1/19-20/2008
We traveled down to Irvine, CA to play NAFA flyball at Orange Crush's Winter Games. Eshu and Kira both performed very well and earned a lot of points. Eshu now has over 16,000 points and is closing in on his ONYX. Kira (and two of her teammates, Meg and Bud) were awarded their ONYX plaques at this tournament. It was very special to see our amazing little girl be awarded this title.
Eshu played a little CPE agility - being run by Jennifer! He qualified in 5 out of 8 runs with first, third, and fouth places in a large class! Eshu was amazing, holding every start line stay - even when I led out the entire ring! - and he got all of his a-frames (jackpot and snooker). The three non-Qing runs were handling errors by me. Not once did Eshu argue or complain. In fact in Fullhouse, which is usually a disaster - too much arguing to obtain any points - was his first place run! We earned a lot of points in his Jackpot runs, too! I was very pleased with Eshu...what a good dog.
3/15-16/2008
We went down to Madera to play U-fli flyball and run some USDAA agility. Kira ran in Snooker and Gamblers and qualified in all 3 runs with placements (2 thirds and a second). This means she is one gamble Q away from her APD!!! Fuze made her debut into flyball - we weren't 100% sure what to expect - would she try to steal the other team's ball - how would she do on mats as she's never seen them before? But, Fuze was amazing. She didn't make a mistake all weekend and was running 4.2s-4.3s. One thing we did notice, though, is she will only run as fast as she needs to to beat the dog in the opposing lane. That means if it's a slower dog, her time reflects that; however, if the dog is faster, she will also run hard to beat that dog, too. Fuze earned 870 points for the weekend and was consistent enough that she and Todd had several .0 starts! Eshu also ran all weekend, for another handler on our team that wasn't mom or dad - with mom boxloading - and he did great! We went first on Saturday and second on Sunday!
3/29-30/2008
Bakersfield here we come - to play NAFA flyball. It's Fuze's NAFA debut, and we're hoping to try Ticket in warm-ups. The venue was so poor - there was a stage in the middle of one of the lanes and the building was really too small for 2 rings - that there was no way we were going to subject Ticket to that for her first time in the ring (she'll have to wait until Oregon in April). We were also a little nervous about running Fuze because the rings were so close, we could barely tell which team we were racing - and we were afraid this novice dog would blow a gasket. Nope - she was AWESOME! In fact, she only had one "bobble" (forgot what lane she was supposed to be in) all weekend! We had some other issues with her team, but Fuze was a trooper! She earned her Flyball Dog and Flyball Dog Excellent titles. Eshu earned almost 900 points for the weekend and Kira wasn't far behind. Eshu's now about 3,000 points from his ONYX.
4/12-13/2008
Kira got to play in USDAA agility this weekend. She needed one gamble leg to get her APD (Performance program championship). The gamble course was first on Saturday. She nailed it! Kira was only in 2 other runs for the weekend - both pairs runs. She Q'd both times with a 1st and a 2nd place! As an unfortunate side note, Fuze injured herself getting into her crate (caught her toenail and pulled the entire thing off with not a yelp - now THAT'S a tough BC!).
4/26-27/2008
NAFA Flyball in Oregon - what a fun tournament. Probably the best of the year! The teams did really well - placing all teams both days...not to mention a ton of points. Eshu earned close to a 1,000 points for the weekend, inching him ever closer to his ONYX.
5/17-18/2008
We went to Reno to play some NAFA Flyball. Fuze was outstanding and earned her FDCh and FDCh-S! It was very hot and I needed some help running Fuze while Todd was making a lunch run. Not only did she run well for our teammate, Jeri, she also ran just as great for a member of another team who was just standing by and I grabbed her - thanks Marci! Eshu and Kira both had an excellent weekend - and Eshu has almost 19,000 points. ONYX, here we come!
5/31-6/1/2008
More NAFA Flyball in Vallejo. I like this venue, it's indoors on mats. Our club ran 4 - yes 4 - teams and boy were we tired. We needed Fuze to step up and double run on Saturday (due to another dog's last minute absence on Sat) and what a spectacular job this brand new baby dog did! Fuze is close to her FDCh-G now. Amazing. Eshu and Kira also earned a ton of points. Kira is making progress toward her FDGCh - something I never even dreamed of. Because of a math error, I thought Eshu was farther away from his ONYX that he was, so I gave him a couple of breaks. Dang - he's only 5 points away. Our team was exhausted (4 teams in the heat in an UN-air conditioned building wore us out!), so one of the teams was short a dog, but they didn't want to quit on the last race of the day. So, they asked if I'd run Ticket. She's not quite ready for prime time (she will occasionally bobble at the box), but, what the heck. She was outstanding and due to a couple of handler errors, earned her FD and came close to her FDX. It'll be a while before she's in the lanes again, but she did a WONDERFUL job! Go Ticket!!!
Eshu and I participated in the Haute Dawgs fun match at WAG. I choose to do the "AKC" day, since we have a much harder time of the tighter courses. He was great! Held every start line stay, got every contact, and got almost all of his weave entrances. What a good doggie!
6/21/2008
ASCA agility hosted by the NNASC. Eshu and I (along with my sister, Nancy - thanks for going with me! - and Ticket) went on the road to try some agility away from home. The first run was Regular and he did great. We had an off-course that about 95% of the other teams also had, but the rest of the run was spectacular. The second Regular run I had a slight hesitation on the release from the teeter, so Eshu was a bit of a goon. The two gambler runs were amazing. We Q'd and first place in the first one and the second we earned the most opening points of the entire class, but I drove the gamble line too hard and pushed him off course into the tunnel. Since ASCA allows training, I set the gamble up again and ran it as I meant to, and he was great! I won't even tell you how bad the jumpers runs were, but I did carry him off course. Those watching me said I fell apart on my handling and was beyond late. Next time...
Eshu's return to ducks at the VacaValley Stockdog Club's annual trial. Eshu only needed one more duck leg to earn his AKC HSAd title (his last time on ducks was at the same trial a year ago where he earned a 3rd and a 4th place Q!). He did really well and not only picked up that last leg, but placed 1st! That's my boy!!! Thanks, Debbie, for an awesome job handling Eshu.
7/19-20/2008
We went up to Truckee to RF Revolution's NAFA tournament. We had a great time, despite the fact that we were short height dogs! Eshu earned his ONYX and both Kira and Fuze had an awesome time.
8/9-10/2008
Todd and I are splitting the weekend. This should be interesting. Todd is taking Fuze and Kira to play NAFA Flyball in Hayward - while Ticket and I are heading to Vacaville for Ticket's first herding trial. We're entering "PT" (or Pre-Trial Test) in AKC.