Big Dogs here I come.....

Last Saturday Mom took Rip and I to Kingston for the day to play in the Morningstar's AAC Agility Trial. The day started off with Rip playing Starters Standard. I was in the car so I didn't see (and Mom didn't have the camera out for it to be taped) but from what I hear, his run was amazing. He did everything perfect but fell off the table because he was going too fast. Mom was super thrilled with him. His next run was Snooker but Mom was too fast turning and made Rip knock down a red bar and couldn't call Rip off before he took the teeter. Oh well, it's a stupid game! The final run for Rip was the Steeplechase and that was my first run also.

I got to go first and was doing great until I came to the weave poles. They didn't have them taped down or attached so I pushed poles 6 & 7 together so I got to start the run over again! I still hit the poles pretty hard so I wasn't too sure about going through them so it took me a couple of times. I then had 2 jumps down because Mom took off running and I had to catch up!

Ripley's run was pretty nice. Mom needs to learn to check up before the weaves and still needs to work proofing Rip's weaves because he left them before he was done to catch up to Mom. She was very happy with his performance in his first "big dog" class :)

My next run was Masters Standard which I got to run For Exibition Only (FEO). There weren't any Advanced runs and Mom thought I deserved to play a bit, isn't she the best?!? I did pretty good on the run overall. I had a bar down but mom rotated too quick and then I missed the teeter because the chute was so short (something we need to work on) and then she didn't call me out of the tunnel so I took my favorite obstacle - the tire!! I got the weaves and my contacts were good so overall she was very happy with my first Masters Standard run.

The final run of the day was Advanced Jumpers! It looked like an easy course on paper but when my Mom was walking it she realized there were a few traps for me. I was a very good boy and ran fast and clean to earn a first place and my third Q!!! Can you believe it? I am moving up to Masters Jumpers with the big dogs :) Mom is so thrilled that I got 3 Q's in just 2 weekends...I love making Mom happy.

We are now taking a break from trialing and will be back at the end of January. The next few months will be working on so many things. Mom says we need to work on start lines, weaves, contacts, jump grids....does that leave anything out?!? :)

It's been FOREVER!!

I can't believe the last time I posted was back in May! Wow, does time fly!! So much has happened in my life since the last time I posted. Back in mid-August we moved east to Ottawa because my mom got a new job in the Ottawa office. I got to stay in a hotel for a month and then I went to stay with my Auntie Pam (who owns Rip's mom Flare) for another 2 months while we waited to move into the house. Mom said the hotel was just too small for Ripley, Abbey and I so I went to learn a few doggie manners and a bit of flyball...it was fun!

I also had my 4th birthday on October 6th and was very happy to see my mom, dad and grandma Tiff who brought me a muffin (though they did make me wear a hat this year! OMG)

We moved into our new house just in time for Halloween. It is a pretty nice house with a good sized backyard to play a bit of agility and disc :) The neighbours like to stop and watch me do the weavers as we have a nice wrough iron fence along the side street. My dad keeps saying he is going to charge admission next summer if people stop all the time ;)

Here I am in my new Ottawa Sens jersey sitting with Evil Pumpkin Man! My mom didn't understand why I needed to be so far away from him...did you see those teeth?!?!

I have started back with my agility training again now that we are in the new home. Mom and I are taking lessons from Grandma Tiff! I am very happy about that as she is a superstar agility handler and is helping mom to learn where she should be. I am being such a good boy these days when it comes to agility.

Mom and Dad took Rip and I to a big agility and disc trial this past weekend. It was in Montreal and is called the Big O. Wow, was the facility ever amazing! They say that almost 50,000 people visit the Big O to watch and look at all the things going on. Saturday I didn't have anything on in the morning and my first thing was Advanced Disc Dog. I didn't even know we were doing agility but I had a great time playing disc. The first two throws I had trouble tracking the disc but caught every one after that...wowing the crowd I'm sure ;)

Look at all those people watching me catch my disc. I put on some good form so they would be impressed!!

After we were done disc, mom and dad packed us up to head to the hotel for the afternoon to relax. Of course Rip and I thought the day was over so we were completely chilling out and were very surprised when we got packed back up and headed back to Olympic Stadium. Guess what!?! - I got to play agility!! I know, I was soo suprised too and so excited that after all these months, mom was letting me play again. I was a VERY good boy, really listening to my mom and stopping on all my contacts, got my weaves and kept up all the jumps to win the class and get my very first Advanced Standard Q!!!

There were lots of people in the stands (you can't see the actual crowd in this pic) that were completely wow'd with my speed :)

My next class was Advanced Jumpers and there were lots of tunnel traps that Mom was a bit worried about. I was a very good boy again and kept my listening ears on so when she called, I really did listen! It is kinda fun to run the course the way she wants and then have her sooo excited at the end. Man did I ever get lots of cuddles and she kept saying I was a "superstar!" I am not really sure what that means, but both her and dad seemed very excited. So as you can guess...I got another Q in Jumpers too. (I have never gone 2 for 2 before :))

We all went back to the hotel and had a great night's sleep. It was a cool room because it had a second double bed that Rip & I shared...we really need to have a double bed put into mom & dad's room at home for us boys :)

Sunday morning we were up bright and early to head back to the trial. Ripley got to go first in his Starters Standard run while I waited in the crating area. I didn't get to see but mom & dad came back so thrilled with him (I hate sharing the attention but I am proud of the little guy) He got his first Standard Q! I better get moving...don't want him to catch up to me!

Rip thinks he is so cool that he only needs 1 foot to weave! What a show off!!

I got to go next and had a really good round. I did knock a bar after coming out of a tunnel but didn't have any off courses and mom was thrilled with me :) Ripley's next round was Jumpers but mom said she saw smoke coming out his ears! I guess his little boy brain went "poof" and he knocked down tons of bars :( I remember those baby days of mine...poor guy ;) I finished off our agility runs with an Advanced Jumpers run but again knocked down a bar. Mom was still thrilled as I went 4 runs without 1 off course and she said there were lots of hard choices for me and I took all the right ones. I am glad that I made her proud!

We finished off the weekend with a final round of disc. I was a very good boy catching all but 1 of the throws dad gave me. I didn't finish in the top 3 but had lots of fun.

Look at the concentration on both dad's and my face's! And then look at the spectators...told you I wow'd them :)

Ripley had 2 great rounds (show off) and came away with the 1st place, his Advanced Disc Dog (ADD) title and his Disc Dog Excellence (DDX) title!

Rip showing off while he catches a disc in front of a packed crowd.

So anyway...I probably missed out a tons of fun things that I have done but there is so much...I can't remember it all. I will try to keep this up-to-date with what Rip and I are doing this winter. Tomorrow we are in Kingston at our final agility trial of the year. Hopefully the snow comes soon and we can start doing some sledding but for now, we will just be training and playing...what a dog's life :)