Agility in the Rain....

It rained- alot. And was almost unbearably cold. But we survived and mostly it was a great weekend. I love outdoor trials- even in the rain. And it was great to hang out with dog people all weekend.

My dogs did really great- even in the rain and I am very proud of all of them.

I was very sad to not run Boone- and so was he I think! I am betting his first trial back he will be more than just a little excited! He got to come and watched and visited but it's not the same as getting to play. Poor Guy. He is starting back this week in classes so that should make him happy!

Vito had a lot of fun, and I think was pretty happy to be out. He was a little weirded out by the people on the side lines- but managed to stay pretty focused on me. I am pretty proud of him. He doesn't get much training and certainly hasn't sequenced that many obstacles before. He came very close to getting two Q's on the weekend- in standard and in jumpers. He ducked under the tire in both runs, but otherwise was great. He ran in three events total.


Pixel did so well. She was her normal spunky self and didn't even care about the rain! She did exactly what I asked her and it was quite refreshing to have a dog that responds so quickly. She did have a few moments of young dog stuff- she nearly left the ring to go visit, but came back (and wrapped around the ring barrier in the mean time), and it is very obvious I have more work to do on her contacts. Her speed is improving each time, and I think she will get faster with more experience and confidence. Handling wise I am very happy with her- both rear crosses, and front crosses were no problem for her. She qualified in all four events she was entered in- she now moves to Advanced jumpers! (on a side note I should mention this took Wicca a few years....) I am very excited to continue training and running her. It is just so neat to see it all come together. She is seriously the cutest thing ever and I just adore her.



Wicca was great. Truly. The videos may not show it but this was our best weekend at a trial in a long time. She actually listened. Sure, we knocked a few bars, and had some miscommunication, I was late, she was early...lol But she listened and tried hard. I can't ask for much more than that. I tried to stay calm, and run like I meant it all at once. It is hard to find that balance sometimes. She had a few weave pole wipe outs- she got stuck twice on the steeplechase poles. Her contacts were not bad- although she early released on a dogwalk. The gamble was great- all that hard work on directionals has really started to pay off. So overall I am pretty happy. She earned two Q's- a Steeplechase, and another Gamble.

I am having trouble with the music- I chose the Queen song- Another one bites the dust- but youtube said no way. I chose a replacement song but not sure when or if ever it will work.

All in all a pretty wonderful weekend. I am feeling more in the groove so to speak. It's a good feeling.

Proof...

that it's not just me. :o)



even when she's naughty she makes me smile. she is just so damn happy to be playing.

oh, and she did great at training last night. of course.

Pixel's Debut

Pixel ran her frist two events a trial today and did awesome. She wasn't nervous, or gawking around, or at all bothered by the judge or pole setters. She just did her job. She is seriously cute.

The first class was snooker and i found a nice flowy path for her. We did awesome and I was stoked to get all the way to 7 before the buzzer went. And then I found out I forgot part of the #6 combination so we didn't get enough points. We were short 3 points for the Q....all because I didn't pay attention in the walk through! :o)

The second class she was in was Jumpers and she did great- more confidence this time, and had pretty decent speed. She was very focused on what she was doing and moved ahead nicely. I am very pleased with how she did. She may not be fast like her big sister, but makes up for it in accuracy. She earned her first Q!



oh, and I apolagise for the cheesy music on Pixels video- I couldn't get iMovie to recognize my iPod for some reason...so had limited choice. :)

Wicca will get a blog post of her own tomorrow...but it pretty much will consist of Wicca being a jerk....

Training Video

So not only am I posting two blogposts in one day, one is a video! Pixel is so cute!

Calgary Agility Trial- video posted!

This weekend I entered Wicca in five things only- no standards, or challenge class. I am really going to limit her agility this year, and at this point standards aren't that important. I was a little sad to not run her in the standards, but I could tell by the end of the weekend that it was a good choice- she isn't stiff or sore at all.

She ran awesome this weekend. We were very much a team and I am just so proud of us.

Her gamble on Saturday was wicked. The gamble itself wasn't all that difficult- but lots of dogs didn't get it, and only a few did the mini gamble twice. Wicca got 108 points, and another gamble Q.

She knocked the first bar in Snooker- which required me to do some fast thinking on my feet. She totally messed up my plan and our time ran out before we could finish. I was certain we didn't have enough points for the Q, imagine my surprise when her name was called out for the Q!! She had 40 points exactly. Which is exactly how many you need. This earned us our Snooker title! I never thought I'd see the day...

Her last run on Saturday was jumpers, and it wasn't an easy one! We had two bars- both of which were my fault. It was a serpentine to a push thru and I was just a fraction of a second too late. She slammed both bars. Otherwise it was very nice, and very fast.

Sunday started out great with an awesome Steeplechase run. She took down one bar, but was fast enough to make up the time for the Q. She was one of the fastest dogs overall. The course actually required handling- which was nice for a change and was lots of fun.

Another snooker round- this one a little harder than the one on Saturday. She thought she'd out do her Saturday snooker and knocked TWO red bars...geez. I really had to work at getting her around that course. But we did it and made it to seven before the buzzer. And we Qualified. No kidding. I was super excited when I found out. This time with 41 points... lol

Here is the video of the sunday snooker run. Thanks Kim!

Talk about thinking on your feet!
I used to be so scared of snooker, I hated it with a passion. I still don't love it. But am comfortable with the game, and with my dog. And it is noticeable.

And that was it for her. Seriously it was an awesome weekend with her. Her Q rate is never that high, so I am pretty thrilled.


Boone didn't have such a stellar weekend, in fact it was probably the worst ever for him. Saturday he was completely stressed out and wouldn't connect with me at all. In warm up he was perfect- tail wagging, having fun- and then I'd put him on the start line and it was all over. Sunday was a bit better and his steeplechase wasn't awful..but still it's not the same dog I had in class last week.

I need to figure out what is causing his stress- I have a few theories. Contacts- he had a bit of a melt down last week about the frame, possibly he is still worried about making a mistake. Weavepoled- again this weekend he was skipping out. The bases weren't the problem as he sometimes popped out at the third pole. His weaves were PERFECT in class last week...Or maybe it is physical? He is kind of a wussy dog so you'd think I'd notice if he was sore, but I haven't. I will keep a close eye on him though and make sure there is no limping, hitching, or stiffness...

Wicca's Jumpers

How she kept that middle bar up I'll never know....lol

thanks again sarah!

Boone AADC

Boone's Advanced Q from the weekend. I was thrilled with his weaves, and his focus!

Thanks to Sarah for the video!