Fun weekend

Cash and I were joined by my friend, Darla, and her Pom, Nina last weekend to drive to the U2KanDu NADAC agility trial in Lawrence, KS. It was our first trial (well, their first trial and our second if you count the Wahoo trial in January of 2007 where Cash broke his start line stay, took 4 jumps and lapsed into poodle zoomies).

We both entered Novice Skilled Weavers 1 & 2 and Touch N Go 1 & 2 for both Saturday and Sunday.

Touch N Go 1 was the first class and Cash had an awesome start line stay and solid contacts. Touch N Go consisted of tunnels, an A frame and a dogwalk. He had not been on either the A frame or dogwalk in quite some time at class but did okay on the Friday night practice run throughs.

On Saturday he won the 12" TnG class with 3.78 YPS and no faults for a Q and a blue ribbon, and followed that with a 3rd place finish and Q in the Weavers 2 class.

Unfortunately, due totally to handler error, we failed to Q in the other two Saturday classes or any of our Sunday classes. (All the while Darla and Nina are racking up Qs and titles in Weavers and Touch N Go!)

We decided to be gluttons for punishment and entered Tunnelers before we headed back home. I didn't realize the SCT (standard course time) for Tunnelers is significantly less than the other classes. Suffice it to say Cash and I missed a Q by 1.97 seconds due to a very slight veer toward an off course tunnel that I was able to call him off of.

We had such a good time I am contemplating entering some local NADAC trials.

It's Mine! No, it's MINE!

And today was pretty much like yesterday....

I am choosing to look at the results (or lack thereof in Cash's case) as information. Nothing more.

Cash gave me GREAT attention outside the ring. Isn't that how it always is? But from the start sign, just lost it. Only through do-overs was I able to get him halfway through the course before he left the ring. He did come back, but by that time the judge excused us. I wonder WHAT is going on in that head of his when he gets into a ring and the leash is removed.

I'm thinking about registering him with APDT (another rally venue) where we can start in Novice again and all exercises are on leash. Hmmm, have to mull that one over.

In other news, Betty got Reserve again today, but showed happily and looked fabulous (if I do say so myself). Another poodle person helped me with her topknot yesterday, but today, I did it all by my lonesome. For the first time in 30 years! She is such a happy girl.

Here's some video taken by Julia, the 12 year old granddaughter of my friend, Loretta. You can hear Loretta in the background talking and hooting for Betty.

My bad that I forgot to tell Julia not to zoom in as the quality gets fuzzy. The first dog seen is the light platinum bitch who won. Betty is the gunmetal grey with the big mouth. Hopefully the sound comes through.....

Oh, well tomorrow is another day

I took Cash and Betty to the Seward County Kennel Club show today with high hopes of Cash finishing his RA and Betty getting her first points. As the title says, oh well, tomorrow is another day (and another show).

Cash had to either be scratched or shown by a friend because their ring times were 10 minutes and 150 yards apart in separate buildings.

Kris did the very best she could with Cash. Nice attention outside the ring. Once the leash came off, it was another story. The judge asked, "Are you ready?" Kris looked down at Cash to make eye contact and get his attention, and he took one look around and left the ring. He is my velcro dog and even at that, there are times his nose overrules his adoration of mom. Timing is better tomorrow and I'll be handling him, so wish me luck that we get that final leg for his RA.

Betty was one of only two miniatures bitches entered today. No dogs and no specials were entered so we had a shot at Best of Variety. Alas, it was not to be. Although she showed beautifully with her tail up and very happy, the other girl, a very light platinum silver, took the point and the Variety. I was very pleased that Betty was not at all nervous or shaky and for her very first show, that is huge. She was enjoying herself so much in the ring that when some terriers in another ring were sparring noisily, Betty let out the Whoop! she is famous for. It sounds something like the scream at the start of CSI: Miami.

I was so pleased she had a good time, especially since she is not the best car traveler and tends to upchuck. She rode to Seward with a towel pinned around her throat and front of her jacket as a bib, just in case. She was fine on the hour and a half ride out. I pulled up outside the obedience/rally building and Kris took Cash and I drove to the conformation building. The minute I turned around to leave Kris, Betty started hurling. Good girl that she is she managed to barf in the trashcan in the van. Considering that kind of a start to her day, I was especially happy she showed so well. What a trooper!

The cat must be pumping iron...

I've talked before about Katie's cat, Isis, and her disdain for the poodles. She generally has nothing to do with them other than occasionally joining in for a portion of the eternal poodle zoomies that take place in our house.

This morning apparently having a bee in her bonnet due to roughhousing with Katie, Isis was nose to nose with Cash when she grabbed him by the neck with her front paws. (don't worry, she's declawed in front). She was play biting him on the head when she just FLIPPED him off the bed. She then peeked over the edge of the bed as if to say, "Oops."

Cash got back up on the bed and laid down eyeing Isis warily when she LEAPED on top of him and used him as a springboard off the bed.

On another note, Betty went to her first conformation class last night and was a very good girl. No screaming to play at the other dogs and even gave me pretty good attention. She was a little spooked on the table the first time, but did much better the second. We left shortly after that having spent about an hour there as I didn't want to stress her out. It was good experience as the class was crowded. She was between a Bulldog and a Bull Mastiff. The mastiff weighed 182 lbs. and was a total wuss. She did think about joining in with the barking of a Newfoundland puppy but decided not to. Good girl!

She's a TREE climber, I tell ya!

Betty has found a new *ahem* skill. She has decided she is either a cat or a squirrel and should be able to climb trees.



OK, not TREES, but a fairly tall and sturdy yew bush next to our garage. I suppose it's about ten feet tall judging by the picture and where the top of the garage door meets the siding.


It all started about 30 days ago. Apparently she heard the birds that sometimes rest in the yew and decided to investigate by standing on her hind feet and searching the yew. She went so far as to stand on her hind legs and pogo straight up to try to see into the bush. She was fixated on the birds and was very reluctant to come back inside.




It's Nebraska. It's COLD... I shaved her butt into a Continental. You would think the girl would figure it out. Anyway for the last 30 days or so we really haven't ventured far from the front door when the dogs need to go out, and I thought the birds in the yew were forgotten.



WRONG!



Yesterday the temperature soared into the 30's, the driveway was dry and the three of them needed a walk. Off we go and as we rounded the corner to go down the driveway Betty bolted for the yew. Bouncing around on her hind legs to see if there were birds in there.




This activity wasn't getting her where the action was, which was about 3/4 of the way up the yew.




I could actually see the cogs turning in her brain as she thought this through. She dropped to the ground and backed up a few feet, glanced at me, back at the yew and did the algebra in her head.




"So, if I go X fast and launch Y high, I should land where the birds are."




"Okay, I need to back up more and go REALLY fast!!!"




And Annie Clark said poodles would just be a fourth at bridge and tell naughty stories!




When she was about 20 feet down the driveway Betty slammed it into fourth gear and hit the afterburners. She literally vaulted into the yew about five feet up. To say the least, I was shocked and laughing hysterically. I watched as she poked her head in here and then there to find the birds. Suffice it to say they all flew out the other side when she sprang into the bush. She was clinging to the outside of the yew with her hind feet braced on a couple of those sturdy branches while grasping the upper branches with her front feet. After a few minutes of her looking and not finding any birds, I figured I had better help her out of the bush before I had to explain to Belinda how Betty broke her leg.




Life with Betty is never dull.....

First snow of the season

Betty saw snow for, I think, the first time in her life. We just got a dusting that stuck to the grass. Big, fat, fluffy flakes were coming down pretty good this morning. I took her outside to potty and she looked at where the grass had been earlier and then looked at me. She looked up at the flakes coming down and back at me as if to say, "What gives?" Then it was off to the races flying around the yard in leaps and bounds!