Agility Again

We went off to our last agility trial of the year. It was memorable and not just in a good way. The first day was excellent for another QQ and 39 more MACH points. The weather was cold which made the dogs run fast.

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The next day however I made a really dumb error-I locked the dogs in the car and had no spare key. I found out the car was locked as I went to get Whisper out of the car for her jumpers run. No one at the agility trial could jimmy the door open so I had to call AAA. Everyone from exhibitors to show superintendent were wonderful about helping deal with my nerves and getting the car open. Even though it was about 34 degrees outside and the dogs were in no danger of overheating I was panicked with worry. Getting my run was the least of my worries but I so wanted to try to do the course. AAA(who I highly recommend) arrived with seconds to spare of the club rebuilding the course for the open dogs. I got Whisper out of the car and ran to the start line. My hands were shaking at the start and I barely recall running the course. Many of the exhibitors knew what had happened and crowded ringside to watch the Wisp run. As we completed the course I collapsed and hugged her for being such a wonderful dog. You can hear the clapping from the observers in the background. We ran our fasted time ever in a trial

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Snow Days

But it got here about midnight last night.....snow, and lots of it!!!! It took all night to deliver, but we woke up this morning at 7am to a Winter White Wonderland. Happy Birthday Stripey Boy, if a little belated!!!! I'm not a morning person, but this was too much to resist.





I quietly snuck out of the bedroom and made coffee, grabbed the camera and got Pre Greyhound Plowing photos. Then, almost on cue, the Birthday Boy was at the back door wondering where the MomLady is, and what the heck is all this white stuff?????!






One hour, 2 flash cards and 4 exhausted dogs later a fire was built in the fireplace and everyone curled up to dry out and take a morning nap. Darby will retrieve ANYTHING, snowballs included. Throw it out, chase it down, bring it back, please throw it again! He's just very delicate with the snowballs, they break easy you know!

First Title

Most of Lyric's puppies went into show/performance homes. Becca owned by Donna passed her CGC(Canine Good Citizen)test at just under one year old.
Below is Donna's write up.

Four days short of being 1 year old, Becca passed her CGC (Canine Good
Citizen) Test!!! She and Donna had been preparing for this with their Advanced Novice classes. For those of you unfamiliar with this test, it involves 10 exercises for the dog, involving some basic obedience and
behaviors:

1. Accepting a friendly stranger--Evaluator approaches and shakes hands with handler who has dog on a leash; dog is not touched.
2. Dog is asked to sit politely for petting by evaluator. Dog must show no shyness or resentment.
3. While still sitting, evaluator brushes dog, exams dog's ears and front foot 4. Dog is walked on a leash by handler while being directed by evaluator to do right and left turns, an about turn and halt 5. While dog is on its leash, the dog and its handler walk through a crowd of people. Dog may show casual interest, but not jump up.
6. Handler has dog do a sit and a down; then handler leaves the dog in either position, walks away 20 ft and then returns immediately to the dog.
7. Dog is attached on a long line and told to sit and stay; handler walks out 10 ft in front of dog, turns to face the dog and then calls the dog to come to the handler.
8. Handler and dog walk toward another handler and dog; dogs are asked to sit; handlers then shake hands. Each dog and handler continues on their walk in opposite directions. Dogs can show casual interest.
9. The dog is presented with 2 distractions and is not to panic or show aggression. In Becca's case, it was a chair being dropped nearby and then someone using a walker in front of her.
10. Dog is on a 6-ft leash and given to an evaluator; dog is asked to sit or down by handler, but dog does not have to stay in that position. Handler goes out of sight of the dog for 3 minutes. Dog is to remain quiet and calm during this time period.

Whisper's Weekend

After the conformation shows the previous weekend, an agility weekend was next. Whisper is trying for her MACH(Master agility champion). The courses can be challenging but fun. Whisper is such a fantastic dog to run-she is so responsive. Running her is like handling a Ferrari car, a slight shoulder rotation can turn her in an instant. A call of her name can immediately turn her off an incorrect obstacle. We have been training weekly in agility for about 2 1/2 years along with conformation,tracking and obedience. I never dreamed we would be competing at this level already.




She earned another QQ and 25 points that weekend.

Happy 1st Birthday!

The puppies are one year old today! It's quite a milestone! Here is a picture of each of the puppies celebrating their birthday.

Echo played with all of her toys.


Pearl ate special birthday cookies with a fancy birthday hat.

Becca was showered with gifts and treats.


Tanner had a party with his parti friends.

Darby ate frozen yogurt with cool birthday sprinkles.