Calapooia Classic .. and more family reunion photos!
Another Calapooia Classic has come to an end, and every time I attend I get the herding bug.
Some day.
Until then, I will relish in some amazing friendships brought together by these amazing dogs.
Quinn, Yankee, and Peach :: They sure make awesome babies, and I am absolutely giddy we are giving it one more shot. Of course, I am betting on the fact I will not be sick for 11 weeks throughout this time. Quinn comes out of his skin just seeing Yankee, but they were all good dogs and held their sit stays. For Peach, that meant on top of a pile of ants. GOOD GIRLIE!! Quinn and Chica (another of Irene's dogs) taught Peach how to swim in the river, and in 1 outing she became a bonified river rat, yipping and trying to herd Chica while swimming. She wouldn't stop swimming in circles. Gah, my first water obsessive dog :)
Yankee got her boyfriend Quinn a gift, a personalized sign with him on it saying "All I know is what I herd" from the most talented Shannon at Kenleigh Acres. I have coveted these felt pups since the beginning, but the signs I felt were a perfect way to display them. We wanted to send our thanks to Irene and Quinn. I really can't say how much I appreciate it all, and how grateful I am to know them. Didn't Shannon due a fabulous job capturing Quinn? And damn he's a handsome dog.
I finally got to meet a wonderful relative named Indy! I've wanted to meet Indy since I knew the litter was born. She's owned by a fantastic Canadian who I am sure we would have a blast training together, if distance wasn't in the way. :) Indy is out of Yankee's littermate sister and Beam's dad! Everytime I looked into Indy's eyes I could see Yankee. Indy is just 2 and is a pistol. Looking forward to watching her grow up!
Beam and I tried obedience for our first time. I knew our weaknesses and strengths going into it, but I thought maybe I could squeak out some Q's, hahahahhaha ;) Oh Beam how I love thee for making me honest! We did 2 show n' go's on Friday night where Katie gave me some fantastic tips. I definitely would like to train some more with feedback to keep this up. I also watched Silvia's Heeling is just a trick DVD this week, and am working that.
The thing is, our only true issue is his focus. If he has focus, his heeling is lovely! And my thought is that if I can *figure out* how to get his focus in obedience, agility will be a breeze and I could see some better performances there! I will keep playing in ASCA obedience as it is much cheaper! And heck, Beam even makes it kinda fun!
Saturday he had blah focus in heeling on and off leash, but his stand for exam was perfect, his come to recall was almost perfect (.5 off for bad position back into heel), and his figure 8 had great improvements. YAY! But then we had this:
And not just for 1 minute, he kept going and going and going to the point of me going to stop him, hahahahha!! He NEVER broke his down stay, but that photo in the center on the bottom? Yeah, he kept moving closer to the dog next to him like that ;) My silly boy Beam, gah do I love him!
Sunday was a bit rougher on our heeling as there were PUPPIES being run around the ring next to him for conformation. MOMMA DO YOU SEE DA PUPPIES??? LET'S GO PLAY WITH THEM! LET'S GO SNIFF THEM! C'MON, THE FUN IS OVER THERE! :headdesk: Again his stand for exam and recall were gorgeous. With all that though, he ended up breaking his sit stay over the apparently good smelling mini aussie sitting next to him. I would like to note that during his down stay he smelled the ground, but DID NOT ROLL. :) Thank you 6 practice sessions since the night before, which is pure torture for your's truly who hates standing still for 3 minutes. Torture.
PS: A great reason to play in ASCA obedience? They now have an alternative option to out of sight sit and down stays to get their CDX (called an ODX). I'd never put them in a sit / down for 3 and 5 minutes next to strange dogs in real life, why would I do it in a show?
Time to proof, as in, we are torturing entering again this weekend at Sherry's :)
Wish us luck. We'll have fun, and Beam will get as much chicken as he wants.