Kaleb's fans

FCRSC NATIONAL SPECIALTY 2010, originally uploaded by coastalight.

I love this shot that a friend took at the Specialty, I just found it today ... some of Kaleb's biggest fans are in the background :)

Whoopin' it up!

We're performing at our local Fair "Whoop-up Days" this week and the dogs are loving every second of it!

... nothing is better than a Gyppie Hug

... gimme that sheep toy, woman!

Gyp is loving the crowds and meeting all of the kids, and she doesn't mind all the noise - and we are beside the main stage where LOUD bands are playing! I am so happy that she isn't getting really spooked, a wee bit worried the odd time, but just her usual stuff -nothing like at Nationals where she was literally jumping out of her skin ... She still hates the porta potties, but we just walk around them :)

In between set-ups K and I do a Search demo, I ask brave strangers in the Crowd for their Car Keys, I put Kaleb in a stay behind the bleachers, I go out hide the keys in the grass, and release him to "SEARCH" ... he has 100% Success rate so far ... good boy, I don't want to be giving people rides home because he can't find their keys!

Jane even got to come out and do the Demo last night, but I didn't get a photo :(, she had a great time!!

More photos to come!

i'm on a horse.

i'm on a horse. :: 34/52, originally uploaded by sarah ....

Hello, fans, look at your dog, now back to me, now back at your dog, now back to me. Sadly, your dog isn’t me, but if your dog stopped using cheap shampoo and switched to mine, he could smell like he’s me. Look down, back up, where are you? You’re on a boat with the dog, your dog could smell like me. What’s in your hand, back at me. I have it, it’s an oyster with two tickets to that thing you love. Look again, the tickets are now dog cookies. Anything is possible when your dog smells like me.

I’m on a horse.

- - -- -

We took part in our Local Parade advertising our Demos at the Fair for the week ... here are some highlights

Jane and her pal Charlie ...

Jane riding in her wagon ...

"She doesn't have to walk, she is a professional"

was the best quote heard from a kid in the crowd

Donna, Aislyn and Charlie (horse)

Gyp doing her thing and greeting people and loving every second of it.

The gang ...

Kaleb doing his thing, soaking children with his toxic slobber...

Waiting to get the show on the road ...

"filet o' Jane" ... Don't eat me Ronald!

puppy fever

me chewz on stuff, originally uploaded by sarah ....

i visited blazingstar this weekend for a puppy fix ... i thought a puppy fix was supposed to curb my want for a pup. um, i want a pup even more!

ding dang they r cute.

me cat. me pup.

hi i'm cat. hi i'm pup., originally uploaded by sarah ....

i'm yours ....

i'm yours., originally uploaded by sarah ....

and Tinbie .. he's not a pup but I could steal him anyway :)

Mr. Tinbergen, originally uploaded by sarah ....

u talkin' to me??

u talkin' to me?, originally uploaded by sarah ....

And to set the record straight and curb the rumours

... we are not getting a puppy ... Pete hates puppies ...

he really hates them.

Mama's don't let your babies grow up to be Kaleb.

VIEWERS BEWARE: the following photos contain crude amounts of drool, abnormal lenghts of tongue, and whole lotta crazeeee.

Mama's, don't let your babies grow up to be Kaleb., originally uploaded by sarah ....

Jane and Gyp even tried thier paw at the new craze sweeping the Nation ... but they need alot of work, sorry girls, I'm just not seeing enough crazeeee

but he just wants to say "hi"....

he just wants say 'hi!' ..., originally uploaded by sarah ....

Proof is on the Podium

I had to post this photo, I didn't get a podium photo last year, well nobody did, as it was pitch black and we used flashlights to get our ribbons!

I am in the same spot I was last year LOL - I'll take a consistent 3rd out of 54 dogs, I am just a little proud of our accomplishment. I promise this will be the last Nationals photo, well until I get the photos back from the photographer, then you get to relive it all over again with me :0)

let the good times roll

let the good times roll :: 32/52, originally uploaded by sarah ....

and those good times are rollin' in deer shit.

ooohhh yaaaa.

- - - -
52 Weeks for Dogs

I loved this shot 'cause you can kind of see Jane's toothless grin, pure joy, baby, pure joy.

Post-traumatic Nationals DIsorder

So I keep waking up in the morning thinking I have to train for Nationals, and I have even woke up in the middle of the night thinking I have to run that day, what ring am I in. It is really odd! What the Ef!

I think it is because the weekend went by so fast, I didn't even have time to think about it, It was go go go, and I didn't sit back and really appreciate what we did as much I would have liked! Especially going right back to work the next day.

I am so proud of my guys, I guess now it is just sinking in what they each accomplished ...

Gyp had 54 dogs in her class and placed 3 rd overall

- With individual placements of: 1st Jumpers, 2nd Gamblers, 2nd Standard, and 3 Gamblers

Kaleb had 56 dogs in his class and placed 19th overall

- Still I am most proud of his Pre-Qual in 4 runs!!

- Just one bar down in almost each run, no biggie, I am very proud.

- He brought home and 9th Place Individual in Standard

By writing this down one more time, it is final, I can close the book, and hopefully the night terrors will end ... Nationals are over, Nationals are over ...

I am the man.

Here is K's pre-qual video, I was so proud of him for Qualifying and running clean in 4 Runs with 410 points, instead of having to run the potential 6 to Qualify to run the rest of the weekend, which was really just icing on the cake!! He ran great all weekend - just a bar down here and there - which is odd for him. I knew 10 runs was alot to ask of him, but in K style he tried his hardest, had a great time, and got rewarded after every run by a dip in the fountain!

I must day though, the morning of the pre-qual .... Kaleb bolted out of the door at Jan & Dave's acreage and would not come in, he was running the around the field with a sock in his mouth bouncing and bounding, I almost left him at home I was so mad!! Luckily he redeeemed himself ...

Whatta boy, I honestly didn't think 9 weeks ago, hell, 6 weeks ago that he would be running, it really was special.

And I got his BOS Specialty Win Photo too this week ... such a handsome lad, I mean Kaleb

... quit gawking at the Mountie would ya! :)

Funny, but this photo was taken where the Jumpers ring was this weekend at Nationals!

We're back from Nationals ...

We're back from AAC Nationals! I am so tired ... I took a whopping 4 photos. Yep 4.... you'd think having a National in our backyard would be more relaxing, not so, I have never been this tired after a National! I'm super f'ing exhausted and sore, but equally super f'ing happy, which makes it all worth it.

Let start from the beginning, grab a coffee and/or a beer and enjoy ...

Friday ....

Kaleb had to run the pre-qualifier because of his Torsion 10 days before Regioanls - so a whole Regional weekend of 6 runs in one day YIKES - if a dog reaches 350 in fewer runs, they can quit and choose not to run the final runs. I was sooooo proud of K for Qualifying in 4 runs with 410 points, with 4 clean runs!! Whatta boy! So by 1pm that day he was done until Saturday - I was so happy with him, the rest of the weekend was just icing on the cake. Just having him run there was amazing, I honestly didn't think 9 weeks ago, he'd be running.

Gyp was entered in the 2 rounds of Steeplechase that day. She had been spooky all week since an incident with a Kite in the park (the Kite flew up from the ground and I've never seen her that scared). It was like when I first got her, I worked so hard to get her used to everyday things, it was sad to see her so timid. I went to warm her up for Steeplechase and she bolted from me, ears pinned, tail tucked, she was cautious and worried, then I became the same - bad combo. Once in the ring she was OK and got better as she ran, I have no idea what spooked her then. I literally couldn't walk her from the Rings to the benching area without her jumping out of her skin 10 times. She wouldn't take treats or play with her toy during warm-up. She ran really well and Qd in each, but it just wasn't Gyp. I was feeling so bad for her, and was quickly told that was bad to do - it is a negative emotion and she was picking up on it.

Saturday ....

I found out Gyp made the Steeplechase finals on Saturday night, but Saturday afternoon, I pulled her out of the event as I wanted to rest her and not have her be freaked out and have more set-backs. During the day on Saturday, I would carry her part way to and from the ring to minimize the freakiness - people, garbage bins, porta-potties and she HATED the echoing Barn we were benched in - everything was bad :( I brought her tent to ringside each run, and she perked up when dogs were warming up and started barking at them, which was a good sign, we could do a quick play, put her back in the tent, and pretty much go from the tent to the ring - the place she felt safest :)

Jumpers: Both dogs ran lovely, and each had a bar - which is odd for both dogs, but great runs none the less!

Gamblers: Gyp was freaked on the start line, but again once running was great, she got her Gamble, Kaleb didn't get the end Gamble, again both great runs.

Standard: Gyp's Standard another bar came down in an otherwise lovely run, I just couldn't feel her intensity like normal, but she is all heart and did her job. Kaleb ran awesome and clean, and it was a great run for the end of the day!

Gyp had acupuncture, some relaxation techniques and some adjustments done Saturday afternoon to possibly help her relax - she looked so stoned after her acupuncture, it was the first time she looked relaxed since being there, I had to come up with a game plan for Sunday to minimize her stress, I talked to some seasoned BC people and got some GREAT advice. My Sunday game included, changing my path to the rings ... for both of us! Benching outside in a friend's shade tent instead of the scary barn (which was also half the distance to the ring), keeping her and Kaleb together, playing with them together in stressful areas, minimizing the trigger situations, taking the tent to the ring and most of all NOT feeling sorry for her and I HAD to leave the emotions of Saturday behind. I cuddled her in my arms that night, and she didn't move a muscle, I think we both needed that.

Still reading .... go get a refill, this time add Bailey's ...

Sunday ...

A new day!!! A little more rested, we all had a great day!

Gamblers:

Gyp ROCKED. She had 50 and 52 points in Sat & Sun Gambles, and got her final Gamble again. And guess what? SO did the K-man! He still had some spunk left in him :)

Standard:

Gyp was coming around, and I was getting less worry and more intensity outside the rings - I was happy and so was she - I love that dog. She had a wonderful Standard, clean, smooth and fast! Kaleb had a really good run too, I could tell he was getting tired (this was his 9th run of the weekend) and he ran clean but knocked a bar.

Jumpers:

The last run of the weekend ... Kaleb again, knocked a bar - a clue that he was maybe not 100% in shape and just getting really tired - I'm not sure he has ever knocked a bar in competition! He also got distracted by some poodles outside of the rings LOL. Nothing to complain about with my boy, nothing at all. Then it was Gyp's turn. She was ON. I had my dog back, what a great feeling. I took her out of her kennel and she barked and tugged all the way to the ring. We has a long warm-up, very little weirdness. It was the run that felt the most normal all weekend. She nailed it, it felt so good to see her so happy, not only IN the ring, BUT OUTSIDE of it too.

Soooo ... the results ...

Gyp Placed 3rd overall again this year, in her Division of around 50 dogs.

3rd Place Gamblers, 2nd Place Standard, 2nd Place Gamblers, and 1st Place Jumpers! Again the other two runs were great ... just one bar in each. What a Girl!

Hey, don't forget about me .... no Top 10 Finish for K-man this year, but in the run where the bars did stay up, he placed 9th/56. He ran 10 runs over three days including his pre-qaulifier. I am still most thrilled with that performance ... his first time back and 4 clean runs in one day, what a boy. His only bobble over the rest of the weekend was a dropped bar in each jumpers and the Standard, and he got one Gamble. Kaleb figures he got enough ribbons the weekend before anyway, he's kind of getting sick of satin and ruffles :)

Thanks to my awesome friends who helped haul my crap around to the rings in order to help with Gyp and keep me calm. I love that people really care. People took time to talk to me about help me work out Gyp's issues, and shared similar stories, which helped me alot. Thanks to my friends for putting us all up at their place, and keeping things light and fun. Our group did great, everyone came home with atleast one individual placement ribbon from an event. It was a great weekend, one I will never forget, and hopefully I will remember it all soon once I am not so tired!!

The dogs are now getting a nice Agility break again, and will be raring to go for our Agility Trial at the end of the month. It's hard to explain how I feel, I feel so lucky to have my dogs, they are truly incredible in their own little ways, they have alot of heart. There is nothing like the bond with a dog who loves you, and who you love 100x more.

We're off to Nationals ...

We hit the road tomorrow for AAC Nationals at Spruce Meadows - a long 2 hour drive LOL, sure beats a 5 hour flight, then renting a Van, and getting lost in a city you don't know! I am as ready as I'm going to be and so are the dogs! I had a private lesson on Saturday night and some last minute fine tuning on Sunday which was great for my confidence.

Kaleb has to run the Pre-Qualifier (6 runs - or as many runs as it takes to get 350 points - I'm hoping for 4) because of his Torsion in June, he was only 10 days into recovering during Regionals. He is running AWESOME (knock on wood - wood being, Kaleb's noggin). So by Friday afternoon I'll know if he's running the rest of the weekend.

Gyp has been running really well and we are in a nice groove, so hopefully we can maintain that through the weekend.

We have 6 dogs going from Go! Dog! Go! and 3 from Flashing Canines .. we are all benching together and have come up with a fun name for the occasion ...

I've painted my toes, bought the large amount of booze necessary for each night, the dogs are rested, just starting to pack, I think we're ready!!

I will TRY to update each day on the Go Dog Go blog > Check it out!

We're Back! Well, for 4 days ....

my boy and his stuff, originally uploaded by sarah ....

We spent the week at the Regional and Canadian FCR Specialties at Spruce Meadows. We got to meet so many friends and see many wonderful flat-coats!!

Kaleb had a great Specialty, beyond anything I would have imagined, having him there participating was good enough for me!

Wednesday, Regional Specialty:
- Kaleb won his Veterans Male 7-9 Class, made the cut in Breed and went on to win Best of Opposite in Specialty!! It was thrilling under Judge Vivianne Bowen (Clandrift), England. Considering he is Neutered and has shaved spots I was thrilled! She commented on his hard physical condition, a workman-like type dog.
- He also placed 2nd in the Working Retriever Class.

Thursday Rally Obedience:
- K scored a 99, High in Class and Finished his Rally Advanced Title, he placed 2nd in the Afternoon class with another qualifier.

Friday National Specialty:
- K placed 4th in a large Veteran Sweeps class under Judge Alice Andrews
- Kaleb placed 3rd in his vet Male 7-9 class under Judge James Irvine.

Kaleb also took part in the Judges seminar, where they discuss the dogs they judged and what they liked and didn't like about the dogs! It was a cool experience and to hear each judge's interpretation of why they made their choices as they did.

Kaleb also earned the Beauty and Brains award for placing in both Conformation and a Performance event.

I was a little worried about him on the last day at the event as he seemed a little lethargic ... we headed back to our friends place for an Agility seminar ... there was nothing wrong wih him, I think he was just getting bored at the show ... he was a maniac on the Agility Field. I'm so glad to have my boy back, it was an amazing experience this weekend.

Another weekend at Spuce Meadows this weekend, I'm home for 4 days, then off to the AAC Agility Nationals!!