My dogs, of course!

We didn't have as exciting a day as yesterday and missed out on placements in both the Advanced and Excellent classes by one point. I totally blew it in Excellent and did the wrong exercise at the second to last station! Luckily, we still qualified, but that was a big fat 10 point deduction because I read the sign wrong. Turned out that I made the exercise *harder* than it was supposed to be. Usually don't see the easier sign in the Excellent class, so I fell for the judge's oh-so-sneaky ploy, but a couple of other people made the same mistake too, so it happens.

Excellent B run:



Advanced B run:





Roxie was not in the mood to lay down in the wet, cold grass on her Advanced run. Can't say I blame her, but those little distractions added up to enough points off to just miss ribbons again. It was a solid run though, scoring a 95. Overall, she did really well this weekend and I'm very proud of her. She picked up two more RAE2 legs for a total of five in all, so we're now halfway there!

For a nice change of pace, we had a trial close to home that didn't require driving for 1-2 hours and getting up before 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Roxie did well today, especially since I hadn't practiced all that much this week... I thought the trial was next weekend and didn't realize it was actually this weekend until just this past Wednesday. Fortunately, Roxie is a seasoned veteran when it comes to Rally, so I was confident that she'd do well even though we didn't practice as hard as I might have liked to this week. And Roxie did VERY well! She scored a 95 in her Excellent run and a 97 in her Advanced run, and earned second place ribbons for both of her runs. WOW!

Excellent B run:



Advanced B run:




Outdoor trials always present extra challenges but Roxie handled this as well as ever. She now has her fourth RAE2 leg. We have another trial at the same location tomorrow, so hopefully Roxie will do just as well there as she did today.

Roxie picked up two more RAE2 legs this weekend at a pair of trials in Maryland. She turned in two solid runs on Saturday with scores of 96 for each run.

Excellent B run:



Advanced B run:




On Sunday, Roxie followed up with two more nice runs with scores of 95 in Excellent and 94 in Advanced.

Excellent B run:



Advanced B run:




That makes 3 RAE2 legs!

We had our first rally trial of the season today. I was a little nervous because we haven't done any trials since last October, but Roxie and I have been doing a lot of practice sessions and I felt very confident in my little dog once we set foot in the ring. Roxie did not disappoint!

In our first run, Roxie scored a 98 out of 100, which was good enough for 4th place! It was a pretty big class too, with over 20 dogs, so she really kicked butt out there!

Here's our Excellent B run:



We had an unexpected delay for the Advanced class. The judge decided to take a lunch break a little bit early so she could check up on the rules regarding aggressiveness in the ring. During the Advanced A awards ceremony, a German Shepherd snapped at another dog and the judge immediately excused them from the ring. This delay was really not what we wanted because it was absolutely freezing in the building today and to make matters worse, we forgot to pack our folding chairs this morning, so we had to sit on the cold concrete floor on a blankie. Roxie had her crate and a few blankets to keep cozy, but by the time it was our turn in the ring, my hands were so cold, it was hard to unclip Roxie's leash off in the ring. But she turned in a nice performance for her Advanced B run, earning a score of 91. She lost some points for some crooked sits and I had to re-try the last exercise because she was way out of position, but other than that, the run felt great and she seemed happy to work today.

Advanced B run:



This was a great start to what's going to be a fairly aggressive show schedule for us over the next couple of months and this year over all. I would like to get two titles on Roxie this year - her RAE2 and her CD. We have a lot of work ahead of us but I'm looking forward to the adventure!

Took a ride out to some friends' acreage several weeks ago so we could give the dogs a chance to run a little....

Hello, Daisy!


Roxie spies something interesting...


Roxie, Viggo and Daisy romping together...













Ooops! I'm in the way!


I think there's something neat about this one, even with Viggo a bit out of focus...


Viggo zooming!






Viggo leaves Daisy in the dust...


Happy dogs!

This winter has been cold, but thankfully, not snowy, up until this morning. We already have a few inches of snow on the ground and it's still falling. Viggo hasn't experienced much snow, so he was pretty curious when he first went outside this morning. Both dogs were quite invigorated by the snow on the ground and used it as an excuse to play a spirited game of tag....










The game ended when Roxie got cold and wanted to go inside, much to Viggo's disappointment. But I'm sure both dogs will be ready for a rematch this afternoon.

My brother's Golden Retriever, Sadie, passed away yesterday. She was a really great dog... smart, sweet, gentle, devoted... the perfect family dog. I'm sure her family misses her terribly and my thoughts are with them. While she wasn't my dog, Sadie was special to me too. She was a year younger than Boris and they were great friends. I dogsat for her many times too, and she was always a wonderful houseguest. Years ago, I even took her along on a camping trip once, and she loved being at the lake and having the chance to swim and chase her beloved tennis ball. I have good memories of her, not just because many of them are tied into Boris, but because she truly was a *great* dog.





There's a poem that circulates on the internet on the dog forums and I've often thought about posting it here. Today seems like the right time...

Just a Dog

From time to time people tell me, "Lighten up, it's just a dog,"
or, "That's a lot of money for just a dog." They don't understand
the distance traveled, the time spent or the costs involved
for "just a dog."

Some of my proudest moments have come about with "just a dog."

Many hours have passed and my only company was "just a dog," but
I did not once feel slighted.

Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by "just a dog,"
and, in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just a dog"
gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day.

If you, too, think it's "just a dog," then you will probably
understand phases like "just a friend," "just a sunrise,"
or "just a promise."

"Just a dog" brings into my life the very essence of friendship,
trust, and pure unbridled joy.

"Just a dog" brings out the compassion and patience that
makes me a better person.

Because of "just a dog" I will rise early, take long walks
and look longingly to the future.

So for me, and folks like me, it's not "just a dog" but
an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future,
the fond memories of the past and the pure joy of the moment.

"Just a dog" brings out what's good in me and diverts my thoughts
away from myself and the worries of the day.

I hope that someday they can understand that it's not "just a dog"
but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being
"just a human."

So the next time you hear the phrase "just a dog" just smile....
because they "just don't understand."

- Unknown




Take care, Sadie.