A Little V

for being such a jerk he sure is cute. :)
I love my Vito.

Breakdown of the Weekend..

Lets start with Pixel for a change (mostly because I have spent the last half an hour watching her videos...)



The good stuff...
She was fast! Like actually ahead of me a few parts on each course.
She was accurate (when I told her where to go...)

The not-so-good stuff
Her dogwalk sucked. Only twice did she actually drive into position. Other times she didn't bother at all, or would stop and stare at me instead...
Her weavepoles sucked. Only twice did she dive into the poles and complete them all the way through.

Things I need to do
Train the dogwalk.
Proof the poles when she is fast. I think that is the problem- she is usually kinda pokey so when she is fast she doesn't know what to do with her body.

We've been working on these issues but they are still issues. Must try something new. lol. I will say that I was very proud of how hard she worked for me this weekend. Pixel can be kinda lazy sometimes and I didn't once feel that I was pulling her around the course. She was happy, and bouncy, and just very eager to work. She earned an advanced snooker q, and then a masters snooker q the following day...

Wicca



The good stuff
Only a few bars!!! Her jumping was very, very good. (mostly)
She listened. She had only one wild run (the last jumpers on sunday), and otherwise was trying very hard to be good.
Her weaves and contacts were super!!!!

The bad stuff
Her start line. I didn't trust her very much, which caused some issues.
My handling at times. I am still late, or sometimes early. I wish I could just figure it out. lol

Things I need to do
Be consistent with her start line. I could kick myself.
Watch my arms. Hello flingy arm, not so nice to see you again....

Overall I am very pleased with Wicca. She started it off with a smoking Steeplechase Q on Friday night, and just got better as the weekend went on. We did get the gamble, but due to a Scribe error didn't get the Q, but that's okay. We have lots of gamble Q's.... She also earned a Snooker Q, and a Standard Q. In the third standard she had the fastest time of all the masters dogs! I believe that was just a bar. She is such a good girl, I felt very connected to her all weekend. It's a shame about our jumpers run, and the resulting "on paper" Q. It really ruined my mood as far as the trial was concerned.

And Brit tagged along for the exposure and was totally awesome. I love that nothing bugs her- all the dogs and people, and tents, and trial noise didn't seem to phase her at all. We got in some training a few times each day- her retrieves are getting awesome! Her first hotel experience was a good one (minus the b*tch who kicked her in the hallway....) and I think that it was great for her to experience the whole travelling/trialing atmosphere.

So all in all a pretty awesome weekend. Even the rain, wind, hail, sun, and more rain couldn't put a damper on my spirits. :)

The ATCH that isn't

I am still trying to figure out my feelings from the weekend.

My dogs did really great. Wicca was super all weekend and only had one wild run. Pixel had some really good moments, and some good speed- just not quite focused in each run with just an odd bobble. And I didn't get lost once. So why do I feel all weird.

According to the AAC Wicca earned her ATCH today. She has needed one more jumpers Q for quite a while. Today she had a beautiful run- fast, smooth and with no bobbles. It was perfect, except for the first bar which she knocked. The judge didn't see it fall.

I didn't realise he didn't see it until ribbons later in the day and they called her for the Q.

I am upset about it. I want to celebrate my ATCH. We worked SO hard for it. I don't want it to be tarnished by a dirty Q. I went and talked to the judge- told him I didn't want it. He laughed and said sometimes you win, sometimes you lose (which is VERY true as I didn't get my gamble Q saturday with Wicca because the scribe didn't tick the box...) But still. I didn't want to win this Q, I wanted to earn it.

It makes me feel all weird- which is not what I want for my ATCH!

So I've decided to pretend it doesn't exist. I am still going to be waiting for that one last jumpers Q for her ATCH, and then we will have a party. With cake. Until then, I will just not look on her stats page.

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I will do a play by play of the weekend tomorrow with videos, and will have photos later this week because Wendy (from Paws on the Run) came to photograph the event and I know there are some pretty kick ass photos of my dogs in among the 5000 photos she took over two days.... :)

Freedom is Blue

This shiny blue van is mine. :) It is unbelievably exciting.

My life will change a lot.

I am grateful to all of my friends and family who have helped me throughout the years-

words can't express how thankful I am for everything

but now I have independence

free to do what I want, when I want

which is an awesome, awesome thing.

Yay for me.

Blazingstar Visit

I went out to visit my friends Andy and Liz of Blazingstar Flatcoats on Saturday. I brought Brit and Pixel along and we went for a nice walk at their place. It is the most beautiful place in the world. Their place is very natural with lots of wild prairie. The river bottom area is full of trees, and it is just a very peaceful place. That is until the Corgi comes to visit and barks her fool head off. :)  Brit had a fabulous time playing with Puffin although Liz didn't manage to get any pics of them racing around together. They were a great match and covered a lot of ground with their chase games. Brit's other admirer was Tinbie. He thought she was pretty good looking and followed her around nearly the whole time. Pixel mostly was a third wheel barking at them, or off doing her own thing. They were both pretty tired after that! It was a nice visit, and we are looking forward to more visits this summer when the river is ready for swimming. Brit thinks flatcoats are awesome. :)

Brit stalking Puffin (who is off camera) and Tinbie following Brit...

Swamp Monster Pixel. :) They had a nice swim in a muddy little pond.

Brit on a mission

For once Brit isn't the stalker...lol

more dirty Pixel.

keeping an eye on those flatcoats!

thanks for the wonderful visit Liz, and for the photos!!!

Playing in the Rain

The dogs had a rather boring day today so I took them for a run this evening even though it was pouring buckets. They had a blast playing in the coulees and are now tired, wet dogs. Which is better than hyper, dry dogs. :)

Say Hi

Boone showin' off his new 'do and his new favorite trick. :)

Long Weekend

I love long weekends, well, I love any weekend but somehow that extra day just makes it more awesome. :)

This weekend is actually extra long for me as I was able to take Friday off too. Four days of no work!

Yesterday Sarah and I went to Calgary and did some training- we ran a few courses, and Sarah gave some private lessons. It was a great day- Wicca and Pixel both did pretty well. Pixels weave poles have fallen apart though and she is popping at the tenth pole more often than not. We have some work to do!

Today has been a busy but good day too- started off with a trip out to Blazingstar (flatcoat land!) for a nice walk and visit with friends. Pixel and Brit had an awesome time and are still a little tired from all the running. Brit met her match physically and she and Puffin had lots of fun chasing each other around. I am hoping to have photos later. :)  The afternoon was spent bathing and grooming dogs. It was way over do. All of the dogs had a bath and brush, and I shaved Boone. I know. He looks cute shaggy, I get it really. But you try to keep up with that coat! It is horrible. So off it went. :) He looks cute shaved too in a strange sort of way. lol. I trimmed his head a little shorter than normal- mostly by accident. Not sure if I like it or not yet. The nice thing with hair is that it grows. Now I am spending a quiet evening at home- with tired dogs.

Tomorrow as long as the rain holds off we are having an agility funmatch. Running a Jumpers, Standard, and Gamble. It will be fun providing we don't get rained on. :)

And Monday I have filled with private lessons in an effort to make some extra money. My money tree didn't grow even though I watered it everyday, so I guess I am going to have to make money the hard way- work for it. lol

Gopher??!!!

No other words are needed. lol

Happiness = Agility Wicca 20/52

Happiness = Agility Wicca 20/52, originally uploaded by manymuddypaws.

I was planning for something else for my project, but loved this shot (well, the whole series) Fun!

Little Dog, Big Teepee

Little Dog, Big Teepee, originally uploaded by manymuddypaws.

This was taken in Medicine Hat after the dog show this weekend. I love Medicine Hat, and could totally live there. I was actually born there but we moved away when I was little.

It is similiar to Lethbridge in many ways. Not sure what it is that I like so much- but it is always so great to go there. There is an agility trial in two weeks there, and we are even staying in the same hotel. lol It's like my home away from home.

Obedience and Rally Thoughts

Obedience is hard. Like way more difficult than one would think. All the little bits and pieces really have to come together before you will get much success. You can't just "wing it." Which is one of the things I love about it. I love the challenge, the training, and the precision of it. I do wish I had more time, and access to a trainer. lol. But I make do with what I have. I have a list a mile long of things I need to work on with Pixel. Pivots being number one, and finishes and fronts being number two and three. I think that the other stuff will fall into place with more practice. But the others are pretty big gaping holes in understanding and consistency....Wicca is pretty great and there is nothing really I need to work on Rally wise. She is finally pretty consistent in the ring as long as I have a good warm up and read the signs properly. lol. And we are no where close to being ready for the out of sight stays in open....

I have been noticing that Rally is becoming more difficult too- which is a welcome change! Gone are the days when you could enter Novice Rally without ever teaching your dog to heel, and qualify by luring your dog around the course with a fake cookie. And that is awesome. I think that for people to take Rally seriously it needed to change.

Now we are seeing more and more NQ's, and less perfect scores. Courses are tough, and judging is harder. And those are all good changes. I still think that it could be made more difficult though- I think the time limit needs to be stricter, and I think there needs to be forced consistency among judges. Not only in the actual judging, but in the courses. For agility everything is regulated- rules are firm, and courses are preapproved. I think Rally should go the same way. It is misleading for people to have a super easy excellent course, and not get called for wide turns and sloppy sits and then go to a tough course with a judge that marks for every imperfection. There needs to be a balance. Of course I would lean towards the tougher judge, but that's just me. :)

Rally is obedience after all, and I believe that dogs should be well prepared for it.  I think that in the coming years we will see better and better dogs in the ring- and an increase in tough courses and judging. Well, I am hoping so anyway! :)

Medicine Hat Dog Show

Tourist 19/52, originally uploaded by manymuddypaws.

The girls and I had a great (but tiring) weekend. The weather was beautiful, and it was a nice small trial with a very friendly atmosphere.

First off Pixel's Open Debut.

She was entertaining. And acted as though she had never been trained before. :) To own a corgi can be interesting...they sure know how to put their own spin on things. A few highlights from her performance
- she brought the dumbbell to the judge
- she played with the dumbbell and rolled it across the floor
- she missed every sit (even when asked)
- she apparently didn't know how to front
-and she finished her performance off with a lovely perch on the broad jump.

We have LOTS of work to do before we go back in the open ring. Lots of that she has NEVER done before- even in training. So it was kind of a surprise. But because I believe that the dog should always leave the ring happy we had a party between each exercise. Her heeling started out amazing but she petered out on the figure eight. It got worse from there. BUT- She did her stays beautifully. I was so proud of her.

On to Rally.
Wicca came in second all weekend. She earned two more legs towards her RAE (6 & 7). Saturday she was a bit distracted and not really herself. Sunday she was MUCH better but the courses were much more difficult. The Sunday courses (and Judge) were super challenging. I loved it of course as I believe that Challenge is a good thing. There were no 100's that's for sure. I've never done such a difficult course before. I even got lost!

Pixel made her debut in Excellent (on the super difficult course) and all the left pivots blew her little mind. :) We qualfied but with an 89 which is the lowest score she's ever gotten.

I also have to mention how proud I am of my students and friends. This was the first trial for three of my students and they rocked it- each qualifying in both trials. They are awesome girls. And of course my "oldies" did great too- there was some pretty awesome teamwork. Sarah and Gyp had a fabulous debut- two High In Classes, and a new RN title. How great is that???

I am especially proud of Jolene for sticking it out with her bad boy Kort. Everyone has a challenge dog at least once in their life and I believe Jolene has hers now. :) Once he gets it together they will be incredible, but the journey there can be a bit rough....

Back to our regular programming...

Blogger was fixing some glitches all day yesterday so there was no blogging. Thankfully it is fixed now. It really shows you dependent we are on technology. It was strange.

Anyway- I am super pumped for the weekend. We are off to Medicine Hat for Obedience and Rally. Pixel is entered in one Open trial. Her first ever.  I am excited and think it will be lots of fun. We are also doing rally- Pixel in Excellent, and Wicca in Adv/Excellent.

The boys, and Brit are staying home. My dad is coming over to dogsit. I bribed him with the promise of fancy icecream, and chocolate sauce. :)

Here are a few photos from yesterday...

Pixel is the biggest pest ever. Serious.

Pretty Brit, who still will not play with a toy...

Vito with his prize. He looks a little crazy. lol

Boone really needs a groom. He is pretty shaggy these days!

haha

Cute Pixel with her little plastic sheepie...(who is missing a nose thanks to Neena! :) )

Have a great weekend!!!

I Wish...



I had a money tree like this in my backyard!



Regional Prep 2

This is the course we ran in last night's Prep class. It is a standard from a Regionals last year. Not sure which province though.

It was really fun, and had some interesting challenges. First off the weave entry- while it looks easy, it got a lot of dogs- both of mine included.
Because the dog is coming out of the tunnel to the right they weren't prepared to go left to get the entry. You had to be ahead of the dog over the jump (almost at the poles) to get it.

I rear crossed everything, even the end part. It worked well for rears because of all the natural lines.  Wicca also took the an off course 9-10. She took the frame- I needed to keep my threadle arm until she was commited to the teeter. Pixel ran it clean except for the weave entry. Oh, and I didn't get lost. :)

Nationals Decision

So I have decided that I am not going to Nationals this year. I have been thinking about it a lot and there are a few reasons why it isn't going to happen. The biggest reason is expense.  I am hoping that it will be closer next year! It would be so awesome if I didn't have to fly...

I am super stoked about Regionals though- it will be a lot of fun I am sure. This year, I feel much more confident in myself, and my dog. I have been trying hard to work on my "mental game" as that is what really hurt last year.  I've been doing lots of reading, and have some things to try out at the next few trials.

I am also looking forward to Pixel's debut at a Regional event. Exciting!

Speaking of which they are desperate for volunteers!!! Volunteers are crucial for the event to be run smoothly. It is not hard, and you will have the best seat in the house. They will train you and everything. Click on the poster for more information.

Sheep!!!!

Brit was so amazing! She was a little confused at first about what she was supposed to do, but as soon as the sheep started moving she turned on to them. Her first turn was about 15 minutes and although her tail was up she was still trying to do the right thing. By her second turn she was balancing the sheep well and taking a change of direction with just a bit of pressure from me. I am super excited. She is the first dog I've had that showed this much interest. I have a dog that likes sheep!!!

I am super excited to do it again! Thanks to Louanne for a great lesson, and thanks to Donna for letting me tag along (and for taking photos!!!)

Crazy Pants has arrived.

Neena belongs to a friend of mine, I am dogsitting her for a few days while her momma is on holidays. Neena is most commonly known as crazy pants. I am not sure where the nickname came from. She is super nutty though, so it suits.

Neena and Brit are BFF's. They sleep together, they play together, they stalk the cats together...It's like I haven't really added another dog to the house 'cause she does exactly the same things that Brit does. It is cute, and kinda creepy.

In any case I took some pics of Neena today so that her momma can see that she is having lots of fun. :)

She is a fierce tugger and does not let go. Ever. lol

Does she not look a little crazy? lol

She is a toy destroyer and my house is always down a few toys after a visit.

She loved the mega wubba though and had a great time trying to wreck it.

thankfully she was mostly unsuccesful and the wubba will live another day. :)



at our off leash run today. Neena is a hang back and watch kinda girl, although does like to fetch. She won't challenge another dog for a toy.



It was windy, can you tell? lol