Results of the National...

Well, no good news to report. Sophie went 0 for 4 in agility and 0 for 1 in Obedience. It just was not our show!
First agility course was all my fault - I was a head case so she wanted no parts of me.

Second course was a battle of wills - and her's won! Our table down took at good 10 seconds to achieve, and the weave poles were optional in Sophie's world.

Third course was a beautiful up until obstacle 9 and 10 - when a big ugly off course appeared - serious tunnel suckage for the Sofa dog :( As though that wasn't enough, we missed the entry into the poles.

Final course was a big disappointment cause we were very close to getting it right! She got her entry to the poles, but then forgot how to count to 12 - popping out at pole 10. Huge bummer, but the rest of the course was REALLY nice!

On Wednesday we showed in Obedience. I was hoping to bring home a ribbon here, but again, it was not our day! Heeling was poor to say the least - we had a broken sit again for some reason and missed all but two of the halts! Her drop was lovely! Then retrieve on the flat - she must have gone blonde for a moment cause I told her to "take it!" and she looked at me like she had never heard those words before in her life...so she went on my second command, thus NQ. Retrieve on the high was nice enough, but it was already over at this point. Broad jump was a bit odd - she came over, then front, but no sit, then no get back...that was a new one. On the stays, I think Sophie KNEW it was pointless to sit for that long, so she took the first opportunity to lay down - the moment I stepped away from her! She enjoyed her long down, and fell asleep!

Our National experience was not at all what I was expecting performance wise. The kids did behave very well while on the trip, and all three enjoyed the love they got from strangers as they passed :) It was great to see Cash's brother, Trey, and compare notes with Karen - Trey's owner and one of Cash's breeder's. And we enjoyed seeing our friends compete, especially Cash's older family members. Uncle Nikon was very impressive on Tuesday at the GRCA show!

Here we are - all tired out after two days of agility trialing.

Our one shining moment was the Rescue Parade, where Sophie was spot lighted with 50 other rescues. She received her big ribbon and a certificate for participating. It was a nice ending to the adventure of our first National :)

Sophie finishes her NAJ

We've had lovely weather the entire month of August here in the Garden State... then September rolls in and the heat and humidity are back! Despite the disgusting weather, we trialed Sunday in agility at the Princeton Dog Training Club trial, held in Jamesburg, NJ.

Sophie ran her first Open Standard Course and impersonated a bird - HUGE fly-off on the teeter! It was humorous, and so unsafe! NQ for Standard. We waited around for hours and finally came the Novice Jumpers run. She did an awesome job on a very friendly course. Perfect score, 19.77 seconds - which works out to be 4+ yards per second. Sophie came in 2nd to a wicked fast Border Collie who spanked her by almost 4 seconds!

So now its on to Open in the Jumpers ring - first run will be at our National - one week from now in the lovely little state of Rhode Island :)

I just love agility ribbons - they always give such nice rosettes!

The simple joy of tennis balls

Tennis balls do not come out very often at our house. Tennis balls can be dangerous. Tennis balls cause fairly well trained dogs to go berserk! Sophie will spend days looking around the yard after a tennis ball has been sited. But they do bring joy - so once in a while - tennis balls are brought into the mix...

Here's young Mr. Cash flying toward the yellow ball - and Ms. Sophie in pursuit as well, despite the fact that she already has the blue tennis ball in her mouth. She needs to learn to share the toys...

Then there's Jesse... Her idea of joy is more solitary and sedated. While the youngsters run amok, she manages to get two of the three tennis balls in her possession.

First she taste tests them to see if they really are tennis balls...

Then she raises the tennis ball up to the sky - as if to give thanks to the tennis ball Gods for allowing her this simple joy...

Then she rests, knowing both the tennis balls are her's...but she knows to keep them very close, as the two youngsters are always near by - ready to take away the tennis ball!