Mish Mash Monday

Steeplechase

Yesterday, Beckett and I did four runs at Dream Fields. I only did four as I'm still a bit worried about putting too much strain on my leg.  Keltic came along as a spectator but that won't be for long as I've decided to enter him in the November trial.

Our first run was a Standard, I worried about faulting right at the start as the second obstacle, a jump was right by the dog walk and I thought Beckett would take dog walk for an off course. He didn't and our run was going smoothly until my agility champion took a tunnel instead of the A-frame.  I hadn't even worried about that. The rest of the run was really nice.

Next up was the Steeplechase. I've probably said it before but we love Steeplechase since there are no refusals I can push things and not worry if Beckett spins. This run ran beautifully, the only hiccup was that I didn't front cross in the right place after the A-frame and found myself nearly running into jump 5. I had to reset, which caused Beckett to spin a little, and continue on.  We ran the course in 40.06 seconds and the allowable course time was 48 seconds. It was not only a Q and first place in our jump height but also the best run of all the regular dogs. It is Beckett's 18th Steeplechase Q, we are closing in on the next title, seven more to go. The run had felt really good and I hoped Beckett and I would be together like that for Jumpers as well.

Jumpers ran pretty well. We had a time of 38.73 seconds on a course that had an allowable time of 45 seconds.  We had five faults though so no Q. After telling Beckett to go around a jump (as he had to do the backside), I had tried a blind cross to get to the other side of the jump. I must have begun my rotation too soon and he pulled off and came back to me for the refusal.

Last up was a Gamblers. I had barking spinning Beckett with me and we didn't get through the opening I had planned when the buzzer to begin the close went off. Beckett went out to the dog walk, the first obstacle of the main gamble,  nicely but instead of turning into the tunnel after the dog walk, he took off for a jump.  I didn't think we had enough points in our opening but as it turned out we had exactly 28, the minimum you need to Q.  Oh well!

No video today. I could have asked a few folks but since there was no title on the line I didn't worry about it.

It was a gorgeous day and we got home in time to spend an hour or so playing Frisbee in the backyard.

Eighteen Months

I be 18 months old today, dunno what's the big deal, I didn't get no birfday pressies or nuffin. Mums is all exscited about it though, she says now I can go to real gility trials like Beckett. Once, my weavers are a little better Mums said she's gonna puts an entry in for me.

My teeters is pretty good now.  We hasn't put our teeter all the way up but it's getting there. I donts waits in the red part no more as Mums stopped giving me treats jus for gettin on. Now I has ta go all da way to the yellow bit afore I gets any treats. I likes the teeter now.

Teeter Work

I just be figuring out dem weavers poles. I only does dem from one side but Mums says we can works on dem over da winter. We has a fun match dis weekend and the last K9 Kup in October, Mums says if I do good, she might enter me in a real competition in November.  

Baby Pole Dancer

I be going to a gility seminar in November too just like a growed up dog. I sure hopes I gets to go to da real trial too, cause den Beckett can't say I be a baby no more.

Working Weaves

The only obstacle that Keltic does not yet do are the weaves. I've been trying to be very consistent about doing a short training session with him nearly every evening and things do seem to be progressing. Poor Beckett gets relegated to the backyard while we train in the basement.

Working Weaves with Keltic 

Keltic seems to only understand the near side entry. I really should go back to just two poles and work the clock but we have one more K9 Kup in early Oct and I'm hoping we'll be able to at least to give it a good try on doing the weaves. 

Over the winter I plan to go back and retrain the entries and try and get a little more speed out of him since weaves and one jump work is about all I can do in the basement. Once I can get him weaving six poles, I'll enter him in his first AAC trial, hopefully that's not too far off.

Goal!

A post that reviews goals set and sets new goals would usually be something that you do at the end of the calendar year but, for me, it always seems that the end of the summer is the end of one agility year and the beginning of the next.

My goals this year were largely met.  We qualified for Nationals even though I knew we weren't going to go. We went to the Canada Cup where Beckett's performance surpassed my expectations and we made it in to the finals which unfortunately since I was injured we didn't get to run.

Beckett and I with Sarah Mairs, the judge for the final Q

The other goal we had was for Beckett to get his ATChC which he did but I had two other objectives in mind with that goal. The first was to get it before his fourth birthday which we did not do, Beckett turned 4 in June but we didn't get the ATChC until August.  The other objective was to get his ATChC faster than I did with Tucker as I think this says something about our level of training and hopefully me improving as a handler.  This we did do, but not by much. The AAC records in their statistics the time from Agility Dog of Canada, the starter Standard title to ATChC.  Tucker took 2.62 years and Beckett took 2.38 years.  Tucker was quite a consistent dog, even if he wasn't that fast, and he was very forgiving of my poor handling skills. Beckett on the other hand gets a little frustrated on occasion with Mum's handling. So maybe our commitment to training was better but for Beckett I still need to be a better handler, well maybe just fitter and faster.

Tucker ATChC

AC #	Dog's Call Name	Owner's Name, Last	Owner's Name, First	Years From ADC to ATChC	Province	Age at ATChC
9647	Tucker	Stewart	Helen	2.62	ON	7.53
17127	Beckett	Stewart	Helen	2.38	ON	4.13

Next year's goals are already pretty set in my mind. I want to go to the AAC Nationals with Beckett for the first time. They are being held in Sussex, NB from 7 to 10 August 2014 and that is the same time frame as when I usually go home. Hard to believe Beckett will already be 5 and it will be his first Nationals (counting my chickens here).  I want to go back to the Canada Cup and this time hopefully if we are lucky enough to make the finals that we get to do our best to earn a spot on the podium. I'm also thinking of doing the UKI Nationals which will be held in Barrie next year at the end of August. These courses have more of an international flow to them so it will be interesting to see how we would do. I'll have to teach Beckett how to do broad and panel jumps though.  

Our next title goals will be for Beckett to earn his  Expert Jumpers Bronze (two more Q's to go), his Expert Steeplechase Bronze (8 more Q's for that one) and his Expert  Standard Bronze (five more Q's for that). If we can achieve those goals he would also get his Bronze Award of Merit and his Bronze Versatility which were the highest titles that Tucker was awarded.

For Keltic, our goal is for him to learn to weave and to compete in his first trial. He'll be old enough later this month but I don't want to enter him in competitions until he can weave.  The only events we really could do without being able to weave is Jumpers and Gamblers but I'd prefer that we move up the levels fairly concurrently although I know that's not always possible. Ceilidh had her Master Jumpers title in May 2006 but it took her until August 2007 to complete her Starter Games title. Hopefully I'll be able to enter him in his first trial later this Fall.  I also plan on entering him in Regionals next year just to see how he does and maybe even in the Jumpers event at the Canada Cup.

I hope I'm not being overly ambitious but I think these are achievable goals and I think it's important to have objectives to work for.

Better get training!

Vacay - Part 3

The drive back from New Brunswick was pretty uneventful. We had overcast and rainy weather.  We got back to my place at about 9:30 pm. The next day we took a relax day and got the car unpacked, laundry done and the lawn mowed.

On Friday, we went downtown to the Governor General's official residence Rideau Hall and then to Parliament Hill. It was the first time I had been to Rideau Hall.  We went for a tour of the public rooms. You aren't allowed to photograph inside so I don't have any pictures.

This is a picture of the tent room I found online. The walls are wood paneling covered in fabric to look like a tent but at one time these were drapes that could be lowered so that the room could be used for banquets. When it wasn't being used for banquets, it was used as a tennis court. The chandelier wasn't there then. After the tour of Rideau Hall, we spent a little while touring the grounds. It would make a really nice place to go for walks except that dogs are not permitted.

Changing of the Guard

Sentry at Rideau Hall

Fountain in front of the Hall

Rideau Hall

Garden on the grounds

Video taken while at Rideau Hall

Afterwards we went up to Parliament Hill. We had thought to do the tour then have lunch but the next tour that was available was at 2:30 pm so we quickly changed our plan and had lunch first then walked the Sparks Street Mall until it was nearly time for our tour. It looked like it was going to pour rain for awhile and we took shelter under the Peace Tower but we only got a few sprinkles before the clouds passed over. 

Parliament and the Eternal Flame

Lion carving on the Peace Tower

Another stone carving

You are able to take photos inside Parliament but you can't use a flash or a tripod so some of the photos aren't the best.

House of Commons

Stain glass window to commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee

The Senate

One of the reasons that I wanted to go down to Parliament was that on display in the Hall of Honour are the plaques of each solider who died in Afghanistan. These plaques had been in Kandahar but since Canada's mission is ending they were brought home and will go on tour after being on display in Ottawa.

I worked with Major Ray Ruckpaul and Sergeant Craig Gillam while I was the Quartermaster at the Armour School in Gagetown.

Every soldier was led home by a piper and these bagpipes were used in Kandahar to lead many a soldier home.

The next day Saturday, our youngest sister, Maureen and her partner Steve were coming up from Toronto to stay the night. My sister Juanita and her family hosted dinner so we made a couple salads to add to the dinner fare and had a nice evening together. For my sister Annette, it was the first time she met our nephew's fiancee.  

On Sunday, Annette and I went to the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum to see the Star Wars Identities Exhibit. 

Annette at the Aviation Museum

We chose the right time to go, we headed out just before lunch and when we bought our tickets we only had about 45 minutes to wait to see the Star Wars exhibit, by the time we came out the wait was over two hours.  Admission to the air museum was free with your admission the Star Wars exhibit. 

C3PO

Anakin Skywalker

Darth Vadar

Video of Star Wars Identities Exhibit

We didn't do much the next two days as I was having windows installed. Luckily the first day of the install was a beautiful day so we spent it out on the back deck, reading, surfing the net and playing with the dogs. We did go downtown Monday evening to see Mosaika. It's a sound and light show on Parliament Hill using the Parliament buildings as the screen. Pretty cool, if you're ever in Ottawa during the summer, you have to go see it. It's free, just bring your own chair if you don't want to sit on the grass. Here's a link that gives you an idea and has a link to some photos on Flickr.

On Annette's last night we went to dinner and then our nephew's place for dessert and coffee. Annette's last day here was pretty quiet, she got her stuff all packed up and then we went to the mall as I was having some problems with my cell phone and on our way home we picked up something for lunch. Later in the afternoon, it was off to the airport ending the staycation portion of my holidays. 

I'm still on vacation for another week. I don't have much planned so there won't be a part 4. Keltic has the K9 Kup this weekend so we're hoping for nice weather and that he hasn't forgotten how to do agility. Have to get back to teaching that boy to weave!