Witches and Goblins

photos by Jennifer Burns

Keep checking the blog this week for more photos.

Name the Pumpkin Heads

photos by Jennifer Burns

More Ribbons

CONGRATULATIONS !

Chirsty and Zorro competed at Sacramento Valley Boxer Specialty in Dixon on Friday. Charlie took some great photos and Zorro did some good heeling. Here is what Christy had to say:

We sure got a lot of bang for our 1821/2. I still can't believe we earned HIT! I haven't had so much fun in a long time! What a neat way to get your first novice leg.

Indy Ribbons

Congratulations to Sue and Indy. They earned a blue ribbon in Colors this weekend. Sue said he did a great gamble too.

Get Well Wishes

Lea gave Jennifer quite a scare this week and puzzled the vets. Nothing showed up on the x-ray or sonogram. Thanks in part to Jennifer's insistence that "yes she is lethargic"and her inability to keep water down, it was discovered after surgery that she had ingested a piece of rubber.

Bottom line is that those of us who are very active with our dogs know when something isn't right. Maggie, Helen Marie, Donna, myself and I'm sure many of you can attest to that!

We hope Lea gets that spring back into her step very soon.

News From Maggie

Birdie did a nice job in PA. She was High Scoring Kerry the first two days with a 3rd and a 2nd in STD. No Q's the third day and a JWW Q the last. She got a QQ in Carson City this past weekend on Sunday and a 1st place in STD on Friday.

Riley continues to improve slowly. He practices in the yard and is entered in the Invitational [Dec in Long Beach]. There are a couple matches coming up at the trials in Rancho Cordova. I think I will let him have a run at those and see how he does.

Halloween Invitation

Here are some of the photos from last year.

If you have not already done so, please let us know if you will attend and how many dogs you will bring.

Oct 31

9:30 a.m.

photos

dunking for hotdogs

games

Focus Class Revised Schedule

Thank you to those who responded promptly to the e-mail message regarding the Focus Classes. By popular request we have switched the Nov 14 date to the 21st! Here are the final dates:

November 7 and 21 will focus on crosses (which one/how/when/where)

December 5 and 12 is open for suggestions.

PROUD WEIM!

Congratulations to Sue and Indy on their Saturday wins.

I am so proud of Indy! He was entered in 2 classes today: Fullhouse and Standard (both Level 1). He was the 2nd dog at 8:00 a.m. and full of energy. He did not take the course I had made in Fullhouse to get the required 19 points. His course got 27 points! First Place out of 2 - 24 inch dogs. He could get away with it in Fullhouse but not Standard.

The Standard course required 2 front crosses. While walking it I could here you both reminding me to cross closest to the obstacle. There was a choice between a jump off to the side or go offcourse straight ahead to the tunnel. He followed my command! and took the jumps. Bear in mind that he was the only 24 inch dog, but he got 1st place with 0 faults and did it in 34.78 seconds!

FALL SCHEDULE

Saturday, October 31, will be our annual Halloween photo shoot followed by some games. Time is 9:30. We will have a costume for your dog to wear for the photo or you can bring your own. All classes are invited to this.

We have Focus Classes planned for the following Saturday mornings: Nov. 7 and 14, Dec 5 and 12. You can sign up for the 4 dates for $60 or pay drop in of $20 per Saturday. These are for Classes #1 and #2. The Foundation class will have a separate schedule.

Handler & Dog

Ube and Rollo photo by Jennifer Burns

HOT Ribbon!

Dixon was hot this weekend! But there were some ribbons!

Magnum (above) earned his Excellent Standard Preferred Title with a First Place.

Merlot (below) earned two Open Standard legs, with a Third Place on Saturday and a First Place on Sunday.

Echo and I still have work to do on contacts. They are something we will need to on a regular basis - just like the weaves. I was pleased she got Sunday's weave entries.

Donna an Ube came to visit on Saturday. Ube is looking very grown up!

Christy and Zorro participated on Saturday, I missed their runs. Same with Jennifer and Kerry on Saturday but I did get to see their Standard run on Sunday. They did a super job on the closing sequence which looked

like a large "P". It had a pinwheel with a front cross and then two jumps out - in Novice.

We wish Maggie good luck in PA at her Nationals with Bird. She had to leave Riley home because of a possible neurological problem. She asked to be remembered in our thoughts and prayers.

Good Luck this weekend!

And think Cool Thoughts!

Stay Cool

Here are some Alaska photos to help you stay cool! We had good weather where it counted and we saw eagles and whales!

Schedule Reminders

Wednesday, Sept 9 and 16 classes will be 6 to 7:30. The field is divided into a contact course and a weaves section with different course numbers each week. Half the class should be able to work contacts while the others work on weaves. Class #1 and #2 will work together.

+++++++

Session 6 - $90

Class #1 (Peanut, Chudleigh, Lea, Gem, Rocky)

Wednesday Sept 23, 30, Oct 7, 14, 21, 28

TIME: 5:40

Class #2

Friday Sept 25, Oct 2, 9, 16, 23, 30

TIME: 5:40

Foundation Class

Friday Sept 4, Sept 25, Oct 2, 9, 26, 23

Time: 4:30

+++++++++

How does Saturday sound to everyone when we switch to weekends?

In November and December we are planning to offer 2 hour Focus classes on the weekends. We should be able to get 4 or 5 of these in, weather permitting. Time would probably be 9:30 a.m. If you like Saturday we will stick with that in January.

SUPER STARS!

Congratulations to the SUPER STAR weave handlers and dogs this week in Class #1!

Not only were they doing 6 straight weaves but they did them from jumps! I didn't get to video everyone, but here are two dogs that didn't get taped last week.

First there are two clips of Gem followed by a slow motion showing how much work and concentration goes into weaving! The last clip is Lea taking the weaves from a jump. She is two stepping the weaves.

Keep on having FUN WITH WEAVES!

Broad Jump Practice

Watch Lea and Ube "bounce" the waterfall in this slow motion clip of Friday's post! If dogs are motivated they will RUN even in the heat! In this case it's Echo they are chasing, but it could be us on the agility field. - STAY COOL this weekend!

Foundation Playtime

Thursday was a hot night for the dogs and their handlers.

But it wasn't too hot for the dogs to play after class.

Stay cool this weekend!

Weaving This Week

Although the class was small this week, we had some good progress on the weaves. The first part of the video shows Rocky doing 6 poles for the first time! Then we have Chudleigh doing 4 straight with Christy on either side. I didn't get to video Lea doing 6 straight from a jump so I've included Kerry doing 6 from a chute at Napa's trial. Next week I hope to film Lea and the others who were not here this week.

Congratulations to the weave handlers. Keep having fun with your weaves!

Super Weavers!

Coffee's Beans at 3+ weeks

See if you can spot which is the only Rough Collie.

FunPhotos

This was the opening to the Excellent Standard course on Sunday.

Tire to green jump to pink jump on left, a fourth jump straight ahead and then the dog walk on the right.

This weekend's courses were some of the most challenging this year.

Saturday in both Jumpers and Standard only 4 Excellent B 20" dogs qualified out of 46! I have extra copies of Sunday's jumpers for anyone that would like to see what Novice, Open and Excellent looked like.

They were fun to run.

Check out all the smiles!

Everyone tried hard and the dogs were super to put up with the heat.

Please post your brags both large and small in the comments below.

FOCUS ON T's

Focus Friday is next week August 21. Please let us know whether you plan to attend.

TABLE, TIRE and TUNNEL will be our focus.

Cost $10 for dog in class. If you have two dogs you may bring and work them both for $20 or alternate exercises for $10.

Time: 5:45 until we get the exercises completed.

Sweet Success! or Dog People are the Best!

Success is more sweet when you have to really work for it! There were several success stories this weekend and pictures too!

Echo and I began on Friday but it wasn't until Sunday when I was right on and so was she. We earned a second leg in Excellent A Standard! It has been a long time coming and it was never Echo's fault. Lax or lazy criteria on contacts, not working "difficult" weave entries along with my not always consistent handling has kept us out of the ribbons. Agility is not as easy as we all thought when we first got into this game. BUT I've always had a lot of fun training and trialing my dogs. Visiting with friends ringside is an added perk and County Wide's trial seems to lend itself to that.

Christy, Charlie and Jennifer were great at helping out ringside. You really do get to watch all sorts of dogs when you pole or chute set. Today Jennifer and Christy had to run their dogs in the afternoon heat. Open Jumpers and Novice Standard had less than 5 minutes between runs! Both did nice jobs.

Jennifer and Kerry almost made Standard but for an A-frame contact. Jennifer went home, tested Kerry on stairs and realized she had not been clear on her criteria. I promised myself I will only treat average or better and only treat a behavior I want... I am so glad I was there for your & Echo's standard run! I was as happy as if it was me getting a Q!!

Chirsty and Zorro earned their Novice Standard title on Sunday.

I can't thank you enough for the

WONDERFUL hint to keep Zorro from sailing off the table.

It worked, and we got a perfect score.

Another dog was faster though so we took 2nd place.

Attached is the photographic proof. Zorro was very hot. Just think, no more HOT novice standard classes at the end of a long day.
I enjoyed hanging out with you and Jennifer this weekend. Dog people are the BEST.

Helen Marie was off doing bird stuff and Magnum earned his Junior Hunter title!

Yesterday was so awesome! After all our work the past few weeks with the whistle and instant response...

On Saturday he responded each time to the

whistle turning and changing direction when I called. He worked well going to the bird field, got there WAY ahead of me and held a point till I stumbled across the rugged ground to flush the bird for him. I swear it was 10 minutes but since we only have 15 in the field the whole time, I guess that couldn't be. This was the only bird he found Saturday but handled it well enough to pass.

Today in the same field he did his impression of Frank Sinatra "I did it MY WAY" Magnum's nose knows where the birds are and they don't have to be planted by humans in the bird field. The three he found were no where that humans had an idea...Magnum hunted on his own finding and pointing and holding till I got there. His "trainability" was sort of lacking as he wanted to hunt

where he wanted to hunt and fortunately he was productive.

Well he did - and I do feel that we got a sort of gift from the judges but I appreciate it. He got a 5 for Trainability which is as low as you can get to pass, BUT he had a 9 for Pointing and Bird Finding and a 10 (which is as high as you can get) for Hunting. He needed an average of those scores making a 7 and he ended up with an average of 8.25 today.

Dog people realy are the best!

Good Luck!

Good Luck to everyone trialing this weekend.

Although we would all like to Q, you can succeed in other ways. If you've been struggling with weave entries, contacts, start line stays and your dog makes it, let us know. All the pieces of the puzzle are worth celebrating!

FOCUS FRIDAY - Aug 21

What would you like to focus on?

Rear Cross; Obstacle Discrimination; Serpentine; Front Cross; Susan Salo jump grids; Contacts; Box Work.

Let us know in the comments section below. Also if you plan to attend.

Coffee's Beans

photos by Jan Perinoni

Puppies

News from Julie this morning that Coffee had 3 Sable, 2 Tri. One girl of each color. All are doing well.

photo by Jennifer Burns

More On The Weekend

Donna and I would like to congratulate all of you who had fun competing with your dogs this past weekend. Your ribbons are well deserved.

While some of us were on the coast enjoying the 60 degree weather with fog and mist, Helen Marie was in Reno in 102 degree heat. Here is what she has to say about her trip.

Magnum did what he went to Reno for. Magnum completed his Versatility Title - VER with two first places earning 192 points of 200 on Saturday and 195.5 points on Sunday!

This is an interesting class as it consists of two exercises from the Novice, two from the Open and two from the Utility classes. There are 12 combinations of exercises that you MIGHT get and you don't know what you are going to do (this is kept a BIG SECRET) till you walk through the ring gate - well, it is secret for the first dog going in, which was us both day. You have to be ready for anything, heel ON LEASH to Articles and all the others, so you bring your dumbbell (the fourlegged one and the white one that looks like a bone) the three gloves and articles. It is fun to watch the dogs trying to figure out why they are doing some of the "easy" exercises, or as in Magnum's case the second day why I had insulted him by keeping him on lead after entering the ring.

More From Ferndale

Everyone had fun running the new RAD class on Saturday. They will be offering it on Saturday at County Wide’s trial, sign up that day. It’s a fast course with jumps, weaves, tunnels and either an A-frame or teeter. All levels participate together. Our course was a giant figure 8 with the A-frame in the middle.

Jennifer and Kerry Q’d on Saturday their first time in Open Jumpers (12 poles) and had a very good attempt on Sunday. I left before Kerry's Novice Standard run today.

Maggie, Riley and Bird had some nice runs on the weekend. Riley double q'd on Friday and Sunday. Birdie q'd in standard and jumpers but on different days. Birdie sure liked the RAD class!

Julie and Cue earned their Open titles and qualified first time out in Excellent A. Jet double q'd on Friday.

The courses were very nice this weekend. Challenging but with good flow. Novice is not what it used to be. I'll try to set up some of the interesting challenges for class.

I was pleased with my handling for the most part. Echo was jumping with ease now that I know how to stretch her out. Unfortunately I took a quick glance sideways to see if the bar I heard had gone down - it had not! We were approaching the weaves and Echo stopped to see what I was doing! One thing I know for certain, I will work contacts before County Wide! I have let them slide and it showed.

Hope you enjoy the photos! Jennifer took the one of Echo in the weaves.

Ferndale

Check out the smile on Jennifer! Kerry earned his Novice Jumpers Title with a 1st place and some smooth handling.

The dogs had a fun romp in the field afterwards.

Echo and I had a smooth Excellent Jumpers run but I pushed her on the weaves and she went in the wrong entry. We kept on going and as a result the ending was just as pretty as the start. Unfortunately, I forgot to give my camera to Jennifer so it's one for the memory!

Maggie and her Kerry Blues are up here too and doing well.

This is a great place to trial in the summer - cool and foggy. Tomorrow we get to try out a new AKC class based on Steeplechase. All levels run the same course.

Rollo

Christy and Charlie have a new addition to their household. His name is Rollo and he is a real cutie!

New Session

The summer is flying by.

A new session begins on Wednesday July 15.
A new Foundation Class begins on July 23.

ENJOY THE SUMMER!

Hello!

We must have left the cooler weather in Washington!

We did bring some fun exercises back and plan to set them up for class on Wednesday.

See you then.

A Very Busy Day

Lots of fun handling games were introduced to the working teams today. It was a good thing we had blue skies all day since we worked outside on the grass. Some of the dogs and handlers may even find themselves in a video that is being worked on.

Tomorrow is contacts and weaves. If it's anything like today we will be busy. We head home in the evening.

Has Anyone Been Checking The Blog?

We've been busy working the dogs, writing notes and absorbing lots of good information. The dogs are having a good time too!

A Day Off

Today we had a day off to enjoy the outdoors with the dogs. It is raining on and off. This morning we took the dogs to a park where Jennifer, Kerry, Lea and sometimes Ube went swimming. Echo and Coffee played along the waters edge wading in up to their elbows retrieving cookies. ALL of us are resting this afternoon before we begin 5 days of foundation and puppy work plus weaves and contacts. Donna and I had two great days working Masters Handling exercises with Inc and Echo. Lots of fun challenging exercises to share when we get home.

Are We There Yet?

The slide show begins with photos of Ube who got to ride in the back seat. He had a "spot" on the floor but would occasionally pop up to ask "Are we there yet?" No wonder -- we left home at 9:30 and drove until 10:30 last night! That left us only 2 hours to drive today. We checked out the town and drove to see Argus Ranch. See the photo of the large covered arena where we will be working Echo and Inc tomorrow. After settling into our motel we let the dogs play and stretch their legs in the field next to the motel.

It is beautiful and green up here and warmer than expected!

How Sweet It Is!

Helen Marie and Magnum were entered in Obedience and Veteran Sweepstakes at the recent Brittany Specialty in Vallejo. Magnum who has his UDX was off to a rough start in Utility B with a non qualifying score but managed to surprise his handler in the next two events. Here is Helen Marie's brag.

I haven't seen a qualifying Open [obedience] performance from him in years, he usually blows the sit stay and IF he makes the sit stay it is only because he has blown one of the other exercises. OK, we have no chance for the Obedience award. He does a beautiful - albeit typical Magnum - job in Open with slow, moon the judge drop, sneezes and nose touches on his fronts. We go in for sits and downs and when I came back from the sit stay he was STILL SITTING!!!! Amazing!!! Coming back from the down stay he almost moved but held it and we qualified. One of five.

Well, I know my boy, one of five puts us fifth, and with the fourth place dog getting a 196 I knew we weren't getting anything higher...BUT he did score a 190 which is one of his personal bests and of course we got the High Scoring Obedience Brittany trophy!!! YES!

We went over to the conformation ring where we did our thing in Veterans, the judge was impressed by my 12 year old physical conditioning and good teeth. Magnum got lots of applause, which he loves, as he gaited around the ring. He got his ribbons and toy and I got a check! WOW! AND we were presented with the Obedience trophy while we were in the ring for Veterans.[see photo]

It was a really great day! Magnum is sound asleep under my computer desk, but he deserves to be snoozing and snoring. ;-}

Truely An Inspiration

Check out Susan Garrett's Blog
http://susangarrett.wordpress.com/
The June 7 post and the video in the comments section of the June 6 post have some truely inspirational video. You may have seen videos of Donna Rock doing obedience work. If not, you are in for a surprise.

For those who are not familiar with crate games, here is what is going on. The object is for the dog to sit when your "hand" touches the crate door. Once the dog sits, you open the door and feed the dog a cookie - high and in the back of the crate. During the teaching process you "step" on the leash when you release the dog so he cannot wander. You then wait for him to decide to go into the crate on his own. Once he does you feed and repeat the process.

The second video shows Donna's young border collie and her older Doberman doing some obedience work. To find the agility video in the comments section of the June 6 post you can quickly scroll down until you see the video picture. Here she is using a tug toy to reward the dog instead of just spitting food as she had done with her obedience training. Pay attention to the excellent timing of her front crosses. By the way the BC is only a year and a half!

Achieving Goals

Congratulations to Maggie and MACH2 Riley for reaching their second MACH. It takes a lot of dedication, practice and perseverance mixed with a big dose of love to accomplish this title. Riley needed to earn 750 points (earned by seconds under course time) and 20 double Q's (qualifying in EXB Jumpers & Standard in the same day). That was for his first MACH. They did it a second time for their second! Way to Go!

Just beginning their career in Agility, Christy and Zorro earned their Novice B Jumpers title this past weekend. We wish them many happy training days and trials as they form a team. Enjoy the Journey!

Playing Tug

I'm still working with Coffee on playing tug with me. She has a soft hold/bite and I need to be careful that I don't jerk the toy out of her mouth. Watching dogs play tug with each other, especially an older dog and puppy is helpful.

Here are two 40 sec. videos of Echo playing with Ube. Watch the interaction. How Echo re-offers the toy after pulling it out and let's Ube win quite often.

Too bad my camera has no sound. Echo "hums" the whole time!

Stay Challenge!!

If you don't know what to work on with your dog between now and the next class, here's an idea. For the next class we are going to have a challenge. Who can do the farthest lead out stay. No, your dog will not be required to do the jumps, but will be required to stay. The challenge will start at 5 feet and will continue to 25 feet. Dog moves you're out!! That means lifts rear, creeps forward, etc. If you succeed at 5 feet the next challenge will be 10 feet, then 15 feet, 20 feet and 25 feet. If there is a tie we will have a tie breaker. This will be done in each class. Good luck practice those stays in front of a jump. a tunnel, a tire, etc. The first piece of equipment you sit your dog in front of could be any piece of equipment. See you in a couple of weeks!!!