The Border Family

Continued Improvement

2009-11-26T23:03:00.002-05:00

Last Sunday the girls and I headed to Royackers. This was the first time I entered Kessie in standard. Her weaves aren't yet perfect, but I thought they were better then most starter dogs. All of the courses were difficult for there level , so I was very proud of Kessie! The only time she ran into me on the standard was when I ran too far ahead of the entrance to the dog walk, she was running great. So fast in fact that she bounced right off the table! She had trouble with the weaves (only 6) and wasted a lot of time there, and took down a bar, but she is improving at every trial and I couldn't be happier. Jumpers went pretty well for Kes, she turned into me a few times, most at turns, because I am not at the right place because I still need to babysit her a bit. She had a few 'could have been refusal' moments, but was never called, and walked away with her first jumper Q!

Tink had a really bad day... she was losing it out there.. off days are allowed.

One more down, one last one to go!

2009-11-15T22:24:00.003-05:00

Tink and I went to Kingston to the Morning Star trial. It was my first time ever going here, it is held in a soccer dome, two rings, with tons of space left over! I only entered the last 4 runs of the day, 2 snooker, and 2 jumpers. The first snooker was tough... lots of call offs, and Tink finally went off course after #2 in the closing. The second snooker started off real bad... after the first jump, Tink went off and did her own thing... my whole run was flying by the seat of my pants, but we did great and made it all the way through, eaning our MSDC. One more leg to get for our ATCh, and two tries to get it! Our first jumper run went quite well, but I took for granted the fact that Tink would pick a tunnel over a jump, and as I sent her to the tunnel, she sailed over a jump. The rest of the run was great! The next run looked trickier in the walk-through... and boy was it ever! It was quite a disaster! Oh well! There's always next time!

Kessie's time to shine

2009-11-09T10:47:00.002-05:00

Tink Kessie and I go to K9 Klubhouse's second trial at WindReach Farm on the weekend. Tink had some brillent moments, and a snooker Jr Q with Natasha, but only got one steeplechase Q (with a bar down) out of 8 runs all weekend.

But Kessie had a great weekend! She was herding me FAR less the usual! She made it all the way around our planned snooker course, only herding me once, or twice, and got her very first Q. The next day we did Gamble, she probably turned into me the most in that run, but we would have twisted and turned the most in that run. She did a great leadout through a tire even! The closing was 3 jumps, after the first she turned into me, but I was able to send her out over the second one, and she soared forward to the last jump! She held all her contacts in both runs. I didn't take her through the weaves, but when her weaves are better in training, I'll consider entering her in Standard runs. Jumpers went so good for Kessie! There were a lot of jumps in a row (when she tends to herd me the most). Out of 15 obstacles, she made it through the first 9 beautifully!

Acton Nov 1

2009-11-01T21:26:00.003-05:00

The indoor season officially started for Tink and I. I didn't enter Kessie, so I left her at home. The day started off with a bang! Steeplechase went great, one down bar, but we had the fastest time of over 35 dogs! Master Snooker also want great! Got our 3rd Q finally! Getting closer to that elusive ATCh. Master Gamble, Master Team, and 2 Master Standard classes later didn't go so well, but it was a great day, anyways!

Steeplechase Expert

2009-10-12T15:28:00.002-04:00

Tink, Natasha, Kessie and I went to the last outdoor trial of the year. It was a very cold, windy day, but it was still fun! This is how the day went:

Advanced Jumpers: Natasha ran Tink for the first time in Advanced Jumpers. The first 3 quarters of the run was very open and fast, and I was happy that she kept up all the bars. Natasha got lost at a 270 at the end, and sent Tink off course, but it was a good run.
Challange: Next Tink and I ran Challange... this one was far more forgiving then the first one we did. Tink kept on course the whole time, but we had a couple refusals and knocked bars
Starter Jumper: Kessie and I ran another Starter Jumpers... she went back to herding me a lot...
Master Standard: This course I found harder then the challange course... we bombed it, so did some training in the ring
Steeplechase: Tink had a great Steeplechase round, even pulling off a tricky sequence. She got her Expert Steeplechase Bronze title.
Master Jumper: It was a decent run, but Tink took and off course jump, then knocked a bar when I pushed for speed.

Starter Games both way!

2009-10-10T17:45:00.002-04:00

Natasha, Tink, Kessie and I went to the last outdoor K9 Klubhouse trial of the year. This is how it all went down...

Saturday
Master Standard: The run went very smoothly! She seemed to know where she was supposed to go, even without me! We ran it great and got a Q!
Master Gamble: It was a tricky main gamble with a teeter and a set of weaves, but Tink was one of 3 dogs out of 25 or so to get it!
Junior Advanced Gamble: Natasha moved up to Advanced last trial, so this was her first time. For Tink, it was a much more difficult main gamble, she had to come out of a tunnel and run between the other end of the tunnel and a jump to a tire with Natasha on the other side, of the jump. Though she never made it to the tunnel... Natasha said 'Get out!' and she went past the tunnel to the dog walk! Shocking!
Steeplechase: Tink had a great run and walked away with another Q. Running 3 for 3 that day, I knew that the odds were stacked against us for the Jumpers run, that I actually really needed!
Master Jumpers: I set Tink up on the line and started my lead out, I looked over my opposite shoulder to make sure the other dog was on leash, and turned back to Tink and she was standing beside me! Crud!! Starts off with a refusal! But wait it gets so far worse... she actually runs the rest of the course CLEAN!!! Rotten devil finally gives me a clean jumpers... after she creeps up on me in her start line, which she doesn't normally do!
Starter Jumpers: Kessie has a usual 'Kessie' run... Jump, jump, tunnel, jump, herd, jump, tunnel, jump, tunnel, jump, herd, jump, herd, herd, jump.... something along those lines!

Sunday
Starter Jumpers: Natasha and Tink finally keep up all the bars and get Natasha's Junior Starter Games Award of Merit... or whatever they are calling it... Kessie has an amazing run for her, and makes it about three quarters of the way through the course before herding me, what a girlie!!
Master Jumpers: Not so good... already gone from my memory, but we had a couple wrong tunnel entries, I think...
Steeplechase: Took down a bar, but had tons of time left over, so got another Steeplechase Q for the weekend.
Master Standard: Was a great run, but I got too far behind her at the end, and she took down the last bar!
Master Standard: I was so busy building all day, that I didn't get to see the courses until I was building them, so imagine my horror when my nightmares came back to haunt me! It was a replay of the opening from Standard round 1 and the Nationals this year. Here is the Nats course. We occurred 60 faults at Nats, and if you didn't automatically get an E in Masters, we wouldn't have been much better off!!

Over all it was a great weekend, with threats of rain, we didn't get very much and the cool autumn air was bearable. Off to the last outdoor trial of the year tomorrow!

The one bar wonder

2009-09-28T10:39:00.002-04:00

Natasha picked up Tink on Saturday to bring her to SuperDog Central's agility trial. She signed up for all three starter games over the whole weekend (jumper, snooker and gamble). I had to work, but Tink helped Natasha get her second gamble Q. I was able to get there when they were setting up for the jumpers, and got to throw in Kessie. She was her usual self... prefering to herd me mostly. Natasha and Tink had a great run, but took down one bar along the way.

We both returned on Sunday. I was running Kes in Snooker and Jumpers, and Natasha added Tink into the Jumpers for that day too. We both ran the snooker, Kes made it through 1-7-1-7-1-7 and ran out of time. Natasha and Tink did 1-4-1-5-1 then knocked the bar in 7, she then got a bit frazzled, and Tink jumped another 1, but it wasn't one she had taken before, and the whistle didn't go, so Natasha went straight into the closing not knowing what to do... WHISTLE! Off I went to finish scoring in the trailer like I had been doing all day, and Natasha came running in saying we all get a re-run... the timer had been buzzing at 50 seconds instead of 60. So off we went again. I had decided to back to my original plan with Kessie (same thing Natasha had done with Tink). This time we did 1-4-1-5-1-7-2-3-4-5 then ran out of time. 6 was the weaves anyways, and she was just starting to get 12 weaves, so it would have taken a lot of time anyways. The 5 was the teeter, I didn't really want to do contacts with her yet, but I decided to try it... and she did it great the first time! The second time, I didn't say 'Bang it' so I think she didn't know it was going to move, and bailed when it did, but did it well when we tried again. Natasha and Tink's rerun went as planned and she got her second snooker Q!

All Natasha needs for her Junior Starter Games title is one jumper Q, jumpers has been the hardest for her, Tink knocks a bar in almost every jumper run. Kessie was first... started off a bit silly, but did well when there were sequences where I can send her into a tunnel! She did the tire all weekend! Starting to get over that issue! The last jump was really hard to get her over... Natasha and Tink had a really nice jumpers run... but dropped a bar... sigh...

The Dock Part 2!

2009-09-20T22:59:00.002-04:00

Today was back to SuperDogs for our second day of dock diving. Tink started the day by topping her personal best from a couple days before by a foot and jumping a 17' 1" putting her in contention for the Amature finals. I was hoping for a teeny bit better to solidify another jump from our second wave, and Tink pulled out a 17' 4". We went into the Amature finals in 5th, Tink jumped her best yet with a 17' 8" and come out 4th overall in Amature. She exceeded my expectations for the weekend, she did great!

Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay

2009-09-18T19:07:00.002-04:00

Ok... so maybe not sitting... nor was in in the bay, but Tink did compete in SuperDog Central Fall Splashdown! We did 2 waves and a speed retrieve.

Tink first jump I did a place a send and she jumped 11' 7", I was expecting better jumps out of her, so the second time around I threw the toy for her to try and get a bit of a pop off the dock, but she only jumped 11' 1" so that didn't help. Tink got her 3rd Junior leg.

The second wave I almost forgot Tink's toy, so last second ran to go get it, and was a bit frazzled on the dock a threw my toy out really far, but her jump was over 14'! Which was her best official jump yet! Her second jump of that wave I threw it far again, this time on purpose and she jumped a 16' 1"!! Her first time jumping into Senior! Way to go girlie!

Tink had never attempted speed retrieve before, but I entered it anyways. She had a bit of a hard time in practise, so I wasn't sure how it would go. She was successful in both rounds, her times being over 14 secs and then over 12 secs.

Back for more on Sunday!

What a Challange!

2009-09-13T20:44:00.002-04:00

Tink ran her first Challange class at Spot On today! Well... it didn't go so well... but the best part was when she held her frame contact even with a tunnel and chute screaming in her face! Wahoo! Tink's Master Standard run wasn't much better, but her Steeplechase and Master Jumper runs were really nice... except Tink rushed out at the 10th pole in the weaves and continued on into the next tunnel, and knocked a bar in the Jumpers, but it felt really good.

Kessie also ran Starter Jumpers, and was more drivey on the equipment, turning into me less. She avoided me at the end for the first time in a trial, but I think it had to do with not 'herding' me so much... which is the lesser of two evils?

Up for a poker game?

2009-09-07T20:56:00.002-04:00

You might think twice if you are playing against an Expert Gambler!

Tink and I went to Campaign for a trial, we had 5 runs.

2 master jumpers, one super bad one, that we both messed up badly (me forgetting the course, and Tink running off for her leash)
A master snooker, where we, again, got through the opening, but messed up in the beginning of the closing (our specialty since the Canada Cup)
Master team, where Tink was paired with a sheltie named Braveheart. She pulled out at the 10th weave pole... twice!
and she got her 10th master gamble Q, earning her ExG Bronze!

We recently were at the K9 Klubhouse trial. Tink had 8 runs (including one snooker, and 2 jumpers, q's she needs) and we run 0 for 8!! She had some very bad moments, and some brillient moment, but tended to mix them evenly in her runs. Kessie ran 2 starter jumpers as well, her first run was half decent for Kessie, her second run she only got through 4 obstacles before I took her off the course for constantly turning into me and biting playing, just not paying any attention on course. Tink and Natasha earned a starter snooker q.

Catching up!

2009-08-28T16:33:00.002-04:00

Here's what we have been up to the last couple of months!

July 11 - K9 Klubhouse
Master Standard & Gamble Q

July 18-19 - Canada Cup
It was a fun weekend with some different and challanging courses. Tink had a very off weekend, and we didn't do very well at all. You can watch the trainwreaks here!

July 31 - Aug 2 - AAC Nationals
This was Tink and my first Nationals! It was fun! Friday started off with 2 steeplechase qualifiers for the finals on Sunday. Tink amazed me by running BOTH classes clean! She placed 10th in the first and tied for 9th in the second out of over 100 dogs in her division! She qualified for the finals in 6th place! Saturday started out great, making the main gamble in our first run with 60 points in the opening! Standard didn't go quite so well! Tink blasted off of the walk and frame into off-course tunnels, and tallied up 20 more faults in knocked bars and refusals! Jumpers was a slight improvement, though, oddly, she took an off-course jump instead of a tunnel! Sunday started with Standard, she had a knocked bar and a couple refusals, but stayed on course this time! Jumpers was going really well, until I forgot to add a cross and was in the wrong place, causing Tink to spin, and get a refusal. Gamble was close, she had a questionable non-completion in the main before finally making the final jump. The day ended with the Steeplechase finals! It was a lot of fun, and Tink did some great stuff... until the second last jump when I didnt support it and she ran past it, wasting very precious time! We placed 5th and got to take home a decent cash prize. Here's the vid!

Aug 8-9 - SuperDog Central
Tink earned a Master Standard and Gamble Q, and helped Natasha earn a Starter Team and Jumper Q
Kessie had her first agility run! She wasn't feeling well the day before, and was a little calmer then usual... she did well in her run, only getting one refusal. I was proud of the baby dog!

Aug 15-16 - Rocket Relay
Tink's third flyball tournament. We drove down after work on Sat, and got to run in one race. Sunday was very hot, but lots of fun! Tink got 425 points, putting her at 1,342 and earning her FDCh-S. I also figured out the trick to get her running faster, and at the end of the day, ran her best time of 4.2 in start.

Aug 23 - Daytripper
Tink (finally) earned a Master Jumpers Q. this is our third, we only need one more for our title.

Whoa...

2009-07-06T17:57:00.004-04:00

I have been so lazy in the blog lately!!

Tink has had one more flyball tournament, and did pretty well! She didn't spit very much!

Tink and Kessie competed in a frisbee trial. Tink had an awesome first trial, getting her first advanced Q, and a personal furthest catch of 126' 6"! For the second trial of the day, the wind changed a bit, so it didn't go quite as well, but it was certainly a successful day. Kessie's first trial was a bit of a stress for me. She thinks that she gets to decide when she stops playing, so she won't leave the field when I am done. I had be training crate games in the park, and sent her to her crate when she was done, and it worked! She didn't catch very much, but I just wanted her to play in that environment, and she still did well, catching will come in time, I know she can catch!

Tink has also competed in a few agility trials. No important Q's or titles to speak of, but...

Tink competed in the AAC Ontario Regionals!!

On Saturday, she completed the main Gamble, and on Sunday she ran the Standard clean, and placed 6th!! She qualified for Nationals with 434.41.

On a sad note... Tink's Uncle Bogey passed away in June. He was a very special dog who lived with some very special people! Bogey was Craig's first agility dog, and they accomplished some amazing stuff together. Last year they competed together for team Canada. This year, only a month before his passing, Bogey finished in 3rd place in the 26" regular division at the Regionals. My thoughts go out to the Eaglesons.

My goal is to try to keep more up to date again.

Blog Lazy!

2009-04-27T16:47:00.004-04:00

I have not been keeping up to date with my blog :( Sorry!

Easter weekend, Tinky competed in her first flyball tournament. She plays with SuperDog Central's On The Fly. She had a good first tournament but needs work on passing and not spitting. She spat her ball way more then I had expected her too.

Each of the 3 days were it's own tournament. Tink ran in Regular on Friday and Sunday, and in Open on Sunday.

Friday our Regular team tied for first, but got beat out in fastest time to place second. On Saturday the same thing happened, another tie but got beat out in time and ended up second. Our Regular team on Saturday got first place. On Sunday Tink's team went into the finals tied

for first and won the first 3 heats in the best of 5!

Tink ended up with 575 and her first 3 flyball titles, FD, FDX, and FDCH.

Also yesterday we attending the last Rat Pack trial of the indoor season. Tink had 5 runs, Steeplechase, Master Standard, Master Team, Master Snooker, and Master Jumper. Tink had an off course (two wrong tunnels and an extra jump in Jumpers) in all but Master Standard and Team. I messed up Tink's weaves in Standard, and because of that redid a blown frame contact, and Tink's only clean run was Team, her partner, Goofy, (it apparently was the Disney Team) must have caught Tink's disease and took a wrong tunnel entry. So no Q's for the day, but all the bars stayed up. I'll be posting videos on YouTube soon, but meanwhile the flyball vids are up there.

Kessie gets to play

2009-04-19T21:28:00.001-04:00

Kessie went to play a few fun courses at SuperDog Central today! She had some equipment that was different then she has seen (full height dog walk, chute, double jump) and she handled all of those like and old pro! We started off doing small sequences at a time, trying to work at her going ahead instead of biting my feet! By the end of the day, she almost did a full jumpers course nicely! (I still rewarded after the tire, her arch nemisis!) She did much better then I was even hoping for! I was proud of my girlie!

New venue, fun weekend!

2009-04-13T12:03:00.002-04:00

K9 Klubhouse held their first indoor trial at WindReach farms last weekend. WindReach Farms is a beautiful facility that does a lot of work with disabled children. Tink had some nice runs. Another Steeplechase Q and some other close calls. We also had a really bad run, but they don't happen as often as they used to, so it wasn't so bad! I forgot my camera, so no video this week. :(

Quick post

2009-03-23T22:07:00.003-04:00

Have been to 2 trials in the last few weeks. Some close runs, but just a Jumpers Q (finally!). Check out the runs on my YouTube account. Sorry for the poor update, promise it will start to get better when I have my own computer again...

Tinky's gone MAD

2009-03-09T21:11:00.002-04:00

So... this is a little delayed, but 'Better late then never' as they say!

March 1st Tink and I went to Royackers, Tink got a Steeplechase Q and a Master Standard Q, earning her Master Agility Dog of Canada! I didn't get any vids, but Tink also ran her first 0 point snooker!

Steeplechase

Master Standard

Master Jumpers

Dog sledding

2009-02-23T21:10:00.002-05:00

Tink and I attended a dog sledding seminar Feb 6th, taught by Pam Casselman at SuperDog Central. It was a lot of fun. I think Tink and Kes would make a good 2 dog team, Kes can run wheel and Tink can be lead! One of the training exercises had Tink pulling a large bottle full of water through the snow, everytime it got stuck, even a little, Tink wouldn't try to pull it. By the end of the exercise, if Tink got going, she wouldn't stop, even if she ran past me and a tug! I think she didn't want to get stuck again! We got to hook up to a sled, and because Tink has some dog issues, we hooked her up in wheel, with Shep ahead for her to chase! I was able to ride, it was wicked cool! Tink didn't seem to be thrilled at first, but she did well.

First trial of the year (finally)

2009-02-08T20:17:00.003-05:00

I had to miss the first trial I had signed up for this year, I was sick, and we had a major snowstorm. So last Sunday I attended the Rat Pack trial. I will post videos (yay for my new camera!) and let them 'speak' for themselves!

Steeplechase

Master Jumper

Master Standard

We also ran a Master Snooker... only a 1 pointer though!

Today Tink got to do some dog sledding! It was fun! Tell you more about it later!

Happy Birthday Kessie!!

2009-01-28T10:19:00.003-05:00

It's ruff being a birthday girl!

Today is Kessie's first birthday! How quickly the year has flown by, yet I also can't believe it's only been one year! She is such a fun little girl, can't wait for the many more years yet to come!

Now showing...

2009-01-12T10:29:00.002-05:00

Tink is now 1 of 12 dogs featuring on the HiQ offspring page! Check it out! Her full sister Mellie, right above her, looks so much like Tinky, the first time I saw her picture, I thought it was Tink!

Tink's first time out

2008-12-21T11:28:00.005-05:00

This is Tink's very first time running at a trial. I ran her FEO at a lower jump height just to see how she'd do. I also think this was the first time she ever did agility anywhere else other then the Klubhouse. She was so loud! (Not to say she isn't now!) We were so choppy back then (not to say we are great now, hehe, but there certainly is a difference). I think this was Sept '06.

(If anybody can help me embed... that would be great... not so good at this computer crap... copy/pasted link, blogger is telling me 'Tag is not closed')

What a way to end the year!

2008-12-14T18:50:00.003-05:00

Off to Royackers this morning for Tink's last trial of 2008!! And I must say, it was a pretty good day!

Steeplechase was first. Tink's only mess up was the weaves, the second time around she missed the entry... it starts again... or so I thought. She ended up getting her 15th Steeplechase Q!

Tink's second class was Master Team. Tink's original partner was a scratch, so Tink ended up running with Fizz, who had to run twice, so that run only counted for Tink. Fizz was first and ran clean. Tink missed her entry, arg! But only being 5 faults, if the rest was clean we could get another Q... no such luck though, Tink took an off course tunnel, miles away from where I was! I yelled... LOUDLY... to call her off, but her mind was set on that tunnel... She caused a few laughs though!!! Further along in her half, I told her to go through the tunnel... and she took a jump instead... oh well!

Master Standard was next... not clean, a couple of refusals, but she got her weaves, and did a call off of a nasty off course tunnel (now she does it!) only I called her off too much and she ran right past the jump!

Another Master Standard was Tink's next run. Some tricky parts... three straight tunnels right in a row! Tunnel entry city!! I figured it would be a challenge for Tink but she did quite well with it, and (despite me almost getting lost) ran the rest clean, getting her second Master Standard Q!!

Up next was Master Gamble. I was too busy chatting and missed the briefing, so wasn't sure if I did the mini's right or not! She nailed 2 pretty difficult weave entries... one of which proved helpful in the next run! The main gamble was a jump heading straight into a tunnel, but the dog had to take a line of jumps to their left. Oh no, not another tunnel trap! Haven't we suffered enough already!?! But Tink did very, very well with it, and didn't even think twice about the tunnel. So Tink gets her 5th Master Gamble Q!

Last of the day was Master Team, a last ditch effort to get as many Teams in before the rule change. Tink needed 2 Q's for her title, so it wasn't do or die for Tink. Or her partner, Yoda, who already had his ATChC. The course was pretty smooth, and not very trappy for a Master Team, Tink took down a bar (her first, and only, of the day!!) but ran the rest clean. Yoda was clean, so we get our second Master Team Q!

And with that, Tink has 25 Master games... enough of the game requirements for a bronze... just waiting on the Standards (and the jumpers and snooker required for the ATChC!)

Tink ends up with a total of 34 Q's for the year!

Wrapping Presents with Dogs

2008-12-08T14:54:00.002-05:00

(dognapped from Simba's HM... edited for truth! LOL)

1. Gather presents, boxes, paper, etc. in middle of living room floor.
2. Get tape back from Kessie.
3. Remove scissors from Tink's mouth.
4. Open box.
5. Take Kessie out of box.
6. Remove tape from Tink's mouth.
7. Take scissors away from Kessie.
8. Put present in box.
9. Remove present from Kessie's mouth.
10. Put back in box after removing Kessie from box.
11. Take scissors from Tink and sit on them.
12. Remove Kessie from box and put on lid.
13. Take tape away from Tink.
14. Unroll paper.
15. Take Kessie OFF box.
16. Cut paper being careful not to cut Kessie's foot or nose that is getting in the way as she "helps."
17. Let Kessie tear remaining paper.
18. Take Kessie off box.
19. Wrap paper around box.
20. Remove Kessie from box & take wrapping paper from her mouth.
21. Tell Tink to fetch the tape so she will stop stealing it.
22. Take scissors away from Kessie.
23. Take tape Tink is holding.
24. Quickly tape one spot before taking scissors from Tink & sitting on them again.
25. Fend off Kessie trying to steal tape & tape another spot.
26. Take bow from Tink.
27. Go get roll of wrapping paper Kessie ran off with.
28. Take scissors from Tink who took them when you got up.
29. Give pen to Tink to hold so she stops licking your face.
30. Remove Kessie from present & hurriedly slap tape on to hold the paper on.
31. Take now soggy bow from Kessie & tape on since the sticky stuff no longer sticks.
32. Take pen from Tink, address tag & affix while Kessie tries to eat pen. (Wouldn't be the first time!)
33. Grab present before Kessie opens it & put it away.
34. Clean up mess Kessie & Tink made playing tug-of-war with remnants of wrapping paper.
35. Put away rest of wrapping supplies & tell dogs what good helpers they are.

...one step back

2008-12-02T12:44:00.002-05:00

Off to Acton last Sunday. Tinky had a full day ahead of her! Starting off with a Master Jumpers course. It was a very tight course, so I didn't have high hopes, but Tink wasn't really paying attention to me, so we didn't finish the course. Steeplechase was a little better, but she took down 3 bars, and missed her weaves... and her weaves were coming along great :(. In Team, Tink missed her weaves again, took a wrong tunnel and knocked a bar, but she did do a sequence nicely that I wasn't sure that she'd get. Tink had a great opening in the gamble, getting the highest points in the opening at 50 points, then at the gamble, I set her up and told her tunnel, assuming she'd take the first jump in the sequence on her way, but just went to the other end of the tunnel, so I left the course thinking it was done, forgetting that until she has done the first obstacle, she can keep running... oh darn! She then ran Standard... and did a good run, finally getting her first Master Standard Q! She ran Standard one more time and was one wrong tunnel entry away from another Q. She finally was getting her weaves back...

Tinky's speed

2008-11-24T13:13:00.002-05:00

I just calculated Tinky's speed from the 3 runs yesterday where the only faults were a knocked bar each. Since there were no refusals or off courses they would be the best runs to give you an idea of her speed. The first Master Standard run she averaged 5.247 yards per second. Because the Steeplechase was a very open course, built for speed, and she had the second best time, I figured she would have been faster then the Standard, but she was only 4.585 yards per second, just shows how much weaves can slow you down, I thought the lack of teeter-dogwalk would have more then made up for it. Her fastest run was Jumpers at 6.01 yards per second... gotta go work on my sprinting! ;)

Santa isn't just for kids!

2008-11-23T21:46:00.003-05:00

Off to Royackers with the girlies today! Starting off the day, Tinky had a Master Standard run. Tink had an amazing run! She nailed her weave entry, did tunnel 8 just fine, sent out to the 11-12 with ease, didn't even look at the tunnel for 13-14, and didn't hesitate to do the chute! Great, beautiful, awesome run... until the final bar dropped... *sigh*

The second Master Standard run didn't go quite as well... I was worried about 2-3-4-5-6... and tried a rear cross on 5, which worked! Though she knocked the 3rd jump. 6-7-8-9-10 also went very weel, another great weave entry... but, even thought it was the same sequence as the first run, Tink had some problems with 11-12-13-14-15, she ran behind the tunnel a bit (which wasn't a refusal because the end of the weaves are past the plane of the tunnel entry), crashed into 13's bars, and wouldn't send out to 14, which caused an off course when she ran into the tunnel. The rest of the run was fine, but I re-did the frame because she didn't hold position.

Steeplechase was an awesome course. Very open and let the dogs FLY! They do a toonie pot for fun, and though I didn't enter, I was eager to see how Tink stood up next to some of the best dogs Canada has to offer. Tink did pretty good, though took a couple turns wider then she needed to (5-6 and 17-18, namely), and knocked a jump (7 ro 8), but she got both entries. Tink ended up 5th of 18 dogs in her division and a Q. And, with a time of 32.50, her time was the 2nd fastest of all the dogs in the whole class, a total of 57!

Master Team didn't go so well. And by no fault of her parter, Whippet. He ran clean and just fine! Tink had the first side but figured neither tunnel should be done by going into the proper end. Silly thing! But she did make a very difficult weave entry... A great weave day overall... yay!!

Everything in Jumpers went quite well, except for the knocked bar on jump 4 (story of the day!!). We did a great rear cross on 9, it was a really good run.

Look who showed up at the trial! The girls got their pictures taken with Santa. Tinky did well... but Kessie has a bit of a barking habit... but everything is well and good when she can give kisses... and that she did! Santa got quite the Kessie tounge bath! There was also a delicious luch. Both were fundraisers for the 2009 Canada Cup.

Kessie all grown up!

2008-11-22T20:01:00.002-05:00

Kessie is growing up so fast! She's looking more and more like a dog, instead of a gawky puppy, every day! In this picture she is one week shy of her 10 month birthday. In some ways I think the 10 months flew by, but in others, I can't believe that she is *only* 10 months. She's growing up into a beautiful little girlie with a very postive outlook on everything! She's such a clown that makes me laugh a lot, and even though she's always looking for trouble, I wouldn't give her up for the world (despite my threats!).

Kessie finished another set of agility classes the other day, and as a final class we set up a couple courses to run. The contacts are all lower, the weaves are channeled, and Kessie jumps no more then 10" at this time because of her age. But she did wonderfully! She stuck all her 2o2o contacts (her butt had been swinging off as she turned towards me at the end), she seems to be starting to get the concept of weaving, she does a decent down on a table... faster then Tink even! I'm excited for the future, and can't wait for her to finish growing up so the real fun can begin!!

Fixx'in to wish you Happy Holidays!

2008-11-21T15:31:00.002-05:00

The Border Collie Rescue Ontario have beautiful christmas cards for sale to raise money for the BCRO.

Go to their site for more information!

http://www.bordercollierescueont.com/

Quick update and the future

2008-11-17T14:42:00.003-05:00

Trials are starting to wind down for the off season, so things are a bit slow. Tink did a couple of seminars at Superdog Central the past few weeks. A disc seminar with Morgan Jarvis and an agility seminar with Dante Camacho. We had lots of fun (and an awesome lunch) at both, and learned some good thing.

You may have noticed a change to the blog... just wanted to spice things up a bit. The AAC is also changing up a few things, that will make things different. Including a new game, new titles, the exclusion of Team from the ATChC, and games for Juniors. I am so exciting and looking forward to the next year. Here's what I am hoping for;

- A new camera! I have a lack of pictures to post, due to a lack of a working camera! It's only been a goner since Febuary!! I'm hoping to get one for Christmas.
- Only 3 trials left in the next 6 weekends. Then it'll be 2009! Man how time flies!
- Kessie's first birthday! Puppies are cute and all, but I much prefer adults (though I know it'll be awhile before she acts like one!). Though Tink will be 5 and before I know it, Kes will be too!
- The Regionals (possibly) and Nationals (for sure) being held in Ottawa... I may even have a place to stay!! Now all we need is those 350 points to qualify!
-Kessie's debut in competitive disc and possibly agility.
- Tinky's flyball debut... maybe Feb?
- An ATChC? With or without the new rules, Tink is 8 q's away from an ATChC, it would be nice, and certainly possible, but not the top of my priority list for the year.
- Have the time of my life, and enjoy the time with my girlies!

What's in a name?

2008-11-02T22:32:00.003-05:00

It seems people have a bit of a hard time getting Kessie's name right, they usually call her Tessie or Cassie. So I shall explain the origins of Kessie's name.

A Kestrel

Kessie's name is actually Kestrel, but the name Kessie came to me first. It's from my favorite episode of 'The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh' called 'Find Her, Keep Her'. OK, so maybe I am a self confessed Disney freak (couldn't you tell with my other dog, named Tink?). In this episode, Winnie and friends come across a very young bird during a snowstorm named... well, Kessie. Rabbit is elected to take care of her, despite his protests. Even though he grumbles and complains, Rabbit still takes care of her. Months pass and summer soon turns to fall, when Owl begins to teach Kessie to fly, so she can migrate for the winter. Rabbit's controlling nature forbids this, thinking Kessie will get hurt. During one to their teaching sessions, Rabbit is accidentally flung off a cliff and Kessie comes to the rescue and flies him to safety. The cool weather sets in and Kessie is getting ready to fly south with Owl. Everybody shows up too see Kessie off, everybody but Rabbit that is. Kessie is sad, but Owl insists that they have to leave, so they take off. Rabbit comes running up, with his favorite carrot to give to Kessie as a farewell gift, only to find out he's too late. Rabbit is sad until Kessie dives down from the sky and tackles Rabbit. She tells her 'Rabby' she couldn't leave without saying goodbye. I well up every time. Kessie also appears in another episode and became a regular character in 'The Book of Pooh' which I never ever watched.

A fan drawing of Kessie and Rabbit (I couldn't find any actual screengrabs!)

The first time I heard of the word kestrel was when i was reading a book called 'Outcasts of Redwall' from then Redwall series. I had never heard of a kestrel before, but liked the word and later heard it as a name.

The cover of Outcasts of Redwall, featuring Skarlath the Kestrel

It was a name I considered for Tink, but Tink won out (mostly because I was afraid of the Tessie similarity).

Keep your eyes on your fries!

2008-10-26T19:10:00.004-04:00

Off to Acton for our last agility trial for awhile. I decided to scan the course maps to spice things up a bit...

Steeplechase was first, despite a couple of knocked bars, and poor handling, Tinky did alright. Tink NAILED the weave entry! The rest of the run was alright, but due to crappy handling, I pulled her off jump 18, and she ran past it, then back jumped.

Our first Master Standard run of the day started off beautifully! Until we got to the weaves. I think she had to much speed, and didn't collect herself in time, she had a refusal, so we tried again... she refused again. Third times a charm... except for this time, because I tried to beat her to the end of the weaves to push her out to 16, she popped out at 10, so I went to bring her back and she went on the frame. She did well on the 17-18-19 combo, which I was slightly nervous about!

Master Standard 2 didn't start off as well. The very first bar came down. So when Tink didn't hold her Frame or Teeter, we redid them. Again on the weaves, Tink couldn't collect herself, and had a refusal. The dogwalk, despite the many tunnels facing her, and the fact that she was headed towards 6, Tink made walk!! The rest of the run went very smooth.

Master Snooker. Snooker had always been the run I dreaded most, having a super fast Border Collie who liked to work away from me, and didn't have a call off. But she has been doing well in Snooker, and probably has her highest q percentage in Snooker! The weaves were angled differently on course, then on the map, hence my drawn in weaves. In case you can't read my map, I did 1-6-1-6-1-7, I kept ending up in the wrong place, but my dog saved my butt, more then once, and though we ran out of time in the weaves, we still ended up with 42 of the 40 points required. (ED: My pencil marks didn't really show up... sorry!)

Master Jumper was quite trappy, including 2 chute traps that I was sure Tinky would take. It was an amazing run, and we were running very well together until I took my eyes off of Tink for half a second after 16 and she went over jump 1. I felt so bad, and I felt like I let my dog down, it was the saddest I felt for my poor dog after an agility run, she did so well, and tried so hard!

Start of the indoor season

2008-10-20T12:50:00.002-04:00

This will just be a quick update, not much to blog on. ;)

Off to Royackers for the first indoor trial of the year. It was a frosty morning, so I was glad to be inside, though later the sun was beaming and it was quite nice outside.

Tink's first run was a Team run. Team always sucks as the first run of the day, but Tink rocked and ran her half clean. Tink's partner, Wish, didn't, but in all fairness, she had a much harder half.

Tink had a decent Standard run, though she took an off course jump, but did the rest well!

Steeplechase was going well, though one knocked bar, until the end, when I for half a second forgot where I was going, and before I knew it, Tink was off course.

Gamble was bad... I pre-planned it more then I ever had before. Nothing went according to plan, and Tinky was out of control! Totally doing what she wanted and forgetting her contacts. The main gamble was a bit difficult, with a nasty weave entry, though more dogs got it then I expected. Tink tried and did better then I thought, but didn't get it.

Only one more trial next weekend, then we get a three week break from trials.

End of the 'summer'

2008-10-15T22:21:00.002-04:00

Tinky went to her last outdoor trial of the outdoor season. And I must say, it was probably the nicest weather we had all summer! Too bad we had to wait this long for it! We ran Master Standard, Team, Jumpers and Steeplechase. This was just not Tinky's weekend and she wasn't on the ball. She knocked a ton of bars (the same amount in Steeplechase as she did the weekend before with a total of 9 runs!). Her best run was the Standard, where her only fault was an off course tunnel, but otherwise, E's across the board! Oh well! There will always be a next time!

Tink and Kessie start training in a new facility that's used for horses. It'll be very cold, but I'll be doing agility, so it'll be worth it in the end!

K9 Klubhouse Day 2

2008-10-05T19:04:00.000-04:00

The last K9 Klubhouse trial :( so sad. Over all I found it a good day, still chilly... and we did get a very very light spit, but hardly anything, not even enough to be called rain. So I'll accept it.

Master Standard: Started beautifully! Got to the point where I was thinking 'We might actually do this! We can run this clean!' Then 16, 17, and 18 hit... though it went more like 17 (backwards), 16 (backwards), 16, 18, 17(down bar), 18, 19, 20! Oh well!

Junior Advanced Standard: Tink and Natasha had a great run, and Natasha ended up with her Junior Handler Award of Merit - Advanced Level. Now she needs a new dog to run in Masters, though we have some options!

Steeplechase 1 & 2: Tink had two good run, but took down a bar in the first run. Still more then 5 seconds under time. The second run was clean. She got her 12th and 13th Steeplechase Q.

Master Jumpers: A very trappy course, one I wasn't too sure we could handle. Tink did well though, NO off courses!! And I didn't get lost!! Though we had one bar down, so close but no cigar!

Tink nailed each and every weave entry this weekend (9 in total) so I am very, very happy with that. She also held *most* of her contacts nicely, so I'd say all and all a very successful weekend for my girlie!

Oct/08 K9 Klubhouse Day 1

2008-10-04T16:26:00.002-04:00

Off to the last K9 Klubhouse trial of the season this morning. How sad :(... we didn't even get a summer this year... The weather was a tad chilly, but it wasn't raining (bonus!), not was it super windy!

Master Gamble: There were some high point mini's resulting in a chance to get 52 points in minis alone!! But we didn't get any, and spent too much time trying... resulting in only 24 points in the opening. We did complete the difficult main gamble (1 of only 2 or 3 dogs to get it) but didn't have enough points to get a Q. Good chance to get the sillies out;)

Junior Advanced Standard: Tink and Natasha had a bit of a sloppy run, but was clean, up until the last third, when Tink didn't hold her contact, so Natasha put her back on the teeter (thinking they had blown it already) so they were Eliminated. The rest of the run was clean too, so if she let Tink get away with it, she could have got her title. I'm glad she redid the teeter though!

Master Standard: Tink had a very decent run, but she took a tunnel instead of a teeter, which were side by side, in the opening. She had one down bar, but the rest of the run was great.

Master Team: Tink's partner was Casey, a Mini Poodle mix. Tinky ran her half beautifully! And Casey ran his half clean too! We got our first Master Team Q!

Five runs for Tink tomorrow, 2 Standard (one JH), 2 Steeplechase, and 1 Jumpers, wish us luck!

Keeps going... and going...and going...

2008-09-28T22:25:00.003-04:00

Today was the 2008 Energizer Disc Dog Championships. It was a packed fun-filled day of a 2 trial tournament in 1 day! Tink had a decent day...

Trial 1
Novice Single Disc - Lots of misses, only getting 28 points and missing out on her final Q for her title.

Furthest Catch - Tink got another Bronze level catch, only 104' this time, so no personal best, but it's fun knowing I can make it over 30 yards for Advanced.
Games - Both Tink and Kessie played 'Extreme RPT' where we had to throw various toys over the 10 yard line, and the dog who retrieved the most toys in 1 minute wins. Tink did pretty well, but I gave her some bad throws. Kessie started off well, I threw out the ball, she returned it like an old pro, but the next toy I threw out, she decided it would be best if she ran around with it by herself.

Trial 2
Novice Single Disc - Tink had a much better round, earning her Q in my first 4 throws. Earning her Basic Disc Dog (BDD) title. Also with 51 points, that brought her point total to 338, giving her enough points for her Disc Dog Exellent (DDX) title. She also got a 2nd place, getting beat out by her Uncle Zephyr by 1 point!

Freestyle - A spur of the moment decision, I added Tink to Freestyle. I didn't know what I was doing, but we had fun, and earned a score of 72.3.
Furthest Catch - Not quite a Bronze level catch, but close...
Games - The first game was getting hula hoops on pylons (no dogs). I got second (yay), getting beat out but the only one to hoop their pylon, Rickelle! (Though most call her Shona!) The second game was a crossover game, whoever made the most catches in 1 minute wins. Tink came away with the top prize, go Tinky!

K9 Klubhouse Day 2

2008-09-21T19:04:00.002-04:00

Day 2's of trials usually are a bad thing... I dunno what it is, but Tink usually it just nuts! Today was alright, nothing too bad to complain about ;)

Master Team: Tink was teamed up with Cajun, a vizla. Both sides of the course were difficult. Tink had a wrong tunnel entry, so we were Eliminated, but both dogs had faults, so I didn't feel too bad.

Master Standard: Quite an ugly run, all three tunnel entries were the wrong ends... did some walk contact training.

Advanced Junior with Natasha: Another very nice run with Natasha, she did everything she was told too... even the off-course frame!

Steeplechase: Tink had a really good run, coming away with another Steeplechase Q.

Master Jumpers: I got totally and completely lost in several places... poor Tinky!

Off to a 2 trial day at D.O.G. Sports Centre next weekend for a fun-filled day of disc... hopefully we get nice weather again.

Sept/08 K9 Klubhouse Day 1

2008-09-20T19:03:00.002-04:00

The girls and I spent the day at the K9 Klubhouse trial. Finally had some amazing weather! Not too cold, nor hot for the dogs, a slight, gentle breeze, and... NO RAIN!! Best trial weather, ever!

Tink had a pretty good day too. She started off with a Master Gamble, she had a good run, coming away with 84 points and a Q (our first Q beyond the ones required for an ATCh). Run two was Master Standard, Tink did well... too bad about the handler. I had a few handler errors, causing refusals and knocked bars, equalling 20 faults, but she did well and stayed on course. Natasha then ran Tink in Advanced Junior Handler and earned her 2nd Q. Master Snooker was next, and it was a hard one, I might add! Nobody got a Q on it. We made it further then I thought she would, getting to 22 points before she took the wrong end of a tunnel in the closing. Last run of the day was Steeplechase. With a knocked bar, and dinkin' around on the weaves a bit, Tink was .52 seconds over SCT, so close but no cigar.

I have been getting a lot of compliments lately on how Tink is much more controlled, and as much as I loved it before, it's so much more fun to run her now! We are back for more tomorrow, so keep your fingers (and paws) crossed!

Harvest Time

2008-09-14T21:29:00.003-04:00

Off on a long (packed) car trip to the 2008 Harvest Disc Dog Trial. We carpooled with our friend Brenda with her dogs Bear and Mitsy, it was a tight fit, but everything fit into Brenda's car. It rained off and on all day (shocking!... NOT!!). Tink had an alright day, not having as successful of a day as the last trial, but still Q'ing in Novice, and topping her Furthest Catch record. One more Q until we title and move into Advanced... I don't know if I wanna do that!! Some tough compitition up there!

Quick trial update

2008-09-12T13:59:00.002-04:00

Last weekend Tink ran at the Spot On trial. She had four runs.

Steeplechase - a down bar and sloppy weaves... she missed the entry and popped out at 10

Master Standard - some faults (though I forget them...) but Tink made a very difficult weave entry!

Master Team - Tink messed up the weaves...

Master Jumpers - things were going great until the last few jumps... I accidentally pulled her off a jump by calling her name to much and she had a refusal... an otherwise awsome run!

Tink also ran Advanced Standard with Natasha and had a few faults there as well.

Lots of upcoming trials... something every Sunday until November (and some Saturdays too)

A Sad Farewell

2008-09-04T21:26:00.002-04:00

Q and Trekki

Within about a months time, our breeder Dawn had to say a sad farewell to two of her beloved dogs. Tink's Grandmother, Q (Kessie's Great Grandmother) and Tink Great Grandmother, Trekki (Kessie's Great Great Grandmother). A sad time for Dawn and her family, we are wishing you all the best. The girls have some awfully big pawprints to fill!

New Pup Art

2008-09-02T13:56:00.003-04:00

What I do when I am bored...

Here are my other ones (I need to make a better one of Tinky).

Loooooong overdue update!

2008-08-26T17:02:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. Not too much going on. August 10th Tinky played at the K9 Klubhouse trial at Country Lane Pet Resort. We had a lot of fun, even playing a tunnelers run (that Kessie *tried* to play too). It had rained a lot the whole week before, and downpoured the night before, so the fields were MUDDY! Tink had some good and bad runs, including an awsome Master Standard run where she took the wrong end of a tunnel because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but it's was hard not to fall! Though I did manage to stay on my feet all day! A lot of the vehicles were getting stuck in the feilds too... we defietly got down and dirty at this trial.

The following weekend, Tink, Kes and I went with my friend Tricia to go camping. The girls loved the water, and Kessie's started to get the hang of swimmng, though she's still not it's biggest fan. (Pictures coming soon... I hope!)

Then last weekend, Tink and I went with Natasha to Acton for a AAC and CPE trial. Tinky finally earned a first from some stiff competition and her 3rd Master Gamble Q, and her Master Gamble Dog of Canada title (MGDC). For a dog that loves to gamble, it seemed to take forever to get that final Q between near misses and complete disasters! She had 2 Master Standard runs that were quite so pretty. For the CPE trial Tink earned 2 more standard Q's and her Level 2 Standard title (CL2-R).

We have the long weekend off from doing anything, then 2 disc and 2 agaility trials coming up for the month of September!

Spot On... at Spot On

2008-08-03T18:18:00.002-04:00

Off to Spot On today. Tink was having a bad weave day, never doing weaves right the first time all day! The day started off with Steeplechase, Tink's total time, with 5 faults for a knocked bar was 37.72, and she needed 38 or better to Q. So we made it by a mear .28 secs! That was our 10th Steeplechase Q and with that Tink earned her Master Steeplechase Dog of Canada (MSCDC). Master Standard wasn't pretty, but there were some great points. Natasha and Tink ran Advanced Standard, there was an off course chute that Tink just had to take. Tink was in Team with her classmate, Cinders. During the run, Tink hit the entry on the weaves, then went out, then we started it again, and finished fine. I saw the judges hand go up for a refusal. The rest of the run went well, and Cinders' run was clean, so after the run, I approched the judge abount the weaves, because in Advanced, weaves are not faulted as long as the dog makes the entry. So the fault scratched. Thankfully, because otherwise we would have been overtime. So the girls got their final Advanced Team Q, and Tink earned her second title of the day, Advanced Games Dog of Canada (AGDC). Master Jumpers was last and though I almost got lost, the run went very well until the second last jump, when I tried to rear cross, causing Tink to spin, and take down a bar. I was still very happy with the run.

Costume Contest

2008-07-28T09:55:00.003-04:00

On Facebook, there is an Animal Photo Contest group, where you post pictures of your pets reguarding a certain topic. Last weeks topic was pets in costumes. I had 3 great pictures of Tink wearing costumes, but I decided on this one;

and Tinky placed 3rd!

To see the 1st and 2nd place dogs, go here;

http://animalphotocontest.blogspot.com/

Here are the other 2 pictures of Tink, just for fun!

Up for a game of Frisbee?

2008-07-27T16:01:00.004-04:00

Well the girls were! Well, technically Kessie didn't use a Frisbee, but she did pass her RPT with a tennis ball at D.O.G. Sports Centre.

Back to their original stomping grounds, (D.O.G. is also home to HiQ Border Collies, Kessie and Tink's breeder) Tink was 11 for 11 in throws and catches, despite the windy day!

She was 8 for 8 in novice single disc, catching all 8 over the 20 yard line, earning 41 points (her best score yet) and a second Q towards her Basic Disc Dog title. I would have gotten lots more throws out, but Tink developed a new quirk of running all the way around me instead of bringing the disc straight to me, wasting a bunch of time!

Tink also caught all 3 of her Furthest Catches, with a personal best catch of 108' 5", her second bronze catch, and just short of placing.

When the official classes were over, there were 3 unofficial games. The first one was 'It's raining cats and discs'. This was a handler only game, where you had to throw stuffed cats, and frisbees into upside-down umbrellas. Natasha and I played, and only got one item each!!

The second game was 'Disc o' Ducks', the dog is sent out to a pile of toys, and have to bring them back to the handler. Tink rocked it, earning 19 points and a 1st place!

The last game was 'Monster Disc', it's played with a giant disc, with, or without your dog, and furthest throw won. Tink didn't care for the disc... and my throws were sucky. It was a fun day, but back to agility next week. I miss it!! Thanks to Shona again for more pictures!!

Regional Pictures

2008-07-25T16:18:00.004-04:00

Just posting up some of Tinky's shots from the Regionals. The shots are courtesy of Harvey Mackenzie.

Tinky taking a leap at the Steeplechase competition.

Tinky on the line in a Jumpers run... trying to get her to stand!

Heading up the frame in Steeplechase.

Tink always thinks a good bark now and then, is necessary

Super weave machine!

Headin' towards a tunnel!

Dog Days of Scugog

2008-07-20T15:18:00.003-04:00

The girls and I went up to Port Perry, with my friend Tiff and her Chihuahua, Gus, for a soggy day of doggy fun. Well, the rain made it not so fun, actually! Tinky did compete in one wave of Dock Diving, and had a personal best jump of 12', earning her second Junior jump.
Kessie met up with her mom Ceilidh, and her littermate Bree. She was more interested in the nearby bone instead of her brother though! She'll probably see him next weekend again, and hopefully she'll actually play with him!

June 29 2008 Spot On Pictures

2008-07-08T15:47:00.003-04:00

Tink and Junior Handler, Natasha

Thanks to Brenda for these pictures, and the ones from K9 Klubhouse!

Super Agility Weekend!

2008-07-08T15:08:00.004-04:00

This past weekend was a big agility weekend for the girls! First up on Friday, Kessie had her first taste of agility when we headed up to Spot On for a workshop with Brandi Jacques. We worked on some foundation and motivation work.

Then Saturday and Sunday we drove around the corner from home to the K9 Klubhouse trial! Tink had a good first day. The day started off with a Gamble. And a very hard one at that! Nobody ended up getting it! Tink was a bit nuts in the opening... she tends to know she can run around in gamble like an idiot, because that's where she is always the most uncontrolable! Advanced Team went very well. There was an uneven amount of dogs so Tink got to run twice. Her partners were Quinte and Pyro. Tink ran both halves clean! Earning a Q with Quinte, and helping Pyro earn a Q! Natasha and Tink ran for their first time in Advanced Juniors, and even though there was 2 weave refusals, in Juniors, refusals aren't faulted until Masters, so they got their first Advanced Q!

Tink's Master Standard run's contacts were horrible, so we spent some time trying to work on it. Steeplechase went well, we had some nice call offs, and even though we had 5 faults, Tinky earned her 9th Steeplechase Q. One more until another title! It was also Tink's 30th overall Q!

Sunday didn't go so well. Snooker was messy... I kept going the wrong way, and messing up! Master Standard, Jumpers, and Natasha's Advanced run, weren't much better. Steeplechase had no faults, but Tink kept messing up on the weaves and we were a little over 3 seconds over time.

Tink had an odd weave weekend. She nailed the weaves everytime the entry mattered, and messed up everytime there were no faults involved... what an odd child!

Kessie starts agility classes tonight! She'll have a lot of fun, especially because food will be involved!

One title down...

2008-06-29T18:42:00.002-04:00

Finally, today Tinky got her final Advanced Standard Q, and her AADC! Tink's Junior Handler, Natasha, is happy she can now run Tink officially again! Her weaves weren't the prettiest, but she got the entries, and that's all you need in Advanced. Steeplechase again started off great, but fell apart in the last three pieces. Advanced Team wasn't great, Tink had an off course, and our partner, slipped off the teeter, which is faulted. Close but no cigar. And we won't talk about the Master Jumper fiasco! Lets just say we both screwed it up! Pictures to follow!

Busy weekend!

2008-06-22T18:20:00.003-04:00

This weekend was a bit of a busy one for Tinky! Friday night we went to help set up for K9 Klubhouse's CKC trial, and played at the fun match.
Saturday Tink and Natasha (without me :*( ) set off to the Bowmanville's Fabulous Fifties festival for a sport demo with Superdog Central. She was a little worried without me around and was losing a bit of focus during the first demo. I was able to make the second demo... which was not a good plan, Tinky was just looking for me, so I had to help out. Then I had to go, but I hear Tink did well for her third demo!

And this morning, Natasha and I loaded up the car with Tink, Kessie and Coby, and headed off to Royackers for a day of agility. The weather threatened rain, but we were lucky to get out early enough to avoid it! The morning started off with Master Snooker, everything went according to plan, (except for I thought Tink had a refusal in the closing, but we weren't called on it) we got our first Master Snooker Q with 50 points! Our second run was Advanced Team. Tink ran her half clean! No Q, but I was happy with Tink! Steeplechase was next. The run started off beautifully, until we got to the very end, and got an off course... it's hard to make up 20 seconds... even with a fast dog. Our last run was that elusive Advanced Standard... just one more dang Q... Not today, we had a refusal on a jump, but the rest of the run went well. A very good day over all... and best of all, Tink kept up all the bars!! I wish everyday was an agility day!!

First times a charm!!

2008-06-15T19:24:00.002-04:00

Off today to MaCann's for our first trial since the Ontario Regionals. The first half of the day was a Master's AAC trial, followed by CPE. This was Tink's first time competing in CPE. It was also Tink's first time doing Master Snooker! None of the dogs before us made it to the closing... not giving me a lot of hope. Things went a little haywire near the beginning, but we held it together and didn't get whistled off! The closing went pretty well... until we got to #7 which were the weaves. She ran past the weaves and got whistled, we were 4 points shy of a Q, but still pulled out a first place! Not too bad for a dog I thought would still be in Starters!!
With only 2 more Q's to go for our Steeplechase Title, the countdown is on... though this week we knocked 2 bars and had an off course... so 2 more still!
Another countdown is Master Gamble... only one more needed, and we'll get our first Gamble title... but again, no Q today... Tink was too eager in the main gamble, and wasn't quite listening.
Then CPE began... two Standard runs and one Colours run. Tink's first Standard run was greather time was less then half of the SCT! We Q'd and got first place.
Standard 2 wasn't quite as pretty, but only 5 faults (for a knocked bar) so we still Q'd, and got second.
The last run was Colours. She ran it very well... in under 15 secs! One more Q and first for CPE. Now I need to figure out what I'm going to do with my CPE ribbons... my AAC ribbons have almost filled up their alloted space...

Kes is a big girl now!

2008-06-09T15:44:00.001-04:00

Kes was in her ex-pen beside me while I was on the computer, and i could hear her playing with something small ad hard on the floor, so I reached in to get rid of what I thought was something she shouldn't be playing with, and it was a tooth! Yay, I was hoping to get at least one tooth (I got a few from Tink). I did a quick search in her mouth and another tooth was just barely hanging on, so I snatched that one too! Now i have 2 of Kessie's baby teeth!

Congr'ATCh'ulations to Abbey and Shona!

2008-06-09T15:33:00.003-04:00

Congrats to our friends Abbey and Shona who, this weekend, became the first Wire-haired Fox Terrier to achieve their ATChC!!

Regionals Day 3

2008-06-09T15:02:00.002-04:00

OK, so in the last Regionals post, I didn't get to Sunday. I just got sick of typing, and it was getting, really wordy. So here's my continuation.

Day 3 started off with Jumpers. On paper it looked like the hardest Jumpers ever! It was very hard to walk as well because a lot of the action was going on in one area of the course, making it very congested. A lot of people were getting lost on course... something I was sure I was going to do. At one point, for a split second I did forget what was next, it was a very, very short amount of time, but just short enough to put me behind where I needed to be, causing Tink to have a refusal. We go through the tough part of the course and was coming up to the final stretch, which was a jump, tire, spread, and a call off of a jump straight ahead, to one on the left. Coming down the stretch, I called her off the jump, and she called off very nicely... until I realized, I called her off the spread! So one more refusal, but it turned out to be our best run of the regionals. We placed 52 of 70 dogs with 65 points.

Standard was the most promising courses from Sunday on paper, but some parts we proving to be tricky. We ended up with a refusal, knocked bar and a wrong end of a tunnel. The weave poles were posing a problem for a lot of dogs, so I tried to pull off a front cross, something I amazingly did (barely) and Tink nailed the entry! One of the highlights of the day for us. We placed 64th of 82 dogs an walked away with 70 more points.

Gamble was our last run of the regionals. Working out the math we needed 79 more points to qualify for Nationals. I wasn't planning on going, but the fancy ribbon would have been nice ;). So I figured all we needed was both mini's twice, the four pointer and the main gamble. Something that wasn't a completely unachievable goal... except for the fact that the main was a nasty tunnel sucker course, and a very small percentage of dogs were getting it. We only got the mini's one time each and no main, so we only got 37 points. Placing 46th of 81 dogs. Overall we only got 308 points of the 350 needed and placed 67 of 83 dogs. But all in all it was a great time and we had fun hanging out with our agility friends.

Uncles Spy and Zephyr (Q x Kyle), Tink and Kessie

Woofstock

2008-06-09T10:48:00.003-04:00

Yesterday Kessie and I were off to Woofstock with Gus, Tiffany and her mom Donna. There were A LOT of other dogs there, so I was glad I didn't bring Tinky with me. Kessie got a lot of compliments throughout the day. Due to a bit of confusion (Gus was supposed to be in the costume contest) Kessie and Gus ended up in the fashion show. Poor Gus was in a red dress and hat, and Kessie was a hotdog! It was a fun (yet hot!) day for both dogs. They got lots of yummy treats.

Training Agility in 5 easy steps!

2008-06-05T11:36:00.001-04:00

This short video will teach you all the skills you need to teach your dog to play agility in 5 very simple steps!

2008 AAC Ontario Regional Championships

2008-06-02T11:45:00.004-04:00

May 23-25 was the AAC Ontario Regional Championships. This was Tink's (and my) first time at the Regionals. It was a big trial with around 400 competitors.

Friday, Day 1, started of with a Touch and Go and a regular AAC sanctioned Steeplechase qualifier, with the top 20% moving on to the Sunday finals. Tink's Touch and Go was... well... touch and go... she hit her contacts, and went! Not exactly what I was hoping for. Steeplechase went pretty good. For the spirit of the weekend, I decided not to force contacts, if i got them, great, if I didn't, oh well... (bad trainer!!). Tink took the first bar in the steeplechase, I thought 'Oh, no, here we go!!' but the rest of the run went very well, Tink even got a pretty tough weave entry, who a lot of dogs were missing. We ended up 18th of 69 dogs. Just 4 spots out of the finals... if that first bar stayed up we would have been 8th.
The video of Tink's run is here.

Saturday, Day 2, our groups first run was Gambles, it wasn't a very good run, in fact our worst run of the weekend, no main gamble and not even a mini. We ended up with only 26 points, and placed 67 of 83 dogs.

Run 2 was Jumpers. We had a refusal, knocked bar and an off course with a wrong end of a tunnel (thanks to me). But Tink some call offs and stuff I didn't think we'd be able to pull off. We got 45 points and placed 65 of 83 dogs.
The video of Tink's run is here.

Tink's mom, Tribble, on the Day One Jumpers course. The winner of the 22" regular division!!

Run 3 was Standard. It started off with 2 jumps and a major call off of a tunnel onto a dog walk, one of Tink's weakest points. She did it flawlessly, it was great!! We knocked the double, I was in the wrong placed and Tink ran past a jump, taking it back when we went to try again, and another knocked bar at the end. We had 35 faults and had 65 points, placing 55 of 82 dogs.

Long overdue update

2008-06-02T11:07:00.006-04:00

I'm quite late on a few updates. Mostly because I was waiting for results from the second day of Spot On. The Sunday was a very cold, very wet day! We had no clean runs, but the runs weren't horrible, considering the weather.

Ok... so maybe we need to work on some jumping skills...

...but she still makes it!

Kessie found a new friend, Phoenix!

Kessie has another red girl to look up to...

Pretty girl

My baby!

Thanks to Shona for all the pictures!!

Yay for long weekends!

2008-05-17T21:50:00.004-04:00

We had a bonus day of trialing today at Spot On, because my work was closed. Our runs for the day were, Master Gamble, Advanced Standard, Advanced Snooker and Steeplechase. I was afraid after what had happened last weekend, this morning started of very cold, windy and rainy to top it all off!
Master Gamble started it off and Tink was under control!! Bonus! The gambles should have been pretty easy for Tink, but she didn't move laterally away from me to a tire and instead took the jump closer to me in the main gamble.
Advanced Standard was going well, some nice call offs! Throat's a bit sore ;) When we got to the table, Tink had one elbow on the table, but the elbow closest to the judge was raised, so we didn't get a table count until I begged Tink to put on on the table. The run was decent amd clean until the second last jump, she knocked the bar...
Advanced Snooker is my nemisis, but I was able to find a nice flowey course that got un enough points... 7 more the needed, which is a good thing, because Tink missed *another* contact (just to prove me wrong!), on the #7 dog walk at the end, giving us just the points we needed for our final Advanced Snooker qualifying run... eep, we're in Masters! Something I never thought we'd get to!
Steeplechase was last and the run went very well! A first and our 7th Q!
One more day to go! Hope it goes just as well!
Pictures to come!! (Finally, boring no picture blog!!) Thanks Shona and Brenda!

K9 Klubhouse trial

2008-05-12T10:20:00.003-04:00

This past weekend was the very first outdoor trial of the season. I only live less then a 5 min drive from the trial site, so on Friday afternoon, I went to set up my shade tent and help set the equipment. When we were finish, we got to practise a bit on the equipment, I only worked Tink for a short while, but she was under control, and made great contacts, so I had high hopes for the weekend.

Saturday:
Tink had 5 runs lined up for both days, 4 with me and one Junior Handler run each day with Natasha.
Starting off the weekend with an amazing run, we had 63 opening points in Master Gamble, unfortunatly, we knocked the last bar in the gamble. So close, but yet, so far away!
Natasha's Starter Standard was not so promising, Natasha let Tink get away with murder, letting her break her stay and not hold her contacts. There were a couple faults, including Natasha sending Tink over the wrong jump!
My Advanced Standard run was next, Tink blew off holding her A-frame contact and ran towards the next jump, so I called her back to me and got her to lay down, assuming she got called on a refusal. We continued on out run until we got to the dog walk, where I thought I had seen Tink miss the yellow! Another down and off we were. By this time I knew it didn't matter what happened so I didn't tryat the end, and Tink took the wrong jump. Later I saw we only had 5 faults! Aw, crap, we could've Q'd... but it wouldn't have been a very proud titling run! I called Tink silly, and one of the judges, Claude Dionne, offered me $100 for her. (Jokingly... I think)
Advanced Snooker was a challange... I couldn't find a smooth enough course... we did a red jump, weaves, then I tried to call Tink off the tunnel to a red jump... but go figure, the tunnel was just too alluring! There goes the whistle and your welcome for the donation! ;) At the end of the run, Claude changed his offer to $120.
Last run of the day was Steeplechase, We had a great run, but the weaves and tunnel were in the same place as the snooker, and we needed another call off the tunnel... I got a little over anxious and called Tink out of the weaves too soon, earning a 20 fault non-completion. Claude upped his offer to $500! I was going to be rich by the end of the weekend! ;)
Not a horrible trial day, but we had another day coming up!

Sunday:
Another Master Gamble to start off the day! A great course with a fairly simple main gamble that Tink should have been able to handle with no problem... except for the fact that she didn't care what I wanted her to do, she just wanted to run around like an absolute idiot! We were able to the mini gamble once before the whistle blew (yesterday I ran out of pieces, and kinda stood around the main gamble, waiting for the whistle to blow!). I sent her over the first jump and to the tunnel right in front of her face, but instead she went way out to the tunnel way out to her left... A great sign of things to come.
Natasha's Starter Standard run was next. They did well and got a Q! Earning Natasha her Junior Handler Award of Merit - Starters Level.
The wind picked up more and more throughout the day... I think it blew out Tink's brain!
Our last three runs were, Advanced Standard, Steeplechase and Master Jumpers. We got 3 E's in each and used to first to runs to work on contacts! Needless to say we had no further offers from Claude...

Next weekend we are at Spot On for another 2 day trial... we'll need all the help we can get ;) Hopefully there's no wind!

Just one more...

2008-05-04T18:31:00.003-04:00

Today we went to the Acton agility trial. We started off with Advanced Snooker. Something I never look forward to. Though Tinky did great and we ended up with 50 points, 1st place and a Q! Steeplechase was next, there was no off courses, but Tink got 20 faults in knocked bars. I was told she tucked her feet under, and to try training at 26" so she kicks her feet out behind her, I think we'll give it a try. Now we'll just pretend we never ran Advance Standard ;) We got almost every fault possible. Knocked bars, off courses, refusals, touching your dog. No missed contacts (Tink rarly misses the yellow), but she wasn't holding the contacts like I wanted her to do. The last run was Master Jumpers, I was kinda worried about how it would go, but Tink was amazing and we had a great run with a first and a Q. We have a 2 day trial next weekend, with an opportunity to earn a few titles. We need 'Just one more...':
-Master Gamble for Tink's MGDC (2 runs this weekend)
-Advanced Standard for Tink's AADC (2 runs this weekend)
-Advanced Snooker to move into Masters (1 run this weekend)
I am excited and I can't wait for the outdoor season to start!

Birthday girl!

2008-05-03T15:02:00.004-04:00

Today is Tinky's 4th birthday! Man, how times flies! It feels like I just got Tink, but at the same time it seems like I've had her forever! We've had a great 4 years, and are looking forward to many, many more! Also a Happy Birthday to Vashies!

On a roll!

2008-04-28T09:43:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we were off to the last Rat Pack trial of the season. At this trial we sat with our friend Andrea from Serenity Canine Massage, and her Standard Schnauzers Harley and Quinte.

Kessie also had a visit from Catharine, who own's Ceilidh and Brie, Kessie's mom and brother.

The first run of the day was Steeplechase. When I took Tinky out to warm her up, she was very anxious to get out there... too anxious! I was worried that the run was going to be CrAzY, but Tink held it together and we got our 6th Steeplechase Q.

Next we had an Advanced Standard run, which Natasha was really looking forward to us Q'ing to get us closer to our title, so that when she gets her final Q in Junior Starters, she can move up too. We got another Q (our second in Advanced Standard).

The third run was Advanced Snooker (our hardest challange by far), We completed the opening and got to the weaves in the closing and Tink kind of hesitated before the entry and was called on a refusal, we got up to 27 points, so as far as snooker goes, it was a good run!

The last run was a difficult Master Jumpers run. I had made a mistake, and wasn't where I was supposed to be, and had a refusal on a tunnel. There was also a serpentine, which I haven't worked on as much as I really should have. So the was a knocked bar, and a refusal in there too, but it was nice run. And that was the only knocked bar of the day!!

We have a busy May ahead of us! 3 trial weekends, and finishing up with Tink's first showing at the Regionals!

How to impress Simon Cowell

2008-04-19T22:24:00.001-04:00

Escape Artist!

2008-04-14T14:02:00.003-04:00

This morning I had went out with a friend, then I went out with my Grandma. So, like I usually do with Kessie when I leave her home, I put her in her ex-pen then close the door and off I go. I returned home later to a puppy at the front door! She had climbed over the ex-pen, pushed open the door (it doesn't close properly) and hung out upstairs. I have yet to see what the second floor is like (I'm afraid!) but the basement and main floor have surprisingly little damage! She's also having an 'awkward ear day' so I had to take pictures (which was a challange all in itself!). Now she looks like her mommy! (Just the other ear)

Back in the game!

2008-04-13T19:58:00.002-04:00

I headed off to Royackers with the girls today. Kessie had another successful day of meeting some more people and dogs, she was well behaved while she was in her crate. It's hard to put her on the ground at any point because all she wants to do is eat dirt and rocks!

Tink's day started off with a Team run... probably not the run to do first! Our team member (who's name was also Kestrel) had a very nice, clean run, but Tink had a couple of refusals and an off course at the end of her run, when she decided 9 obstacles just wasn't enough.

Her second run was Standard, I did a very long lead out (which she held her stay very nicely) and when I released her over the first obstacle (which was a tire) she crashed right into it, she ran too me so, after making she she was fine, we went back to the beginning to make sure she was still ok with a tire. She very eagerly went through it and we continued on our way. We had an off course on a tunnel (which was the reason why I lead out so far in the first place). The rest of the run went very well, so I was happy with it.

The third run was Steeplechase, Tinky ran it very well coming away with a Q, and a first place of 21 dogs! She's halfway to her Steeplechase title. The last run of the day was Master Gamble. And Tinky got another Q with 90 points giving her a second place. She needs one more for her Master Gamble title. It ended up being a great day... giving me some hope for a good showing at the upcoming Regionals! ;)

Long time no... blog!

2008-04-11T15:14:00.004-04:00

So I haven't posted a whole heck of a lot in awhile. Pup's been keeping me busy and there hasn't been a lot of worthwhile stuff to blog. Tink is now playing with Kessie, they play very nice together, though she's still not allowed to sleep next to Tink! Natasha got a sheltie puppy last weekend, his name is Coby, he's fitting in very well with their family. The day after they got the puppy, Natasha came with me to the AAC World Team Fun Match and had a hard time being away from the new puppy. The fun match was... well, fun. The courses were quiet hard! And it was fun watching the demo of most of the team members from Ontario and Quebec. On the team is Tink's Uncle Bogey! Go Uncle Bogey Go! Flyball training is going well. Tink has a super quick box turn, and is holding the ball over all four jumps (ball spitting had started off as an issue)... though putting those two things together is a bit of an problem. But this week she successfully got the ball out of the box and came back over all the jumps, the closest thing to flyball she's ever done! And it was Morgan's birthday so we all got cake! (At least those of us with 2 legs!) This weekend we will be running at the Royackers trial, wish us luck ;) if it's anything like the last few trials, we'll need it! Enjoy the pictures!

Yay Uncle Zephyr

2008-04-02T23:27:00.004-04:00

Tinky's 'Uncle' Zephyr has been featured on the front page of the HiQ Border Collies website! Congrats! Tink, Kessie and I got to hang out with Zephyr and his mom Erin this past weekend at the Acton trial. Run wise, Tink didn't have a very successful weekend, but Kessie had a very good experience at a trial for the first time, she was very happy to meet all the people and stayed quite while she was in her crate. To read all about Zephyr and Erin, click here! Also check out Zephyr's blog here!

TJ

2008-03-26T19:42:00.004-04:00

Natasha is Tink's Jr. Handler and my little follower ;), who comes to most of my trials and classes. Today she had to put down her almost 17 year old Lhasa Apso, TJ, who's been in her family since before she was born. TJ will be missed!

A good day!

2008-03-25T15:30:00.006-04:00

Well...except for this 'photoshoot'

Puppies are fun... and very mobile! It was very hard to get a shot of both Kessie and Tink, but I kinda did it! after Kessie tried to play with everything from the 'dropsheet' to Tink's tail. Last night I changed Kessie's sleeping arrangements which were not working out the way I had been doing it. Like what I did with Tink (which worked out very well!) , I had been putting Kessie in a crate on my bed and getting up to take her outside when she cried. After the first couple nights she stopped crying and was peeing in the crate. So last night I decided to leave Kessie in the 'Dungeon' (which is an ex-pen in the basement with a bed and a pee pad). When I leave Kessie there during the day and leave, she usually screams (like she's being murdered) and makes huge mess so I was pretty hesitant to try it. But thankfully when I came to get her in the morning she did all her pottys on the pee pad and hadn't ripped up the pad either! She was also quite quiet throughout the night (at least I didn't hear her! So we had success.

So far today Kessie has also limited all her indoor potty breaks to her pads (until I brought out the blanket to do pictures that is!) Tink also is acting much more happy and positive today, she was even trying to initiating play with Kessie! (Though Kessie was scared and it never went any further then that, but it's a HUGE step and I'm very very excited about it!)

The forecast for today was calling for 5 cm of snow here and 10 cm where I take flyball, so I was afraid I wouldn't

be able to go to classes tonight, but the forecast has now changed and there's a lot less snow coming! I also have signed Kessie up for puppy classes to possibly start next week! I'm looking forward to the things to come... and for some of you (Erin ;)) to meet Kessie this weekend!

Kessie's first week home!

2008-03-21T21:17:00.005-04:00

Kessie's (thankfully!) becoming more accustom to her crate, and only crying gently when she needs to go to the bathroom through the night!

I started her on a collar and leash and she's handling it better then Tink did as a pup! She scratches at the collar every now and then, and only squirmed a little when I first put on the leash but that's all expected!
I've started her on a clicker mostly with her breakfast/dinner as a reward, reinforcing her sits, teaching her to respond to her name, and a little bit of down, stand and leave it. I've also been handling her when she eats and she's been showing no signs of even noticing.

I try to take her outside to potty, but have puppy pads out too. She's good at 'trying' to go on the pad, but usually misses, or partially makes it. She also sometimes uses other 'pads' such as rugs, a cooling bed, and a coat so far, but she tries!

She pounces at Tink, but Tink doesn't care for her still. Tink had a really mopey day today, so I took extra care to spend some special time with her, and she perked up.

She has a bit of a foot fetish, be it toes, pant legs or shoes (she loves my slippers with my faux fur edging). All in all it's been a fun (and tiring week).

Kestrel comes home!!

2008-03-17T22:42:00.009-04:00

Randomness Part Deux

2008-03-12T23:35:00.005-04:00

Just random odd pictures... Tinky's last 'photo shoot' as an only child. And Tinky's 2 title ribbons, gooooooo Tinky!

Snow shots in the sun!

2008-03-09T19:49:00.007-04:00

Like promised, here are some shots of Tink in the snow in daylight... and they aren't sideways either. That massive hill in from snow from our deck over the winter, every snow fall it gets higher and higher, think this is a record for overall snow since we've been here! Too much... So far the forecast for the next week (starting the 17th) is snow everyday! Hopefully it changes by then!

Snow day...

2008-03-08T19:56:00.005-05:00

...and it's not a good thing. I'm going to miss yet another trial thanks the the blinkin' snow! It's crazy stoming out there, no fun! Except for Tink, who had fun playing in it, but didn't have fun as I plucked off the ice balls! I tried to take some pictures, I mostly got snowflakes, but enjoy anyways!

Here's what Tinky will look like when she's old and grey!

Try and find Tink on this giant mound of snow from our deck, that's build up over the winter! Sorry the picture's sideways, and only the snowflakes got the flash, I'll try and get pictures tomorrow in the daylight.

Pupdate

2008-03-07T17:10:00.006-05:00

To quote Catharine, I got a 'pupdate' the other day! Here's what she had to say about all the little pups!

Hi all
Thought you might like a Pup-date on Ceilidh's brood.
All the pups are coming full speed when called. They have become very brave and are running & bouncing off the step to the sun room.
Kessie enjoys taking flying leaps...little air born ball of fluff -landing on the dog cushion, toys and her siblings.
Sherman and Star have figured out how to push the pedal on the trash bin. It squeaks when they push it and then the lid bangs down when they let go. Squeak -bang... Squeak- bang They operate as a tag team - mine is not a quiet kitchen!
Two is into taking the largest thing he can carry/drag to the dog bed and working at it until he gets it into the bed.
Star can successfully pick up and carry a tennis ball- it's too big to fit in his mouth so this is quite a feat.
Demi has mastered climbing into the basket filled with toys and bones for Ceilidh and Jig- pure heaven- all the those neat giant toys, bones & smells.
The pups team up to empty the laundry basket where their clean bedding is kept. Tug ..Tug out it comes.
All the pups are tracking slow moving toys and enjoy a little tug game.
The "Furry 5" are healthy and active.. doing tons of sooo cute things ...I never seem to be able to get to the camera fast enough...

We also got pictures. I don't really know who's who, but I will do my best to guess!

My best guess at this trio is Star, Razzle/Two and Ziggy/Sherman T

I think this is Ziggy/Sherman T, but it could also be Razzle/Two. In the background, I think that's Kessie, but it could be Star...

I think this is Depp/Demi... looks like he's peeing in the tunnel! Bad puppy ;)

A New Car!

2008-03-03T22:33:00.003-05:00

Well, new to me... I pick up my new car tomorrow. It's a 2004 Toyota Matrix XR. It only has a little under 29,000 km on it and looks like new! Lots of space in the back for cargo! Just in time for the new puppy!

This is what my car looks like, (though not my actual car, mine is a silvery-blue)

Another Sunday, Another Trial!

2008-03-02T19:07:00.002-05:00

Tink got to go to the Royackers trial today. She ran in Advanced Standard, Master Gamble, Steeplechase and Master Jumpers. No Q's today, but Tink ran well. Too bad about the handler. ;-) Nothing too exciting happened today, so not a lot to say! I find out on Monday if my loan was approved to finally buy a car! It's a Silver-BlueToyota Matrix, so if you ever see one on the road, be sure to stay clear away from it!! Next week Tink runs in her first CPE agility trial, and the week after that, I bring Kessie home! Still waiting on pictures and vids from last week!

Crazy Day!

2008-02-24T21:15:00.002-05:00

Natasha, Tink and I set off today to Orangeville for the K9 Thunder agility trial. After a little issue of the bank not sending out debit information when I went to buy gas for a few minutes, and me having no other way to get money, about an hour away from home, we were nothing but smooth sailing... Not!!

Shortly after arriving, Natasha pointed out that not only did I have my shirt on backwards, but it was also inside out! So I went to zip up my sweater to hide the tag, and my zipper broke! It's was nothing but a sign of things to come.

Tink had 4 runs throughout the day, some runs with major problems, and some with just minor. Tink had an awesome Master Jumpers at the end of the day, but knocked a bar, otherwise it was near perfect. Another good part was that we won a new dog bowl stand from the raffle. Yay!

The day finished an hour early, and so we set off to go to see the new puppy! After a little bit of backtracking, we found the proper parking spot and headed to the house (well what we hoped was the right house, which it was (and what a gorgeous house it is!)). We sat with some very cute, sleepy puppies, it was so nice to finally see them!

Catharine's friend came with her kids to visit the puppies too, and on her way in, she got stuck in a snow bank! She was behind us, and there wasn't a lot of room to drive around, I tried, but kept getting *almost* stuck myself, so I stopped trying. We waited about an hourish for a tow truck, who I asked to make sure I got out too! He towed her out, and I had to reverse out (and I suck at reversing) I *almost* got stuck a few more times, but made it out without using a tow truck, yay.

So a loooong 14 hour day, but it's the crazy stuff I do for my dog!

Pictures and videos coming in (hopefully ;)) a few days!

My Funny Valentine

2008-02-22T22:20:00.006-05:00

Dawn went over to see the Ceilidh puppies today and sent me some updated pictures. She's looking super cute! Dawn says she full of beans, which I'm very cool with! Her ears seem to sit awfully high on her head, making me think she possibly could end up with prick ears. That would be cute. But I'm not the best judge of those types of things...

It's official! I will be stopping by Ceilidh's to see the puppies on Sunday on my way home from Tink's agility trial on Sunday!! Yay!! I also found out some cool information. A boy in my little brother's class is also getting a puppy from this litter! It's a small world! So enjoy the pictures of Valentine, and if you go to HiQ you can see updated pictures of the boys from this litter!

This is the same pictures as the one above, but Dawn photoshopped out the hand!

Pictures galore!

2008-02-17T22:20:00.009-05:00

I feel spoiled! After 3 weeks of getting no pictures, between today and yesterday I got lots! I just found these ones on the HiQ site! The pups are so cute. I hope I can get up there to visit very soon! Enjoy!

Here's Valentine! So pretty!

Depp

Razzle

Star

Ziggy

And one more shot of Valentine, for good measure!

More news!!

2008-02-16T19:47:00.005-05:00

I just got yet another email today!! Here's what Catharine has to say about the puppies, and pictures of all the pups!

Feb 13, 2008
I made an attempt to do the head shots again-"stay" is not working - and two sets of hands would be nice .
All the pups have their eyes open- and are beginning to "toddle" a little more each day.
The photo's don't do them justice- they are amazing!!
Catharine

Feb 14 2008
All pups are walking - a couple have attempted forward leaps, pretty impressive. They are balancing in sit position, not steady but balancing. We have had growl/ bark- like combinations from 2 pups - which seemed to startle the originator!
So much fun yet to come!
Catharine

I keep adding to this email because our satel. system has been down since the 5th or 6th - hoping to connect soon
C

Happy (Belated) Valentine

2008-02-16T19:28:00.002-05:00

I got an email today from Catharine, Ceilidh's owner. She sent it on February 7, it didn't get to my email box until today, the 16th!! The pictures were taken on February 6th, so she's only about 9 days old. Catharine said they named her Valentine because the markings on her shoulder look like a stylized heart, aww! She is very cute, I can't wait to meet her!

Adventures in towing

2008-02-11T21:39:00.000-05:00

Well, the day started off as planned, got to Dawn's and hung out with the boys for a bit, then left to go see the Ceilidh puppies as planned for 3 pm. I got about halfway down Dawn's driveway when my car got stuck in the snow. Thankfully Dawn has big trucks that can tow dinky cars like mine. Unfortunatly the tow line was accidentally attached to my wire harness and it was towed out of my car! So I never made it to the Ceilidh puppies. Though we did get to hang out at Dawn's for another 3 hours until my ride, and tow, came (poor lady). Got to spend lots of time with some of her dogs, mainly Tribble, Zac, Twizz and Troo (I am so in love with Troo!). But we also saw Q, Timer and Trekki as well. At one point Trekki, Q and Tribble were all in the kitchen at the same time, Tink and Vash's mother, grandmother and great grandmother. That was cool. I did get a few pictures of the boys, so enjoy!

Speedskate

Speedskate... and possibly Slalom

Slalom tugging on my heel... he's a real feisty boy, and tug crazy!!

Freestyle was my little buddy, and the easiest to take pictures of, he liked to lie beside me

Canuck, and the only shot of Snowboard I got!

Tinky Poo and the Blustery Day!

2008-02-10T18:48:00.000-05:00

Another day of agility!! And man was it windy!! Thankfully it was an indoor trial. Not like it would have been outdoors anyways, being winter and all! Kind of a scary drive, but all worth it in the end ;) We would have been better off sleeping in in the morning, with the runs we had. Our first 3 runs were Master Jumpers, Steeplechase and Advanced Standard. Lots of issues to work out, got E's in both Jumpers and Standards (and well deserved I must say) and 20 faults in Steeplechase after Tink knocked 4 bars! She made up for it in the last 2 runs, getting Q's and firsts in both Master Gamble (with 96 points) and Advanced Standard. I'm proud of my little girl. I get the next weekend off thankfully... I need the rest! But I will be going to visit both litters of puppies tomorrow, so look forward to lots of pictures! Also Mandiee has some big news, so look out for that!!

Car and Dog Trouble ;)

2008-02-03T19:44:00.000-05:00

Not really dog trouble, more of handler trouble, but lets start at the beginning. Natasha and I left before 6 am to get to the Rat Pack agility trial. When we got on the highway and started to get up to speed, my car started shaking a lot. So we got off and went back home to see if we could figure it out. Over a half hour later, and another trial run with no problems, we were on our way! I made it *just* in time to join the end of the walkthrough for my first run of the day. After the end of the walkthrough, we went to the car to get Tink, only to discover I had forgot my leash at home through all the hub-bub! So that was a pain in the neck, and back, all day! Two of our runs were FEO because I had earned all those legs I needed, and there were no move ups for that day. Starter Snooker didn't go terribly, considering the shorten walktrough and my frazzled state. She back jumped after 13 points, but it would still be one of our better snooker runs. Advanced jumpers was our other FEO run, it was the last run of the day, I ran it way differently then I walked it, we had 20 faults between refusals and knocked bars, but she still did some impressive work. Our 2nd run of the day was Master Gamble. It was an alright run, she got 32 points in the opening, enough point to have qualified. She did well in the closing until she crashed into a jump, but she continued and still did well. We also had a Steeplechase run... I think I over handled it, I need to find a happy balance. She knocked the bar on the second jump, and had a lot of time wasting 'refusals' so we didn't qualify, if she kept the bar up, we would have just made it by about 0.5 seconds. One thing that made me proud was the way she dived into her weaves, she's doing very well at that now! Another weekend of agility done, and another one next weekend!

Randomness

2008-01-29T12:00:00.000-05:00

As said yesterday, Ceilidh had her pups yesterday. I got a bit more information, there is one girl! She's mine for the taking, so I'll wait until I go visit then make up my mind. Also I got my pictures from the Deep Freeze Disc Trial, so here they are!

Thanks to Laura Campbell for the pictures!

Oh, the cruel and unusual punishment!

2008-01-28T17:42:00.000-05:00

I got an email this afternoon... the Ceilidh pups have arrived, yay! But Dawn isn't giving up any information, boo, lol, she's waiting for Ceilidh's owner to let everybody know. Bummer. This is the information I know already. There were 5 puppies born (they were only expecting about 3) the first one out was a male. All puppies are red and white (which was a given, but there seems to be no tris). Now I get to play the waiting game to see if there are any females...

Wanna play a game?

2008-01-27T18:52:00.000-05:00

Tinky spend most of the day at the agility trial at Royacker Kennels. We had 3 runs today, our days started with a Master Gamble, lets just say we need practise at tight turns at a distance, we only walk away with 18 points, worst run of the class! The rest of the day went MUCH better. The Steeplechase class was VERY fast, I was a wee bit winded at the end of the run, even though Tink knocked a bar, we were still well under time and Qualified earning our 4th Steeplechase Q and a 6th place, without the knocked bar, we would have gotten 2nd. Our final run of the day was Starter Snooker, our only Starter class we have left. The course I thought would be difficult for Tink, but she did above my expectations, and we qualified with 42 points, earning her Starter Game Dog of Canada title.

Best Video Footage Ever!

2008-01-24T12:54:00.000-05:00

NOT! My camera was messing up when I took this vid... and the pups were sleeping, so what little you can see's just napping. My camera also doesn't record sound. So if you can stand 30 secs of soundless half-puppies napping, please enjoy by clicking here.

Stupid Camera

2008-01-22T11:38:00.000-05:00

Yet another puppy visit yesterday, yay!! They are motoring around now, and can officially be called puppies instead of Guinea Pigs! Unfortunatly the shutter on my camera decided it would be a good time to stop opening partway through the visit, so some of the pictures only have a partially open shutter, or part of my finger holding the shutter open!

Canuck

Tribble (mom) came for a visit; from left to right, Snowboard, Speedskate and Freestyle

Puppy having a snack, they are just about ready to start weaning! Now comes the really messy part!

Broken shutter! Canuck and Freestyle

Slalom napping

My finger and Canuck napping on my lap!

Canuck and Slalom napping on my lap

Good News and Terrible News

2008-01-14T22:51:00.000-05:00

Mandiee, her daughter, Autumn, and I went to go see the Tribble X Tripp puppies again today. They are getting bigger and and starting to look like puppies instead of guinea pigs! There eyes have opened up and they are moving around a bit more.

This little guy is Speedskate, he kept moving so I couldn't get a good face shot.

Snowboard is a cute little guy!

The only shot I got of Slalom was blurry... sorry!

Freestyle in the basket of puppies!

I got the best shots of Canuck!!

You may have noticed there's a puppy missing, unfortunately Bobsled passed away. This is what Dawn, the breeder (and also a vet) had to say; "He had an anal defect from the start, but he seemed to be doing very well. A few days ago he took a very sudden turn for the worse and died of septicemia and toxemia." Poor little guy...

Deep Freeze!

2008-01-13T21:55:00.000-05:00

And it was chilly! We took Tink and Vash on our furthest car trip yet for a trial! The Deep Freeze disc trial took us 2 and a half hours to get to (which Mandiee slept most of the way, both ways! ;) ). Both dogs and handlers still need some tweaking but Vash got 7 more points and Tink got 29. The facility (a horse barn) is a very nice building, with a large (warm) room for viewing, and they served darn good food for lunch too! A photographer was taking pictures of all the dogs to sell to those interested, the procedes went to Craig and 'Uncle' Bogey, a littermate to Tink and Vash's mom, Tribble. The team is going to Belgium in May to compete for Team Canada at the IFCS world agility championships! Congrats and good luck! I ordered all my pictures of Tink to be emailed to me, so Pictures Coming Soon!

A trialin' we will go!

2008-01-06T19:56:00.000-05:00

Tinky went to the Acton Agility trial today, her first trial in over 2 months! I had quite low expectations to be honest, we hadn't Q'd in awhile, and with the lack of trialing recently and not as much training as usual I wasn't expecting a fantastic showing.

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Tink started off the day with a great run that put me to shame. We were in the very first run of the day, so as soon as I got there I didn't have much time to get settled, I didn't even get to look at the course map before I walked it! I was a bundle of nerves and fumbled through the course like an idiot, but Tink somehow pulled through for me, earning her 3rd Steeplechase Q and a first!

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Our second run was a Advanced Standard. She knocked a bar on the second jump, and had a wrong entry to a tunnel shortly after, but did the rest of the run wonderfully, ending up with a 3rd!

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For the jumpers run the judge asked everyone wanted to run to music, he was met with a response of applause. It made the runs so much more fun to watch, and you can tell that the crowd loved it too! You couldn't even tell while you were running that there was any music on, so it wasn't a distraction at all. Tink even got her 2nd Advanced Jumpers Q and another first, moving her into Masters! Which we signed up for and ran that day. I think Tink was getting a bit tired at that point her 2 runs before were pretty close, and she had an upset belly all day, which I think added to her distruction. When Tink goes down, she loves to go down in flames!!

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She got a good long rest before her last run of the day, another Advanced Standard, it was my turn to be tired, and it was handled horribly! Tink did the best she could!

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The worst part of the day (and probably didn't help my handling) was that my pants were too long, and got all wet, and muddy from the dirt ring, and kept trying to fall down! By the end of the day I was walking on pants!

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Natasha was on camera duty... bad decision! ;) I only ended up with one picture! Not even a good one! She tried, and failed, many times to make a video.

One of the most shocking moments of the day, Mandiee volunteered for Ring Crew, and actually did it! 3 times! In a row! It was a fun day, I'm good and tired, but I can't wait to do it again!

2 days vs. 8 weeks

2008-01-01T23:47:00.000-05:00

On New Year Eve we got to visit the Tribble X Tripp puppies! I also go to talk to Dawn about my puppy future. There is another litter due at the end of January, so we'll wait to see what she pops out then I'll make a decision. The pups were all tiny and guinea pig-ish but what's even better then 2 day old puppies? Eight week old ones! The Twigg X Zed puppies were still there, cute as can be and full of kisses and play! Mandiee and I gave each puppy a name, and then this morning I found out their litter names, it's a winter olympic theme. So I will post each ones litter name, our name, and a little story about how they got that name! Here are some pictures for your viewing enjoyment! Special thanks to our lovely hand model, Mandiee!

This is Slalom, or Tank! We named him that because he has very similar markings to Tink!

This is Speedskate, or Big Head. He got his name 'cause, well... he has a big head! Next to Slalom anyways he did!

This little guy is Freestyle. We named him Spyral because his collar sort of spirals around his neck.

Canuck we called Speck. He was named Speck because we thought he was the one with the spot on he collar, but it turns out that's the wrong pup!

Snowboard was called Dunno. So far he is my pick out of the litter, but I 'Dunno' if I'm gonna get him yet.

Last but not least is Bobsled, or as Mandiee dubbed him, Captian Bobsey! Lots of Bob names because he was born with a natural bobtail!! I make sure Mandiee gets all the credit for his name, kinda in the same way she make sure Steve gets the credit for Fenris' name!

Here is the rear shot of Bobsled, kinda hard to see it in this picture, but there's the little nub of a tail!

When we first arrived, Dawn sent us off into the basement, where I heard lots of growling. Being nosey as I am, I set off to investigate. (It was the same room where the puppies were before, so I wasn't going into unknown room where I know I wasn't allowed!) I was surprised to see all the older puppies still there! They rushed to the gate to greet us, full of tons of kisses, we said hello, then washed up and sat with the little babies. When we were done saying hello to those guys, Dawn let the big guys run around, and we played with them for awhile. Nothing like a puppy visit to ring in the New Year!

Puppy Watch '07

2007-12-30T11:47:00.000-05:00

The Tribble puppies arrived last night. All males! Nothing but stinky, smelly boys! That throws a wrench into my plans... Now I need to make a decision, do I want a male, or do I wait for the CeilidhXRoy litter and hope there's a girl? The good news would be that I'd be guarenteed a red... Possibly a red tri, right Mandiee? ;)