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

Friday. :)

It's Friday today.

That means a sleep in tomorrow
Agility Training with my dogs
A Walk in the Coulees
Visit with Friends

Sunday Sheepherding!!!!
Time with my dogs.
Mother's Day
Dinner with the family

Lots to smile about today. :)

p.s  yesterday I passed. Just say congrats. Trust that it's a big deal.

Big Mouth

Big Mouth, originally uploaded by manymuddypaws.

Sometimes we all just need to shut up. lol

Regional Prep #1

photo by Sarah Novak on her iPhone. :)

Tonite we ran a jumpers course from a past regional. It was fun, and best of all I didn't get lost. I repeat. I didn't get lost!!! We had some communication problems, but I didn't get lost. Do you know how awesome that is? Like made my day, or maybe even my week.

Both girls ran it well- I had some problems with my timing, and I must say that Wicca's commitment point is getting really frustrating. Sometimes the dog hurles herself over a bar 20 feet away, other times she won't send out a few feet. It's driving me crazy. I guess I am just going to have to assume that she won't take the bar herself and be closer than normal.... Pixel was good- her second run was faster than the first. I need to tighten her up a bit, and stay at her head to keep her as efficient as possible.

I was super happy with how we did. Because I didn't get lost! Now- if only we could not get lost, and make it around a course clean the first (or second) time....

:)

Outside Agility!

Athlete 17/52, originally uploaded by manymuddypaws.

Starts this week! I am super excited. :)

I have Pixel and Wicca in a Regionals Prep class. This week we are running a Jumpers course. Fun, Fun!

We are very lucky to have use of our training field whenever we want. So there will be lots of opportunity to train outside of class aswell.

Yay for Spring. :)

Memories

It was three years ago on Saturday that one of my best friends died. My Gram. It was very difficult for our family, and even now three years later I can't think of her without tearing up, or just crying out right. I know we all say that our Grandmothers are special, but mine was so much more than that.

She was the person I could talk to about anything. She had a wicked sense of humour, and was the life of the party. She was sarcastic, and bossy. She was opinionated, and had no qualms about telling people exactly what she thought. I loved her despite (and maybe because) of all of that. She was so special to me.

I have some pretty amazing memories of times we spent together. I lived with my Grandparents for a full year after I graduated. It was a pretty awesome year. I got to know them even better than before. My Gram and I would stay up for hours playing cards, or just chatting. I am very grateful to have spent that time with her.

 She was a collector of stuff, and a great Garage Saler. She taught me how to find the best stuff, and weed the seller down to half of what he wanted. :) She was always looking for a bargain!  My Gram had a lot of stuff- and over the years I got quite a few hand-me-downs and such. This dog figurine came from her house a few years before she died. I begged her for it for years before she let me have it. My Grampa gave me the bracelet when she died. I keep them together, and it helps me to remember. It is my most favorite thing.

I am not one to remember dates and things usually- and in the past this date has come and gone without a blog post, or mention. This year was different.  I have been thinking of her lots, remembering things we had done together, or one of her funny sayings.  I found some old photos too. She was full of life, and attitude. I loved that about her.  She really was an incredible person. I miss her so much.

I guess in the end all we have is our memories- and that's why I think it's so important to make those memories. I have learned that later, or tomorrow may never come and that I need to make time for the family I love now- while I still have them.

Refreshing

I had a pretty awesome day today. It was so fun to teach new people! I mean, I enjoy my regular students- but this was different and I left feeling re-energized as an instructor. Sometimes teaching classes can be draining, but I do enjoy it. Today really has made me realise just how much I do love it.

The dogs in the group were all great- and the handlers open to try new things and learn. They were very receptive to advice, and didn't hesitate to try again, and again. It was really cool to see the light bulb moments, and the "I can't" turn into "I did it!." Everyone was very supportive of one another, and there was much cheering and excitement.

The focus was on handling, and a bit of foundation work- the group that hosted it is small, and lots of them are pretty new to the sport. They soaked up all the information I gave them and were eager for more. They asked tons of questions, and I think everyone left with some new training plans, and a better idea of what handling is all about.

Even though it was the longest day ever (we left at 4:30...), the day went by so fast that it wasn't tiring at all! I am tired now of course, and really wish that Monday was part of the weekend....