Wordless Wednesday

 

Snookered

We went to our first outdoor agility trial of the season yesterday.  It was overcast with a breeze but not too cold. You needed a jacket when you weren't running but it was warm enough to run without one. I brought Teddy along so he didn't have to stay home by himself yet again. I don't think he much cared for the collapsible crate, next time I'll bring the really big crate and they can both hang out together. 

Liam was in four events starting with an Advanced Gamblers. In Gamble, you plan your own opening to collect points, each type of obstacle has a point value. The judge can include mini gambles that you can do from behind a line to earn double the points.We had an opening that included a send to a tunnel, Liam got it twice. The main Gamble also had a send to a tunnel but Liam thought "been there, done that" and incurred a refusal on the tunnel. 

Our next event was an Advanced Snooker, if you've read my blog for while, you know Liam has an eyesight issue that makes it hard for him to judge the take off point for a jump and consequently he takes down quite a few jumps. In this Advanced Snooker, obstacles 5 and 6 were combinations and both used the same jump as part of the combination. Obstacle 7 was the teeter and I knew Liam was unlikely to do it so I had to plan a course that gave him the points he needed before we had to do number 7.

Advanced Snooker

I had planned a bit of a risky course. I was using obstacle 5 twice and obstacle 6 once before running the closing of the course, obstacles 2 through 7 as numbered. Liam needed to complete obstacle 5 successfully in the close to have enough points for a qualifying score. That meant he had to do jump 5b four times without knocking the bar, and really he couldn't knock any bars or we wouldn't have enough points. We had a nice clean run and Liam had just put his feet on the teeter when the buzzer sounded for time. He needed 32 points for a qualifying score and we got 39. It was the only event of the day where he didn't knock a bar down.

Our next event was a Standard run. Liam refused the dog walk so again I put my finger in his collar and just coaxed him along, no pressure, just verbal encouragement.  We didn't get to the teeter before the time ran out so after the trial was over for the day I asked one of the club members if I could put Liam on the teeter. He did it just fine, once on leash and once by himself. I should ask at the end of every trial if I can do that. Our last event was an Advanced Jumpers, it didn't look nice on the course map but walked and ran fairly nicely for Liam and me. Some of the handlers of fast dogs had issues with off courses because the dogs didn't turn tightly. Liam seemed rather pokey but our time was quite respectable, we had an allowed course time of 60 seconds and we ran the course in 47.89 seconds but unfortunately we had one bar down.

I think Liam was a little snookered by the time we did Jumpers but we did have our Snooker Q so I was happy with that. Liam now has two Advanced Gambles and two Advanced Snooker, one more Q in each of those games and he'll move to Masters.  

The trial ran quickly as there were two judges and they used two rings so no waiting around for course builds and walk throughs. We were home by around 3:30 pm usually it's much closer to dinner time. Our next agility trial is on 6 June, and we have a virtual Hoopers trial on 30 May.

There was a photographer at the trial. She takes nice photos. I am planning to buy some but it's so hard to chose. Which would you chose? Link to Liam's pictures below.

Znlens Photos - Liam

Don't Blink!

Where Liam and I went for the Hoopers trial, they use surveillance cameras so that means you can buy  videos of your runs. Since we haven't been doing Hoopers for very long, I bought photos, which I've already posted, and I also bought the videos of our runs.

In dog agility, runs usually allow about a minute and half, but most times dogs are much faster; I would say on average though you get about a minute in the ring. In Hoopers, you get points for a clean run as long as you are under 90 seconds. I don't think I saw a dog go that slow. Liam's slowest run was just over 22 seconds and his fastest run just over 17 seconds.

Don't blink, you might miss it!

If the videos aren't available in your browser, I've added a link to the YouTube videos of the same runs. Just click the link below.

Video of Liam Beginner Hoopers

Video of Liam Beginner Tungo

Video of Liam Beginner Parkour

Wordless Wednesday - Hoopers Photos

 

Whoop Hoop de Do!

Liam and I went to Guides Canins for a Hoopers trial yesterday. Guides Canins is about an hour and half away from me; it's not a bad drive as it's all highway, although my GPS wanted me to go cross country. I used to go there and camp when I was running agility with my other dogs but with Liam's eyesight I hadn't made the trip in years, not since before COVID. They've built a new facility in that time and it is spectacular. They have an indoor turf building, an indoor/outdoor dock diving pool, two large classrooms, offices, grooming rooms, and gender neutral bathrooms.   

Turf Hall

Entry to Dock Diving Pool

Dock Diving Pool

Classroom

This trip, we just went for part of the day so I left Teddy home.  We had to leave just before 7 am to get there in time to set up and give Liam some time for a walk before the trial started. We timed it right and  arrived just as they were opening the building. 

We ran 3 events. At the Beginner level, there are only 3 games, Hoopers, Tungo and Parkour; we ran one of each. In all of them you just follow the numbers and you can run with your dog but the judge will include distance challenges that are indicated by lines or by a handlers box. All of our runs included challenge lines. You earn points for getting a clean run but you can earn additional bonus points for being able to do the course from behind the challenge line or from within a handlers box. You might be able to see the line in this photo of us walking the course, they are marked with white tape.

Walking the Course

If you use the furthest line, there's 15 bonus points awarded to a clean run, the next line gave 10 extra points and the closest line gives you 5 extra points. A clean run under 45 seconds gets you 10 points and from 45 seconds but under 90 seconds gives you 5 points. But even slower dogs, if you can work the distances, can get good scores.

It takes 50 points in Beginners to get a title. Liam only needed 10 points in Parkour and Tungo to get his Beginner title in those games. I was pretty sure we could go clean but I wasn't sure how he would run in a new place and with so much distance between obstacles as we train in a smaller venue. I walked the courses using the 10 point distance line but in all of our runs I had to cross that line so we only got 15 points for each of our runs. Enough for his Beginner Tungo Dog of Canada and Beginner Parkour Dog of Canada. 

Now we move up to Novice in those games. Our next trial will be a virtual one and hopefully he'll get his Beginner Hoopers title then as we now have 35 points in that game.  There's also an overall title once you have all the titles at a particular level, so getting our Beginner Hoopers qualifying score actually will get us two more titles. 

We'll have to work on getting more distance though as the distance challenges just get harder as you move up. 

But we're still celebrating so whoop hoop de doo!  

Hoop, Hoop

Liam and I did another virtual Hoopers trial the week starting from 22 Mar. For virtual trials, you can practice the runs before taking and submitting your videos. 

There are four games now in Hoopers. In three of the games you can run with your dog or you can try to do part of the course from a distance. Doing the distance challenges earns you more points towards your titles.  This past year they added a new game called Challenge, in that one you have to stay in the Handler's Box for the whole run. It's only offered at Novice level and above. Liam is still in Beginners although that is now an optional level. 

At this virtual trial, we ran a Hoopers course that only has hoops and some barrels, a Parkour course, that has all of the obstacles permitted by Canine Hoopers Canada and a Tungo course that has only barrels and tunnels but in Beginners uses one hoop for the start. 

Liam got three clear runs and we got the easier distance challenge in each run so he got 10 points for each run. Five for the clean run and five bonus points. 

Liam's Hoopers Run

Liam's Parkour Run

Liam's Tungo Run

We have a physical trial at the end of April and there's another virtual trial at the end of May. Titles are based on points, in two of the games Liam now has 40 points; you need 50 points for the Beginners title in each game. I think Liam will be able to get those titles at the next two trials.

Then we'll be able to say Whoop, whoop or should I say Hoop, Hoop!

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.