Paws and Ques CPE trial

Lonya and I had 2 days of CPE agility last weekend.  She was again perfect, Q'ing in all 10 of her runs!  She does really well in CPE, and is quickly moving up through the levels!  This judge liked lots of tunnels!  I also didn't notice how often Lonya slipped, it's been so dry that I think the grass wasn't the greatest, but it didn't seem to effect her overall!

Video of her runs is here...



Her first run on Friday was Level 3 Standard.  Pretty straighforward run, about the only tricky part was keeping her out of the tunnel during the 180 and pulling her through those jumps to go to the tunnel.  She Q'd for a 1st place!

Next was Level 4 Snooker.  We did 5, 6, 7 then the close.  There were A LOT of tunnels, and Lonya ran a bit tentatively.  I think she was waiting for me to call her off the tunnels, instead of keep sending her to them!  She missed the weave entry in the close (it was a tough one!) so didn't get all the way through.  Still nice overall, and a Q for a 1st.

Level 4 Jackpot was next.  I thought this one may break her Qing streak in Jackpot (she's never NQ'd in it that I can remember!), it seemed tough.  It was traditional, with the send being the far side of a tunnel, out to a jump, wrap to a tunnel, then a final jump.  The one thing that was different about this one, is that you were allowed to do something in the gamble after the buzzer, even if it wasn't correct.  She didn't start judging until the dog went in the correct side of the tunnel (which I kind of forgot when Lonya was heading towards the wrong end of the tunnel, hence the touch of panic in my voice!).  But, once I got her going, she did it very nice (and didn't go back in the wrong tunnel!).  This was a Q for a 1st, and the last level 4 Q she needed...on to Level 5!

Level 3 Wildcard was next, it was a pretty good run, expect when Lonya almost chose the weave poles over the tunnel at the end!  I really think she thought she had been doing too many tunnels, and that it couldn't possibly be the right choice!  This was her last Level 3 Q.

The final run on Friday was FullHouse, Level 4.  She Q'd with no problem (with a first), though in this run she DID take an extra tunnel!  I was very happy with her dogwalk, the judge was really close to it and I wasn't sure if that would bother Lonya, but while she gave the judge a good look, she didn't seem to care that much.

Saturday we started with Round 1 of Level 3 Standard.  It was a pretty good course, interesting with 2 teeters instead of an Aframe.  A little bit of handling needed to get the last jump before a tunnel, but she did that very nicely.  Q for a first.

Jumpers was next, Level 3.  This was a tricky course, lots of handling needed along with several tunnels.  She made her first error of the day here (even the judge commented on it as we left...she said "that was her first mistake of the weekend wasn't it?"  Nice to know that judge saw how well she was doing!).  The error was both our faults...I overhandled the 180 a bit, the second jump in it was back further than the 1st one and  several dogs had missed it.  But, I did say tunnel...and she went to the jump, so it was on both of us!  Fortunately, we were still in Level 3, so we could Q with an offcourse!  Q for a 1st, her last level 3 Q and her CL3-F title!

The second round of Level 3 standard was next.  She ran this nicely, though she did break her stay!  I messed up handling the last two jumps, causing her to slip pretty hard as she turned away from the teeter.  (I did apologize to her!)  This was a Q for a 1st, and her last level 3 Q needed, so also her CL3-R title!

Level 3 Colors was next.  I choose the course with less tunnels, I thought it had a slightly better weave entry (both were pretty tough!).  She did miss the entry, but fixed it in plenty of time to Q with a 1st.

Our final run was Level 5 Jackpot, non traditional.  There were 3 distance challenges, you could do any or all of them, but had to do at least one.  I had wanted to try them all, but Lonya had other ideas!  It was late, had cooled off quite a bit...and Lonya was a nut!!  We did get the two easier distance challenges (one was tunnel, jump, wrap back to the tunnel.  The other was jump, far side of a tunnel, back to the jump) and got the contacts nicely.  She Q'd with 53 points for a 3rd.  But, we were only 2 points behind the first place dog, which was pretty exciting for me since we're now in the top level!  And technically, this was her first leg toward her C-ATCH!

We'll do a couple more CPE trials over the summer, all night trials.  They're all games only, so we'll need to hit a lot of Standards once fall trials start up again.  But, she could be in level 5 in most of the games by then, which will be pretty darn cool!

3 days of AKC at IPOC

Last weekend, Lonya and I did 3 days of AKC agility, out at IPOC.  I've always been treated well by this club, and like to support them.  I also like the trial site (even though some people don't!).

Overall, I was very happy with how we did.  Lonya Q'd on Friday in Novice FAST for her NF title.  She got 76 points and placed first.  I'm not sure how much more FAST we'll do, I don't think she "needs" it anymore to settle down.  On Friday, we also Q'd in Standard, for 18 MACH points.  I'm pretty sure that was her highest point run so far.  We Q'd on Sunday in Standard also, for 14 points (I think!).  In that run, I never felt like I was where I wanted to be...and Lonya did well to do what I wanted when I was always a step behind.

Our other runs the first error, and in 2 of the runs, our only error was at the weaves.  Popping at pole 10, or getting distracted and coming out in the middle (this happened in the JWW ring).  We've gone back to doing some remedial weave work at home, I've been working so much on flyball stuff, that I hadn't been training agility much.  A friend who'd dealt with the 10 pole syndrome said when she had that problem, it was suggested to her to backchain the last few poles.  We've been doing that, and I think (hope!) I'm seeing progress.  I did try adding the Treat and Train, but she didn't like it in that context, so I went back to click and handing her the treats.

We have another week to work on the poles, before our next trial.  I'd really like to get them "fixed", since she's doing SO well otherwise, she's so close to Qing regularly...if we'd only get those poles!

Her Qing run video...

The girls and I had CPE agility this weekend. CPE is much less stressful on all of us, and it's a good break from all the AKC agility we've been doing. Lonya ran a full set of 5 runs each day (Sparrow only ran 3 a day). Lonya was 10 for 10 over the weekend, I was VERY proud of her. I have video of 9 of her runs, we missed one run. One thing I tried to make sure I did was have her stop on the table (you may hear me tell her to lie down...we both know she's not going to actually lie down, but it reminds her to stop!). In CPE, the table is only used to stop the clock but I don't want her to think that's okay in AKC, so I wanted her to stop on it.

On Saturday, Lonya and I ran Jackpot, WildCard, Standard, Colors and Snooker.

Jackpot was...a mudi on crack. She was crazy! And, there was the tunnel vortex... But, she settled in enough to get the distance challenge...with about .18 seconds to spare! Q and a 1st

WildCard was nice and smooth. Q with a 1st

Standard was not good. Lonya was not herself at all, she was running around things (no refusals in CPE) and just not quite right. When I checked her over after the run, she was having an allergic reaction to something, she had a rash all along her belly and chest and some hives were developing. Fortunately, someone had a benedryl (which I have since added to my bag!). When I checked her a little while later, it had almost all cleared up, whew! She still Q'd for a 1st...

Colors was next, I went in just wanting to choose the easier option to see if my dog was back or if she still felt crappy. I was fully prepared to pull her but she ran well. Q and a 3rd.

Snooker was last, it wasn't a very flowing course, but I had a decent path. I had to do a HARD call off from a tunnel, but she did it Q and a 2nd.


On Sunday, we ran Jackpot, Snooker, Standard, Jumpers and FullHouse.

Jackpot was non traditional and pretty easy. We didn't get it on video, but she Q'd with a 1st.

Snooker was fun, expect I was wearing my new (non flattering!) rain suit and Lonya didn't like the noise it made! It is fun to run a dog where I can try for 7s and not necessarily the most efficient path. She Q'd with a 1st.

Standard was pretty nice, although there was another tunnel vortex... I guess I need to work on tunnels under a dogwalk! Q for a 2nd.

Jumpers was a nice smooth course, Q for a 1st.

FullHouse was fun, again, it's nice to not have to worry about getting enough points! We had a few seconds left to get more points if I wanted...but we all knew more rain (and heavy this time) was coming so most of us were trying to get done quickly.



On Saturday, Sparrow and I ran Jackpot, Wildcard and Standard.

Jackpot was fun, good opening pattern for Sparrow to get enough points. Slight bobble on the distance challenge but she got it. Q for a 4th (over other dogs!)

WildCard was since and smooth.  She Q'd for no placement.

Standard was nice also.  A little slow, but she ran well.  Q for a 3rd.



Sunday, Sparrow and I ran Jackpot, Standard and FullHouse.

Jackpot was non-traditional, pretty easy.  You just had to do obstacles 2, 4, 6 and 8 (with a slight distance challenge on #4) at any time, in any order.  She Q'd for 4th.

FullHouse was set up nice for Sparrow.  2 Jokers near each other, though I still think the Aframe was a gift! She Q'd for no placement.

Standard was her only NQ.  She popped out of the poles, and when I asked her to do them again, she got all crazy!  But, it was a nice set of poles after.  We generally don't Q if we have to redo the poles, she's just not fast enough.  But, she had fun in the run!



Three days of AKC agility with Lonya starting tomorrow...

Day 2 of MADTA

Lonya did really well yesterday too.

She did great in Standard, but I was out of position (trying to keep her from going back to the table) and caused a refusal. But, she had one of her nicest weave performance in a trial, so I was very happy.

She Q'd in JWW, ran very nice! There was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to be able to keep up with her running down a line, but I did. This was one of her highest YPS runs too, which was also nice.

It was COLD, and Lonya was feeling it. She was shivering when I took her out to potty, and spent the down time either curled up in a ball in her crate with all her blankets, or on my lap, under my blanket!

The video...

We have CPE in two weeks, then AKC the week after that.

Day one of MADTA

Look at that, 2 posts in one day!

Today's agility trial was fun! We didn't Q, but she had some REALLY nice parts. Standard she missed the weave entry (she really wanted to take the Aframe and I had to call her off it). And she slid off the table, though she made a really valiant effort to stay on, and has the scrape on her leg to show for it!

JWW was FUN! The opening felt fast, several crosses which she handled well. She popped out at pole 10 (again! I need to figure out how to fix that!) and then I was out of position and sent her on a wrong course.

But, Q's or not...she is a fun fun dog to play with. She loves this sport and I'm lucky to have such a willing partner!

Back tomorrow for one more day (and who knows, maybe another blog post!)

Catching up again!

I have been very bad about keeping up with the blog...I guess posting on Facebook is enough for me!

We've been doing a couple of weekends of agility a month. Our two January trials went pretty well. One weekend, she Q'd in both Standard rounds for legs 3 and 4 for her MX. She was close in one JWW too (I pulled her off a jump).

Our second weekend she only Q'd in one Standard, but had a couple of nice other runs too. Weave woes continue to plague us, that darn pole 10 problem! She also got spooked in her FAST run that weekend by some people loading equipment in a trailer. I was a bit surprised, I thought she was over that, but I guess not!

We've also been working on learning flyball. Lonya is really coming along, and I'd love for her to be ready to compete in the next few months. I hope she's on the same wavelength! Her box turn is really getting pretty solid, now we need to work on running the entire pattern and working with other dogs working.

Still trying to plan for her first litter...stay tuned!

AKC Agility Invitational wrap up

Lonya and I were invited to the AKC Agility Invitational, and we went Dec 16-18. It was the first “big” event that either of us had been to (UKC’s Premier wasn’t nearly this big!). I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, since I knew that Lonya would be one of the youngest dogs there, and one of the more inexperienced ones too. To get Lonya qualified this year, we only needed a single MACH point, due to there not being many Mudi running at that level. But, I had to get Lonya from Novice to Ex B in about 9 months, which was no easy feat…especially since I didn’t want to do anything to place too much stress or pressure on her.

Friday, our warmup run was FAST, but we (like 95% of the other teams) didn't attempt to do the send, but instead, just ran it with our dogs. I was VERY happy with how Lonya ran. There was an issue at the start gate, that had them calling for me to go in next, then wait, then go, then not...which stressed me out. Lonya was already stressed as she doesn't care for all the commotion around the gate. She was actually shaking when I carried her into the ring...so I wasn't sure what to expect! But, once we got in and I set her up on the line, she went to work and did her job! We did have a bobble on the weaves, she missed the entry and I fixed that, but I didn't fix it when she popped out at pole 10. I didn't want to stress her out. The rest of the run was beautiful (though she did cut behind me at the end, but did take the jump I wanted!). I was glad to see that she recovered from her stress so quickly!

Saturday was an EARLY day. We started at 6AM, and they were still running at 5PM when I left. We started with Standard. We had a few bobbles, at the weaves and she ran around a couple of jumps (though I did fix them, so we would at least get a score). She was a little stressed going into the ring, but not quite as bad as yesterday. Some shaking, but not as much.

JWW was a tough course (I had thought STD was pretty straight forward). Lonya was much better as we waited to go into the ring, no shaking. She seemed to be getting used to it. Lonya was clean this run, and she really had to work at it, since my handling left a lot to be desired!! I almost ran into the double...but she fixed my errors. I was so very very proud of my little girl after this run, she's running clean in the "big time".

Sunday was a LONG day, after another early start.. We stayed to watch the agility finals, which were fantastic (such energy!).

Lonya seemed a bit out of sorts Sunday AM, not sick, just a bit mopey. So, I wasn't quite sure what we'd do that day. She was more relaxed around the rings though, while waiting our turn to go (no shaking at all). JWW was a nice course and Lonya ran clean again. She almost came out of the weaves, but stayed in and ran the rest of the course well, even though I didn't run it at all like I walked it!

During Standard, it was LOUD in the area. The dock diving dogs were blaring music and the agility loudspeakers were competing with that. When I had Lonya on the line, I don't think she heard my release and ran with me instead of doing the jump. I really felt like I was having to shout for her to hear me at all, and we had a couple of more bobbles. But, again, I was very happy that she worked through it and she ran the ending fast and happy.

We ended up 72 out of 130 16" teams, not bad for the first big competition for either of us. Lonya didn't knock a bar, miss a contact or take an off course all weekend. I'm so very happy with how well she did, it was a great weekend for us! The support from all of our friends, both in person and those watching the results come in from the computer meant a lot to me.

I hope to attend the Invitationals again next year, and I hope that we have a full slate of Mudi there running! The site was nice, and I know that they’re looking at what improvements can be made for next year (hopefully they’ll move those dock diving dogs!!)

Day 2 of Pasco Paws CPE

We had a great day yesterday at Pasco Paws. The girls were just great! We had 6 runs, and we had 6 Q's!

Lonya was entered in Level 4 Jackpot, Level 3 Standard and Level 3 Snooker. Jackpot was non-traditional though there still was a distance challenge. There was a box, with a jump on each side, a couple of feet or so out. You could do the "gamble" at any time during your run. You and the dog had to enter the box, and you had to send the dog out to 3 or 4 jumps (3 for 20 points, 4 for 25 points). The dog had to take each jump from the "box side" and no backjumping allowed. Backjumping ended the gamble, though if you knocked a bar, you could still try for 3 to get 20 points, you just negated getting 25 points. Lonya was fantastic! She did the gamble with no problem and ended up with one of the highest point totals of all the 4/5/C dogs! The horn sounded with 20 seconds left to give you a warning, and we ended the run with 6 seconds to spare...I could have gotten some more points! LOL It sure is different to not have to worry about points in the speed games! She Q'd with a 1st.

Level 3 Standard was nice. I did a poorly timed rear cross at a tunnel and pushed her off it. She came back to do it though, and the rest was really nice! She was moving, out in front of me for much of it! She Q'd with a 1st place, ran it in 38.08 seconds, course time was 59.

Level 3 Snooker was also fun. We did 2, 7, 7 (again, fun to try for higher points rather than shorter distance for a slower dog). She did it with only a slight bobble when she wanted to go to the table, but was well under time. She got 46 points, again, one of the higher totals of the 3/4/5/C dogs! :-)

Sparrow ran in Jackpot, Standard and FullHouse. All level 5. Jackpot was the same course as Lonya above. Sparrow had a slightly bobble on the 1st send, but then figured out what I wanted! She did refuse the second Aframe I asked her to do, but still had plenty of points. She Q'd with 49 points for a 2nd place.

Standard was alright, she was a little pokey, but it was warm for her at that point. Sparrow also knows that when we're in that ring at Pasco Paws, that we always exit at the same side, and it can be hard to keep her going if the course is set up have a part that Sparrow thinks could be the end. In this case, it was a jump that was the final jump (so had the timers set on it), but that we also took about 5 obstacles from the end. Sparrow saw the timers and when we took it the first time, she was trotting over to her leash! She did turn back to finish the course, but she was pretty sure I was wrong... She Q'd for a second place.

And FullHouse... I was really stressing about how I was going to get her enough points, since I didn't think the course was a good one for a slower dog. I typically try to not do contacts in FH, since she can be slow on them (though I will use the teeter, she's faster there). But, to do this one, I felt I needed to do the Aframe twice to get the points. And even then, I was worried she'd be too slow. Sparrow proved me wrong! She was VERY pumped up before we entered the ring. It had cooled down, and she was doing the bucking, bowing, growling thing that she does when she's feeling frisky. At the start line, she went into a play bow and we took off. She ran fast for her, and got all the points with some to spare. She did poop out a bit on me at the end, but it was great to see her have so much fun! Several people commented on how fast she was on that run. She Q'd with 30 points for a 3rd place.

I was very happy with the girls all weekend. Lonya was having fun, and worked well through her stress. And Sparrow when she Q'd and placed, was placing over other dogs! FullHouse yesterday, she took 1st (she got 34 points), and about 6 dogs Q'd! CPE is really a great venue for Sparrow, and we'll continue to play there as long as she's having fun.

Videos...

Pasco Paws, Day 1 of CPE

Okay, trying to be better about the blog (I know I said that before....)

This weekend we have a CPE trial, Friday and Saturday. I chose CPE over an AKC trial this weekend as a warm up for the Invitational because it's more laid back and less stressful for me (and to be honest, we usually have a pretty good success rate there, so it's reinforcing for me too!)

Sparrow had 3 runs, Jackpot, Standard and FullHouse, all level 5. She only Q'd in FullHouse, but the others were not her fault. Jackpot she ran a great opening, and the send was totally doable for her, but I was not in the correct position and sent her to the wrong entrance of a tunnel. Standard, I knocked over the double as we ran by it, it was not the correct obstacle and we hadn't taken it yet. I thought that was an automatic NQ, but turns out it wasn't! But, because it was hot (for Sparrow) I didn't fix the end when Sparrow pulled off of a jump, so that NQ'd us. We may have been over time anyway, but still...I felt bad for not fixing the error! FullHouse had a really nice, easy course for her, no contacts, no sharp turns, just 2 oval loops. And, it was cooler by then, so she was happy. I didn't stay for the results, but I doubt that she placed (unless there were less than 4 dogs in her class!)

Lonya also had 3 runs, Jackpot (level 3), Standard (level 2) and Jumpers (level 3). Jackpot was fun, though there was an error with our time (which I'm not sure how they sorted out, they didn't ask me...and we got our Q so I didn't really care!). We were out there for a LONG time though, I ran out of things to do. But, she got the send with no problem, it was similar to Sparrow's, and I positioned myself better. She was VERY excited at the end, and almost jumped over me instead of the normal leap into my arms. Q with a 1st. That was her last Q needed in Level 3, on to Level 4 tomorrow. Standard was easy, Level 2 is well below her current competition level. It was a smooth course, that she ran in about 1/2 of the allotted course time. Q with a 1st. That was her last Level 2 Q, so on to Level 3 tomorrow! Jumpers was...interesting! She got spooked before going into the ring. Best I can figure, is that there were more men around then usual and she didn't like that! She had fixated on the leash runner (who was male) before entering the ring, so I adjusted my handling a bit. I was VERY happy that she continued with the run, dealing with her stress and not shutting down. It was a beautiful run until the last jump. I changed my path to put myself between her and the leash runner...but didn't realize that she'd then notice the male ring crew right there and shy away from him. Once I got on that side of the jump, she took it for a Q and a 2nd.

I put her new Thundershirt on Lonya after giving her some treats after her Jumpers run and took her back by the Jumpers ring. Not close enough to distract the other dogs, but just to walk her near the leash runner and the ring crew. While she wasn't thrilled, she stayed by my side and after the second pass, her tail went up. And she went up and sniffed the ring crew that spooked her in the run, happy with that. (Interesting note...the ring crew was a person we don't see very often...but who was wearing a rain jacket, watching right outside the ring at one of Lonya's first ever runs (also in Jumpers now that I think about it!) Lonya stopped her run to bark at him then...that was at least a year ago, maybe more. I don't think she could have remembered that, but who knows! I'm just glad she was still able to "work" while a little stressed).

Videos hopefully will be edited tomorrow...

IPOC weekend

The IPOC weekend had some good parts and some not so good parts!

On Friday, Lonya was in a "need to tunnel" mode, and took a few extras! She even cut behind me at one point to take a tunnel...naughty girl! In her JWW run, she ran really nice, between the two off course tunnels!

Saturday, I didn't do well. In Standard, I pulled her out of the weave poles at pole 11, when there was no good reason to do so! I had plenty of room to turn her AFTER she was through with the poles, but I turned too early and caused her to pop out. It was her only error on a course that had dog after dog crashing and burning....I was so mad at myself! Her JWW run was just a mess, my fault. But she did her poles!

Sunday, we finally got it together and meshed and she Q'd in Standard. I had to do a hard call off a tunnel, but she listened! We got 14 MACH points and were in 5th place (again!). It's exciting to me that we're on the cusp of placing in Excellent B! Her JWW run was very nice, though she DIDN'T take a tunnel that I thought she would! I have video online of her Sunday runs

This weekend was more laid back. Agility and flyball classes were cancelled so we didn't do much. I did take Lonya to a flyball tournament on Saturday AM to hang out for a bit. She was a bit overwhelmed at first, but she settled pretty quickly. She wanted to play I think, hopefully we'll be in the lanes soon!

We have agility next weekend!

Catching up...again!

It's been a while!  I made it through the 1 year "anniversary" of losing Kal-El...still can't believe he's been gone for that long.  I still miss that damn dog every day...and still cry over him.  Sigh....

Lonya and I are doing really well in agility, and she's really coming along in flyball.  I'm too lazy to try to post the reports from the trials I've missing blogging about, but will post the videos.  I just want to get back on track, since we're entering our busier time for trialing and want to try to keep up!

Lonya got her AX on September 25,  in Ocala.




Then October 14, I did one day of CPE with Lonya and Sparrow, both Q'd 2 out of 3.



Then, on Oct 15-16, I did 2 days of AKC with Lonya.  Her first try at FAST (which she rocked!) AND my little girl got her first QQ towards her MACH.  She QQ'd the first weekend she was able to...and in doing so, tied Kal for the dog I've trialed that has the most QQ's...  I do hope (and believe) that she will be my MACH dog.



There...at least I've posted the videos, now, let's see if I keep this up over the 3 days of IPOC!

Kal-El's memorial video

I first heard this song in December of last year, and I knew that I wanted to use it to make a video about Kal-El.  But, I had to wait until I was mentally ready to do it.  And, I had to get some VHS converted to DVD (Walmart does this, and the resulting DVD is very user friendly) and I had some photos to get off "floppy" disks.  I'm really happy with how it turned out, I think it shows the dog that Kal-El was, a clown, a gentle giant, and a devoted companion.

Having lost 2 dogs in very different ways, so close together...I think it was MUCH "easier" to lose Cheyenne.  I had time to prepare, I had time to say goodbye, I had time to make sure she did the things she enjoyed one more time, and I had time to accept that I was going to lose her.  I think I've healed quite a bit from losing her.  I do think the fact that she was old helped too.

I'm still not over losing Kal-El.  It was just too sudden, too soon, and I didn't get to do his favorite things one last time.  And he just wasn't old enough...  But, making his video helped.  And I really was happy to see him as a puppy again, God he was cute!  I do miss having a shepherd boy....not for a few more years...

The power of one little dog....

When I sit down and think about the people who are my friends, both those who I consider good friends and those who I only know in passing...I realize that most of you I know through my dogs.  And I'm sure many of you knew Kal-El and you know Sparrow and Lonya.  Cheyenne wasn't quite as "well known" as my other dogs...but without Cheyenne, I'm not sure that I'd know many of you at all...people who I think of as my good friends...I owe that all to the little dog that someone threw away.

I first saw Cheyenne as I was leaving work, right after the 4th of July, limping around the parking lot at Moody Gardens, in Galveston Texas.  She looked pitiful, and I scrounged through my lunch bag to see if I had anything that she might eat.  The only thing I had were some oatmeal cookies, which I tossed at her.  The next day, she was still there, so after my shift, I bought a hot dog at the concession stand and went to find her.  She was under a construction trailer and I tossed her little bits of hot dog.  She gradually moved closer to me, until she would very tentatively take a bit from my outstretched fingers, then dart back.  The next day, my day off, I went to the trailer with some of Akela's dog food.  I tossed some of that to her, but she wasn't overly excited about it (some of the other people at work had been feeding her too..and hotdogs are better than kibble!).  I asked my co-workers to not feed her anymore that day or the next, and told them I'd be back to try to catch her tomorrow.   I walked back across the parking lot to my truck and about halfway there, I happened to turn back...and saw that the scrawny little dog was following me, though at a distance.  I wandered around the parking lot (must have looked like a fool), and she gradually got closer...I was talking to her the whole time, just babbling.  Finally, she was within a couple of feet of me, but I didn't want to risk grabbing her, so I decided to open the passenger door to my truck and ask her to get in.  To my surprise, she got in and jumped up on the seat...she had made her choice!  I was a little uncertain, since I now had this dog who I hadn't touched yet, in my truck!!  But, when I got in and sat down, she looked at me, slightly wagged her tail and didn't bite me when I reached to pet her.

Skinny Cheyenne, right after I caught her

I did take her to the humane society, to see if she had been reported missing (though given her condition, I was pretty sure she hadn't been).  No one had reported her missing, and I left a description of her there, but took her home with me.  After about a month or so of fostering her, I knew she was there to stay!

Cheyenne chasing Kal-El

Chey was very underweight when I got her and it appeared that her tail had been broken at some point (it was kinked) and one of her rear feet was all scarred up.  She would bite if she was afraid, and she taught me how to read those signs and back off.  People who knew her later in life, never seemed to believe that she actually had a bite history...nothing "serious", but it was there.

Cheyenne and Simon, best friends

I started in a basic agility class, after I moved to Florida, to see if it would give Cheyenne some confidence, since she had trust issues with people.  Never in a million years did I plan to compete with her, I was way too self conscious for that.  And there would be a bunch of people I didn't know at a competition, and they may actually watch me...no, not for me.

Agility changed my life, and that's all due to Cheyenne.  Chey took to agility like it was something that she'd always done.  She was a natural...I've often said that I wish I had Cheyenne later in my agility career, after I knew more.  She was a very good agility dog, I truly believe that if she'd had a handler who knew what they were doing, she would have been great.  But, she didn't care about my crappy handling, she just wanted to play at the sport she loved.   She liked to hang out at trials in her own chair, and would seem to memorize the course as she watched me walk it.

Chey made me love the sport too.  And the more I showed, the more I became part of the agility community here in Florida.  I came out of my shell within that community and it's led to meeting a lot of great people and making a lot of great friends.  And that's all due to a little spaniel mix that no one wanted.

The last weekend of Cheyenne's life was spent at an out of town agility trial.  She seemed to enjoy it, though she did sleep a lot.  But, she was perky when walking around the show site and tried to get into the van on her own.  She always loved to travel, and was such a great dog to travel with, she was so easy.  I had many friends offer to keep her for me, and if I could clone her, I'd make a fortune....since she was also such an easy dog to live with.  She was never sick, never hurt...until the final month when we were dealing with her cancer.  She declined quickly when we got home, as if she just wanted that one last road trip before she left us.  She didn't seem to be in pain, but lost control of her rear legs and couldn't hardly walk.  We spent her last night sitting in the sun and laying in bed watching TV.   She was ready to go I think, she didn't struggle at all.  She left very peacefully, and I hope has rejoined Kal-El and Akela at the Bridge.   I had her for 13 years, and it still wasn't long enough...she was thought to be 1-3 when I found her.

I will forever be indebted to Cheyenne.   I couldn't have asked for a better companion, a better intro dog into agility or a better friend.  Who would have thought one little dog could do SO much?

We'll miss you girl....

It sucks to get old....

Sigh...  Cheyenne has been getting old, well showing her age that is, quite a bit in the last year or so.  She's been deaf for a while, but lately, her arthritis (lower back and hips) has gotten worse and she's lost most of her muscle tone.  A couple of months ago, her appetite started to taper off, but by doing various things (soaking her kibble, changing her type of kibble, etc) I was able to get her to eat.  But, last Sunday, she flat out started refusing to eat at all.  If I put mush on the back of her tongue, she'd mostly swallow it but not because she wanted to.  She'd push a food bowl away, and this is the dog that has always loved to eat...

We went to the vet on Thursday, I was hoping it was a tooth abscess but was worried it was kidney failure.  It was neither.  Blood work showed that it was her liver that was unhappy...the liver values were off the charts.  According to the vet, that would be enough for her to not want to eat.

The most likely cause of the liver damage is cancer, based on how she presented.  In order to know for certain, we would need to do an ultrasound.  She is now on a med to help her liver function better and one to stimulate her appetite.

I'm not sure if I'll go ahead with the ultrasound or not...I don't know that it will change my course of treatment for her.  I will not do chemo on her, or surgery to remove part of the liver.  I don't think she'd survive either.  So, I'm not sure it's worth the high cost (for me at least) of the ultrasound to know for sure that she does have cancer.  The vet really seemed to think that's what it was, but didn't want to say for certain without proof.  But, he was treating me like someone who'd just been given a terminal diagnosis on their pet.

For the most part, Cheyenne is not acting like a sick dog.  She enjoys her time in the yard and getting her butt scratched as I'm sitting at my computer chair.  When I get home, she "runs" down the hall to the back door with the other girls.  This is another reason I'm reluctant to do anything extreme with her.  I'd rather have a month with her this way, than 3-4 of her being miserable recovering from surgery.  As of right now, I do not think she's in any pain at all.

I'm hoping the meds help kick in her appetite, but so far, they haven't.  I am force feeding her twice a day, I'm making her up some gruel and putting in the blender until it's smooth enough to be put in a syringe.  Today, she actually seemed to be cooperating a little bit when I fed her.  But, nothing I offer her to eat on her own gets a reaction...

I'm handling all of this pretty well, considering.  I am sad, there's no doubt about that.  But, Cheyenne has lived a good, long, healthy life and I've known that her time has been coming to an end.  Cheyenne is at least 14, but could be 2-3 years older than that, there's no way of knowing.  She had her adult teeth when I found her, that was about our only judge of age.

I just want her final days to be as pain free as possible, and I want us both to enjoy them as much as we can.

But it still sucks to get old....

UKC weekend

This weekend, Lonya and I had 2 days of UKC agility.  We were entered in 4 runs each day, 2 AG1 and 2 AG2 (they do two trials each day).  Lonya needed 2 AG2 legs for that title, so day one her AG1 runs were just "bonus".  The way UKC agility works is that for the initial titles at level 1 and level 2, you need 3 legs in each one (from the A or B class), with a score of 170 or above (out of 200).  Then, for the UACH (United Agility Champion) title, you have to get 100 total points from AG1 and AG2 in the B class, and you need a minimum of 40 points from each one.  (Confused yet?).  You get 10 points for a perfect 200, 6 for a 199, and down to 1 for a 196.  So basically, you are no longer allowed to make a major error and get any UACH points!

Lonya doesn't do much agility at all indoors or on mats, so this was a good way for her to experience both.  On Saturday, we do both AG1 runs first (they always run them back to back to minimize course changes).  She ran very well, though she did slip a little bit on the mats.  In each run, she had a refusal for a one point deduction (the scoring is very different in UKC too!).  So, she got a 199 in each, and one first and one second place.  Good warm up runs!

In our AG2 runs, she really ran well.  UKC has some equipment that you don't see anywhere else, much of it in AG2 (fortunately, this club offers run thrus the Friday night before so you can practice on it!).  She did most of that well.  In her first run, she missed a weave pole, but did them the second time when I fixed it.  Q for a 3rd ...and leg #2.  In the second run, she had a refusal for a minor deduction, Q for 2nd and leg #3 and her title!

Today, we were running for points.  AG2 was first today.  First run, she popped the last pole, but several dogs did that.  UKC uses 9 poles, so the dogs end on the "wrong" side...I actually debated doing AG2 because of this and her pole issues...but decided that one weekend wouldn't hurt her and I want her to just weave what's in front of her, no matter how many are there.  She got a 195 for a first place, but no UACH points.  Second run, she had another refusal for a 1 point deduction, so got a 199, 6 points and a 1st place.

AG1 was last.  First run was just beautiful, she was fast, accurate and got a perfect 200 for a 1st place!  10 UACH points too.  Second run, she slid off the table for 5 faults, but the rest was clean and FAST (she finished in less than half the course time, even with the table bobble).  She got a 195 and second place.  She had adjusted to the mats really well by this point, she was no longer slipping.

I was really happy with her all weekend.  Before her last AG2 run yesterday, something spooked her and she started out the run stressed.  It only took her a couple of obstacles to settle in to work though, she shook it off pretty quickly.  She was a bit more clingy in the crate area, wanting to sit on my lap.  But, that's fine with me.  People get amused when they see her sacked out on her back in my lap....but the instant I put her down and stand up, she's ready to run (leaping leaping leaping at me).

So, if you're doing the math, in the last two weekends, Lonya was 18 for 18, with 4 new titles!!  Go merlie girlie!

Night two at Pasco Paws

We want to have a trial at Pasco Paws every weekend!  14 runs over 2 nights, and 14 Qs.  Most with placements.  Lonya got 3 new titles!

We started tonight with Lonya running Jackpot.  It was a non traditional Jackpot.  There were 3 distance challenges, and if you did all 3 successfully, you got a pair of fuzzy dice!  The 15 point gamble was jump/tunnel/jump.  The 20 point gamble was jump/aframe/tunnel (could be done in either direction).   The tunnel was under the frame, so you had to do the frame with a turn away from you into the tunnel, or do the tunnel with a turn towards you to do the frame.  The 25 point gamble was a 3 jump pinwheel, could be done in any order, in flow.  I had a fairly good path that would allow us to attempt all 3, I wasn't sure she could do them all, but wanted to try.  With the shepherds, I always was working on just trying to get the points needed, they really didn't have the speed to try the "fun" stuff.   She did the pinwheel pretty well (one bobble that I fixed) and the aframe one went well too.  We had to run across the field to get to the tunnel one, which was easy and she did just fine.  I was a bit worried we'd run out of time, but we raced back across the field to the table and she had several seconds to spare!  She won a purple pair of fuzzy dice!  It was fun to be able to try it, and even more fun to succeed!  It was her second level 3 Q (and a second place).

Next run was snooker.  This was a nicer course than yesterday (for me at least).  We did 1/7/1/6/1/3 then the close.  It was all jumps and tunnels again.  I did have to call her HARD off one tunnel, but she stopped!  The close was smooth and she ended up getting 46 points in 29.33 seconds (course time was 45).  This was her second level 2 Q (first place) and gave her the CL2-S title (Level 2 Strategy).

Next up was Standard.  Sparrow ran first.  It was a pretty straight forward course, at least it seemed so!  But, while watching the dogs before Sparrow run, quite a few took an off course teeter that I didn't notice in the walk through.  Sparrow wasn't overly speedy, but she was clean.  She didn't look at the off course teeter, but I also tried to tell her pretty early where she was going.  She Q'd with a second place.  She ran it in 59.89, course time was 65.

Lonya ran Standard next.  She really ran well, after we got past the weaves (they were obstacle 2).  I think she carried too much speed into them and missed the entry.  It took me a couple of tries to get her set up correctly.  But, once we got those right, she flew through the rest of the course.  She got her second level 2 Q (first place), she ran it in 39.17 (course time 57).

Jumpers was next.  Sparrow ran first.  It was a bit of a twisty to start out with, not Sparrow's favorite.  It did have a nice 4 jump ending though!  Sparrow ran it clean, and she Q'd.  She was just under time, 37.77 seconds, course time was 38.  She got first place, go Sparrow!

Lonya's jumpers course was VERY nice.  We had a slight miscue where she ran around a jump.  She called off a tunnel beautifully though.  She backjumped the jump, but we got back in sync and she ended really nice.  She still got a Level 2 Q though, for another 1st place.  She ran it in 21.89 seconds, well under course time of 36, even with the bobble.  This gave her the last Q needed for her CL2-F title (Level 2 Fun).

Our last run of the weekend was FullHouse for Lonya.  It was a nice smooth course, and Lonya ran it very nicely!  She did decide to end it early though, silly girl!  I told her tunnel, she thought table and went there, stopping our clock!  We still had about 10 seconds left where could have gotten more points!  But, she got 31 points, which got her a Level 3 Q and a first place.  It's fun to run FullHouse where I don't really have to worry about points!

So we ended the weekend, 14 for 14.  Lonya finished 3 titles, and is now in Level 3 for all the games!  Sparrow ran well in the heat/humidity (even though it wasn't TOO bad!).  And Lonya handled a full CPE weekend fantastic!  She was raring to go for every run, high energy and low stress!   And tons of FUN!

Night one at Pasco Paws

I took Sparrow and Lonya to Pasco Paws for a night CPE trial.  Since I wasn't sure how the weather would be, I only entered Sparrow in 2 runs each night.  Standard and whatever game I thought would be shortest (in case it was hot).  This is Lonya's first weekend of running a full set of CPE runs, 5 each day.

Lonya started out in Jackpot, level 3, traditional.  It was a really nice set up in the opening and the distance challenge was very doable.  She knocked one bar in the opening, I think she slipped a bit on wet grass (it had rained a little bit earlier).  She did her poles on the first try!  The gamble was jump, send out to a tunnel, jump, table.  No problems there and Lonya Q'd for her first level 3 Q!  And it was a first!  She got 54 points in 41.64 seconds, game time was 48 sec.

Second run was Wildcard.  I didn't like this course much, I didn't think it flowed well for Lonya (especially the option I chose!).  But, she got through it, including a tough weave entry, and she Q'd for a first again, also in Level 3.  She ran it in 27.32 sec, course time was 40.

Sparrow's Standard run was next.  It was a really nice course, and she ran it with no problems.  Speed was pretty good for her also, and she was happy!  She Q'd and somehow took first!  That's not usual for her.  She ran it in 46.68 seconds, course time was 60.

Lonya's Standard run was next.  Nice course again, and she just smoked it.  A slight bobble on the teeter, where she almost ran by it, but she corrected and got on.  Good contacts and weaves.  She Q'd, in Level 2, for a first.  Course time was 65 seconds, she ran it in 30.67!

Colors was next, Sparrow ran her course first.  She started out great, but I think she jammed a toe in the #3 tunnel.  She went in fast and came out much slower.  This happened to Kal once also.  She finished the course, but was pokey.  I looked her over after the run and she was a little tender on one rear toe.  I'll check her over tomorrow, but she seems fine now.   She Q'd, no placement.  Ran it in 28.95, course time was 32 (she REALLY slowed down!)

Lonya's Colors run was just fantastic!  Smooth course and Lonya was just having a blast tonight!  She ran the course in 13.54 seconds, for a Level 2 Q and another first.  Course time was 39 seconds.  Fun fun fun!  And this gave her the CL2-H (level 2 Handler games) title!

Final run of the night was Level 2 Snooker for Lonya.  This was her first ever Snooker run, since I won't run a young/green dog in snooker.  It was a little bit of a twisty course, and I had a hard time finding a course with flow.  It was all jumps and tunnels, and it took a little bit of work to keep her out of a tunnel or two.  But, she listened well and she Q'd again, for another first place!  She got 40 points, and finished the course in 25.87 seconds, course time was 45 seconds.

So, we ended up Q'ing in all 7 runs, with 6 first places!  And we get to go back tomorrow!

Miss Lonya is going to the Invitational!!

Last weekend, Lonya and I had 3 days of AKC agility, at the new rings at SonLight Ranch (AKA BonJon, not sure we'll get used to the name change!).   The new grass rings are WONDERFUL.  Very flat, great grass (even though Bonnie said the grass would get better as it got more established).  And all the contacts had new rubber.  Great site, and since it's so close to home, I hope it gets a lot of use!

I went into the weekend hoping Lonya would get 1 JWW leg, if that's the only Q we got, I'd be happy!  We're still having weave struggles a bit, so I was a bit worried.

Friday, she had a nice start to JWW, then came out of the poles at 11.  I did have her redo them, when she did. She had some nice sends, and knocked a bar when she was racing to catch up to me (which I know she has a history of doing).  And I knocked a bar when I hit an upright on a cross.  Standard, she really didn't want to do her weaves on the first try, but she did.  She got all her contacts (has been very good at that recently!) and we got our first AX leg!  So I ended the day happy...but hoping she'd have another set of poles in her for the weekend.  I did stay after the trial for run thrus, and I think that helped!

Saturday, JWW was first again.  It was a nice course, and the weaves were near the start.  She got them first try, though slowly!  She ran the rest of the course really well, even with me being nervous and overhandling!  We crossed the final jump clean and you'd have thought we MACH'd, instead of just getting our first points!  I was SO happy, as were my friends who knew we were running for the Invitational.   She got 9 points, which is enough for us to get invited this year!  Standard was nice, she missed pole #3, I think she carried too much speed into them.  She did get them on the second try.

Sunday, STD was first.  LOVELY run, which I wish we had gotten on video.  Her poles were faster, and she really worked well.  She swung wide out of the chute and was set up really wide for the last line of jumps.  She had to really try to make those jumps, and she did.  Q #2 for her AX, 25 seconds under course time!  JWW, she missed the weave entry (it was tough), but did them all once I fixed it.  Really nice course otherwise though.

So, she ended the weekend 3 for 6, qualifying for the Invitational and getting as much progress make on her AX as she could (since it was only one judge all weekend).

We're off for a bit, but will do one CPE in July, maybe one UKC.  And hopefully some AKC in Aug!

Here's the video of the 2 Q's I have, JWW first, then Standard.

Palmetto trial

Lonya and I had 3 days of AKC agility this weekend.  It was a weekend of weave frustrations and lots of improvements.  I need to remember to focus on the improvements and not let myself be frustrated by the weave issue!  Hard to do...

The weave issue was that she is pulling out of the poles at pole 10-11.  This cost us 5 Qs out of 6 runs this weekend!  In some of those runs, she did make another error after the poles, when I'd try a harder cross or just get flustered.  I "think" I may be crowding her...though I couldn't reproduce it at home.  I'm going to try to take her weaves on the road this next couple of weeks to see what she does.

The improvements.  First, the multiple runs where there was only 1 error!  She is RIGHT there to Qing regularly in Excellent.  She is 2.5 years old and ready to Q in Excellent!

She was MUCH more relaxed walking around the trial site.  It was crowded (biggest trial we've been to).  I watched her closely when were walking around and her tail was up.  Dropping her tail is a first sign of stress for her, tucking it is definite stress.  She went up to people and let them pet her.  People she's met before mostly, but still, this is big for her.  She was able to wait near the ring, not right next to it, but near.  She even walked into the ring on her own a time or two.  And when I carried her in, I asked her to jump up, I don't remember her asking to be picked up.  I always ask for the leap into my arms at the end of a run, but I could put her down to get her leash on and she didn't ask to be picked back up.  Very happy with all that!

Standard was TONS better.  I was more firm, but after the first day, I didn't notice I was overly so.  She only ran by one obstacle in Standard, the teeter on Sunday.  I could see her make the effort to turn back in to take something I asked when she thought she was going somewhere else.  And she called off several tunnels.

We trial again in 2 weeks, then again the week after that (if we "need" to).  I really would like to make the Invitational, but if we don't make it this year, we'll be there next year!  I still am impressed that such a young dog is doing so well, so quickly.  I think it's only because we ARE so close, that I really really want to go this year...Lonya deserves it.

Updates

Once again, I've been slacking off on the blog!

A few weeks ago, Lonya got her AXJ at a trial in Palmetto.  This was her first time there, and I was pleased overall with how she did.  It was crowded, but she really didn't stress very much at all.  Her JWW run for her Q was nice, but unfortunately, I didn't get it on video!  Her other JWW runs were okay, she had weave issues all weekend and I caused an error or two!  Standard is still a struggle.  Her last run of the weekend, I got a little firmer with her and she settled in to work...I think I may be so worried about her stressing that she's getting away with only having to do what she wants...  We trial 3 days next weekend, so we'll see what happens if I'm more firm with her.

Then, Lonya came into heat, so I had to pull her from a trial, which meant I could enter Sparrow in a CPE trial and run her for her C-ATCH.  I was a bit worried about the heat, but didn't want to put it off.  We ran in 3 runs each night.  Night one, we ran in WildCard, Snooker and Jackpot.  She Q'd in all 3, which gave her the last Jackpot Q she needed for her C-ATCH.  It was non-traditional, and was set up well for Sparrow.  I'm a big fan of jump combos for 5 points!  You had to do the obstacles labelled 2, 4, 6, and 8 in order, but could do other things in between.

The second night, our first run of the trial was Jumpers...the last thing we needed for her C-ATCH.  It was warm, and I was nervous.  But, she ran well, even if it was a bit slow.  We were under time though and she Qd for her C-ATCH!  I was so happy that she got it, she's been running so well in the last few months.  I handled it pretty well too, I only cried a little bit.  I really wanted Sparrow's C-ATCH to be about her, and not about the missed opportunity with Kal...and I think I succeeded at that.  My friends who were there were very supportive and happy for us also.  And the ribbon she got was huge!!  We also ran in Colors for a Q and Jackpot for an NQ (she got the distance, but was 1 point shy of minimum in the opening!)

The video of her C-ATCH runs is here.



We didn't do much of a victory lap, since it was hot, but she was very happy at the end!

Today, I went to a handling seminar with Lonya.  She worked pretty well, even though it was hot and she's still a bit hormonal.  She was a bit slower than normal, but I still learned a lot!  We have a few things to work on...tunnel/contact descriminations, working the back side of the jump among others.

We have a trial next weekend, where I really hope to get a JWW Q....and our ticket to the Invitational!