Advanced Gamblers

 

Liam and I went to an agility trial yesterday. I always say any trial where we have a Q is a good trial. They are especially good when Liam gets a Q (qualifying score). That boy tries so hard and I do think he enjoys agility.  Yesterday's trial was at a location where I know he does not like the teeter at all! Our first run was a Gamblers where you get to plan your own opening run and the Main Gamble was the A-frame and two jumps so I decided we would not even try to do the teeter or the dog walk.  The dog walk has the same angle as the teeter so dogs often think it might be the teeter. 

I planned our opening going up the right hand side of the ring. We did the 4 point jump, the tunnel to the left, back again through the tunnel to the 4 point jump. I had intended to push Liam to the backside of the jump so he would be jumping towards the A-frame but he was too fast for me and took it on a slice which worked out just fine. After the A-frame, it was off to try the back mini gamble (labelled a,b,c). Liam did the tunnel, came in towards me and when I sent him back out he took the jump on the side labelled B, then he back jumped the side labelled b. You can only do an obstacle twice for points in the opening so now we couldn't get the mini gamble. In any case, I had him do the tunnel under the dog walk twice and then the buzzer for the end of the opening time went. I got him back and over the A-frame, I really didn't expect him to stay out to the first jump but he did and he also stayed out for the second jump which really surprised me. I wasn't sure we had made time as he stuttered stepped to both jumps and I wasn't even sure if I'd had stepped over the gamble line or not. The Gamble line ended at the dog walk, sometimes judges will tell you that the line goes to infinity but for this course the judge said the line ended at the dog walk so you had to treat it like a handler's box. With a handler's box, you can't cross any of the lines until the dog is past the point of faulting so for a jump, when their 4 feet are past the jump bar. I was so excited that he did the gamble that I thought I might have crossed the line while he was still jumping.

Luckily, I hadn't. Liam got a qualifying score with 25 points in the opening; he needs 16 as a Veteran dog. And he was well under the Gamble time, in fact even was he still in Specials, it still would have been a Q

Our next two runs were Standard agility runs. In the first run, the dog walk was the second obstacle. Liam didn't want to do it at all thinking it might be the teeter. The dogs can wear a flat collar now so I just put my finger in the collar and talked him over it. Our time ended before we got to the teeter so we didn't get to try that. In the second run, the teeter was the 6th obstacle. Liam again did not want to do it, so again I put my finger in his collar and coaxed him up and over. We got a round of applause when he finally did the teeter. For both Standards, the parts of the runs he did do, he did very well and he only had one jump down in all three runs. 

I'm not exactly sure how to work with him about this teeter, he does other teeters pretty well. I am going to try and weight mine so it drops faster and put a piece of plywood under the end so it bangs a bit on the drop.

But all in all, it was a good trial. We didn't have to get up too early, we were home before dinner time, the weather was good and Liam got a qualifying score. One more Advanced Gambler Q and he'll be in Masters Gamblers. 

Leaping Liam

Liam turned five in June, where did the time go? Anyway, with the Agility Association of Canada because Liam has been in Specials for over a year I could move him to the Veterans class at five. This means he gets more time or needs fewer points for his qualifying scores.

I ran Liam at a trial as a Veteran just days after he turned five. In the two Standard courses he ran, he was well under the veteran time, but had he been still in Specials he would have been over time in both runs. We didn't get a qualifying score but did have one really nice run with only five faults for refusing a tunnel.

This past Sunday we went to another trial. It was stinking hot and in the afternoon, it poured rain. They delayed the trial until the worst of the rain was over so we didn't have to run in the rain but we sure were soaked. Liam was in four events, a Standard, a Gamblers, a Snooker and a Jumpers. In his first run, the Std, we had a beautiful run, clean until the dogwalk, the second last obstacle when Liam decided to bail off of it. I think he thought it was the teeter again; as he sometimes gets spooked by unfamiliar teeters. Our next run was a Gamblers; as a veteran, Liam now only needs 16 points in his opening and gets more time to do the Main Gamble at the end. Liam knocked one bar on this run but we got 24 points in our opening. On to the main gamble, marked 1, 2 and 3 at the bottom of the picture, Liam did the jump and the first tunnel beautifully but he stopped at the second tunnel, after some verbal encouragement I got him to take the tunnel. I thought we had a refusal so was surprised to see that we had a qualifying score.  Liam's first Advanced qualifying score.

Advanced Gamblers

Our next run was a Snooker, this is a very unforgiving game as you can get whistled off very quickly. I had planned to do R4 (a red jump), then tunnel 6 to R2 where I would do obstacle 7, the same tunnel twice, followed by R1 and obstacle 7 again before running the close, obstacles 2 through 7 as numbered.  We got the first red jump done and obstacle 6, then Liam knocked the bar on R2 so we had to go on to another R (red) jump. We went for R3 and did obstacle 7. I then thought that by doing R1 and 7 again we would be back on my plan for points but again Liam knocked the bar. Most of the close as you can see in the picture is jumps and I was sure he would knock another bar before we had enough points. But Liam ran the close beautifully, I was just sending him in the tunnel the second time for obstacle 7 when the buzzer for time sounded. As a veteran, Liam only needed 32 points and we got 35. The red jumps are worth one point and the number of the other obstacles is the point value. Liam's second Advanced Qualifying score.

Advanced Snooker

Our last run was a Jumpers, it walked really nicely and it was a good course for Liam with not too many straight on jumps, most were angled or he had to take the backside that he likes to do anyway. We had a really nice run; I thought we had another qualifying score. Then the gatekeeper told me he had dropped a bar, the judge told me later that it was really late dropping, that Liam was already on the ground when the bar dropped. It was a bit disappointing but we were happy with the day anyway. I always say any day with a Q is a good day and overall Liam ran well.  Snooker was a bit of a mess but in his other runs he only knocked two bars.

So Leaping Liam is enjoying being a veteran dog, our next trials won't be until the fall, possibly even not until winter as I'll be away when the next outdoor trials near me are being held.

Oh and I should mention that Liam also went to a real Hoopers trial and managed to get two qualifying runs there too. Unfortunately, the trial host isn't planning to run any more trials this year. It's too bad as they just revised the rules and fewer points are now needed for titles so Liam probably could have gotten his first Hoopers titles with another couple runs.

Another Christmas come and gone!

 Well, it's been awhile since I last wrote but I just couldn't think of what to write about. 

Christmas has come and gone. We had the traditional family gatherings, even though those have changed over the years as my nieces and nephews left home and started their own families. I hosted a Boxing Day dinner for my two sisters and their husbands. The menu was tomato panko topped haddock with salad as the appetizer, chicken Cordon Bleu with a mashed potato casserole and roasted asparagus as the main course; and for dessert there was gingerbread cake with vanilla sauce and whipped cream. Everything turned out fine but I don't think I'd make the Cordon Bleu again. 

Haddock and salad

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Gingerbread cake

Before the Christmas season really got started, I had some friends over for brunch and to help decorate my tree.  One of the friends is vegan so brunch was vegan pancakes, maple curry roasted vegetables, hash browns and fresh fruit. There was also sausage for the non vegans. After eating, we decorated my tree. A few years ago, I decided to start naming the Christmas tree. This year from those names that were suggested, the name Cailun was chosen. 

If you Google Cailun, you're likely to find it means "little girl" in Irish Gaelic but one web site said it is derived from the word "caille" which is Scots Gaelic for "from the forest". So whatever definition you like, it was a good name. Cailun was a near perfect tree. I'm sure I say that every year but it was a beautiful tree. 

Cailun - the Christmas tree of 2024

I also had friends over again at New Year's. We were a small group this year as only five people could make it. It was nice though with just a small group as we seemed to have more time to sit and chat. We did our group photo and toast to the New Year around 11pm but everyone stayed until we could actually celebrate the New Year's arrival. 

Since the holidays, I've had a cold followed by the flu, neither lasted very long but it certainly doesn't get you in the mood to do anything and I'm not much of a winter person anyway. Liam and I have started back to agility and hoopers classes. In the Spring, Teddy will probably go back to doing some ratting classes. I'm already thinking of camping season but haven't made any plans. We'll probably stick close to home this year. 

So that really brings you up to date with what's going on with Teddy, Liam and me. Pretty boring right?

Advanced Standard Qualifying Score

Liam got an Advanced Standard Qualifying Score, a Q, this weekend.  I was a little bummed when I saw the course maps and saw that he had to get two weave entries on each course. In Advanced, they have to do 12 weaves. I thought, oh well, it's good practice. In his first run, he did get one of the weave entries but also came around the first jump to take the backside of it, something he doesn't usually do, but other than that the run was pretty good. The second run was nearly the reverse but the weaves were moved a bit.

I knew I couldn't lead out too much or he would just run around the tire. This was a pretty good course for Liam not too many jumps in a row and those that were there weren't in a straight line. I knew our problems would be the weave entries and keeping jumps up, especially 9 and 10 and 15 and 16. Liam broke his start line but did the tire and since I hadn't planned to lead out much I wasn't caught out of place. We were clean going to 9, I handled the jumps with a front cross between 9 and 10 which gave him an angled approach to 10. Then a front cross after 10, that meant he was doing off side weaves and so had a better chance of getting the entry. It also meant that I could push him into the tunnel at 12; the handlers that opted to do onside weaves ended up with their dog going into the wrong end of the tunnel. Liam got the second weave entry and was still clean going to the dog walk and the final jump but I know that it was still possible to fault. He didn't, he got the dog walk contact and left up the final bar.  

I gave Liam a jackpot without knowing if we were over time or not as he works hard at his agility.  He was under time and not just by a second or two but by over 9 seconds. Considering, he stops to take nearly every jump that was really a nice run.  

Unfortunately, the club's Q ribbons are on backorder so we had to take our official photo with a first place ribbon. Liam didn't care as he got more hot dogs and Charlie Bears for the picture taking.

A satisfied grin

Starter Games Dog of Canada

Liam and I went to an agility trial yesterday, the first in quite a while since we were away on an East Coast adventure. I'll blog about that trip soon.

I entered Liam in four events, two Advanced Standards, one Advanced Jumpers and one Starter Snooker. Our first event was an Advanced Standard, it was a train wreck. Liam knocked about every second bar, refused a tunnel and missed his weave entry. I was quite disappointed and wondered why with his eye sight issue that we were still doing agility. 

Next up was another Advanced Standard, Liam did much better in this run. He only had 5 faults for knocking one bar. Our third run was a Starter Snooker. Liam needed a qualifying run in this event to get his Starter Games title. 

It was a good course for Liam. No contacts, only six weaves, and not too spread out. I did worry about all the jumps. In Starters Snooker, there's no refusals called so we would just be wasting time if he argued about doing the tunnels or the weaves.  You have to get 37 points in 60 seconds to get a qualifying score. All the red jumps are marked with a 1 and they're worth one point. The point value of other obstacles is their number. I planned to do red jump by the start line (marked with a d), then the number 7 jump, red jump by the weaves, then the weaves, red jump in the middle, then again to number 7 going right into the number 2 tunnel to start the close. With that opening I needed to get through to obstacle 5 to have enough points.

It all went as planned, Liam was actually rather fast especially for him and we finished the course in 36.50 seconds. He kept all the bars up, didn't argue about doing any tunnels and got his weave entries. We finished the whole close, that's obstacles 2 through 7 for a total of 50 points.

Doesn't he look proud of himself! Our last event was an Advanced Jumpers. There were so few dogs in Starters and Advanced that I basically had to put Liam in his crate and walk that course right away. We had the qualifying score I wanted so I was pretty relaxed. Liam did well in the Jumpers, he kept up all the bars but decided to do the backside of one jump for an off course but he was running pretty well and would have made time. 

So we ended the day ready to keep playing at agility. Liam likes to play and even if he'll never be a great agility champion, he tries hard. 

How Did That Happen?

It was Liam's 4th birthday this week on 4 June.  I no longer have a puppy, well really, I haven't had a puppy for a while. I'm starting to get puppy fever but with costs rising, two is all that I really can afford. Liam had his annual health check-up on his birthday and that visit with no shots was $125. 

After his vet visit, I took Liam shopping; we went to PetSmart for canned dog food and then to Pet Valu for him to pick out some birthday presents. The owner of that Pet Valu store has Liam's litter brother. Then it was home to celebrate with Teddy. 

I had made extra pupcakes when I made Teddy's, so it was just a matter of putting on some decorations, Greek yogurt and blueberries. They each got one after the requisite photos were done. Liam ate his whole; Teddy needed his broken up a bit. I think they both enjoyed them. 

We wait for so many things, holidays, vacations, the weekend and just like that they're over and we say "how did that happen?" We have to remember to take time and enjoy the now. 

Happy Birthday Liam, here's to many more!

Seventh Heaven

Teddy turned seven years old yesterday. He's now been with me longer than anyone else. For those who don't know, Teddy belonged to a friend's cousin but sadly there was allergy issues, so he moved around to various family members. He was living with my friends when I lost Beckett, and they contacted me to see if I would take Teddy. At first, I said no, but about a month later, I changed my mind. Teddy came on a trial on 9 Mar 2020 and then COVID lockdowns hit, and Teddy stayed. He probably would have anyway. We celebrated his third birthday in lockdown. 

I made peanutbutter oat cakes for Teddy's birthday. The batter for this recipe is very dry so the cakes crumbled quite a bit. If I was to make them again, I would add yogurt to the batter to moisten it up. The cakes are topped with yogurt and bacon.

Of course, Teddy also got presents for his birthday. I had to go up to the pet store for wet dog food and one of Teddy's favourite things was on sale. 

We did the table pictures first, then Teddy and Liam each got a pupcake. Afterwards, Teddy got to open his gifts.

Teddy was pretty cooperative about looking at the camera, so I didn't have a whole bunch of outtakes. 

Then it was time to try out the favourite toy, a big Chuckit ball. Teddy came with a smaller one of these balls and he loves them. And of course, Liam loves it too. 

I think Teddy had a good birthday. I hope he thinks he's in seventh heaven. I always wonder if he misses his people. Happy Birthday Teddy, here's to many more.

Downs and Ups

I think I've posted before that Liam has an eyesight issue that makes it hard for him to judge his take off point for jumps. It's believed that either the dog is near sighted or has a depth perception issue. I think Liam is near sighted. 

When we first started competing in agility he always tried to go to the back side of a jump. I think because then he was close to the jump and could now see it clearly. With time and letting him figure out what worked best for him he became better at doing the jumps from the correct side. In Dec, we were at a trial, and he reverted to going to the backside of most jumps. Needless to say, I was very discouraged, he tries so hard, and he does love to play, but I decided we needed a little break, and I didn't register for the January trial. I made up my mind if he did the same thing at this past weekend's trial we wouldn't register for any more indoor trials.

Yesterday, Liam did very well. He did all his contacts although his two on two off wasn't really there, he did his weaves, got the entries and didn't pop out and, for the most part, took the correct side of the jumps. In his first event, an Advanced Standard, he took down the bar on the last jump but other than that it was a very nice run for him. 

The next Standard wasn't as good. Liam got a refusal on a tunnel and an off course for taking the backside of a jump when he should have taken the front side. He still had nice contacts and didn't hesitate on the scary teeter.

Our last event was a Starter Snooker, since there was no teeter and no weaves, I knew Liam should be able to do this if he could only keep the bars up. Snooker is a game where you have to successfully take a red jump before taking another obstacle, you have to do this three times using a different red each time and then you run the numbered obstacles 2 through 7, and at Starters you have to accumulate 37 points in 60 seconds or less to qualify. We did red, then the A-Frame, obstacle 6, then red, then tunnel obstacle 7 then a red and the tunnel again before beginning the close. My only worry was getting Liam by the frame and to tunnel numbered 2. But he was a very good boy, he came with me and kept all the bars up. 

Liam - Starter Snooker Video

We got a qualifying score with 50 points. Liam now only needs one more Snooker for his Starter Games title. 

So, it was a shame about the one bar down but good news about all the bars he kept up. Liam and I will keep trying and having fun playing agility, although we are thinking about giving Hoopers a try. 

Tunnel, Tunnel, Tunnel

Well, I got home from my river cruise last week, but more about that trip later, this post is about the our last outdoor agility trial of the season. I entered Liam in three events, a Starter Gamblers, and two Advanced Standards. 

Starter Gamblers

When I saw the main Gamble, I knew Liam could do this one. For those that don't know, Liam has an eyesight issue that makes it hard for him to judge his take off point for jumps. As a result, he stutter-steps or comes to a complete halt before jumping. This, of course, uses up valuable time which in the main gamble is really limited. 

We started with the progressive mini gamble, the tire, the dog walk and the tunnel. I thought Liam had missed the dog walk contact but knew that even if he only did the tunnel with me behind the line that would be 8 points just for the tunnel. As Liam came out of the tunnel, I heard the judge call 18, so he must have had a toenail in the yellow contact zone. I tried to get him back in the tunnel from behind the line but had to cross the line to get him in the tunnel for another 4 points. I then went up the middle doing the jump, A-frame and the jump before tunnel 3 of the main gamble. I had planned to do tunnel 3 twice going back to the jump before the A-frame but during the judge's briefing, a question from another competitor reminded me that we could do the main gamble obstacles backwards, so I decided to do the tunnels in reverse order. We did the panel jump after tunnel 1 and I was trying to get Liam into the weaves when the buzzer sounded. I put him back into the tunnels and just kept running and shouting tunnel, tunnel, tunnel. We had 18 seconds to do the main gamble, we did it in under 12 seconds. A 35 point opening for our second Starter Gamblers qualifying score.  Liam now moves to Advanced Gamblers and now needs two Starter Snooker Q's for his Starter Games title. 

His next two events were his first Advanced events. Liam ran really well, although it helped that there was no long line of jumps on the courses and in some cases, we were doing the backsides of jumps which helps Liam figure out his take off point. In our first Advanced event, we missed our weave entry and Liam bailed off the dog walk, perhaps thinking it was the teeter, but his run was nice, and we were nearly 12 seconds under the standard course time. In our second Standard run, I thought Liam might bail on the teeter, but he did all of his contacts nicely; his only fault was missing again the weave entry. Independent weave entries are in the cards for our practices now. Liam still ran well and was nearly 10 seconds under the course time. Liam won't ever be the fastest dog on course but if he can keep the bars up and listen as well as he did this past weekend we should do fine with agility. 

Advanced Standard 1

Advanced Standard 2

Our next trial will be indoors in Nov. I registered Liam for two Advanced Standards and one Starter Snooker. Hopefully we'll have another good day of agility.

Wordless Wednesday

 

K9 Kup Starter Standard

Wordless Wednesday - Liam - Agility Dog of Canada

Liam - ADC (first title)

Score sheet

 

Christmas Memories

I thought I would drive out to Cabela's in the west end of town; it's about a 30-minute drive when the traffic is good. It's dog-friendly and has a nice fireplace that makes it a good place to take Christmas pictures with the dogs. I hadn't been there since I took Beckett and Keltic in Dec 2019.

The picture above was taken on 17 Dec 2019. How was I to know that just six days later I would let Beckett go.

Unfortunately, this year, the fireplace was blocked off by the tree and a table so I couldn't recreate the photoshoot.  We did get some decent shots in front of the tree and in Santa's workshop. Santa wasn't there though, probably a good thing.  I had thought to get both Teddy and Liam in the chair at the same time, but I don't think it was quite big enough and it was a rocker.

Liam did quite a bit of sniffing and barking at the reindeer. I'm quite sure he thought at first it was real. 

We did manage to get a few photos with the Christmas tree with the fireplace in behind. 

I don't know what it is about going into stores, but Teddy and Liam are avid shoppers. They really seem to like wandering around and sniffing everything. I did buy them some more Christmas gifts while we were there.

I think Cabela's must hire the most dog-friendly staff; one staff member even took their picture that he said he was going to post to Facebook.  I got lots of compliments about how well behaved the dogs were, while all the time I was telling them, don't pee.

So, while I couldn't recreate the 2019 photo, we did make some new Christmas memories. 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Oh So Close!

Usually when you post that something was "oh so close" it means you missed it but not at the agility trial we went to on 10 Sep. I entered Liam in two events and he got two qualifying scores, his first two Q's.  He was so close in both he never even got a jackpot of treats after his runs because I thought we were either over time or had faulted.

Our first run was a Gamblers, where you do what you want to collect points and then when the buzzer sounds you have to send your dog to do a set series of obstacles, in this case, a jump, a tunnel and another jump (marked 1, 2 and 3 on the course map below).

Starter Gamblers

I started with the jump at the bottom left of the course map. Liam didn't do it, he came around and I didn't bother to try and get him back over it. He did do the teeter and jump mini gamble with me behind the line. We then did the jump in the top left corner, I wanted him to come to me and do the jump just above the tunnel so we could do that mini gamble. Liam decided to do the tunnel instead. I put him over the jump and then sent him back through the tunnel so we did get that mini gamble after all.  I tried to get him out to do the three jumps in the top right corner, I think we did them all once, then the buzzer sounded.  Trying to get him up to do the main gamble was fun as he kept jumping and bouncing around in front of me. When I had him set up for the first jump, he hesitated for quite awhile before taking the jump, the rest of the gamble was easy peasy, Liam loves tunnels. I thought we were over time doing the gamble, you only had 26 seconds. But when the results were posted we had a Q with 0.10 seconds to spare. I thought that was close.

The next run was a Starter Jumpers. Liam has an issue called early take off syndrome, he has a hard time judging where to jump from; he does well at home but stutter steps at new venues. 

Starter Jumpers

In this run, I didn't lead out from jump 1 just in case he decided again not to do the jump. The first part of the course ran nicely for us but I thought we had a refusal at jump 9. I sent him to the tunnel and then did a cross to get in position for the jump. Liam should have been on my left side coming out of the tunnel but he decided when he came out and come over to my right hand side. I turned to get him over jump 9 so I thought we had faulted the jump. We finished the course with Liam doing some stutter stepping over the back line of jumps. He did the tire very nicely and read my cross to go in the tunnel and took the last jump fairly well. I thought we would be over time because of me having to get him set up again for jump nine and the time it took him to do a number of the jumps so again he didn't get a jackpot of treats. Then the results came out and he was the only one in his height class to get a qualifying score but could it have been closer; in this event he had only 0.06 seconds to spare.

Liam and his Q's

Don't worry he did get a jackpot of hot dogs but he had to share with Teddy. I hope with more exposure to different agility venues his jumping will improve, it has improved at home quite a lot.