Fancy Photo

I bought this picture of Fancy at the show.  It is large- maybe 11 by 17.  It is an "art print."  You can't really tell from this picture, but the photographer applied a technique to the photo to make it look like a painting.  It was probably more than I should pay, but it is my Fancy and it is a nice picture showing how much fun she's been having in agility.

Last of the Videos from the Weekend

Thursday Standard


Missed that contact by quite a bit.  Yikes.  Otherwise very nice!

Thursday Jumpers


First place!  She beat the 2 golden retrievers who I always watch run and think- "They are so fast, I wish Dottie was that fast."  Now I guess she is.  Hopes we keep it up!

Sunday Standard


I ran it like I wanted to and it worked!

Sunday Jumpers


This run was recorded with an incorrect time.  It should have been 26 seconds which also would have put us in first place, beating those same goldens!

Dottie ran so well all weekend.  Once again, she made me happy by running like I thought she could.  Maybe I'll devote a post to this in the future, but for now I'll just say I think the combination of devoting more energy to keeping Dottie pumped up before runs, combined with maturity has brought out the best in Dottie.

Day 3 of Agility

First place in Jumpers!  She had a really fast time and beat other dogs who usually beat her.  We NQed in Standard due to 2 bars which is disappointing.  It was not filmed.

Circle

I heard perfect circles don't occur very often in nature.  No one told Fancy.

Agility Trial Day 2

Day 2 of the longest trial ever.  I wore my knee brace again today even though my knee felt fine.  It didn't hurt like yesterday, but I wanted to make sure it didn't try any funny stuff.  Probably I should wear it all the time, but I pretty much gave up after the time I was wearing it at the trail in Costa Mesa and I hurt it worse that it was ever hurt previously.  That and I really should have one for  the other knee too.  Oh well.

Last day of running all three dogs- the rest of the weekend it is just Dottie.  I was hoping for another QQ for Dottie.  Of course I always hope for that, but this time I was more hopeful since she did so well yesterday.  Alas, it was not meant to be.  The Standard course was pretty tricky and very few big dogs qualified.  Dottie had a back jump on the tire.  Strange.  Then in jumpers we had 2 bars which was disappointing since it was such a great run (other than the ending where she reverted back to old Dottie and just gave up.)  I took her back and made her finish, then had our normal happy tugging so she can learn that even if she messes up it isn't the end of the world and she should keep trying.

Dottie Standard


Dottie Jumpers

(Great weaves, I thought.)


Pie ran amok in standard.  This is Mach 2 Pie who is closing in on Mach 3.  But if we keep having runs like this we will never get there!  It was crazy- one mistake after another.  But the good part was she had so much fun.  Barking at me, and running with zest.  I wasn't upset, just sort of in shock.  She has been running slower recenlty, due to her fused back.  You just don't move as fast when your back doesn't bend.  But this crazy Pie was like the Pie of old.  Fast and powerful.  Not sure were the crazy came from!  In jumpers she reverted back to not holding her start line and got right on top of the first jump.  She made that jump but clobbered the second one with her back feet.  I told her to be careful and we went on and the rest of the run was great.  No QQ this weekend for Pie.

Pie in Standard


Pie Jumpers


Fancy was the steady star today.  She ran fast and clean in both runs.  She is so cute!  I watch our videos and want to scoop her out of the video and pet her all over.  Luckily I can pet her in real life instead.  I love her curly tail and her happy face.  Adorable!  ffluffy's comments and songs on the videos are fun too.

Fancy in Jumpers


Fancy in Standard

Pie Videos

Finally some videos of Pie.  We are at a four day trial this weekend.  Today I only had videos of Pie.  She did not QQ, due to the first bar in the first run.  But the rest of the run was good and she was really good in jumpers, and had lots of fun.  Pie loves agility so much.

Standard.



Jumpers.  3rd place.

Short Hike

On Wednesday ffluffy and I took a short hike on the backside of Wildwood.  I ended up hurting my knee on the way out.  Luckily it wasn't very bad, and I was able to run the dogs at the agility trial today (with the use of some mild drugs.)

Starting off.  Bob is also on the walk, but he's cut off on the left.

Fun walkies.

Fancy was walking next to me.

This is a good group photo!

The three dogs tied together to keep them under control.

On the way out.

Playtime!

I was watching a small dog this week.  Dottie and Chipper love to play.  I am also watching my parent's puppy Kerby.  Dottie and Kerby love to play also.  And finally, Chipper and Kerby love to play even more.  Also, ffluffy is here and everyone loves to play with her dogs, including her puppy Peep.  Chipper has so much energy he outlasts Dottie.  But Chipper and Kerby actually tired each other out. 

Kirby and Chipper.

I had to bathe Chipper before sending him home because of all the playing.

Dottie and Kerby.

Tired pups.

Everyone is tired.

But then there was more playing.

Peep and Kerby.

Horses!

I had horses on my street!  The momma is the bay and the grandma is the grey.

Beach Trip and Downtown

ffluffy and I went to the beach on Tuesday.  I just took Fancy since I didn't want to deal with the Malinois drinking the seawater and getting sick.  After the beach we headed to the downtown area at the next town over.

 

This is what we do at the beach.

Buried from the back.

Buried except for heads and tails. 

Fancy with a head in a hole she dug.

Fancy and I.

So silly.

Fancy loves the beach!

So happy!

Good dogs!

Hunda got buried also.

Having some ice cream!

Fancy loves ice cream!

After the beach Fancy was tired and slept on Pickle. 

Hanging out in downtown.

WVDS Videos

Here are the videos of Dottie that I was able to get.

Advanced Jumpers on Sunday- we almost had an off course but she called off at the last second!



Advanced standard- good girl!



Advanced standard on Saturday.  NQ due to off course but great effort.



Starters Gamblers.  Great job picking up the last jump Dottie!



It was a great trial for us.  I loved how much effort and enthusiasm Dottie had the entire weekend.  We did not Q in Advanced jumpers the first day, or steeplechase or Grand Prix.  But we did Q in everything else.  So nice to have a successful weekend.

WVDS Day 2

Dottie earned her AD- Agility Dog- title yesterday. That is the novice level in USDAA and you need 3 legs in standard, and 1 leg each in jumpers, gamblers, pairs, and snooker. Today she also picked up her first advanced standard, jumpers and gamblers legs.

We did not Q in snooker  because I went the wrong way on a jump in the closing.  We didn't Q in Grand Prix due to a handling mistake, and yesterday we didn't Q in steeplechase because she couldn't stay in the weaves and I eventually gave up and left.

Here is our advanced standard leg from today.  I should have more videos later.

Dottie ran very well all weekend and I was very pleased and had lots of fun.  Except for the lack of weaves in steeplechase.  I don't know what caused that.

 

 

Day One West Valley Dog Sports USDAA

Dottie was in starters in all the games, and advanced standard.  We did not have a very high Q rate today.  We won starters gamblers and next was steeplechase.  Dottie tried to weave 3 times but couldn't stay in the poles, so we left.  I wanted to run that course, but she wouldn't do the weaves correctly, so I couldn't go on.

In advanced standard I had an off course due to a front cross that I had to send her away to make sure I got in the correct position.  I think once I send her away, she wants to keep going away! 

Jumpers was our last class of the day.  I ran ffluffy's young BC Bob since she had been injured seperating some fighting dogs and had to go to the Urgent Care for a tentus shot.  Poor ffluffy.  Bob ran really well for me!  I've never run him before, but he listened well and didn't run off.  Good boy Bubs!  Here is the video.



Dottie also ran well in jumpers.  She hit the third bar but it stayed up.  No doubt caused by my front cross.  This is Dottie's video. 



Dottie earned her AD- Agility Dog title- today.  I moved her up into advanced for everything tomorrow.

In between the show and the Street Fair, the "guest dog" I'm watching for a few days had a great time playing with Pie and Dottie, and for some strange reason Fancy even played with him for a few moments!  He is a Westie/ Malteese mix and is hyper.  He's very sturdy, so I let him play with the big dogs, under supervision only.  They all ran and ran and ran and chased.  I got a few pictures with my tablet.  Maybe I'll see if I can post them later. 

Street Fair

I've lived in this town almost 10 years, and this is the first year I made it to the Street Fair.  I tried to go one year, and I walked all the way from my apartment with Bloom, only to be stopped by a sign that said No Dogs.  ffluffy, kiltman and I went, and we didn't take any dogs, but it seemed they changed the rules, because there was no sign, lots of dogs, and vendors selling doggie items.  Oh well.


We thought it was a hit.  Carnival rides, food, vendors, and  games.  I played the dart game and popped 2 out of 3 ballons and won a little fish (toy.)  Cute!

The city namesake and I.

Interesting catering truck!

We went on the Ferris Wheel.

We did not go on this!

ffluffy and kiltman on the Ferris Wheel.

Nice views of the city from the top.

The ocean.

Cotton candy on the wheel.

Watching a guy try the strong man thingie.

I thought this llama in the petting zoo was cute.  I wanted to pet.

They had camel rides.  We did not partake.

Fancy is 9 Today!

Which also means I adopted her 7 years ago today! She has not slowed down at all, and is actually running more yards per second in agility than she did as a youngster. Titles in 4 different sports (agility, obedience, tracking, draft, and rally but that is the same as obedience) and making the finals in 3 national events (twice at the Agility Invitational and once at the Agility National). Also very snugly. Not bad for a dog dumped at the shelter for "escaping." What would I do without her?  Happy Birthday Fancy!

9 year old Mach 4 M's Fanciful Endeavour UD RE XF MXP MJP2 MAD TR2 NDD and the new agility "metallic" tittles I don't have memorized yet.

 

 

Dottie USDAA Title

In USDAA, you need 3 judges to get a title.  This is annoying since most USDAA trials have 1 judge for starters/ advanced and 1 judge for masters.  Unlike in AKC where the judges swap on the second day and you can get 2 judges in 1 show.  In USDAA, you will only get 1 judge per show.  After her first trial, Dottie only needed one more standard leg in starters to move to advanced.  But she needed 2 more judges. 

I was lamenting this fact to one of my friends, and she volunteered to run Dottie at the local trial I couldn't attend since I was working.  I was a bit surprised since this friend is not overly adventurous, and has said my Malinois would scare her, except they are so nice.  I happily accepted, only to learn later that she thought I was talking about Fancy.  However, she decided to stick with her offer, and run Dottie.  We got together once to practice and it went fine. 

She took Dottie to the show on Friday, and Dottie qualified and got first place!  That was her Starters Standard Agility title- SSA.  Now she just needs one Q in any one of the games with a new judge.  We should be able to do this on Saturday of this weekend, then we can move up to Advanced in everything for Sunday.

Here is Dottie displaying her pretty ribbon.  Thanks JB!

House Drama

I made an offer on the house that isn't on the MLS.  Driving home after work on Sunday I saw something that made me think I just missed an open house at "my" house.  The house that I'm not allowed to see until my offer is accepted.  Something is fishy.

I told my realtor and she contacted the selling realtor, and he told her that he received the offer, but he refuses to present it because he only wants to present offers that he is representing.  Totally unethical and against the Relator Code of Ethics.   I want to put a note in the seller's mailbox, telling them their realator is terrible and they need a new one.

My realtor is trying to figure out what to do.  Right now her plan might be to get involved one of her part-time co-workers who also works for the same company as the selling realtor.  Not sure how that will help, but she is working on it.

Of course the selling realtor would prefer to represent both the buyer and the seller.  But too bad, dude!  It isn't going to work out for you.  Jerk.  He's not going to get any commission if he keeps this up, since the foreclosure date is looming.  He'll miss out on the selling commission if the bank takes the house.  And I'll miss out too since it will probably go to action and I can't use a VA loan at an auction.

Loot

Dottie's FH medallion and certificate.

Fancy and Pie's TR 2 certificates.

As the story "The Longest Track" attempted to convey, Pie and Fancy passed their TR2 and Dottie passed her FH.  The FH is very similar to the TDX. The TR2 is easier than the TD, but is aged the same.


Neither Pie or Fancy are easy tracking dogs.  Fancy is getting better.  She actually has desire to track now.  Pie gets so worried about doing it right that she becomes stressed and can't track at all.


Therefore, I was very happy that they both passed!  Pie got a nice score of 94 out of 100, and Fancy had a 77, which is not a great score (70 is passing) but she still passed, and did not have the lowest score possible!  She lost points not only for the typical overshooting of corners, but because I forgot to practice on the 33 ft line.  I practice with a much shorter line, so she got to the end of the long line, and kept pausing to look back at me and wonder what I was doing so far away.  I didn't say anything (extra commands would be more points off) and each time she got back to work.  But it showed she did not have enough intensity on the track.  And at one point she became discouraged (you can't talk to them at all) and laid down.  More points off.  That time I did give a command to get back to work, and she did.  She worked really had and was a good girl.


Pie's second half of her track was pretty much perfect.  At the begining, she almost went into stress mode.  Her mouth opened and she started to pant, with her ears 1/2 back, and she goes back and forth accross the track, pretending to look, but really just retreating into her mind.  I thought we were about to be done, but somehow she pulled herself out of it, smelt the track and we went on.  Phew!


Dottie's track I covered pretty extensively in my story.  I felt really sick all morning.  Getting up before 4 am always does that to me, but the stress didn't help either.  I didn't feel better until finally we started down Dottie's track.  Dottie was amazing and is such a wonderful tracker.  I can trust her 100% and she tries really hard.  She is calm and methodical and does not give up.  She got tired at the end, but kept going.  It was really long!  I wish I had my GPS watch to know how long.  My knee started to hurt at the end from going over the furrows and just the general uneven ground.  Dottie scored a 93.  In my opinion, that is a great score for an FH!!


I have such amazing dogs!  They make me so happy and keep me busy.