Fun Agility Weekend Dec 13-14, 2008

Another weekend of USDAA Agility, this time in Dillsburg, PA, hosted by TNT Canines, who did a great job with their first USDAA trial. A huge barn with dirt flooring held two rings, plus plenty of room for crating & hanging out. We had lots of good runs over the two days, even if not alot of Q's. Most runs had just one error, so overall I was very pleased with the progress we are making.

Making the whole trip worthwhile was Token getting another leg in Master Jumpers on Saturday, with a 2nd place! We came SO close to that 5th leg & title on Sunday, but one refusal in a tricky spot resulted in 5 faults....but Token did HIS job perfectly, I was very proud of him. Token also qualified in Sunday's Snooker, with a 4th place.

Dandy came home with two ribbons as well. On Saturday, he qualified in Master Gamblers with a 1st place. And on Sunday, he qualified in Master Snooker with a 1st place and Super Q! Most of his other runs were just one error away from qualifying; he is handling these Master courses better & better. The footing was new for him as the dirt was deep & soft in many spots, but as the weekend wore on, he got more sure-footed. Right now we are "getting mileage" and he is really benefiting from the experience.

Another fun part of the weekend was meeting up with Dandy's brother Seeker, and his mom Jan! Seeker is a very handsome tri, just getting started in agility competition. I snapped a few pics of him, as well as Dandy & Token. What a lovely snow-free December day :-)

Good News from OFA

Dandy turned 2 years old last month, so I had his hips xrayed to be certified by OFA. I just received the results in the mail, and it's great news! Dandy's hips were evaluated as EXCELLENT!

Photo shows Dandy's hips at 8 weeks ;-)

USDAA Agility Trial Nov.29-30, 2008

Token and Dandy had a good weekend at the Y USDAA Agility Trial in Poughkeepsie, NY. With both dogs in Masters, and both in the 26" class, I didn't have alot of time in between running them, but sometimes that can be good, less time to obsess :-) However, I also sometimes find that whoever runs first is the sacrificial lamb...and the one who runs second benefits from my experience running the course, and therefore can adjust my handling for the pitfalls. I also have a second chance to handle properly and not mess up twice!

I am very pleased that both Token & Dandy ran clean in the Grand Prix to qualify them both for the Northeast Regional Championship which will be held in June 2009, in Bethlehem, PA. Since it's a commutable distance for me, I really wanted to get them qualified for this, and now they are! And the pressure is off for any other Grand Prix Qualifiers that we enter over the next few months. Yeah!

Dandy also qualified in Masters Standard on Sunday, with a 1st place as he was the only 26" dog to run clean. That is his 3rd standard leg, woo hoo! Not too shabby considering he's been in Masters Standard a total of six times...that's a 50% Q rate! I hope it's not just beginners luck ;-)

Token qualifed in Saturday's Master Standard with a 2nd place, and he qualified in Masters Snooker to finish a new title, Snooker Champion. Best of all, he qualified with a 3rd place in Master Jumpers! Jumpers is SO hard for us, it's been the toughest class by far. So I was thrilled to run that one clean!!!

Our next USDAA trial is December 13-14....and that will be the last one for a while.
Winter is on our doorstep...