots of work to do - we had no qualifiers all weekend, but our timing is really off, Biz is not paying attention very well & actually peed in the ring (after peeing right before our run). Not sure if she's still recovering from her puppies but I'll need to keep an eye on her.

Blast also did not run very well - he was really distracted, but it was a new site for him & anything new is always a challenge for him. He barked pretty much all weekend, which was very distracting for me as well as others I'm sure. I actually got lost on course 3 times, haven't done that for a very long time.

The up side to all of this is that ........ wait for it ................. Blast earned his ATCHC!

He needed one more gamble Q, & it wasn't pretty, but we got the job done. Thanks to Shirley Ann Redl for the nice course & to Wendy Devent from Paws on the Run Photography for the great photos - taken right after we Q'd.

Trip to BC

We did a quick trip to BC for a family wedding.... we loaded up the RV with all 6 dogs & away we went! After the wedding we were going to visit friends in Kimberley - they are dog people so it was like a vacation for our pups!









This is Bizzie doing what she does best!




Boo was the official bird hunter - he was hilarious & just had a great time!







Blast ran his little legs off & had great fun playinng with the border collies!

This is Ditto playing in the water fountain - she had so much fun - lots of opportunity to work on her recall & she did great!

New Beginnings

Things have been pretty hectic around here lately. I have been babysitting my 2 yr old grandson quite a bit while his mom had another baby boy! His name is Charlie & he's a big'un - 8 lb 11 oz, which is a lot for a girl who normally wears a size 2!

Quinn, the big brother loves Bizzie so here are some pics of the 2 of them! He says "Bizzie talks"

which is a nice way of saying she's a yapillon!

AAC Regionals

Well, our agility Regionals is now over. There were some great moments & some not so great!
Helping on the organizing committee is quite stressful when you are already running a couple of dogs, but the committee were such great people to work with, it was never a problem.

Blast had an oops on his first run - of course it was jumpers which he likes the best! He peed in the ring, which was my fault since I didn't get to pee him right before his run... my dogs aren't in the same height category, but there were only a few dogs in between, so my time management didn't work out so well... He was clean in the first standard run, but took some time to enjoy the view from the top of the A-frame & also had a few distracted moments. He didn't get very many points in the gamble opening, but he did get the gamble. Day 2 was better with a 5 fault standard, a clean jumpers & he did get the gamble. In the end he did qualify with over 400 points & placed 11th, which was pretty good for him considering our 0 point first run.

Bizzie was coming off maternity leave, so I didn't have any great expectations for her & it's a good thing I didn't! We weren't working as a team at all, she was very distracted, visiting the judge, taking many extra tunnels, etc. She should have got both gambles, but the lure of the tunnel sucked her in! She managed a clean jumpers run at the end of the weekend, but it was still not very pretty! She didn't qualify, I think about 20 pts short, but was 5th place in her division. She's off getting spayed today, so she'll need some time to recover before we start back training.

Boo came along for the weekend, so I put him in steeplechase just for fun. He had a great time & won both the steeplechase preliminary runs. He ran in the final & actually got a 3rd place ribbon! Not bad for a little guy who's had no training for over a year! That was probably the most fun of the weekend for me! He's like a comfortable old slipper compared to running the young'uns!

Ditto was a good puppy all weekend & met lots of new people & dogs. She loves the big dogs & had some fun playtimes!

I think we'll all have a little time off now & I can get my house back in order & await the birth of my 4th grandchild!