fuzbuttsheltie
Forums Enthusiast
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Our Journey
- Thread starter fuzbuttsheltie
- Start date
Everyone should be able to view now, but perhaps the first link doesn't work. Try the second or third. I'll get better at this as time goes on.
fuzbuttsheltie
Forums Enthusiast
Good luck at the Invitational.How exciting!
Ember got an invitation for 2010 by placing in a regional qualifier. I was unfortunately unable to go as I was in the progress of changing jobs. I do have the invitation card though. I was an exciting thing. People were quite surprised Ember was the one who got the invite. She never beat Justice except that one weekend.She really liked that venue. The next year she got 2 HC there but they changed the site for the qualifier so lightening didn't strike twice.
Thanks! This entire process has been quite exciting.
When a teammate truly loves the environment and trial site there's basically nothing to stop them from giving their all. Congratulations to Ember for having such a great time and placing. Of course, you did your part too.
I can imagine she was a blast to watch!Dani
OTCh Staymat Magnificent Journey UDX, OM2
Armitage Dazzling Spun Gold CDX, RAE
Double Dare Derrick CD, RAE
Blackmyst Poker Face CD, RN
2GoodDogs
Forums Enthusiast
Go Dani! Go Davina!!! Journey On!!!
Calliesmom
Moderator
Good luck
2GoodDogs
Forums Enthusiast
I think that was you! (the previous two dogs were Bill and Tripper (blue merle) then a bi-black with a male handler, then your beautiful Davina. What a beautiful, animated, focused TEAM. Love your dog, love your handling! Clean!!!!
I see so many good things watching you!
Enjoy today and tomorrow, I am so thankful we have live feed (if only one ring...) it sure beats not having a window to see through! Go AKC!!!!
I see so many good things watching you!
Enjoy today and tomorrow, I am so thankful we have live feed (if only one ring...) it sure beats not having a window to see through! Go AKC!!!!
Calliesmom
Moderator
while Davina did not win the whole show, another sheltie did:
OTCH Eastbrooke Blue Ridge Treasure UDX5 OM9 VER RE AX MXJ AXP AJP OF (Shetland Sheepdog) handled by Vicky Gillow
OTCH Eastbrooke Blue Ridge Treasure UDX5 OM9 VER RE AX MXJ AXP AJP OF (Shetland Sheepdog) handled by Vicky Gillow
2GoodDogs
Forums Enthusiast
Sheltie Pride!!!
Have a safe trip home Dani and Davina!
Have a safe trip home Dani and Davina!
fuzbuttsheltie
Forums Enthusiast
We are finally home. It was a grueling weekend filled with the highest of highs and then some pretty strange occurrences, but there were no lows of any sorts. Of course people come from all over the country to compete at the National Championships so we had a great time visiting with old friends and making some new ones. I met quite a few sheltie owners and their dogs but of course I saw more than I met. I believe there were 257 shelties entered in agility alone and they all brought 4 or 5 sheltie friends to cheer them on. Sheltie Pride was evident!
On Friday - Rush performed remarkably in Rally Novice. As the judge said Forward, Rush began sneezing. Weave once was the first exercise so I had to walk a little wider than normal so she wouldn't knock over the signs but by the time we reached the approach to the third exercise Rush had stopped and let out a huge sneeze and yanked the leash. We lost 2 points for tight leash, our score was 98. The second run was a clean and fast 100. To place in the top 7, teams had to score 100 on each run. Small dogs are at such a disadvantage when it comes to rally. Rush and I celebrated her achievements with lots of play and her favorite treats.
On Saturday - Davina's first ring she qualified in every exercise, loosing only 2.5 points. That said, I knew something was wrong. Her attitude was not what it usually is. I questioned my decision to compete because since December Davina has been in rehab due to a neck injury from herding. We only had a week or so to do any inhouse Obedience and no classes or ring time. While my coach talked with me, the rehab. specialist gave Davina a once over. It was determined that Davina would proceed with ring 2 and then a reassessment. Our ring #2 was a sheltie owner and judge. I knew I would relax my nerves when entering her ring. What I wasn't prepared for was Davina's attitude. Check out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il7KR3_IELc
You will see us at 3:47:01
I swear I'm not trying to slap Davina to get into heel position. I don't know what happened that flicking my left hand was a signal to drive back into heel. That's so unlike me, but then I haven't been in the ring since November and I was RUSTY. At first Davina had no idea what that hand signal was, but she caught on. I didn't have anyone video tapping me on Saturday which would have been nice because I would have stopped that immediately!!
The highlight of ring 2 was Davina's Directed Jumping. She was so happy she couldn't control her speed and nearly crashed into me. She does this only when competing on thin vinyl matting laid on top of concrete. By the time we got to the next ring where Directed Jumping was an exercise, Davina ran as fast as she did in Ring 2 but it was much more controlled.
We proceeded throughout the day Qing in every ring, loosing between 1.5-2.5 points then we got to ring 4 where we lost 4 points. Don't ask me how but that's how the judge called it. Our last ring of the day was ring 5, Davina qualified but Davina lost 7 points. At this time the clock stroked 7:30pm and who trials for 11 hours? Most everyone had gone home, finishing their rounds much earlier. It didn't help any that we were at the end of the 16' jump height and our group followed the toy dogs. We arrived at the hotel at 8:30 and crashed after dinner. My Fitbit showed I'd walked 9.3 miles!!
Sunday - We entered our first ring much earlier in the morning than on Saturday because many teams opted out of competing. This Championship is grueling and not every dog is capable of handling the ring stress coupled with jumping on concrete. Many toy breeds opted out. We, of course, didn't know they were absent until we didn't see them in the ring. I keyed off of a blue merle sheltie as my mark to know when to get Davina warmed up and to the ring; however, on Sunday, this team opted out. We lost 2.5 points in that ring and proceeded to loose 2.5 to 1.5 points for the following rings, that is until ring 4. Once again, ring 4 was unpleasant. I gave Davina the signal to perform the Broad Jump and she missed it...how in the world that happened is beyond me. However, you can hear someone call her name on the video so it must have been a familiar voice. We failed that exercise. The next exercise was scent. We failed the first scent as I made a huge handler error. For the 2nd article, she bolted off of her direct send, ran to the pile, searched 3-4 articles, picked up the correct one and bolted back. So very much unlike a sheltie....and I'm loving it! We opted to continue to compete even with the NQs and I'm so glad I did. We lost 3 points and throughout the entire run Davina was working with an abundance of joy. It was only 5pm by the time we ended our last ring. The day flew by, it was only 8 hours of trialing.
The AKC offered games while the folks tallied up the scores, but I was to exhausted to enter the fun. We returned to the hotel for a steak dinner and then all 3 of us crashed! Tired but thrilled that we had the opportunity to experience a dream that I had had for Davina since she offered me her first perfect front as a puppy and for Rush who gets excited when entering the ring...how terrible is that? Love both my girls to pieces!!
Dani
OTCh Staymat Magnificent Journey UDX, OM2
Armitage Dazzling Spun Gold CDX, RAE
Double Dare Derrick CD, RAE
Blackmyst Poker Face CD, RN
On Friday - Rush performed remarkably in Rally Novice. As the judge said Forward, Rush began sneezing. Weave once was the first exercise so I had to walk a little wider than normal so she wouldn't knock over the signs but by the time we reached the approach to the third exercise Rush had stopped and let out a huge sneeze and yanked the leash. We lost 2 points for tight leash, our score was 98. The second run was a clean and fast 100. To place in the top 7, teams had to score 100 on each run. Small dogs are at such a disadvantage when it comes to rally. Rush and I celebrated her achievements with lots of play and her favorite treats.
On Saturday - Davina's first ring she qualified in every exercise, loosing only 2.5 points. That said, I knew something was wrong. Her attitude was not what it usually is. I questioned my decision to compete because since December Davina has been in rehab due to a neck injury from herding. We only had a week or so to do any inhouse Obedience and no classes or ring time. While my coach talked with me, the rehab. specialist gave Davina a once over. It was determined that Davina would proceed with ring 2 and then a reassessment. Our ring #2 was a sheltie owner and judge. I knew I would relax my nerves when entering her ring. What I wasn't prepared for was Davina's attitude. Check out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il7KR3_IELc
You will see us at 3:47:01
I swear I'm not trying to slap Davina to get into heel position. I don't know what happened that flicking my left hand was a signal to drive back into heel. That's so unlike me, but then I haven't been in the ring since November and I was RUSTY. At first Davina had no idea what that hand signal was, but she caught on. I didn't have anyone video tapping me on Saturday which would have been nice because I would have stopped that immediately!!
The highlight of ring 2 was Davina's Directed Jumping. She was so happy she couldn't control her speed and nearly crashed into me. She does this only when competing on thin vinyl matting laid on top of concrete. By the time we got to the next ring where Directed Jumping was an exercise, Davina ran as fast as she did in Ring 2 but it was much more controlled.
We proceeded throughout the day Qing in every ring, loosing between 1.5-2.5 points then we got to ring 4 where we lost 4 points. Don't ask me how but that's how the judge called it. Our last ring of the day was ring 5, Davina qualified but Davina lost 7 points. At this time the clock stroked 7:30pm and who trials for 11 hours? Most everyone had gone home, finishing their rounds much earlier. It didn't help any that we were at the end of the 16' jump height and our group followed the toy dogs. We arrived at the hotel at 8:30 and crashed after dinner. My Fitbit showed I'd walked 9.3 miles!!
Sunday - We entered our first ring much earlier in the morning than on Saturday because many teams opted out of competing. This Championship is grueling and not every dog is capable of handling the ring stress coupled with jumping on concrete. Many toy breeds opted out. We, of course, didn't know they were absent until we didn't see them in the ring. I keyed off of a blue merle sheltie as my mark to know when to get Davina warmed up and to the ring; however, on Sunday, this team opted out. We lost 2.5 points in that ring and proceeded to loose 2.5 to 1.5 points for the following rings, that is until ring 4. Once again, ring 4 was unpleasant. I gave Davina the signal to perform the Broad Jump and she missed it...how in the world that happened is beyond me. However, you can hear someone call her name on the video so it must have been a familiar voice. We failed that exercise. The next exercise was scent. We failed the first scent as I made a huge handler error. For the 2nd article, she bolted off of her direct send, ran to the pile, searched 3-4 articles, picked up the correct one and bolted back. So very much unlike a sheltie....and I'm loving it! We opted to continue to compete even with the NQs and I'm so glad I did. We lost 3 points and throughout the entire run Davina was working with an abundance of joy. It was only 5pm by the time we ended our last ring. The day flew by, it was only 8 hours of trialing.
The AKC offered games while the folks tallied up the scores, but I was to exhausted to enter the fun. We returned to the hotel for a steak dinner and then all 3 of us crashed! Tired but thrilled that we had the opportunity to experience a dream that I had had for Davina since she offered me her first perfect front as a puppy and for Rush who gets excited when entering the ring...how terrible is that? Love both my girls to pieces!!
Dani
OTCh Staymat Magnificent Journey UDX, OM2
Armitage Dazzling Spun Gold CDX, RAE
Double Dare Derrick CD, RAE
Blackmyst Poker Face CD, RN
2GoodDogs
Forums Enthusiast
This made. me. cry....
You are my hero, my vision of what i want to be someday...
I'll never make it, but I can dream!
I love my dog, I love working as a team, I love obedience and respect what it takes to get to the top of this sport!
Bravo Dani, Bravo Davina and Rush!
CONGRATULATIONS on a WONDERFUL NOC Experience!
(I would not have the stamina for 7 rings in a weekend, much less in ONE day! Justus maybe - not me!)