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 :)

Bronze!!

I have been one busy red boy lately, really trying hard to get ready for the Ontario Regionals that are in 2 weeks time! Mom and I are excited because we have started to do better as a team and if she just could give me a bit better direction, we may do ok :)

We spent last weekend in Pickering at K9 Klubhouse's AAC Agility Trial. I wasn't too happy on Saturday as there was lots of thunder and lightning which I am quite afraid of :( Luckily during my runs it would clear up so I got to run all of them. I had some nice runs according to my mom and I rocked the Masters Gamble coming away with a Q, 1st place and a best run. Sunday I was a good boy with a couple of off course tunnels but otherwise did well. I also got my 10th Masters Gamble Q earning my Bronze title in Gamble! :)) Mom teases that this will be my only bronze ever but really I am starting to grow up and one day will be a little more consistent.

Ripley (who doesn't have his own blog so I am sharing mine with him) also got to run on the weekend. He was in 2 Starter Gambles and 1 Starter Jumpers. He got both Gamble's but only 1 Q as his other one he didn't get enough points by one. His Jumpers was really nice but mom didn't trust his tunnel entry so she pulled him off it for a refusal. He ran awesome otherwise keeping all the bars up :)

Dad took some good photo's of us:

Here is one of me tucking my feet really tight to not hit the bar :)

Mom likes this one of me driving the end of the teeter

Here is one of Ripley just clearing the spread jump!

Then last Wed my mom packed Rip & I up and went to Andrea's house. From there they packed us in her van with my half-sis Phe and headed to Alberton and Susan Garrett's Say Yes. We did double box for a whole day and I was a pretty good boy! Susan said that I have improved quite a bit from last year and even my mom had some good timing :) Susan did say that both Rip's and my start line were "shit" but I am pretty sure that mine was much better than Rip's ;)

Tomorrow we are heading to Purple Hill for a day of agility at Spot On. I am entered in 2 standard courses and 1 jumpers. Ripley in 1 jumpers. Maybe I will be a good boy, listen to my mom, keep my feet up and give her good contacts...what do you think? nah...how boring would that be?!?! I will let you know how it goes :)

2009 Canadian Agility Team Fundraiser

Exciting news!! My mom, TNT Rio and my Grandma Tiff (Tiffany Salmon) have been selected to represent Canada at the FCI World Agility Championships this September in Austria!! Can you imagine?? This will be their second year competing for Canada and last year they ROCKED! In order to help Mom and her teammates get to Austria, I am please to announce the Canada Flag Tag fundraiser that I (since it is my school ;) no matter what those humans say) am doing, lol.

Show off your Canadian pride here at home and support the team by purchasing your very own Canada Flag ID Tag and lets face it all dogs look good in red and white! Tags are only $15 and include 3 lines of engraving and free shipping. Don’t have a dog and still want to support our team – these tags make great key chains and zipper pulls too! Quantities are limited so don’t delay order today!

Click on the link below to place your order.
http://www.overtheedgeagility.com/2009CAT.html

Go Canada Go!!! Go MOM Go!!!

Happy New Year!

I know, I am a little late with my "happy new year!" sentiment :) I have been one very busy red border collie this month, with little time to get on the computer.

We had a great Christmas getting lots of special treats and toys. We had a very quiet New Years Eve...going to bed well before mid-night so that we could get up very early on the 1st to head to Acton Agility's AAC Trial in Flamborough. I had a very good day running in Steeplechase, an Advanced Standard and an Advanced Jumpers. I had a couple of little errors in the first two runs but did really well in Advanced Jumpers and came away with my 1st Q of the year! My mom and dad were very happy with me...maybe there is hope for me ;)

Here is the video of my run (mom spent the whole course telling me "easy, easy" and didn't tell me where I was going in the end because she was afraid I would try and bounce the last two jumps):



What a way to start off 2009! I have been working very hard at being a good boy in agility. Our goal (Mom's and mine) is to qualify for Nationals this year. We work 2-3 times a week at the barn, work at least 3 nights a week at home and have been taking some private lessons with Susan Garrett. Wish me luck to keep my red border collie brain about me in the agility ring this year :)

On to another sport...right after the new year my Mom was looking on ebay and found us the most coolest present EVER!! She bought us a dog sled! Can you imagine? It arrived just 2 days later and Mom ordered us our new harnesses from Quebec which arrived the week later. Last weekend my Mom, my Aunt Franca and my Aunt Sue (they are TNT mom's too) took us all out for our first time sledding together. We had a complete blast. The next day my Dad, Mom, Rip and I went out again. Here is a pic mom took of Ripley and I pulling Dad :) Don't we look like pro's already? We run right to Mom and then stop ;) For some reason they want us to go past but I just don't get it.


Man is it ever hard work pulling our human's around...it was FUN to roll in the snow and make snow-dog-angels :) Plus the snow was very tasty!


We headed out again today for another day of sledding. We are really starting to get the idea and work as a team...we can pull Dad really fast :) It was snowing like crazy so Dad had to keep his eyes closed ;) lol.


Mom was taking all the pictures but Dad called her a chicken when he asked if she wanted to take a ride and she said no. Of course she couldn't allow him to call her a chicken so she hoped on! She actually loves it but thought Dad would be jealous if she always did the sledding ;)

Don't we look like a great sleddog team? I was pooped after all that running and spent the afternoon snoozing on the couch. I thought I better write in my blog before I head off to bed :)

Fun Day!!!

I had a blast yesterday at the Acton Agility trial! I started my day off with a Masters Gamble course (even though Mom said I would never do a gamble except for Regionals/Nationals) She said it was only because there was a way to run a course, get me on all the contacts and test my weave entry. I was a pretty good boy, held my start line, kept almost all the jumps up, nailed all my contacts and my weave entry! I ended up in 2nd place (because we didn't try for the mini's I would have for sure got) and with a Q. Mom was very proud of me and I got tons of compliments on how good I was :)

Masters Gamble run:


My next course was the Advanced Standard. I kept my start line again, but I had a bar down on the first line when Mom rear crossed and told me tunnel. There was such a long line from the tunnel to the frame that I was flying and missed my frame contact! :( woops!! Then there was the real wobbly table that I just didn't want to lay down or stay on. I really wanted to go to the weaves. I finished off pretty good with a great weave entry and a nice dogwalk contact. Overall Mom was thrilled with my course as she said this was a huge step in the right direction.

Advanced Standard run:

My Mom then added me FEO to the 2 Masters Standard runs. It was mostly a training opportunity for us as Mom worked my contacts etc. I had a couple of bars but had one really nice weave entry :)

My final run of the day was Advanced Jumpers. Mom lost her mind and forgot to front cross so sent me into the wrong tunnel :( I then knocked a bar down on a rear cross (is there a pattern here?!) but finished off really nicely. Andrea video taped all my runs for the day (THANKS Auntie Andrea!!) but stopped the jumpers in the middle. Here is the second half of the run that was the nicest ;)

The TEST.....

So Mom has been talking to me a lot this week about this coming Friday, calling it the "test"! We are signed up for an Advanced Standard and an Advanced Jumpers course at Acton's AAC Trial this Friday...I can't wait. Mom and I have been working very hard these days on my weave entries, jumping, contacts, and handling. She has been making me do serps, threadles, 180's, 270's and push through's and I have to say that I am getting pretty good at them. Mom and Andrea even set up the FCI Large Dog Agility course last night and I did pretty darn good. My weave entries were awesome, I kept the jumps up for the most part and had good contacts. I needed some help with the 270 and the push through but after breaking it down, I really did well. I will let you know how it goes when we get back :) Wish me luck at keeping my brain....

Happy Birthday to me....

Yesterday was my birthday and I turned 3 years old. Mom came home from work with a special treat just for me from Timmy's :) It was this most amazing Pumpkin Spice muffin. Can you imagine my surprise when she said to get up on the chair for my birthday muffin? Up I jumped (that was easy by the way and I think it may be a fun place to get food from in future...put that in my memory bank ;)) The worst part is she put this flashing badge on me and they made me sit there while my muffin was about to burn (not sure what that was about). Mom decided to blow out the candle and then Dad took the muffin away!?! Can you imagine? I thought that was a very cruel joke.

But then he came back to the table with the muffin on the plate. You can just imagine my eyes when they sat it in front of me and said that I could eat it. I didn't even need to share it with my doggie siblings!! (Ripley was in his crate barking his head off, hehehe)

Man was that the yummiest treat EVER! I didn't want to take a chance on having to share even a crumb so I ate it all in one bite :) Aren't you impressed that I could do that?!

Mom says she is sad that I am getting older and how the time flies but all I can think of is...I can't wait to turn 4, hehehe. Wonder what I will get next year, you know all I can ever think of is my stomach :)

Bootcamp Week 4 update

Let me tell you, bootcamp is VERY hard work for a border collie! The weekend after the last update we headed to Spot On for a 1 day agility trial. My Mom decided to get there 45 minutes early to work with me on my bed and at a practice jump. She made me drive to my bed that was beside the ring, what a fun game! I really liked this game from the start and won’t leave without my new awesome release word “break”. We also worked on the 1 jump there. I was holding my stays, turning tight to her, extending and doing nice rear crosses. She was very happy with me and kept giving me kisses (how embarrassing!)

A bunch of people started arriving so Mom kept working with me on my bed and with stays. Mom got lots of questions about my bed and why I needed to be on such a small bed (didn’t I tell you it was small). It seems that once she explained the people no longer felt sorry for me :( Andrea and Arlene arrived at the site and came over to see me, I just love both of them! They seemed impressed at how well I was doing and gave me nice pets.

I got to run in Advanced Jumpers (I did great only knocking 1 bar down! but going off course because of Mom), Steeplechase (Both Mom and I were idiots on this one and I knocked 4 bars down, Mom wasn’t too happy about that), Masters Standard FEO (Mom worked my stay and contacts, leaving the ring very happy with me) and then Advanced Standard (Mom was thrilled! I held my start line, got all my contacts, missed the weaves though and had only 1 bar down!! but rocked the serp) We ended the day very happy with my progress and went home to relax with the other dogs and my Dad.

The next morning we headed east to Mont Tremblant Quebec. The cottage was really nice but was on a major road so we didn’t get alot of off-leash time. We got to swim each day off the dock though and I just LOVED that. I didn’t even bark once, just jumped in and went for the toy. I kept getting to the toy before Ripley so I was in doggie-heaven! I sure taught that little brat a lesson on who is boss. We got to go into Mont Tremblant the one day for a nice hike with Mom and Dad. We were walking on this trail when out popped 2 deer! I couldn’t believe my eyes, these guys were huge, one with big antlers!! A little way’s down from there was a house and just then I noticed this cat walking on their driveway. Man, I would have loved to chase that cat but Mom had my snoot loop on so I couldn’t go anywhere. Well guess what…those deer, they did it for me! They started jogging towards the cat and between them they tried to corner it! Can you imagine? They were my heros!!!!

After the week in Quebec we headed to Grandma Tiff’s place for a weekend of agility at the Ottawa Valley Border Collie Club/All Dog’s Sept trial. I was entered in lots of runs. My first one was Advanced Standard. Mom and Dad said they were so proud of me because I stayed at the start line while she lead out 3 obstacles to the teeter. I knocked the first bar down so Mom decided she would train in the ring. She made sure that I stayed on the all the contacts no matter what till she released me. I missed the weave entry but did them the next time. Our next course was Advanced Snooker. I guess Mom was expecting a lot but I just hate that game. I decided to make my own course so I only got to jump 3 jump and then took the tunnel, off we went :( Then we had Advanced Standard 2. I knocked another bar again but only the 1. I entered the weave poles (Mom was shocked and thrilled) My contacts were great so overall Mom was happy. The last course of the day was Advanced Jumpers. Mom lead out so far but I stayed put and waited for my release word. She was “thrilled” (her words) with my performance. She said it was such a hard course and I only knocked 1 bar down but did a threadle, serp and she said the bar was her fault because she was a bit late getting to her front cross spot. I was smoking fast and was only 0.2 seconds slower than the dog that won the class and from what I hear, that dog has tighter turns that I do. Wait until I get my turning under control….

The next day I had Masters Gamble. Man was that ever FUN! I had a smoking hot opening, nailing my contacts, getting both mini’s, doing the 4 point twice but sadly didn’t get the closing which included the weave poles. The last run was Steeplechase but after my Gamble run I was a bit spun out and didn’t listen to Mom at all :( She made me even lay down in the middle of the course which she hasn’t done in soo long. Oh well, overall she said I rocked. I didn’t bark once the whole weekend at ringside and again had lots of people enquire about my new bed.

Well that was the last of our agility trials for 2008. We are now onto training only for the rest of the year heading to Say Yes another few times. Last weekend we went to a training seminar with Tracy Sklenar (a teacher at Say Yes) who put on a 2x2 weave clinic. She gave Mom a few pointers on what to do to re-train the weaves for me so that is where our bootcamp has led us now. We are going to be working steady for 2 weeks on weaves to see if I can learn to find the entry and get it everytime. I am not sure if this will work but both Mom and I are going to try. You know, I am a RED dog!!!

I will keep you updated on the bootcamp status. Till next time….

Licks, B

Boot Camp?!?!

So it has been a looong time since I wrote but in my defense, it has been a very busy summer. After Regionals, mom decided to take some time off of agility for me. She thought that we needed a break from trialing and concentrate more on skills. We also spent a bunch of the summer doing disc dog where I was quite successful getting my Advanced Disc Dog (ADD) Title and my Disc Dog Champion (DDCh) Title! I even had some top placements in some Skyhoundz trials so my dad was very happy with me. I also started to learn the art of dock diving and have actually taken a few dives from the dock! So needless to say, the summer went fast and I am excited about this fall.

Me barking on the dock while Ripley jumps in!

Learning to jump from the ramp at first.

So you might ask, what is this "Boot Camp" about?? Well let me tell you a story...

Two weeks ago Mom and I packed our bags (mine with lots of food and toys, hers boring clothes) and headed to Alberton ON to participate in Susan Garrett's Masters Handling seminar. Mom was worried I wouldn't do well so we also let Abbey tag along (she was going to run her instead of me if I was bad...how rude!!).

We got there on Friday and once we were settled in our tent, Mom went off to hear about the rules of the weekend. It turns out that Susan's agility field is right beside this awesome pond and the rule was, if your dog went swimming without you telling him/her to, then the human had to go in and get their dog!! Mom was not chancing my bad terrier sister going in and having to get her in her clothes so I became number 1 dog!! :) SWEET.

It turns out that Susan thinks I am a great dog, too bad about the handler (isn't that a title of someone's video, hehehe). Actually Mom was very good and listened to everything she could learn over the weekend and we had a BLAST! I got to do so many runs and I really tried hard to understand these new rules...like where my mom is, is where I am going. Imagine, that seems so simple but I still have a slight hard time not running off and taking the jumps ;) I overheard Susan tell Mom 4 things over and over....don't let him flank you....get the Crates Games video....do the 1 Jump video....circle work, circle work.

So this is where Boot Camp begins. We came home and right away Mom went out and bought me this tiny little cot/bed. Doesn't she realize the size of me?! But she saw how Susan's dogs & students dogs would sit and be good while the dogs run that now she thinks that would be good for me! The only great thing about this bed is that I get the BEST treats when I am on it. I actually love running and laying down on it.

Me on my new bed...see what I mean about small?!?!

She also dug up her Crate Games and 1 Jump videos and has spent the week going through them and writing down her training plan! We have so far worked on steps 1 to 3 in Crate Games and I am very good about sitting and waiting for the crate to open and like my bed, LOVE going back in for the BEST treats!! (Boot Camp doesn't sound too bad, does it?! lol) I am starting to learn the rules on the 1 jump and love working all this time with mom.

Doing 1 jump work (not focusing forward)

Focusing forward now :)

We are also working every day on circle work where I have to stay by my Mom's side whether she is running or walking. The good part is that I get LOTS of treats but the bad part is I have to wear a Snoot Loop (those suck!!) Mom even takes me for a long walk each day on the Snoot Loop and feeds me my dinner. Lots of people have commented on how well behaved I am and even Grandma Tiff came to stay one night this week and she was saying how much calmer I seem. Well what is a dog to do when they are bone tired from all this work?!?!

Well I will let you know how boot camp is going....next week we are in Quebec at a cottage. I heard Mom say she was bringing a jump so I guess there is no rest for a BC.

Ontario Regionals here we come.....

I know...it has been a long time since I posted but it is hard to get on this computer these days. We have been very busy dogs so mom is either blogging, updating websites or else Abbey is hogging the computer! Yes, she is now a blogger too! See if I ever show her anything again and she is really trying to out-do me too.

So this weekend is the Ontario Regional Championships and I am going! woofhoo! Mom keeps asking me if I can at least get the gambles and no off courses...what the heck kind of attitude is that? I only try and get her money's worth out of the runs and she wants me to do less obstacles?! Ohh, I guess I can try but no promises. I will let you know how I do. There are 58 dogs in my class so lets hope that I can keep my brains and not come in 58th ;)

Alot has happened since I last posted. Mom, Andrea, Peso, Abbey and I went to Acton Agility a few weeks back and I rocked. I got both Masters Gamble Q's and really listened to mom. Abbey rocked too getting her 2nd Master Gamble Q.

Last weekend we went to Spot On's trial and I did great (or so mom says). I didn't get any Q's but I also didn't have any off courses (mom was thrilled) and even got most of my weave entries! I have been going to the chiropractor for the past month (Dr Helen Tandy...my new best friend) and I am feeling much better...I am able to get my big body into the weaves again. Abbey also had a great weekend, she came away with her final Masters Gamble Q to earn her MGDC title and she got her 2nd Masters Team Q. She is only 1 Q away from her ATChC.

Hey...why am I talking about her, she has her own blog! If you want to check it out (but I don't recommend it...she is just sitting here with her teeth showing making me type this) it is at www.agilitywirefoxterrier.blogspot.com

Well I think we are almost packed for our weekend adventure. I think mom is taking her laptop so I might post each day.

I'm a Flyball Dog!! Really, I am!!!

This past weekend we headed across the border to Betavia, NY for my first official NAFA flyball tournament! My mom was suppose to run my mother TNT Rio and I was scheduled to do warm ups on 2 teams. I had the best time ever.

TNT Baxter - keeping that ball secure :)

On Saturday we started with just doing box turns and 1 run back for the first race. I did a pretty good job so in the next race, we moved back and did 1 jump, then 2 jumps before my time was up. Waiting to go in is the hardest part (or so I thought at the time) because I really want to get in there and play so I bark as loud as I can and jump up and down. So far it has worked, I do this "popcorn" jumping/barking as my mom calls it and then we get to go in and play, woohoo!

My "popcorn" jumping/barking with mom

By the final race of the day, my mom and I had moved up to the full 4 jumps. I did an amazing job and completed my first ever full run at a competition. Our team captain said that they were going to let me run a race if I did the full run and still had a nice box turn. I did the best I could and got the call to play!! Man was I ever excited. I couldn't believe it when I had to watch all the other dogs run the line (I thought I did that only!...told you there was something harder to wait for) So when it was my turn I was all concentration. My mom was saying "get your ball" and then off I went. I was over the first two jumps and just starting over the third and I am pretty sure I heard my name being called (mom doesn't remember calling me early but it shows that it wasn't my fault on the video tape). I turned to see what she wanted and what did I see but another red & white BC like me in the other lane. I thought I would go say hi, maybe that was the box I was suppose to go to as well. I guess that was a bad thing because I got yelled at and then didn't get to play again :(

On Sunday, Pam and my mom decided to try again. This time they waited for the other lane to finish before they let me go. It turned out that on 2 of the races the other team had to send another dog at the same time and I didn't even look over there (so makes me think I was right about mom calling me by mistake) It turns out I helped my team win 2 of the 3 heats! Pretty good for a rookie dog, don't you think? So in the end, I ran 6 full runs and came away with enough points to earn my Flyball Dog (FD) Title!! (I told you I was a flyball dog!)

TNT Baxter, FD

Mom is saying that we are taking a month off from flyball until after Ontario Regionals, man am I going to miss it :) Till June....

p.s. Thank you Len from TTL Photography for the great pictures of Baxter above!!

Touch N Go Flyball Seminar

My mom and I headed to Ottawa, Ontario last weekend for a flyball seminar put on by my flyball team Burnin' Rubber. We were lucky enough to have the 4 Touch N Go Handlers that broke the world record with a 15.210 come to Canada to teach us their flyball training methods.

Both my mom and I had a great time and really learned lots. She said she would recommend anyone that can do a TNG seminar to go, they were really great ladies with tons of great training ideas. I was a very good boy (aren't I always) and did my very best over the weekend. I even ran my first ever full run! and had a time of 4.9 which for a newbie I think is pretty good. They gave me a nice report telling my mom to take it slow and that I will be a good flyball dog :)

Here is a video of me doing run backs, do I look fast? I like driving for my tug toy.



Here is a video of me doing the box turn. My mom says this is a good turn as I do not reposition my feet and don't smush my face into the box :)



After a long day at flyball, it was nice to get back to the hotel and relax.

But I hate when one of the other dogs was out and I had to actually see what they were doing.

Next weekend I get to go to my 2nd flyball tournament. My mom is running Rio and I get to be on 2 teams for warm ups...I can't wait!!

Abbey's gone MAD! and is on countdown!!

I know, it has been a long time since I have posted but I am one very busy red border collie!

This past weekend my mom and Abbey left without me to the Acton Agility trial! Can you imagine? On Sat night they came home with a very big ribbon...Abbey finally got her final Masters Standard Q to earn her Masters Agility Dog of Canada (MADC) title. She is now only 4 Q's away from her Trial Champion title and mom seems very excited about that.

On Sunday we all got to go to the trial. I got to play in the Steeplechase, Team and Standard. I had an off course in Steeplechase to keep me out of a Q but I had 2 great contacts and even got the weave entry! I was a butt head again in the Team but what did mom and Andrea expect when they make me stand in a little box while Peso gets to play MY game!? I was lunging back and forth and almost got out of the box while my mom was trying to hold me. When Peso was done, I tried to run over to see them. Both Andrea and mom flipped out and yelled at me! So then I realized it was my turn but I just didn't jump high enough and took the first jump down, then I couldn't wait at the bottom of the frame and went off course :( Sorry Peso! However, on the final run my mom was thrilled with me. I did have a bar down and missed the weave entry but I nailed all my contacts and even stayed for a sec on the start line and listened to her. I love when she is happy...I got tons of belly rubs for that run :)

Morningstar Agility Trial
A few weeks ago we headed to an 3 day weekend of agility in Kingston. It was really cool because it was just my mom, Andrea, Peso, Abbey and I. The first day was all gambles, I did pretty good in the gambles but unfortunately didn't get any Q's. Abbey however did get her first Masters Gamble Q! On Saturday I was still on a high from getting to run gambles that I just couldn't understand why mom wanted me to do the course the way she wanted :( She was very disappointed with me because I let down our teammates Peso and Andrea. Sunday was a much better day for me because mom decided to just work on my start line (I have a hard time staying there when she walks away) so I decided to behave and we had a better day. Abbey got a Masters Team Q and Peso got his final Masters Jumper Q for his Masters Jumper of Canada Title

Flying through the snow....

Wow, the snow just never ends! I know Mom is dissapointed with the snow storm last weekend because we had to miss the March Deep Freeze Disc trial :( but other than that, I just LOVE the snow.

Mom got a new Nikon D40 camera this week and took a few pics of us flying through the snow :) Thought you would enjoy.

I don't get my "flying red dog" name for nothing. Look at me flying through the snow!

Ripley is a little copy cat...where are his legs anyway?!

OK...you have to admit, my little sister Abbey is the cutest! Look at that drive and determination through the snow. I am thinking she is chasing me when Mom took this picture.

My mom Rio has come to stay with us for a month. Her family have headed south to Florida and since my mom plays disc with Rio, she had come to stay so she could go to the trial. I think Mom and Rio were more upset about missing last weekends disc trial than Dad and I were.

Here is mom Rio flying through the snow at us...she also likes to bark when we are running around :) She is also a "flying red dog" :) See, I come by it naturally, lol.

Tim Horton's Coffee is the best!

The best way to start your morning off is with a good cup of Tim Horton's coffee!!



The best time of year is when Tim Horton's has the "roll up the rim to win" contest. Here is a demo on how to best roll up the rim. I sure hope I win! Don't you think I would look good cruising the streets in a new Toyota Matrix or the waterways in a Bayliner boat?? Ok, a cookie would be tasty too :)

I LOVE the tire jump!!

Mom and Dad took Abbey and I to an agility trial on Sunday. It has been such a long time since we actually got to compete! (well a month seems a long time to a Border Collie!). I got to go first and did ok in my 2 Advanced Standard runs. In the first course I was blasting along a line heading right for the tunnel. Just before I entered the tunnel I thought I heard my mom yell "chute" but before I could really turn around and check with her...there was the tunnel! Being the big red boy that I am, I just couldn't stop in time and had an off course. The next round I did a superb teeter flyoff, well it wasn't really as good as some of my older day ones but it was still pretty good ;) Mom made me come back and do it again the way "she" likes me to do it so we didn't Q there either.

Abbey then got to do 2 Master Standard runs. She only needs 1 more Q to get her Masters Dog of Canada title so I know my mom was really hoping for a good round. Unfortunately Abbey knocked down a bar (10"...can you believe it?!) so she didn't Q. Mom was really happy with the run otherwise since she said it was VERY hard. I didn't hear Mom say my was VERY hard! hump!

Both Abbey and I got to run in the Steeplechase class. Abbey went off course by going in the wrong tunnel entrance blowing her chances for a Q. When I went in there, I did amazing! Mom kept saying how proud she was of my run. I also had an off course (but it was a long way from the weaves to the frame so I thought maybe taking a jump on the way would be a good thing) but I kept the bars up and listened well.

The last course was jumpers :) It was very close to the Steeplechase round so I was flying. I did knock the first bar down :( so mom knew we weren't Q'ing. She had me do some hard layering stuff and said she was happy with how I handled that. Then for the final portion you went through the tunnel and then over the jump. I guess you were suppose to turn right for the final 2 jumps but glowing right in front of me was the tire jump!! I LOVE the tire jump!! It was only 3 jumps away to get to it...so I took off as fast as I could. Jump, one stride, jump, one stride, jump...just one more stride left to get to the TIRE!! What?! Is that Mom I hear yelling at me?! What is she doing all the way over on the other side of the ring? Aren't we taking the tire jump? :( I guess not. Next time!!

Bake me a cake as fast as you can......

I know, that doesn't make sense without me telling you the whole story :)

This past weekend we headed west to the February Deep Freeze Disc Series. There was a disc trial on both Sat and Sun. I heard my mom telling my dad that I only needed 2 more Q's and I would get 2 titles! I was pumped and could easily do it but then.....

We get there early Sat morning and all I could think about what was, my tummy is growling! My dad and I go out for our first round and what do I see before me but Flour!! Now, tell me, what is flour used for...that's right, making cakes (see where this is going). So, I just couldn't help myself (remember, my tummy was growling) so I took off on dad to get some flour and planned to come right back. I finally felt a tug on my collar and realized that I forgot about playing. He threw the disc for me and of course I caught it, I am a disc dog you know. That was the practice one so we start the round and I catch the first disc and then on my way back to dad, the flour calls my name..."Baxter, eat me! eat me!"...whats a Border Collie to do? So I start eating some more of the flour real fast, so that I can get back to dad but then the next thing I know, he has me by the collar and we are leaving the ring! What the heck happened, it surely wasn't a minute already? Both mom and dad didn't seem pleased :(

The next round I tried my best to pay attention to dad. Mom had worked me before going in to get my attention and I was ready to play. I just took one quick lick of the flour and then did 3 great catches over 30 yards, yeah! we get a Q. So then dad throws one more in the time allowed but I just missed it off my nose, he seems real happy with me anyway. He calls me to leave the ring and then it hits me...I need to poop! I can't wait, I have to go right now! So I squat and hear all these people calling my name, like can't they wait!?! So I finish my business and man do mom and dad seem annoyed with me. I hear mom say something about not getting the Q, woops. I then hear someone laugh and say that "he was eliminated for eliminating" not really sure what that means but I didn't really think it was funny!

We then head off to play in the hotel for the night. It was a great room with lots of room to run around. I get to lay on the bed and chew on a nice chewie.

Sunday morning we head off to the disc trial. I had every intention of being a good boy this time. I won't eat flour, I won't eat flour...this is what I keep telling myself. So we head into the ring (we are the 3rd team to go) and what is glowing big and white and tasty? right there in front of me! Maybe I can just have a quick lick! ok, that was good, maybe another quick one. Uh oh, here comes dad...look there is another line of flour about 5 yards away, I can get to that one. Lick, lick, lick...oh god this is so good but here comes dad! The 20 yard line looks scrumptious! I run out to that line, it is just perfect! The flour is about 3 inches tall and 3 inches wide...mmmmmmmmm. I run along the line licking staying away from dad. Then I find a huge pile and start to devour it but put my guard down only to realize a minute later that I am being picked up by dad and walked out of the ring! Now, have you ever heard anything so embarrassing in your life? And the judge is over there laughing!! The nerve of the humans in my life. What is a skinny red dog to do?!

For some reason we don't go in for our second round and end up leaving to come home. I felt kind of bad that I didn't get to play/eat another round. I heard dad say that he was really glad we went away for 2 days to get 7 points, woops. Oh well, next time.

Border Collies and flyball...

This weekend my breeder Tiffany came to stay at our house because the flyball tournament was fairly close. She brought 3 border collies with her (my mom Rio, my auntie Pipe and Ripley's 1/2 sister Jeepers who is heading to California on Monday to her new home). Wow was it ever fun to have so many BC's around. My mom took a picture of the 3 generations of TNT reds.


Above is: Jeepers (8 week old Flare x Reckon pup), TNT Rio (my mom) and me! Aren't we a great looking group of red dogs? :)

So on Saturday we got up nice and early and I got my first taste of a flyball tournament. Sharkfebst is a NAFA tournament held each Feb in Richmond Hill, ON. I was lucky enough to be allowed to do warm ups as a part of my new team Burnin Rubber.

Above is a picture of me doing the warm up. Grandma Tiff said I looked like a "fixated flyball dog". I am taking that as a compliment :)

For the first race the warm up is used by all the dogs on the team to make sure they are ready to run, so I got to do one recall back to my tug..what a blast that was. I am pretty sure my mom was worried I wouldn't concentrate but I made her very proud. The next time my team was running, just one other dog and I did the warm up so we had more time. This time the team captain told my mom to do 2 box turns and then a recall with me. I was a bit confused and she was rushing so it was a bit of chaos :) I did the recall great though. The team captain Pam told mom to relax and take her time with me so the next time we were up was much better! I did about 4 box turns and a good recall. The final race I got to do the warm up all by myself. We did tons of box turns and then my final recall. Man what a FUN day I had! I can't wait for Wednesday so I can learn more about flyball, I think this is definitely a game I want to play!

I am excited about next weekend, we are off to the 2 day February Deep Freeze Disc Trial! I am hoping that my dad throws the discs well and that I can catch enough to finally get my Advanced Disc Dog title....till next week!

3km walking trail...perfect!

Our friend Martin brought home a new 11 week old red & white Border Collie this past weekend. (everyone wants a red boy like me!) He is pretty cute if I do say so myself, even though I mostly ignore him. He always wants to jump up and lick my face, not sure how much I like that.

I do however like the trail that Martin takes his dog Ginger and puppy Zipper to, and we got to go along today for the 3km walk. We had a total blast, running through the snow and racing each other (Rip and I anyway...Zipper is too slow still, lol)

Here is a picture of the new puppy Zipper:


The worst part is when the humans want us to sit together and pose for the camera. Do you like my cheesy smile...and Zip knew to keep his head away from me!


Here is a pic of Rip and I running along the trail. It was a blast! I am still the fastest boy in the house :)