Thursday, December 1, 2011

CPE Agility trial October 23, 2011

CPE TopDog October 23, 2011 - Elma, WA

This trial was quite fun, and funnily enough I managed to have the same judge that I had back in Michigan! I went to set up my gear on Saturday though and that made Sunday morning really easy. I helped on on Saturday with ring crew jobs and just spent time with friends and not having to worry about missing a run because I was off in lala land. It also gave me the perfect place to go to keep my mind off the new puppy I was getting! Not that it helped much as the person set up near the group had cute little Aussie pup as well.

On Sunday Maggie had three runs and all were quite good despite our lack of practice and finesse. Our first run was Standard level 4...Maggie was a zoomer! No control and just absolute chaos...the poor girl was so excited - I actually had to carry her off the course she was so wound up! Next up was Jackpot - which is becoming my new favorite. Maggie was able to do everything I wanted and then some. I had a small bobble handling wise on my way to the Jackpot section (extra tunnel and wrong side), but we still managed to get the jackpot. Last up was Snooker, not our best attempt but I really struggled to find a good course for her to run - nothing was standing out to me, I had a plan for all 7's, but when I saw how pokey Mags was being I opted for a quicker route...we still had the Q by miles so I wasn't too worried. Maggie did finish level 4 Snooker though :)

Q Tracker:
10/23/2011 Top Dog WA Jacquelyn Oricko
Lv. 4 Jackpot 51.00 - 48 points 1st

Lv 4 Snooker 44.55 - 43 points 1st

NADAC Agility Trial August 14, 2011 (plus funday)

NADAC ZAP August 14, 2011 - Argus Ranch, WA

Oops! Forgot one in the redoing of this blog...the joys!

But we had a blast at this trial. Maggie ran in 4 runs that day and did quite well, no video - but there were 2 Q's :)

First up were Chances, Maggie had great distance though and managed to get her contact with me behind the line - what a good girl! We did miss the Q, but I was mostly hoping for distance practice. The Regular run was quite good though! Maggie Q'd and had a great time. Hoopers was less than stellar as we had to run out of the ring cause Maggie had to "GO" - now! But last up was Tunnelers and she was zooming! Gotta love the non-stop tunnel action, she sped through the course and did quite well.

Q Tracker:
08/14/2011 ZAP WA Craig Coonrad
Nov. Tunnelers 33.19 - 2nd

08/14/2011 ZAP WA Janine McGee
Nov. Regular 43.24 - 1st

Funday! August 20, 2011


The next weekend we went to a Funday. It was a mix of NADAC style courses as well as ASCA. Maggie ran wonderfully and I hope to make it out to the BLAST outdoor arena next year. The surface was nice to run on and the people were very friendly, some were familiar and others I had never met before.

Maggie did well in the Jumpers course even with a few handling flaws on my part. I played with her over in the tunnels course as well, it was basically the same course from the trial the week before - but we ran variations on it...gosh she was quick! We were then off to regular where she did great. I managed to layer a few obstacles and even got a clean run the first time through.

I even took Porter out and ran him a few times around the jumpers course and once around the regular...he did very well even though he was a bit rugged around the edges.

CPE Agility trial September 24th, 2011

CPE Capital City Canine Club (4C) September 24th, 2011 - Lansing, MI

Wow what a trial! Our first time away from our home turf, but funnily enough it felt just like home! CPE is a wonderful venue and even though nobody knew me, they all were happy to have me and the Pi.

We were visiting
my grandma down in Battle Creek, MI and figured that I should go to this trial as it was only an hour away. So we woke up early and got there in time for Day of Show entries as I didn't pre-enter. So we got there and set up and signed up to help where I could - I managed to make friends with the gals set up next to me and got videos of our runs.

Maggie did great though! We started out with pretty much a "drop an go" method and it worked really well as I got some speed off the line - which was nice. There were some good moments and then a missed contact as well as me getting lost, but overall it was full of good things.


Q Tracker:

09/24/2011 4C MI
Jacquelyn Oricko
Lv. 4 Colors 18.94 - 1st
Lv. 4 Standard 46.20 - 1st



ASCA Nationals September 17, 2011

I was making a trip back to Michigan and figured I should stop in to the ASCA Nationals and run Maggie in a pre-show for Rally-O seeing as how it was on the way...as well as assist where I could with the ARPH booth.

Maggie had spent three days in a car though and we had very little work to build up to this, plus the minus of the foster dog (who had been a big part of the house) she had been a bit off. I had planned to do both Obedence and Rally, but when we got there Maggie was so out of it - I figured that Rally would be more than enough for her.

Maggie managed to get a 194 and a Q in Rally Novice B...probably was in the top ten out of 30 competitors. I really enjoyed ASCA rally though and hope that it can get going here in Western WA.

ASCA trial August 26-28th 2011

This was quite the weekend! We took off for Oregon on Friday to drop off the foster dog, Kenna, to her new foster home as well as take Maggie into the Obedience ring that evening.

All the dogs were a bit on edge, but Kenna had a successful transfer (and was later adopted a week and a half later). Once I got to the trial site Maggie took a tumble down the hill...dog with zoomies + hill = limping puppy :( She ended up excused from the ring and I pulled her from agility for the weekend. But seeing as how I had already paid, I just transferred the runs over to Porter and he got to play instead. Porter ran both on Jumpers and in Pre-Novice on both days and he had fun running around with me. It was good to see :)

Mason Area Fair

Well...I entered Maggie in the local Mason Area Fair as an Open exhibition dog, the local 4H group needed to fill the benches and it sounded like fun.

It was benched, but I just kept Maggie in her crate as she is entirely too friendly...plus I spent the majority of my time out either timing or scribing for the kids. My dog was more than fine in her crate.

Friday was the Obedience day...uh...lets just say it was amusing to me but not that great to watch. Maggie had her moments of success though, so it was a good experience. I was not there on Saturday (other plans, plus showmanship day for the kids), but Sunday was agility day. Maggie had fun and the judge was a wonderful guy. The kids sure had fun and it was great to see many of them succeed.

The first run was Regular, I entered Maggie in Excellent level and we were so close to a good run...but there was a minor bobble or two that threw off the Q. The second run was JWW...oh boy...what a terrible run lol! Maggie popped out on her weaves, blew off body language cues, and decided that her course was better than the judges lol! She did have a good time and gave everybody a laugh though.


CPE Agility trial July 23-24 2011

CPE Four Paws Fur Fun (FPFF) July 23rd-24th, 2011 - Argus Ranch, WA

This trial was sure busy for me and the dogs. Went over on Friday to help set-up, then back again each day (hour+ drive, but well worth it).
I did a lot of work at this trial as I am a member of the club. It sure is a great club and we had a ton of fun despite all the work we put in. Lots of good food and good times.

Maggie was the only one that ran as Porter had recently had stitches in his rump due to a run in while playing frisbee with the other dogs over 4th of July. The foster, Kenna, had a ball though and sure enjoyed being able to hang out with all the wonderful people.

It wasn't our best weekend, but Maggie and I sure had fun with the course challenges. She finished up her level 3 title finally as well on Saturday, so that Sunday she got her first taste of a level 4 standard course She did quite well despite my best handling efforts (I had poor body position and kept pulling her out of the tunnel).

At the end of the day on Sunday as we were prepping to put things away the judge asked if there was a dog around that he could run, I offered up Maggie as I knew she would run with a stranger. He took her out on the Level 1/2 course and she did quite well despite a cheering audience lol!

Q tracker:

07/23/2011 FourPawsFF WA Barrett Benson
Lv. 3 Standard 43.95 - 5 faults 1st
Lv. 4 Fullhouse 34.39
- 30 points 1st
Lv. 4 Wildcard 30.72 - 1st


CPE Agility trial May 14-15 2011

This trial was quite fun despite the warm weather Saturday and the rain on Sunday :) It was a near perfect weekend for the dogs (Maggie was 8/8 and Porter was 3/4) - and I could not have asked for better as we were all having fun and enjoying ourselves.

I'll start with Porter - my little baby dog sure impresses me when he really gets going and focused. He is understanding the concept of the game better every time we play and things are really starting to click for him. The only bobble for us was on Sunday with the tire - the breakaway tires seem to be a real issue and he seems to think that limbo is the best way to get through this obstacle.

Porter got to play twice each day and sure had a blast. Saturday was Snooker and a Standard run and he did amazing in both. Snooker went very well and Porter managed to get two "7's and a "3" for a total of 47 points! Whoohoo :) His standard run was quite good as well even though he didn't perform his contacts the way we have been practicing. Sunday for Porter was when we had tire troubles. He really wanted to go under it despite flawless performances with it on Saturday. The first run for Port that day was Standard and the first obstacle was a tire...lets just say that after numerous attempts he finally went through it...then sadly I tripped over him at a tunnel later on the course (puppy soccer!). Wildcard was next and the last obstacle was the tire...I hoped for the best as I had gotten him through it in the standard run...NOPE! Under he went...I figured we were done and no need to stress the poor boy out. We have been working on the tire in practice and there has been no issue.

Maggie did great though and had a blast! She was pretty much flawless the whole weekend and loved every second of the weekend, she is now one Q away from finishing all of level 3!!! Hopefully we will get it in July :) I'd love to move her up to level 4. Saturday she did slow down a bit at the end, but we were hot and tired and the poor dogs ended up having to crate in the building (I would much rather have had them out in the car). Maggie only played in 4 runs a day as I noticed she had some trouble doing much more than that...after this trial I think I will be dropping her down to 3 runs a day. That front paw shows signs of stiffness with too much running and jumping. My poor girl, she loves the game so much and won't show the pain until we get home where she gets babied :(

But Saturday was great, she got to play in her favorite game - Snooker where, for the first time ever, we managed to get all 7's! I was proud of my little girl :) The 7's were weave poles and Mags powered right through them even with a few tricky parts to get to those red jumps :) We also played Jackpot, Colors, and Standard that day.

Sunday, Maggie really was being my little superstar! She played in Standard, Wildcard, Jumpers, and Colors and really showed her stuff when in the Colors game. It was tricky and had some challenging parts and I really enjoyed it...but the funniest thing ever was that my little tunnel suctioned dog was able to be pulled off of a tunnel with my slight body language! It was wonderful to see and despite the fact that she was supposed to run into the tunnel it really showed me that Pi is in tune with me more than I give her credit for. It was kind of nice to see that though as the Jumpers course had some very tricky parts with a tunnel...that wasn't supposed to be taken - Maggie did flawlessly on the Jumpers course as well :) Wildcard was very similar with the obstacle discriminations set up all with tunnels - Maggie actually did the weaves instead of tunnels!!

CPE Agility trial May 14-15 2011

CPE Columbia Agility Team (CAT) April 16th-17th, 2011 - Ridgefield, WA

Boy oh boy!!!! What a weekend down in Ridgefield!! Three rings, lots of dogs, & LOTS of runs! It was fun and I hope that the turnout shows to CPE that the West Coast has the entries to hold a Nationals...it would be fun! I ran both dogs as Porter has been doing great in practice.


I will start with Porter as his is quick and easy (only two runs all weekend). Porter started out the weekend on Saturday morning with Jumpers - he sure did great! Was excited and focusing and playing with me before going into the ring and even managed to stay connected through a jump height change. He held his start-line marvelously and even let me get in a lead out, I'm sure I could have gone further lol! There was a bobble on the tunnel with a rear cross - he popped out the end he went in! Something to work on. The rest of the run was quite nice and he sure had a smile on his face.

Sunday Porter got to play Fullhouse...sadly it was near the end of the trial when it ran, so he had to wait around all day. He did great though! Missed a few obstacles and I got lost on course, but he got the Q with a smile on his face. He had nice contacts and did his tunnels like a good boy, I even managed to lead out well past the second obstacle.

Maggie's weekend was a bit different - she ran in 5 runs a day and her Q rate was a little different. Saturday was a mess in the morning...no focus in the ring and zoomies. The first run for her Colors...what a mess! Off courses, missed contacts, looked like she had never seen agility equipment in her life, guh...I can't think of anything that went well in the run except that she started and finished...and that we hit a new high of faults - 45!! Way to go Pi! Funnily enough I still had fun (with a smile on my face) and we ran back to the chair for cookies despite the disaster that was Colors! Next up was Wildcard...it went ok, but Maggie got the zoomies again and ran around like a lunatic doing obstacles...sadly this game doesn't work like that lol!

After that we were off to Jumpers...and it actually worked! It wasn't pretty nor was Maggie 100% working with me, but we connected enough to get through. There was a knocked bar and a mis-direction - but we made it out with a Q and 2nd place :)

Standard was next and I am not sure exactly what was going through Maggie's head...but all she wanted was the A-frame, tunnels were dumb and A-frames were fun despite not bothering to touch the yellow lol! I am rethinking how I train these...going back to the drawing board there! She did manage an awesome weave entry though - I am so proud of her! I think the only reason it worked was because of her messing around not going in the tunnel like she was supposed to...it gave me just enough time to get in front of her. But other than the A-frame addiction we were connected and she did marvelously.

We finished out Saturday with Jackpot...and a Q!!! I am hoping that our curse in Jackpot is now lifted and that we won't NQ everytime for it :) It wasn't an easy course and the only real set-up to the entry for the gamble was from the A-frame as I was working on keeping her off of it (...and not to mention some idiot banging around and scaring/spooking all the dogs in the general area not even 15 minutes before the run). But Maggie perked up and ran like a champ! We got a good deal of points and had a ball!

After the trial we packed up and went to the hotel...boy that was nice not having to drive all the way home :) Went out for dinner with friends and then crashed and slept all night. Sunday morning started with Jackpot! On the line not to long after 8am...but a good run and a Q! It was a non traditional kind and we were so close to getting the gamble the first time around...but Pi popped out at pole number 5 in her weaves! So off to the other side we went and tried again, Mags got it...although it wasn't the one I wanted lol! I wanted her to take the tunnel...but no...the A-frame it was. Oh well. Then came Standard - it was a good run! No insanity and no zoomies. She connected and did great!

We had a long wait til the next run though...but Wildcard went well too! Did a fancy front cross into the poles at the beginning of the run and then an even fancier rear cross at the dog walk to prevent tunnel suction. It worked great and she did a superb job. Then we booked it down to the jumpers ring for that run. That run went well too! Good focus and even though I got lost, she saved me by doing it right!

We happened to be in the very last class of the day (like always)...Fullhouse...it was a Q, but not at all like her and I probably should have pulled her and bailed for the day as she was tired and was showing the beginning signs of limping on the way to the table. The hard packed dirt combined with the cement just did her in I think (even with a massage or two). She was happy though and her little wig-wag tail was going the whole time. Definitely something to keep in mind next time though...no more 5 runs a day.

But overall a great weekend! Hope that the trial in May is even half as good!

Maggie
Q Tracker:
04/16/2011 CAT WA Karl Johnson
Lv. 3 Jumpers 32.25 - 10 faults 2nd

04/16/2011 CAT WA Mike Willis
Lv. 3 Jackpot 49.09 - 41 points 1st

04/17/2011 CAT WA Karl Johnson
Lv. 3 Standard 41.93 - 0 faults 1st
Lv. 3 Fullhouse 37.82 - 27 points 1st

04/17/2011 CAT WA Mike Willis
Lv. 3 Jumpers 29.14 - 0 faults 1st

04/17/2011 CAT WA Ken Perlmutter
Lv. 3 Jackpot 42.10 - 46 points 1st
Lv. 3 Wildcard 30.51 - 0 faults 1st

Porter
Q Tracker:
04/16/2011 CAT WA Karl Johnson
Lv. 1 Jumpers 33.12 - 0 faults 4th

04/17/2011 CAT WA Karl Johnson
Lv. 1 Fullhouse 36.84 - 21 points (no placement)


Funday March 20, 2011

We went to the agility funday held by Four Paws Fur Fun and had a great time. I got there early and helped set up and course build as well as set-up our spot. Maggie and Porter are getting more used to being in an X-pen, I have a short one (30" - which is kinda short for Aussies that can jump 48"...but they seem to know they have to stay in as there haven't been any escape attempts), that I put a cover on during real trials and it also has curtains of sorts. But for the funday I was lazy and just set up the x-pan on a tarp and threw a blanket in for the pups to curl up in and then pinned towels to act as a wind break.

The funday had a Standard course (level 4/5/C) and a Fullhouse course set up. The dogwalk was one of the more "flexible" kind and had more give in the ramps than the ones Maggie is used to. So I am sure happy that I paid for 2 runs for her! The first time in I ran the course to see if there would be any issues...there were, but no bailing. Glad we only used it once on course though! Her teeter performance was quite good though and she even remembered to not launch! Yay! The second time in was all about playing on the course and doing some contact work with her. Lots of back and forth on the dogwalk and she soon became comfortable. We also played with the 12 poles and she did really well with them.

Maggie's 1st Fullhouse run was quite good...except I didn't do enough circles and we wouldn't have Q'd...I really need to remember the game rules before running...I always seem to cause the biggest oopses! I did some distance work with her, some directional work, and some start line work (she is slow on the go...but getting better!).

Porter also got to play at the funday as well! He did one Standard and one Fullhouse. He nailed his first contact in the Standard run! Very nice 2o/2o without any recent work. He had some trouble with the Aframe, but got it eventually. I need to work on releasig from the contact though...he seems to think that there always is food on a touch plate that he just can't find. His teeter performance was phenomenal!!! a nice down near the end and and waited to be released! He let me do a good lead out on the start line as well. I so hope he runs well down at the CAT trial next month!!! Fullhouse was just a bunch of running around and playing - he really enjoyed himself today and hope that he can progress enough to become more confident to play.

CPE Agility trial March 12-13 2011

CPE TopDog March 12th-13th, 2011 - Elma, WA
Good weekend despite a lack of practice and my hurt back. Maggie did phenomenally on Saturday with 5/5 Q's and finishing up that level 2 title!!! She now can be referred to as a CTL-2...no more having to remember all the abbreviations for the games titles lol! She also got her first Q's in Level 4 Snooker...I was planing on being greedy on day 2...but I forgot where I was supposed to start to get it done...so I opted for all 6's. Maggie also got her first Q in level 3 jackpot...hopefully that curse is broken, but now we have to get on the ball for those other classes.

It was decided that Maggie did not appreciate the judges numbering system and that my handling had nothing to do with it . She sure had fun though and once again I learned something, most importantly is to remember the course and that when you forget where you are going to not to blind cross your dog as it just confuses you and leads to running of course even worse (a prime example is our horrific Jumpers run).

But Maggie had fun and we accomplished some good stuff, out Jackpot runs never went quite as planned - put they ended up working in the long run. On Sunday Pi decided that she didn't want to do contacts during Jackpot...tunnels were better...sadly after the second time through the tunnel she was no longer acquiring points, there are no extra points for doing it three times :/

Q Tracker:
03/12/2011 TopDog WA Terry Scofield
Lv. 2 Jackpot 45.33 - 50 points 1st
Lv. 3 Standard 34.42 - 0 faults 1st
Lv. 3 Fullhouse 39.07 - 34 points 1st
Lv. 3 Colors 29.97 - 0 faults 1st
Lv. 4 Snooker 34.61 - 48 points 1st

03/13/2011 TopDog WA Terry Scofield
Lv. 3 Jackpot 46.78 - 42 points 1st
Lv. 4 Snooker 38.78 - 48 points 1st

Agility trials January - February 2011

CPE RAT January 1st-2nd, 2011 - Argus Ranch, Auburn, WA
Had a long break from trials as there just weren't many in the area...or I didn't get in as they filled quickly. But Maggie and I were back competing come New Years Day 2011. We only managed to get into one day at this trial as well as it filled quickly...but I was happy to make it in! It was a complete opposite of the last time I was at Argus though weather-wise, sub zero temps all day & in the teens in the am - burr! Thank goodness for the heaters at Argus. Porter didn't play as he seemed to be having some difficulty with his rear-end in the colder weather.

3/4 Q's for the day though - so not too bad. Got our first Q in Level 2 Jackpot! & then finished up Level 3 Snooker!!!! Woohoo! Sure was a fun trial and very happy I got to go two years in a row. Pi really started to show what she could do during Snooker though...someday we will go for all 7's and max out the points...not yet though.

This was also the first time we encountered 12 poles in competition...that was essentially our NQ...Maggie kept popping out and was very confused as to why she should do all of them. She did end up doing it eventually...but not until after we took the NQ.

Q Tracker:
01/01/2011 RAT WA Cheryl Huffman
Lv. 2 Jackpot 52.74 - 51 points 1st
Lv. 3 Snooker 42.85 - 46 points 1st
Lv. 3 Wildcard 27.88 - 0 faults 1st



NADAC EAT January 22nd, 2011 - Argus Ranch, Auburn, WA
Our first NADAC trial!!! Super fun even with no Q's to show for it. I run Maggie in Skilled and she must run 100% clean to get a Q, but I don't mind as I prefer to keep her at 12" jumps. Maggie really seems to enjoy NADAC with the wide open courses designed for speed and especially the Hoops!



NADAC RAT February 12th - 13th, 2011 - Elma, WA
Second NADAC trial...much better Q rate this time! 2/3 Q's and not too bad. Our NQ was in Chances and after reviewing the video you can see that my body language pulls Maggie out of the hoop. But she had a very good Weavers run though...on the last set of poles she didin't slow down enough and bumped pole number 3 and almost came to standstill, but continued on her way like the aussome Aussie that she is. Her Regular run was quite fun to...Maggie loves herself some contacts, but she was a good girl and took the tunnels :)

Q Tracker:
02/13/2011 RAT WA _________
Nov. Weavers

02/13/2011 RAT WA _________
Nov. Standard Rnd 1


Agility trials May - July 2010

CPE RAT May 16th, 2010 - Argus Ranch, Auburn, WA
Only one day at this trial...but I ran with Porter too!! Boy that was fun running two dogs...glad I only entered him in two runs as Mags ran all day. Porter sure enjoyed getting to play...even though he was really confused at first...big circles compared to the tiny ones he normally does...lots to see up at Argus though lol!

Maggie ran out of the ring...again...during Jackpot. She showed some serious speed though, whew! Made a mental note to not run back towards a gate right away and play near the back if at all possible though. After that Maggie came back with 4/5 Q's for the day though with her first Q's in Level 3 and finishing up some other level 2 classes.

Porter actually Q'ed in Colors...despite smelling food and being super distracted by that corner (Joan makes some very good goodies though and we always enjoy it), I think it was taco salad that day...I'm sure Porter wouldn't have cared and eaten it anyways.

Maggie Q Tracker:
05/16/2010 RAT WA Terry Scofield
Lv. 2 Fullhouse 41.72 - 30 points 1st
Lv. 3 Standard 43.19 - 0 faults 1st

05/16/2010 RAT WA Jacquelyn Oricko
Lv. 2 Colors 12.51 - 0 faults 1st
Lv. 3 Snooker 38.53 - 47 points 1st

Porter Q Tracker:
05/16/2010 RAT WA Jacquelyn Oricko
Lv. 1 Colors 32.04 - 0 faults 4th



CPE FPFF July 24th-25th, 2010 - Argus Ranch, Auburn, WA
This trial was quite fun despite our lack in Q's and cool weather...temps in the 90's and no way to get out of the heat. I entered both dogs at this trial and had fun with both. We stayed up with friends of ours just to the north of the site...so instead of the hour and a half drive from my place, it was only 40 minutes or so - much better!

Maggie had 3/10 Q's for the weekend...but she was also pulled from a majority of the runs as she bailed off the dog walk and had a slight limp that I didn't want to chance. So anything with a contact was not going to happen - she did have a lot of fun though and I enjoyed the weekend away with my pups. No videos nor pictures (yet...the photographer got some good ones though that I plan to order someday). Porter didn't Q and ended up being carried of the course once as he was off in lala land and just wasn't working with me. But On Sunday he was so close to having a great Fullhouse run...but I apparently can't count and was a bar jump short of a Q lol!

I must say that the judge was great though! I plan to go to the show again this year as I not only joined the club, but the judge will be back again - too fun!

Q Tracker:
07/25/2010 FourPawsFF WA Barrett Benson
Lv. 3 Fullhouse 40.32 - 27 points 1st
Lv. 3 Jumpers 39.01 - 0 faults 1st
Lv. 3 Snooker 45.71 - 44 points 1st

Agility trials March - April 2010

CPE TopDog March 13th-14th, 2010 - Elma, WA
Whew! Onto trial number three and into Level 2 for the most part! Maggie got a good start in level 2 at this trial and actually finished up all of Level 1 at this trial - YAY!

Had a bunch of fun at this trial - good runs and good connection with Maggie, you can see the difference compared to older trials...I actually look like I know what I might be doing! 8/10 Q's and a perfect 2nd day! Now that was truly an accomplishment for us and super exciting.

Found out that Maggie and I love the game Snooker! It sure was fun to find out that we are good at this game...especially with our difficulty in Jackpot...yayas again...but we did get that level 1 Q the second day (thank goodness for Non-traditional Jackpots!).

Q-tracker:
03/13/2010 TopDog WA Dorris Wiglesworth
Lv. 1 Fullhouse 38.20 - 23 points 1st
Lv. 1 Colors 28.65 - 5 faults 1st
Lv. 2 Snooker 34.07 - 42 points 1st

03/14/2010 TopDog WA Dorris Wiglesworth
Lv. 1 Jackpot 44.58 - 48 points 1st
Lv. 2 Snooker 42.61 - 45 points 1st
Lv. 2 Standard 63.08 - 5 faults 1st
Lv. 2 Jumpers 32.59 - 0 faults 1st
Lv. 2 Wildcard 27.07 - 0 faults 1st



CPE CAT April 17th-18th, 2010 - Ridgefield, WA
CAT (Columbia Agility Team) put on a fun trial and the weather was quite nice...not too hot nor too cold...so the horse area was great for this! Our first time in a two ring trial, but it went well - 7/10 Q's!

Finished up some level 2 stuff and had some fun. Saturday was a perfect day and Sunday was close, but too many faults. No insane yayas though...or at least they were controllable.

Porter enjoyed the hotel stay though and I am 100% sold on La Quintas...the one in Vancouver/Ridgefield was nothing but accommodating and the fact that I wasn't charged a pet fee made it perfect. Plus the fact that it is 5 minutes away from the show site lol!

Q Tracker:
04/17/2010 CAT WA Mark Giles
Lv. 2 Fullhouse 43.37 - 22points 1st
Lv. 2 Colors 21.06 - 0 faults 1st

04/17/2010 CAT WA Jennifer LaPierre
Lv. 2 Standard Rnd 1 50.45 - 0 faults 1st
Lv. 2 Standard Rnd 2 34.19 - 0 faults 1st
Lv. 2 Jumpers 41.98 - 5 faults 1st

04/18/2010 CAT WA Mark Giles
Lv. 2 Standard Rnd. 2 55.44 - 0 faults 1st

04/18/2010 CAT WA Jennifer LaPierre
Lv. 2 Wildcard 26.83 - 0 faults 1st


First agility trials October 2009 - January 2010

CPE TopDog October 17th, 2009 - Elma, WA

Maggie & I first started trialing in agility in October 2009. Our first trial was a CPE trial hosted by TopDog agility in Elma, WA on October 17th, 09. Maggie started in level 1 in everything and jumps 12" as she in enthusiast (normal would be 16").

Maggie's first time in the ring was interesting...no video of it, but she was zooming like crazy! New environment and a huge wide open space to run around in! What would you do if you were a crazy little Aussie? Or first try was a standard run as I didn't understand CPE games at the time and had no idea how helpful people would have been. Granted we didn't qualify, we still got a first place! lol! Our second trip into the ring on that same day was Wildcard. She did surprisingly well! She got a Q! Granted it wasn't pretty either.

Q-tracker:

10/17/2009 TopDog WA Joanna Ambroz
Lv.1 Wildcard 36.66 - 5 faults 1st place




CPE RAT January 2nd-3rd, 2010 - Argus Ranch, Auburn, WA


Our second trial was the New Years trial up at Argus hosted by RAT (Rainier Agility Team). The judge was very nice and obviously enjoyed the lower level people. I entered the whole weekend as I figured I knew the basics...so what could hurt! It was a good idea - it gave me time to see how Maggie enjoyed the ring and to determine where we really are in our training. 5/8 Q's isn't all that bad!

Maggie also finished up a good portion of level 1 titles that weekend as we were really learning to work together. My handling wasn't all that great and she still needed support on things...but we did it! Maggie still had zoomies the first runs of the day, but the judge was very good about it with us. Got a good deal of it on video despite the terrible quality (yay cell phones! - but I figure poor quality is better than no video at all).

I got some good tips from other competitors and got to watch some fabulous runs from others - great learning experience!

Q-tracker:

01/02/2010 RAT WA Cheryl Huffman
Lv.1 Standard 40.79 - 0 faults 1st

Lv.1 Wildcard 54.44 - 1 fault 1st
Lv.1 Snooker 49.36 - 38 points 1st


01/03/2010 RAT WA Cheryl Huffman

Lv.1 Standard 44.97 - 0 faults 1st

Lv.1 Jumpers 32.91 - 5 faults 1st


New blog location means a bunch all at once!


Figured I should start a blog for the puppers' life and times in agility. I will try to go back and get the previous year plugged in at some point in time. This is blog 2.0 as the first one would no longer let me add in new posts.

First for a intro though. May name is Sherry and I am owned by thee lovely Aussie's named Maggie, Porter, & Tika. Maggie is a blue merle that is nearing 6 years old as of December '11. Porter is my little red merle who is currently 6. Tika is the new gorgeous little black tri pup who is just 5 months old. We reside in Western WA on Hood Canal, so swimming during the summer is a must!

Maggie is my main competition dog...she has competed in Rally Obedience in AKC and has achieved her RE (Rally Excellent title) and has six legs towards her RAE (Rally Advanced/Excellent - must get 10 QQs). We will finish it someday! She also have one leg towards her ASCA RN...someday there will be trials nearby to finish that up. She currently is competing in CPE agility and has completely finished Level 3. She runs in the enthusiast class, so she jumps 4 inches lower - but she still has a ton of fun. We also play in NADAC - we are running in the Skilled category so that once again she can jump lower. As we are not primarily worried about Q's it isn't too big of a deal to us - we are out for fun! Maggie also is on the quest for her CD (Novice Obedience title) with ASCA - no Q's yet, but someday!

Porter is my sweet boy - he has trained and competed in CPE agility, but really isn't super into it. He is just out there for the fun! I got Porter when he was 4 and a few months after I got him he broke his pelvis (he got out and it is believed he was hit by a car), so there was a long road to recovery there. Porter also has a cataract in his left eye - so I have to pick and choose what he can and cannot do. Porter gets to play in CPE agility occasionally as he comes to trials anyways!

There is also the new puppy, Tika. She is a wonderful addition to the household and has been a wonderful puppy and fits right in. I could not have asked for a better puppy! There are plans to do agility with her and of course if able we will also be on the quest for rally and obedience titles.

I also am owned by a rescue kitty named Maliika. She rules the house and we all cave to her wishes :)