Ron Watson seminar/CFDDC Challenge/AWI Qualifier/Quad weekend - Tali

By the title it looks like we had a busy weekend last weekend... and well we did! Busy but fun!

I started to write a whole weekend wrap up but found it to be too long and cumbersome as one post so I am going to break it down by doing one post (this one) that focuses on Tali's weekend and then another one that focuses on the other 3 dogs that went with us and our experiences.

Friday was a disc dog seminar with Ron Watson and Apryl Lea of Pawsitive Vybe. What a great experience. More on that in the next entry. Tali was kind of a putz (in other words distracted and not drivey) at the seminar but we really didn't work the dogs much at all so it was OK.

Saturday was the CFDDC Challenge and AWI qualifier (Ashley Whippet Invitational)... Jack hoped they'd do well but didn't really figure they'd be able to make the top 5 considering who all we knew was coming to the competition. For their freestyle round Jack wasn't at the top of his game (he was sick with a sinus infection and had been all week). He didn't get off a few of his tricks and sort of fumbled a few others but none in a way that caused bad tosses or dropped discs. In fact several folks complimented him afterwards and we both were kinda like "???" BUT I guess when they don't know the routine by heart like Jack and I know his you don't really know what was missing! As for Tali's portion of the routine... she was on fire! She was drivey, focused and accurate. The best I've seen her do yet I think. Jack and I both felt really great about that but still didn't figure they had finished in the top 5. Tali definitely carried the team though and in the end they actually ending up placing 5th in the AWI qualifier! We were shocked to say the least! Below is a pic of Jack with the other qualifiers... Congrats go out to Danny Venegas and Jumpin' Jack, Gary Duke and Bayer, Angela Ewtushik and Rally, Donna Schoech and Diva. And also there is another pic of Tali during freestyle that day.





Sunday was the quad. Ruckus is on R&R for a bum back right leg (recurring injury spot) so Jack had to choose between playing Maximo and playing Tali. Max hasn't really practiced the long bombs with Jack so Jack played with Tali even though the Quad has never really been her thing. As is normal for her in the quad she wasn't driving to get the discs and as such had a lot of misses. In her 1st round with Jack he just had to play safe to move on and that worked out fine, but when he needed her to go longer she just wouldn't kick it in high gear. She was the same way with me last year though we still managed to make it to the finals. It's strange since the quad field is so wide and there is hardly any crowds on the sidelines. She can do regular D&A in a more crowded environment just fine so there must be some sort of vibe going on at the quad that makes it feel different for her. Who knows... no big deal though as neither Jack nor I have the distance in our arms to win our divisions anyway! It's just a lot of fun to play and especially to listen to the trash talk! :)

Sooo... overall a great weekend for Tali. I'm really anxious to see the day when both Jack and Tali are "on" at the same time during freestyle and see them play in a competition like I see them play at home all the time. That hasn't happened yet but someday when the planets align just right it should be quite the thing of beauty! :) Oh - and of course Jack is already tweaking their routine with stuff he learned at the seminar. That should be fun to see the outcome of as well!

Bad blogger indeed...

Been MIA for a while... I guess that means nothing major to report. Tali and I have done some trialing in CPE and USDAA. We got a new dogwalk the other day! Woo hoo! That'll be nice to have. Next piece of equipment to get is a table I think. Table issues killed us one day at USDAA.

Groovy's been doing good in agility class. She kinda sucks at collection work. She CAN do it - just doesn't come natural to her like it does Tali. Then again she is SO long in the body she isn't really built for it. Her disc drive is increasing! We still have to get the message across that the best thing about disc is catching it vs. just running with it while it flies but that'll come.

This month mom and dad got a new dog - a rat terrier/cattle dog mix. His name is Maximo. Unfortunately he has proved to be too much dog for them so he's looking for a disc dog home. He's a great dog though - wonderful disc drive and athleticism. I wish Jack and I could keep him but I don't think he and Ruckus would get along. And really he needs a home that has more time for him than we do with working full time and having 5 dogs already. It'll suck to get beat by whoever takes him though - he has every ability to be a top level disc dog. We will miss the little dude for sure.

This weekend coming up we have a big disc dog event. The CFDDC Challenge and Quad and on Friday we'll be attending a disc dog seminar with Ron Watson. Should be lots of fun. Will post with our results after the weekend!

Here are some favorite pics from the past month...

Love is in the air!

Not sure why - but Ruckus has been a big fan of Jam lately. Maybe Groovy is starting to smell like a real girl vs. a puppy girl and he just hopes its Jam and not Groovy! LOL

Mickie Moo

I love Mickie! She doesn't get much mention on Facebook or the blog since she is retired but oh how I love this dog. I was getting some pictures off of Jack's camera and came across this one I had forgotten he had taken back in October. Mickie is the best snuggler in the world and has always been super in tune with me about knowing when I need a snuggle. It'd be nice if she didn't have sand people eyes in the pic - but I still love this picture just the same!

Finally going to register my dog!

I figure its about time to get Groovy registered with ASCA (and Jam too for that matter - though most of the delay with her was the breeder not me). As a result I have to take some pictures. You'd think that'd be easy considering how addicted to taking pictures of dogs I am... but taking pictures of them stacked from the sides and the front isn't my idea of fun so it hasn't gotten done. Two out of 3 angles were successful yesterday with Groovy. Still have to get acceptable photos of Groovy from the front and Jam from all sides. Below are the two "good" ones. I definitely should never show in conformation!





And an action shot for good measure!

MIA!

Where the heck have I been? Sometimes I'm not even sure. Basically though the past 3-4 weeks have been pretty insane. First my mom's dog AJ passed away at too young of an age due to heart failure (Ruckus' half brother). Very painful for all of us. Then my dad got a bacterial infection in his blood and landed in the hospital. Got sort of better and came home then quickly landed back in the hospital again. He had surgery on 12/23 and finally came home this past Sunday. Needless to say that leaves little time or wanting for me to blog. It does however remind me how important family is! Also my Facebook "family" was tremendously supportive with prayers and good thoughts... all were much appreciated.

The dogs hung in there... between lack of daylight and our crazy schedule they haven't gotten loads of attention but still have gotten enough.

Tali has trialed quite a bit lately. At a CPE trial earlier in Dec. she Q'd 9 out of 9 runs - all in level 4 or 5. She finished as the runner up in the Super Sport division of our Canis Major competition. Recently she finished her Novice Std title and Open Jumpers title in ASCA. A great month for her overall!

Jam - is well Jam. An awesome pet and occasionally a good performance dog. Maybe someday she'll want to do more but we'll see. Like I said though - she's a great pet and excels at that job! :)

Mickie and Ruckus are aging with dignity. Ruckus still goes all out for his discs - I have to remind Jack that the boy is 9.5 years old and to take it easy sometimes. Mickie is a wonderful snuggle bug and constant couch companion. She'll be 11 soon - hard to believe.

Groovy is... well... most often lately we call her "Destructo Dog". She continually finds new ways to get into trouble. I remind Jack that difficult puppies often make wonderful adults (Mickie is our case in point). We'll just keep our fingers crossed that is actually true. She is doing well in agility class and we've started herding recently and she's quite the natural. We are still working through some fear issues but she is slowly doing better.

Well that kinda catches us up... below are some of my favorite pics from December.






Herding photo by Sarah Duke

Tali NA, NAJ!

This past weekend Tali and I went to our first AKC trial in a while. Going into the weekend we needed 1 standard leg and 2 JWW legs to finish those two novice titles. We also were entered in FAST for the first time as a team. Well it was a great weekend! We went 4 for 5! On Saturday Tali Q'd and got 1st in FAST, Q'd and got 3rd in JWW. Our standard run was OK - a super slow down on the table and a missed aframe contact (which is a first) kept us from Q'ing. Sunday was a great day - Tali Q'd and got 1st in JWW and also in standard! Woo hoo! Standard was really nice too - one of those runs that felt good the whole way through. Thanks to my friends Sarah and Bev for videoing for me and for Sal and Bev sticking around to watch Tali earn her NA title!