2013 Highlights and a look toward 14

Well another year is almost over, and it is time to look at this years highlights,  and maybe set some goals for tomorrow.  It is always interesting to review what the dreams were, and what progress we made.  So lets start with a look back.

For Magic, I had hoped to get his CDX and to continue working toward another agility championship.  Well, we definately made progress toward agility, but not toward his CDX.  In fact, we met a couple of minor agility goals, he earned high novice in ASCA, and he earned high in trial preferred at the Cardigan National.  We did lots of training for obedience,  and did earn AKC BN, CDSP CD, and also his WCRL ARCHEX.

For Siren, I kind of forgot that I was going to work obedience with her, and started training agility instead. Her 2 accomplishments for the year were getting her CGC and her CA.

With Peace I had hoped to work on her UKC grand championship, well we did have a couple of shoes with competition, but sadly made no progress.

Washburns plan was to work on his championship, and one of my dreams for the year was to earn his BN.  Well he surpassed that, earning his championship, with 3 majors, and earning his CGC, as well as his BN.

For Ms. Bentley, my plan had been to work on her UKC grand, with a win at the WGSDCI National as a dream.  We didn't manage any UKC wins, but she did win WB, BOW, BOS  at the National.  She looked so pretty. Then later in the year, she earned her CGC.

So for the new year...hmm, lets see, I am dreaming here, but I am hoping for that CDX,  a breed win, a CATCH, an RN or 2, and a CGC. I am hoping to play lots of agility,  practice some nose games, and play with all of the dogs. But mostly I am just hoping for a happy, healthy family, good jobs, faith, love and happy dogs.

Happy New Year Everyone.

CH Wash (AKC Pending)

My silly little guy did good!
Finished his Championship 9.28.13 by going winners dog and best of winners at the Rockford Freeport supported entry.  He finished with somewhat limited showing and 3 majors.

Relationships

Las Last weekend Magic and I, along with several of our dog friends attended and participated in a dog agility trial. While I had a great time and I love the crew I hang out with there were several things that I observed this weekend that I found to be disturbing.


I want to start by stating that the group I hang out with is fabulous. We help, we laugh, we encourage, we support each other and the other competitors. But more importantly we help, we encourage and we support our DOGS. While we all try to be successful, we do so in a manner that is encouraging, that is safe, that works to our dogs strengths. This group will pull an entry if the course is not safe for the dog at this time, or modify a course to make it fun and successful for the dog. This group will try new things, we will push our comfort levels, but NOT intentionally at the dogs expense. Q be damned, it’s a team sport, and this group supports not only each other, but each other’s dogs. And more importantly our own dogs, you know the dogs we brought and we chose to play with.
Why am I ranting, because this weekend I saw things that made me so very sad, and at times so very angry. I saw handlers with dogs who so clearly were showing that they were uncomfortable, possibly they were stressed, appeared that they were hurting. Handlers who screamed at the dogs on course, never giving the dog any praise or good feedback, or worse gave them the same feedback for both good behavior and bad performances. There was a handler who when the dog missed a contact loudly told the dog I HATE YOU. Really??


I understand sometimes we think a dog is ready and we find out at a trial they are not. Sometimes we find out at a trial a dog is hurting or sore or stressed. I am not talking about the occasional odd run where it appears the dog is blowing off its handler, and I am not talking about training in the ring. Sometimes those things become apparent when you watch people and watch the interactions. I’m not talking about the people who are gently working with a stressed or learning dog to keep moving forward. I am talking about the handlers who week after week berate the dogs, blame the dogs

Our dogs do not choose when to go to a trial, they do not choose how we train them. Why then would we choose to make our dog miserable? I don’t understand the thought processes in this. And I really don’t want to understand it. What I want to do is rip that poor dog away from its handler, and show the dog some kindness.

I’m not perfect, I make mistakes, sometimes I get sad or mad, but dammit if I EVER act this way, if I ever blame my dog for my failures as a trainer, call me on it. Kick me, yell at me, do whatever it takes because a Q, a win or whatever is NOT WORTH IT! I want my dog looking at me just like this ALWAYS.

Agility Update

It's been a while since I have updated the blog!  We have been busy. I had a couple of agility goals this year with Magic. First I has hoping to get into the MX classes in AKC agility.  Well we are half way there, having earned his excellent jumpers title.

Our second goal for the year was to try to qualify for the CPE Nationals next year.  They are going to be held here in MN again, so I thought wouldn't it be fun if we could try to qualify.  To qualify you need to be through level 3 and earn 30 qualifying scores during the year,  We started the year in level one in most classes, so we had a bit of a job to do, but last weekend we finally earned our last needed level 3 Q and we have over the needed 30!

So now the goals are changing just a bit, as we will keep working toward earning a CPE championship, or CATCH.Which will be another 50 or so qualifiers, but hey, its fun trying!

Spring into Summer

Here in Minnesota, its been a rainy, wet, gray spring. And as always spring is very busy. Last weekend was no exception to that.  On Friday Wash and I went up to Fargo for the supported entry.  Wash had a really good time, and althought the class jusge didnt find him for the points, he did win Sweeps, and brought home a pretty ribbon, a couple of checks and a lovely purple embroidered towel.  Then on Saturday and Sunday, Magic and I went down to Rochester to play CPE.  I really am hoping to get Magic qualified for the CPE National which is happening here in MN next year. To do that though, we need to get through level 3. This weekend we were able to make a bit of progress in that regard. Magic and I qualified in all 10 runs, earning first places in all but the one class.  The one where he got second was snooker.  This is a point earning game, on this course we decided to go for it all and try to earn the maximum 51 points, but sadly we didnt quite make that last 7. Had I gone for the easier 46 points we may have gotten that blue too, but hey its always fun to try for the max.

 I am trying really hard to play as much agility with the boy as we can this year. I have several more CPE weekends in the plan. This may mean that Wash's career is a bit delayed, but he is a youngster and has planty of time, hopefully.

Grand Victrix Bentley

Last weekend Bentley, Wash, Peace and I went down to Purina Farms in Missouri to a bunch of shows.  There were 2 WGSDCI Chapter shows and a UKC show on Friday, 2 UKC shows on Saturday and the WGSDCI National Specialty on Sunday.  What a weekend. First off early in the week prior the weather forecast was for some rain on Friday but then clearing.  Well let me just say that was almost a total failure of a forecast.  It rained all day Friday and all day Saturday.  This was an outdoors show, so cold, damp, windy, wet, more wet, muddy and more wet.   I had packed what I thought would be warm enough clothes for Friday, but I seriously underestimated the wind and I think I froze most of the weekend.  Stewarding in gloves was interesting as I couldn't grab the ribbons at all, but it was fun anyways.

Friday the day started with the Texas Chapter WDSGCI show followed by the MN Chapter show, then the UKC show.  In some ways I was a bit dissapointed as these were not very big shows. I had hoped that there would be a bunch of white shepherds to play with.  However we were there so we decided to just have fun and do our best.  Bentley was WB, BOW and BOS.  In the second show we were reserve.

I did not enter the Friday UKC show since Donna was the judge, with any of the dogs.  I know that she would have judged the dogs in the ring, but I did not want anyone to get the wrong idea.  So instead we helped out and did paperwork, as well as cheered for the other dogs entered.  I know it doesnt look like there was a lot of rain, you have to trust me it was wet. 

Saturday brought more rain, and the 2 UKC shows.  This was fun too, it was the first time I really got ot be a UKC conformation steward.  I sure hope I did it all OK!   I also showed the dogs, but the wins went elsewhere.  Laura's Sassy was the cardi winner, and it was well deserved.  Tracie showed Wash for me and I took Peace in. Peace was sure the game was leaping over the puddles and Wash thought we were tracking, so neither really showed thier best. Sassy did and rightfully won.  In GSD's Bentley was a goober. She would not settle into a trot and gait. I think she thought she was a gazelle leaping over the puddles. Oh well, I cannot complain about the judges selections at all, as all the dogs were deserving. However though, all teh wet slippery grass was causing my back to have fits. Every slight slip and I was in pain, radiating up my spine and down my right leg. UGH.

Sunday was the National event. Now remember its been raining, for days. The mud, red clay slippery mud, was oozing over the grass all over the ring, all over the people, all over the dogs.  The first thing Donna says when we get there Sunday morning was OK lets make this ring the right size.  Remember this is a GSD show, the ring size was doubled.  I looked a thte size of the ring, thought about how much trouble I had running yesterday and I knew I was not going to be able to properly show Bentley.  So even though it was hard for me, I asked Donna to please show her in the bitch class.  And boy am I glad I did, as our judge gaited those dogs, up down and around, repeatedly.  Donna did an amazing job with Bentley though and the judge was patient enough with the dogs to allow them time to get inot stride so she could really see then dogs at thier best.  Thanks to Donna's skill, Bents was awarded Winners Bitch.  But that meant I had to take her back in for Breed. I did, it wasnt pretty and it hurt, but in the end Bentley was awarded BOS and Select 1, which earned her the title of Grand Victrix. Isnt that kinda awesome? 

Multiple ribbons, 2 trophies and a crystal bowl, and from Purina, 2 tote bags, a big towel and a blanket. WOW.  And an experience to remember forever. Thank you so much to our weekends judges, but mostly to Tracie and Donna for thinking that Bentley and I would be a good team, and for helping us get there.

WCRL (formerly APDT) Rally

Last weekend we attended a WCRL rally trial.  Last year APDT sold the rally program to USDAA where it became World Cynosport Rally. So far the rules have stayed the same, and all titles in progress are honored. Which is good because Magic and I were working on the 10 required QQ's for his ARCHEX.  This weekend Magic ran in 4 of the 5 trials and got the needed double q's in all 4, so he needs 2 more.  We will try for those in July at the next trial.

Bentley and I also competed. It was our first time together in a perfomrance event.  I knew that we were a long way from perfectly ready, but I wanted to get a feel for her behavior and confidence levels at a trial.  She actually did much better than I anticipated, qualifying 2 out of the 3 runs, and improving each time.  I knew we would have some issues with distractions, but overall I was very pleased with her.

Washburn also played in all 3 trials on Saturday, where he ran in the puppy class.  The puppy class is for dogs under a year, and its a shorter 10 station course.  Wash did very well and earned 3 qualifying scores, also with improvements each time.  I am thinking as he gets older and more mature I may have another very nice working boy. At least I hope we can keep that up!

Cardigan National 2013

This was my first Cardi National and I have to say I loved it.  Getting to see so many beautiful dogs took my breath away.  There will be pictures eventually, I have to get unpacked and orgranized, but I wanted to share our weeks results as I am very pleased with how well we did, and a little chagrinned at some of our foibles.  We brought home several souveniers, multiple raffle winnings and I even bought an autographed book from one of my favorite authors, Jennifer Roberson.  (Who I had loved way before I found out she had cardigans.)

Monday
Magic was first up as he was entered only in the performance events.  First up for us was Open.  His heeling was probably one of the nicest he had ever done, however it was our retrieves that made the croud laugh. As usual he was very eager for this exercise, and although he did wait for the send, he ran out and pounced on it sliding across the carpet.  He came flying back and literally threw the dumbell back at me. As it skittered by me, so did he, charging to grab it then coming to the front and presenting it to me with a perfect prairie dog sit. Of course people laughed, so for the retrieve over the high he did it again, only this time not wating for me to even send him. Oops. He also broke his stay.  Beginner Novice was next where he did Q and got a first place which awarded us with a lovely fleece travel blanket. That was also his BN title.

Then it was Wash's turn in the BN ring.  He was a very good boy and qualified with a second place, earning him his BN title.

Then Magic and I ran over to agility.  I had already skipped the FAST class, and we had missed the ex jumpers walk through, but I watched a couple of dogs run and we went out and gave it a shot.  I did get momentarily lost on the course, so it wasnt as smooth as possible, but we qualified and got a first place.  then in  open standard we had a very nice run, one of the prettiest we have ever done together. It felt really smooth and together, and it must have been because along with another first it was also high in trial preferred. We won a really lovely quilted and embroidered fleece blanket. What a lovely keepsake.

Tuesday
Again Magic and I NQ'd in open, this time failing almost every exercise. Then I moved him to GN where he again repeated the dumbell toss to NQ there as well.  Wash did BN again, this time earning a first place and  an etched glass jar award. Sadly somehow the ribbons got messed up and his ribbon says open rather than the BN it was.

Once obedience was done, we ran over to the agility trial where Magic and I qualified in open standard earning him his title, with another first.  Ex jumpers also was another Q and first place.  Our only bobble in T2B was a miscue where I caused him to back jump rather than wrap. Oh well, other than that I loved the course and how well Magic was running. Clearly all his chiro care and massages are helping! We had perfect weaves both days.

In the afternoon it was time for the Megan. I did dress up and Peace and I went and participated.  While I knew we were not in contention, I wanted to do this with my girl.  I think she had a good time. 

Wednesday
Puppy Sweeps.  Wash was in the 10-12 month class.  It wasnt the largest class, but there were 10 pups.  Wash was a very good boy and I thought showed himself very well. I was so surprised to be called out to the front of the line.  I guess you could see me shaking across the room. Wash took first and his brother Mal came in 3rd.  We didnt win the best puppy, but there was some stunning competition.  Kalee, Wash's sister took 2nd in her class so all 3 of the pups placed! That had to have been a thrill for all of his breeders.

Thursday
Thursday was the dog classes.  Sadly, Wash was very spooked by the judge. He is a large man and really rather imposing, and Wash just sort of freaked out.  He was not going to let that man touch him, no way no how. So I asked to be excused and we left the ring.  Poor Wash he was very very stressed out.  I was as well.  I gave him some time to relax and then took him out to see how he would be. From that point forward, there was not a man on site that he would tolerate. They were all terrifying.  I have to say I was dissapointed. I had hoped that he would do well of course.

Later in the day we were scheduled to test for our CGC. To say I was worried would be an understatement. Fortunately the tester was a woman and while I could see the signs of stress in him, he did pass his CGC.  So did his brother Mal. Yeah for both boys.  I had a drink or 2.

Friday
Friday was a down day for us. the only thing we did was the Parade of Titleholders.  I had entered Peace so she would have something to take home from the big event. I had also entered Magic. Let's just say we could have gone around the ring twice in the time it took the announcer to read all of his titles.  Maybe this was arrogance, but I wanted everyone to know what a great dog he really is. I had several people come up to me afterward to comment on all of his titles and how nice it was to see a fluff out there.

Saturday
Saturday was the last day. First Peace had breed. It was an honor to be in the ring with so many beautiful dogs. After breed I got the pleasure of handling Kaylee (Wash's sister) in the stud dog class, with Eddie and Malcom.  While we were not awarded, it was an awful lot of fun. 

After the show Saturday evening, we had a bit of a disaster.  We were not staying at the host hotel. We had decided to go back to our hotel and pack up and then planned on leaving right after the banquet to start the long drive home Saturday rather than Sunday morning.  We left the dogs at the host hotel, planning on packing there, then going to the banquet, then packing the show stuff. On the way to the hotel though, the van died. We were able to start it, but it kept dying. Fortunately we were able to nurse it to the hotel. Now though we were worried about getting 8 dogs and all our show stuff from the host hotel. Fortuantely some corgi people are generally really good people and we had some wonderful people help us get it all over to us.  We were able to get the fuel pump replaced on Monday and hit the orad home.  Got home at 5:30am on Wednesday, and then went to work. 

What an adventure. Can't wait to do it again!  Pictures will follow as soon as I get organized.

Wash, new UKC Champion

This weekend Wash and Bentley and I played a little at the UKC show.  Wash was a very good boy and earned 2 group 4s over the weekend, which gave him his competion wins and his UKC championship.  Such a good boy.

Grace

Its a photo of the collage, but I sure like it.

CPE agility

Last weekend Magic and I went and ran some CPE agility. We had a pretty good weekend overall.  Magic and I ran 7 times together qualifying in all of them.  Magic also ran jumpers with our friend Tracie. It seems that I filled out the volunteer availability wrong and so was in the ring working when our turn came up, so when I said just scratch us, Tracie asked to run him.  Although they did not qualify, they ran pretty well together, with only a couple of bobbles including the wrong end of a tunnel.  I was quite impressed actually, since this was the first time he had ever run with anyone else.  Such a good boy.

The next couple of weekends are obedience trials that I chair, so Magic will get to take some time off.

A good start to 2013

This weekend was our first dog event for 2013, On Friday the Northstar Herding Group show and then the weekend was the Land O Lakes show.  It was Wash's second show weekend, and he had a pretty good one.  On Friday first was puppy sweepstakes.  Wash took second to his brother Malcolm, but then in the show, Wash was Winners Dog and Best of winners for a 3 point major.  On Saturday he repeated WD and BOW for 4 points.  Today, he was reserve to Malcolm.  Not a bad weekend for the boys at all.

Later this afternoon, Wash was able to go in the ring with Meredith, his co-owner for juniors.  It was a large class of 22 kids, so Wash had to be a good boy for a really long time.  Although I thought Meredith handled him very well, they did not get a placement. However I think it was an invaluable experience for an 8 month old puppy.

Our one issue this weekend is that Wash was showing a few signs of stress. At least I think it was stress. On Friday we ran into a friend of mine who gave me a hug.  Wash immediately started barking and growling  Initially I thought maybe he was trying to protect me, but I am really not sure.  He showed signs of being concerned about new people several times over the weekend. I am hoping it is an age thing, or a hormone thing, or just something we can work through, but I will say its something that made me a bit concerned.  So I am pretty sure the little man will be taking a lot of excursions in the very near future-out and about to learn about life.

Overall though, a pretty fun weekend.

2012 recap and a look toward 2013

I have such mixed feelings about this last year. We had some really incredible moments, and some very difficult and sad moments.  Last year at this time, I had set a few goals, some were met, some not, but overall the Daybreake crew exceeded my wildest imaginings.

Sadly though, we lost Grace in October.  It was a low point of the year. Up until she started to fail, she had a good year. Just the weekend before, she had been playing in both agility and conformation and had a wonderful weekend.  She will never be forgotten, she gave me so much. She taught me patience, she taught me persistence, she taught me joy. She was always herself, and taught me to be myself, no matter what.  While physically she is gone, she lives on in her daughters and in our hearts.

Some highlights this year:
Siren earned the first NW1 title in Minnesota, and passed her ORT for level 2.
Peace earned an International championship
Grace earned 2 agility titles, TG1 and TBAD, as well as a few qualifying runs in other organizations.
Bentley picked up another leg towards her Grand Championship with a group 1 just a week after she came to us.
Wash earned his first point toward his championship.
Magic was amazing, earning first his UROC and UACH at Premier, then his UROG at a local show and his UACHX at Gateway. We earned 5 high in trial in Rally. We picked up several other agility titles and his AKC CA. But the most unusual would be the day he earned his NDD-Novice Draft Dog from the Bernese Mountain Dog Club.  Pretty fun playing with the big dogs.

Looking forward I have a few goals, of course these are just things to work toward.  For Magic I really would like to earn his CDX, and to continue to work toward the various agility championships.  Yes I admitted it I would like to try to to earn another championship.  For Peace, I am hoping for the chance to finish her UKC grand championship. For Siren and Wash a beginner novice obedience title. NW2 for Rinnie would be nice, but it will depend on availability and travel dollars.  Also for Wash, I hope to work toward his conformation championship. For Bentley we will be training but she will hopefully work toward her UKC Grand Championship also.

Remember when I mentioned wildest dreams??  Well how about Bentley winning Winners Bitch at the White GSD National, or Wash earning his BN at the Cardi National? Dreams are OK right?

From all of us at Daybreake, we wish you success, joy, peace and love for the New Year.