Izzie turned the big FIVE today. I got her some froyo with her favourite fruit toppings to celebrate. She would be more concerned about ageing if she wasn't so concerned about getting every last lick of this delicious treat.
Happy Birthday, Buddy. Now let's show 'em what we're made of this weekend at Nationals!
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Our Annual CKC Agility Weekend
The Lethbridge and District Kennel Club CKC agility trial has come and gone for another year. I don't do much CKC as it costs a bit more than AAC and there really aren't a lot of trials around these parts. This was our third trial and we were competing at the Excellent A level. Izzie ran well all weekend, only a few little things like a couple of missed weave entries and a pretty gnarly table slide off. Other than that she ran fast and happy, just how we like, and she went 2/4 which narrowly misses her AGXS title. We'll get it next year, I have no worries about that! But even better was the fact that all her runs, she ran about 20-30 seconds under time. That's HUGE for the Iz and is a major win. She's definitely feeling good and my newly refined ability to move and focus is making a huge difference in our performance.
Anyway! Take home points...
1. Izzie knows how to weave, but she gets all weird when I over handle for it and don't trust her to find her entry and ends up missing it. Don't over handle, she can find her entry.
2. We prefer to run tighter, more technical courses. Wide open courses with lots of running and time to think are more common in CKC than AAC (depending on the judge). We can do them fine, the courses don't tend to get us, but they're not our preference. I find that Izzie likes the connection through handling of the more technical courses as it keeps her engaged (And well, I like all the twisty junk and challenges so I'm probably in a different mindset too). So I guess I need to learn to like wide open courses too.
3. Tables that aren't rubberized are slippery as... Well as a bad word that I would normally say but I know children read this now so I probably should cut back on the f-bombs. Note to self, put hands on the table during the walkthrough to take note of the surface and know how to handle for it.
Other than that it was a great weekend and ran smoothly. We ended up getting out of there pretty early both days! I got to cheer on lots of my friends who were very successful at their respective levels, Q or not they ran great! I even learned how to scribe for CKC agility (there's a bit of a difference in what you write compared to AAC). Can't wait for next year for sure!
Anyway! Take home points...
1. Izzie knows how to weave, but she gets all weird when I over handle for it and don't trust her to find her entry and ends up missing it. Don't over handle, she can find her entry.
2. We prefer to run tighter, more technical courses. Wide open courses with lots of running and time to think are more common in CKC than AAC (depending on the judge). We can do them fine, the courses don't tend to get us, but they're not our preference. I find that Izzie likes the connection through handling of the more technical courses as it keeps her engaged (And well, I like all the twisty junk and challenges so I'm probably in a different mindset too). So I guess I need to learn to like wide open courses too.
3. Tables that aren't rubberized are slippery as... Well as a bad word that I would normally say but I know children read this now so I probably should cut back on the f-bombs. Note to self, put hands on the table during the walkthrough to take note of the surface and know how to handle for it.
Other than that it was a great weekend and ran smoothly. We ended up getting out of there pretty early both days! I got to cheer on lots of my friends who were very successful at their respective levels, Q or not they ran great! I even learned how to scribe for CKC agility (there's a bit of a difference in what you write compared to AAC). Can't wait for next year for sure!
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Future's so bright, I gotta wear shades
This weekend also marked the first real transition into running Izzie at 6". We've done it in class or practising on our own, but this weekend was the first real event where I've had her run all weekend at that height and really worked handling skills. I've already come to peace with the decision even though it wasn't much of a struggle for me. It's better for my dog and I know it, she's happier and faster and more confident. So fast that I have to relearn how to run her in certain situations now! Kind of an okay problem to have I suppose! Anyway, experiencing her running so well and hearing from everyone including Kathy that she's doing awesome was really encouraging. I've said it before and I'll say it again, we have an AMAZING group of
I'm so excited to see where our future takes us. No matter where we end up, it's going to be a fantastic journey to take with my best friend.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Do What You Love
I love playing agility with the Biz, so that's what we did today for a bit.
She's such a great little dog.
She's such a great little dog.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Regionals Recap
Time to talk about REGIONALS! Woop woop!
This was our first regionals that we've competed in. I've been to a regional event before (and a national event) but only to volunteer. Luckily those things gave me an idea how it's all supposed to work though which is super helpful.
Anyway despite the myriad of weather (hot, cold, rainy, hail, wind) and an allergic reaction to bug bites on Thursday night, Izzie ran awesome and only had a few bobbles. A bar and a couple refusals and a couple seconds over time here and there. Nothing huge. We ended up qualifying for nationals with about 367 points and placing 10th in a pretty competitive 10" specials class.
She didn't miss a contact all weekend and weaved great. Her gambles were iffy but i knew that going in. BUT she did a pretty good attempt at the second gamble and even took the left cue I gave her! Unfortunately she lefted all way back behind the jump she just came from, but it was a good effort. I don't know many placements but she did place 6th in the first standard run which is AWESOME. Go Iz!
She makes me so proud. Nationals here we come!
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Teamwork and Hardwork
Via Flickr:
Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success. - Henry Ford
Less than a week until regionals. I'm nervous but excited. Izzie and I are better and more in sync than we've ever been and I've learned more about teamwork and plain old hard work in the past few months than ever before. I'm pretty much mentally and physically where I want to be right now. We're ready. I keep saying it out loud to myself. We're ready, we're ready, we're fecking ready to get out there and do our best. To be the best team we can be.
Bring it on.
Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success. - Henry Ford
Less than a week until regionals. I'm nervous but excited. Izzie and I are better and more in sync than we've ever been and I've learned more about teamwork and plain old hard work in the past few months than ever before. I'm pretty much mentally and physically where I want to be right now. We're ready. I keep saying it out loud to myself. We're ready, we're ready, we're fecking ready to get out there and do our best. To be the best team we can be.
Bring it on.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Flashing Canines
Spent our Sunday in Medicine Hat this past weekend playing some agility. These guys put on some of the best trials, really they're awesome.
Izzie did well even if we got no Qs. Masters Standard was under time and she ran awesome but we fumbled the weave entry which means a NQ, oh well! The rest of that run was awesome. Our Advanced Gamble was smokin'. We racked up 30 points in the opening including a mini gamble (teeter to tunnel) and did get the main gamble but unfortunately since I had a hard time getting her over the first jump, we were over time. However it showed me that the work we've been doing on distance is paying off, she did a beautiful left into the tunnel in the main. Masters Snooker was awesome, it was a nasty course with all the reds far away but we picked a pretty good path. It was the end of the day and it was hot and Izzie was tired but she gave me her all. I think even in the most perfect conditions it would've been a hard course for her as there's lots of yardage to get the reds, we got buzzed off due to time going over 5, we just needed to get to the end of 6.
Overall I'm super pleased with how she ran. It's all coming together, just a few tiny things here and there but no more over time standard runs which is very promising. I'm feeling ready for regionals now. So excited!
Izzie did well even if we got no Qs. Masters Standard was under time and she ran awesome but we fumbled the weave entry which means a NQ, oh well! The rest of that run was awesome. Our Advanced Gamble was smokin'. We racked up 30 points in the opening including a mini gamble (teeter to tunnel) and did get the main gamble but unfortunately since I had a hard time getting her over the first jump, we were over time. However it showed me that the work we've been doing on distance is paying off, she did a beautiful left into the tunnel in the main. Masters Snooker was awesome, it was a nasty course with all the reds far away but we picked a pretty good path. It was the end of the day and it was hot and Izzie was tired but she gave me her all. I think even in the most perfect conditions it would've been a hard course for her as there's lots of yardage to get the reds, we got buzzed off due to time going over 5, we just needed to get to the end of 6.
Overall I'm super pleased with how she ran. It's all coming together, just a few tiny things here and there but no more over time standard runs which is very promising. I'm feeling ready for regionals now. So excited!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)