Saturday Karl and I loaded up all of the dogs in 2 vehicles and drove down to Cannon Falls for the MAC winter USDAA trial. I was not looking forward to getting up at 3am but I was looking forward to running on dirt. I had to get there extra early to do check in. But I got the crating spot that I wanted since I was there so early. The dirt was packed nicely.
Vada’s first run, Gamblers, was really fast and my timing was off. But we had some nice runs. Lots of “so close” runs. She earned her first ever Steeplechase Q and she finished her Masters Pairs title.
Seven was only entered in Gamblers and Jumpers. I planned for weaves in our Gamblers run to see where he was at and if a different place would be different. As soon as he saw the weave poles he tried to avoid them. I brought him back and got him started weaving and then we moved on. His Jumpers run was very nice.
I only entered Letty in Jumpers. It was terrible and I regret even entering her. There was so much for her to look at there and then Karl was timing just a few feet from the start jump. I set her up and she saw him and really wanted to go say hi to him. I figured it would be good for her to learn to ignore him but in hindsight that was not the place to proof that. So I probably should have let her say hi and then asked her to focus. She was so torn at the line and she stood up and I let her continue. She went in the wrong end of the tunnel and I said “oops”. I’m not sure if she considered that a marker or not. I put her back in the tunnel to continue but then she crashed a jump and that really shook her confidence. I tried to keep running like it was no big deal but she started going around jumps. I brought her back to do 1 that she missed and then she went around another and started sniffing so we just ran the line of jumps out and tugged on her leash at the end. So no more USDAA trials for her for a long time. I need to fix her startline understanding too – lots more proofing. Poor baby dog. She has forgiven me though.
Karl and Fringe had some nice runs and picked up their 2nd Starters Standard Q.
Sunday I got to sleep in a bit then I took Vada and Letty to training. I had a plan so I was excited to train. We worked on Letty giving me attention before I released her to bark at Warren. I wasn’t getting the greatest attention but I was getting a fairly good sit til I turned her on. We also worked on her bark and hold by having Warren come up to her then having him back up so she was moving forward but barking and not punching him. I don’t think she was dirty at all. We ended with an escape bite. He drove her at one point too and she just went right into the pocket. I was so happy to see that since it was always an issue with Vada. Vada did well on the suit again. We worked on sending her from a distance and on out downs and call offs with the whistle. She got pretty tired at the end and was starting to focus on me too much. Lots of good stuff to work on!
Sunday night I went to the Lagoon Theater in Uptown to see Didjah’s movie Thin Ice. It was fun to go to a different theater with friends and see a friend’s dog in the movie. Didjah was in the theater too so the fans got to meet him before and after the movie. Pretty neat!
Last night I finally was able to go to Cardio Hip Hop again. So fun but I am so out of shape and way too sleep deprived.
For Christmas I made Karl a calendar of our critters along with their birthdays marked. It arrived yesterday. It turned out really well! I got one for myself too.
Here we are almost halfway thru February. I have been crazy buzy and have not posted in almost a month and a half. So I’m going to try to squeeze in a quick update.
The day after my last blog post we dropped Cinder off at the vet for the day. Towards the end of the day they did an x-ray. She had a huge mass in her abdomen. Turns out it was her liver full of cancer. Karl met me at the vet on our way home and we held her and petted her while Dr. Jina released her from her failing body. We were glad that Cinder came to us for help instead of running off and never coming back and dying on her own. We got to spend some time having her in the house and loving her before her time was over. She was over 12 years old which is pretty good for an outdoor cat!
For New Year’s Eve we went to Joe and Julie’s house for our annual night of fondue. LOTS of eating along with some drinking. Letty was invited along again to play with Emmy. They play very oddly but they seem to go well together and they tire each other out. I also entered Seven and Vada in the AKC trial. I was on the waiting list but I got in. Neither dog had any Qs. I had nerve issues since it was our first time in Excellent, Vada had bars and Seven had weaving issues. So frustrating when he’s perfect but for weaving issues. And he’s good in training at OTR and in the barn. That was his last AKC trial for a bit. He needs to have his weaving pallet cleansed!
So I have 3 online classes going on and I’m behind on all of them. I was doing ok and keeping up with the webinars for awhile. Not the homework though. Now I’m behind on everything. But kind of amazing that there is so much information that I can not make time to get it all in! Recallers 3.0 and The Winning Process have technically ended – so no new material. I have 6 months on all of them to make sure I get what I need for notes out of the courses. And in Recallers Lynda has started a group to improve Crate Games. I really need to get on board with that one as I have a few start line stays to clean up. And there is a small group that has started over with doing a new exercise each day.
In January Kristin started an open training group. There are about 6 of us that rent a barn on Friday nights in Hudson. It’s a drive but so nice to be able to bring and work whatever dogs I want on anything that I want. We take turns designing the equipment layout for the night. We try to get in 1 jump grid and then 2 small courses with the other equipment. It’s been going really well. I did not go last week as I needed to get up at 3am Saturday to drive to Madison and we don’t have training this week as everyone is getting up early Saturday morning (or going down Friday night) to go to the USDAA trial in Cannon Falls. But then we’ll get back to a regular schedule.
I started my Systems Analysis class at HTC on Mondays. It’s technically every other Monday. So technically I can go to Cardio Hip Hop every other Monday. Yeah, that hasn’t been working so well for awhile. Hopefully things will settle down soon and I can get back on a regular schedule. I need to get back to a regular work out schedule too. I miss running and my treadmill time to myself and for myself. Plus, since I’ll start out walking it’s a great time to read my homework for class. I really like the class but it does have alot of homework. I still have one more class after this til I’m done with my certificates. I heard that there is a Project Management class too that I might be tempted to take once my certificates are done. My boss said he’s keep paying for more classes if there were some that I was interested in.
We started back to obedience classes. I’ve taken Vada and Letty each week so far. Vada has been doing awesome in Nancy’s class. Letty does pretty well. It’s alot for her. We missed a week or two and when we came back last week the format of Letty’s class had changed to more of a run thru format. That is not a good fit for her. So, we will rethink that. It might be a better class for Narc or Seven. If there continues to be no other class at the same time then I can do open ring time in the other side of the building too. That would be ideal for my dogs and me. Work them good for a short period of time and go home. 🙂 It’s nice to be back doing obedience again.
We’re had quite a few trials at OTR but nothing major. This year my plan is to do only Saturday of trials unless I’m on the show committee.
So we did 1 day of the TIM USDAA trial at OTR. Seven Qd in P3 Jumpers. Fringe Q’d in Starters Snooker and finished her title!
Vada Masters Gamblers
Seven P3 Gamblers
Vada Masters Standard
Seven P3 Standard
Seven P3 Snooker
Fringe Starters Snooker
The following weekend was the OTR CPE trial. I was the trial secretary so I was there both day. The dogs did well. I’m more relaxed at CPE trials. Vada earned an elusive Level 5 Jumpers Q – only 3 more to go for her CATCH. She also earned her last Level 5 Colors Q! And she picked up Level C Qs in Standard, FullHouse and Jackpot. Seven earned 2 Level 5 Standard Qs – only 6 more to go. He earned a Level 5 Jackpot Q – 1 more of those left to go. And Level C Qs in FullHouse, Jumpers and Snooker. Baby dog Letty earned Qs in Level 1 Wildcard, in Level 2 FullHouse, Jackpot and Snooker and Level 3 Jumpers. We earned her first CPE NQ in Level 1 Colors.
Letty Level 3 Jumpers
Letty Level 1 Wildcard
The next weekend was the OTR USDAA trial. I was the chief scoreperson so I was there both days. Karl trialed just on Saturday. The group from Omaha was there so it was a more fun trial. It’s always fun to walk the courses with them and talk handling. Vada earned her first ever Masters Standard Q!!!! I was so happy! Maybe there is hope. We also earned our 4th Masters Pairs Q with Terry and Presto. And we took first place. We earned a Snooker Q too but it wasn’t a Super Q so it didn’t really count towards anything. We still need 2 more SQs. Seven picked up 2 P3 Jumpers Qs and a P3 Snooker Q. Again, not a SQ so it didn’t really count towards anything. He had weave pole issues still all weekend. Letty was entered in P1 Gamblers, Snooker and Jumpers. I have learned that in USDAA I can not put Letty into classes where I design the course. I do not plan it well nor run it well. So, it’s just Jumpers for now. The Jumpers course was hard but we did pretty good. There was one spot I was indecisive and then in her way so we had a bar. Not too bad. I also realized that we need to really work the “run to the leash” skills. Karl and Fringe Qd in Advanced Snooker and Starters Standard. It was their first time in Standard. Fringe nailed her contacts!
Vada Grand Prix
At the CPE trial a vet who was running her dog did cold laser while she was there. Karl brought Narc to try it on his brucitis. I think it helped! I brought him to the vet’s clinic 3 weeks later for another treatment. It may have helped shrink it again but not as much. We’ll see her again 3 weeks after that treatment for a 3rd treatment. I’d love for this to work and get rid of the problem.
At the end of January we had the MMBC banquet / annual meeting at the Park Tavern. It went really well! Everyone had a good time and enjoyed the end of year gifts. We were able to get enough people to bowl 2 games afterwards too. And a new membership person was voted in so my final term on the board is completed! So I am currently board free! Finally.
On January 12th Karl’s mom, Shirley, passed away. She was sitting on the bathtub putting lotion on her legs and she fell backwards and hit her head which caused bleeding in her brain that they could not safely fix. It was very unexpected. The silver lining is that she is in heaven with her husband, Roy, again. She was missing him tremendously. Karl has been spending alot of time with his sisters to plan the funeral and his speech and then to get all of their affairs with the house and stuff in order. Luckily, a couple was already interested in buying the house and Shirley had met them and approved of them. That makes it a little bit easier.
In February, we went to 1 day of a UKI trial. It was different but it was alot of fun too. I had moved Seven and Vada up to the Senior level. I only entered Seven in Speedstakes as there was no weaves. He Qd. I entered Letty in just that class too. She had 1 weird bar down but ran really nice. I entered Vada in everything. I think she Qd in Snakes and Ladders and something else. Gamblers maybe. Karl entered Fringe in 2 classes – Speedstakes and maybe Gamblers. I think they Qd in both. He also entered the add on Standard class and came super close to Qing.
Fringe Speedstakes
Letty Speedstakes
Seven Speedstakes
This year I’ve been able to get Letty to Warren’s twice to work with him. The 2nd week she came out all crazy and gangbusters. So we need to put more control on her. 🙂 She’s doing great and does not forget. We put Vada on legs. She’s loving it. So I need to start learning the mondio rules and exercises. I bought a whistle – purple.
Saturday I drove to Madison for the North Central Schutzhund Training Day. I have not gone in years. The last time I went it was a bad experience. I was really glad that I went this year. It was a great experience for Letty. For her first obedience session she was very distracted but still gave me some good heeling. I worked Narc (he did awesome) and Vada (she’s trained so well and makes me laugh) and then brought Letty in for a second session. As soon as we walked in she was like “let’s work”. It was great. Then we had a 2 hour rule change / handling tips seminar. It was really good. Then we had lunch and then started protection. They had a few helpers there and some were good helpers that I trusted. I was able to get 2 sessions for Letty – each one on a separate helper.
Sunday was the Min Pin AKC trial. Last year they did not allow “mixed breeds”. Vada and I earned her first Excellent Standard Q! Seven was not entered. Fringe and Karl earned a Q in their first Novice Standard run and also in Novice JWW which finished their NAJ title! They are on a roll!
Vada Excellent A
Fringe Novice JWW
So that is a month and a half summarized. I’m sure I missed tons. No major health issues. Copper is doing ok. Not great but not bad. The weather has been pretty mild and still we have no snow.
K9Katet 