The Time of My Life!

The 2012 IFCS World Agility Championship was held May 11-13 in Fort Worth, Texas, hosted by the United States Dog Agility Association. This elite international competition takes place every two years, since 2002, and has been held in Russia, Spain, The Netherlands, Belgium and the UK. This year was the first time it has been held in the USA. Each country who participates may send a team of up to 12 dogs/handlers, with a maximum of 3 in each of the four height divisions (Toy, Mini, Midi & Maxi). Teams from Australia and New Zealand are eligible to compete in this event but the quarantine regulations in their countries make in impractical for their dogs to travel outside of their home countries. In the spirit of sportsmanship, the IFCS allows teams from these two countries to compete by  borrowing dogs from the host country.

In February 2012, USDAA put out a call to the US agility community, asking for “Loaner Dogs” to be volunteered. Now, I have never had “World Team” aspirations, the selection process alone is high-pressure and I am not of that caliber as a handler. However, I have always thought that Dandy possibly had “world team” potential. So I offered Dandy as a possible Loaner Dog for the 26” height class (Maxi), and he was put on a list of candidates that was sent to the Australian Team Manager. Also being offered were dogs belonging to two fellow competitors from the northeast, Jeannie Bonsignore & Melanie Behrens. We hoped that all 3 of our dogs might be chosen so we could make the big road trip to Texas together. We were asked to submit videos of our dogs in competition, and to complete a questionnaire regarding our dogs’ training, temperament, experience, if they enjoyed running with other handlers, and so on. At the end of March, all three of us were notified that our dogs were selected for Team Australia! The planning for the road trip began! Two weeks off from work, first time travelling in an RV, never been west of the Mississippi…and that’s just the beginning of the adventure…

On May 2, we packed up Jeannie’s RV and headed for Texas, arriving there on Friday afternoon, May 4. A few days prior, we had received emails from the Team Coach advising us of the handler that was being preliminarily matched to each of our dogs, so we were looking forward to our first meeting and training session on Saturday May 5. The handler chosen for Dandy was Natalie Kirkwood, a fantastic trainer and handler with over 20 years experience in agility, having started as a teenager. I had “met” Natalie on Facebook shortly after Dandy was selected for the team, so I felt like I already knew her. And upon our first meeting, I felt 100% comfortable with her as Dandy’s handler, and I knew we’d also become fast friends.

Australia sent a full team of 12 handlers, and they arranged practice sessions for every day…Saturday through Tuesday…at a few different local training facilities in the Fort Worth area. Saturday, Sunday & Monday were very hot & humid days, and our dogs from the northeast were not acclimated to heat yet, so we had to keep sessions short. Tuesday gave us a bit of a break in the heat, thankfully. There was a significant learning curve for the Aussie handlers as most of them use a different handling system than our dogs are trained for. They decided it was easier to revise their own handling than to try to change what our dogs already knew. It was not easy, modifying handling while getting to know their loaner dogs, all in the span of 5 days, but they did it with enthusiasm and sportsmanship and smiles! Team Australia really rose to the occasion!

While Dandy was officially running for Team Australia, Tempo also got to join in the fun. He was a Reserve Dog (Maxi) for Team Australia, so he got to do some training with all three of the Maxi dog handlers in the training sessions. He was surprisingly happy to work for *anyone* and didn’t look for me at all! I guess that shows how confident he is and how much he loves the game…although looking for me just once in a while would not have been THAT bad. <g>

Wednesday was the official team practice at the Watt Arena at the Will Rodgers Equestrian facility in Fort Worth. The excitement was really beginning! The “loaner dog” owners had been given beautiful team shirts in Aussie green & gold, sporting our names and our dogs’ names. Each dog was given an official team collar/leash, in green & gold; the collar portion was embroidered with the dog’s name, and the Team Australia logo was printed on the leash portion. We were all dressed for success! Each country had 45 minutes to practice in the actual ring where the competition would be held, giving them all a chance to get accustomed to the footing and equipment. The team practice was a bit frantic but it was good for the dogs to have a chance to show their wild side!

On Thursday, there was a local qualifier for USDAA Grand Prix and Steeplechase. Dandy ran both of these classes with Natalie, their very first time in a competition together, with me being far away in the stands. I had really hoped that Dandy would be confident enough at this point to be able to work with Nat without me anywhere in sight. I did not want to be a distraction, and wanted to let this be about the two of them. I was relieved to watch their first run as a true team, with Dandy giving Nat his full attention. They qualified in both Grand Prix and Steeplechase, finishing 5th in Steeplechase Finals, while Nat continued to practice new handling skills with Dandy.

I ran Tempo myself in Thursday’s classes, although I felt very unprepared. I had not worked with him at all since we arrived in Texas, and I had gotten into “spectator mode”…I was not exactly ‘in the zone’. We had one refusal in Grand Prix and one bar down in Steeplechase, so we did not qualify in either. Afterwards, he was run in both classes FEO as was permitted for handlers running “borrowed” dogs. Tony Redwood ran him in Grand Prix and although they E’d, Tempo had a grand time. Natalie ran him in Steeplechase, 1 bar down, but he again had a blast.

The Opening Ceremonies were held later that day, introducing all the countries who came to compete: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Hungary, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and the USA.

I could write an entire book on this whole journey. But in brief, what transpired over the 3 day event was nothing short of amazing. Nat & Dandy ran like they had been running together for years. They did not quite make it to the podium but were hot on the heels of all the big winners. Out of 9 WAC classes, they E’d in just one class, Biathlon Jumping. In Team Triathlon, they were 2nd in Jumping, 4th in Agility (Standard) and clean in Relay. In Individual All Around classes, they were 6th in Snooker, 9th in Gamblers, 4th in Agility (Std) and 5th in Jumping, where the top 5 dogs were within 0.3 seconds of each other (Dandy & Nat were just 0.13 seconds from a Bronze medal in Jumpers.) Their final result in the Individual All Around was 4th place….less than 1.5 points from a Bronze medal. They competed against very strong teams in the Maxi division from the USA, Canada and Hungary, teams who have been training & competing with their own dogs for years. Medal or not, Natalie did her country proud, and brought Dandy to a whole new place, proving that he truly is “world team” quality. I could not have been any prouder.

On the final day of competition, our handlers presented each “loaner dog” owner with a green and gold Team Australia training bag, embroidered with dog’s name and filled with little gifts from Australia. And a Thank You card that made me cry…but that was nothing unusual, I never cried so many tears of pride and joy in my entire life! But there were also tears of sadness, in saying Good Bye to our wonderful new friends from Down Under. We will be forever friends, and I will never forget this incredible experience. I am eternally grateful to Natalie Kirkwood for bringing Dandy to new heights, exposing his true potential…and for inspiring me to push myself a a handler…to trust my dog and trust my training, to run with more ambition instead of always running “just to get through the course”, and to allow him to really shine.

We left Fort Worth on Sunday night, and managed to get back home late Tuesday night. All three of us were so proud of our dogs, happy with our experience and new friendships, yet a bit sad to say goodbye and to realize it was over. Yes, the event is now in the past, but it will always be a huge part of my life, and the wonderful memories will be with us forever.

Dandy, Elf & Zeke for Team Australia

And it can never be said too much…Dandy amazed me way beyond my expectations. I am truly blessed to have him as well as Tempo in my life. Thank you, Token & Meg, for these precious gifts. And Token, I know you were in Texas with us, you are always with me.

All of Dandy’s runs have been posted on Nat’s youtube channel. But to sum it all up, Nat and I both made compilation videos…I will never get tired of watching them.

Natalie’s video of her WAC journey with Dandy

My video of Dandy’s WAC Experience

Tempo's WAC Adventure

Photo of Natalie Kirkwood & Dandy by Heather Gahres

Natalie Kirkwood & Dandy

Everything’s Shiny!

April is coming to an end, and it has been a whirlwind month! April 14-15, the dogs and I headed to York, PA, for Clean Break’s huge 2-ring Flyball tournament. Dandy and Tempo raced together on the same Open team which was made up of a very special line-up of dogs. Elizabeth came all the way from Wyoming with two of the Token/Blur kids, Jake & Nikki, so the 4 Token kids could race together. We were joined by Lisa from Colorado and her cool little Sheltie as a height dog so we could have 8” jumps. We raced under the banner of Elizabeth’s San Diego club Fast Fourward, and our team name was “Everything’s Shiny” as we are fans of the old TV series “Firefly”. Of course, racing my two dogs on the same team did have its complications…I had to find someone else to run Tempo. Dandy was start dog, Jake was 2nd, and with our height dogs running last, Tempo ran 3rd. Enter this awesome kid from Two-Lane Highway, another club that was graciously loaning us their box and boxloading for us. Braydon is just 10 years old, but he did an awesome job running Tempo. He even got Tempo his new ‘best time’ running ‘in the pack’ with a 4.30! Tempo did a great job running even while I was calling Dandy to me and tugging with him. He did look for me as he came back with his ball, so Braydon would run back to where I was with Dandy. I do think Dandy was a bit put-off sharing the spotlight with Tempo, but he managed to deal with it <G>. My personal “best” of the weekend was getting a 0.000 start with him! I had gotten that once with Token, this was my first time with Dandy.
Another thing making this event special was the debut of Nikki. She took over as height dog for several heats (12” jumps) and did awesome, earning her FD & FDX!!! I was so thrilled for her and Elizabeth, it was a very special occasion! Still working on getting video processed. But we did get a picture of the four Token kids together. L-R: Nikki, Jake, Dandy & Tempo


The following weekend was a 3-day USDAA Regional Championship in Palmyra, PA, the Mid-Atlantic Agility Showcase held at In The Net, a fabulous indoor sports arena with a terrific turf that is great for running dogs. This was a huge 3-ring event, with high caliber competition.
Tempo did really well with oh-so-close runs. He ended up on a last-minute pick-up team for the Dog Agility Masters Team event, along with another 26” jumping BC and a 12” Papillon. Out of 63 teams, we qualified and ended up in 12th place! Tempo had just one refusal each in Team Standard & Jumpers, I was very proud of his runs. He also ran in Round 1 of the Regional Grand Prix, and had just one refusal. In Round 1 of Steeplechase, he had one bar down putting us out of the running for Round 2. But for a young dog without much trial experience, he did great!
Tempo in Team Jumpers

Dandy’s team of 3 Border Collies also qualified and were 14th out of 63 teams. Dandy was clean in both Jumpers & Standard, qualifying in both, 14th & 8th place respectively. This also qualified him to run in Round 3 of the Triathlon, a hybrid course with weaves and seesaw. He ran clean but not the fastest, we ended up in 9th place which I was quite pleased with. We had some hiccups in Round 1 of Steeplechase, but made it to Finals. I made a handling error (due to momentary indecision) that caused Dandy to knock a bar, so we did not place. Had he not hit the bar he would have earned a bye into Semi-Finals at Nationals. Dandy had a bye to run in the Grand Prix finals at this Regional, but I ran him in Round 1 anyway. He ran clean and was 10th place. In the Grand Prix Finals, I didn’t run it exactly as I walked it (which was the theme for the whole weekend with me!) but he ran clean and again was 10th place, earning him the coveted “Bye” into Semi-finals at Nationals. I was not planning to go to Nationals this year as it’s in Colorado in September, and I may not have enough vacation time left. But now that he has a Bye, I am trying to see if it’s possible.
Dandy in Team Jumpers
Dandy in Triathlon Hybrid Round

Over the 3 day event, Dandy never missed a contact or a weave entry, and only knocked one bar which was totally my fault. Team Gamblers & Snooker could have been better, had I handled better….but Dandy ran clean in Team Jumpers, Standard & Relay, Round 1 of Steeplechase and both rounds of Grand Prix. I could not be any prouder of him!

The month of May will bring us a whole new adventure as we head to Texas for the IFCS World Agility Championships. This is an international event, with each country allowed 3 dogs in each of the 4 jump heights (12”, 16”, 22” & 26”). The USA team will be a force to be reckoned with and it will be fun to cheer them on. However I will also be cheering for Team Australia. Australia & New Zealand are eligible to compete at this event but quarantine regulations make it impractical for them to travel abroad with their dogs. In the spirit of sportsmanship, they are invited to compete with dogs loaned to them by the host country. Back in February, USDAA put out a call to ask for volunteers with solid Masters level dogs who are willing to run for other handlers. Two friends and I decided to offer our dogs as “Loaner Dogs”. After submitting videos and questionnaires, the 3 of us were thrilled to learn that our dogs were chosen to be part of Team Australia. Dandy will be running in the “Maxi” division, jumping 26”, with one of the 12 Australian handlers. Tempo is “2nd Reserve” for the Maxi division, so it’s highly unlikely he will compete but he will be on hand in case of a last-minute emergency. The event takes place May 11-13 at the Will Rodgers Equestrian Center in Fort Worth, TX. We will meet with the Team Coach, Manager and handlers on May 5, and will have training sessions every day leading up to the event. This will surely be a very unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience. Being part of a world team is certainly not part of my own reality, but Dandy is talented enough to be there, so I’m looking forward to this event, and hoping that his Australian handler has a great ride with Dandy!

2012 IFCS World Agility Championship

March Flyball and a bit of Agility

I am trying to catch up on my posts, life has been pretty hectic lately! I spent much of the month of March going to the chiropractor myself as I was in much pain from a muscle strain in my upper back. I’ve been taking the dogs to the chiropractor for years but never went myself. It really helped me heal but I was not able to do too much with the dogs during this time. But I managed to squeeze in some fun for the dogs.

March 10-11, we went back to Massachusetts for another Flyball tournament hosted by Weston Whirlwinds. Dandy raced on an Open team under the club name of Grab & Go, which was my very first flyball club where Token got started. That club went on hiatus when a couple of members left the area and dogs retired. It was a bit nostalgic to have Dandy racing as Start Dog on G & G, just like his dad Token had done back in 2005. Tempo raced as Start Dog on Fast Attack’s Open team, and also shared a spot on their Regular team. The tournament turned into an old-fashioned type of tournament as the electronic timing system was totally not working. All timing had to be done manually, early starts & passes called manually, and the judge had to manually start every race with a lowering of arms. It was a bit like racing blind as we had no idea how our starts were, or what our individual dogs’ times were. But it was still fun, and we got points, and our teams got 2nd place in their divisions.

On March 24, we went to one day of On Target’s USDAA trial in Barto, PA, in the lovely new building. I only had Dandy entered in 2 classes, Masters Standard & Gamblers. He qualified in Gamblers with a 2nd place, a Q I really wanted as Gamblers is not my best class. I asked Barry, a fellow competitor, to run him in Standard for me. Dandy did everything he was supposed to do, but they had an off-course at the Aframe/Tunnel discrimination as Barry’s cue for that is very different than my own. I ran Tempo in Advanced Gamblers (no Q, bar down in Gamble), his first Masters Standard (no Q, 2 refusals & bar down), and in Grand Prix. His Grand Prix run was lovely, he qualified with a 2nd place, enabling him to run at the Regionals! That was the Q I wanted most with Tempo, so it was a good day!

Tempo in Grand Prix

Both boys will now be running in the Mid-Atlantic Showcase, USDAA Regional in April!

New Titles for Tempo in February

Tempo earned his FDCH-Gold title at the Weston Whirlwinds Mardi Gras Madness Flyball Tournament in Westborough, MA, on February 11-12, 2012. It was especially fun as he raced on an Open team with his littermate Maze! Their team took 1st place in Open 3 Division.

Dandy also raced on an open team that was all friends with dogs that also do agility, so it was very cool! Their team took 2nd place in Open 1 Division.

The following weekend we went to one day of a USDAA Agility Trial in Barto, PA, hosted by Keystone Agility Club. Tempo didn’t Q in Advanced Gamblers, but we did get the Q that we wanted most, his 3rd Advanced Standard leg to finish his ASA title (Advanced Standard Agility) with a 1st place. Running past a jump and stopping on contacts, he ran the 155 yard course in 38.8 seconds, so he has potential!

Tempo in Advanced Standard

He also ran super in Grand Prix…no Q but he was awesome. He ran past a jump for one refusal, then I was out of position for the next jump & we got another refusal. But the rest was fantastic, I was so proud of him! I was super pleased with his jumping & contacts & weaves but I was most impressed with how he handled the first 3 obstacles, his collection at the #2 Jump was lovely!

Tempo in Grand Prix

Dandy was only entered in Master Gamblers and Standard. I asked my friend Judy to run him for me as an experiment to see if he would run for someone else. They had a couple of miscommunications so no Q’s but he did really well with her. He looked for me at the start line but once he was off and running, he was there for her! It was fun to watch him run from a new perspective.

More flyball & agility coming up in March. I’ve been battling some back pain, so I hope that gets under control quickly.

Littermates Maze & Tempo racing together in Flyball!

Flyball Chaos!

Thanks to Facebook---- Dandy, Tempo and I made an unplanned trip to a Flyball tournament in Exton, PA, on Sunday, January 15, to fill in for team that was short a dog at the last minute. A team from New Jersey had 2 Border Collies and a Cavalier KC Spaniel as the height dog, but they needed a 4th dog to be able to race. They were entered in Regular Division 2 but were running as “Performance” (due to picking up non-club members to round out the team this weekend) meaning the team was not eligible for any placement, but could earn points for the dogs who raced. I thought it would be a good diversion for me, having just hit the one-year anniversary of Token’s passing. I could drive down to Exton in the morning, in less than 3 hours, so I volunteered to fill in for them.

I planned to alternate Dandy & Tempo throughout the day, with 8 races on the schedule. We had challenges from the start, with a runback of only 35’. And the box was a little bit different that what my dogs are used to. And the only tennis balls they had were soft “squishy” tennis balls, which were very different from what my dogs are used to. In the first race, I ran Dandy as start dog. He bobbled the ball a couple of times, he doesn’t really like squishy balls and had to learn to adjust. But we did OK.

I thought I’d run Tempo in our next race, so I took them both out to potty in between. Good thing…

When we were on deck, the owner of the Cavalier (our only  height dog) told us his dog was injured and could not run…so we had to run a team of four Border Collies, jumping the maximum allowed height of 14” rather than the 7” we had planned on. My dogs have never done 14” in flyball….sure, they jump 26” in agility, but with only 10’ between flyball hurdles, where a flat trajectory is desirable, 14” totally changed the way they had to jump. AND we had NO time to warm up to even let the dogs know they were now jumping 14”, we were scrambling to figure out a plan, quickly! Adding more complications, this also meant that Tempo and Dandy had to BOTH run in all the races. On the way into the ring, a friend was standing by, she volunteered to help so I handed her Tempo’s leash and away we went. (Thank you, Heather!!) Dandy was the start dog, and Tempo ran anchor. He did fantastic, especially considering that no one but me has ever handled him. Both dogs dealt with all the craziness like true professionals. Our team won every race, but were not eligible for any placements due to our team having dogs from different clubs at the last minute. But we earned lots of points towards our titles, and had lots of fun!

One very ironic thing is that one of the dogs we raced with was a Border Collie named Kelli. Token had a wicked crush on Kelli. Whenever we raced in Region 15 (PA/NJ/etc) and raced against Garden State Barkway, I had to be on my toes because Token would always make attempts to run over and visit Kelli. He was so naughty, but fortunately Kelli’s owner was understanding, and found it amusing. How bizaare…on the weekend that marked one year since Token has been gone, BOTH of his sons, Tempo & Dandy, raced alongside this girl that he was so infatuated with. Fortunately Dandy & Tempo kept their brains engaged in flyball instead of Kelli…but I have to believe that Token was there with us, enjoying the odd reunion.

This tournament was hosted by Chaos Unleashed…and that was quite fitting!

I even have a few pictures to commemorate the occasion, thanks to Erica who stopped by with her family to see what flyball was all about.

This picture shows Heather with Tempo, me with Dandy, and behind us Kim with Kelli, Token’s heartthrob. How cool is that?

It’s Been One Year….

…since that painful day that I lost Token. Such a knife to the heart. A punch in the gut.

Getting through the first year is a milestone for me…I’ve gotten past most of the ‘firsts’…First time back at flyball, first agility trial running just one dog, first birthday without him… I trust it gets a bit easier now. Missing him is normal, and is bad enough. The unfairness of losing him way before his time makes me both angry and sad. But on we go… Dandy & Tempo continue to make it all bearable. My little pieces of Token, still with me. I know his spirit is always close by. But I still miss him every day. Sure, it’s nice that the bath towels are no longer pulled off the rack. The stuffed toys in the house last longer than five minutes. He wasn’t perfect, he had his naughty streak. But he was one of the best nevertheless…I miss his nuzzling, his hugs & kisses, his joy for life. His larger-than-life personality. He was special, not for agility or flyball, but for his connection to people. He had an aura about him that was something very special. I’m so lucky that he shared his life, as shortened as it was, with me.

I love you, Token, and miss you every day. Wait for me at the Bridge the way you waited for me to get home one year ago today, so I could be with you at the end. Until then, I hope to see you again in my dreams.

My Little TV Star

Back in September, Dandy answered a casting call for a part in a State Farm commercial. We ventured into Greenwich Village in New York City for the job, and it was quite an experience to see how things work ‘behind the scenes’. I wondered if Dandy was going to end up on the cutting room floor, knowing how fickle show business is! Well, it is now a reality, the commercial is being aired across the country on the three major networks (ABC, NBC & CBS)! I discovered it first on Youtube on November 22. Then while watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC, I saw Dandy on my TV! It was aired that day during the National Dog Show and a football game as well, I heard from friends & family that they had seen it. It’s a great commercial as it uses the theme song from the old TV show “Cheers”, which is a great song...”where everybody knows your name” Dandy is at the very end (which gives me time to ‘catch’ him when I hear the song!); he is being walked down the city street at night by a young man who waves to his State Farm Agent through the office window. It’s a bit dark, and there is text that obscures the view of Dandy, but he does manage a millisecond of direct face time as he mugs for the camera just before he walks out of frame! I have it saved on my DVR so I can watch it over and over, and a copy is on my computer too. They really didn’t make use of Dandy’s best features; he does a killer head-tilt, and he could have been the one waving to the State Farm agent! But it’s very cool to see him on TV, even if it’s a just a small walk-through part, and I’m very proud of him, once again.

Here is the link to the commercial on youtube….you have to watch to the VERY end, right after the shot of the traffic light.

Dandy in State Farm Commercial