bitty brother

It's Been Awhile!

2010-03-11T11:15:00.001-08:00

We've been keeping super busy with traveling for work with DockDogs, so I have been bad about updating. Tractor has got to do some demos at events, but we haven't really got to "compete" this year yet. That's okay, him and Kali are living up the life on the road. Lots of new smells, new things to do and new people. We ARE though going to trial for one day in early April, when we actually have a weekend off at HOME, so I'll be sure to update. Our last trial was in February about an hour south of Vegas, and although he didn't Q, he had a beautiful JWW run (in Excellent!). His standard run was a mess, but couldn't blame him with not training at all and it being so nice out on a spring day. I am looking forward to a couple private lessons in the next few weeks, then that trial, so I'll be sure to update.. whenever I get online after that trial!

Finally Ready To Play With The Big Boys!

2009-12-13T07:13:00.001-08:00

Yep! This last weekend, Tractor officially moved out of Open and is now in Excellent across the board. I was only able to run him on Thursday and Friday, but he had gorgeous runs both days. Kept his focus and was just a very good boy. His handler on the other hand.. well, let's just say I'm the one who needs to get back to class/training! Yesterday, Whitney ran him in his first Excellent JWW course as well as an Excellent Std course and he Q'ed in both!!! (Thanks Whit for taking him.. I'm sure he had a blast!)

Next up is a NADAC trial - next weekend in Kansas with our friends Cesily and Charley. After that, we'll be taking a couple weeks off at home before we hit the road again traveling for work! I'm very excited to see what 2010 has in store for us.. going to be hard to top 2009 for sure.

I'll upload videos soon!

Another Title For T!

2009-11-30T09:18:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving weekend, we headed to Merrillville, IN to trial with some of our mid-west friends at their annual Turkey Day trial. The day started off with Open Jumpers and I was expecting some focus issues as we have not trained but one or two private lessons at all in the last few months. He had a beautiful run, nailed his weaves and kept his head together the entire time. He knocked two bars, so no Q.. but a nice run! I was hopeful for Standard after seeing how focused he was, and he rocked the entire course and came up with a Q and a first place! Such a good boy!

We are now spending some time with our friend Whitney in downtown Chicago and then next week, we'll be back in Cleveland for a trial there. Hopefully an Open JWW Q is waiting for us there. I'll be running him Thursday and Friday and Whitney will be running him on Saturday, since I have to be in Boston for work.

I have video uploaded, will work on the video and try to get it online this week. Hope everyone had a great Turkey Day!

Hi-ho, Hi-Ho, Its Off To OHIO We Go!

2009-11-19T15:27:00.000-08:00

Sorry we haven't posted in so long! We have been busy, busy, busy. Aside from just working on at home obedience/tricks, we haven't got to do too much. BUT, last weekend, we competed in an AKC trial that was here in Vegas, and ended the day with another Open JWW Q. It was a great run, and I am so proud of him. (Video on FB)

We head out today for Ohio for Thanksgiving.. and while we are staying out in that area, we'll be able to compete with our Chicago friends at a couple trials. I am really looking forward to it and hoping we can secure one (maybe two!) titles!

Nothing else new to report..will update after those trials! Hope everyone is doing well! Happy Holidays!

4 for 4!

2009-07-15T13:44:00.000-07:00

Well... over the last week we got even more great news! Tractor was now, not only invited to the 2009 DockDogs World Championships for Speed Retrieve, but based on his rankings, was also invited for Big Air, EV and Iron Dog! We turned down EV and Big Air, because he is not particularly strong in those, but we did accept for Iron Dog - and I cannot wait for us to get there to see how he does! He hasn't had much swimming or dock time (actually only once on the dock since May) lately, but I know no matter what, he's going to have a great time.

This week we just have four private agility lessons and then probably a swim day at my parents. We load up the truck and head out Tuesday morning for the 24 hour drive to Stillwater.

Nothing else new to report - everyone is doing great.. will post update/video after we get home!

Stopping To Take A Breath!

2009-06-27T10:47:00.001-07:00

Well.. life has been nonstop crazy since mid May, and we are just now having a chance to stop for a second to get caught up. Because of my busy schedule, I have to say since our long trip to Chicago, the dogs have not gotten to do much, except for visits to Grandma's and finally last week, a private agility lesson.

Tractor is bouncing off the walls, so hopefully that energy and excitement carries over into Worlds, which is coming up in just a few weeks! Our trip to Chicago was a blast! Tractor got to do an AKC trial, a dock diving competition and all four dogs got to spend four days at Camp Dogwood!

Camp was a lot of fun for the dogs.. Tractor learned a new sport, disc! He is absolutely crazy about a frisbee now, when before we went out there, I couldn't get him to retrieve one to save his life. They also all got to swim, lure course and run amuck. It was a lot of fun and I put some pictures up on our Phanfare, so take a look.

Last week, we had our first dose of agility since May, and like last time we took a temporary hiatus, Tractor's head exploded upon arrival. All in all, it was a productive lesson, showed me that I definitely should not be taking that much time off.. its like I need to be retrained all over!

Anyway, for now, I am traveling, so aside from a few private lessons, the dogs are sitting tight until the end of July. Becky, Steph and I will be making the trek cross country once again, to Minnesota, to compete in the World Championships for Speed Retrieve. I'll try to be better about posting, but if nothing else, will definitely post an update after that.

New video from the private lesson is up on youtube, so take a look! Hope everyone is doing well!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-04-12T17:44:00.000-07:00

Well, we've been nonstop since Del Mar - including another DockDog competition the weekend after in Phoenix, and then a 3 day AKC trial this past weekend here in Vegas. Its been nonstop - but at least now we'll have a few weeks off - until we pack up and make our annual long trip to Chicago to visit our good friends!

First, our weekend in Phoenix - it was a BLAST and well worth the trip down. Tractor not only came in 1st again in Speed Retrieve finals, every single score he had was under 6 seconds - and his new personal best 5.67!!!! We also worked on his EV issue, and he managed to grab 6'10'' and come in 3rd! His big air was great for him too - so we ended up coming in 4th in Pro finals and then 2nd in Iron Dog! For as much DockDogs as he did in March/April - I figured he'd be slowing down, but he put up a great performance all weekend. :)

This last weekend was an AKC trial here in Vegas, and it was again SO nice to do some agility in our hometown. I can't even begin to describe how awesome he was. He ran SO beautifully all three days, all three runs - I could not be prouder of him. The couple runs we didn't Q in, were completely my fault (of course). He pulled off 6/9 Qs, all first places - a new title (for his Open FAST) and even got to compete in his very first Excellent level class.

Next up is a month off! Yep.. we won't be doing any trialing/competitions until middle of May when we get out to Chicago. We'll be out there for 5 weeks and plan on trialing and dockdogging as much as we can while we are out there!

Heading To Worlds 2009!

2009-03-31T16:53:00.001-07:00

Yep, that's right! After a L-O-N-G and exhausting weekend in Del Mar, CA... Tractor walked away with not only two HUGE personal bests... but also an invitation to the DockDogs World Championships 2009!

We started off the weekend with Speed Retrieve on Thursday afternoon - where he somehow managed to pull off a 5.868 score - earning himself 2nd place for that wave! Friday, was all rest for T-man. I was testing out a new theory, and overall I think I was right. I rested him the entire day - and brought him out Saturday morning - and he was beyond ready to go, go, go!

Saturday was very exciting as he SQUASHED his previous personal best in Big Air of 22'10'' - and came up with not only ONE 24' jump, but two! 24'8'' and 24'2'' - he kept up his big jumps with several jumps in the 21'-23' range as well. Last up was EV, where he had some extremely tough competition, but managed to come in 4th (tie) with a last successful jump of 6'8''. The EV competition in Del Mar, was by far the most exciting one I have ever seen, even more exciting than Worlds. Two of our very own Las Vegas DockDog club members duked it out - coming in 1st and 2nd - both are now officially invited to the Worlds for EV!

Sunday was just finals for us.. starting with him earning a place in the top 8 biggest jumping dogs of the weekend. He ended up coming in 5th place in the Pro Finals, with a jump of 22'11''! Last up for the weekend was Speed Retrieve finals... even though Tractor had squashed his personal best of that this weekend as well (it was 6.215 before this weekend) - there were some amazing dogs here - breaking the 6 second mark left and right. I knew just placing in the top dogs of this group would be a huge honor.

Well, first up.. I was revving him up with a duck by our tent and ran directly to the dock for our turn... he pulled out an amazing 5.952 score.. I was THRILLED - as usually by the end of the weekend, he slows down from being tired.. and/or bored. We went and celebrated while waiting for our next turn - and again, revved him up with the duck. Our 2nd time up on the dock, I think we were sitting in 2nd place, of which I was already celebrating! Well... Tractor wanted to prove me wrong.. and pulled out a 5.772 score!!!!!! I could NOT believe it - and screamed and yelled to prove it.. We IMMEDIATELY ran to the tent for a bunch of premade raw food.

That amazing performance landed him 1st place in Speed Retrieve and since this was a World Qualifier, HE EARNED HIMSELF AN INVITE for Speed Retrieve! One of 18 dogs in the world to be invited for this, and he won it! He also, once again, came in 3rd overall for Iron Dog - bettering his score by almost 30pts!

He has no idea how proud of him I am.. after his food settled, he also got to go down to an inlet of beach water and run his heart out with his two girlfriends, Maeve and Dakarai.. and then got even more food. The next day, he got to go to a dog beach and play fetch until he passed out.

It was such an AMAZING weekend, and I could not be prouder of him and all of his accomplishments.

This week he is taking it easy, doing a little bit of agility work in the back yard, but then we are back to Phoenix this weekend for our last DockDogs event until June! After that, its all agility - so we can work on some of those titles.

Lianne is making a video for us, so I'll get that up on Youtube hopefully within a few days.. so stay tuned!

Weekend Of Personal Bests...

2009-03-11T19:50:00.000-07:00

Well, Tractor and I are home from a long and exhausting weekend of DockDogs in Long Beach, CA. It was well worth the lack of sleep and drive though, as he walked away with quite a few accomplishments!

Friday was a bit chilly and the water was COLD (for this desert dog anyway) and so I was nervous about how he would do, as the last time we were at a cold event (Shot Show, in Vegas in February 08) he refused to jump and actually went off the side of the dock to avoid the water. That was not the case this weekend! Friday, we were entered in Speed Retrieve and a Big Air wave. Well, he not only came in 1st for speed retrieve, but he also bettered his time by 2/100's of a second! His new PB is now 6.215 seconds! He also secured his final master jumper leg with a 21'10'' jump, also earning him first place in the master division that wave.

Saturday was another long day with more Big Air, more Speed Retrieve and finally, EV. His BA was also amazing - with him getting a couple more 20' jumps, but also securing his new personal best with DockDogs.... 22'5''! I couldn't believe it.. guess the off season has paid off! :) His Speed Retrieve for that day was still strong for him - both times in the 6.3 range... and then finally up for the day was EV. He came in 4th with his last successful grab at 6'8''!

Sunday was finals, and because of that new personal best, he had his first chance to compete in the PRO finals. Of course, we were up against the absolute biggest jumpers of the weekend, so we did end up in 8th place, but I could not be prouder of him.

Lastly, this was our first event competing in Iron Dog. Iron Dog is where they take your best scores of all three sports and average them out - and you get one grand total. Well, we had some tough competition there and I am beyond happy to report that he walked away with a 3rd place win!

He had an absolutely amazing weekend, competed his butt off and I could not be happier with him. He had a blast all weekend, but was definitely ready to come home and return to agility. He had group class on Tuesday night and was a little nutty. This weekend we'll be getting our weaves/jumps we ordered so we'll have stuff at home to work on.. I can't wait!

Nothing coming up before Del Mar- except maybe one or two practice times on our new, very own, Las Vegas Dock Dog club pool/dock which will be done this weekend!

Del Mar is the next stop on our DockDogs list - then after that it'll be agility here in Vegas! Once Lianne has a chance to work on Tractor's video from this weekend, I'll get it up on our Youtube, so stay tuned!

Officially Open!

2009-02-21T20:52:00.000-08:00

Yep... for AKC, Tractor is now officially out of Novice and all in Open! We drove to LA this weekend and spent one day at a trial in the area. His weekend didn't just start with agility either.. we got to my Aunt's house Friday night - and the very first thing he got to do was go swimming! He played fetch and swam till his heart was content (or not) and then he went inside and got dinner.

Saturday morning, we got up and headed to the trial. We got there and set up - close to the end of Excellent - and because I suck and wasn't paying attention, I totally missed walking his very first Open JWW course. Actually, I ran over to the board literally 3 dogs before he was up - so I had time to run across the field, grab him and head to the course. I will say, for not walking it, we didn't do too bad! He only knocked one bar, which was 100% my fault, because I missed a front cross at the end of the weaves I wanted to do, so I crowded him and it snowballed after that. The last few jumps were hideous on my part, but he was a very good boy! I was very happy with his focus/attention on me - I barely had to talk!

Next up was Novice Standard. This time, I glued myself to the course and waited for walk through - after walking it a couple times, I had a pretty good feeling. We were the last dog of the day (pretty typical for us), so I got to watch the rest of Novice go - and finally we were up. Aside from a little mis step after jump 2 - he again, did so well! He kept all of his bars up, hit his contacts, got his weaves on the first try - and I even was able to layer! He was a VERY good boy. Let me just tell you how much I HATE the broad jump. It is so stupid! That was T's only other mistake, but looking at video, it was completely my fault, the line I gave him, its no wonder he cut the jump. BUT, he went back and did it again - and secured his final Q for his Novice Standard title!

After we were done, he got a little snack and then we got to play fetch for a good hour or so. He absolutely ADORES kids, so my cousins played nonstop with him - and he soaked up every minute of it.

After that, he got his meal for the day and we loaded up the car and headed home. It was a quick trip down, but well worth it.. as he is now officially 100% in OPEN for AKC. Can't wait for our next trial!

AKC Las Vegas!

2009-02-08T17:56:00.001-08:00

Well, we just got done competing in our first AKC trial at home! What a nice change of pace - we got to sleep in our own beds and not have to drive 5 hours to compete! The weather was a bit icky Friday and Saturday, but the weekend turned out to be a success!

Friday was chilly and windy, but no rain, so it was the PERFECT day for Tractor to be outdoors... to sniff. Yeah, he had little focus and I was a bit frazzled so none of our runs that day were pretty at all, but somehow managed a Q in FAST and finished his Novice title for that. We didn't connect at all, he was knocking bars (by both my fault and his own), coming off contacts before release.. it was just an icky day, but at least we got that out of our system the first day! ha!

Saturday was pouring rain. We actually got up, got ready and then decided to stay home. Our friend Jess called us around noon and said "Its stopped raining, get out here!" - so we hustled as fast as we could, got to the trial site, I jumped out of the car - they were ready to start running Standard, and of course, this day they chose to go tall to small. T was the first dog up, and luckily the judge let me walk the course real quick. About 60 seconds later, we were on the line ready to go. Talk about frantic.

Well, it actually wasn't that bad! It was still really rainy though, so I was nervous on the contacts - but aside from one knocked bar, he didn't do bad at all! No Q.. but still a lot better focus than the day before.. so it was a step in the right direction!

Next up was JWW - apparently he has to pay more attention to his footing when we are in the rain, because he kept every single bar up! It was a pretty clean run - having to redo the weaves once and my front cross SUCKING- but overall an okay run.

Last of the day was our first ever attempt at any open class, it was Open FAST. The send was a jump, tunnel and back over same jump - and I carefully plotted and planned my strategy, and it paid off! We had a very nice run, coming in first and getting a Q! He was well under course time and over the points needed - it was finally starting to come together! :)

Sunday was by far the best day - the weather was nicer (still cool, but at least it was not raining!) and his focus was there. Aside from him nailing the tire good on takeoff, he had a very nice standard run. Next up was JWW, and he was still clean from knocking bars that day, so I was hopeful. For good reason too.. because he had a nice run again! Kept all of his bars up, went on (like we worked in class recently) and got his weaves on our weaker side.. very good boy!

Last class of the day was Open FAST. This time, the send was an A-frame to a jump, to a double - and he NAILED it - perfectly. I was ESPECIALLY proud of this run, because he was well under course time and came up with 69 points!!! He hit his 12 uprights perfectly and on the first try (seems he's better on 12!) and kept all of his bars up. This was by far my favorite run of the weekend.

All in all, a VERY good weekend for the T-man! He walked away with two new titles (NF and NAJ) and aced through his first two tries at Open FAST. I might be going to Chicago, but if not, the next trial is an AKC one in 2 weeks - no FAST, but he'll have the opportunity to get out of Novice Std - and be in Open across the board.. so we'll see what happens!

Thanks for all the texts and supports (both Whits, Katie and Beck!) - we had a great time!!

(for video, see our Youtube!)

Just An Update!

2009-01-27T22:55:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had a pretty good group class, so I wanted to share some video from it. We are really working on learning distance/layering with Tractor. His contacts are getting a LOT better without me having to babysit them - and now we are starting to put obstacles like tunnels or the dogwalk - in between us to help the handling. He is really catching on!

He was having a weird night with the weaves, took him a try or two to get them right, but he did get them, so that's good. We have a 3 day AKC trial next weekend, so next week, he has a couple private lessons and group class to prepare. It will be Standard, FAST and JWW all three days.. we can't wait!

(Thanks to my uncle for this video footage!)

Tractor's Officially A Bird Dog!

2009-01-19T07:56:00.000-08:00

Well, because of some things that happened on Thursday of last week, we were unable to get to LA for that AKC trial we were so excited about. Fortunately for Tractor, that meant we were able to go with Lianne and Fred out to a place with the Las Vegas Retriever Hunt Club to see how Tractor would respond to live birds and gun shots.

It was a pretty exciting day - I was having fun watching all the dogs do some really hard retrieves. Tractor took to the birds right away, but as they moved in his mouth he would fling them a little bit, but by the end of the morning, he was soft mouthing them perfectly! I had more of an issue with touching them (thank goodness for Lianne!) - and we have to work on getting him to put them IN my hand.. but it was an awesome first experience. Lianne was great enough to video the footage and put together a little video of our adventure.

Next up is just group class and a couple private lessons. Our next trial is the first weekend in February but it is a 3 day trial IN Las Vegas. That's right.. no driving 3-5 hours to a trial.. its in our own town! He is entered in JWW, Standard and FAST for all three days, so we'll be sure to have lots of agility fun!

Starting The Year Off Right!

2009-01-11T12:18:00.000-08:00

Tractor and I went down to Phoenix for a NADAC trial this weekend and left with high hopes of what 2009 will bring for us! It had been 6 months since we have done any trialing - but his focus in class is always so serious and great, that I didn't even think that he might be a little stir crazy!

We started off after the 5 hour ride down on Friday with his first ever attempt at a weavers course. We have just recently gotten him more reliable on his weaves, so I was really excited to give this one a try. Well, I set him up - first obstacle is a tunnel of course.. and lead out just to the end of the tunnel. We have practiced REALLY difficult lead outs in class, requiring him to do multiple jumps in a funky order and other things - and he has had NO issue with lead outs. WELL.. my fault for assuming.. because I led out to the end of that tunnel and said "Let's go" - he bolted right for me.. completely by passing the tunnel! Oops.. so I take him back and send him through and the chaos began. Not only did that frazzle me because I wasn't expecting it - my nerves played in as well, so the rest of the run was a combo of frantic arm movements (my trainer is going to love watching that video!), horrible front crosses and zero focus. I will say, his last two obstacles were beautiful, as he read/responded to his newly learned "turn" command and had a nice finish. Somehow, we managed to pull of a Q and a first place!

Second run, it was completely DARK by the time Novice got to run - and it was Touch N Go. I was bummed, because he only needed one more Q in this class - and combining the dark with about 5 hoops (which he NEVER gets to see.. and I think are the most ridiculous piece of equipment EVER).. I figured we were in for another ugly run. Well, prove me wrong! He had a beautiful run - but towards the end, I didn't pull back enough to pull him off a tunnel (it was a tunnel/dogwalk discrimination) - and he took that instead of the dogwalk. The rest of the run was gorgeous, he had amazing contacts and had no issue with the hoops.. good boy!

We went back to hotel, each had a big dinner and went to bed by 9:30.. ha! The next morning.. we started off with a Novice Tunnelers run. This was another course brand new for him - and while his focus wasn't 100% where it normally is, he did a lot better with only one or two mis-steps/misreads - which probably were my fault, watching back the videos. He did Q though!

Next up was Jumpers. He had two runs, basically back to back. The first course was a really nice, open course - and after my lead out disaster, I was scared to go more than two jumps out, so I stayed a bit closer with him. Again, aside from him not collecting enough (therefore passing) two jumps, he had a nice run, read his rear crosses and managed to get a Q. That made his second novice jumpers Q for NADAC. The 2nd course was a little bit tighter, but still a nice course. About halfway through, he overshot a jump because I was crowding him, so I had to bring him back and when I did, I didn't give him enough room to take it, so he knocked the bar, but otherwise had a clean run!

After Jumpers, we had a bit of a break to walk around, play a little fetch and just relax. Next runs were standard, and again they were basically back to back (on different rings). First course scared me.. I watched Open and then as they built Novice.. (in my mind) the novice was WAY more difficult, as they had three really hard discriminations. I was the only one in the class to block the tunnel (very first thing up was a tunnel/dogwalk (needing the dogwalk) discrimination - so I was thinking people would think I was weird to do that, but I'm glad I trusted my instinct on knowing how Tractor would take it. He sailed on the dogwalk and held a beautiful contact, giving me time to catch up from blocking it. Seeing as it was now our 5th run of the weekend, I was starting to calm my nerves, so I was focusing/breathing and taking my time, like we do in class. I made him hold his contact, led out quite a bit so I was able to push out (it was an A-frame/tunnel (needing the tunnel) and he nailed it perfectly. He then came out and we had a series of jumps including an "across the feet" move which we had worked in class - and he read everything so well! Then it was back to the A-frame/tunnel and I pulled back just a little and he flew up the A-frame! The ending was nice as well, with only having to re-attempt the weaves once, and overall a VERY nice run. That was his 2nd Q in Standard.

Last run of the day was another Standard course, and this one had no discriminations, so I right off the bat felt a little better. This was another great run for us - with me only messing him up once, not connecting with him after a front cross before taking off, but we came back, he took the jump and nailed his weaves on the first try! This Q was what earned Tractor his very first agility title.. his NAC title!

All in all, it was a GREAT weekend, as always, I learned a lot from him - and am looking even more forward to the next trial. We go to LA next weekend for an AKC trial (jumpers and standard only) - so hopefully the more we show, the less nutty he will get and the less nervous I will be when we actually get to a trial.

Way to go Bitty Boy... I'm so proud of you!

Here's a video of our weekend! (Thanks Becky for shooting the footage!!!)

Hum A Few Lines...

2009-01-07T15:36:00.000-08:00

(to the tune of Wizard of Oz)

We're off to do agility, wonderful wonderful agility! hehe

Yep.. we leave Friday morning for Phoenix to do some NADAC agility. We are entered in Touch'N'Go and Weavers on Friday afternoon and then two standard runs, two jumpers runs and a tunnelers run on Saturday. We are very excited - this is the first agility trial for Tractor since JUNE! After our last one, we concentrated on dock dogs until he unfortunately got hurt. So while he has done some classes, he had to miss both fall trials we were planning on do. BUT, all that's gonna change, because our winter/spring calendar is just busting at the seams with trials.

Our private lessons are going amazingly well and we are slowly working in more difficult handling and longer courses. T's aunt Becky is coming with this weekend to watch/support and of course take videos of our runs. I'll update when we are home!

Lots Of Agility To Be Done!

2008-12-30T20:43:00.000-08:00

... yep! We just signed up for two new agility trials in January - one not this weekend but next, and another the following weekend! We didn't have one scheduled until it came to Vegas in February, but I didn't want to wait, so we signed for up two more. We are doing a NADAC trial in Phoenix the 9th-10th, and then an AKC trial in Van Nuys, CA the 17th.

For the NADAC one, we are going to do Weavers and TnGo on Friday, and then two rounds of Standard and two rounds of Jumpers and a Chances run on Saturday. If he Qs in his TnGo, he will have his very first agility title! I am very excited about all of the runs we have to do in those two days.

For the AKC one, I only entered one day, because they aren't even offering FAST, so we're just going to go down for the day, stay at my aunts overnight, then head home the next morning. We are doing a JWW and Standard. He only has 1 leg in each of those, so even on our best day, he won't get any AKC titles, but at least he'll be closer to it. We have a few more AKC trials coming up - I'd like us to be in OPEN everything by the time we make it to Chicago this summer.. so fingers crossed!

Pebbles and him both start group classes the 2nd week in January, so maybe by the time the NADAC trial in March comes to Vegas, I can enter her in a tunnelers run or maybe a TnGo - I doubt she'll have her weaves by then.. so any class w/o weaves, we may give a go, depending on how class goes. :)

I made a video from Tractor's birthday agility lesson, so here it is:

Happy 4th Birthday Bitty!

2008-12-24T12:16:00.000-08:00

... yep, today is Tractor's FOURTH birthday! I cannot even believe how fast the last four years have flown by. He is getting the best birthday present he could ask for.. a whole 45 minutes of private agility time with our wonderful trainer! Nobody is off today to take video of his birthday fun, but hopefully we'll have some new ones soon - as class starts in a few weeks.

Today is all about Tractor, and I can only hope I can show him a hundredth of the love he has shown me over the last four years. He and I have a bond like none other and I cannot imagine my family without him. Happy Birthday Bitty boy.. Mom loves you!

Clear For Take Off!

2008-12-10T12:58:00.001-08:00

(well, "gradual" takeoff, but takeoff none the less.. hehe)

Today, Tractor saw a specialist for his leg. He reviewed the X-rays and did a pretty in depth physical exam. He said that the Xrays showed a very tiny amount of fluid around his right knee - but nothing that he was too concerned about. During the physical, he couldn't feel any fluid at all, so he thinks because the Xrays were done right at the time of the injury, that could be what it was.

Of course, he said to gradually ease back into training and just keep a close eye on him - to see if he is stiff or showing any signs of lameness afterwards - if so, we'll take him back in, but if not, then just continue with our normal activity!

I am SO excited for this, even more that he can play at home and not listen to me yelling "easy!" or "tractor, no!" or "calm down!!!!!" - lol.

Next Tuesday is Pebbles first agility class/lesson, so I'll bring Tractor along and let them split the half hour lesson. I will get to evaluate Pebbles as well as let Tractor get 10-15 minutes of play time.. to see how he does.

Today we are off to do some studio photos of the VP, for Christmas! I'll be sure to post the new pics on my Phanfare. :-)

Agility....... here we come! :-)

Snow Day!

2008-11-30T21:28:00.000-08:00

Well, despite Tractor being on a break until after the holidays, I let him play a little bit in the snow over Thanksgiving weekend. Poor guy is on such limited play time, that he had a hard time containing it.. and I had to put him away a few times because he was getting out of control. :(

Nothing really new to report, except that his leg seems to be doing a bit better, not favoring it - and I am keeping him on some holistic anti-inflammatories and doing nightly stretches to keep trying to work it out. I really hope he is back to normal by New Years, so we can spend January training for a few Spring trials coming to Vegas.

Hope everyone had a nice holiday!

Clean Bill Of Health! (sorta)

2008-11-13T19:31:00.001-08:00

Well, ready to finally update! On Monday, Tractor got to meet a new Chiropractor - who we both absolutely LOVE. He did a very thorough adjustment on Tractor - and we could both see a HUGE improvement in his attitude and movement immediately after. I had him take a look at his injury and he said he thought it was either a tendon or a muscle, neither of which he could help us with.

So.. we scheduled an appt with our regular vet, who we also love. We went there today - and she did a very basic exam/look over, and because he was tensing up while we were trying to feel around, I left him there for a couple hours. She put him on a mild sedative, just enough to relax his muscles and let her really feel around and get a good, in depth exam in. Since he was sedated, we also did X-rays on his hips and knees to be sure everything looked okay.

She called me back about an hour later and told me that absolutely everything checked out perfect. His hips/knees looked picture perfect, that she couldn't feel any fluid at all in his joints, no popping/clicking of any sorts - no tears or partial tears, nothing. She said he looked/felt just fine.

To be safe, we are still keeping him on rest for the next month or two - probably until after the holidays. His group class just started - so we'll sit this round out and probably start up at the next sign up. He is not on crate rest or anything crazy, but I just need to keep him rested and not a pyscho crazy dog - so he doesn't reinjure himself. It really saddens me that we won't be able to do the two AKC trials coming here this fall - but I'd rather him rest up and take these next couple months off - and not have his career come to a stop because he re injures himself.

The "sorta" comes from the fact that two days ago, his eye started gunking up - I didn't know if it was allergies or what, but knew we had this appt, so we had her look at it - and yep, he's got conjunctivitis. Also, remember that horrible ear infection he had back from Rockford? Yep, still there. His poor ear drum is starting to scar and there was an ulcer on it from him scratching at it - so he got a good cleanse and is on antibiotics for both that and his eye.

Thanks to everyone for the good thoughts for Bitty - seems like all will be okay, he just needs some time for him (and his body!) to recoup from the very vigorous season he has just had.

Next up is a promotion at a local convention - for the Raw lady that sponsors us. Luckily, that's not involving any physical activity, so he will get to go show off for that. :-)

Here's a picture from the other night - how he'll be spending the "off season". hehe

Not Such A Great Update..

2008-11-09T23:17:00.000-08:00

We sure could use your good thoughts for Tractor. As most of you know, this weekend was our Strutt Your Mutt event - the first official Las Vegas Dock Dogs club event and while that went off fabulously.. Tractor's on a (hopefully temporary!) break for a bit.

Last week at agility, he came out of a tunnel yelping - so needless to say, class was cut short. We felt around his leg, had him walk - and after we paid attention to it, he tensed up - and wasn't showing us where he was hurt. In fact, he kept trying to run and even took a jump, while we were standing around watching him.

I took him home, iced it, gave him some anti-inflammatory and he did nothing but rest for the rest of the week. He seemed completely back to normal the next day, not a limp, nothing at all wrong.

So, Saturday - was our event. He wasn't jumping great in Big Air - but he did AWESOME in his EV Demo for the crowd. He started at 6'4'' and jumped all the way to 7'! After the EV demo, was another big air wave, and Tractor and I were warming up behind the dock.. he was hopping around like a goofball, and all of the sudden he yelped and then wouldn't put weight on his rear right leg. I walked it off with him and he still was favoring it. Obviously his fun ended for the day, but even today I can see its a little more difficult for him to hop on the bed, because he is favoring it.

By the time we left the event, his entire inner thigh was swollen and there is a small lump/knot in his muscle. We iced a little bit more today, another anti-inflammatory.. and he is moving a little better, but I'm still worried. Tomorrow afternoon he is going to be seen by a chiro - who will adjust him and take a look at his leg. After that, he'll be going to see my vet (if we can get in) - to see what she thinks it might be.

I'm hoping its nothing serious, just a pulled muscle, because while that will stink because it means no training this week and no AKC trial this weekend - it will devastate both of us if its something that will prevent him from doing agility or dock diving for good.

Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for him, please! Hope everyone is doing well!

Air Tractor!

2008-11-03T09:14:00.001-08:00

Well, we are back from sunny (and HOT!) Phoenix, Arizona. We had a great weekend down at Cynosports. We got there Thursday afternoon and were entered in the last wave of the day. I knew Tractor was itching to jump - and he was hot, so I only practiced him once. We got up on the dock.. I set him up - and the energy he was letting off was really intense. Well, he came barrelling off the end of the dock and pulled off a 23'10'' jump!!! His personal best with Splash Dogs was 21'11'' before this weekend, so almost a whole TWO FEET better! I could not contain my excitement, so him and I went and ran amuck in the little field while we waited for his second turn.

Next turn, he gets up there - held his sit/stay I might add - and pulled off a 23'11'' jump!!! I could NOT believe it.. so it wasn't just a fluke, he was really jumping that far! I couldn't believe it. He came in 1st in the Extreme division - and has a pretty blue ribbon to show for it. :-)

The next day - he was entered in another wave - where he yet again, pulled off another 23'er! I couldn't believe it. (Video should be up on our youtube soon) Saturday was Super Vertical and one big air wave. He wasn't having a good day, at all.. because he fell out at 6'6'' for Super Vertical - and only jumped in the 19' range for Big Air. Sunday, same thing.. he did pull off a 21'er - but just wasn't into it. I know he had to have been exhausted.. four days of dock diving can wear a dog out!

So.. the weekend was a HUGE success - and I couldn't be happier with his performance all weekend. We even got to watch some AMAZING agility Saturday night - so the trip was well worth it.

This weekend is our Las Vegas Dock Dogs event, and it will be our final DD event of the season. He gets to do an EV demo - with another LVDD dog, Rex, so that will be exciting. After this weekend.. its ALL about agility. Next weekend is an AKC trial, and will be our first trial since June. I am VERY excited to see how he does - and I would LOVE to finish at least our Novice FAST title. (fingers crossed)

Pictures will be up on our Phanfare, and videos on our youtube, within a few days.

He's Itching To Jump..

2008-10-20T21:34:00.001-07:00

..most definitely! Yesterday, was a LVDD practice and I only let him jump a few times, but I could see a HUGE difference in his big air. He could barely (and only did like once) hold his start line! I'm going to just do agility with him until we leave for Cynosports, that way when he sees the pool, he goes REALLY nuts for it. We are doing a few more big air waves than originally thought, because we are going to get there Thursday instead of Friday. He will do a few big air waves, but then will do Super Vertical while down there. We are really looking forward to hanging out with some of our club members down there and just enjoying some laid back dock time.

This week, he just has his group class and one agility lesson, then next week, he'll have two private lessons and his group class (I think its our last week! :( ) .. then we'll head out to Arizona! After that.. the next weekend is our Las Vegas event, where he will do a few big air waves.. but also.. he gets to do an EV demo for the crowd! We are very excited, because my family has never got to see Tractor do EV at a competition, so it will be neat for them to see. :-)

After that event, we are done dock diving for the winter - and will spend all of our energy (and money) on agility. I would love to get him out of Novice - but with this newfound love for the sport.. its going to be pretty difficult to reign him in.. but we'll try our best!!

That's all for now! We might get some video of class tomorrow and if we do .. I'll post those!

He's Obsessed.

2008-09-29T01:14:00.001-07:00

Yep.. he is officially NUTS about agility. We started our group class last week and our 2x per week private lessons. He is completely addicted to it and the excitement he shows during class, is almost intimidating.

He is doing great in his group agility class, didn't seem to have an issue going from all private lessons to having to "share" his agility time. It's really beneficial for me to see other handlers and their dogs, so I can fix mistakes that I make.

Right now, the next thing on the calendar is Nationals in Wisconsin. We are nonstop busy, so I am not even 100% sure if we are going to go.. especially since I really do not know if he'll jump... with the cold weather.

However, we do have Splash Dogs Cynosports in Phoenix, AZ coming up the end of October, that not only Tractor will be attending, but also Kali! Yep, that's right, I took her to her first practice this last weekend and she had no issues going off the edge of the pool! (more on that later!) So the three of us will be making the road trip - and will also get to see Amy and family while we are down there!

After that, we have our first LVDD event here in town.. its going to be great to be able to not have to travel so far to go to events! After that event in November, we'll hang up the dock jumping hat for the winter and do nothing but focus on agility! :-)

Fun Run!

2008-09-21T21:14:00.000-07:00

Today, Tractor and I went to a little mock trial our training facility (www.smartypaws.com) and made it just in time for a novice JWW course. Aside from our two classes last week, this was his first time back on an actual "course" in over two months. I am so glad Becky was able to come and video him, because if you go back and check out his videos from when he started earlier this year.. you can see how kind of "blah" he is about it. I mean, he likes it.. but he's just pretty ho-hum with it all.

Not the case anymore.. this dog is so intense, so fast, so wild.. that I'm having a hard time controlling the energy! I really need to work on my handling, because I'm not having the time like I used to, to fix my mistakes, by the time I realize my arm isn't up, he's already taken two off courses and knocked a bar. I am NOT used to this!

Here's the video from the event, like I said, go back and check out his old videos.. and see the difference in focus/intensity in him. He is NUTS for agility. I am so glad.. as we only have two DD events left for this season, then its nothing but agility for at least 4-6 months. I am determined to finish his AKC Novice titles by the first of the year. (cross your fingers for us! :-) )

Here is a video Becky got of us, she also is coming to our Tuesday group class (we start this Tuesday!), so she'll get more videos then. :)

Whew! He Musta Missed It!

2008-09-16T17:40:00.000-07:00

.... agility that is! Today was our first class in 8.. yes EIGHT, weeks, and let me tell you, Tractor fired into the agility ring and took two jumps and a tunnel before coming back at me.. about 80mph!

He was so amped up, that it made class even MORE fun.. but slightly chaotic. He was NUTS for each obstacle, and I was worried that those two months off (right at our peak time.. he had just gotten a REALLY solid contact and comfortable footing in 12 weaves), he would forgotten both.. but I am so happy to report that it he didn't! He NAILED his dog walk and a-frame contact.. and on his 2nd try nailed all 12 weaves.. and this wasn't the same weave monster we had created before... he FLEW through them so fast, I literally was running to try and keep up.

We had a dog walk and turn into a tunnel that was wrapped under the dog walk... he was SO friggen amped up, that he was staring VERY intensely at me... and as I released him and said "Turn/Tunnel" - he turned SO sharp that he dove into the SIDE of the tunnel! My trainer and I couldn't stop laughing, because it didn't even phase him, he just shook his head and re-attempted it and got through. He was on FIRE, all class.. and let me tell you.. all that pent up energy and work - after so much time off.. he was POOPED after class. He came home, had a power snack and is now snoozing in his chair.

That class alone just fed my addiction, and I am SO excited to pursue more agility this fall. We start group classes next Tuesday.. 1x per week, and then we'll have 2 private lessons each week all next month. Our first trial of the fall is October 25th, and its here in a suburb of Las Vegas, so not only do we not have to travel far.. we'll get to try working on those AKC novice titles! One more in FAST and he's got it! We also have two more AKC trials here in Vegas.. one in November and one in December, so that is our ultimate goal. To have him in all OPEN by the first of the year.

A little bit of sad news.. due to my new position at work, I'm having to take on a bigger workload - so our Colorado trip this weekend was canceled. So.. no more dock dogs until Nationals in October, but luckily he only has to wait a little over 3 weeks and we'll be headed to Wisconsin.

No pictures or video from class, but maybe next week I can get someone to come with, as they are evening classes, so stay tuned! :-)

Living Up To His Name...

2008-09-08T09:36:00.000-07:00

His registered name... Texas Tornado is RIGHT. Tractor and I had an AMAZING time in his home state this last weekend down in Katy, TX. Not only did we get to meet tons of new dock diving people that we had been wanting to (Kari.. I am SOOO glad you, David and Finn drove down) but also had quite a few friends from around Texas make the drive (Tammy, Dhana/David, Tracey!!) to come see Tractor in action.

We got in and got settled at the hotel and then Tammy came and picked us up for dinner. After an AMAZING mexican dinner, we went to her friends house where Tractor got to romp around a HUGE yard and burn some energy.

Saturday we got there and he was entered in two BA waves and then EV. Well, his first wave, his best was a 19'11'' - securing his SENIOR JUMPER title nationally! YAY! His second wave, he jumped over 20' (I can't remember what his distance was exactly) getting another MASTER JUMPER leg! This was our first ever indoors event and he was jumping REALLY well. . . so I was pretty excited.

EV started at 6pm, and I knew beforehand that we were up again two really BIG jumping dogs.. and Rex (who... just you wait... will be breaking records once he gets his footing/confidence up on that dock.. he is just incredible) so I wasn't even thinking about winning. This was again, his first time indoors, and the ceiling was fairly low.. with lights and things, so I was nervous it would affect what he was seeing or how he would jump. Well.. it must not have! He jumped his way up from 6'2'' to 6'10'' - and he grazed 7', but it didn't fall. The other three in the top 4 all hit 6'8'', but missed at 6'10'' - so he ended up winning 1st place!! As shocking as it was.. it was also incredibly neat to be able to win at something he loves so much, especially in such strong company.

Sunday morning was Speed Retrieve. If you remember, he tried this for the first time last weekend and ended up coming in 1st with a time of 6.408 seconds.. so we were really excited to try this again... and he did AMAZING again. All of his times were under 7 seconds again and he went on to the final 8 with a score (I think.. will confirm once results are up) of 6.7. He then went on to get a score of 6.8 in finals and won first place!!!!!!

After SR, we did one more big air wave, where he jumped another 20'er and secured yet another MASTER JUMPER leg. He also went on to join the top 8 for SEMI PRO finals, where he jumped over 20' again.. I'm not sure where that puts us for his MASTER JUMPER title, but when I do.. I'll be sure to update!

Anyway.. this was by far the BEST weekend.. and probably most exciting event we have been to. We are home this weekend, but then next weekend.. off to Colorado for a Club event. After that, we'll be going to Nationals in Wisconsin in October. I am pretty nervous about this.. as much fun as it will be.. he does NOT do well in the cold.. and I'm sure its gonna be pretty dang cold up there by then.. but either way, we'll go and have a blast I'm sure.

Pictures/videos up soon.. if you want to see some video from LAST weekend, be sure to see my Youtube. www.youtube.com/myvarietypack

Thanks for all the texts and emails congratulating us.. we could not have asked for a better weekend!! :)

What a FABULOUS Weekend in Rockford!

2008-09-01T16:00:00.000-07:00

Well, we are home! The weekend was definitely an experience that we'll never forget!

It was a weekend of excitement, as all three of us Las Vegas Dock Dogs club members (Rex, Tank and Tractor) were trying things for a first time, setting PBs, making finals.. etc. Whitney was SO generous as to bring us chairs, a crate for Tractor, let us share her tent space.. etc. (Thank you again SOOOO much!) The other Whitney, who I'm sure Tractor thinks of as the food fairy, brought us food for him for the weekend (thank YOU too!!) and helped me out with some pointers.

Now to that actual events of the weekend. First we'll start with Big Air.. he obained 3 more of his senior title legs for Big Air.. with a bunch of 17'-19' jumps.. and even managed to pull out another Master leg, with a whopping 21'2'' (his new PB for Dock Dogs)!! I was so excited, I didn't realize that if he hadn't done that, he would have titled senior for Nationals, but I figured we have all next weekend in Katy, TX to get either one more leg of Senior (15-19'11'' jump) or 3 more Master legs (20'-22'11'' jumps) - so we'll see what happens!

Next up.. our favorite.. EV! We started the EV competition on Saturday night, but after everyone completed a 6' jump, we really ran out of day light, so we had to stop it until Sunday morning. We started up at 6'2'' and he jumped all the way up to 7'! YEP, that's right he hit 7' AGAIN!! He did miss at 7'2'' but he at least TOUCHED it (which he didn't at Worlds, so I'll take it!) so I have hopes that he'll hit 7'2'' sometime in the future. The winning dog for EV won at 7'2'', and the other 3 in the final four, all hit 7', but went out after. To determine the placements after that, they take misses/catches and some other info, and because Rex (who we are VERY excited for!) didn't miss one of the attempts at 7' (Tractor missed his first attempt at 7'), he came in 2nd .. Tractor coming in a tie for 3rd with a really cool dog, Chopper. We got another cool medal to show for it. :)

After EV, was the one thing I was nervous about over the weekend. Speed Retrieve. I had seen it done at Worlds, and it just seems really intimidating, knowing exactly when to let go of the dog (to not lose any time) - or letting go too soon.. I didn't know what to expect. Well.. he went NUTS for this sport.. (Thanks Chris for teasing him at the end of the pool!) his first time 6.6something, and his second score I believe (will update when I have the exact numbers) was a 6.7something. He made the top 8... and then... drumroll please... ended up taking 1st place with a score of 6.40!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not only did he win $100, but this is a HUGE accomplishment.. on his first try ever at SR, he came in 1st! I was BEYOND excited and Tractor could've cared less, seeing as he curled up in a tiny ball after we got done and took a little nap. (*eyeroll* ;) )

Tank, Tractor and Rex all made finals - Tractor making Semi-Pro with his 21'2'' jump.. ended up coming in 7th - as I think he was just done by this time.. his jumps barely clearing the 15' mark.

We had an AWESOME time.. and we leave again Friday morning for Texas. (Assuming the hurricane doesn't hit/destroy where we are going) We'll be doing 3 BA waves, EV and SR. We got lots of GREAT video footage, so as soon as Lianne works it up, I'll post links/videos on here to show off how great he did. :0)

T Minus 72 Hours

2008-08-26T09:51:00.001-07:00

... and we'll be heading to Chicago! I am busting with excitement to get there! This event is going to be a BLAST.. and we'll get to see a bunch of friends! Friday night, Britt is picking us up from the airport so we'll get to hang out at her house and let Boomer and Tractor play.

The event is all day Saturday and Sunday and we fly home Sunday night. We are entered in EV and a few BA waves. As long as he jumps over 6' in EV (which will be our starting height), he'll get his TOP GUN title for DD. I think we entered two Big Air waves.. and then we are entered in 3 I believe in Texas (next weekend).. so hopefully he jumps consistently into one group so we can get titled for BA as well. Right now he has a Junior, Senior and Master leg, so as long as he jumps 4 more legs into one of those categories, we'll be good to go for Nationals. We are also attempting Speed Retrieve at this event.. I'm a little nervous about this, not sure if he'll "get it" - but it'll be fun to at least try.

We get back late Sunday, then leave again Friday morning for Katy, TX for another DD event. After that we only have one more before Nationals.. if we decide to go to Nationals. I emailed our agility trainer and we are definitely getting back into agility classes (class is once a week and private lessons twice a week) mid-late September. I'm also going to get him into that competition obedience class. After that class, we're going for his CGC. I'm excited because its bee too long since we've done any actual interacting while training.. and agility is so much fun.

Anyway.. I'll probably update after I get back from Rockford.. wish us luck!

Pure Chaos.

2008-08-19T10:51:00.000-07:00

Just checking in! Tractor is still going stir crazy.. with no agility and no classes. This week, I am dogsitting for a past rescue dog, Makena, so at least he is getting LOTS of play time. She is a bundle of energy and its nonstop bitey face here.

Here she is in a rare moment of quiet with the rest of the VP.

Anyway, she's a really neat little dog, and I'm going to try convincing her parents to get her into dock diving when they get back. It'll be a crazy week, but at least everyone will be tired by Saturday!

Other than that.. nothing is really new here with us, we had a mini dock practice to help some people brand new to dock diving out.. and that was a good time, despite the heat! (Right, Britt? ;) ) We got to meet a few more really nice dogs. I cannot wait to see what this dock club grows into.

This weekend is laying low, we'll have some swim time on Sunday for sure, getting him some more practice in before Rockford. We leave next Friday morning for that event, coming home late Sunday. The weekend after that, we are headed to Katy, TX for another event. I'm really excited about this one, because we'll get to not only finally meet Kari and Finn, we'll probably get to see Dhana and her family if they can make the drive! It's going to be a busy couple weeks.. but it'll all be worth it. I'd really like to get him titled in Big Air between those two events, so we can compete in BA at Nationals. After we get back from Texas, we'll start up with agility again - because we have to prepare for two AKC trials coming to Vegas this fall.

One last bit of good news before I sign off.. our dock dogs event (first official one for the club) was approved! It will be a regional event in November at the Strut Your Mutt event!! We'll have EV, BA and SR. I can't wait!!

We're Going.. Going.. Gone!

2008-08-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

Boy oh boy.. do we have a lot going on! Last week was the Dock Dogs "boot camp" where we went over everything in depth to make our Las Vegas Dock Dogs an official club of Dock Dogs. It went wonderfully and we are all set up! During boot camp, we learned that we needed to attend a national event before our November event, to become certified judges. So.. Lianne (I love her!) has us booked in to go to Rockford the end of August and then also to Wisconsin in October for Nationals! In between those, we are attending a club event we are co-hosting with Rocky Mountain Dock Dogs in Broomfield, CO. In addition to THAT, we are throwing the idea around of going to Texas as well.

Lots and lots of dock diving.. that's for sure! I'm a little sad, because its been a MONTH since we've done any agility.. and you can tell Tractor's getting restless. We probably won't do any agility either until mid September - because we have so much going on. He has two AKC trials this fall here in Vegas, and then we'll start looking for more NADAC stuff in So Cal.

That's all for now.. I'm going to start trying to get Kali into dock diving, so I'll keep everyone updated on that as well.

Lastly... but most importantly.. ;) we got our disc of professional pictures from worlds - these are taken by Steven Lankford - http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/store.aspx?p=24137 - and I wanted to share a few of my favorites here.. (the rest are on my Phanfare.. so go check em out!)

Well Worth The Drive!

2008-07-29T17:31:00.000-07:00

Well... we are BACK! We made it back from Stillwater, MN Monday around noon after an absolutely AMAZING weekend at the Dogs and Logs World Championships. Because of Tractor's Dubuque EV jump of 6'10'' - we were one of 16 teams invited to join the EV portion of Dock Dogs world championships.

We drove almost 30 hours late Tuesday night to get there really late Wednesday night - and were beat. Thursday was a rough day, being so tired, but we did end up jumping 6'6'' coming in 11th of 16 dogs. It was a rough day because I was extremely nervous, Tractor was beyond stir crazy from being couped up for so long and just a weird mood all the way around. It was still a lot of fun and we got to watch some really amazing dogs.

Friday, was our last chance qualifiers to make it to finals, and we jumped in a group of 6 dogs and Tractor came in 2nd/3rd with a personal best of 7'!!!! We endured some pretty scary weather, some HOT weather, some hiccups while making the drive, but there is absolutely NO regret anywhere. This event was by far the most fun we have ever had.I am ordering a CD with all of our professional prints so I will be sure to post more pictures when I get them, but for now, here are a couple (and of course all the rest of the pictures plus videos are up on my Phanfare.. so go check em out!) Here is the video to his 7' jump!! http://youtube.com/user/myvarietypack

Thanks to Lianne and Fred Hassen of Sit Means Sit dog training.. without their support/sponsorship and encouragement, we would NOT have made that drive.. and I honestly cannot imagine not doing that event. Thanks again to everyone who helped us, gave us advice (Melissa, Whit) and just all around supported us. A HUGE thank you to Ann and Becky. If it weren't for you two girls, this weekend wouldn't have happened.. and you know just how much both Tractor AND I would have regretted this weekend not happening.

In other news.. LVDD (Las Vegas Dock Dogs) was invited down to Lake Havasu this Friday for an interview with Animal Planet! Lianne and Fred requested Tractor and I go down with our EV rig so they can get some footage in the interview! This club is definitely taking off at warp speed. We are going to try to attend one more event somewhere in the midwest/east coast before our Las Vegas event to see another event ran.. but we'll see. As of right now.. we're just taking some time off... next DD event isn't until September in Colorado.

Ready To Road Trip!

2008-07-20T19:27:00.000-07:00

Well, in about 48 hours, we will be heading out for Minnesota! Today we went to my parents house with our sponsor (Sit Means Sit www.sitmeanssit.com) and tried working on perfecting Tractor's striding and also just getting him a little bit of practice.
We had a good time, but still unsure of where we should set him up to leave. I was working around the 13' mark to see if he could get more arc... but when set up at 13', he left the dock early, close to a foot early. :( So, we'll stick to 15' and try to work on it more after we get back from Minnesota.

Ann and Becky are coming with Tractor and I - so we can split the driving and get there in 1 day. It's gonna be a long day, but it will be worth it. Depending on if he makes finals or not, we'll be heading home either Sunday afternoon, or if he doesn't, we'll probably head out Sunday early am. We all have to be back at work on Tuesday, so its gonna be another LONG day of driving to make it home. (Thank you to both of you girls, you are truly truly some of the best friends a gal (and her dog! ;) ) could ask for.

Nothing else really new to report.. Lianne of Sit Means Sit is really pushing the dock club out here, so hopefully we'll get at least 2-3 events on the books for the fall. We haven't been doing any agility, but once we are back from Minnesota, we start two classes. An advanced agility class as well as a competition obedience class. Once those classes are over, I'm considering putting him into a rally class as well. Once we get back, we really won't be going anywhere until end of September when we go to Denver for another Dock Dogs event.

Anyway, now I'm rambling.. that's all, just getting ready to road trip.. wish us luck in Minnesota! :)

Wags Weekend!

2008-07-14T08:15:00.000-07:00

We are home! We had a GREAT weekend down in Chula Vista, CA at the Wags for Wishes event. For those that don't know, this is an event put on for the Make A Wish Foundation - to raise money for them. As part of the Splash Dogs portion of it, they let the Make A Wish kids come up and throw the toy in the pool for the dogs. Well, while we were standing by the dock watching this really adorable little girl, Courtney throw for a dog, when they came down the stairs, she came straight towards Tractor - saw his orange wubba and told her dad she wanted to throw for him. It was SO cute!! Of course I said yes, so we went up the dock.. and she plopped his wubba in the water and Tractor waited patiently for his release and then dove headfirst after it. The look on the little girls face was priceless. Just the sheer happiness, really drove home what this event was all about.

As for our actual jumping - we didn't do as great in big air as his last Splash Dogs event (where he set his personal best of 21'11'') - but that's alright! His best jump of the weekend was 20'1'' - and it got him his 4th leg of his pro title, I really hope our next one he gets that 5th leg, so we can move from the Senior Splash Dogs to the Pro. :)

The biggest reason we went to this was for the vertical practice, and he did AWESOME! He made it to the final 4, with some BIG jumping dogs - and ended up in 3rd, with his highest grab at 6'8''. I couldn't believe how well he did again.. and am really looking forward to Worlds in 2 weeks.

The weekend wasn't just about dock diving though.. he also got to run in agility! Because of ME, he only got to run once.. in a novice Touch N Go course, and he Qed! So we have two of our three legs of that title. Woohoo!

I'd say the BIGGEST hit of the weekend though was the lure course. On Friday, after our big air wave, I let him go at it... and boy oh boy, was he NUTS. He was completely beyond obsessed with it and anytime we went NEAR where the grass was, he would freak. I have videos of it as well as some pictures. The pictures will be up on my Phanfare and the videos on our Youtube, so stay tuned!

This weekend is more low key, stuff around the house.. and then a mini practice at our sponsor's house on Sunday. We are going to try working on getting Tractor's stride just right for EV. We leave a week from tomorrow, for five days in Minnesota! Can't wait!!!

Exciting Few Weeks To Come!

2008-07-08T21:45:00.000-07:00

We have had a GREAT few weeks and are going to have an even BETTER few weeks to come. First, last week, before I left for Chicago.. Lianne and Fred Hassen of Sit Means Sit dog training (www.sitmeanssit.com) called us and offered to sponsor us!! They wanted to be sure we made it to Worlds in Minnesota in a few weeks, so they have paid a good chunk of our trip! I was not only beyond surprised but very honored.

We are going to be driving there, not flying like we thought, and my good friend and one of T's favorite people, Becky, will be driving with us. :) He is going to be up against a lot of REALLY good competition, so we have absolutely no expectations of this weekend, just to have fun and soak up the experience. :)

This weekend though, T and I leave very early Friday morning for a weekend filled with both of Tractor's favorite activities! We will do a little agility AND jump a couple big air jumps on Friday.. and do a couple agility runs AND super vertical on Saturday! It will really be the only time he'll get to practice on an actual DOCK.. so that is really the main focus for us this weekend. I am super excited about the rest of the weekend, don't get me wrong, but I'm really looking forward to getting him back at the vertical stuff, as he hasn't done any since Dubuque.

I will be sure to post an update when we get home, with lots of pictures and video. Another one of the VP's favorite people.. Aunt Janet is coming with us and we will be SURE to post full updates on Sunday or Monday.

Tractor and I are signed up for not only a group agility class, but also a competition obedience class starting in August. We are going to work on getting some more solid obedience, including a reliable HEEL as well as rock solid stays. Once we graduate from those classes, I will still probably keep him in a group agility class, but we are also going to join a rally class for fun! In addition to all of this, we will also keep doing 1-2 private lessons per week, just because we can't imagine doing agility without our favorite trainer, Mary Kay! :)

For now. we are just enjoying class.. our private lessons - we are starting to do more difficult handling as well as getting me to move laterally from him on his contacts.

Today, we were talking to a few people at agility, and FINALLY have found a TRUE holistic vet/chiropractor here in Las Vegas. I am going to try to get him in before we make the drive to Minnesota.. so I'll keep you posted!

That's really all.. just wanted to say things are just going so wonderful right now.. and I can't wait for the summer to continue! :)

What A Fun Day!

2008-06-29T10:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a BLAST! I'm sure Tractor's ideal day if he could tell ya. We got up pretty early and went to the NADAC trial in Van Nuys, CA. It wasn't a large trial at all, so the day went by pretty quick. We were entered in five runs for the day... starting off with Chances. It was a discrimination right off the bat, dog walk with a tunnel under it - this is always the death of us in class, so of course I was nervous. I lined him up differently and didn't lead out but maybe 3 feet, and guess what? He FLEW into the tunnel, no hesitation at all.. I was SO happy! The rest of his run was pretty clean as well, but me being a dummy and concentrating so hard on that discrimination, I forgot his weaves have become VERY weak on my left side, so we attempted them five times and he just could not get the last pole or his entry (one or the other each time), so we didn't get a Q, BUT his discrimination was let alone worth that run.. I was very happy!

Second and third runs were Standard. His first run, had that same tunnel/dog walk set up, and of course, since I was then no longer worried about that, more his weaves.. he finally GOT his weaves, but took that tunnel, when he was supposed to do the dog walk. Shoot! BUT, he got his weaves and his contacts were AWESOME, so still a success! Third run, was Standard 2.. and he got his weaves BUT, my handling was sloppy coming around a pinwheel of jumps and he jumped too wide and ended up backjumping an obstacle.. but again, his weaves and contacts were great, so it was alright. :)

Fourth run of the day was my FAVORITE class, which is Touch N Go. He did absolutely GREAT.. all tunnels and contact equipment. Not much to say about this, but he had a BLAST and we got our first Q in this class!

Fifth run of the day was Jumpers and aside from a slight mis step on my part (which almost cost me a sprained ankle!) the run was awesome! He came in second with a time of 21 seconds (course time was 30) - but he came in second to a ridiculously fast Aussie, who's time was 18 seconds, so I still was SO happy with his performance.

So the day ended on a great note for us, and we then headed back to my aunt's house where Tractor got a HUGE meal of pork neck bones, ground chicken and turkey hearts. After it was all digested, we got to spend 2 hours at the pool, where he got to swim his little heart out. We ended up coming home that night, so as he snoozes away on the couch right now.. he has no idea that in about an hour, we'll be going to his FAVORITE place ever.. (Gramma and Grampa's house) to get an ENTIRE day of fetch and swimming!

Our next event isn't until the weekend after next, but its a FUN FILLED weekend with agility AND dock diving, so stay tuned! (video from this agility trial will be uploaded in a couple days!)

bitty's got a new cousin!

2008-06-27T13:58:00.001-07:00

Yep... everyone welcome ADDIE! My sister rescued her from a shelter in Cedar City, UT - as she was dumped off with her brother. She is full of personality and is already looking up (literally) to her cousin.

My sister wants to do agility and dock diving with her, so right after her 3rd month birthday, she is starting basic obedience with her and a foundation class that will introduce her to some forms of agility equipment (wobble board, tunnel.. etc) and have some activities where they can bond as a team.

We are heading out in about half an hour for CA, for a NADAC trial.. I cannot wait! We are running 5 classes: 2 standard, 1 jumpers, 1 chances and 1 touch'n'go (touch'n'go is my FAVORITE NADAC class).. afterwards we'll be hanging out by the pool relaxing! It'll be a GOOD time!

new place to practice!

2008-06-23T10:11:00.000-07:00

Last week I FINALLY was able to connect with other people in the Las Vegas area that are into dock diving! They work for a popular dog training company (www.sitmeanssit.com) and are very anxious to get dock diving out here to Las Vegas!

We took the drive.. about an hour outside of town, and down a long windy dirt road to this little cove on the river. We had to walk a bit, then walk through waist high water, but the place was well worth it! It was a little edge of ledges and a large rock about 2' under water that we could walk out on.There wasn't really a dock.. but we got to work on our height.. the pop off the end.. and their sit/stays.

Tractor had a BLAST.. but he worked his little butt of and it was HOT out.. he slept the entire rest of the day - but I think he would agree that it was worth it!Our next competition is in 3 weeks in San Diego. We are doing a few big air waves and the SV competition. We also have a bunch of agility that weekend too! Should be fun!

This weekend is a NADAC trial in So Cal - we are driving down Friday afternoon and coming home Sunday. We are staying at my aunt's house, so we'll also get some pool time afterwards! I can't wait!

finally home.

2008-06-17T23:17:00.000-07:00

yep, tractor and i (and his sisters!) are all back from our very LONG trip to chicago. i figured the dogs would be EXHAUSTED after the long three weeks they had.. but not tractor! he's already making it very apparent to me that he wants that busy, busy, busy schedule back!

while we were out there, while staying with our great friend and one of the vp's favorite aunts, brittany - we got to do a lot of trips to the dog parks, ponds etc. then once we made it to whitney and grant's, we had class 3x per week and event after event. we even got to spend an entire day at the farm practicing EV! it was a very exciting day (thank you grant and whitney for your patience!), as tractor grabbed a 7' jump! it made me very hopeful that he would at least attempt it at the next dock event.

as i mentioned, we had that lab specialty trial in beloit, wi - and while we had a great time, we didn't Q. :( that's alright, we'll have four akc trials this fall to work on those novice titles. hopefully come 2009, we'll be in open standard, open jww and open fast!

after that agility trial, we headed a couple more hours west, to dubuque, ia where there was the annual river fest. this event was a dock dogs event, sponsored by the outdoor channel. whitney managed to somehow get us signed into EV at the last minute, and tractor jumped his way up from 5' to 6'4'' - 2'' at a time! at 6'4'' they stopped the competition, as there were only four dogs left.. us included!! we had made finals!!

the finals were that night and they are going to be televised sometime in august. i was extremely nervous and am sure i fumbled up the interviews good, but that's alright.. its about tractor.. and of course he looked/performed fabulously!

we ended up placing 2nd in EV, and he got a $50 check and a snazzy little ribbon to show for it! i was beyond happy with the results and could not be prouder of my bitty boy. i am excited for the next dock dogs event, this one was a much better experience than the last.

we have class once this week (still trying to get settled!!) and then four days next week because next weekend.. we are off to southern california for a NADAC trial. we have a busy, busy summer coming up - lots of agility and dock diving, so stay tuned!

chicago dog

2008-06-03T23:06:00.000-07:00

yep.. tractor, his sisters and i are all in chicago! we’ve been here for almost a week actually, but i am just now able to log in to update. we had a verrrrry exciting first weekend here, at an akc trial in manhattan, il. before that, we have a pretty eventful drive here, stayed at a really nice hotel in sterling, co - and a long drive to our friends house tuesday evening.

we stayed with our friends brittany and tony tues-mon because whit and grant were still finishing up the basement, where we are staying. we had an absolute BLAST at britt’s house. we did 1-2 visits PER DAY to the dog park, an outing to a really cool pond, and i even got to take tractor downtown naperville to go shopping at a really cool dog boutique called 2 bostons. it was an absolute perfect way to spend our first week here! tractor and the girls absolutely adored boomer (britt’s dog) and even got to meet up with charlie again! there are tons of new photos from the drive to here.. and also from our stay at britt’s on our phanfare.

but back to tractor and his debut into akc agility! friday was a weird weather day.. raining on and off, kind of chilly.. whit picked us up, and we rode with her to the trial, which was about 45 minutes out from where britt lived. tractor was entered in 3 classes on friday and 3 on saturday. we did standard, FAST and jumpers with weaves both days. his first run on friday was FAST - which.. to be fair, he was the only dog running Novice A, so he wasn’t technically up against anyway, so any class he Q’ed in, he got 1st place. (hey i’m not complaining.. hehe) well, he Q’ed in that class.. and then also went on to Q in standard. he nailed his weaves!! i was beyond excited.. they were both somewhat clean runs.. and i was happy with them considering it was our first akc trial and i am obviously still a very unsure handler.

his third class of the day was jumpers with weaves.. and two things went wrong.. one, it was raining pretty hard right before and drizzling during - and two - he crept forward about a foot or so at the start line, and it completely messed up his footing. he completely mauled the first jump knocking the bar.. but then continued on to have a clean run. we didn’t get the Q in that class on friday.. so he left 2 for 3 that day. not bad!!

saturday the weather was gorgeous.. and our first run of the day was FAST, and he once again Qed! (Wooohooo!!!) second class of the day was standard.. and for whatever reason, he just did NOT get his weaves. we attempted them 5 or 6 times and he just did not get it. his contacts were still good though, so it was okay!

his last class of the day, jumpers with weaves.. we nailed (for us!) and he got a Q! woohoo!! so once again, he was 2 for 3 and ended the weekend with four first place ribbons!

since you need 3 Q’s in each class to get your title, i am really hoping when we go to beloit, wi a week from friday, that he Qs in FAST, because then he would get his novice title! if we somehow can pull off 3 for 3 that day.. then we’ll only be one leg shy of his novice jumpers title and novice standard title! our next akc events aren’t until fall, but it still would be nice to obtain!

tomorrow and wednesday we have lessons with some of whit’s trainers or friends, so it will be very exciting! we also are working his sets of 12 weaves in whit’s yard. thursday we are driving to whit’s family’s farm, so we can work his super vertical out there. i would love to see him even just ATTEMPT it in dubuque, which is not this weekend but next.

that’s what’s going on here! next week, we’ll have 2-3 more lessons, as well as hopefully get him adjusted at whit’s dog chiropractor. things are going really great right now.. we are loving it here.. and i can’t wait to see how things go next weekend! stay tuned!!

(oh, forgot… to update how he did in CA over memorial day… before we left. we ran two classes on saturday in a NADAC trial. he Q’ed in one of his standard runs, but because of weather, we left before he could do jumpers. we have another NADAC trial the end of june, so we’ll get to work on his novice nadac titles then. that’s his only Q he has.. so we’ll have our work cut out for us!)

almost time...

2008-05-20T23:08:00.000-07:00

yep! we’re t minus 7 days! we head out for chicago a week from today! i absolutely can NOT wait. the real fun starts friday.. when we head to rancho cucomonga, ca for a splash dogs event. we will compete in two waves there, then drive about an hour away to attend an agility trial on saturday. we’ll head home after that.. and sunday will be spent packing and loading the truck up. monday begins our drive to chicago!

right now, he is about half and half on his straight up weaves. today, he got 4 really solid sets of 6 weaves, straight up. but he also missed them totally about 7 or 8 times. we have tomorrow, wed and thursday to work them.. and hope like heck that he does them on saturday. i hope we get to work a bit on them at whit’s before the akc trial next weekend.

nothing else really new to report.. i uploaded a bunch of new practice agility and practice jumping pictures that my friend karen took, to my phanfare, so go check them out! report back while we’re in chicago!

to weave or not to weave?

2008-05-04T23:08:00.000-07:00

*sigh* WELL, we’re back! Things are going really well with us both, very much looking forward to a summer/fall of tons of dock and agility competitions - BUT, we have hit a bit of a plateau. Tractor catches on to stuff fairly quickly and usually does pretty well - but these darn weave poles are going to be the thorn in our side.

we are training 3x a week - and just when we think we are making headway, and he is getting it.. he just gets lazy and completely stops trying. It’s extremely frustrating, because when he is SUPER motivated to go - he’ll bob and weave like he’s been doing it for years, but then the next day, he flies right by them as if he has never seen them before!

we are training 4x next week and the week after, to try getting things ready for his next trial. Memorial Day weekend, we are doing a dock event on Friday and then an agility event on Saturday and I really want to make the trip worth it - whether or not we Q in a class, I really want him to get those weaves!

My wonderful instructor also sent us home with a set of weaves that I have set up in the grass. He has to work for his food daily, so now, since his contacts are pretty solid - I am making him weave for his food.

Anyway, that’s all that’s really new with us - we’ll be sure to update soon - hopefully before our 3 week trip to Chicago, but

now the fun can REALLY begin!

2008-04-21T23:09:00.000-07:00

i had no idea what to expect last weekend in costa mesa, ca - for the oc pet expo. he only did two competitions last year, with his personal best (and only one jump close to this) of 20′11”. we attempted a dock dogs event early february, and it was a bust. that’s putting it politely too. he jumped maybe 13′-14′ that weekend and did NOT have fun.

needless to say, i was interested to see how he did. well, we arrived late (due to lovely so cal traffic!) to the event, and it was H-O-T, so we immediately went in line, so he could just get IN the pool. no expectations at all, i wouldn’t even have cared if he jumped, as long as he got in that water.. it was scorching!

well, i could immediately tell.. as soon as he left the dock - we were in for a good day! the s-t-r-e-e-e-e-t-c-h that he had off the dock was like none of his other competitions! i began to get giddy. i’m sure he could feed off my excitement, and that was the ONLY jump we got in before his first wave.

well, his first competition jump - he slipped going off the end, luckily was not hurt.. but it cost him, in his distance.. BUT, even WITH that slip, he cleared 18′! more giddiness… his second jump of that wave.. he FLEW off the end of the dock, hop and all - and got 20′11”! that matched his personal best!! i was SO happy, we ran away from the dock, with him jumping up at me with excitement.

we only entered two waves that day, so the next wave - wasn’t for about another hour or so.. so we sat and waited. another thing changing with him, is he actually was starting to get antsy/whining while in line. he was ANXIOUS to do it!! (for those that know us.. they know this is a GOOD thing for us!) his next jump came up.. he broke his stay and i had to walk back and reset him… who’d have known that would be the start to his BEST jump ever!!!

he went FLYING off the end of the dock, and despite my VERY high throws.. he landed a 21′11”!!! A WHOLE FOOT BETTER than his personal best! needless to say, he scored himself a BUNCH of goodies after that jump! we could not have asked for a better weekend. he got a 1st place in the pro division and a 2nd place in the pro division. after that event, we had our 2nd and 3rd legs of his pro title, and i hope at our next event in may - he can get the 4th and 5th legs.. so he can officially move up from a SENIOR splash dog.. to a PRO splash dog!

we have a TON of events coming up.. but not for a few weeks. our next event is memorial day weekend. we are doing a splash dogs event on friday, then driving about an hour closer to home and going to an agility trial on saturday! we’ll come home saturday night - and rest up.. because a few days later, we’ll be beginning our road trip to chicago!! while we are there, we have a BUNCH of events, including a huge dock dogs event.. as well as two agility events AND a huge lab fest. it will be quite the trip!

just wanted to share in the excitement - there are a ton of pictures up on our phanfare, some on the lab board.. and a video on youtube. be sure to check them out!

busy, busy, busy

2008-04-09T23:12:00.000-07:00

(or we’re going to be!)

We have registered/scheduled in a TON of dock jumping events as well as a bunch of agility events! This summer is going to be beyond busy, but so much fun! Be sure to check out my agility page, as well as my dock jumping page, so you can see all the events that we’ll be competing in.

In addition to a ton of So Cal events, we’re going to visit Whitney and Grant in Chicago for 2.5 weeks, and while with them, we are not only going to take advantage of their wonderful trainers with some private classes, but also be in 2 AKC agility trials as well as a huge dock jumping event with dock dogs in Iowa. I am so excited to not only experience so many events - but in all these different places.

While we are in Chicago, there is going to be a HUGE Lab gathering out at Whitney’s Grandpa’s farm. Hopefully with Whit’s help, we’ll be able to get Tractor to do the Extreme Vertical jump at the dock event in Dubuque, IA. I have not been able to get him to focus on it anywhere except at home, but Whitney has a lot more experience with dog training, so it will be fun to have her handle him.

Our sponsor is just great - she continues to support us and hopefully before these trips, I can get some tshirts/tank tops made up, with our TEAM TRACTOR logo, as well as her logo.

Stay tuned for LOTS of updates/pictures/video of Tractor’s first real “season” of competitive sports.

been awhile...

2008-03-21T23:12:00.000-07:00

Wow, it sure has been awhile since I’ve blogged. We’ve been nonstop busy here - which is a good thing, but not good for the blog! Well, our first trial was (in my eyes) a success. He didn’t get a Q in either of his runs, but his contacts were awesome! We had been working his contacts SO hard in class the last month, that if nothing else it was AMAZING to see him rock those.

We had to take the week after the trial off, as our instructor was out of town, but we were back at it this week and he is of course, still LOVING it. The most exciting thing for ME lately.. is the last few classes we have gone to, I round the corner, and pull up and he sits up real straight, looks out the window. As soon as he sees the agility equipment, he starts whimpering. I ask him what he wants.. and he starts howling. It is SOOO cool to see him so excited about something! Yesterday, I didn’t even talk to him, and as soon as we pulled up he started barking, barking, barking.. the instructor heard him from her house! We were both happy to see how excited he was.

He is just SO into class, its great. Yesterday, he was volunteering all sorts of obstacles.. when the teacher and I were standing, discussing handling or something, he would just grab his wubba, and take a jump or two, or the weaves.. or his favorite of the day.. she had the tunnel extended out to its full length. Oh my gosh, he was in heaven!

There is a NADAC trial in May, memorial day weekend, that we will probably go to - its in California.. but that’s alright. Our next event is a dock diving event in Costa Mesa, CA - the weekend of April 12th. I’ll post more after that.

Here is a link to the videos from the trial.. and I’ll be sure to update more soon!

http://www.youtube.com/myvarietypack

all registered and ready for NADAC!

2008-02-27T23:13:00.000-08:00

YEP! It’s official, we are registered and ready to go for next weekend! March 8/9 - we will be running one standard course, two jumpers courses, one touch-n-go course and one tunnelers course. I am SO very excited!! We have had two practices this week, and we’ll have three next week to prepare him for the trial.

Today in class, we ran a 20 obstacle course, including 6weaves - and quite a bit of handling with some jumps. He has kind of regressed on his contacts, so we need to work that more, he is hitting them, but not holding the stay. Turd! He did great on the Teeter.. about half and half on the dogwalk, and then almost never on the A-frame. His weaves are coming along nicely - I know next week, we need to really push for straightening them up, because they still are not completely vertical.

I am SO nervous about the trial.. I think he will do fine, but its more me.. remembering where to go and my handling. Eeeek! It should be fun though. Becky is going to come out and take pics.. so hopefully I can get one other person to come out and video. The weekend after the agility, there is a Splash Dogs event in Phoenix, that we’ll be driving down to - (staying with Amy and her family.. yay!). Becky, Lenny and Loder are coming as well! WOOHOO! I hope the weather cooperates and its a bit warmer.. if its not going to be at least in the high 60’s - 70’s.. we probably won’t make the drive.. because I don’t want to waste the time or money if he won’t jump.. or jump to his potential.

Anyway, that’s all that’s new with us - just prepping for that trial.. and hopefully Splash Dogs.. Some pictures from practice today are here:

http://misslisa.smugmug.com/gallery/4413213_wV4uZ#259327116

lovin' agility!

2008-02-13T23:13:00.000-08:00

Well, this week has been great for Tractor and I. We have three classes this week, and yesterday was our 2nd one of the week. He was in the BEST mood - from the second he hopped out of the car, to the very end of class, he was just “on”. He was driving harder and faster than usual, focusing a lot more, picking up everything even quicker than usual.. he was just ON FIRE.

Our instructor and I just were SO happy with how he was.. we are considering switching the time of day of our classes. We normally go around 1-2.. but this class was at 4:30, so we wonder if it happened to be the time of day that works better for him.

We were able to work more on weaves this class, and while they are still not completely vertical - he was NAILING them. We had the course set up, where he came out of a straight tunnel, and had about 5′ before having to hit the weaves. Well the weaves were angled, so it was NOT lined up for him.. and he flew out of the tunnel, regrouped and FOUND his entrance. All on his own!!!! It was SO neat to see.. and Mary Kay (our instructor) was just beyond happy, because she said a lot of dogs lose focus and take a minute to regroup after a tunnel.

We also worked his contacts. His A-Frame and Teeter are AWESOME.. we are still struggling a bit with the dog walk contact, but we’ll get there. I finally got the registration stuff for NADAC done, and we’ll be registering him for his first trial - the second weekend in March. I am not sure what classes we are going to do, but I will keep everyone posted.

bust.

2008-02-07T23:14:00.000-08:00

Well, dock dogs was a total bust. It was too cold, water was too cold, and I was not in a good frame of mind, so Tractor didn’t do very well at all. :( Oh well, we are really excited to continue focusing on agility for now. We are going to up our training to 3x per week starting March 1st. His first NADAC trial is in March (assuming the registration made it in time.. I haven’t heard back yet!) and I am really looking forward to it.

Nothing else new to report - he got his new patches for Rah! RAW! Rah! Pet foods - and they are sewn on.. so when dock dogs does start up again in the warm months.. we’ll be ready! More later!

double bonus!

2008-01-21T23:14:00.000-08:00

Two great things to report! One, Dock Dogs has an event here in Las Vegas in two weeks!! FINALLY it has come to Las Vegas. Tractor will be competing all four days, two waves on Saturday, one on Sunday, one on Monday and one on Tuesday. It is going to be very exciting, as my entire family will get to see him compete for the first time!

Second great thing…. our raw distributor has decided to sponsor Tractor! Her company is called Rah! RAW! Rah! Pet Foods - and she is in the process of getting some patches made up for us to put on his vest. We are SO excited!

Tractor hasn’t jumped since Cynosports back in November - so hopefully he does okay.. but if nothing else.. we know how much he loves it! That’s all for now!