National Championships, Calgary

Had fun and although we didn't place too high overall, got two 9th place finishes in Standard and Jumpers events.  Thanks to Frank Morton for the great pix!

Off to the National Championships!

Need to get some sleep because we've rented a car and are driving to Calgary to compete in the Canadian National Agility Championships!  Almost packed.  Camping and taking our time getting there.  This should be a lot of fun!

Master Gamblers Dog of Canada

Earned another masters title in Gamblers, a game that requires you to run your dog over/through obstacles while standing/running 18-22 feet away from it.  Now we just need the Master Snooker Title to earn our ATCh (Agility Trial Champion...the big one).

Go Germany!

I'm sorry pal....

Sassy Meets Her Uncle and Dad

Sassy's uncle and father are also performance dogs! We met at the regionals in Abbotsford. Uncle Sabre in the middle and Merlin on the right.  You can tell by their smiles that they love agility....

MASTER AGILITY DOG OF CANADA

Here we are at the Regionals with our MADC (Masters Agility Dog of Canada) title ribbon.  We earned it in February but they ran out of ribbons and I had to wait until the Regionals.

BC/Yukon Regional Championships

The two day event started off okay.  A decent Gamblers run and a fantastic (4th place of 60 dogs!) placement in the Standard run.  And then came the brain freeze during the Jumpers run where I totally lost my route through the obstacles and ended up with a zero for a Non-Completion!  Qualifying for the Nationals wasn't looking like an option.  We would have to run two perfect runs on Sunday.

With a fried rib-eye steak for treats before and after the events, Sassy pulled it off and did two outstanding runs, basically qualifying in four events of a six-event trial.  The final run, a Gamblers, was all icing on the cake.  We qualified and are headed to Calgary for the National Dog Agility Championships in August!

Here's Sassy in our first run on Sunday.  Thanks for the photos, Frank!

And coming in on a tight circle from a jump....

Regionals Prep with Q-Ball Agility Club

Sunday was a 7 - run Masters event out near Abbotsford on Harold Smith's farm, with a herd of alpacas watching over the fence.  Out of seven events, Sassy made 5 perfect runs finishing in first place for all five.  Get ready Regionals....here we come!

We also earned our Masters Jumpers Dog of Canada ribbon too!  Getting closer to that ATCHC ribbon (Agility Trial Champion of Canada)

Cloverdale Trial this Weekend!

Trial 13 Kee-Giggs Trial @ Cloverdale, Sunday, Nov 1, 2009
13-01 Advanced Jumpers 1 Eva Wydler  
13-02 Masters Gamblers 2 Matt Bonner  
13-03 Master Standard 4 Matt Bonner  
13-04 Master Standard 5 Christine Woodley  
13-05 Advanced Snooker 2 Eva Wydler
Five events scheduled for Sunday.  Could earn our MADC if we Q both our Standard runs.....not likely but keeping my fingers crossed.  Haven't run a Snooker event in almost a year!  Better check out the rules again.  Wish us luck!

Four Runs/Three "Q"s!!

After a dry spell, we're back on track with three Q's in one morning! Masters Standard, our first...Masters Gamblers, our first (and a first place in tough competition); and our first Steeplechase qualifier (third place, but with five faults, which slowed us down some).

It was at the PAC trial outside on grass, at the beautiful High Run Dogsports facility in Pitt Meadows. Gorgeous weather too!

On the Superdogs team at the PNE!

After the day-long workshop last week, Sassy and I were invited to be on the Superdogs team for two days this week. They are recruiting talent to help build local resources for the teams, based in Calgary and Toronto.

We performed in six shows and had a blast doing it. It was a great new experience for us, performing for thousands of fans under flashing lights, thundering applause and cheers. Putting Sassy in a sit/stay on a box behind the curtains in order for me to work in other areas and coming back to find her still there! After the first day, she would get excited when she knew we were about to go on and start barking...just like when she realizes we're at our weekly agility class.

Among the events, we ran hurdles/tunnels relays, a weaves challenge and a game similar to musical chairs with mats replacing the chairs. After each show, the audience would come down and pet the dogs. Sassy got some great socialization practice as she fits the Sheltie temperament and is normally wary of strangers. With an "open bar" of liver treats from me, she was really enjoying the attention and doing tricks while being petted by the crowds of kids.

Thank you to Seanna O'Neill, the head trainer (and a World's agility champion) and to Chase, the producer and MC of the Superdogs show. All the other handlers were friendly and helpful and totally committed to putting on the best show possible, three times a day (four on Saturday!). What a workout.

Hey, I'm a Mog, er... I mean a Superdog!

We got the call to join the Superdog Team! Sassy and I will be performing with the Superdogs this Monday and Tuesday, three shows a day at the Pacific National Exhibition! 12,000 spectators, three times a day! I don't believe it.

Superdogs Workshop

We participated in an all day Superdogs seminar Thursday at the Coliseum on the PNE fairgrounds. It was a chance to experience the Superdogs performances,"paws-on". What a workout, but it was so much fun. They were actually recruiting and said they were interested in a couple dogs. Sassy was 4th fastest dog out of the group of 30.

I was just attending because it seemed like fun, but I had such a blast and we learned so much that I'm now hoping they'll take us for one of the apprenticeship positions! It's like doing agility trials without the fees and with a lot more action. Plus, it was a chance to identify and work on weaknesses such as passing Sassy of to a "holder" before each run and building her confidence around noise and pandemonium. Plus, we got to keep the frisbees!

K9 Cliffhanger Trial

Jumped into the trial at the last minute....it was held at Burnaby Heights Park, a beautiful location at the top of the hill. Ran our first Masters standard (blown out of the water) and started catching up on our Games....won the Advanced Gamblers, which ends our Gamblers requirements for the AGDC...Still need 2xJumpers and all 3 Snookers. Thanks Sheila for detecting the accounting error or we wouldn't have received the "Q"!

BC and Yukon Agility Championships!

Competed in our first regionals in beautiful Campbell River. Although we haven't competed at the masters level yet, this would be a good introduction and a chance to see how we compare with the top dogs in the province.

In the six events over two days, I did poorly in 3 of them and fantastic at the other 3, even earning a 2nd place finish in one of the Standard runs! Sassy's not the only one that does tricks...so does my knee. It popped again on the first day at the end (fortunately) of a fast Jumpers run. Ran the second day lame and in pain but that was when our best run was....go figure.

Sassy qualified for the National Championships, being held in Ottawa this year. Not crating her on a plane....so we won't be going, but next year the Nationals will be in Calgary I think.

Handlers and dogs in both my classes, Paws Ahead and Superfly did really well this weekend. The weekend was a lot of fun and we even met Sassy's uncle, Sabre

Thanks for the photos, Frank!

Here is the Paws Ahead class....all Qualifiers!

And here is my very successful Superfly group. Great showing from them too! Thanks for all your help and advice, Julia!

Another Title: Advanced Agility Dog of Canada!

Today we ran three events in Matsqui: Steeplechase and two advanced standard runs. Nothing great until the last standard, which we Q'd, giving Sassy the next title. Now we're running in the top category: Masters level. Going to be a lot more difficult. Still working on our Advanced Games events.

March Madness in Cloverdale!

Here are five runs we did last Sunday. Four runs, four first place finishes (and a fourth place, in Steeplechase), though there were some mistakes (due to my handling). Still, Sassy earned three "Q"'s that puts us closer to the Masters level! Advancement details and trials history can be found on the right in the sidebar.

Cloverdale Trial - Jan 19

Just two Standard events today (now at the Advanced level), but we took 1st place in both! And one was a qualifying score so we just need two more standards to get to the masters level.

It's Snow Time!

We rarely get snow here but it's been cold and we got a good snowfall last night. Chasing frisbees in the snow has got to rank right up there with agility!

Matsqui Trial - 5 events, 4 1st place wins, 3 Q's, 2 Titles!

Sunday the 23rd of November was good for us. We had clean runs on the two Starters Standards to take the "Agility Dog of Canada" title and the last game we needed for the "Starters Games Dog of Canada". Thanks for the photography, Frank!

Cloverdale Trial - 5 Runs, 3 "Q"s!

Two Years Old Today!

Sassy celebrated her 2nd birthday this morning with a salami and Zukes treats pie. Yum.

Superfly Fun Match - Cleveland Dam

With 12 dogs in the 16" Special class, Sassy ran in all five events plus a musical fun run and was in the top three in all of them! Not much thanks to me though...it's like she knows how to count the cone numbers! Next week will be the real test: our first AAC sanctioned agility trial at Burnaby Lake!

Fun Match Jumpers

Here's an example of Sassy's smooth style and my awkward handling! Thanks to Sassy, we still managed to take first place and a "Q" (i.e. no faults).

Fun Match Glory!

Took Sassy to a fun match today (our third) and did really well! Out of 5 competitions, we took first place in 4 of them (2nd place in the other) and "Q'd" in all five! We also won three special prizes: Top score (of all the dogs at the event) for the Gamblers Events, Best Dog in it's class (Specials/Vets) and I won the "Best Sportsmanship" award, which was a shock. Anyway, here are the ribbons and prizes....have enough treats to last a while now.

First Ribbons (fun match)

There was a fun match (an agility competitions with real judging/timing/scorekeeping, but not for official ranking...just a chance to play and practice)on and we went into all six competitions and much to our surprise, ended up with these! We've improved a lot in the last month. Maybe we'll do a real competition this summer....

Weave Poles

In two agility courses now....Weave Poles: 12 poles, 20 inches apart. The idea is to weave through quickly (entering the first gap on the right of the pole) without missing any. It's a tough one because it's the only obstacle that dogs are not natural to its normal movement (as jumps and tunnels are). Sassy can't compete yet as she's not old enough. Dogs need to be 18 months.....2 more months to go!

At Harbourside

Here's a shot of Sassy sitting in a stay position by our favourite meeting place. It was where she learned to socialize with other dogs.

Sit and Stay, Whistle training

Trained to sit and stay for a long time while I walk/run away. Then, on a whistle blast, comes running to me.

Sheltie Club

Here are Chelsea and Sundance (on the left). Sass hangs with other dogs but her Sheltie pals are special!

North Van

Great trails in North Vancouver. We're going to try them all this summer!

Happy Dog

Happiest when chasing the frisbee in the park.