"TRC"

I remember the story you told us about how your Japanese students referred to you as "THE Rhonda Carter" and that was back in the day when you spelled your name with the "h" in it...and how much we laughed about that...so you became TRC to me and Sherrie and nobody else knew what we were talking about...it was our little silly private joke and so we called you TRC from then on.

I remember the first time I ever worked with you, Burn was 11 months old...I was so excited to get to work with you and so nervous...you hated his breeder and I was so worried you would not like him because of her, but I was so wrong...you loved him and you helped mold him into the agility dog he became.

I remember confiding in you years ago about some things that had me so upset and will never forget your advice..."rise above it" you told me...those are words that I try to live by to this day.  You were the first person I called when Burn had his first seizure...you were so supportive and so willing to share your experiences and knowlege about seizures...I can't tell you what that meant to me...I wish I could.

I can't tell you how many times just recently I have wanted to call you and ask for your advice or to send  you an email with one of Burn or Triumph's runs to ask you what you think...I've had so many reasons lately to want to talk to you...everytime I did, you would have the answer or you would make me feel better.

I regret not picking up the phone more often over the years just to say hey...your phone and email and address are still in my contacts and I can't bring myself to delete them...I don't know if I ever willl...I check your Facebook wall on a regular basis and each time, my heart races a little because each time I type your name, I fear your page will be gone...death is so final and I never got to say goodbye and to thank you again for the help you gave me, for your advice, for listening, for helping me pick out Triumph, and for just being my friend...so thank you so very much.


I'm so thankful Michele did this memorial for you for Clean Run...I think you would like it...

Rest in peace, TRC...I miss you...

YPS

We left from the AKC trial in Ocala before ribbons were ready on Sunday...a friend of mine who was in Novice picked up Triumph's ribbons and brought them to me on Tuesday...I have boxes and boxes of ribbons from over the years, so these days I usually just pick up the qualifying ribbon with the sticker that contains the info on the run...I have this really cool app on my iphone where all my dogs' agility records are stored...this app also computes the Yards Per Second...Triumph ran this jumpers course in 6.2 YPS...large dog world team requirements are 5.4...cool!!  Not that I have any aspirations or goals of trying out for world team, but it is nice to know that his times are more than good enough!

I'm glad to have his first excellent ribbons, including the blue one!

mine...

yes, all mine!

Rock 'n Roll Jesus

I posted this the other day and then this morning, I saw this tag sitting at a red light and just had to add it to this post!

while this is completely non-agility related, I'm happy I love someone
and I love the words to this Kid Rock song:

I tell you it will shake the earth beneath your feet, the light that shines will redefine your old beliefs, what you reap is what you sow and so it goes, where you plant your needs is where your garden grows, before you think about yourself, think of someone else, it will make you feel

Each day ain't wine and roses, I doubt it's meant to be, always a cross to bear salvation don't come free, a heart that beats is a heart that bleeds and you know that's true, so don't deny yourself of something good for you, before you do it for yourself, do it for someone else
That makes it real

Chorus:
'Cause when you love someone, it don't matter what you say, when you love someone
you will dance the night away, when you love someone, there ain't nothing you can't do
ain't that right, yeah I want to love someone tonight

Will you believe in love or just sit around and judge? Can you forgive someone or will u hold a grudge? Cuz above selfishness there lies a bright blue sky and wealth and happiness can be a long and lonesome ride yes it's hard to steer yourself without that someone else to take the wheel, take the wheel

(Chorus)

Do you believe in the art of growing old? do you believe that rock n roll can save your soul?
Do you believe in everything you do? Cuz when you do that's when it all comes back to you
Before you think about yourself, think of someone else, do it for yourself and do it for someone else

When you love someone -

such

a happy dog no matter what I ask of him...

a first and a first!

Triumph's got his first Excellent A JWW Q and his first excellent blue ribbon today...

we've spent the last 7 months working SO hard on his jumping...do we need to spend the next 7 months working on that damn start line again??!!!!

such a bad dog!

Open certificates

not to be outdone by his older brother Burn, Mr. T received his own little surprise "envelope" in the mail today...two envelopes actually...one contained his AKC Open Agility certificate and the second envelope contained his Open Agility Jumper certificate...why the AKC wouldn't just send both in one envelope, I'm not sure, but here they are...so he officially gets to play in both Excellent classes this weekend and because of that, we officially get to leave early on Sunday - whoohoo!

I can't freakin figure out how to get this one to upload correctly...but you get the picture...

this was taken Tuesday morning around 5:30...I'm trying to drink my cup of coffee and he would NOT leave me alone with that damn toy...so, I put it around his nose and he quit bugging me...what a face!!!!



2 in 1

Two posts in one day...that's a record!!  While I created this blog to journal Triumph's training and trialing, I just had to say something about Burn...he received a really nice package in the mail on Saturday from USDAA...his Bronze Lifetime Achievement Award...it's a really cool plaque for a really cool accomplishment...150 qualifying scores overall...wow that's a lot of Qs!!!!!

yeah so what says Burn...I will still hate not running first this Saturday!

AKC again

We get to play in AKC again this weekend coming up in Ocala...Triumph will show for the first time in both Excellent A standard and Excellent A JWW...I entered him in the 24" jump height for this show and big dogs run first on Saturday so he will run early...I like it when it's small to tall as I get to run Burn first...and Burn likes that...

But Triumph likes going first...Mr. Smiley

sepia

nothing exciting to blog about today...it's kind of cloudy and gray out...I'm house and dog sitting for Marc this weekend and we usually play in the yard and pool when we're here but it's not nice out and acts like it's going to rain...plus his AC froze up so I had to turn it off for it to "thaw" out and it's starting to get a little warm inside...AC is the greatest invention in the whole world and it really sucks when it's not working!!!!!

so playing on my iphone with a photo app...really like the sepia look...here are some sepia pics of all four of my dogs...

Sepia Pauli...

Sepia Bosco...

Sepia Burn...

and Sepia Mr. GQ SQ Triumph...

Photogenic

Some great pics taken of my guys at the USDAA trial this past Labor Day weekend in DeLand, FL - photographer and friend Kelsey Reinersten does a great job

http://kelseyreinertsenphotography.weebly.com/

here are some of the pics she got of Triumph and Burn...

Mr. Super Q & such...

Triumph earned his very first Snooker Super Q last night...I love snooker and LOVE to run Burn in that game...he's a great snooker dog...I usually go for all 7s with Burn but decided to be a little more conservative with Triumph as I wanted him to have a successful run and still qualify...I wasn't even considering a SQ or even placing so I planned a course that "flowed" but was an easy 4, 5, and two 7s...he still ended up with the Super Q and a 2nd placement in an unusually large 26" class...

It helps when you never have to worry about a bar coming down...Snooker hasn't been the most fun or easy game for me and Triumph mostly because I worry about his jumping - taking a bar or crashing a jump...but last night I felt more comfortable and I think Triumph did too...





Mr. Handsome - Labor Day morning in the yard holding his favorite ball...

So I didn’t accomplish all the goals I set for myself this weekend – neither of my boys qualified in Grand Prix or Steeplechase and not for lack of trying…Burn displaced the break-away tire which I can’t remember him ever doing and then he took a bar at the end of the run but it was the back side of a jump and I really haven’t practiced that with my dogs very much…but then in Steeplechase he completely blew his aframe contact and then cut across my path and took an off course jump…bad dog J

Triumph had a nice Grand Prix run going but did not take the back side of that back-side jump and took the side I presented – good boy J - he had a nice Steeplechase run but cut through the broad jump and I didn’t fix it – bad handler!  I really need to train the broad jump especially considering how HUGE it is for the 26” dogs!

But most importantly, Triumph’s jumping at 26” was so very nice – his take offs were appropriate, he did not over jump, and he only took two bars one of which was on a bounce and the other was that giant triple jump they had that was going into an empty dark corner of the ring.

I went in to this weekend really okay with the thought of moving him to Performance 22” had he had any major jumping issues…I struggled with that and actually agonized over it for some time…but I came to realize that it would make absolutely no difference to Triumph whether he ran in Championship or Performance…he would get to play and run for me and that is all that would matter to him…I was very pleased with his jumping efforts this weekend and I now have more confidence with the idea of continuing to run him in the 26” Championship classes for this upcoming season…

I continue to remind myself of how fortunate I am that all of my dogs are happy and healthy…every time I trial, I think of my good friend Neta and her fabulous dog Toast that she lost so tragically not that long ago…not only is she my friend, but she is one of the agility people I have known for many many years and I truly admire for many many reasons…doing well in agility with our dogs is really just a bonus...and so are rubberized contacts!

Triumphant jumping!

One year ago this weekend, Triumph made his USDAA agility debut at this trial...he ran starters jumpers, starters pairs, starters gamblers, Grand Prix and Steeplechase...he ran most of the courses with his superman cape on and launched early on most of his jumping especially in jumpers...his early takeoff and over jumping progressively got worse as we continued to trial...the more classes he ran, the higher he got and the more inappropriate his takeoff and over jumping became until he eventually started crashing the double and triple jumps...this was a new experience for me and a challenge I wasn't sure I could handle and I really didn't know what to do to help him...Burn was a naturally talented and exceptional jumper and I never had to worry about him taking or crashing jumps, ever...Triumph has been a different story.

But we have worked very very hard since the beginning of this year on his jumping and he has made huge improvements and I was just thrilled with his first time ever in master jumpers last night...now to go back and fix that damn start line scooting!!!!!!  Always something, huh???!!!!

local labor day weekend trial

Yeah for long holiday weekends and yeah for local trials on those weekends!!  I'm not exactly thrilled about a night trial as I am usually in bed before 10:00 every night even on the weekends...but it will be cooler and the trial is being held at a site where we train on a regular basis and we will have rubberized contacts...bonus!

I ran Triumph last night in class at the 26" jump height and he adjusted nicely after showing last weekend at the AKC trial in 20".  He only took one bar coming out of a tunnel and his takeoffs were appropriate and he did not over jump the jumps - yeah for him!  He can over jump 26" jumps???  Yes, and not that I want him to or ever taught him to he just can and does...when I first started agility back in 1994, omg that was a long time ago, there was no 26" height, it was 30" and that is what my Rottweilers had to jump - and they were awesome jumpers...I think 30" would suit Triumph just fine!

So my hopes and goals for this weekend will be to get a 2012 steeplechase and grand prix for Burn and for him to not do any drop and roll manuevers on course!!!  And for Triumph, this weekend will be to evaluate his jumping at 26" and decide whether to keep him at that height or to move him in to performance 22" for a while.

Good luck to my two red boys!