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!

Excellent!

Triumph had a pretty good showing at the AKC trial this past weeknd in Arcadia, Florida earning his open standard tile and his open jumpers with weaves title!  He qualified in 4 of the 6 runs and came home with three blue ribbons and one yellow.


I ran him in 20" for the first time all weekend and while he over-jumped a few jumps and left early on a few as well, he did seem to settle in to the height and he seemed to be thinking a little more about his job instead of mindlessly blasting around the course. 

But, oh, do we have so much to train and so much work to do!!!  He is still diving into his contact position and is still not shifting his weight back on the teeter and he definitely could have a faster table position!  However, his start line stay was much improved and he never missed a weave entry and never came out of the poles in the 6 runs.


His first standard run was going nicely until he decided it was time to do a running aframe right into the chute...I marked it and asked him to sit and we were eliminated for training in the ring...yeah but...he knows better!


He earned his open jumpers title on Saturday and so I moved him in to excellent for Sunday - he was the last dog to run.  I now had two dogs to run in 20" excellent jumpers so I moved Burn to run first.  Burn had a great run going but ended up taking off way early on the triple, which he has never done, totally crashing into the middle of the jump and ending up in a horrible tumble and fall...it was truly horrifying.  Thankfully, he was okay. 

I almost scratched Triumph from running this course as I was concerned about how he would handle that line to the triple.  I did run him but decided not to get too far ahead of him on that line.  He took off a bit early and cleared it but then I was not where I needed to be and was very tentative so he took an off course...all in all, he did pretty good his first time in excellent.




Sunday's open standard run and title...






Saturday's open jumpers run and title...

Burn's crash...

And Triumph's first excellent jww run...

Go Away Irene!

We haven't shown since the beginning of June (with the exception of DACOF) so am really looking forward to the 3-day AKC trial this weekend in Arcadia, Florida.  This is Calusa Dog Agility Club's very first AKC trial and it is a two-ring one-judge trial.  The site is the Turner Agri-Civic Center...an indoor air-conditioned site on dirt - my favorite!

Triumph is entered all three days and currently has one open standard leg and one open JWW leg...it would be nice to earn these open titles and get him into both excellent classes...that is my hope!  In training, we have been playing around with different jump heights and I decided at the last minute to move him to 20" for this trial...we'll see how it goes.

Burn is entered on Saturday and Sunday and is working on Double Q number 14...we'll see how that goes too :)))

I'm just hoping that Hurricane Irene continues to move in an easterly direction and does not ruin the weekend!  Right now, it looks like that's the path but as we know, all that can change!

border collie conformation and structure

I recently joined a border collie structure group on Facebook...the group was set up for people with border collies to join and then post stacked pictures of their dog for structure evaluation from the other members...it turned out to be a very interesting group of people...in the short lifespan of this group, there were some pretty flaming posts and very ugly comments that went back and forth and unfortunately, there were a couple of members who used the group as a means to attack each other and so the group was shortly deleted because of the animosity that ensued...seems as though there is huge contention in the border collie world between the "conformation" people and the "working dog" people and there are some pretty strong feelings and opinions about what is correct and what is not in the breed...conformation breeders were bashing other conformation breeders and working/performance dog breeders were bashing conformation breeders and conformation breeders were bashing performance dog breeders, etc etc...it made for some very interesting and entertaining reading but it also made me somewhat uneasy to post any pictures of my own dogs...it was then that I actually realized I had not one picture of Triumph standing still, all of his pics are that of some kind of agility action shot :)

So I attempted to take some...ha!!!!  Getting Triumph to stand still and stay in a "stacked" position while I backed up and took a picture of him was no easy feat!!!!

I did manage to get a couple pictures...pictures taken on an iphone do not make for beautiful conformation shots and I also quickly realized that this would be a two-person job!


In the pic below, I hung a toy from a plant post so that he would have something to look at and I told him to stand and stay!  He does have a very nice topline but he was having a bad hair day so his topline looks like there's a hole in it - there is not!  And to me, he looks fat in this picture but he is far from fat!

In the below picture, he was watching Nancy and Rudy work and was peering around a tree - he was just free-standing and this was not a stacked picture

But hey, we don't care what anyone on some Facebook group thinks about his structure...in his humble opinion, he is absolutely gorgeous...and in my opinion, he is perfect! 

jumping experiment

The other night I played around with Triumph at 20" jump height...he ran really nice at the lower height...granted, he has made huge improvements over the last several months at 26", but he still struggles at times with the double and triple especially if I am ahead of him and he is running as fast as he can to catch up...he's never run a full course at the lower jump height, so we played around with that this morning and he ran great especially over the double and triple...his take off was very appropriate all in all with the exception of taking off once or twice a little early and I think he over-jumped a couple of jumps once or twice...I then ran him over a short sequence at 26" and he made the transition very nicely and seemed very comfortable at the higher height...

this is the second course we ran at 20"

and here's a part of the sequence at 26"

goofiness

Yes I was in my bathroom when I took this clip, but I was NOT using the toilet...I sit on the closed throne to paint my toenails...there's a window right there and I can put my foot up on the tub...it's the room with the best light in my house...but of course, Triumph follows me in there with a toy so I took advantage of this Kodak moment...he is without a doubt the goofiest, silliest, sweetest dog in the world...speaking of sweet, notice Burn standing there in the doorway :)))

just a little training

Over the Fourth of July weekend, my friend Neta and I went to work with Gabrielle Blackburn...she had set up some very difficult International Style sequences...I initially went some help with Triumph's jumping, but as it turned out, he was jumping very nicely so we worked more on handling instead...here's a movie clip I put together of the time we spent training that morning...

a number

Okay so this is totally off the subject of dog training...on December 31, 2011, I turned 50 - AAAKKKKK - I hated the thought of that number and the sound of it but now that I think about it, it really was just another day and I felt no different that day and haven't any day over the last 7 months...until today...

Today I am prepping for that test that everyone's supposed to have when they reach the ripe old age of FIFTY (50)...that "c" test...a colonoscopy...OMG I thought I'd never be old enough for that but here I am...

Everyone says that the prepping day is worse than the actual procedure itself...okay I believe it so I guess I am looking forward to tomorrow...right!!!

very HOT!

we did a little training in my backyard this morning and played on this sequence that I borrowed off of Tori's blog...tough weave entries and such...it was very hot out so we only got through 2 of the sequences...will work through the others later when it's cooler...below are two takes...

DACOF 2011 - Results and Movie!

I posted earlier about DACOF and how we did, etc.  Below are the actual results as posted on the DACOF yahoo list - and although I have only "made" 3 movies in my life, I spent most of the Fourth of July holiday weekend working on putting together a "movie" of the Fast Friends team - I only wish I could have gotten every dog on my team on my camera, but it just wasn't possible...next year we'll have to hire a personal team videographer!!! 

Anyway, here's my third attempt at making an agility movie - it's long but the music is good and so are the dogs :)))


DACOF 2011
1st.........Upper Suncoast Dog Training Club (Suncoast Runners)
2nd........Fast Friends (Fast Friends Team 2) - Triumph and Burn's team!!!!
3rd.........Good Dog Sports (Victorious Secret)
4th.........R&R Companion Dog Training (Get Over It)
5th.........Paws in Motion (Tree Top Flyers)

Happy Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July to all - here's to a 3-day holiday weekend!!  Looking forward to some nice weather, a little dog training, playing in the pool and some yard work!!!!

DACOF 2011

This past weekend Burn and Triumph participated in DACOF - Dog Agility Competition of Florida - at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee.  We were fortunate enough to have been invited by Gail Waller to be on Fast Friends 2 team.  Burn ran in excellent and Triumph in open.  We had a blast and both boys had some very nice runs!! 

There were 55 teams total competiting over the weekend and Fast Friends 2 team placed 2nd - just 20 points shy of 1st place!!!  Burn ended up 3rd overall high in trial 20" excellent dog and Triumph was 1st overall high in trial 24" open dog!!!!

Everyone on my team was so supportive with such great dogs and great attitudes and all were so much fun to hang out with - especially during the awards presentations - we all laughed so hard at times we cried - I think we were overly tired and getting a bit giddy!

Gail Waller did a great job putting everything together and her young dog Tat was high in trial novice 16" dog!!! 

We had a total of 14 individual placements on our teams!!!!  The most impressive was Fast Friends Team 1 went from 32nd to 9th place by the end of the weekend!!!!

Below is Triumph's Open Jumpers run from Sunday - this was a really fun course to run...we've worked hard on his startline and very hard on his jumping - both have much improved...he was a very good boy :)))

Below is a picture of Fast Friends 2 Team

Below is the entire Fast Friends 1 and 2 teams!

Burn and Triumph and their trophies

Burn and Triumph's weekend loot!

LOSS

I'm so shocked and so sad to hear that Ronda Carter lost her battle with cancer early this morning...I worked with her a number of times over the years...Burn did his very first agility seminar with Ronda...that was about 7 years ago...she told me he couldn't jump...I was so offended by her bluntness and her honesty...but I didn't let her off the hook - I did my homework and sought her opinion and help...and she helped me a lot...

Burn's very first DAM team at the Regional in Perry was with Ronda and Pyro and Sherrie and Kix...we had such a great time...I loved Pyro and wanted her to be Burn's husband...she'd laugh and say you can't breed two red and white dogs, you'll get bad pads...after Burn had his first seizure, she was the first person I called...she was so comforting and very supportive...she always liked Burn...and she is one of the reasons I got Triumph...

I'm sitting here recalling so many memories...the laughs we shared and the saki and sushi dinners...I talked to her right before we left for the Regional in Perry...like just three weeks ago...I didn't see her name in the running order and messaged her and told her I would miss seeing her...she replied that she had just had surgery, a tumor removed from her stomach, but that she was doing great and down to a size 6...that was just three weeks ago...

Rest in peace, Ronda, and know that you will be missed...I will miss you and your laugh...my heartfelt condolences go out to her family and close friends and her dogs...I'm just in shock...

Father's Day...

okay so Father's Day isn't my most favorite of all "Days" as my father was not the greatest person in my life, and as far as a father goes...well that's another story...but I did have a super day yesterday at Gabrielle's contact seminar with a really good guy in my life, my dog Triumph...

and I did get to spend today with my boyfriend, who is a great father and his son...

I could feel a little down right now, but will choose not to, and instead, will look forward to the upcoming week, some agility training and then next weekend's DACOF competition...no pressure, just fun, friends, dogs, agility and a weekend :)))))))

something different

This Saturday Triumph and I will be working in a contact seminar with Gabrielle Blackburn at her place in Wesley Chapel, Florida.  Saturday she will focus on dogs with 2o2o contacts and Sunday will be running contacts...while I have been doing 2o2o contacts with Triumph in trials, and am happy to say that I have maintained his criteria at trials, his foundation training was running the dog walk and the aframe. 

I am considering going back to running contacts with him in the future and would have loved to have worked him on Sunday at the seminar, but it is Father's Day and I will be spending it with Marc and his son...

So in honor of a really great dad...we are happy to do Saturday's 2o2o contact session...below is a picture of this really great dad...a picture that I cropped and edited with a new app I got on my iphone...I love my boyfriend, my dogs, and my iphone :)))))

regional video

created my first ever agility video using windows movie maker...THAT was a lot of work but I *think* it came out okay...it's kinda long so I probably could have edited a whole lot more of it, but whatever...it is what it is :)))))

next

Our next event will be DACOF on June 25 and 26, 2011, to take place at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Florida.  We will be running on Fast Friends Agility team.  Burn will be competing on the excellent team and Triumph in open.  Below is a description of the event. 

The last time I competed at DACOF was with Burn in 2006 and our team won!!  It was great fun!!

 

DACOF - Dog Agility Competition of Florida

One of the most appealing aspects of running agility is the fact that it's an activity between just you and your dog, creating a wonderful bond. However, there is annual event in Florida where being a participant is very exciting. It is called DACOF (Dog Agility Competition of Florida), which embraces all Florida agility clubs.

If you run and/or train agility in Florida, whether you prefer NADAC (www.nadac.com), CPE (www.k9cpe.com), AKC (www.akc.org), or any other agility organization, this competition is open to you!

The teams consist of a minimum of six dogs/handlers to compete, and the scores from the dogs are added together to get a team total. There must be two novice, two open, and two excellent dogs on each team, and a club may have multiple teams. If you have three dogs per level on a team, you can drop the lowest score and keep only the best two.

determination

I love this...

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions,
Small people always do that.
But the really great ones make you feel that you, too, can become great!
~Mark Twain

*******
I learned quite a bit about myself, my dog, and other competitors this past weekend at the Regional event...while it took a couple of days to sink in, I came away having learned a great lesson.

I've worked very hard on Triumph's jumping over the last 4 months...I could see much improvement with his take off and with his over jumping.  I truly believe he thinks the sooner he takes off, the sooner he can either catch up to me or get to the next jump, tunnel, contact, whatever...he's got a lot of drive and a lot of forward compulsion but he is starting to think more about his job and he is also starting to realize that he doesn't have to put THAT much effort into jumping to get where I want him to go next...

I got lots of compliments on his progress and on a number of his runs, but I also heard some very negative comments which I let bother me...really bother me...and then the "no comments at all" I think bothered me even more...so I spent a lot of Monday thinking about this and instead of being hurt by the negative comments, I chose to feel differently...I decided that I will spend the rest of the summer working even harder on Triumph's jumping, his contacts, my handling, everything, and I am now more determined than ever to go back next year and do even better! 

At least I know that I have a very willing partner and as always, he will give me at least 150% effort in our training this summer :)))))

A First!

Triumph competed in his very first Regional Event in Perry Georgia - we had a blast!  Our "team" was a young dog training team named appropriately - No Pressure!  And that was a good thing as team jumpers was first thing Friday morning with the 26" dogs first in and Triumph was like the 5th dog in the ring.  The course was pretty challenging and a number of dogs did not make it through clean, including Triumph!  His jumping started out big and early but then he settled in and it was actually pretty good!

Next was team snooker.  I love snooker but haven't quite gotten comfortable running Triumph in that game.  Our opening was pretty nice doing a 4, 5, 6, and 7 and then he went off course in the closing at 3 - oh well it was still points!

Team gamble was fun - Triumph's contacts were good and his jumping was pretty nice as well.  Team standard was a very challenging course that like jumpers, a number of dogs did not make it through clean - Triumph ran it clean and ended up in 10th place!

Here is our relay run which was actually quite fun - although I have to say I am glad that I got to run the half that I did as the second part was very tough!!!






Grand Prix round 1 was Saturday - I thought it was a really fun course!  I really did not plan to layer the judge and the jump at the dog walk but he was kinda in my path and I wanted to get down that line to the poles and I did!  Triumph was a good boy for getting the entry but just couldn't hold on to it...it was more or less a training run as he had the bye and would be running in the finals on Sunday!

Steeplechase round 1 was a REALLY FUN course!!!!  Not sure why he turned the wrong way at the jump after the second aframe - I saved it but it gave him a bad line to the broad jump and he stepped on it and incurred a 5 second fault which did not allow him to run in finals on Sunday - too bad because that was a very fun course as well!

But I was most proud of his Grand Prix final run on Sunday...I had been told on Saturday morning that I looked like a dweeb running my dogs on Friday...maybe it was said in fun, but it bothered me such that I was bound and determined to do a better job and we did...so to the person who called me a dweeb, thank you!

Unfortunately, by this run Triumph had started to push his start line and ended up under the tire - stinker!  Had he not got the refusal at the tire, and had all the other results stayed the same, he would have placed 4th in a very large and very competitive 26" class! 

At not even 2.5 years of age and his very first regional, I think he did a pretty good job!

oh yeah, excuse my friend's finger while she video taped :)

off we go!

Had a great lesson on Sunday with Stuart...he was very happy with Triumph's jumping progress since we last worked with him on April 1st...yeah!!!!

We had a great training session last night, tonight will be grooming time, and we'll leave early tomorrow morning for Perry Georgia for the Regional!