Well after today Hollie can now add NA and NAJ to the end of her name.
We went to a 2 day agility trial held by Mattaponi agility club, just out of Washington DC. It was held indoors in a horse arena... I wasnt too sure how my guys would go since they've never competed on anything other than grass, but they had no problems.
It was quite interesting to see that the novice and open classes were quite small, while the excellent classes were HUGE. In the excellent classes there was a wide variety of skill level with some absolutely brilliant dogs to watch and 2 dogs achieved their MACH on saturday.
Saturday we didnt have such a successful day. Hollie got a Q and 1st in jumpers, while Tooheys knocked one bar, but both dogs blew their Aframe contact in agility...only for someone to come over and compliment my dogs contacts??!! It is getting quite frustrating that Tooheys has improved so much over the past few months yet cant even manage a Q on a straight forward novice course - its one small mistake each time.
Today we had a better result. Both dogs Q'd in jumpers, Tooheys wiped seconds off all the other times, while Hollies finished her NAJ title. In agility Hollie had a fairly average round but it was still a Q & 1st to also finish her NA. Tooheys acted like he had never done a day of agility in his life, but entertained the croud and had myself and the judge in hysterics...what more can you ask for!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Montana
Needless to say we were all absolutely exhausted following the trials. What better way to recoup than in Montana… so the dogs have headed to Houndhollow boarding kennels while I flew across to Missoula to spend 10 days with Vonnie & Rich.
We spent a few days at Yellowstone park, staying at Chico hot springs The weather while freezing made the park truly beautiful, and we got to see a fair bit of wildlife. And there is something truly amazing about sitting in a hot pool while snow is falling. Unfortunately we got caught in a blizzard on the way back to Missoula which did a fair bit of damage to the car, but thankfully no damage to people.
The following few days were then spent up at a lake-side cabin owned by friends. Again, truly beautiful.
We spent a few days at Yellowstone park, staying at Chico hot springs The weather while freezing made the park truly beautiful, and we got to see a fair bit of wildlife. And there is something truly amazing about sitting in a hot pool while snow is falling. Unfortunately we got caught in a blizzard on the way back to Missoula which did a fair bit of damage to the car, but thankfully no damage to people.
The following few days were then spent up at a lake-side cabin owned by friends. Again, truly beautiful.
I was very sad to leave to head back east, but the dogs were happy to see me even though the kennels didnt want to let them leave!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Photos from the nationals
There are a couple of photographers that have managed to get some good shots of the dogs at the nationals...click on the hyperlink.
Steve Surfman photography:
Agility - Tooheys Nov 24" Standard
- Hollie 16-20" standard pic 12-14
Obedience - Tooheys Nov A pic 62-69
- Hollie Nov A pic 13-28
Rally - Tooheys Novice pic 184-192
- Hollie Nov pic 158-166
Sweepstakes - Hollie Veterans 10&over bitch pic 2-13 and pic 86-89, 98-100
Breed - Hollie veterans 10+ bitch pic1-2, 7-24
Sandra Alan:
Agility - Hollie pic 69-74
- Tooheys pic 47-50
Herding - Hollie pic 25-29
Katwala: Hollie herding
Steve Surfman photography:
Agility - Tooheys Nov 24" Standard
- Hollie 16-20" standard pic 12-14
Obedience - Tooheys Nov A pic 62-69
- Hollie Nov A pic 13-28
Rally - Tooheys Novice pic 184-192
- Hollie Nov pic 158-166
Sweepstakes - Hollie Veterans 10&over bitch pic 2-13 and pic 86-89, 98-100
Breed - Hollie veterans 10+ bitch pic1-2, 7-24
Sandra Alan:
Agility - Hollie pic 69-74
- Tooheys pic 47-50
Herding - Hollie pic 25-29
Katwala: Hollie herding
AHBA trial and more herding
An AHBA herding trial was held not too far away on the weekend following the nationals. I had Hollie entered in ranch course and arena course both days on sheep. I chose to give cattle a miss, and its probably just as well as we were both fried and Hollie wasn’t working very well.
The AHBA trial was a lot of fun, this particular trial was a lot more laid back and informal.
The ranch course was great, being based on practical every day work – moving sheep in from a paddock, sorting the sheep into smaller pens, moving them through runways, regrouping, moving from point A to B (or driving in the higher levels) and repenning.
Hollie Q’d in ranch both days for her HRD1 title. I was a little surprised that Hollie really felt the pressure in the smaller pens, and so did I when she kept trying to fetch the sheep to me as I was trying to shut the gate once in the pen. Trying to shut a gate is not very easy when you then have 5 sheep standing on top of you.
Hollie wasn’t working at all on the arena course ether day, which is a shame as other than the freestanding pen I felt though course was very do-able. The first day we made it to the pen before I pulled our run (even though she was still passing at that stage) because she wasn’t listening or even trying to work, and the second day we didn’t even make it to the Y chute.
Following the AHBA trial I headed up to Sara’s place in S New York to spend the day training with Lynn. It was a lovely day, and we managed to get Hollie back on track and working - even if not completely to her full potential given that she was tired.
At the end of the day we put Tooheys in the small pen (despite my better judgement!) , and while he still has a loooong was to go I was pleasantly surprised to find that he had improved somewhat since we last put him in with sheep 12 months ago. We now have something to work with! - he was actually wanting to get round the sheep (even if in only the one direction) and was starting to fetch a little, instead of gluing himself to my legs then blasting through the middle.
The AHBA trial was a lot of fun, this particular trial was a lot more laid back and informal.
The ranch course was great, being based on practical every day work – moving sheep in from a paddock, sorting the sheep into smaller pens, moving them through runways, regrouping, moving from point A to B (or driving in the higher levels) and repenning.
Hollie Q’d in ranch both days for her HRD1 title. I was a little surprised that Hollie really felt the pressure in the smaller pens, and so did I when she kept trying to fetch the sheep to me as I was trying to shut the gate once in the pen. Trying to shut a gate is not very easy when you then have 5 sheep standing on top of you.
Hollie wasn’t working at all on the arena course ether day, which is a shame as other than the freestanding pen I felt though course was very do-able. The first day we made it to the pen before I pulled our run (even though she was still passing at that stage) because she wasn’t listening or even trying to work, and the second day we didn’t even make it to the Y chute.
Following the AHBA trial I headed up to Sara’s place in S New York to spend the day training with Lynn. It was a lovely day, and we managed to get Hollie back on track and working - even if not completely to her full potential given that she was tired.
At the end of the day we put Tooheys in the small pen (despite my better judgement!) , and while he still has a loooong was to go I was pleasantly surprised to find that he had improved somewhat since we last put him in with sheep 12 months ago. We now have something to work with! - he was actually wanting to get round the sheep (even if in only the one direction) and was starting to fetch a little, instead of gluing himself to my legs then blasting through the middle.
The view in New York
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
ACDCA nationals part 2
Breed classes
Monday was property classes, where we didnt fair very well, so in the afternoon we paid a visit to the Hershey factory instead.
Tuesday was sweepstakes classes and dog breed classes. I had Hollie in veterans 10+ sweepstakes, where she did really well and won her class out of 8 dogs. Wed was the bitch breed classes. Hollie got 3rd in her veterans class that day, and 4th in the versatility breed class.
The entry in the breed classes was large, there was 63 dogs in the Best of breed class alone. Not being overly familiar with the AKC system it was very difficult to follow, as they broke the best of breed class down into 5 parts and made shortlists and it was hard to know who was who. It was fantastic to see so many cattle dogs in the ring at the same time with not so much as an altercation.
And the best part was we got to watch the beautiful Leroy win his herding titled class and then go on to win an Award of Merit. That herding dog is now Mr "show dog".
Herding
The final 2 days of the specialty was the herding. I was so excited to get to watch so many cattle dogs out there working stock.
The cattle were difficult and defeated most of the dogs. At the end of the first days trial classes it was cattle 50 : dogs 0. One dog in the PT class managed to earn a qualifying round though. There was a slight improvement the next day with one dog in Started qualifying, and most of the PT dogs made it through with extensive coaching from the wonderful judge.
The runs on sheep faired a little better. The sheep were light but flocked well and were honest. As the weekend progressed they did become a little more difficult as the started drawing very heavily to the exhaust pen.
Hollie did well for me, qualifying in Started sheep both days with a 5th and 2nd place, and qualifying in PT cattle the second day. I was very proud of that given that we had only introduced her to cattle on the wednesday night and I really had no clue what I was doing. Working cattle is difficult!! I owe alot of thanks to both Lynn for our introduction to cattle, and judge Terry Kenney for their assistance in working out what I was doing.
There was alot of other entertainment throughout the week, with a talk from Chris Zink one night, and Dingo Bingo another.
On the final night there was the presentation dinner, where I was absolutely chuffed to find out Hollie had won the versatility award for the specialty! I'm very proud of my little girl.
Monday was property classes, where we didnt fair very well, so in the afternoon we paid a visit to the Hershey factory instead.
Tuesday was sweepstakes classes and dog breed classes. I had Hollie in veterans 10+ sweepstakes, where she did really well and won her class out of 8 dogs. Wed was the bitch breed classes. Hollie got 3rd in her veterans class that day, and 4th in the versatility breed class.
The entry in the breed classes was large, there was 63 dogs in the Best of breed class alone. Not being overly familiar with the AKC system it was very difficult to follow, as they broke the best of breed class down into 5 parts and made shortlists and it was hard to know who was who. It was fantastic to see so many cattle dogs in the ring at the same time with not so much as an altercation.
And the best part was we got to watch the beautiful Leroy win his herding titled class and then go on to win an Award of Merit. That herding dog is now Mr "show dog".
Herding
The final 2 days of the specialty was the herding. I was so excited to get to watch so many cattle dogs out there working stock.
The cattle were difficult and defeated most of the dogs. At the end of the first days trial classes it was cattle 50 : dogs 0. One dog in the PT class managed to earn a qualifying round though. There was a slight improvement the next day with one dog in Started qualifying, and most of the PT dogs made it through with extensive coaching from the wonderful judge.
The runs on sheep faired a little better. The sheep were light but flocked well and were honest. As the weekend progressed they did become a little more difficult as the started drawing very heavily to the exhaust pen.
Hollie did well for me, qualifying in Started sheep both days with a 5th and 2nd place, and qualifying in PT cattle the second day. I was very proud of that given that we had only introduced her to cattle on the wednesday night and I really had no clue what I was doing. Working cattle is difficult!! I owe alot of thanks to both Lynn for our introduction to cattle, and judge Terry Kenney for their assistance in working out what I was doing.
There was alot of other entertainment throughout the week, with a talk from Chris Zink one night, and Dingo Bingo another.
On the final night there was the presentation dinner, where I was absolutely chuffed to find out Hollie had won the versatility award for the specialty! I'm very proud of my little girl.
Monday, October 6, 2008
ACDCA national specialty
The ACDCA national specialty was held from 27 sept - 4th oct in Shartlesville, PA. Visit the website for more info. It was basically 7 days of agility, obedience, breed, herding, and fun! I had an absolutely fantastic time, got to meet many great people, see some great dogs, and have a little success thrown in.
I arrived at the hotel that I was told we were booked in at, only to find out we had been moved to another hotel..which thankfully was closer to the specialty site and had many other acd'ers staying. We spent the week room sharing with Toni.
It was quite a novelty having the dogs stay in the hotel, and to open the door to see other cattle dogs wandering the halls.. Although I dont think my guys could quite work out what this riding in the elevator business was all about - they jumped a mile every time the floor moved under their feet!
It was quite a novelty having the dogs stay in the hotel, and to open the door to see other cattle dogs wandering the halls.. Although I dont think my guys could quite work out what this riding in the elevator business was all about - they jumped a mile every time the floor moved under their feet!
Agility
The first 2 days were agility, and the weather was wet and miserable! By the end of sunday the agility ring was muddy and slippery, and generally a mess, but we still had a lot of fun. Everyone there was extremely welcoming!
AKC agility is very simillar to ANKC, although possibly slightly little easier at the lower levels. Allowances are made in novice and open for a dog to Q with a refusal or time faults. Also, faults and/or refusals are not judged for the weavepoles in novice, provided the dog completes them all.
Otherwise, most things were reasonably simillar. The jump heights were the same as in aus, so obviously lower than the UK. I chose to jump Tooheys up a height so not to mess around to much with his training.
Weave spacing the same as aus, so further apart than what we had been doing in the UK. Tooheys didnt seem to have a problem, but on Hollies first run she noticably misjudged her striding.
We got a nasty fright by not only having to do a table, but having to take up a set position on the table..its been so long since we've seen one!
The only other difference I can think of is their weird double jump, which is like a spread but both poles at the same height. I'm suprised the dogs jumped in ok as I often struggled to see the 2nd pole.
The dogs did well for themselves. They were both entered in Novice B, Tooheys at 24" and Hollie at 20". Saturday agility Hollie Q'd and got 1st place. Tooheys had a very nice run but demolished one jump - he tried to wrap the upright tightly but unfortunately plastic uprights without wings dont stand up to that as well as wooden wings!
Saturday jumping Hollie Q'd & got 1st, while Tooheys took a wrong tunnel entrance.
The other class was FAST, which is kindof like gamblers - you make up your own course to acumulate points (with certain restrictions), and you have a 'bonus' which is a distance challenge to gain extra points. You then have to cross the finish line before time runs out. Tooheys Q'd and got 1st, but Hollie knocked one of the poles in the bonus.
Sunday results were simillar, but Hollies back started playing up on her and by the end of the day she wasnt wanting to run. I really should have pulled her out, but that is so difficult to do when we have travelled so far. Agility Hollie Q'd and got 2nd place, Tooheys blew his dogalk contact. Both dogs Q'd and got 1st in FAST. In jumpers both dogs knocked a pole each, which isnt suprising given how slippery it was. I fell over in Hollies run, and then tried to get her to take a jump from far too close.
the dogs with their winnings
the beautiful trophies
Obedience
Obedience and Rally ran concurrenly to agility on sunday.
suprised.
The obedience ring in AKC is alot smaller than in aus. The heel routine was alot shorter, the figure 8 a seperate exercise. Really the only thing more difficult is that you can only use eih verbal or hand signals, not both. That was only really an issue for the finish on the recall though, as there was not stand or drops during the heelwork.
Hollie did really well, her only problems being 'forgetting' to sit in the figure 8 (she was too busy staring up a the posts), and a moment of distraction in the heel off lead. And I lost us 2 points on the recall by holding my hands in front of me instead of at my side.. its the subtle differences that get you! She qualified on 186.5 points and 2nd place.
Tooheys was working really well outside the ring, but I got him ready too early and by the time we got into the ring his nose went to the ground. So I pulled him out after heel on lead. I really didnt want to have to do stays with both dogs at the same time anyway. Especially as several dogs broke.
I had no idea what I was getting myself into with Rally, but it was alot of fun. Effectively it was an obedience 'course' with different excercises.
Hollie got 2nd with 97 points and Tooheys 3rd on 95 points -not too bad given he had never done a couple of the exercises!
Oh, and I have to make special mention just how good Tooheys was with all the dogs around him!!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
New York City
After leaving Lauras, I went up to Washington DC to pick up Hayley and from there we headed up to New York city for a couple of days. The dogs got to stay at Beechhill kennels just out of Philladelphia where they were looked after well.
Because everything in New York is sooo expensive, we stayed at a hotel at Newark airport the first night, then splurged on a hotel in downtown new york the following 2 nights.
We then spent the following 2 days doing a bus tour around town to see all the local sites.
Flatiron building
Statue of Liberty
Waterfront
Crossing Manhattan Bridge
Manhattan
Times Square
Central Park
Rockefeller Centre
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