2013 was a good year for us in the agility ring.
The end of January found us in McKinney at an AKC trial. Marley finished off her Excellent JWW title. She had a good Master Standard run going until she stopped in front of a jump to cough. She also earned her first Master JWW Q but I caused a refusal in her Standard run.
March was Monroe AKC. Marley was phenomenal! She Q'd every Standard run and earned her first QQ. Miss Kalea-Kate debut was in Monroe at the age of 16 mo. She came off the start line in her very first agility run and earned her first Q, Novice FAST. She proceeded to earn 2 Novice JWW legs with well over 4 yps. She had some great moments in her Standard runs but had some issues with the panel jump (never practiced it). She had a great rookie debut!! The very next weekend we went to Shreveport for another AKC trial. Marley earned a couple of Q's before coming up lame and I had to pull her from the trial. KK earned her Novice JWW Title (3 times in the ring, 3 Q's). She also added another Novice FAST Q to her weekend. KK decided that contacts were optional and didn't do a single one all weekend.
Marley continued to be lame and stayed on hip rest until the end of May. She was Xrayed form nose to tail to see if there was any other skeletal issues besides her HD that could have been causing the lameness. They found nothing. Then she had a mass appear suddenly on her shoulder. It was aspirated several times and a sample was finally sent to Texas A&M. The results came back as an infection within a fat pocket. Since she was already on antibiotics for her tummy, she didn't require any additional treatment. The mass disappeared as quickly as it appeared. The vet confided in me after the results came in that she thought it was going to come back as cancer.
KK and I went to Memphis AKC in April. Mar came along for the trip. KK earned her Novice FAST Title and Open JWW and FAST Q's. Her contact issues continued.
While Marley was sitting out on rest, I was notified by the AKC that Marley was the #1 AKC All American dog in Arkansas!! Very proud of my blue eyed girl!
Marley was cleared to run again so we went to Tulsa for another AKC trial. She ran well all weekend and earned a Master JWW Q. KK earned her Open JWW title and finally her contact issue was solved. She ran a smoking fast Novice Standard course on her last run of the weekend for a Q. We went to Springfield in June and ran on turf for the first time. Marley had a fantastic weekend going 3/4 with another QQ. KK earned another Novice Standard Q.
We were back in Monroe for more AKC in late June. Marley just wasn't herself. She was back on antibiotics for her stomach issues and had some lackluster runs. She did earn a Master Standard Q with a ton of MACH points. KK finished her Novice Standard Title. She also earned an Open Standard Q and an Excellent JWW Q. Her JWW run was over 5.3 yps!
July found us in Franklin for USDAA, my favorite agility venue. Marley was only entered in 4 runs. I caused 2 NQ's in Master Snooker. She missed a running contact in Advanced Standard one day and the second day we just weren't in sync. KK had a phenomenal weekend going 6/10. She ran a Starters Jumpers course in 20 seconds! Another great rookie debut.
July was a NADAC trial. Marley was just entered in Tunnelers and earned her Novice Tunnelers Title. KK had a great trial and went 5/10. KK got to see her foster mom too.
We were back in Springfield for another AKC trial in August. Mar earned a Master Standard Q but was not running as Mar. She began another round of hip rest. KK earned Open FAST and Standard Q's.
Marley stayed home in September when KK and I went to Shreveport for a USDAA trial. KK continued her steady agility performance. She earned 2 Titles: Starters Gamblers and Jumpers. Her Gamblers Title was 3/3 Q's.
I took Marley to the University of Missouri vet school for a hip replacement in October. Her HD had progressed but at the last minute I changed my mind and opted to manage her medically for now. She tore a pad on her foot after we got back and we spent a month trying to get that healed. KK finished her Open Standard Title in Carthage and her Open FAST Title in Little Rock. She also earned her first Excellent Standard Q. We also went to Holly Springs for some USDAA. KK had a great weekend earning a Starter Standard, Advanced Gamblers, Advanced Jumpers and Steeplechase Q's.
Our last trial of the year was December's Shreveport AKC trial. KK earned an Excellent FAST and Excellent Standard Q's. She had some great runs with just a bobble here and there. Our distance work is coming along and we are getting our act together as a team.
It was a good year for us. Marley earned 2 Titles and the honor of being the #1 All American in Arkansas but was on hip rest for the majority of the year. I will continue to run her but on a very limited basis. Kalea-Kate debuted at 16 months and proceeded to earn 8 titles in just 9 months of competing. 2013 was a good year indeed!!
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Sunday, December 15, 2013
SHREVEPORT AKC
Miss Kalea-Kate had a good trial last weekend in Shreveport. She earned a Q/1st in Excellent FAST on Saturday. It was a send to teeter, then to jump, and then out to a tunnel. It was a course that had 2 send lines, which was a first for us. I haven't trained teeter from a distance but this is the second time we have encountered them in FAST so that is now on our training list. She had a beautiful Excellent JWW course going until I did a blind cross at the tunnel and wasn't fast enough and she blew past a jump. Her time was still fast enough that she would have won the entire Excellent/Masters JWW class. She had a beautiful Standard run but slid off the table.
Sunday in JWW, I did a long lead out and did not anticipate where she would land and she ended up behind me and took off course jump. I decided that since she had already NQ'd, that we would work on our distance. She did some great work on her own and I left her weaving and ran to end of the weaves and did a front cross and was waiting on her to finish the rest of the course. That was the first time I have left her weaving and went on. I'm learning to trust her and our training. She earned a Q/1st in Excellent Standard. Beautiful run. We couldn't buy a Standard Q back in the summer and now she's doing them effortlessly. I didn't get bitch barked once on that course! As I was recording her results in her agility book, I noticed that she is getting faster. Every Standard Q run has increased in YPS by a quarter second. She's becoming quite the little agility dog!
We are on an agility break for the next 6-8 weeks. I am planning on more USDAA trials this coming year. Excited to get back to my 'roots'!!
Sunday in JWW, I did a long lead out and did not anticipate where she would land and she ended up behind me and took off course jump. I decided that since she had already NQ'd, that we would work on our distance. She did some great work on her own and I left her weaving and ran to end of the weaves and did a front cross and was waiting on her to finish the rest of the course. That was the first time I have left her weaving and went on. I'm learning to trust her and our training. She earned a Q/1st in Excellent Standard. Beautiful run. We couldn't buy a Standard Q back in the summer and now she's doing them effortlessly. I didn't get bitch barked once on that course! As I was recording her results in her agility book, I noticed that she is getting faster. Every Standard Q run has increased in YPS by a quarter second. She's becoming quite the little agility dog!
We are on an agility break for the next 6-8 weeks. I am planning on more USDAA trials this coming year. Excited to get back to my 'roots'!!
Thursday, December 12, 2013
DOG PEOPLE THAT IRK ME
If you go to dog shows or agility trials, I'm sure you have run into some real interesting people. For the most part, dog people are pretty cool but there are some that really irk me.
People in General
1. People that walk their dogs at a trial on a Flexi. These are the same people that pay no attention to their dog when the Flexi is extended out all the way. These people typically don't pick up after their dog because they 'didn't see' their dog take a crap. Perhaps if your dog wasn't 20 feet away and you weren't on your cell phone, you could pay attention to your dog.
2. People that throw balls up and down the crating area. These people want others to know they are playing with their dog....so they appear to be an excellent owner.
3. People that play tug and rev up their dog in the crating area. They also want people to think they are excellent owners.
4. People that must relive their run, over and over to anyone that will listen. They just want attention.
5. People that hog the results book. They also like to stand there and write down pertinent info in their dog's record book. Umm, the trial secretary emails you results. Write them down at home or when there isn't a line waiting to check results.
6. People that line up 25 dogs before their dog's turn. They often have snarky dogs. And are oblivious to that fact.
7. People that block the exits or stand in the aisle when you are trying to get your dog safely back to it's crate.
8. People with snarky dogs that crate near aisles. They are never around to correct the dog.
9. People that have barking dogs that don't cover their crates. Don't worry, I will cover it for you!!
10. People that don't wash their hands after using the bathroom. Umm, your hands are dirty. They are often seen eating MACH cake too.
Complete Strangers
1. Complete strangers that give unsolicited advice. Case in point: After a NQ'd Novice Standard run with KK that I was pleased with because of our teamwork, a complete stranger came up to me and said "You know you had too many errors to Q."
2. Compete stranger came up to me and interrupted a conversation I was having with my instructor at a trial to ask me if "I dyed my hair to match my dog (Marley) or if I got Marley to match my hair". Umm, really??
People I Know
1. If you run a little dog, please don't give me handling advice. You are just outrunning your little dog around a course, I can't do that with my dog that is 20 feet ahead of me.
2. If you have ignored me all weekend at a trial, please don't walk clear across the venue to tell me you QQ'd. I don't care.
3. If you have ignored my friend and I at a 3 day trial, don't walk over while I'm videoing to tell me that my friend just NQ'd. Really??
3. If I mention that my baby dog barely missed the first place score in Masters and she's in Excellent for the first time, please don't snark back that the Masters dog's owner was running it 'cautiously' so it could Q. I guess trying to downplay my success makes you feel better.
4. During 'walk thrus', please don't walk up to me and tell me how many MACH points you have. I don't care and I am trying to learn my dog's course.
5. Be careful about bragging about you and your dog's accomplishments. The internet makes it easy to check your results for accuracy.
6. I don't appreciate it when you ask me "how long are you going to keep saying your dog is a baby dog?" I'm going to keep saying it as she is 2 years old and has only been competing for 9 months. I'm also going to keep saying it because you refer to your dog as 'green' and 'stills needs seasoning' when you have been competing for 3 years and you trial almost every weekend!
7. If you are going to talk bad about me, please be sure you aren't sitting behind my non agility friend who is filming for me. So now when I want to watch Marley's first agility runs, I must mute the video. Thanks for that!!
Dog people are usually pretty cool!
People in General
1. People that walk their dogs at a trial on a Flexi. These are the same people that pay no attention to their dog when the Flexi is extended out all the way. These people typically don't pick up after their dog because they 'didn't see' their dog take a crap. Perhaps if your dog wasn't 20 feet away and you weren't on your cell phone, you could pay attention to your dog.
2. People that throw balls up and down the crating area. These people want others to know they are playing with their dog....so they appear to be an excellent owner.
3. People that play tug and rev up their dog in the crating area. They also want people to think they are excellent owners.
4. People that must relive their run, over and over to anyone that will listen. They just want attention.
5. People that hog the results book. They also like to stand there and write down pertinent info in their dog's record book. Umm, the trial secretary emails you results. Write them down at home or when there isn't a line waiting to check results.
6. People that line up 25 dogs before their dog's turn. They often have snarky dogs. And are oblivious to that fact.
7. People that block the exits or stand in the aisle when you are trying to get your dog safely back to it's crate.
8. People with snarky dogs that crate near aisles. They are never around to correct the dog.
9. People that have barking dogs that don't cover their crates. Don't worry, I will cover it for you!!
10. People that don't wash their hands after using the bathroom. Umm, your hands are dirty. They are often seen eating MACH cake too.
Complete Strangers
1. Complete strangers that give unsolicited advice. Case in point: After a NQ'd Novice Standard run with KK that I was pleased with because of our teamwork, a complete stranger came up to me and said "You know you had too many errors to Q."
2. Compete stranger came up to me and interrupted a conversation I was having with my instructor at a trial to ask me if "I dyed my hair to match my dog (Marley) or if I got Marley to match my hair". Umm, really??
People I Know
1. If you run a little dog, please don't give me handling advice. You are just outrunning your little dog around a course, I can't do that with my dog that is 20 feet ahead of me.
2. If you have ignored me all weekend at a trial, please don't walk clear across the venue to tell me you QQ'd. I don't care.
3. If you have ignored my friend and I at a 3 day trial, don't walk over while I'm videoing to tell me that my friend just NQ'd. Really??
3. If I mention that my baby dog barely missed the first place score in Masters and she's in Excellent for the first time, please don't snark back that the Masters dog's owner was running it 'cautiously' so it could Q. I guess trying to downplay my success makes you feel better.
4. During 'walk thrus', please don't walk up to me and tell me how many MACH points you have. I don't care and I am trying to learn my dog's course.
5. Be careful about bragging about you and your dog's accomplishments. The internet makes it easy to check your results for accuracy.
6. I don't appreciate it when you ask me "how long are you going to keep saying your dog is a baby dog?" I'm going to keep saying it as she is 2 years old and has only been competing for 9 months. I'm also going to keep saying it because you refer to your dog as 'green' and 'stills needs seasoning' when you have been competing for 3 years and you trial almost every weekend!
7. If you are going to talk bad about me, please be sure you aren't sitting behind my non agility friend who is filming for me. So now when I want to watch Marley's first agility runs, I must mute the video. Thanks for that!!
Dog people are usually pretty cool!
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
BRAVE
I have really struggled this year with my health and on a personal level with my own demons. I've really had a hard time being diagnosed with several chronic health issues. The chronic fatigue has affected me more than anything. I was told a few weeks ago that basically I just need to live with it. That certainly didn't make me feel better. It's hard to pick yourself up and be healthy and active when you could literally shut your eyes at a traffic light and sleep. It's hard to motivate yourself when you are chronically fatigued. It's hard to keep going.
I have felt so beat down that I have let people walk on me and really didn't care. I have let people make snide little comments and I didn't smart back.
I found the lyrics to Sara Bareilles' song 'Brave' and it sounded a lot like what I've been experiencing. It's time to be heard and not walked on like a doormat. I will be distancing myself from those who try to bring me down and trying to stay upbeat and positive.
2014 will be the year I'm 'Brave'!!
You can be amazing
You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug
You can be the outcast
Or be the backlash of somebody's lack of love
Or you can start speaking up
Nothing's gonna hurt you the way that words do
When they settle 'neath your skin
Kept on the inside and no sunlight
Sometimes a shadow wins
But I wonder what would happen if you
You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug
You can be the outcast
Or be the backlash of somebody's lack of love
Or you can start speaking up
Nothing's gonna hurt you the way that words do
When they settle 'neath your skin
Kept on the inside and no sunlight
Sometimes a shadow wins
But I wonder what would happen if you
Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
Everybody's been there, everybody's been stared down
By the enemy
Fallen for the fear and done some disappearing
Bow down to the mighty
Don't run, stop holding your tongue
Maybe there's a way out of the cage where you live
Maybe one of these days you can let the light in
Show me how big your brave is
By the enemy
Fallen for the fear and done some disappearing
Bow down to the mighty
Don't run, stop holding your tongue
Maybe there's a way out of the cage where you live
Maybe one of these days you can let the light in
Show me how big your brave is
Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
Ever since your history of silence
Won't do you any good
Did you think it would?
Let your words be anything but empty
Why don't you tell them the truth?
Won't do you any good
Did you think it would?
Let your words be anything but empty
Why don't you tell them the truth?
Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
Monday, November 25, 2013
HOLLY SPRINGS HIGHLIGHTS
Kalea-Kate went to her third USDAA agility trial over the weekend. She is really proving herself to be a force to be reckoned with in agility.
She had a near perfect day on Saturday. She was in Advanced Gamblers and Advanced Jumpers for the first time. In Gamblers, she ran perfect. Paid attention, ran the path I wanted her to. When the buzzer went off for the Gamble, she didn't hesitate. Went right out to the tunnel and straight down the line of jumps without a bobble. Q/1st.
She held it together on Advanced Jumpers run for another Q/1st. Starters Snooker was an almost. She back jumped #6 in the closing so we ended up with not enough point to Q. I never got a good feel for the Snooker course, just couldn't get a plan together...KK was honest with me about not knowing the plan and it kinda fell apart.
Starters Standard was near flawless for a Q/1st. Missed weave entry but other than that, she was right on. That was the only missed weave entry of the weekend.
I entered KK in Steeplechase just to see what she would do. She was flawless and Qualified!!! I think she was by far the youngest dog in the field and I was bursting with pride over her performance!!
Sunday ended with no Q's but with lots of bright spots. She ran clean in Advanced Jumpers but was overtime....she was a little slow because I had let her chase geese with Marley earlier. My oops.
Starters Pairs was a complete bust. KK had one bobble but pairs is a duo and if your duo can't do it, then you are sunk! We did run accommodating partner for someone else and KK ran clean.
Starter Standard was lovely until the table when KK decided she did not have to 'down' nor did she even have to look at me. We will be practicing lots of table downs before the next trial.
Steeplechase finals was beautiful until #16 where she took an off course. I should have done a shoulder pull to the left but I didn't and the off course jump was in front of her and she took it. I'm just proud she made Finals.
I got lots of compliments on KK and how well trained she is. She is a diamond in the rough that is starting to shine brightly!!
She had a near perfect day on Saturday. She was in Advanced Gamblers and Advanced Jumpers for the first time. In Gamblers, she ran perfect. Paid attention, ran the path I wanted her to. When the buzzer went off for the Gamble, she didn't hesitate. Went right out to the tunnel and straight down the line of jumps without a bobble. Q/1st.
She held it together on Advanced Jumpers run for another Q/1st. Starters Snooker was an almost. She back jumped #6 in the closing so we ended up with not enough point to Q. I never got a good feel for the Snooker course, just couldn't get a plan together...KK was honest with me about not knowing the plan and it kinda fell apart.
Starters Standard was near flawless for a Q/1st. Missed weave entry but other than that, she was right on. That was the only missed weave entry of the weekend.
I entered KK in Steeplechase just to see what she would do. She was flawless and Qualified!!! I think she was by far the youngest dog in the field and I was bursting with pride over her performance!!
Sunday ended with no Q's but with lots of bright spots. She ran clean in Advanced Jumpers but was overtime....she was a little slow because I had let her chase geese with Marley earlier. My oops.
Starters Pairs was a complete bust. KK had one bobble but pairs is a duo and if your duo can't do it, then you are sunk! We did run accommodating partner for someone else and KK ran clean.
Starter Standard was lovely until the table when KK decided she did not have to 'down' nor did she even have to look at me. We will be practicing lots of table downs before the next trial.
Steeplechase finals was beautiful until #16 where she took an off course. I should have done a shoulder pull to the left but I didn't and the off course jump was in front of her and she took it. I'm just proud she made Finals.
I got lots of compliments on KK and how well trained she is. She is a diamond in the rough that is starting to shine brightly!!
Videos of her runs can be found on our YouTube Account: RunARescueAgility
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
LITTLE ROCK LOWDOWN
Kate and I ran in our local AKC club's All Breed Agility Trial this first weekend in November. It was a good trial for us. She finished her Open FAST Title and got an Excellent Standard leg. She is in all Excellent classes after 6 months of trialing...not bad for a baby who just turned 2.
This trial really opened my eyes to how just the slightest shoulder rotation or a dropped hand can cause Kate to come in to me or take an off course. I am going to have to really concentrate on my handling skills. Distance will be our friend! I'm lucky that Kate has an awesome start line stay, because that is the only time I will be ahead of her on a course. She is so much fun to run! I can't wait to see where our journey takes us!
We have 2 more trials this year. USDAA next weekend and an AKC trial in early December. I have entered Marley in the AKC trial and am hopeful she will be able to compete. The USDAA trial should be fun as a lot of my training buddies are entered too. Trialing is so much fun when your real friends are there!
This trial really opened my eyes to how just the slightest shoulder rotation or a dropped hand can cause Kate to come in to me or take an off course. I am going to have to really concentrate on my handling skills. Distance will be our friend! I'm lucky that Kate has an awesome start line stay, because that is the only time I will be ahead of her on a course. She is so much fun to run! I can't wait to see where our journey takes us!
We have 2 more trials this year. USDAA next weekend and an AKC trial in early December. I have entered Marley in the AKC trial and am hopeful she will be able to compete. The USDAA trial should be fun as a lot of my training buddies are entered too. Trialing is so much fun when your real friends are there!
Monday, November 4, 2013
CARTHAGE CATCH UP
We ventured to Carthage, MO 2 weekends ago for some AKC agility. Just KK was entered. We had a good weekend. She earned her Open Standard Title and I moved her up the next day to Excellent Standard. She had a good Standard run with just some baby mistakes. Both of her Excellent JWW runs had some baby mistakes or handling errors on my part. I'm learning how to handle from the rear. I will never be able to run with KK like I do with Marley. There is no way I can front cross her in a jumpers run....to front cross you have to be ahead of your dog and that will not happen with KK.
I found the trial venue to be filthy. Animal excrement on the railings. No where decent to walk your dog. The venue was so disgusting that I would not bring my other dogs inside. I left them in the van. I could not risk Marley getting an infection in her paw from the filth. The trial secretary was not nice and unfortunately I had to speak to her several times. Carthage does not have much to choose from in terms of restaurants. There was a restaurant on the venue premises but after seeing how nasty the venue was, there was no way we would eat there. Carthage is at the bottom of my trial venues, I don't now if we will go there again.
On a positive note, we got to go to Precious Moments Chapel. It's changed some in the past 10 years. Unfortunately it's been hit by the bad economy. But it is such a peaceful place and I have such good memories of being there with my mom. We stayed at the Best Western Precious Moments motel and it was just as wonderful as I remember it. So the trip to Carthage was worth it.
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