Atlas Kennels

Happy Birthday Vegas!

2012-01-23T22:52:00.001-06:00

Happy 7th Birthday to Vegas!

UKC Rally in Hugo, MN

2012-01-22T23:07:00.001-06:00

On January 21-22 we attended a UKC Rally Trial in Hugo, MN. Luxor had earned one leg towards his URO1 title in October at the Gateway Nationals and we were hoping to finish his title. On Saturday he earned his second leg with a score of 85. He did a good job but was a little distracted. He is after all still a baby.

On Sunday, he must have gotten the hang of it because he qualified with a 97 and third place to finish his URO1 title. This score of 97 will also earn him 7 all star points! He's just a few days shy of 10 months old. Good boy!

Here is Luxor with his ribbons after finishing his title:

CPE Agility - January 15

2012-01-16T21:38:00.000-06:00

We attended one day of a CPE trial in Ham Lake, MN on January 15 and had a great day. Mira started the day with a Q in FullHouse which was her 15th Q in Level 5 in Enthusiast so it earned her Enthusiast FullHouse Champion title (TChFH). This is the first of the champion titles in Level 5. We are a little behind in them because we did one C-ATCH in regular and then moved to Enthusiast. The first five Qs don't count, so this was really her 20th Level 5 FullHouse Q.

Mira also qualified in Level 5 Snooker and Level 5 Standard. I was hoping for a Q in Colors since she needs just one for her next C-ATCH (as well as four more standards) but Mira had other ideas. She tucked her ears back and took the wrong end of a tunnel, but I was thrilled to see this since she was clearly having fun.

Mira ended up 3 for 4 for the day. Here is her video:

Nadia was a rockstar as usual. She ran all the same courses as Mira except Standard, however the only difference in the Standard courses was Nadia's had one serpentine removed and less weave poles. Nadia Qed in Standard - which was Level 3 and then also in Level 4 FullHouse, Level 3 Colors and Level 4 Snooker. She did amazing with her perfect day 4 for 4. Here is her video:

CPE in LaCrosse - Jan 7-8

2012-01-10T20:57:00.001-06:00

Atlas, Mira and Nadia all traveled to a CPE trial in LaCrosse, WI to start out the new year. We had a great time!

On Saturday, Atlas started out in Level 1 Wildcard. He had a couple of zoomies and one off course, but he managed to Q and make time. He earned a 1st place and his first ever CPE title CSL1-H! His second run was Snooker and he did even better earning a Q and 1st and his CSL1-S title! good job for a dog that hasn't been on agility equipment in 10 months and is almost 10 years old!! Since Atlas had such a great day on Saturday, he sat out on Sunday. This was likely his last CPE trial and he went out in style with a perfect weekend - 2 runs, 2 first, 2 Qs, 2 titles!

Here is Atlas' video from the weekend:

Nadia had a tough start Saturday - we just couldn't click and she was wired. I also had some bad handling. We NQed in Wildcard, Standard and Colors but we got it together for her first Level 4 Q in Snooker and a Level 3 Q in Jackpot. On Sunday, we did much better. She started the day with another Level 3 Q in Jackpot to finish her CL3-S title. This is her first CPE title since I moved her to regular from enthusiast, so this was a great accomplishment.

Nadia also had a great run and a Q in Level 3 Standard. Then she qualified in Level 2 FullHouse to finish her CL3-F title. Two titles in one weekend is pretty good! We also Qed in Level 4 Jumpers and then finished the day with an NQ in Wildcard.

Overall, Nadia was 6/10 (4/5 on Sunday!) and finished two titles. Here is Nadia's video:

Mira was a rockstar - Saturday she did 4 runs and had 4 Qs and 4 1sts! She picked up Qs in Level 5 Wildcard, Standard, Colors and Snooker. On Sunday she had a repeat with 4 runs, 4 Qs and 4 1sts! We did attempt one more run on Sunday, but she jammed a toenail as she came over a jump. She immediately told me it hurt and I pulled from the run. So technically it was not quite a perfect weekend, but we're going to ignore that one run since we pulled. :) By the time we got to the car she was not even limping and when we got home we could see the nail was discolored and a little sore. She seems fine though!

Here is Mira's video from the weekend:

Finally, some photos:

Mira with her ribbons from Saturday

Atlas with his ribbons

Me and Nadia with her new title ribbons

Me and Atlas with his new title ribbons

Welcome to the Future - 2012

2012-01-03T00:29:00.001-06:00

I spent a lot of the New Year's weekend catching up on things - not important things like laundry or cleaning, but rather on things I wish I had more time to do doing the normal busy times. In short, I took some time to focus on what's important to me. Almost nothing is as important to me as the dogs, so it should come as no surpise that a chunk of that time was focused on dog stuff.

I did some training, but mostly I caught up on reorganizing vidoes and photos and on updating and reorganizing this blog. In doing that, I had the opportunity to view a lot of old videos and also to read what I was thinking in 2008, 2009 and 2010. It was insightful.

I realized that I haven't achieved some goals I set and some goals I achieved, but not in the way I expected to. There were of course a few goals that I met head on. However, it seems like the vast majority of my achievements with the dogs were things I never dreamed of. While that wreaks havoc on the planning and goal setting, it does make life fun and interesting.

Entering 2012 I find myself incredibly blessed to not only have all the dogs still around, but also happy, healthy and still able to enjoy the things we do. Back in 2008 or 2009 or even to a degree 2010 I would never have guessed we'd be where we are today, but the future is pretty awesome.

Looking towards 2012 I could set some goals, but I know by now that anything I plan is probably not where we go, so I am just going to sit back and enjoy the ride.

My only goal, and in some ways my challenge, is to continue to find ways for these amazing dogs to be enriched and enjoy their lives. The GSD is not a couch potato (at least not for long) and it's up to me to channel their energy into something we enjoy. Along the way, we can continue to educate people about the GSD (especially the white GSD) and work to improve the breed.

Looking forward to the journey through 2012, the highs and the lows, whatever comes our way....

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T21:37:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year from:

And last but not least...

I think Lux was a little embarrassed. :) Here's to a great 2012!

Atlas' 2011 Conformation Shows

2011-12-30T01:49:00.001-06:00

Last year I did a year end video celebrating Atlas' conformation wins. 2011 was pretty amazing and I think he deserved another one.

Last Shameless Brag of 2011

2011-12-28T21:25:00.000-06:00

Just had to take a picture of all the ribbons, trophies, plaques, etc these awesome dogs have won this year. We have some amazing dogs! It's hard to show in a picture just how many ribbons they have brought home this year, but it's impossible to show in a picture how much joy they gave us this year. Good dogs - thanks for a great year.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-27T21:46:00.001-06:00

A couple more shots from our holidays:

Mira under the Tree

Nadia snuggling with "Grandma"

2011 - A Year in Review

2011-12-13T22:27:00.002-06:00

We're so proud of 2011 and how well our dogs did in everything we asked of them. Here are some highlights:

ATLAS
Atlas has had an amazing year, as always. What makes this year remarkable is not what he accomplished, but the consistency he has shown at the age of 9 years old. He has continued to excel in conformation and performance!

Performance accomplishments:

In March after a long time away from agility, he came out and earned two qualifying scores.
Three perfect scores in UKC Rally and many scores in the high 90s.
89 UKC All-Star points in Rally Obedience 1 which will rank him in the UKC All-Stars (tentatively #3) of all dogs of all breeds.

Conformation accomplishments:

2011 WGSDCII National Specialty Best of Breed and Grand Victor and Select 1
Best of Breed in the German Shepherd Specialty at the UKC Premier
THREE UKC Best in Multi-Breed Show Wins taking his career total to 12
Six UKC Best Veteran in Multi-Breed Show Wins
74 UKC Top Ten points which will rank him in the UKC Top Ten (tentatively #5) for 2011, his 9th year in the Top Ten.

To top it off, Atlas also won his fourth UKC Total Dog award. He also sired an amazing litter that was born in March and has already earned multiple titles!

MIRA
Mira had another great year in agility and rally. We entered 2011 needing just a few Qs for her Canine Performance events Agility Trial Champion title and she earned it in February. She was also able to come back and earn another champion title, this time in the enthusiast division in August! We also competed in her first national agility event and she did very well there. She continues to show a remarkable level of consistency in agility at eight years old. My our math, she earned 72 qualifying scores in agility this year in three different organizations. Pretty amazing for a dog her age!

Her accomplishment this year include:

Canine Performance Events Agility Trial Championship (C-ATCH)
Canine Performance Events Enthusiast Agility Trial Championship (CT-ATCH)
Earned 24 legs towards her second CPE Enthusiast Championship (CT-ATCH2)
Earned 45 points towards her UKC Agility Championship
UKC Rally Obedience 3 Title (URO3)
Earned 32 points toward her UKC Rally Obedience Championship
Earned 4 legs toward her UKC Rally Obedience Excellent Title

VEGAS

Depending on how you look at it, I suppose you could say that Vegas didn't accomplish a lot this year. She didn't compete in any performance events and wasn't shown in conformation. However, in our eyes, Vegas had her best year ever. On March 26 she gave birth to a litter of seven puppies sired by Atlas. We have to give Atlas a little credit on the genetic side, but it was Vegas who raised the pups and got them started in life. This litter is only eight months old and has surpassed our expectations in this short time. We already have three UKC Champions, two UKC Champion pointed, a UKC Rally title, legs towards a UKC Rally Title and towards a UKC Grand Championship. We could not be happier with what she produced in both structure and temperament.

Vegas also went with her breeder Eclipse Kennels (also the breeder of her litter) to the German Shepherd Dog Club of America Temperament Test this year. She passed the test and this earned her a Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) number. She is only the fourth white GSD to earn a CHIC number (Atlas was #1). We're very happy with what Vegas has accomplished in 2011!

ANUBIS
Poor black dog didn't get quite as much time trialing this year as in the past because we let Nadia have a lot of time. He still enjoyed training and he did get out to a few trials. He picked up seven Qs in CPE and he got his first Q in NADAC this year. Hopefully in 2012 he'll have some more opportunities to play. We're still proud of his Qs in 2011.

NADIA
Of all the dogs, Nadia probably had the most surprising year. She started competing in agility in January with VERY little training. It was more of a test to see what she would do in a trial. She not only Qed, she had a perfect weekend that first weekend with three new titles! And she hasn't looked back since that first weekend. She's been outstanding in agility. In 2011 she did 58 runs and she Qed in 49 of those! That's an 84% Q rate on a dog with very, very little training. She's working in Level 3 in CPE and in Level 2 in UKC. She also had a great year in conformation and rally.

Her accomplishments this year include:

CPE Level 1 Enthusiast Fun Agility Title (CTL1-F)
CPE Level 1 Enthusiast Handler Agility Title (CTL1-H)
CPE Level 1 Enthusiast Strategy Agility Title (CTL1-S)
AKC Rally Novice Title (RN)
CPE Level 1 Enthusiast Regular Agility Title (CTL1-R)
CPE Level 2 Enthusiast Handler Agility Title (CTL2-H)
CPE Level 2 Enthusiast Strategy Agility Title (CTL2-S)
Clever Canine Companions Outstanding Versatility (OV)
APDT Rally Level 1 (RL1)
CPE Level 2 Enthusiast Fun Agility Title (CTL2-F)
UKC Agility I Title (UAGI)
GSDCA Temperament Certified (TC)
Canine Health Information Center number issued (only 5th white GSD with a CHIC number)
Winners Bitch at WGSDCII Show for a four point major

LUXOR
Since Luxor didn't exist when 2011 started, he definitely had a great year! His first outing was the WGSDCII National where he competed in the "Personality Puppy" competition which he won. He sure has a personality! His first time in conformation in July he took Best Novice Puppy in Multi-Breed Show over six other puppies. He did well as a baby and has competed in just four "adult" (over six months old) shows and has earned his UKC Championship and a leg towards his grand. He's also already earned a leg in performance and a Total Dog award at seven months old! We're so proud of what he has accomplished this year!

Luxor's accomplishments this year include:

White German Shepherd Dog Club International Dorothy Crider Personality Puppy Award
Best Novice Puppy in Multi-Breed Show (twice)
Reserve Best Novice Puppy in Multi-Breed Show (twice)
UKC Championship
One leg towards UKC Grand Championship
One leg towards UKC Rally Obedience 1 Title
Total Dog Award at 2011 UKC Gateway Nationals (at seven months old!)
Herding Group IV in Total Dog competition at 2011 Gateway Nationals

OTHER NOTABLE DOG ACHIEVEMENTS

I was going to call this "co-owned" dogs, but many of the dogs above are co-owned. The above dogs are the ones where we have done a good portion of their training. HOWEVER we couldn't have achieved any of these accomplishments on Vegas, Nadia, Atlas or Luxor without the help and support of Eclipse Kennels.

Here are a few other dogs we are proud of in 2011 that we're involved with, but where the credit goes to someone else:

BENTLEY

Eclipse's Drive For Excellence (Bentley) is a littermate to our Luxor and we co-own her with Mary Stacey of Excellence Kennels. Mary has a great focus on conformation and performance and what she has accomplished with Bentley really lives up to her focus. Bentley has earned both her UKC Rally Obedience 1 title and her UKC Championship at the tender age of 8 months old! Great job Mary - we can't wait to see what 2012 holds!

IVY

Eclipse's Argent Sun (Ivy) is another littermate of Luxor and we co-own her with Monique. Ivy earned her UKC Championship with multiple Best of Breeds and Group placements in 2011. She was handled by Monique for all her wins and we're very proud of them both.

VIVA

Eclipse's Viva Las Vegas (Viva) is a third littermate of Luxor. We don't co-own her - she's owned by Carrie Grose-Phares and Eclipse Kennels. Viva has earned all three of her competition wins towards her UKC Championship and just needs points to finish her championship. We're very proud of her as well.

Thank you to everyone who helped us achieve our goals for this year!

Tim Karsjens - patiently holding down the fort at home when the dogs are at shows (and for attending some shows as well with his great handling!)
Donna and Mike Beadle (Eclipse Kennels) - thank you for your support and for breeding great dogs. Thanks for helping with handling and getting dogs to events and taking care of the dogs when we had personal issues this year. A special thanks for all your work with the Atlas/Vegas litter!
Mary and Jon Stacey (Excellence Kennels) - thank you for your support and your awesome work with Bentley!
Ken and Ann Schneider - thank you for always being an awesome home away from home for our dogs!
Michelle Hewitt and Deb Merritt - thanks for all your support and help in agility. I couldn't do it without you!

There are many other who help us as well - it takes a village to achieve potential in dogs and we couldn't do any of it without the support of the great dog community around us! And as always, thanks to the great judges (performance and conformation) who are grossly underpaid and often under appreciated.

Here's to an even better 2012!!!

Last Agility Weekend of 2011

2011-12-12T22:16:00.002-06:00

We did one day of agility on December 11, 2011 at On The Run in Ham Lake, MN. My girls were amazing and I was very proud of them both.

Mira qualified in Level 5 Jumpers, Standard and FullHouse. We had a miscommunication in Level 5 Colors which caused an off course. It wasn't entirely her fault, but it wasn't entirely the handler's fault either. :) Because we had already NQed, I opted to try the weaves offside. Mira is perfectly capable of doing offside weaves but she hates them. I caught her by surprise though - LOL. She gave me "the look" but did them anyway. I was very proud of her.

Here's a couple photos of Mira:

About to weave - right before "the look" © Herreid Photography

On the dogwalk © Herreid Photography

On the aframe © Herreid Photography

Great jumping photo from Jen Muehlbauer

Great teamwork photo from Jen Muehlbauer

Nadia also had a great day - she went four for four. I guess I can't ask for more than that! She finished Level 3 jumpers and so she will start 2012 in Level 3 standard, colors, wildcard, jackpot and fullhouse and in Level 4 snooker and jumpers.

Here's some photos of Nadia:

This dog has springs in her feet! © Herreid Photography

Love her expression © Herreid Photography

Serious weaving © Herreid Photography

Getting better at the teeter © Herreid Photography

Tongue can't keep up © Herreid Photography

She loves this game © Herreid Photography

Great jumping shot! © Herreid Photography

Coming out of tunnel from Jen Muehlbauer

Aerodynamic! from Jen Muehlbauer

At the start line from Jen Muehlbauer

Last Conformation Show of 2011

2011-12-08T22:39:00.001-06:00

December 3-4 was our last conformation weekend of 2011. We had a good weekend. Atlas didn't win anything in the regular classes - those wins went to his great-grandson Dex. He did win Best Veteran in all three shows he competed in and Best Veteran in Multi-Breed Show in two shows beating some gorgeous dogs. Luxor also did great taking two reserves in the champions class. That's very impressive to me at his age.

Atlas with his Best in Show Veteran win

Luxor winning reserve in the Champions class

It was a bittersweet weekend because 2011 is the last year we will be campaigning Atlas for a spot in the UKC Top Ten. He will finish 2011 in the Top Ten and we're very proud that this will be his 9th straight year in the Top Ten. However, it's time to back off a little and enjoy semi-retirement. He'll still come out for Veterans classes and may play in the Grand Champion class if there is a Total Dog opportunity, but we won't be pushing hard for those points like in the past. It's hard to imagine 2012 without Atlas at all the shows, but we're hopeful 2012 will be a good year for Luxor.

Our co-owned girl Bentley won Reserve Best Female in the first show and Best Female in the second show to finish her UKC Championship! Congrats to her and Mary on this win. She is now the third Champion from this litter.

New Champion Bentley

Thanksgiving Agility

2011-11-26T19:41:00.001-06:00

As has become our habit, we spent black Friday at an agility trial. I know what's important to get up early for!

Mira was a rockstar and Qed in FullHouse, Wildcard, Snooker and Jumpers - all level 5 and all with first places. Since she's in enthusiast there is less competition but I still enjoy getting first!

Nadia was also amazing - she Qed in all four classes as well with two 3rds and a 2nd. Since she's in regular, the competition is tough. For example she took 2nd in Snooker with 46 points. The first place dog got 51 points, the maximum. They only need 30 to Q! So she did great all day.

It's great to have a perfect day with both of them!

We went back on Saturday and both girls continued to shine! Nadia Qed in Level 3 Jackpot and Level 3 Standard and Level 3 Snooker. Her Colors run was the only thing that kept her from having a perfect weekend and that was because she had an issue with a crooked pole in the weaves.

Mira Qed in Level 5 Colors and Snooker. She didn't run Jackpot and NQed in Standard due to poor handling. Overall the girls were 6/7 (Mira) and 7/8 (Nadia) for the weekend! Great job.

Here is a photo of Mira from the weekend a fellow exhibitor sent me:

I also got several photos of Nadia from the photographer. I buy more of her because I don't have as many! These are © Herreid Photography

Luxor's First Health Clearance

2011-11-19T23:28:00.000-06:00

Luxor got his first health clearance - he is normal/normal for MDR1. This makes me very happy because dog's that carry the mutant gene (like his dad Atlas) can be bred carefully but as owners we need to watch the drugs they are given. I prefer to not worry at all and have a clear dog.

Luxor now has his own OFA page too! http://offa.org/display.html?appnum=1495807#animal

CPE Agility - November 12

2011-11-15T23:32:00.001-06:00

On November 12 we did some CPE agility. Mira had an awesome day - she Qed in all four of her runs with first place. Can't ask for better than that! She now has 15 of 40 Qs needed for her next CT-ATCH.

This was Nadia's first time running Level 3 Regular - she's done a some level 3 runs in enthusiast but I decided to start her over in regular so she can work towards a C-ATCH. So this was her first CPE trial jumping 20" and in harder courses. She did amazing - looked like a pro. Three solid Qs and one run just a tad over time from some bobbles. She did all her weaves and all her contacts perfectly.

Here are some pics of the girls from the weekend: (© Herreid Photography)

Mira telling me what she thinks of weaves

Mira happy to be done weaving

Nadia

Nadia still doesn't love the teeter

Mira

Nadia - 20" is no problem!

Nadia

Nadia (she looks like Atlas in this one!)

No video from the weekend - I left the camera at home.

Best in Show Photos

2011-11-15T23:18:00.006-06:00

Finally got Atlas' three Best in Show photos from October!! I'm not thrilled with the ones from Loves Park (the last two) but they are better than nothing.

UKC Gateway Nationals 2011

2011-11-06T21:51:00.052-06:00

We love the UKC Gateway Nationals and we were looking forward to attending for a second year in a row! The shows were held October 28-30, 2011 in Gray Summit, MO. Atlas, Mira and Luxor traveled with me, Donna and Jen and their dogs. We left early Thursday morning and began the long trek to Purina Farms in Gray Summit, MO. After a lunch break at Pizza Ranch we made it to the hotel in the early evening. After checking in we headed to Steak n' Shake for our now traditional first night dinner.

At Steak n' Shake we came up with a great idea. Donna's husband Mike had made us cookies for the trip - three buckets. He had taken buckets from Sweet Martha's Cookies (a staple at the MN state fair) and crossed out Martha and written Mike in. It was a cute idea and we appreciated his creativity (and cookies). So we decided to take pictures of the cookies in various places throughout the weekend. It ended up being a bit like Flat Stanley but with cookies. It was a lot of fun. Check out an album of the adventures the cookies had!

Jon and Mary arrived later that night and before we knew it, morning was on us and we were at the show. I think this year I might have overdone it a little in terms of entering too much. I scratched a few rally runs over the weekend but other than that I fit it all in. the first thing Friday morning was agility. Mira had two AGII runs and qualified in both. It was the platform jump (aka sit/jump/sit) and she got it on the first try both times. However we had other bobbles (I think redoing the weaves both runs) so here scores were 192.89 and 195. Great scores, but no points. She has to score 196 or better for points.

Friday was also Total Dog day and both Atlas and Luxor were eligible. I think I was a little bit crazy entering a baby puppy in Total Dog, but I figured we'd see. After agility, we did conformation and I had moved Luxor up to champions really to give Jon's dog Ellie a chance. She was only one other champion so no grand legs but he won the class. Atlas won the grand champion award of merit, so both dogs had the conformation part of Total Dog done!

We also did rally. The rally ring was placed next to the agility ring and Purina Farms had put astroturf down for agility (which was super nice). Unfortunately they also did the rally ring. It was an odd surface to do rally on and very smelly. Atlas qualified but with an exceptionally low score of 75. This is ridiculously low for him but he was awful, sniffing the whole way. Luxor also competed and had a pretty good run for a pup, but did not qualify. The good news though is that Atlas had now earned Total Dog!

I also ran Mira in two AGI runs and she scored 192 and 198 (for 4 points). She ran well all weekend and the errors were largely mine. She enjoyed running on turf. Somewhere in there we did the second conformation show and Lux again won the champions class. Nothing for Atlas.

Luckily, the people running the trial saw how bad the astroturf was and how it was slowing down the trial (asking a dog to sit three or four times takes longer than once!) so they opened up a second ring on matting for the second rally trial. I had been planning to pull for the rest of the weekend because of the turf so I was thrilled they made this choice.

I ran Atlas in the second trial to redeem his awful score and he scored a 95. 20 points difference by moving it off turf! I also decided to try Luxor again. Since he had a shot at Total Dog, I figured why not. Well, he did awesome for a seven month old and he qualified with a score of 88!!! I couldn't believe how well he did. That also meant he got Total Dog!!!

It was now 9:00 at night and we were DONE literally and figuratively. We headed back to the hotel and crashed. However, while I was running around all day, some of our friends did very well too! Bentley (our co-owned girl for the Atlas/Vegas litter) had a great day. She won Best Female in both conformation shows (sadly, no competition) and qualified in both rally trials for her first two legs towards her URO1!! In the Herding Group speciality (which I did not enter) Bentley took reserve Best Female to her litter sister Viva (owned by Carrie Grose-Phares) who earned her first competition win!

Jon's dog Elle debuted in dock diving and had some great jumps and Mary's dog Dex had some beautiful runs in AGII (just not quite ready to qualify). Dex also won an award of merit. Donna and Jean Luc the Berger Picard won Best of Breed and Group II both shows and won the Herding Specialty (Best of Breed / Group I). Donna's young Picard Gizmo won a large champions class. Jen's poodles went Lure Coursing and I think dock diving.

Saturday dawned bright and early. I was hurting something fierce. We started with agility - AGI was first this time and Mira got a 199 (6 points) and a 197 (2 points). Then we headed to conformation. A dog finished his championship on Friday and moved up so there was a champions class. Luxor took reserve in the first show and won the champions class in the second show for his first grand champion leg! Nothing for Atlas in confirmation.

We also did rally - I didn't show Lux because he's so young and I was so happy with what I got from him the night before. I didn't want to push it. Atlas got a perfect 100 (although very slow!) and earned a fourth place.

Mira did two AGII runs as well. She had an awesome AGII run going - got the pause box and weaves and I pulled her off the second to last obstacle (sway bridge) - good dog, bad handler. First NQ for us but really a nice run. I think it would have been a 200. She came back with a 193 in her last run.

After the shows they did the Total Dog awards and competition. Both boys got their awards (certificate and a nice ribbon) and competed in the herding group. Atlas took Group III and Luxor took Group IV with Donna. That was a treat!!

Atlas' Total Dog Ribbon and Certificate

Luxor's Total Dog Ribbon and Certificate

They also did a costume contest and it was a hoot! There were some awesome costumes!!! There was also a GSD specialty (which I did not enter) and a Berger Picard specialty which I stewarded. After that, we went out for an awesome dinner at the Hawthorne Inn (our favorite local restaurant) and hit the sack.
As was the case the day before, our friends did really well. Bentley and Mary finished her UKC Rally Obedience 1 title! Such a great achievement for a seven month old pup! Bentley won Reserve Best Female in both conformation shows and also took Best Female in the GSD specialty for her second competition win. Viva won Best Female in both shows for her second and third competition wins. She just needs points to finish. Donna and Jean Luc took another Best of Breed and Group III and won the Berger Picard specialty. Elle did some more dock diving and Jen's poodles did well too. Dex had a couple more great agility runs.

Sunday was the last day and we were dragging. It was really tough to be on your feet that much. Atlas did one Rally run on Sunday and got a 97 which was a nice score. He picked up 22 all star points for the weekend. Considering I scratched two runs, I was very happy with that.

In conformation, we only showed in one show. Luxor didn't win anything but Atlas won a Best of Breed! This was his last show in a big UKC Event (Premier, Gateway) so it was a lot of fun to go out on top!

In agility, Mira and I finally managed a Q with points in AGII - we got a 196 for one point! At least we didn't leave with no AGII points! We Qed all four runs on Sunday so overall Mira Qed in 11 of 12 runs (which is awesome) with high scores! In AGI her scores were 192, 197, 198, 198, 199 and 199 (22 pts). In AGII her scores were 192.89, 193, 195, 195 and 196 (1 pt). Good girl!

Here is video of some of Mira's agility runs:

Donna and Jean Luc also took a Best of Breed on Sunday. Mary and Jon left about noon so we bid them farewell! After the show we grabbed a bite of Mexican food and then headed back to the hotel. I took some cute photos of my dogs with their ribbons:

Monday morning we headed home and had a good trip. We were tired and kind of done with traveling but we had a great weekend!

Some more pictures from the show:

Atlas and Luxor with their Total Dog ribbons

Atlas

Bentley

Luxor

Viva - we forgot to get a pic at the show so they took a candid one at home!

Photos from Gilbert

2011-11-01T23:22:00.000-05:00

Got some great candid shots of the boys in Gilbert from the photographer. They are very cute:

Luxor gaiting - looks like his mom!

Atlas still has his beautiful suspension

My two favorite boys - Tim and Atlas

Me and Atlas in the ring

Me and Atlas after winning Best in Show - love this photo!

Another of Luxor gaiting

UKC Shows in Loves Park, IL

2011-10-23T18:54:00.005-05:00

Wow! What a weekend! If I had sat down before this weekend and planned the best possible outcome for this weekend I wouldn't have even been close!

First, two of the pups from the Atlas/Vegas litter made their debut in the licensed classes and Luxor was there as well. This litter continues to impress me!

Eclipse's Drive For Excellence (Bentley) co-owned by Mary Stacey and us earned 75 points and one competition win towards her championship! She won Best Female three shows and Reserve Best Female in the fourth! Great job!

Eclipse's What Happens in Vegas (Luxor) co-owned by Eclipse Kennels and us won Best Male and Best of Winners all four shows. He got 140 points and four competition wins exceeding what he needed to finish his championship! He is now the first CH from this litter!

Joining us on Sunday only, Eclipse's Argent Sun (Ivy) co-owned by Monique and us earned 25 points and one competition win towards her championship. She was Best Female one show and Reserve Best Female one show. Great job!

Even though the puppies were amazing - their daddy Atlas was beyond amazing. He's 9 years, 8 months old and he is still rocking it! He won Best of Breed and Group I all four shows. That would be impressive enough but he also went on to win Best in Multi-Breed Show TWICE!! I'm just blown away by this amazing dog. This was his 11th and 12th UKC Best in Show!

Waiting on the pics from the photographer, but here's a cute one of him at the show:

Conformation on the Iron Range

2011-10-16T23:53:00.005-05:00

October 15-16, 2011 was our UGSDA UKC shows in Gilbert, MN. We traveled up there with Luxor and Atlas (and Mira along for the ride) to have some fun.

This was Luxor's first weekend in the real classes and he did well for his first weekend. He was the only dog in his class so he won it all four shows and earned 40 points for his championship. He didn't win anything beyond that, but he had a good showing.

Atlas had an amazing day Saturday. Out of an entry of 23 German Shepherds he won Best of Breed, Group I AND he went on to win his 10th Best in Multi-Breed show at the age of 9 years, 8 months. I am so proud of him! This should also put him firmly in the Top Ten for the year.

Here is Atlas in his win photo:

CPE Agility in Lindstrom

2011-10-10T22:08:00.000-05:00

We were supposed to do agility this weekend with Mira and Nadia but Nadia came into season three weeks early. So Anubis got to go instead.

Mira had a great weekend. She ran clean and relatively fast and Qed in five of her six runs. Her only NQ was in jackpot where she didn't want to send from a sharp turn (no momentum). To her credit she did do it, but we had to discuss it so she was 2.9 seconds over time. She also placed in all her runs and is now over a quarter of the way to CT-ATCH2!

Anubis had a rough weekend. The girls in season (Vegas is in too) probably didn't help as well as being away from trialing for a few months. He was very distracted, still obsessed with his leash and not really on! But to focus on the positive - he got all his contacts, did earn a Q in standard which is his hardest class, and had some lovely weaves. We need to do some focus work.

Next agility trial is at the end of the month at UKC Gateway!

Massage

2011-10-02T22:04:00.000-05:00

Since Atlas seemed to have a sore shoulder we decided to try a massage therapist to see if there was something we could work out. He was not showing any limp or discomfort in the yard or even at a moderate gait. It was only at a full gait with extension we could see it. So it was hard to gauge and I wanted to see if a massage therapist could feel it.

Thanks to Deb Merritt who recommended Michelle Bame, we got Atlas in to see Michelle. He was a little hesitant about what was going on, but she won him over. She could feel some tightness in areas that totally explained what we saw in his gait at the last shows. She worked it out and it seemed to work out well. She recommended at home massage and potentially a follow up before the next shows. We'll see how it goes!

UKC Shows in Minneapolis

2011-09-26T21:59:00.001-05:00

We attended the Northern Light American Eskimo Dog Association UKC shows in Minneapolis, MN September 24-25.

Luxor missed the cutoff for the real classes by two days so he was still in Novice Puppy. He won Best of Breed Novice Puppy all four shows. We only stayed for Best in Show on Saturday and he won Reserve Best in Show Novice Puppy in the first show. Here he is with Donna:

Atlas had a rough weekend. He showed well but his gait was off. I knew he wasn't limping but we determined his right shoulder wasn't extending fully. I think he had a sore muscle. So, no wins for him but a fun weekend overall!

UKC Shows in Bemidji, MN

2011-09-19T21:51:00.000-05:00

On September 9-10 we traveled up to Bemidji, MN for UKC Shows. I took Atlas and Luxor and we traveled with our friend Donna. Donna was judging the second show on Saturday so Luxor could not show Saturday (she co-owns him) and Atlas could only show in the first show Saturday.
Donna did a really good job judging and I enjoyed stewarding for her. Here she is awarding her first Best in Show!

I really went for fun as I did not feel that Atlas would do real well. I was pleasantly surprised! In the three shows he was entered in, he won the grand champion class all three shows. He won Best of Breed and Group II in one show as well. We can really use those top ten points!

I also entered him in veterans and he did wonderfully there! He won Best of Breed Veteran all three shows over two other GSDs and he went on to win Best Veteran in Multi-Breed show all three shows as well!

Here is Atlas with his Best of Breed win (also a Best in Show Veteran win):

Luxor also had a great weekend. He was the only GSD puppy so he won Best of Breed Novice Puppy both shows. In the second show he went on to Reserve Best Novice Puppy in Multi-Breed Show. Here he is with that win:

Lux also had a fun time meeting people and socializing. Thanks to MB for catching this cute shot of him:

Fun weekend! If only it had been just a little cooler!

UKC Agility

2011-09-08T22:45:00.001-05:00

Since I finished Mira's UAGII title in 2007, the only time we have done UKC agility is at Gateway last year where we only did AGI. I decided it was time to get Mira back out (for preparation for Gateway) and to try to get Nadia's UAGI title. On Sept 3-4, 2011 we traveled to Ixonia, WI (the closest UKC agility) to give it a try.

Mira was overall very good. She got two 200s (perfect score) in AGI. She also got a 198 (I didn't cue the table so she ran by) and one NQ (knocked bar). That earned her 24 points in AGI towards her UACH. You need 40 points in AGI and 40 in AGII and 20 from either. She now has 40 points in AGI in only two weekends (Gateway and this one).

AGII did not go quite as well but I expected that given the time away. On Saturday, the pause obstacle was the platform jump. I actually think she would have been okay but it started storming. She had one fault on the pause box and one on the weaves in each run plus over time in one run. She was just really off and in retrospect it was the storm. She Qed both Saturday runs, but just no points.

Sunday the pause obstacle was the pause box. To be fair, she never had gotten it successfully before (her AGII title was earned on all platform jumps) so I wasn't expecting perfection. In both runs on Sunday she faulted the pause box but then successfully did it so she scored a 195 (-5 for fault) and a 194 (fault and she collided with me trying to take an off course). Had she not faulted the pause box she would have had 16 points. So I think she is close there and can complete the UACH. We'll see how it goes at Gateway. She ended up with 7/8 Qs, three first places, two seconds and a third. Not too bad for four years away from UKC equipment!

Here is Mira's video from the weekend:

Nadia did not do quite as well as I hoped by we achieved our goal. She has never jumped 20" in competition and we've been practicing it but she does not like jumping 20". I was also concerned about the teeter which was loud and bouncy (since she's been having teeter issues). She was only in AGI so the only weird equipment was the hoop tunnel which we practiced at home.

In her first run, I handled as I usually do which means trusting her to get jumps. That did not work. I needed to really babysit the jumps because she was not going to them as easily as usual. So we had a couple off courses and some run-bys because she was trying to avoid the jumps. She did okay on the weird jumps (flowers, piles of PVC) but still didn't like the height. I thought we knocked a bar (which would be an NQ) but evidently the judge didn't see it that way or something else happened. She did fault the table thanks to our CPE work but got it. The teeter was near the end and she did a nice job on it but I thought she bailed before touching the yellow. Again, the judge called it differently so we ended up with a Q and third place.

On the plus side, she didn't hesitate to take the teeter or the dog walk so I was pleased with that. Also no hesitation on a new chute and she nailed the hoop tunnel.

In her second run, I babysat the jumps and it was a much stronger run. I think she only had one runby. She also nailed the teeter and other contacts. She still faulted the table but her score would have been much higher than the first run has she not faulted the hoop tunnel. She was just excited so it wasn't intentional but we ended up with almost the same score as the first run, but a Q and second place.

On Sunday, her first run was okay but I was nervous knowing it was a title run, so I did some dumb stuff causing her to have some bobbles. She ran past the last jump and it took me what felt like 10 minutes to get her over it. :) You won't see that in the video since the camera cut out. But she did get over it and got her third leg for her UAGI title and third place.

Her scores weren't too bad actually - 184.99, 189, and 185.9. Very consistent (170 is qualifying) and not too terrible. the fault for the mistakes is really mine. I'm just thrilled she got her UAGI title which is her third UKC title. She now has her UAGI and URO1 and GRCH and needs just an obedience and weight pull title for Super Dog.

Her last run was pretty good but she refused the teeter. She went on and just stood at the point before the tip. She was scared and obviously only on it to make me happy. Since it was a bonus leg and she wasn't doing it, I let her get off. So we NQed but I wanted her to know how much I appreciated her doing it for me. We need to do more teeter work but that was one of the worst teeters I have ever seen in competition.

Here is Nadia with her ribbons:

And here is Nadia's video:

And a special shout out to our friends Mary and GSD Dex who earned their UAGI in their first weekend of trialing! Way to go!

Temperament Certified!

2011-08-20T23:35:00.006-05:00

Today the German Shepherd Dog Club of Minneapolis and St. Paul held a temperament test. This is the test put on by the German Shepherd Dog Club of America. I had a personal commitment and couldn't attend but Donna and Mike of Eclipse Kennels were kind enough to take Vegas and Nadia for me. Donna and Mike bred and co- own both girls so they know them very well and I really appreciate them taking them!!

Both girls passed so they can both add TC (temperament certified) to their names. Here are Nadia and Vegas with Donna after passing the TC:

In addition this was the last requirement the girls need to earn a Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) number. There are only three white GSDs with a CHIC so we're very pleased. Our Atlas was the first white to earn a CHIC number. In addition, Vegas is now third generation CHIC and Luxor and his littermates are likely the first white litter with both parents CHIC!

Since Anubis and Atlas already had their CHIC numbers, now all our breeding dogs do! (even the retired ones) We think CHIC is a very important program - read more here: http://www.caninehealthinfo.org/

Agility and Rally Weekend

2011-08-18T01:35:00.001-05:00

What a fun and crazy weekend we had! On Friday Atlas and Mira and I joined our friend Melissa and her dog Ceyla and we drove to Fort Dodge, IA for UKC Rally. I entered Atlas in level 1 for all star points and Mira in levels 2 and 3 hoping for points towards her UROC and double Qs towards her URX.

Atlas did great with a 97 (tied for first, got second based on time) and a 98 (tied for second, got third based on time). He picked up 15 all star points! Mira, however, did not do well. We did her first level 2 run and she was just a mess. She was distracted and did not want to sit. I was actually concerned there was something physically wrong. She qualified but just barely. I took her outside and looked her over. She seemed fine but I was still seeing odd behavior on sits. I finally decided to scratch her remaining runs as it was getting very late and we had agility the next day. The trial ran a lot longer than I expected. I was actually concerned she might not be okay to run agility the next day.

We drove back to MN and she was happily playing in the yard at home. She wasn't stiff or sore and seemed to be fine with sitting. Honestly I think she just had too much rally the weekend before and decided she didn't want to do it! Okay Mira, I can take a hint. I can't promise no more rally ever, but we'll take a break!

Saturday came bright and early and I loaded up Mira and Nadia for a CPE trial in our area, about 45 min away in Burnsville. This trial is on turf and one of my favorites. This is the trial that Mira came back to agility at last year after her illness. That run will always be my favorite run ever with her!

Our first run of the day was Colors. Somehow I didn't catch the walkthrough. I think I was walking in the other ring (conflicts are an issue in a two ring trial!) so I had two choices. I could move my dogs to the end and they would let me walk first or I could run without walking. I chose the later because I did not want to conflict with our runs in the other ring. I took Nadia out and she ran well and Qed in level 3. With Mira, I suffered for not having the walkthrough. As soon as I got to the line, I saw my plan with her which was intended to avoid an off course was actually going to cause it. I would have seen this had I walked it. Oh well, lesson learned. I guess it proves I know my dog because she took the off course for an NQ!

I didn't care too much though because I was focused on the other ring. It was a non-traditional Jackpot and Mira needed one Q to finish her enthusiast C-ATCH (which is actually a CT-ATCH)! It was in the same ring as her comeback run a year ago which was also in Jackpot! I had to run it first with Nadia and that was good because I used my plan for Mira on Nadia and let her try it out. She's faster but it still should have uncovered any problems. Nadia ran well and Qed in level 3.

I should also mention that the night before I broke out in hives on my legs. It wasn't nerves or anything - I am fairly sure it was something from Iowa I am allergic to. Saturday morning I found they were back. But I didn't dare take an antihistamine! I would be so upset if my cloudy brain caused an NQ! So I was a little itchy but at least I was clear headed!

Mira and I did the run and qualified! It was a nice smooth run. I declined the victory lap this time. People thought it was weird but she didn't enjoy the victory lap for her first C-ATCH. She thought it was weird and I think it upset her. So that one was for me and this one was for her - no victory lap. :)

Here's Mira and I with her CT-ATCH bar!

Mira and I Qed our last two runs of the day - Wildcard and Snooker. Sunday we Qed in Colors, FullHouse and Jumpers and then had a traditional Jackpot. The distance was actually doable so I thought maybe we could do it, but it required a 180 degree turn right before the distance and she wouldn't do it. No problem - she still had an awesome weekend! She was 6/8 which is very good and of course got the CT-ATCH!

Here's Mira with all her ribbons and bar:

There were actually 11 C-ATCHs awarded this weekend which is way more than usual! So we did a group picture (minus one person and two dogs)

Although Mira is the star of the weekend for her CT-ATCH, Nadia sure came close to being the star! I mentioned she Qed her first two runs, level 3 Colors and level 3 Jackpot. I had originally only entered her in games because her teeter and dogwalk have been so tough. She's made a lot of progress in training so I decided to try her in standard at the last minute.

Nadia did her level 2 standard run on Saturday and although she hesitated, he did the dogwalk AND the teeter! I was so proud! I really didn't think she was far enough along to do it in a trial!

Nadia Qed in that standard run and also in Level 3 Wildcard and Level 3 Snooker for a perfect day 5/5!

Sunday Naddy moved up to Level 4 Colors and even though it had a dogwalk she got her first Level 4 Q in only her 5th trial! She also Qed in Level 3 Jackpot, again in Level 2 Standard (another teeter!) and in Level 2 Jumpers. Her jumpers run finished her CTL2-F title!

Her only NQ of the weekend was in FullHouse where we had a miscommunication and missed it by 1 point! She ended the weekend 9/10! What a good girl! Here she is with her ribbons:

Here is Nadia's video from the weekend:

And here is Mira's video:

Rally On!

2011-08-08T17:49:00.000-05:00

We traveled to Loves Park, IL this past weekend (August 7-8, 2011) for two purposes. First, we visited my parents and second we competed in a rally trial.

Atlas and Mira and I (along with Luxor just for fun) made the trip on Friday night. On Saturday and Sunday we did UKC rally with some great results.

Atlas was entered in URO1 because we're working on all-star points for him. He did a great job on Saturday with a 97 (4th place) and a 98 (2nd place). On Sunday I made an error in the first trial but he still got a 96. In the second trial we really focused and got a perfect 100! This was only 3rd place though because we were slow.

Here is Atlas with his ribbons from Saturday:

Atlas earned a bunch of all-star points (31) this weekend so combined with Premier he now has 52 and should be comfortably ranked in RO1. Good boy!

Mira was entered in RO2 and RO3. She finished her URO3 title last trial and now is working on her UROC and URX. The URX requires 10 double Qs in both RO2 and RO3 in the same trial. The UROC requires 100 points (40 from RO2, 20 from RO3 and 40 from either). You earn one point for every point in your score over 90.

On Saturday she earned a 94 in both RO2 runs (so earned 4 points each trial). In RO3, she earned a 94 and a 98. This gave her two double Qs and 20 points. On Sunday she earned 92 and 91 in RO2 and 94 and 97 in RO3. In total she got four double Qs and 34 points.

You might wonder why her scores are higher in RO3 which is harder. Well, it turns out Mira is kind of tired of rally. She was very slow and acted like I was torturing her all weekend. All the while she continued to laugh at me. RO3 contains a jump so all she needed was to see the jump on the course and her attitude improved. The 3-4 exercises after the jump she did like a normal dog. I know she's saying she prefers agility to rally! But it's good for her to continue her obedience work so she's going to do just a bit more before I let her retire from rally. I'll just try to make it more fun for her.

Mira didn't place all weekend but she did earn 8 Qs without a single NQ which is pretty awesome for us. Here she is with her ribbons:

Good puppies and good times with our friends Mary and Jon (whose dogs Dex and Elle did great, finishing their URO2 and URO1 respectively) and seeing my parents!

Nadia and APDT Rally

2011-08-02T17:56:00.000-05:00

Nadia was entered in her first APDT Rally trials on July 30, 2011. She did a great job and worked really hard and finished her Rally Level 1 title in three trials. Her high score was 200 (out of a possible 210)!

NADAC Agility

2011-07-26T17:43:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time since we've done NADAC agility but on July 23, 2011 we traveled to LaCrosse, WI for one day with Mira and Anubis. The point of this trial was largely to be able to correct Anubis on his contacts since NADAC allows training in the ring.

Mira had two beautiful runs in open standard - the first one we had to have a conversation about the weaves so no Q but Q in the second. She ran fast (for her) which always makes me happy. She missed a Q in Chances because of my error but she got the really tough gamble. It was more distance than I thought she could do and she nailed it! She also missed a Q in Touch N Go but only by time. It's hard for her to make time when there are a lot of hoops because she slows down for them. Her final run of the day was a Q in Weavers.

So as I said, the point of doing this trial was that you can train in the ring in NADAC. Anubis has been blowing contacts so I wanted the opportunity to correct him. So of course he nailed them all. 5 aframes, 3 dogwalks - all perfect and even a Q in Touch n Go! He didn't Q in any other runs mostly because of off courses or distractions but he did a good job. He also got the gamble in chances which I was very proud of!

More Pics of Mira from Rally

2011-07-22T17:22:00.000-05:00

At our UKC Rally Trial last Sunday, Jenni Muehlbauer captured some great pictures of Mira that really show her personality! It was so hot and she was so not interested in performing in the heat and she did anyway like the wonderful dog she is!

Mira executing the worlds slowest sit (which she displayed many times on the course) while laughing at me.

Mira did finally make it into the sit, still laughing at me.

This was a leave dog, call front while running, so even though she looks out of position, this is actually correct. She didn't move quickly but she really did this sign well.

Sticking her tongue out at me as she does a finish left. Love her attitude!

This is a sit walk around dog. I guess she found Jenni with the camera so she could take the opportunity to smile pretty for her!

Almost done here - I think we're both relieved!

Heat Wave and Dog Show

2011-07-20T00:56:00.013-05:00

On July 16-17, 2011 we attended the UGSDA UKC shows in Lake Elmo, MN. I was the show secretary as well as competing which was a little crazy. The shows were held in conjunction with weight pull, rally and obedience hosted by MN Mixed Breed Club. There was also an awful heat wave with high humidity for our outdoor shows!

I had hoped to earn a Total Dog for Atlas as well as maybe some top ten points and hopefully all star points in rally. Unfortunately that was not to be. On Saturday Atlas was suddenly sick with vomiting and diarrhea. Husband rushed him to the vet to be safe, but it was nothing serious, probably just something he ate. He was put on meds and was feeling better quickly. However with the extreme heat (head index over 100) and his age, he stayed home the rest of the weekend.

This was hard for me as I so enjoy being at shows with Atlas. I know there are more shows, but at his age I value each one and I know he enjoys them too. Luckily he is now fine and we will simply do the next show!

Luxor was the only other dog I had in conformation and he stepped up to the plate on Saturday. Maybe he knew I was sad his daddy couldn't be there, but he showed his heart out for me and won Best of a Breed puppy both shows and Best Novice Puppy in Multi-Breed Show in the first show. If we had offered a reserve, the judge tells me he would have earned it in show 2 as well. Sunday he didn't do as well as he was hot and tired. But at 3 1/2 months old to do as well as he did on Saturday was amazing. I was very proud of the way he took everything in stride. I have such high hopes for this little guy.

To make the weekend more fun, I also had Ceyla for the weekend. She is owned by my friend Melissa. She really wanted to show Ceyla at these shows but she had to work, so I took her for the weekend. Ceyla was entered in weight pull, rally and conformation. I had never done weight pull but I was comfortable with rally and someone else was going to show her in conformation.

We knew Ceyla could pull enough to qualify and she needed only one leg for her UWP (United Weight Pull title). I got to watch her and Melissa pull in Red Pine over the weekend of the 4th of July so I had some idea what to expect. We decided I would go in (i.e. Do her first pull) at a qualifying weight and hopefully only pull once. Ceyla was very excited to pull (I have the scratches to prove it!) and the people at weight pull were super nice and helpful to me in telling me what to do. She got her pull and finished her UWP! We didn't go for any more weight so she didn't place.

In rally, Ceyla was going for all star points as well. We managed some nice runs with 2 100s, a 99, and a 98. That earned her 37 all star points and should put her in 2nd place! We had some placements but missed High in Trial both days on time.

In conformation, Mary and Donna showed Ceyla on Saturday and she was Best of Winners in show 2 to finish her UKC Championship! She also earned a Total Dog award! Sunday she moved to the champion class and was shown by Jenni but didn't win anything.

Thanks to Melissa for letting me play with Ceyla. I enjoyed it and she was great to work with. It took some of the sting off of Atlas not being there.

On Sunday, I did bring Mira for Rally. She needed one Rally Level 3 leg to finish her URO3. It was so hot, I decided I would do one run with her (there were two she was entered in) and if she qualified great. If not, I was still going to pull her and have Tim come get her so she could get home out of the heat.

Mira did her run VERY slowly. She preferred walking behind me to heeling and was in general very pokey. She was not thrilled! But to my surprise she Qed with a 97 and finished her URO3 title!

A few other kudos to Atlas kids:
Great grandson Dex won two Best of Breeds, Reserve Best in Show, earned two legs towards his Rally Level 2 title, and earned a Total Dog award both days!

Granddaughter Desi was Best of Winners and Best Female to finish her championship and earned all three Rally level 1 legs for her URO1. She earned a Total Dog award both days!

Granddaughter Elle won the Champions class once and earned her first Rally level 1 leg.

Son Luxor I already bragged about but his litter mates Bentley and Roxxi made their show debuts and did very well. Bentley won her class all four shows.

Daughter Echo won two Best of Breed Altereds and two Group I Altereds.

Overall a great weekend!

July 4th Weekend in Le Center

2011-07-06T01:10:00.002-05:00

The weekend of July 2-3, 2011 Atlas and Luxor went to a UKC Show in Le Center, MN. This was Luxor's first show since he just turned three months old on June 26.

Atlas had a great weekend and won the grand champion class three out of four shows. In one show he went on to Best of Breed and Group I earning 11 top ten points. This puts his at 19 for the year and hopefully into the top ten.

Luxor did amazing for his first time in the ring. In his very first show he took Best of Breed Novice Puppy and went on to win Best Novice Puppy in Multi-Breed Show over six other puppies! He won Best of Breed Novice Puppy the other three shows as well.

Luxor was a real trooper - he took in all the new sights and sounds and people without missing a beat. He had no problem with the exam or the gaiting or stacking. He did just perfectly for his first time and hopefully it's a sign of things to come!

UKC Premier 2011

2011-06-21T20:51:00.000-05:00

On June 16-19, 2011 we attended the UKC Premier in Kalamazoo, MI. Last year they moved the Premier to IN and this year it was back in Kalamazoo which was a much better location. We left on Wednesday afternoon - me and Donna in my van with two Berger Picards, three GSDs and one GSD puppy from the Atlas/Vegas litter who was going to her new home. We caravanned with Jen and her two poodles as well. I only brought Atlas - the rest of the dogs were Donnas.

We spent Wednesday night at my parents house in Rockford which was a great halfway point. Thursday morning we set off for KZoo. We arrived and checked out the show site and checked into the hotel. We also met up with Jon and Mary and their two GSDs. I roomed with Jon and Mary because they, like me, like the AC cranked up high! So they were nice enough to split a room with me. This was also fun because I got to hang out with Dex who evidently likes bathtubs.

We met Jon and Mary for dinner at a really nice Italian place. It was good to have a great dinner and catch up. Overall we had some really good food in Kalamazoo this year which made the trip a lot better.

Wednesday night we were able to drop off "Viva" - Eclipse's Viva Las Vegas - to her new mom Carrie. Viva was happy to meet her and I think they will do well together. Here is a picture of Viva relaxing in the hotel room:

Thursday was the top ten competition and the specialties. None of our dogs did anything in top ten but it was still an honor to be able to participate. We did get participation ribbons and stickers for making top ten.

Here's Atlas hanging out with Donna on Thursday:

Later in the day was the German Shepherd specialty. Here is Atlas relaxing before the specialty. You can see he was quite nervous. :)

Atlas showed beautifully all weekend and especially in the specialty. He won the Grand Champion class and went on to win Best of Breed in the specialty!! This was a big honor and of course we had to get a picture to celebrate!

Thanks to judge Richard Klatt for recognizing Atlas!

We also got a lot of neat prizes from the specialty win. Here are a couple of pics of Atlas with his ribbons and the loot!

Thursday night we went out for dinner at a great hibachi place. It was fun and the food was good. Here are some pics from the dinner:

Friday was the start of performance as well as the first regular conformation show. We didn't win anything in conformation but Atlas had a really nice rally run and earned a 97. We're hoping for all star points this year, so that score earned him 7.

We also got to watch Dex dock dive, do rally and do his first agility run. I also helped Sunday the poodle and Jen do dock diving! It was a busy and fun day.We had dinner and hit the sack.

Saturday was another conformation show and more performance. Atlas scored a 94 in rally for 4 more all star points. Dex won the Grand Champion class in conformation which qualified him for Total Dog! Atlas didn't get the conformation win, so we didn't get it but we were very happy for Dex. This year they did the Total Dog Besr in Show a little differently and they did it by group. Dex placed 4th in the herding group!

Atlas did get a mug and a rosette for participating in Total Dog even though he didn't qualify.

Saturday night we went out for a nice dinner at another Italian place and then hit the sack for one more day.

Sunday was the last conformation show and again we didn't win anything, but I was so proud of how Atlas showed all weekend. In rally, Atlas scored a perfect 100 which is the first perfect score I've ever gotten! This was quite a thrill and gave him a total of 21 all star points for the weekend. One more weekend and he should have enough points to get into the top 50! Here are Atlas' qualifying ribbons for the weekend:

We watched some dock diving and other events and then hit the road to head back to Rockford to spend the night. It was Father's Day, so Donna and Jen and I took my parents out to dinner to celebrate. It was so nice to spend some time with my parents and celebrate Father's Day.

Monday morning we headed back home and got to Minnesota mid day. It was a long weekend but a lot of fun! Here is a picture of all the loot from the weekend!

CPE Nationals 2011

2011-06-15T23:08:00.001-05:00

This year the CPE Nationals was held in Lake Elmo, MN. This was a real treat to be able to compete in a national event in our area! Although both Mira and Anubis qualified for Nationals, Anubis is not experienced enough at running outside so Mira was the only dog I entered.

On Thursday, I ran over to Lake Elmo on my lunch break and set up Mira's crate. The crating was in horse stalls which we shared with several friends. Here's what our crating area looked like:

The actual trial ran Friday - Sunday with three runs each day. Each day had one standard run and two games. Although Mira now runs enthusiast, she qualified for Nationals in regular/veterans so she had to be in veterans in this trial. We entered all nine runs because that is the only entry option. She'll be 8 in August and I really wanted this to be a celebration of all the fun we've had together.

We checked in Friday morning and got our exhibitor gift bags. Wow - these were great! They were full of all kinds of toys and treats as well as a leash and a tote bag. Here's a photo of our haul:

Friday morning bright and early we started with some rain but it cleared up before we ran. Our first class of the day was FullHouse. It was pretty easy except it was slippery from the rain. Michelle's Shiba Inu Taiko who is very speedy did a face plant. He was fine but it was slick. Mira Qed in FullHouse but didn't place. We didn't place all weekend, nor did I expect to running in veterans.

Then we ran standard and it was a nice course but some tough spots. Mira hasn't run standard since she earned her C-ATCH in February. I expected to continue to have weaves faults every run but Mira was clean on her weaves and made time so we actually Qed with no faults!

Wildcard was last and very tight which made the discrimination all the worse, but Mira did a great job and we Qed there as well. This means we had a perfect day on Friday! I hoped going into the weekend that we would get one Q - to have a perfect day was amazing!

Here is Mira with her three qualifying rosettes:

The rosettes were beautiful! A closeup:

Saturday we started with standard and it was a harder course with two dogwalk/tunnel discriminations. You also did the dogwalk twice and no aframe which I thought was interesting. Mira was a little slow (mostly because she has the worlds slowest dog walk) and missed time by .89 seconds. We would have Qed anyway (since you can have five faults) but as she took the last jump she slipped on the wet grass (it rained overnight) and landed on the bars. :( Still an awesome run. And - still no weave faults!

In jumpers which was next Mira had a silly moment where she pushed me out of the way to take a random tunnel. She does this every once in awhile from the start and while it causes NQs, I love it because it's a sign she really wants to play. She did the rest of the jumpers course clean and very nice.

Jackpot was traditional of course and a tough gamble. Mira and I don't have much distance so we don't ever get traditionals but we did try it and didn't get it. So no Qs for us on Saturday, but still a really good day with nice runs.

Sunday we started with colors and she had a great run (also a tight course) but her tail just brushed the first bar and it fell. She almost never knocks bars unless she slips (like on Sat) so this was just a fluke.

Then we ran Snooker and that just kind of fell apart. She made some mistakes and I tried to cover but couldn't think fast enough. It was a nice snooker course but my brain wasn't working. I had a terrible allergic reaction to something on Sunday and had to take a Benedryl so that probably wasn't the best way to run snooker. :)

We finished on a standard course and Mira had a great run and Qed there as well. Again - no weave faults all weekend!!

So we ended up 4/9 for the weekend but she ran better than that reflects. I couldn't be prouder of her. Mira now needs 1 jackpot Q to finish her CT-ATCH and has her first Q towards her CT-ATCH2!

Here's a couple miscellaneous of photos around the show:

Here is video of Mira's runs:

Ixonia - June 4-5

2011-06-07T23:40:00.002-05:00

On June 4-5, 2011 we traveled to Ixonia, WI for some UKC shows. We met up with Mary and Jon of Excellence Kennels. The real purpose of this trip was to deliver their new baby!

Introducing Eclipse's Drive for Excellence "Bentley"

Bentley is from the Atlas x Vegas litter and we are thrilled to co-own her with them!

We also took Fire (Eclipse Bittersweet HotAsHades) with us to show. Atlas showed well all weekend but only won the grand champion class once on Saturday. Fire was Best Female twice and reserve twice to finish her UKC Championship!

Here is Fire's championship photo:

Thanks to Donna and Mike from Eclipse Kennels for the opportunity to show Fire!

What Happens in Vegas..

2011-05-28T01:35:00.000-05:00

..Stays in Minnesota?

We are so excited to announce that "boy" from the Atlas x Vegas litter is now known as Eclipse's What Happens in Vegas and his callname is Luxor. Luxor will be staying here with Eclipse Kennels and will be co-owned by us. I fell in love with this guy at five weeks old and couldn't be more excited that he will be here. I'm very excited to train and show him.

2011 WGSDCII National

2011-05-23T23:35:00.003-05:00

We were so lucky that this year MN played host to the 2011 WGSDCII National Weekend on May 20-22. The shows were held at Tails Up Dog Training where we train.

On Friday we kicked off the weekend with a conformation show. Atlas won Best of Breed which was a thrill, but almost better was little Nadia! With Tim handling her (his first time in the show ring in a long time!) Nadia won Winners Bitch for a four point major and went Best Oppposite Sex to Atlas! Atlas' son Brinkley (owner Debbie Murden) took Winners Dog and Best of Winners for a four point major as well.

Atlas' Best of Breed win

Nadia's Winners Bitch / Best Opposite Sex win

Brinkley's Winners Dog / Best of Winners win (B: Susan Powers and Donna Beadle O: Debbie Murden and Susan Powers)

Sadly, we noticed after the show that Atlas was limping. A quick exam showed he had cut his paw pad on something. It was a small cut but I was very worried about being able to show him the rest of the weekend and especially in the National show on Sunday.

After the show on Friday I led a rally obedience workshop/run through. It was very fun and Nadia got to stand in for Atlas since he was in the "disabled list" with that paw. I even had people use Nadia to learn a couple of signs and she worked for them (she was not thrilled but was a very good girl!). It was great to see people learn about rally and in some cases try it for the first time. After this we had a pizza party and called it a night.

After a lot of worry and a lot of babying, Atlas' paw pad was better on Saturday morning but we decided to leave him home to stay off it so we could for sure show him on Sunday. It was hard to leave him home but for the best. Mira came with instead to cheer me up. She also assisted as the "friendly dog" in the AKC Canine Good Citizen test.

I am very proud of Atlas' daughter Echo and her owner Jenni for passing their AKC Canine Good Citizen test. I am also proud of Atlas' son Brinkley for passing his!

There were two conformation shows on Saturday. Nadia won her class in one show but didn't go beyond that. Atlas' granddaughter Raisin won Best of Breed in one show. After the shows was a general meeting and then the banquet. We received some beautiful plaques for recognition of our titles earned this year. It was a great day.

Sunday was the big show. We decided to scratch Atlas from obedience and let him wait in the car until it was time to show just in case. We were being overly cautious for sure, but we didn't want him to re-injure the paw pad. It looked totally healed but better safe than sorry.

Before the National Show was obedience and then the parade of titleholders and puppy sweepstakes. This was followed by the Dorothy Crider Personality Puppy award which was won by the boy from the Atlas x Vegas litter. He did a great job!

Boy during the personality puppy competition kissing up to the judge.

Me and boy with the judge and his trophy

Boy and his trophy

Then, on to the show:
Nadia won her class but did not get beyond that. I brought in Atlas and while he was a little crazy, he was NOT limping at all which was a huge relief. At that point, I was happy with any result in the show because I was just so thrilled I could show him. At this stage in his career, it's much more about just going out there together.

Atlas didn't just show though, he turned it on and won Best of Breed / Select 1 and Grand Victor! I am so proud of him as this is his second WGSDCII Grand Victor win and to do it at his age is even better. Of course, we don't get many bragging rights on age because Atlas' mother Echo, at age 11, won Best Opposite Sex / Select 1 and Grand Victrix from the veterans class!!!

Atlas winning Best of Breed / Select 1 / Grand Victor

Echo winning Best Opposite Sex / Select 1 / Grand Victrix (she was handled by Mike in class and by Tim in Best of Breed)

Other notable wins by Atlas' kids and grandkids:

Atlas' son Brinkley was Winners Dog / Select 2 Dog

Atlas' daughter Echo was Best Opposite Sex Altered

Correction: The dog who won Best Altered was later found to be incorrectly entered and Echo won Best Altered and the Kya Award

Atlas' granddaughter Raisin was Winners Bitch / Best of Winners / Select 2 Bitch

Nadia won the Open Bitch class

If this wasn't already exciting enough, Atlas was the oldest male dog shown and Echo was the oldest female dog shown so they earned the Lobo and Penny Awards in recognition of this.

Echo and Atlas getting the Penny and Lobo awards

To top off a great weekend, I won a lot of stuff in the raffle and in the guessing games! This was a great weekend and we really enjoyed it.

CPE Agility in Lakeville

2011-05-16T23:15:00.003-05:00

On May 14-15 we trialed in agility in a new location - Ames Arena in Lakeville. This was a great new venue and I hope there are more trials there.

We attended the fun run the night before and tried to convince Nadia the dogwalk wasn't evil. We didn't succeed there but none of the classes she was entered in used the dogwalk so it didn't impact her trial. We did get a chance to practice weaves as she has been working hard on them and she did them well. Anubis got to practice contacts and he did okay but this is still a weak area for us.

For the actual trial, Mira joined Anubis and Nadia. It was a busy weekend but the judge was an online friend of ours from a GSD agility list. It was so fun to trial under her!

Mira was her usual awesome self. She was entered in everything but standard and she Qed in everything except Jackpot. We had to scratch jumpers because the day ran late so she ended up 4/5. In jackpot she actually had an amazing run and took the wrong end of the gamble tunnel. However even with that, she did it with a lot of distance and really amazed me! Very few dogs got the gamble so she was not alone. She now needs only 4 Qs for her CT-ATCH.

Here is video of Mira's runs:

Anubis had a great weekend. On Saturday he had a perfect day including his first level 2 standard Q. He got all his contacts and was a rock star. On Sunday he did really well but had a meltdown in standard (what contacts?). We also had to scratch jumpers for him but he ended up 6/7 and finished level 3 in colors and snooker.

Here is Anubis' video:

Poor Nadia was the victim of a dumb handler. On Saturday she Qed 2/3 and the one NQ was a mishandling on my part that caused an off course. She did weaves in Colors and rocked them!!! On Sunday I looked at the jackpot and felt the gamble was too hard for a dog with no training in distance. So I opted to use it as a training run to work on weaves. She couldn't focus enough to get the weaves so I finally went on but didn't get enough points in the opening. To my shock she nailed the gamble! I need to learn to trust her! She ended up 4/6 because of those two NQs. She earned three level 3 Qs!

Here is video of Nadia's runs:

Overall I am very proud of how the dogs did and luckily got some great photos (thanks Great Dane Photos!). Nadia's weaves (other than jackpot) were a huge victory and Anubis showed great improvement on his contacts.

This is a great photo of Naddy in the weaves courtesy of Great Dane Photos. I love her attitude!

Puppies - 7 Weeks Old

2011-05-14T01:00:00.000-05:00

UKC Amana, IA

2011-05-09T23:05:00.003-05:00

On May 7-8 Atlas, Nadia and I traveled to Amana, IA with Donna and her dogs and our friend Jen and her poodle. We met up with Jon and Mary our good friends from IN. We didn't win anything in the show ring, but we had a great weekend and a lot of fun.

Atlas' great-grandson Dex who is owned by Jon and Mary is maturing beautifully and he won Best of Breed all four shows and went on to win a Best in Multi-Beeed Show! Congrats to Dex and Mary who works so hard with him!

Our poodle friend Jen cleaned up with a BIMBS and a reserve and Donna finished a GRCh (also Atlas' great granddaughter) and we were very happy for them.

Of course, we did clean up in the raffle which was awesome! And their was Pizza Ranch too (although not a very good one).

Our raffle winnings!

Puppies - 6 Weeks Old

2011-05-07T00:53:00.001-05:00

Puppies - 5 Weeks Old

2011-04-30T00:45:00.000-05:00

Judging

2011-04-25T22:56:00.000-05:00

On April 23-24 I judged a UKC Rally trial in Minneapolis. This was my first time judging and I was a little nervous but it was a lot of fun! Of course, this meant I couldn't enter my dogs in the trial or in the corresponding conformation show, but I still had a fun weekend.

I really enjoyed the perspective of judging and it was great to be able to judge some of the people I usually trial with. It gives you a new perspective on the sport of Rally which was fun.

I also got to give out some Total Dog awards across the weekend and this was a real thrill. I really believe in the UKC concept of the total dog and I loved being able to support this as a judge.

Thanks to the Northern Lights American Eskimo Dog Association for having me judge!

Puppies - 4 Weeks Old

2011-04-23T00:34:00.000-05:00

Puppies - 3 Weeks Old

2011-04-16T00:28:00.001-05:00

Puppies - 2 Weeks Old

2011-04-09T00:21:00.000-05:00

Puppies - 1 Week Old

2011-04-02T00:09:00.001-05:00

Everyone is growing and doing well. Vegas is a great mom!

Puppies - 2 Days Old

2011-03-28T20:32:00.004-05:00

Vegas' pups are two days old and doing well!

Puppies

2011-03-28T00:14:00.003-05:00

Puppies are here! Born March 26, 2011 via csection, we have one boy and six girls. Vegas is doing well and pups are healthy. The sire is our Atlas. Puppies are being raised at Eclipse Kennels.

Here's some day 1 pics of the pups in the incubator at the vet, Vegas recovering, and settling in at Eclipse.

UGSDA UKC Shows

2011-03-27T23:58:00.001-05:00

March 26-27 we kicked off our conformation shows for the year with our own club shows in Minneapolis. Atlas showed well all weekend but it wasn't his weekend.

Atlas did win Best of Breed Veteran on Saturday both shows with two other veteran GSDs competing. In the second show he went on to win Best Veteran in Multi-Breed Show.

OV Nadia!

2011-03-16T23:02:00.000-05:00

On March 16 Nadia earned her Outstanding Versatility award from Clever Canine Companions. This makes her our fifth OV dog. Versatility is such an important part of the breed - we're lucky to be able to enjoy so many activites with our dogs.

Crazy CPE Weekend

2011-03-16T22:23:00.002-05:00

We traveled to LaCrosse, WI for a CPE trial on March 12-13, 2011. I took three dogs - Mira, Nadia and Atlas. Atlas hasn't been to an agility trial in over four years! But we thought we'd bring the old man out for some fun.

MIRA
Mira had a great weekend. This was her first time in enthusiast and she didn't know the difference but it allowed me to not push quite as much for time. It was also nice for her not to be entered in standard. She enjoyed not doing 12 weave poles!

Mira qualified in all seven of her runs - a perfect weekend! I did scratch one run - Jackpot on Sunday. When there are two Jackpot's offered in a weekend, I scratch the traditional Jackpot as she can't do the distance and I don't want to ask her for something we haven't trained.

Here is video of Mira's perfect weekend:

NADIA
Nadia was a last minute addition to the trial. She is due in season but she hasn't gone in yet. I entered her in Level 2 in everything including standard (even though she doesn't have a teeter yet so I knew she would NQ). The dogwalk at this trial was rubber and black and she didn't like it at all and wouldn't do it. So she NQed in standard on Saturday. On Sunday, I took her into Jackpot just to try for the dogwalk, but couldn't get it so we scratched Standard on Sunday. Not counting the "training run" in Jackpot she Qed in six out of her seven runs (everything but standard).

Nadia earned her CTL2-H and CTL2-S titles and got her first level 3 Q in Colors!

Here is video of Nadia's runs:

ATLAS
Old man Atlas hasn't played agility in a long time but he came out for some fun. He still doesn't believe in touching the yellow part of contacts, but he did pretty well considering his time off. He qualified in Level 1 Colors and Level 1 Jackpot. Only two of his seven runs, but still excellent for him!

Here are Atlas' runs:

We had a great time!!

Vegas is Pregnant

2011-03-10T21:28:00.003-06:00

Vegas is very pregnant - puppies are due March 28 and we're hoping for a nice healthy litter. The sire is our Atlas.

Here she is on day 42 - still 23 days to go! She's getting nice and round.

C-ATCH Mira!

2011-02-15T22:25:00.001-06:00

On February 12-13, 2011 we traveled to Kansasville, WI for a CPE Trial. Mira entered the weekend needing four Qs in standard for her C-ATCH and they have been coming very slowly. It had taken us just shy of a year to earn the first six (although that included her 3+ months off of agility) so I wasn't sure how long it would take us for those last four. The trial in Kansasville was one I specifically wanted to go to because it was on dirt where she runs faster and it offered four standards. I was hoping we could pick up one or even two at this trial.

Nadia also came along - she's due in season in March and I have been hesitant to enter her in a trial in case she comes in. This trial allowed day of show entries so I was able to enter her at the last minute to ensure I didn't lose the entry fees so it worked out nicely.

We arrived late on Friday because I had to work later than usual. We were in bed by midnight but it was still later than usual. I also discovered on Friday night I was getting sick with a cold. So I stocked up on nyquil, dayquil and orange juice.

Saturday morning dawned bright and early and we had to be at the show by around 7. The show site was very nice - a great barn with good footing for the dogs. Here's a shot of the site:

We started with two rounds of standard with the higher levels first. The first run with Mira was very smooth and felt great. She was moving very well and made time easily. She did fault her weaves (of course) but really a nice smooth run. I was thrilled to have one Q down. I figured no matter what happened it made the trip worth it. The second standard run wasn't quite as smooth but still under time and a Q (although still with weave faults). I didn't think we made time, but was surprised to find we did. At this point, I was so thrilled to get two Qs, that anything else was gravy.

Next I ran Nadia in standard level 1 for her first time ever. She hadn't ever done a full height dogwalk and has been having trouble with the low one in class. So I planned to try it a couple of times and then go on. To my surprise, she took it easily and Qed in standard! She wasn't in the second round of standard (there were six classes a day and you can only enter five).

The next class was colors. Mira popped out of the weaves and in the confusion took an off course tunnel so no Q for her. Nadia did Q in level 2 for her first level 2 Q. The next class was Wildcard. Mira qualified in Level 5 and Nadia would have qualified in level 2, except the very last obstacle was a chute. She wouldn't do the chute so we need to work on that. But it was a great run otherwise. The next class was FullHouse and only Nadia was entered. She finished shy a couple of points because neither of us was really focused. Still, a good day for her.

There was a Jackpot class at the end of the day but it was traditional. I knew Mira wouldn't get it and I didn't think Nadia could handle any more so I scratched these runs. Mira ended up 3/4 for the day and Nadia 2/4. Really proud of both of them, but especially thrilled about Mira in standard.

We grabbed some dinner and hit the sack early. Mira was still totally ready to play in the hotel room even though I was exhausted!

Mira says "Play?"

I woke up Sunday feeling worse than Saturday but I took some meds and tried to muddle through. We arrived early at the site and again started with two round of standard. I was feeling so bad, the possibility of the C-ATCH was in my mind, but I didn't think it was likely. We ran the first round and Mira did great but she knocked a bar. Somehow, she did her weaves though so no weave faults and we still Qed! I was nervous about time but she made it easily.

Then I realized, she needed one Q to finish her C-ATCH and there was one run left! I wasn't too nervous for a couple of reasons. The biggest is probably all the cold medicine I was taking :) but I also felt that getting three out of four was a huge accomplishment and beyond what I had hoped for. So I felt like no matter what I had an awesome weekend.

I wasn't too sure about the opening of the course. The courses Saturday didn't have discrimination but Sunday's did. In both cases, the dog was to take the tunnel instead of the dogwalk. We managed it in round one because I had a lot of time to get into position. In round two, the opening was three jumps turning to the dogwalk/tunnel discrimination. The tunnel was on the left and there was no way for me to be on the left so I had to send her. I got very lucky because she was very briefly distracted by something on the turn and it gave me time to get in position and get the discrimination. I knew if we could just run the rest of the course clean and under time (even with weave faults) we'd be fine.

Mira continued to run well and did fault the weaves. I prayed that every bar would stay up and she'd hit the contacts and she did. She crossed the last jump and I realized we had done it! Never in my wildest dreams would I have though we'd get all four standards in one weekend!

I am so thankful for my friend Michelle who quickly verified we had made time so I wouldn't have to worry. She told them we had done it and we had time to go to the crate and get Mira some treats before going into the ring for a brief victory lap and getting our bar and ribbon. I think Mira briefly thought I was going crazy with a weird pole in the ring but she recovered and we played a little in the ring and then left.

Here's a shot of Mira right after the victory lap in her crate with the ribbon and bar:

She's not actually happy about the C-ATCH - she was just excited for the massive amounts of treats she got as a reward! :)

I am so proud of Mira - it has been a long road to get her C-ATCH. I didn't think we would ever earn a championship in agility and once I realized the C-ATCH was doable we worked very hard to get it. With her illness in April and her hips combined with her age, it's even more of an accomplishment for us!

Of course, the day wasn't over - we still had three runs for Mira and five for Nadia to go. I luckily had a small break to get myself together and then I ran standard with Nadia. She Qed again so she finished her last level 1 title - CTL1-R. Amazingly, this means that I Qed in six out of six standard runs without messing the dogs up, which is a personal record for me! I was very proud of Nadia who finished all of level 1 without ever NQing!

Here's a pic of Nadia in her crate with her ribbon for the new title:

After standard the next class was wildcard and both girls Qed in this. Mira got her weaves too, finally. Michelle told me after the trial (thanks for not telling me before so I wouldn't worry!) that the weaves had 22" spacing. We've been trialing on 24" for so long I know that's part of why Mira struggled.

Next class of the day was Snooker. Mira knocked a bar on a red jump (my fault) and as I scrambled to find another one I sent her into a tunnel and NQed. Ooops! Nadia Qed in Snooker with a nice run. Then there was FullHouse which again only Nadia was entered in. She had been starting to space out a little so I planned a very flowing course with a lot of handling to keep her focused. She did AWESOME. It was her best run of the weekend and I couldn't be prouder of that run.

We ended the weekend on a non-traditional Jackpot. Mira went first and totally blew the aframe contact - she was still so UP after a long weekend. But we made up the points easily and she still Qed. Nadia also Qed and had a nice run.

So at the end of the weekend, both girls got seven of their nine runs which is a great Q-rate for us. Nadia got all first places in her runs and even managed a perfect day 5/5 on Sunday. Nadia got a title and Mira got a super title with her C-ATCH. This ended up being one of the most successful weekends I have ever had doing agility!

Here is video of Mira's runs from the weekend:

And here are Nadia's runs:

UPDATE:
Thanks to our friend Pam, we got video of Mira's C-ATCH victory lap!

AKC Rally

2011-02-03T22:19:00.002-06:00

January 29 and 30 Nadia and I attended an AKC Rally Trial put on by the North Star Herding Group Club. This was a fun trial because it was just for herding breeds (although a working group club trial shared the space).

On Saturday, Nadia's breeder and co-owner Donna went with to watch and we also met up with another Eclipse dog Jean Luc the Berger Picard. With Jean Luc and his owner MaryBeth was Patty and her GSD Tempy. It's always good to see our friends from Canada (aka Northern MN). Jenni and Echo (Atlas' daughter) also came to watch and it was great to see them.

Nadia had a pretty good run on Saturday and scored a 91/100. We had to retry a station or we would have had a 94, and that's about right. It wasn't quite as good as our first leg with a score of 95 earlier this month. Still, she earned fourth place and a leg towards her title. Jean Luc earned his first leg toward his title at just six months old - amazing! And Tempy got her first advanced leg as well.

Here is Nadia with her ribbons from Saturday:

On Sunday, we were back without all our friends, except this time we met up with Melissa and her GSD Ceyla who had awesome runs in Novice obedience and Advanced Rally. Nadia had a much better run and really impressed me. She scored a 97 and got third place. I was very proud of her! This also finished her AKC Rally Novice Title which is her fourth performance title of 2011!

Here she is with her ribbons from Sunday and her new title rosette:

On Saturday our friends took some pictures of us in the ring. Thanks to Jenni for these great pictures! In the last one we're in the ring to get our ribbons.

And thanks to Patty for this picture:

Nadia's First Agility Trial

2011-01-24T10:39:00.031-06:00

On January 22-23, 2011 we traveled to Spring Grove, IL with our friends Michelle and Taiko (the Shiba Inu) for some agility. Mira is only four Qs away from her CATCH so the goal was to get some Qs for her, but I decided to take Nadia along and see how she would do. Nadia has had very little formal agility training and only in short bursts. She comes to class with me sometimes and has done some basic work, but she's far from "trained" in agility. I wanted to get her out and see how she did and get her exposed to a trial setting.

The girls relaxing at the hotel

Taiko and the girls at the hotel

Mira had a good weekend, but I messed up a lot of her runs. In Full House, I forgot the third bar jump. In standard (the important Qs) I caused an off course in both runs. Of course, she was also really up and managed a few off courses on her own. So Mira and I ended up Qing in Level 5 Jackpot, Snooker and Colors - 3/10. Not a great weekend but the Q rate doesn't reflect how well she ran. I am just happy she is running and feeling well.

Here is Mira's video from the weekend:

I entered Nadia in everything but standard since she doesn't have a good dog walk yet. Her first run on Saturday was Full House. I had a very simple plan to avoid the contacts and the tire (all of which I wasn't sure she could do) and just take jumps, tunnels and a double. Naddy did great! She and I aren't real in sync in handling but she did everything I asked. She hesitated on the first tunnel but when I told her it was okay she zoomed through. She hesitated on the double and I realized she had never done a double jump - oops, bad handler! But she did it with just a slight hesitation. She ended up getting a Q and first place!

Naddy's next run was snooker. Again. I had a plan to avoid the aframe and the tire and focused on tunnels and jumps. She did great and did everything I asked. We even had to layer the judge and she didn't care he was there. We had enough points and still had time, so I tried the tire. She ran around it once and then came back and did it. I was very proud of that! Another Q and 1st place.

The girls in their crates at the trial

The next run was another round of Snooker. Since she had Qed already in level 1, she didn't need another Q in level 1 and couldn't move up so I opted to scratch her and not push her too hard. Her last run of the day was jumpers. This was her best run all weekend - I had one really bad front cross but other than that it was a really, really nice run and she looked like a pro. Another Q and 1st place - which also gave her a new title! Full House and Jumpers combine for the CTL1-F title! (The T in the title indicates she is in enthusiast so she can jump 16" instead of 20" which I prefer)

After her perfect day, I was thrilled and didn't need anything more from her to feel like the weekend was an amazing, amazing success. But Sunday, she did just as well! We started with Jackpot and it was non-traditional. I got her opening points with tunnels and jumps but we had time before the buzzer so I asked her to do the aframe. She hesitated so I brought her back around and she did it perfectly! We even repeated it just to make sure! She got the gamble and to the table for another Q, another 1st place and another title - CTL1-S (Snooker and Jackpot combined).

Then we did Wildcard and she did real well. I saw signs she was starting to get tired (running past jumps) but she still did an amazing job and Qed with another 1st place. Again, there was a second round of Wildcard and no move ups so I scratched that and opted to save her for her last run.

Tired Nadia falling asleep in her crate

The last run was Colors. The opening was a jump to the aframe and she didn't hesitate - just took it and hit the contact. I had another horrible front cross but she managed to Q with another 1st place and earn her third title - CTL1-H (Colors and Wildcard combined). That gave Nadia a perfect weekend (6/6) and three titles in her very first trial! I couldn't be more proud of her!!

Here is the video of Nadia's runs:

First Agility Trial of 2011

2011-01-18T23:34:00.001-06:00

Mira and I competed in a CPE trial in Ham Lake, MN on January 15-16. Mira had a great weekend and ran very well. Due to some other commitments, we had to scratch a few runs but she still did great.

On Saturday, we started with FullHouse and she Qed in Level 5. She wasn't super fast, but for some reason, this was her only slow run of the weekend. In her second run in standard, she ran much better. However, she was really bad on her weaves and refused to do them at all. We finally got through them with only a 5 pt weave fault. However, she took an off course later in the run which cost us the Q. She was only 5 seconds over time, so without the off course she would have been fine. I don't know if I didn't cue it well enough (I was flustered from the horrible weaves) or what.

Mira's third run of the day was Jackpot and she picked up a Q there in Level 5 as well. This is great because we've started working on her CT-ATCH (Enthusiast C-ATCH) which we'll do once she gets her C-ATCH. If we can get five Qs in Jackpot (four more now) we can skip standard.

We couldn't run the last run of the day because of a commitment so we headed home.

Sunday we got in two runs, Standard and Colors. Her Standard run was great - no weave faults and she made time. Actually she was .02 over which rounds down so she got no faults and a Q. We did have a bobble on the a-frame as I cued it wrong but it didn't hurt us. She's now down to needing four Qs for her C-ATCH.

In Colors, she ran beautifully but I thought the last three jumps were a straight line. The course was so crowded for the walk through, I just looked at that part instead of walking it. BAD handler. It was NOT a straight line and I didn't handle it well so I caused her to backjump the last jump and NQ.

Overall I was very proud of her and she did a great job running.

Back to AKC Rally

2011-01-08T23:14:00.000-06:00

It's been a long time since we've been in the ring for AKC Rally but we decided to try to get Nadia's AKC rally novice title in January. On January 7 we entered our first AKC Rally trial and she qualified with a 95 out of 100. She did a really good job in a tough environment. It was the day before the big Land O' Lakes Kennel Club show and while this obedience trial was not part of Land O' Lakes, it is heavily attended. It was a crowded and busy trial and Nadia still performed wonderfully. We'll try for the other two legs at the end of the month.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-17T21:54:00.002-06:00

2010 - A Year in Review

2010-12-15T00:18:00.000-06:00

We're so proud of 2010 and how well our dogs did in everything we asked of them. Here are some highlights:

ATLAS
Atlas earned one new performance title in 2010 - his Association of Pet Dog Trainers Rally Obedience Level 1 Championship. I am most proud of his TWO Total Dog awards this years.

Atlas really rocked this year in conformation - he earned Two UKC Best in Multi-Breed Show wins, two UKC Reserve Best in Multi-Breed Show wins, a Select as the White German Shepherd Dog Club International National Specialty, and he should finish 2010 as the #2 German Shepherd in the UKC Top Ten. He also sired a litter of seven puppies born in March.

MIRA

Even though she was sick for several months in the middle of the year, Mira had a great year in performance. She earned the following titles:

Clever Canine Companions Outstanding Versatility
Canine Performance Events Level 4 Regular Agility Title
United Kennel Club Rally Obedience 2 Title
North American Dog Agility Council Outstanding Open Tunnelers Title
Association of Pet Dog Trainers Rally Level 1 Title with Award of Excellence
Canine Performance Events Level 4 Strategy Agility Title

She earned "only" two agiltiy titles this year because we have been working on her CPE Agility Trial Champion title and she finishes 2010 needing only 5 more Qs for that. She also earned two Qs this year for her United Kennel Club Rally Obedience 3 Title.

VEGAS

Vegas became a mom this year with her first litter in February. Although we ended up with only one pup, he is growing up big and strong and doing well. Vegas bounced back well from pregnancy and won Best of Breed, a Best Opposite Sex and a Select 2 at the White German Shepherd Dog Club International National weekend. She also earned her Clever Canine Companions Outstanding Versatility title.

ANUBIS
Anubis hit the ground running in rally and agility this year. He earned the following titles:

Clever Canine Companions Versatile Canine Companion Excellent
Clever Canine Companions Versatile Canine Companion
United Kennel Club Rally Obedience 1
Canine Performance Events Level 1 Handler Agility Title
Canine Performance Events Level 1 Fun Agility Title
Canine Performance Events Level 1 Strategy Agility Title
Canine Performance Events Level 2 Handler Agility Title
Canine Performance Events Level 2 Strategy Agility Title
Canine Performance Events Level 1 Regular Agility Title
Clever Canine Companions Outstanding Versatility
Canine Performance Events Level 2 Fun Agility Title

He also earned two legs towards his Association of Pet Dog Trainers Rally Level 1 title and legs towards more agility titles.

NADIA
Little Nadia made her debut in rally in 2010 and continued to do well in the conformation ring. She earned her United Kennel Club Rally Obedience 1 Title which helped earn her Clever Canine Companions Versatile Canine Companion and Clever Canine Companions Versatile Canine Companion Excellent titles. She also finished her United Kennel Club Grand Championship.

Atlas' 2010 Conformation Shows

2010-12-09T22:50:00.003-06:00

I am so proud of how Atlas has done in 2010 (a year he was supposed to be semi-retired) that I had to put together a little video tribute. The music is tongue in cheek :) but I am very proud of him.

Last Conformation Show of 2010

2010-12-08T22:23:00.001-06:00

Atlas and I did our last conformation show of 2010 - Dec 4-5. This was a UKC show put on by the UGSDA, our club, so we were really busy getting ready for the show. Atlas showed beautifully all weekend - literally at the end of my six foot leash. At his age, I am just looking at his attitude to see if he wants to keep showing. He was very certain this weekend that he wants to keep doing it!

The judge in the second show on Saturday really liked him, but he didn't quite beat out the winning dog. However on Sunday in show 2, he won Best of Breed (out of 20 GSDs, 8 of them GRCHs) and Group I. Very proud of him! He had a great time!

Here's Atlas with his ribbons:

Thanks (giving) for Agility!

2010-11-30T13:12:00.000-06:00

Thanskgiving weekend Mira and I were entered in a CPE trial in Ham Lake, MN at a new trial site - On the Run. We entered only the first two runs each day which gave us two chances at Jackpot, three at Standard and one FullHouse (which we didn't need but is fun). However, I did have one conflict. I promised my husband I would attend the MN Wild hockey game with him on Friday at 1:00 p.m. He was participating in a Guiness Book of World Records attempt after the hockey game so this was really important.

When the running order came out, I saw that Friday was a non-traditional jackpot and then standard. Since non-traditional runs all levels together there are no course changes and it runs faster than regular Jackpot. Non-tradionals are also a lot easier for Mira so I knew I had to get this one since Sunday's was traditional. We had agreed that so long as I left the trial by noon, we were good. I figured a non-traditional Jackpot and one standard should be done by then so off I went.

Imagine my surprise when I got there and found that Friday's jackpot and Sunday's had been switched. Friday was now a traditional jackpot and it was one Mira simply could not do (offside weaves at a distance). Doing some quick math, I realized I would never get to run standard before noon, so I decided to just head home. So we went 0/0 on Friday!

Saturday morning we headed back and ran FullHouse first. Mira was blazingly fast which is really unusual for her. Maybe she liked the mats or maybe she just was mad we had to leave the day before. Either way, It's usually a little tight for us getting enough points in FullHouse, but not Saturday! She was awesome and got way more things than I had planned. She Qed easily.

Then we ran standard. She had knocked a bar in FullHouse and again knocked the first bar in standard. I think she wasn't sure how to handle the newfound speed on the mats. She wasn't struggling, it was more of a slip. So I knew that to Q we needed no weave faults..but that was not to be. She popped out of the weaves and we got weave faults and NQed. Since we had NQed, I had a little fun on the rest of the course playing with distance. She gave me tons of distance even layering a jump at the end! She finished 15.5 seconds under course time even with the weaves (and she also ran past the aframe and wasted a couple of seconds). Wow for a dog that had been having trouble making time! She was 1/2 on Saturday but I was thrilled with what I got in Standard!

Sunday we went back to play the non-traditional Jackpot. It was interesting and Mira was still faster than usual although not as fast as Saturday. She Qed with 55 points (needed 44) and earned fourth place. This was the last Jackpot Q we needed for her CATCH! Yay - Down to 6 Qs to go.

Then we ran Standard. I decided I would take the weave faults and concentrate on keeping bars up and running clean. I felt she could make time. Sure enough, I got two pop outs on the weaves but otherwise she ran clean. I think I slowed her down a little my overhandling, but I wanted a clean run. She Qed with fourth place and made time (but only by .14 seconds!). Yay -Down to 5 Qs to CATCH! So she ended Sunday 2/2 and the weekend 3/4 with two Qs toward her CATCH. A very good weekend for sure!

Back at CPE Agility

2010-11-22T11:32:00.015-06:00

November 20-21 Mira and Anubis and I headed to the horse barn at the University of MN for a CPE agility trial. We had a fun day. We started the day with FullHouse. Anubis Qed in Level 2 which finished his CL2-F title and was the final Q he needed to qualify for CPE Nationals! Yay Black Dog. Mira also Qed in Level 5 FullHouse.

The next run of the day was Jackpot. Anubis Qed in Level 3 and Mira Qed in Level 5. This was a Q she needed for her CATCH so it took her down to needing only 8 more Qs!

Then we ran Colors. Anubis was very distracted and all over the place so he missed time by 1 second and NQed. He did get his aframe contact though! Mira Qed in Level 5.

The last run of the day was standard. Mira missed it by two second because she was distracted. :( I opted not to run Anubis as sometimes I scratch runs at the end of the day for him. He was so out of it in Colors I wanted to give him a break.

Saturday night/Sunday morning we were hit with an ice storm and the roads were terrible. But, we're dedicated so we slid to the show bright and early in the morning. We started with standard and Mira Qed in her standard run! Yay - down to 7 Qs needed for her CATCH. Anubis had a really great standard run but blew both his contacts so he NQed. However, he did the teeter for the first time in competition perfectly!

Wildcard was next - Mira Qed in Level 5 and Anubis had a beautiful run with all his contacts but backjumped so NQed. I was thrilled with his run though. Then we did Snooker - Mira Qed in Level 5, Anubis got "tunnel vision" and NQed.

All in all, Mira was 5/7 and Anubis was 2/6 but he had some beautiful moments in those NQs. Proud of both of them!

Anniversary Dog Show

2010-11-08T01:38:00.004-06:00

October 23 was our 11th wedding anniversary. Of course there was also a UKC conformation show in Loves Park, IL, which is just outside my hometown. So to compromise we loaded up the dogs and stayed with my parents. Atlas and I went to the conformation show and then after we went to our favorite Chinese restaurant and to a hockey game.

Atlas had a good showing especially since he had been lane a few days before the show. He licked a spot on his foot raw and had gone lame. But, we patched him up and he did great.

On Saturday in the first show he took Best of Breed and Group II of six breeds. In the second show he also took best of breed.

Here's a picture of him with his ribbon:

On Sunday he didn't do quite as well. He won the grand champion class in one show but that's all.

One of my favorite things about this show is all the great raffle items they have. We won two awesome gift baskets! Not too shabby!

UKC Gateway Nationals

2010-11-01T10:47:00.034-05:00

On October 29-31 Atlas and Mira and I attended the UKC Gateway Nationals in Greys Summit, MO at the new Purina Farma Event Center. It was a lot of fun but a long weekend.

On Thursday we stuffed two GSDs, two Berger Picards, two Standard Poodles, three people, and all our luggage and show gear (poodle people pack a lot!) into Donna's Suburban and hit the road. It's not a terribly long drive down there but it's not short either. Of course we hit a Pizza Ranch on the way down. We got the hotel at night and it was a surprisingly nice hotel - kind of low-budget classy. We had dinner and hit the sack.

Friday we were up bright and early and at the site. The facility is beautiful and really well set up for dog shows. There were no performance events on Friday, just two conformation shows during the day and a herding group specialty in the evening. Atlas didn't win anything on Friday, but Emmet the Berger Picard and I won two Best of Breeds out of the three. Mira did a fun run in agility and in rally and she did great. The floor of the event center is great for conformation but is a little weird for agility. It was nice to get a chance to practice on it.

We found this awesome restaurant near the show site. It's called the Hawthorne Inn and it was so good. http://thehawthorneinn.net/ We ate there Friday night and really enjoyed it. It looked like a little out of the way nothing, but it was a really nice place.

Saturday dawned bright and early - we started in the rally ring. Atlas was entered in one trial of Rally Level 1 B for the possibility of Total Dog. He earned a 94 and had a really nice run. I was pleased to see his very upbeat attitude in the ring. Then we went into conformation and he won the Grand Champion award of merit to earn a Total Dog award! I was so excited to earn this cool achievement!!!

Mira and I got in our first two agility runs as well. She hadn't done UKC agility in like four years so she was rusty but she Qed in her first run with a 181. Of course, we need points (scores of 196 or higher) but still nice to Q. We also learned something because her second run was a 199 (six points!). She ran great.

Atlas didn't win anything in the second conformation show, which was awesome because it mean the Grand Champion award of merit went to Dex, Atlas' great-grandson. Dex also qualifed in both rally trials (his first ever!) so he also got Total Dog!

Mira finished the day in rally. She was in Level 3B and Qed the first run with a 93 which was third place. She didn't Q in her second rally run, but it was my fault.

Saturday night we watched Jon make his show ring debut with his pup Elle (Atlas' granddaughter) and then went back to the Hawthorne Inn to enjoy another yummy meal!

Saturday was also breast cancer awareness day. Here's Team Eclipse sporting the awesome pink Team Eclipse shirts mary made us:

(l to r: Jon, me, Mary, Donna and Jen)

Sunday morning we headed back for one more day of fun. The day started with Total Dog Best in Show. All the Total Dog qualifiers were called into the ring and then the UKC President Wayne Cavanaugh judged them and picked a Best in Show. We didn't win, but there were about 22 dogs in the ring and he made a cut to about 7 dogs he really liked. Atlas made that cut! That was quite an honor and we were very proud!

(Atlas in Best in Show Total Dog - with Dex behind him)

Mira had a great day in agility. Her first run was iffy with a 185 but she came back strong in run #2 with a perfect score of 200 and third place! I was very proud of her and she got 10 points for that! She also got a 78 and fourth place in rally Level 3. I had to pull her from her last run in order to show Atlas in group....

Although Atlas didn't win anything in show 1, in show 2 Donna showed him to Best of Breed. A very nice way to wrap up the weekend! Thanks Donna! I showed him in Group as she had Emmet and he got a Group III (Emmet got Group IV too).

Here's a couple of pictures from the official photographer - first is Mira:

Then Atlas:

Sunday night we hit a great mexican restaurant and then Monday made the trip home (via another Pizza Ranch). All in all a great trip and I would definately go again.

Agility in LaCrosse

2010-10-21T22:38:00.001-05:00

Mira, Anubis and I attended a CPE trial at Family Dog Center in LaCrosse, WI on October 16-17, 2010. I really enjoyed the trial because it was very small so no down time.

We started Saturday with standard. Mira ran first in Level 5 and sadly she NQed with two off courses. However, she only had off courses because she was SOOOO UP and raring to go which is great to see. She nailed her weaves and would have made time so can't complain. Anubis also NQed in Level 1 standard because he had to adjust to the new place. He was waaaay over time although he got his contacts.

Then we did Colors. Anubis ran first in level 3 and it wasn't real pretty but he Qed with first place.

Mira was next and I chose the course that had serpentines because usually she like them. She just wanted to GO and wasn't in the mood for a lot of turns but we did Q with first place, just ugly.

Next was Wildcard. Mira ran first in Level 5 and we had an awkward start because of the angles on the course, but finished strong. She Qed with first place. Anubis ran in level 2 and Qed with first place. He did have one off course (my fault) which was allowed. This finished his CL2-H title!!

Next was Jumpers. Mira was first in Level 5 and she had a beautiful run..with an off course. Somehow we still Qed with a second place, so we'll take it. Mistakes happen in scoring both ways so it evens out in the end. Anubis ran in Level 2 Jumpers and had a nice run (still not always smooth but not bad) for a Q and first. This also finished Level 2 in jumpers for him.

We ended Saturday with Jackpot. I was so please to see a non-traditional jackpot! It was tough for Mira to get enough points but she got exactly what she needed for a Q and first place. Now she's down to only 9 Qs to go for her CATCH! Anubis also Qed with first place in Level 2 Jackpot and this finished his CL2-S title! Two titles in one day!

We had a nice evening with dinner and relaxing and hit the sack. We came back Sunday morning and started with standard again. Mira ran great, but knocked a bar (only one all weekend) and popped out of the weaves. Too many faults to Q. I think I am doing something in standard to cause us to NQ because I know we need those for her CATCH. It's something to work on.

Anubis ran Level 1 standard. He ran great - best run all weekend because the course was to his strengths. However, the aframe seemed lower than the day before and even though he got them both Saturday, he missed this one. Somehow he still qualified with first place so we'll chalk that one up to a gimmee. This finished his CL1-R title AND means he is done with level 1!

Fullhouse was next - very simple course and both dogs Qed with first. I'm so happy with the weaves I am getting from Anubis!

Next was Snooker. Mira ran first and was great - she got all the way through the closing and even weaved twice. She Qed with first place. Anubis was starting to melt down. His brain can only take about a day and a half of trialing. He left me at the start line to sniff the table. I got him back and we ran okay except I scrwed up my handling and he ran into me. But he got through six in the closing and had enough points to Q with first place. He was in level 3 for this.

We ended the day with two jumpers runs. Mira ran beautifully in both, but in the first one I got lost so we were over time. In the second one she Qed with a first place but I didn't get video. Just great runs though.

Anubis was in level 3 jumpers for the first time after Qing the day before, but he just was gone mentally. He ran clean both runs, but was way over time with his distractions.

A great weekend and we hope to trial there again in CPE!

Here is Mira's video from the weekend:

Here is Anubis' video from the weekend:

Bemidji

2010-10-21T22:12:00.000-05:00

On October 9, Atlas and I ventured to Bemidji, MN for a UKC conformation show. Although it was a two day show, we drove up Sat and competed Sun only because of other commitments.

Atlas didn't win anything in show 1 and won the grand champions class in show 2. His grandaughter Lil' Tater owned by Eclipse had a great day going Best in Show in show 1.

It was a nice show location and hopefully they will have more shows!

Agility on the Iron Range

2010-09-30T21:32:00.002-05:00

Iron Range Dog Training Club hosted their first CPE Trial in Proctor, MN (just outside Duluth) on September 25-26, 2010. It was a great location and Mira, Anubis and I traveled up there to check it out. Since I was traveling by myself for once, I splurged on a nice hotel room for both Friday and Saturday. I got to enjoy a jacuzzi and a king sized bed which was a nice treat.

Saturday we started out with two rounds of standard. 4/5/C was first and Mira was extremely happy to run. Unfortunately, she NQed in both her runs. She was over time in both runs, which isn't necessarily an NQ (if 5 sec or less) but she also had a weave fault each run for restarting her weaves. You can have either time or weaves but not both.

Mira was actually just super amped all weekend. When she gets very excited, her brain almost stops working. I can be pointing at something and she can't see it and just spins in circles. Overall, she actually ran very fast, but the time faults came from bobbles caused by her excitement. She also tends to have issues with the weaves when she is that excited. Since this is only her second full trial back, I was happier to have the attitude than the Qs! She is feeling and looking great.

Standard 1 was our next two runs. Anubis NQed the first one by blowing his aframe contact. In the second run, he got that aframe and got his very first standard Q.

After standard, the next run was Wildcard. Mira needed one Q in Wildcard for her CATCH and she got that. That took her to needing just 11 Qs for her CATCH (7 standard, 4 jackpot). She had a really nice run other than some issues with the dreaded weaves.

Anubis NQed in Wildcard because he took a different path than my plan on the first wildcard (took the "B" obstacle) so he had to take a jump instead of a tunnel at a different part, and he took the tunnel instead (also a "B" obstacle). Since you can only have one "B" obstacle in level 2, he NQed.

Next was Jumpers. Mira had a nice run and earned a Q. She was pretty smooth, especially with no weaves. I didn't get video of that run because of a camera malfunction.

Anubis ended the day with an amazing jumpers run. The standard course time was 42 seconds and his time was 22.37 seconds. It was the fastest of any dog running the course! He even had one small bobble (I had to rear cross instead of front cross as planned) and still had that amazing time!

After a relaxing night at the hotel, we returned to the trial on Sunday. The first run of the morning was Colors. Both Mira and Anubis run the same course because he is in level 3 in Colors. To my suprise, Mira didn't Q but Anubis did! Mira was just over time because we had another discussion about the weave poles. I could have just let her complete the pole she missed, but I opted to make her repeat the whole set to remind her than weaves are not optional. :) I had actually picked a different course for Anubis but he went off my course to the weaves so we had to take that course. He still did just fine and even got a discrimination!

The next class was Jackpot. This was a non-traditional Jackpot which we were glad of because these are the types of Jackpot Mira is best at. I was disappointed to see that the gamble still had a decent amount of distance. I don't think normally Mira would have done well with the gamble but she was so UP she nailed it. Anubis also got the gamble on his second try (luckily we were allowed to do it multiple times). I managed to get enough points with Mira for her level (which can be tricky) and actually got more points than Anubis needed.

Mira's Q took her to needing only 10 Qs for her CATCH (7 standard, 3 jackpot). She was still so up at the beginning she missed a jump but we got some extra points later.

Anubis missed his aframe contact but otherwise he would have had enough points for level 5! Since he is only in level 2, he had plenty of points.

Next was standard - Mira had the same issues as the previous day and NQed for the same reason. Anubis had a good run going but someone was walking around the outside of the ring (in an area that was kind of closed off) and it startled him. I couldn't get him back focused so decided to leave.

The final run of the weekend was Snooker. Again, Mira and Anubis run the same course. Anubis was very un-focused and I think he was just done for the weekend. He managed one red and one non-red before he took an off course. So no Q for him. Mira did Q with a nice run, and actually ended with weaves. She didn't need them to Q so I wasn't going to ask her to do them, but we had time so I asked her for them. Ironically she did them perfectly on the first try :) which confirmed my suspicion that she was too excited and up earlier in the weekend.

Looking back at the weekend, I am thrilled with Mira. I am also very pleased with Anubis - his issues early on with the tire are totally gone (and have been for a couple of trials). Even in August I was seeing issues with the dogwalk (any new dogwalk was scary) and that seems to be gone. His obsession with his leash seems better and his table obsession seems better. We continue to need work on aframe contacts and start lines but he is really coming along.

We had a great weekend and hopefully they will have another trial there next year!

Here is Mira's video from the weekend:

Here is Anubis' video from the weekend:

CPE in St. Cloud

2010-09-24T12:31:00.001-05:00

We did a CPE trial in St. Cloud on September 18-19. Anubis, Vegas and Mira all went along.

Anubis had a hard time with running outside. He didn't get any Qs for the weekend, but I did pull him from a few runs as well. This is only his second time outside and he needs more practice with it. He did have some moments of brillance though. Vegas only did a few runs and did manage a Q in Level 3 Colors.

Mira had a great weekend, but only 3 Qs. She was saddled with a poor handler for the weekend and I made some mistakes I shouldn't have. She also decided she wasn't interested in doing sets of six weave poles, which she sometimes does when she is really excited.

However, even though there were only 3 Qs, they were in Snooker (last Snooker Q needed for CATCH), Colors and most importantly, Jackpot. This was our first Jackpot Level 5 Q. We need four more for her CATCH. Since these are hard to come by for us, this was the highlight of the weekend in terms of Qs.

In terms of everything else, the highlight of the weekend was Mira back running at 100%. She did great for her first full weekend back and I couldn't be happier with her.

We now need 12 Qs for her CATCH (7 standard, 4 Jackpot and 1 Wildcard)

It Clicked!

2010-09-10T23:52:00.000-05:00

I've been experimenting on and off with using shaping to teach various activities. Anubis' weave poles were trained largely using shaping and we've also worked on some other behaviors. I have also done a little bit with Nadia and Vegas. I have been so pleased with the results I have seen (they learn faster and seem to retain it deeper) so I decided to do some more learning as a trainer.

I've been reading a couple of books of clicker training, specifically how to use it for obedience training. It's not new to me, but I haven't put a lot of it into practice. So, since I was so pleased with what I saw with Anubis, I have decided to do some more experimenting with clicker training.

Atlas and Mira at ages 8 1/2 and 7 have many years of training with "traditional" methods. Neither had ever heard a clicker and I had never used it with them. I've been especially bummed about how tuned out Atlas is about training. He's so not into it. Mira's attitude is much better but only, I suspect, because she loves food. So anything that gives her food is good.

I did my first clicker training session with Atlas. We went into a room and I clicked (and treated) a few times for nothing just to associate the click with a positive. He seemed to get it. The books said to do that until he looked at the clicker for a treat and that only took a couple of times. The books said it would take longer, but I figured I would just start teaching the first behavior and that would reinforce the clicker=good.

I decided I wanted to teach Atlas a hand touch. This is something I did with Anubis for agility and it's a handy skill. Basically, you put out your hand flat and say "touch" and they touch your hand with their nose. I use it to get Anubis focused. I decided to teach this first because I knew I would get an offered behavior that was close to what I wanted (i.e. when I put out a hand, I knew Atlas would at least sniff or lick it).

So I put out my hand and he nosed it and I clicked and treated. We worked for about 5 minutes. Sometimes he touched my hand right away and sometimes he didn't seem to know what I wanted depending on where my hand was. I also switched hands so he wasn't sure about that.

Since Atlas usually hates training, I expected him to lose interest. I was very, very pleased to see that was not the case. He was very engaged. He even started offering me behaviors! When he was confused, he gave me a sit, a down, another sit, and finally even pawed me. I knew to wait him out and he eventually did figure it out. He really seemed to enjoy it and you could literally see him problem solving.

After I ended with Atlas I was so excited about his attitude and response that I decided to do a session with Mira. WOW was she interesting. She quickly understood the clicker = treat. In fact, within a few clicks, she was licking the clicker in my hand in an attempt to get it to click. I laughed. She seemed to figure out she could make it click with her behavior.

We also worked on the hand touch and she did really well until I varied the hand position. Then she wasn't sure. She offered me behaviors (mostly sit) and she got frustrated at me (she puffs out her cheeks when she is frustrated!). She also did something Atlas didn't and that was pick up on small things. So one time she jumped on me and happen to nose touch my hand. I clicked/treated. So then she tried jumping on me again (not realizing which of the two behaviors earned the click). I didn't respond so then she nose touched. It was amazing to see her troubleshoot.

Again, I kept the session short, but she did really well and like Atlas I could really see her thinking. Her food drive I think was a little distracting so I think for her future sessions I will use low value treats that are rewarding but not quite so distracting.

I am so pleased with this first session. I'll post more about how training continues. My ultimate goal is to use the clicker to clean up and/or retrain some things that I would like to imprive with both of them. I'd also like to use it to teach the younger dogs some new behaviors.

UKC Shows in Ixonia

2010-08-31T15:50:00.003-05:00

Atlas and I traveled to Ixonia, WI for some UKC shows over the weekend of August 28-29. Atlas showed very well and had a good weekend. On Saturday, he won Best of Breed in both shows and in show 1 took Group II and in show 2 took Group I.

On Sunday, he lost the grand champions class both shows to his granddaughter Lil' Tater, but he still showed well and had a good time.

Here's a picture of Atlas stacked from the weekend. Not the best, but still a picture!

I had fun showing Emmet the Berger Picard to a Group I on Sunday as well!

Also a special congrats to Atlas' great-grandson Dex (Eclipse DedicationToExcellence) who turned 1 year old on Saturday, finished his UKC GRCH and earned his CGC!

She's Back!

2010-08-19T22:20:00.005-05:00

Mira was diagnosed with IMHA in late April. In retrospect, I think she was probably not feeling 100% even before that and as early as January. I had noticed she was not running agility 100% in February and March. The time between her diagnosis and now has only been a few months, but it was emotionally draining and extremely scary for us. The medications she was on which blessedly cured her IMHA took a toll on her body. She's usually about 65 pounds and at her worse she was down to 50 pounds. We figure she lost about 10 pounds of muscle from the prednisone.

When you combine her age (she turned seven earlier this month) with how sick she was, and the amount of muscle wasting she had, we really didn't know what the future would hold for her. Mira's hips aren't good but she's never had issues and we've worked hard on building up muscle tone to support the joints. We were concerned what the muscle loss would do to her hips.

Luckily, Mira is, as always, a miracle dog. On August 14, after being cleared to return to normal activity, I entered her in a CPE trial. I entered only two runs each day to see how she was feeling. I suspected at best, her endurance would be low. Not expecting any Qs, I entered her in Jackpot and Standard each day just in case since those are the classes she needs the most of for her CATCH.

Mira was thrilled to be back doing agility. As we stood in line for her first run (Jackpot, Level 4) I had tears in my eyes. It means so much to me to be back with her. I planned a course that would give us the number of points we needed, but I didn't expect to complete all the obstacles in my plan. It was a lot of obstacles for her, and I didn't think we'd have time.

I took off her leash and she was off like a rocket (for her anyway). She not only completed my whole place, she did two extra obstacles! She was so happy! She made it to the table in time and qualified with a second place. This completed her last Jackpot needed in Level 4 and finished her CL4-S title! What a way to come back!

I'll admit, I barely made it out of the ring before I lost it and started crying. I was just overcome by emotion to see the dog I almost lost be back doing what she loves and doing it better than before!

She also ran Standard Level 5 on Saturday and had a beautiful run there with a Q as well!

Tim came to pick her up from the trial after that so she wouldn't have to sit there all day. I was trying so hard to not tire her out or stress her. Although she was happy to see Tim, she was much more focused on me, and really wanted to go play some more! She went home and played with the other dogs all afternoon and was still ready to play when I got home.

Sunday morning was a test - I wanted to see how she would react the next day. Would she be tired or ready to go again? Well, I came out of the bathroom and got pounced on! She was ready to go for sure! We went to the trial and she ran Level 5 Standard and again, a beautiful run with a Q. She did knock a bar but it was my fault with a less than smooth cross.

She was entered in Jackpot on Sunday but when I saw the course, the gamble was a set of 12 weaves, offside, at 10+ feet away. This is simply not a skill we have, and I couldn't figure out a way to run the course and end on a positive note. I would have run in anyway, even with the inevitable NQ, but I wanted to end on a positive note so I opted to scratch the run.

So she ended up with a perfect 3/3 weekend, a new title, and three more Qs toward her CATCH. I couldn't be happier with her!

Here is Mira's video from the weekend:

Poor Anubis is always in the shadows. :) He ran 10 runs at the trial but he was overshadowed by Mira's return to agility. Still, I was really pleased with what he gave me and his enthusiasm.

Saturday we started with Jackpot Level 2. He did pretty well but he blew his aframe contact. He missed the Q by one point (handler can't count) but would have gotten it if he got the contact.

Running great, his next run was Wildcard Level 2. He did well and Qed in this run. Anubis placed in almost all his runs, but I don't recall each placement.

Then we did Snooker. Anubis does not have the characteristics of a great Snooker dog. Usually dogs that are more clingy and slower are better. Mira is excellent at Snooker, for example. But for some reason, Anubis is really good at Snooker. He Qed earning his first level 3 Q and earning his first Q that included weave poles!

The last runs of the day were standard. We have some standard issues and he has no Qs in this class. In his first standard run he blew the aframe contact completely and since he had already given me some attitude at the start line, I opted to pull him.

Pulling him was a great move because in the second standard run he got all his contacts. Unfortunately he still didn't Q because he was over time. He was distracted which is usual for him late in the day and he still struggles with the aframe. We have a tough time with "new" dog walks and it wastes a lot of time. But he did take it which is great!

Sunday we started with FullHouse. Anubis ran well but he did really want to go to the table. But, I was really proud of him that I was able to keep him off the table. He missed the Q by one point again (because he took an extra tunnel on the way to the table) but I was so pleased with what I got from him.

At this point, I stopped taking video because I kept forgetting the camera. But Anubis had four more runs.

First, he ran Colors and got a Q there. Very nice run. Then we did standard and although we had another dogwalk "conversation" it was overall a nice run and he got all his contacts. So no Q, but he is making improvement.

He ran Jackpot and almost had a Q - great opening with two aframes (both contacts were great!) but he ran past the last jump on the gamble because they had placed his leash over there. :( But I got the distance and it was a very nice run. Starting to see signs of him tiring out and getting distracted but it was a long weekend.

We ended on Jumpers and it was kind of a mess. He was tired and very distracted. He seems to get obsessed with his leash when he is tired. But still, he gave me a great weekend with very good runs and I can't complain at all!

Here's Anubis' video from the weekend:

UGSDA Shows August 7

2010-08-09T21:02:00.000-05:00

We had a UKC German Shepherd Specialty in Glencoe, MN on August 7. Our dogs did well, but Atlas' kids and their kids did very well also.

Atlas won Best of Breed Veteran in Show 1. He was handled by Joy Stoeckmann who did a great job with him.

Atlas was also entered in the Stud Dog class where a dog is judged on the quality and consistency of his progeny. Atlas won the stud dog class both shows with the help of his kids Soli, Brinkley and Jasmine.

Di-Da Fair Princess Jasmine with Samantha Severnak (left), Atlas with Joy, Eclipse's Bittersweet Solitude with Mike Beadle (to the right of Atlas), and Di-Da Brinkley von Augustine with owner Debbie Murden (right).

Anubis also had a good day. He was Best of Breed Altered in the second show handled by Sammy Church.

Atlas and Anubis were the only dogs we had entered, but I was so happy to see how well Atlas' kids did.

Atlas' daughter Di-Da Fair Princess Jasmine was Reserve Best Female in the second show and she also helped her owner's daughter Samantha win Best Junior Handler in both shows. Jasmine is owned by Lisa Severnak.

Atlas' son Di-Da Brinkley Von Augustine was Best Male in show 1 and Reserve Best Male in show 2. Brinkley is owned by Debbie Murden.

Atlas' daughter Odyssey's Enchanted Echo was Best of Breed Altered in show 1.

Eclipse's Bittersweet Solitude was Best Brood Bitch in both shows. Soli is owned by Donna Beadle. I just love this picture of Atlas' daughter and grand-daughters.

Eclipse's Bittersweet Solitude (left) and her daughters Eclipse's Bittersweet Legacy (center) and Eclipse's Bittersweet Destiny (right). All dogs owned by Donna Beadle.

Atlas has some beautiful grandkids and beyond in the show ring now. They did well in the shows also!

Atlas' grandaughter Eclipse's Bittersweet Destiny was Reserve Best Female in show 1 and Best of Winners in show 2. Desi is owned by Donna Beadle.

Atlas' great-great-grandson Eclipse's Howitzer was Reserve Best Male in show 1 and Best Male in show 2.

Really a great day with a lot of nice wins. I'm very proud of all the dogs who did so well.

To top it off, Emmet the Berger Picard and I won Best of Breed. He just needs one more win for his Grand Championship.

APDT Rally - A Comeback!

2010-08-05T22:28:00.001-05:00

Mira has been sick for almost four months now. It's been a long hard road. We've made awesome progress with the treatment and about two weeks ago she was finally given the go ahead to resume normal activity. She's lost about 10 lbs of muscle so we're working on rehab and coming back from that. We hope to return to agility this month. In the meantime we went back and did some rally. Mira isn't a huge fan of rally but I wanted to get her out and used to trialing again.
This weekend she debuted in APDT and earned her Level 1 Title with scores of 197, 203 and 204 (out of a possible 210). Considering how long she's been inactive, I was thrilled with her performance. She got a fifth place and a third place. She'll also get an award of excellence for all scores being over 190.

Her first run (the 197) was actually one of the best but she wouldn't do the bonus exercise because she had to turn her back right next to the audience. I know she's still nervous in crowds and her break from trialing has made it worse. So I didn't push her. The only thing she lost points on in the run was a -3 for me repeating a command becuase she got distracted.

The run where she got 203, we actually tied for fifth place with another team and we had to do a run-off. Basically you repeat the first few stations of the course and they score it seperately for the run-off. It was my first run-off and I was nervous and surprised we won.

I'm mostly just thrilled to have her back working with me and I know she is too. Fingers crossed for agility!

UGSDA Shows July 17-18

2010-07-31T21:36:00.001-05:00

The weekend after Premier were our big UKC shows in MN with conformation, weight pull, rally and obedience. I showed Atlas in conformation and in rally with the hopes for a Total Dog award.

In the sweltering heat on Saturday, Atlas qualified in rally and won the grand champion class to earn his Total Dog award!

Here we are competing in rally:

Although he qualified in rally again on Sunday, we didn't quite make it in conformation. He wasn't showing well - I think the heat of Premier and then this weekend was just too much for him. Still, thrilled to earn a Total Dog award on Saturday!

I also showed a lot of other dogs on Saturday. In rally, I showed a friend's shepherd Lexi and we qualified in both runs. I showed Emmet the Berger Picard to a Best of Breed and Taiko the Shiba to a Group I (which was the second half of his Total Dog). Taiko and owner Michelle also qualified in rally.

I overdid it though and almost got heat stroke on Saturday. Thanks to Mike Beadle for showing Atlas for me in show 2 and to Donna Beadle for taking Emmet into group for a Group I!

Sunday we didn't win as much although I did finish Lexi's URO1. Anubis came along on Sunday and thanks to Jason for showing him! He was just there are competition for Echo, Atlas' daughter, who with her owner Jenni finished her altered championship.

We had some nice results from Atlas' kids this weekend too:

Odyssey's Enchanted Echo (Echo) owned by Jenni and Rod Muehlbauer finished her UKC Altered Championship and won Reserve Best Altered in Multi-Breed Show!

Di-Da Brinkley Von Augustine owned by Debbie Murden won Best Male all four shows:

Di-Da Fair Princess Jasmine owned by Lisa Severnak didn't have any big wins but she showed well and her owner did a great job for her second show!

Kleine's Edelweiss owned by Rich and Jeanne Haus won Best of Breed Novice Puppy in both shows on Saturday in her first show (and her owners first show!):

All in all, a VERY tiring but very fun weekend!

UKC Premier 2010

2010-07-12T11:12:00.001-05:00

Everytime I go to the UKC Premier, I swear I will never go back, but I always do. It's just not a show I really enjoy for some reason. But this year it was in a new location (Richmond, IN) so I decided to try it. Donna and I took Atlas, Lil Tater and the Berger Picards Eve, Emmet, and Honneur.

Thursday was the top ten competition and Atlas and Honneur were the only ones entered. Neither won anything. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were regular shows. Neither of our GSDs won anything, but Emmet the Berger Picard and I had a good weekend. We won Best of Breed at the Berger Picard Club of America Specialty Saturday night, and we won Best of Breed on Sunday. We got to go on to group on Sunday and that was really fun. Out of a large herding group, Emmet and I won group II!

Atlas qualified in rally on Saturday with a 96, which I was proud of it. It was a higher score but not good enough to place. I was still thrilled with it. We didn't get total dog, because we didn't win anything in conformation but we did get a neat participant ribbon for trying total dog.

Here's a video of Atlas and me:

Other highlights of the weekend:
Our hotel was questionable. Really crappy motel with interesting guests who may or may not have been performing illegal activities in their room. Just really a terrible hotel.

There was however a Bob Evans next to the hotel. It wasn't as good of a Bob Evans as some, but we ate there three times and I really enjoyed it.

We got to see some of our friends' dogs do well! Dex the GSD (from Donna's breeding - he is Atlas' great-grandson) got to try dock diving and he did awesome at it! It was really fun to watch him. He also got an award of excellence on Saturday. Sammy and Major the GSD won the award of merit in the top ten and Sammy and Faith the GSD won the champions class on Friday. Jen and her poodles had a great weekend with several best of breeds. Many other people we know from MN did well too!

Update: Here are the photos of me and Emmet from Premier!

Agility - Just a Couple of Runs

2010-07-05T10:57:00.001-05:00

I had entered a CPE agility trial in IL over the Fourth of July weekend with Mira and Anubis. My plan was to get a couple of extra chances at some legs for Mira's CATCH. Well, with Mira out of comission, I left Anubis in the trial, but we only went on Saturday and only stayed for two runs. Sure, I lost some money, but I got to do two runs with him that were fantastic and we ended on a good note. And then I got to head to my parent's house and spend the rest of the weekend with them.

We arrived at my parent's house Friday night late and my mom and I got up early Saturday to go to the trial. I didn't think it would be a really big trial, but it was and quite a few runs before Anubis could go. We ran Snooker Level 2 twice and he did great and Qed in both. It would easily have been 6:00 or later if we stayed for the other runs so we decided to leave.

Anubis ran so well. He was responsive and very fast. We had some bobbles, but nothing that hurt us too badly. We got through all of the closing in the first run and not quite all in the second run but had enough points. He did go to the table in the opening and waste time but we're working on that. He got two Qs, two first places, and he finished Snooker Level 2.

Here's Anubis with his Qs:

WGSDCII National Weekend - June 25-27, 2010

2010-06-28T20:48:00.005-05:00

We drove to Norman, OK for the WGSDCII National Specialty show. It was a long drive (about 13 1/2 hours) but we had a great time.

Donna had a commitment for work so she wouldn't be flying back into Minneapolis until Thursday. Since the show started Friday morning, we had to leave early Thursday to make it down and Donna wouldn't be back in time. So we devised a plan. Tim and I drove down Thursday and Donna flew down and met us. Then, Tim flew home on Friday and Donna and I went to the show and then drove back Sunday and Monday.

Everything went off without a hitch in our travel plans and Tim and I arrived about 8:30 or so Thursday night. We made great time on the way down with only a couple minor stops. We ate lunch at a Sonic drive-in so we could keep the dogs cool. It was brutally hot in OK and even in Kansas and Missouri. We arrived at the hotel and pottied the dogs and left them with Donna and had a late dinner at IHOP. We stayed at a La Quinta and it was a newly remodled hotel and very, very nice. We even had wood floors. The La Quinta chain is always dog friendly so we try to support them.

Friday morning Donna and I headed to the show and Tim set out for the airport. The first show was held Friday at 10:00 a.m. The judge was Richard Kortemeier, a UKC all-breed judge. He awarded Atlas Best of Breed. Donna's dog Raisin was Reserve Winners Bitch. Nadia was third in her class.

Here's Atlas with his ribbon for Best of Breed in show 1.

After a McDonald's run, show 2 was held at 1:00 p.m. The judge was Susan Curren, an AKC breeder/exhibitor. She ran us a lot, so the McDonald's for lunch was a mistake. In the end, she awarded Best of Breed to Vegas and Best Opposite Sex to Atlas. Nadia won her class and Raisin was Best of Winners.

Here is Vegas with her Best of Breed ribbon:

Here is Atlas with his Best Opposite Sex ribbon:

We didn't have anything else planned for the night, so we took the dogs back to the hotel and went to dinner at a nice steak place. At this point, we had hauled crates either in and out of either the hotel or show site 5 times.

Saturday morning there was one show at 10:00 am. The judge was AKC breeder judge Ann Gray. She awarded Best of Breed to Atlas and Best Opposite Sex to Vegas. Raisin was Best of Winners and Nadia was Reserve Winners Bitch. Ann Gray is someone who I really respect in GSDs. She is extremely knowledgeable and I'm really pleased she liked my dogs.

Here is Atlas with his Best of Breed ribbon:

And here is Vegas with her Best Opposite Sex ribbon:

And Nadia with her Reserve Winners Bitch ribbon:

After the show Saturday, they had a pizza party. That was fun to attend and as always it was fun to catch up with people I only see once a year. I really like that the WGSDCII plans some social events into their National. The general membership meeting followed the pizza party and we got to catch up on club business and also discuss how to promote our white GSDs - a lot of neat conversation.

After the meeting we headed back to the hotel to drop off the dogs and change for the awards banquet. (crate hauling total now up to 9). The awards banquet was at an Italian restaurant and Donna and I were the first ones there so we ate a couple of loaves of bread and hung out. The meal was good and conversation was nice. We also got to vote on the photo contest. I didn't enter but it's fun to see the pictures. As usual, Kathy Partch submitted the best photos and her picture was the eventual winner.

Titled: You Promised! Photo: Kathy Partch (jokaysedona.com)

After the dinner we did awards. This is the first time I have submitted my earned titles to the WGSDCII as I always forget, but this year I did. I was honored to recieve a plaque for each working title (rally and agility in my case) my white dogs earned. Mira earned five plaques (three agility, two rally), Atlas two (rally), Nadia earned one (rally) and Vegas earned two (agility and rally). Mira wasn't at the National, but here she is with her plaques back in MN. I promised her a treat if she laid there nicely with them and she is impatient. You can see the look on her face. :)

Don't worry, I rewarded Mira with a pink stuffed pig I won in the raffle and she is happily enjoying that more than the plaques.

I also got a larger plaque I share with Donna (but of course I took it home) for Vegas' WGSDCII championship she earned last year. Here's a shot of that:

It was really nice to have my work this year honored and I appreciate the WGSDCII recognizing it. Of course it did get a little embarassing to have my name called 11 times. :) But everyone was so nice it made it fun.

After the banquet we took the dogs out and then hit the sack for the next show.

Sunday morning we arrived at the show in time for obedience because everyone talked me into entering Atlas. Of course, I haven't worked him in obedience in almost a year, but I figured why not and entered Novice. I have terrible ring nerves in obedience and I was a wreck. Many nice people talked me through it but I still hated it. Atlas didn't do too bad. He did wander a little on his off leash heeling and then barked at the steward (long story but basically a steward really upset him once and he is very sensitive to any movement by a steward). So I took his collar and NQed, but he recovered nicely and completed everything else very well. We didn't get anything because we NQed but I was proud of him, especially doing obedience in a place he had done conformation all weekend. That usually doesn't go well for him.

After obedience was the Parade of Titled dogs. Atlas, Vegas and Nadia all participated and got neat medallions to wear:

And then we were on to the conformation show. The judge was Malinda Julien, a UKC all-breed judge. Atlas was awarded Select 2 Dog and Vegas was Select 2 Bitch. Raisin was Winners Bitch and Select 3 Bitch and Nadia was second in her class. This is Atlas' fourth WGSDCII Select so that was a very nice award for him. This is Vegas' first WGSDCII Select so she is now a Select Champion.

Here is Atlas with his Select ribbon:

Here is Vegas with her Select ribbon:

After the show, they pulled tickets for the raffles. I won a pink stuffed pig I already mentioned and a stuffed duck. They also do a guessing game for rescue - you look at these jars with candy or dog treats and guess how many are in there. The closest guess wins. Last year I tried really hard and didn't win any. So this year I just wrote down random numbers and I won two of them!

Then there was the best raffle - Kathy Patch (the awesome photographer I already mentioned) donated a framed print of one of her Art-toons of Sedona the White German Shepherd. The proceeds benefit rescue and I really wanted it so I bought a decent amount of tickets. Lucky for me, I won! I was very excited. This picture doesn't begin to do it justice but you get a basic idea. She is such a talented artist with a neat sense of humor that comes through in the Art-toons.

(That's Sedona the White German Shepherd in a beach chair under the umbrella and she's saying to the sable dog gaiting by "Nice Tan" - very funny!)

After the raffle, we loaded up and hit the road (crate lugging count now at 12 times which times four crates is way too many!). We drove as far as Liberty, MO - just past Kansas City. We were tired and a little punchy, but it was really funny when we saw a huge sign in construction that said "Move Right" with a huge arrow pointing left. The road did veer left and going right would have put us in the river. It was actually a dangerous "typo" on the sign, but pretty funny when you're tired.

The hotel we eventually found was a Super 8 and they took dogs, but the hotel was pretty run down. There were these weird signs everywhere threatening the guests about breaking the rules. The room was a sauna and the air conditioned barely worked. We only brought in one crate for Raisin and the other three slept loose. Vegas slept on me the whole night. But the beds were comfy and the bathroom was clean so we slept and got showers - the important stuff.

We hit the road Monday morning about 9 and hit a Sonic for breakfast (third Sonic stop of the trip) and got back to Donna's house about 3:30. I got to my house about 5:00. All in all, a very long and tiring trip, but a lot of fun, a great time with a good friend (and a good husband!), and a lot of nice wins.

UKC Show in Owen, WI

2010-06-13T22:19:00.006-05:00

Since Mira is still on the injured reserve, we cancelled a trip to Iowa for agility this weekend. Instead, Atlas and Nadia and I went to Owen, WI with Donna for some UKC shows. Even though Nadia finished her GRCH last weekend, I didn't move her up since we needed her to make a champions class. Plus, her grand champion wins were so spread out, I wanted to make sure UKC had all her wins.

Nadia won the champions class once and took two reserves. She was handled by Arleen (thanks Arleen) which was a good experience for her.

Atlas was, as usual, the big star of the weekend. He won the grand champion class all four shows and won Best of Breed and Group I in three of them. In one of these shows, he also went on to win his ninth Best in Multi-Breed Show! The old guy just keeps going and going! The picture of him for BIMBS below is one of my favorites!

UKC Show in Ixonia, WI

2010-06-06T22:11:00.011-05:00

We traveled to WI this weekend for some UKC shows. It turned out to be an almost perfect weekend!

Atlas took Best of Breed in all four shows. In three of these shows he also won Group I (and in one show didn't place in group). On Saturday in show 2, he went on to win Reserve Best in Multi-Breed Show!

My main goal for the summer was to try to finish Nadia's Grand Championship. She did it faster than I expected! She won the champions class (of four dogs) in both shows on Saturday to finish her UKC Grand Championship! We're very proud of Nadia! On Sunday she took both reserves in the champion class as well.

NADAC Trial Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-01T18:26:00.001-05:00

On Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, Anubis and I went to a NADAC trial in Zumbro Falls, MN. It was his first outdoor trial and the poor dog had literally never seen equipment outside. I think the idea that agility can happen outdoors kind of rocked his world.

His first run he was terrible - couldn't seem to grasp what a jump was. But every run he improved. He got his weaves, good contacts, some discrimination. There were moments of brilliance.

No Qs for the day, but a lot of learning and improvement.

UGSDA Shows in Gilbert

2010-05-24T14:43:00.006-05:00

On May 15-16 we drove up to Gilbert, MN and for UKC shows put on by the UGSDA. I was the show secretary and as usual there is a lot of work involved, so showing my dogs kind of takes a back seat. I was so focused on getting all the paperwork done, I didn't put too much thought into Atlas or Nadia doing well.

Atlas quickly decided that he was going to SHOW this weekend. Enough with me being distracted - he decided this was about him. In the first show on Saturday, he won Best of Breed over 21 other GSDs. He went on to Group I and Reserve Best in Show!
The second show on Saturday Atlas didn't win anything, but he still show wonderfully. I handed Nadia off to Joy who did an amazing job with her. Joy also showed her on Sunday which was much appreciated since I was also showing Emmet (the Berger Picard) and Roxie (the MC Standard Poodle). Along with Roxie I also got a turn with Indigo (the Standard Poodle) and Sunday (the MC Standard Poodle).

Sunday, Atlas came back and won both Best of Breeds! He defeated 18 GSDs in each show for a total of 57 top ten points for the weekend. He also took Group I in both shows.
Joy did great with Nadia taking a reserve in a very large champions class. Nice job Joy!

Mother's Day Boot Camp

2010-05-20T12:37:00.003-05:00

On May 9, Anubis and I went to an agility boot camp. For two hours, we practiced contacts, weaves and start line stays. Those are kind of the three horseman of the apocolypse for agility. :)

Anubis did pretty good. His contacts were great although I was still waffling on what method to use for the aframe. His weaves were very good and we got a couple nice compliments. His start line stays were great.

The real issue is putting it all together and doing these things in a course. That's a lot harder.

May 1-2 Agility

2010-05-10T18:27:00.008-05:00

On May 1-2 we had planned to go to an agility trial with Mira and take Anubis along for fun. Since Mira is out, Anubis got promoted to top dog. He did great in the trial and Qed in four runs and finished two titles!

We started Saturday with Level 1 Jumpers. He had never run jumpers before and we had some bobbles but he came out and Qed with a 1st place!

Then we ran Colors and he was in Level 2 since he Qed in colors at the previous trial. He Qed again with a 1st place for his first level 2 Q!

Next we did Wildcard Level 2 and thanks to an oops by the handler had an extra off course so we didn't Q (still 1st place!)

Then we did Jackpot Level 1. We had trouble with the gamble because it was the tire but he did eventually get it, just over time. He improved a lot with the tire as the day went on, so I was very pleased with that.

We ended the day with Standard and would have Qed except for his aframe contact. This is something we need to work on and it bit us several times over the weekend.

Sunday we started out with standard, or at least I did :) - Anubis was a little wild and all over the place so we didn't Q.

He pulled it together for Jackpot Level 1 which we did great on and Qed to finish his CL1-S title!

Then we did another Colors and he blew the aframe again so we decided to leave that run. I didn't want him to think it was okay.

Then was FullHouse Level 1 and he Qed to finish his CL1-F title! Very nice run!

We ended the day on Snooker Level 2. Bad handler got confused and ended even though we didn't have to. Ooops..lesson learned.

Overall I was very happy with his performance - first time trialing both days all runs and first time trialing while traveling. Not too shabby! Anubis will be filling in for Mira as she recovers so I hope he continues to make me proud.

Here is Anubis' video from the weekend:

Updates

2010-05-10T18:22:00.003-05:00

April 24 we did one day of a UKC show in Minneapolis with Atlas. He didn't place but it was fun.

That same weekend, we noticed Mira was lethargic and her gums were pale. We ended up going to the U of MN where eventually she was diagnosed with IMHA - Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia. This disease is where the immune system goes haywire and it attacks the red blood cells causing anemia. It can be primary (meaning by itself, no known cause) or secondary (meaning there is something else causing it). We've ruled out most of the really scary possible causes (cancer, etc). At this point we don't know if it is primary or secondary because of either the antibiotics she's been on or the infection she had. She's had an infection that we thought was vaginitis for several months. Maybe it was at one point, but at the point we went to the U, it was a skin infection around her vulva area.

We treated the infection and it's mostly gone. She is now on prednisone to try to get the IMHA taken care of. After a week on pred, her blood counts look great. We're going to try weaning her off and hope it doesn't reoccur.

Mira's out of agility for now and maybe for quite some time depending on how things progress. We'll see how she does.

Herding Fun Day

2010-04-19T13:59:00.006-05:00

On April 17 we went to a herding fun day with a bunch of our friends. It was a lot of fun.

Atlas has always enjoyed sheep. Impulse control is an issue for him - he just can't stop. When you couple this with the fact that Nadia is in season and his brain is fried, he was a little wired! But he definately had fun and got to run off some energy!

Vegas wasn't really into herding when she was younger and she hasn't really gotten anymore interest. She's more about her people than she is about working stock. But she did fine even though she's not crazy for it.

Anubis was the big surprise. Not only was he excited about it - he was really focused and did a great job. Having never seen sheep, he really took to it and did a great job.

CPE Agility Trial

2010-04-12T12:56:00.008-05:00

This weekend we did another CPE Trial, this time in Cannon Falls, MN. I ran both Anubis and Mira and both did well.

We started out on Saturday with FullHouse. I ran Anubis first and he was just all over the place and didn't get enough point. My main goal was to get an aframe, which we did. I wasn't really trying for a Q.

Then I ran Mira in FullHouse. She was really slow all day and we think she was tired because she had not gotten a ton of sleep. We missed FullHouse by a few points because of speed.

Then we went on to Colors and things got better. Mira Qed in Colors and this was the final one we needed for the CATCH. So we're done with Colors!

Anubis ran colors and I was shocked he actually did pretty well. He's still all over the place, but it was a lot better and to my surprise he qualified for his first ever Q! Now, granted he's in level 1 and the scoring is very generous, but a Q is a Q!!!

Then we started in Standard for Mira. I was hoping to get at least one of the two standard runs offered on Saturday and we did get the first one. She was slow, but fast enough to make time. I am really happy with her weaves too! In the second run we had an off course so NQed.

I was going to leave after that since I had a commitment in the evening but I realized since Anubis Qed in colors, he could possibly earn a title if he Qed in Wildcard so I stayed for one more run for him to try wildcard. He was all over the place again and we barely pulled it out, but he did Q and earned his very first agility title! CL1-H!!!!!

Sunday we came back for a few runs and started with Jackpot. It was non-traditional so I was very hopeful for Mira, but we missed it by 4 sec since for some reason she refused the aframe. :(

Anubis surprised me and got the gamble and almost Qed except he missed the contact on the gamble. Still a nice run for him.

Then we ran wildcard - Mira was clean but over time because she had an issue with the weaves. I think it was the angle - the entry was tough. She did finish them but too much time was wasted.

Anubis ran Wildcard a little too crazy and I figured he was pretty much just done for the weekend. It was an NQ with too many off courses.

Then I ran Mira in standard again and she ran beautifully but I made an error and caused an off course :( - but luckily my dog doesn't ever get mad at me!

The last two runs of the day were Snooker. Anubis ran first. Snooker requires a lot of precision and focus so I figured it was not going to happen for us. He shocked me and did a great job really focusing and nailed it for his third and final Q of the weekend!

Mira finished out the weekend with a great Snooker run and a Q. This takes us to needing just 17 Qs for her CATCH!!

Our next trial in May 1-2 and I'm hoping we can pick up a standard leg or two and a jackpot leg for Mira. Anything for Anubis is gravy!

Here is Mira's video from the weekend:

Here is Anubis' video from the weekend:

UGSDA UKC Shows

2010-04-07T15:46:00.004-05:00

Our club, the UGSDA, hosted our UKC Shows on April 3-4, 2010. I entered Atlas, Nadia and Anubis for the weekend. Frankly, I didn't expect much since I am so stressed and busy working the shows. And since Atlas is getting older, he doesn't win as much.

Man, was I wrong. Atlas won the grand champions class three out of the four shows, which is very impressive. To top it off, he won Best of Breed, Group I and Best in Show on Sunday in the first show!!! This is his eighth career UKC Best in Multi-Breed show! Way to go!

In show 2 on Sunday, his granddaughter Lil' Tater became the fourth generation of Eclipse owned or bred dogs to take Best in Show! So that's a win for Atlas as a producer as well!

Anubis won Best of Breed Altered in three shows as well as Group I and two Group IIs. He got a pile of ribbons for it.

Nadia didn't place and was squirrely, but she came into season on Monday so I know why she was off!

CPE Weekend in Isanti

2010-03-29T22:20:00.007-05:00

This past weekend we went to a CPE trial in Isanti. Mira was running as usual and Anubis got to try out CPE.

Mira ran great, but the courses this weekend were not to our strengths. She's a long dog, and tight courses with weird angles are tough for us. Regardless, she got 3/4 Qs on Saturday and 1/3 on Sunday.

We started on Saturday with FullHouse Level 5. She ran well, but we had a bit of miscommunication. Regardless, she did Q.

Then we did standard Level 5. I made some terrible handling mistakes but we got past those and she took a random off course. I think she was at the point that she was frustrated at my crappy handling (I was:) ). So this one was non-qualifying.

Then we did Wildcard Level 5. Other than a bobble on the weaves, we were fine and Qed.

Last run of the day was a brutal Jumpers Level 5. It was tough, but we managed it. I did get lost at the end (duh!) but we still got the Q.

On Sunday, I blew our first run - Level 4 Jackpot. I moved in the wrong position and made her blow her dogwalk contact and the entrance to the gamble. We got the gamble but were short on points. Then we ran standard Level 5 and were clean, but some rough angles slowed us down and we missed it by 1 second.

We did Q on Sunday with Level 5 Snooker and a beautiful run. So I decided to scratch the last run of the day and head home on that really good note. We even got second place in Snooker, which is unusal for us.

Here's Mira's video from the weekend:

Anubis had a great weekend in a totally different way. No Qs, but he's not ready for that. He's been having contact issues, so I took him to the fun run on Friday at the show site. I had to drag him up the contacts the first time and then he was fine.

Saturday in FullHouse Level 1, I decided to use the run to try to get the dogwalk (and basically not try to Q at all). We were not successful at that unfortunately.

I was so please with his next run Standard Level 1. He did both contacts (eventually) the chute and the tire. Yes, it took painfully long for him to get the tire, but I knew he could do it (he did it in FullHouse!). We were waaaaay over time but it was a good run for training.

Then we did Level 1 Wildcard and I could see his poor brain was starting to fry. Still, he tried to listen and it wasn't too bad. Nice sequence at the start to the tunnel!

I scratched Anubis' last run on Saturday since he was DONE.

On Sunday we ran Jackpot Level 1 and again only tried for the dogwalk. He got it this time so I was very happy.

Then we ran Standard Level 1 - I was very impressed with his progression from Sat to Sun. The opening combo (jump, jump, jump, chute) was gorgeous. I wasn't sure how to handle him, so I probably blew it after that. But we came back and did two jumps to the aframe. Unfortunately, the aframe was right next to the horse stalls and he really got lost there. The smells are crazy, so I don't blame him. He came back, but hopped on and off the aframe so I had to go on. His tire was better, and then the sequence of jump, tunnel, dogwalk was awesome! I was very proud.

I was so pleased with his work on this run, I decided to end on that note. I'm excited to see how he continues to progress. I just don't get the same speed or distractions in training, so I'm happy to have a chance to work it in trials.

Here is Anubis' video from this weekend:
WARNING - these videos are not pretty! :) We're learning and using the trials to train!

NADAC on March 20

2010-03-27T11:01:00.006-05:00

We did one day of NADAC in March and it was a lot of fun. Mira has had some rear end (infected anal glands) issues so I felt like she wasn't 100%. In fact we scratched two runs because I was worried.

In her first Open Standard she ran clean otherwise but knocked two bars. I was worried because it looked like she wasn't picking up her tail (because of rear end issues). She NQed because of the knocked bars. You can see in the video how her tail is nailing the bars.

In Open standard round two she was clean and whatever bar issues she had she fixed on her own so we Qed with 3rd place. This was a really nice run and I am especially pleased with her weaves at the end!

We scratched chances and the ran Novice Weavers. I haven't run her in weavers in years but wanted to see our progress. WOW we have progressed! She Qed in that and had a good run. She was slow but ran great.

We finished the day with Open Tunnelers. She Qed and finished her Outstanding Open Tunnelers title.

Here is Mira's video from the weekend:

Anubis was a different story. He ran two standards and tunnelers. For his first real trial he did well but no Qs. We have a lot of work to do but he had a good debut.

Rally Pics

2010-03-25T20:33:00.007-05:00

I got the pics from the March 13-14 UKC Rally Trials from the photographer. The girls look great!

First Nadia:

And then Mira:

Vegas Pup-date

2010-03-25T14:01:00.002-05:00

Vegas' female puppy didn't make it, but the big boy is growing fast and doing great. He is now four weeks old:

Puppies Born 3/15

2010-03-16T00:04:00.005-05:00

Atlas' most recent litter has arrived! Four males and three females born today 3/15 to Kleine. Congrats to Kleine and her family!

UPDATE: Kleine had a bonus puppy later in the day! The count is three girls and four boys!

Black Dog's Vacation

2010-03-16T00:01:00.003-05:00

While we were out of town, Anubis spent the weekend with Ken and Ann and Riffy and Guiness. Thanks to them for watching him and getting these great pics!

UKC Rally Schiller Park, IL

2010-03-14T22:58:00.008-05:00

On Saturday and Sunday we went to a UKC Rally trial in Schiller Park, IL. We were visiting the parents in Rockford, and Schiller Park is just about an hour down the road.

On Saturday, Mira was entered in Level 2 B. She needed two legs to finish her title and got them! She was a little off because she's been having some issues with her anal glands. I didn't realize how much it was bothering her until we got there and she was hesitating on her sits. But she still managed an 89 and a 90, which are great scores! I know she did it more for me than for anything, but I'm proud of her. She finished her URO2 title. Since she wasn't feeling 100%, she stayed home on Sunday (back to the vet as soon as we get home!)

Here's Mira with her ribbons:

Nadia was my superstar this weekend. Considering the crash and burn the first time we tried rally (she refused to sit once the whole course) and the NQ the second time (we turned wide and missed the entrance to a cone exercise), I wasn't too optimistic. But we have been working on things and she is not coming into season (the issue the first time!) so I gave it a go.
In the first trial on Saturday, she earned a 92 and fourth place! She's in the B class, so a placement is even more impressive! Then we went on to get a 91 in the second trial. Here were are with her ribbons from Saturday:

So since she did so well on Saturday, we went back on Sunday to try to finish the title. I was so nervous, I screwed up a couple of things, but she qualified with a 90 and third place! Those are her first three qualifying scores in performance events EVER and her very first performance title - URO1!
Here's Nadia with her third place ribbon from Sunday: