The Dog Blog

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T21:57:00.001-05:00

Mojo and I celebrated our 10th Christmas together today. Here's to many more!

Portraits with the kids

2011-12-12T09:48:00.003-05:00

My friend Deb Baracco has a lot of fun with photography and was looking to do some portraits. So we got together with her and Ginger and Val and all of our respective pups to give her some practice. It was a fun time which produced some GREAT shots! Here are some of my favorites.

Mojo is BACK!!

2011-12-05T14:13:00.002-05:00

After months of questions, worries and endless rehab Mojo made his big comeback at the ITZ trial in Millersville this past weekend. I was so nervous to run him but so very excited. He surpassed all my expectations and ran BEAUTIFULLY all weekend long, going 8 for 9 runs and even winning 3 classes!! He was so happy to be running and I was so happy to have him back. I still can't wipe the smile off my face.

I compiled a video of his runs from the weekend (one Jumpers run is missing) the old man was on FIRE! It is a testament to the hard work of all the people who took part in his rehab how good he looked and still looks after 3 days of agility. Thank you all for putting up with me and never giving up on him. At 9 1/2 years old he looks better than he has in a long time!

View Video

This experience has brought a lot of things to light for me. One is to never skimp my dogs on the conditioning and stretching they really need to perform well and hold up, especially as they pass through their veteran years. I am determined to give everything I have to them to keep them happy, healthy and sound.

The other is to always trust your gut, you KNOW your own dogs better than anyone so if you have a doubt, definitely seek a second opinion! The more experienced hands and eyes on your situation, the better off you will be. Don't ever fall prey to the opinions of others, but never discount them either.

And finally the very most important lesson of all, and one I will never forget. Every run with your partner is a privilege, every snuggle under the covers, every naughty grin or quiet moment of connection. Cherish it, every single second. I know I do and I intend to every day of our lives together.

I love you so much Mojo-Man. I am so lucky to have you in my life. Welcome back.

Jinn is becoming a "real" agility dog

2011-11-21T13:18:00.005-05:00

My little girl has had some troubles with focus and motivation over the past year or so. We have struggled with her hyper vigilance about things in and around the ring, she often cruises past obstacles whilst scanning the area, and her speed suffers because she is not fully engaged with me or with the activity at hand.

Well with the blessing of a bit of age and experience and the lovely, cooler weather, my Jinni is beginning to blossom! She still has her moments of distraction, but all in all she is holding it together much more consistently and her speed is improving. She really is starting to discover how much fun it is to do this sport WITH Mom and not to worry so much about all the other stuff.

Photo courtesy of Jim Poor

A few weeks ago she had her best agility weekend ever, qualifying 7 out of 11 runs which included 2 Chances!! She finished her Novice Chances Title and her Novice Touch-n-Go title all in the same weekend. She then went on to finish her Novice Jumpers Title and her Superior Novice Tunnelers title the next weekend!

Photo courtesy of Priscilla Warnock

She continues to pick up speed as she develops more confidence. Barry Rosen even managed to get a great shot of her first "flying aframe" during Touch-n-go.

Photos courtesy of Barry Rosen

I am really excited about the winter and the good times and the lessons it has in store for me as I make this journey with my baby dog.

Photo courtesy of Priscilla Warnock

Platinum Speedstar Mojo!!

2010-11-16T15:35:00.002-05:00

With the release of the latest trial results my greatest hopes have been realized. Mojo earned his Platinum Speed Star with two kickass Jumpers runs at the PAWZAZZ trial in October!!! I have been chasing this milestone for so long and have more than once opted to give up altogether. But we kept at it, pushing for speed and risking the dropped bars and off-courses to try and lay down those 100+ DRIs. To have gotten the two he needed on the same weekend is simply magical. I am so thankful to my friend and judge Dwayne Bonker for bringing those beautiful courses and for judging us to this achievement. And I am thankful to Paula and Debi for their superb instruction and for sage advice and shoulders to cry on. And to all of my agility friends who have had to endure my obsessing with unwavering good humor and support.

But most of all I am thankful to my heart dog Mojo. He is my soulmate and the journey to this ultimate achievement has been an amazing one. He has without fail done EVERYTHING I have ever asked of him and sometimes more. With all of his faults, he still remains the one most constant and devoted partner in my life and my very best friend. From here on out baby boy, we run purely for the joy, which is of course how it should have been all along. Here's to a long and wild ride yet to come!

Mojo is the first Doberman to ever achieve the Platinum Speed Star so he yet again has stamped the NADAC history books for his breed. I hope there are a lot more Dobes that start to compete in NADAC in the future and follow in his pawprints.

I love you old man, thank you for everything.

Jinn's first time in the ring!

2010-09-14T10:27:00.004-04:00

I took Jinn and Luxx to the Metropolitan Baltimore Doberman Pinscher Club's annual sanctioned match on Sunday 9/12. It was to be Jinn's first time seeing the inside of a competition ring of any kind. My little 1 year old did not disappoint!! She started off with a bang, doing Novice Rally more precisely than I ever dreamed she would her first time in, outdoors and in the rain no less! She got a 94 and a second place.

In Sync!

Luxx also showed in Rally in Excellent and had a grand time, even went on a little zoomie right after the first jump, but managed to pull off a 90 and a first place. :)

Next up was Jinn's turn in the Pre-Novice Obedience class. She did some great heeling, parts of her figure 8 were awesome, some distraction and sniffing at times but overall I was thrilled with her showing. She did break her down stay but I am very happy with her overall performance in the ring.

Boogieing down!

gotta love that swing finish!

Straight after the stays she marched right on over and earned her CGC with flying colors! She now has her very first alphabet soup. She's Andalin's Dance on Fire CGC! I was worried about the 3 minute separation, but she handled it fairly well, if a little anxious. Nothing that would keep her from earning a passing grade.

We broke for lunch and the puppy brain got to rest a while, napping in the van while we ate. Then it was straight into conformation. Jinn was the only Novice Bitch so she won her class. She did very well gaiting for me and is getting better and better at being stacked the longer we stay in the ring. She is very suspicious of men but did pretty great letting the judge go over her. He was a very nice man who took special time and care with the puppies and I think it really helped her build some confidence.

We went back in the ring to judge for Best Adult. Jinn did the cutest little free-stack on the down and back and gave the judge some great expression. I think that must have sold him because he picked her as Best Adult in Match! She got a rosette and fun, pink pig toy. I am so proud of my baby girl, I couldn't believe how well she handled all that activity and the amount of focus she displayed for such a young, crazy girl. So she got her first alphabet soup and her very first win photo all on her first day in the ring. What a great day!

Star City Photo Dump

2010-06-14T22:34:00.007-04:00

Diane Lewis got some great shots of the kids when we were at the Star City Canines trial in Roanoke, VA back in March. It was Jinn's first big-girl photoshoot. She did a great job for just a 7 month old spud! Here are some of my (many) favorites. You can see more of Diane's stunning work at http://www.dianelewisphotography.com.

NATCH-10 Mojo!!!

2010-05-30T19:53:00.004-04:00

It's the pipe-dream milestone I never thought we'd reach. We finally earned that last, elusive jumpers Q to complete Mojo's NATCH-10 and Versatility NATCH-10!! It was hot all weekend and my boy worked hard for me. I am so proud, I only cried a little and those were tears of joy and relief and just generally being overwhelmed. I adore this dog, he has done everything I have ever asked of him and more and through all of my mistakes and occasional bad choices, he remains ever still a faithful and smooth dancing partner who just "fits." I love that boy, we make a great team.

Mojo AXJ!!!

2010-02-27T20:47:00.001-05:00

FINALLY!! After trying for a year and a half to get the last leg we had a beautiful JWW run to complete our AXJ at the Delaware County Kennel Club trial at Dream Park in New Jersey. Mojo and I have been having a hard time putting it all together in AKC with my timing and his sometimes unpredictability. But it all came together for that one run. We struggled the rest of the weekend, beautiful moments just one thing here or there. But since he was the first dog to run all weekend, Luxx reaped the benefits of me learning from my mistakes handling him and went 7/9! She finished her XF and got her first two legs toward her MXF. She also got her very first TRIPLE Q on Saturday! She is now officially working on her MACH. Not sure how far I'll take that particular quest, but I'm not averse to giving it a shot! It was a good weekend indeed. :)

Blizzard(s) of 2010!! Photo Dump

2010-02-11T22:13:00.006-05:00

Well, starting Friday, February 5th and going on through Saturday we received 24" of snow!!! I've lived in MD my whole life and I have never seen snow like this. After the snow finally stopped I went out and stomped out paths all around the house so the dogs could get around. They had a BLAST playing in the snow and blasting through their snow tunnels. I took hundreds of pics but I will just highlight a few of my favorites here. To make it even more interesting, we received an additional FOOT of snow on Wednesday the 10th! Is it spring yet??

The view from my front door

Enjoying the newly blazed trail

Mojo chases Jinn down the hill

Moj says snow is YUMMY!

Jinn is FLYING!

Pretty girl Luxx poses in front of the tunnel

Love this pic of Mojo

Handsome Lad

Mojo and Jinn

Jinn and Luxx

Luxx and Mojo

My darling Luxx

Mojo says I'm coming Momma!

Upside-Down Crazy Time with Jinn during the storm

Mojo says don't even THINK about getting on my sofa!

All tuckered out after a good romp.

Mojo NATCH-9/Versatility NATCH-9

2010-01-19T22:04:00.000-05:00

WOWIE! My boy went 100% in Jumpers to get from NATCH-8 to NATCH-9! 14 Jumpers Q's in a row when it was all said and done. I am SOOOOO proud of him! Heeeee's BAAAAAAACK!! The further we get from his illness, the better he looks. He earned his NATCH-9 and V-NATCH-9 on January 16 at Canine Kinship in State College, PA. It was great to earn this award under Ron Young, one of our favorite judges.

Luxx NATCH-5!

2010-01-03T22:00:00.000-05:00

My girlie is on a roll with the Chances Qs! She did me proud and once again did one with weaves (her nemesis) in the distance challenge to earn her NATCH-5! So proud of her. :) She earned it at TNT Canines on January 2nd under our friend Dwayne Bonker.

Jinn and Cash go to their first agility trial!

2009-12-02T21:08:00.005-05:00

Jinn and her best boyfriend Cash went to their very first Agility trial Nov 27-29 at In the Zone. Deb Baracco was nice enough to shoot some great pics of their puppy playtime together. They are a stitch!

Mojo ITZ Reserve Grand Champion and 10,000 Lifetime Points!!

2009-12-01T21:51:00.003-05:00

Mojo & the Momma Reserve Grand Champs!

From L-R Myself with Mojo, Judge Sunny Williams and Tom Moloney-Harmon with Maddie

We had a good weekend at ITZ. Mojo got all 3 Jumpers Qs for a total of 8 straight now. Luxx got a kickass weavers. Mojo earned his 10,000 Point Award on Saturday. That means he has qualified over 1,000 times in NADAC!! Part of those 10,000 points went toward him being awarded the Reserve ITZ Grand Champion on Sunday. Lisa kept a running total of Qs for all 7 of her trials in MD/NJ this year and Tom Moloney-Harmon and Maddie came in first with 740 points total. Mojo and I were a close second with 730 points! We came in second to a team whom I not only respect and call my friends, but who was the #1 Dog in NADAC for 2009! Not too shabby baby boy! ;) It was a good way to end the year with ITZ. Oh and did I mention that the ribbon was GORGEOUS?!!

Mojo NATCH-8/Versatility NATCH-8

2009-11-16T21:57:00.000-05:00

Finally after a slump in Jumpers that was getting really depressing, Mojo nailed the first Jumpers at All About Animals! in Delaware on November 14th to earn his NATCH-8/Vers-NATCH-8! After his bout with RMSF in the summer it's good to finally see him looking good again!

Midian welcomes the newest member of the Bailey Pack!

2009-11-05T11:07:00.005-05:00

On November 8, Josh will be flying home with our newest baby. Her name is Andalin's Dance on Fire, henceforth to be known as "Jinn." She is my new agility prospect and I have very high hopes for her as both a performance dog and a breed ring dog and also a possible foundation. Fingers crossed that she loves it all as much as I do!

For more information on the litter, including pedigree see Andalin's website here.

I will be posting updates with her progress once she gets home and we start our journey together.

Luxx earns her NATCH-4!

2009-09-07T19:46:00.002-04:00

On Saturday, September 5 Luxx earned her last needed Chances leg to complete her NATCH-4 at All About Animals! in Townsend, DE. Nadia Barrett was our judge and she brought some fun, but very challenging courses. Luxx actually got a WICKED hard Chances on Sunday as well. Only 4 dogs in Elite and 1 dog in Open managed this feat!! There were no survivors in Novice... :( I am SUPER proud of her for nailing that course! She had an excellent weekend, going 9 for 12 and really just maintaining a good work ethic through the whole trial.

Mojo also looked good, we worked some startlines to tune up for Championships in 2 weeks but he still ended up 7 for 12 and ended the weekend with a BEAUTIFUL Jumpers run that just made my heart sing. It finally felt like my boy was back. He seems to continue to improve after his terrible ordeal with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever this Summer so I am optimistic now that he's going to be just fine.

One more trial left and then we leave for Tennessee to compete in our fourth NADAC Championships. It will be Mojo's first as a Veteran, my how time flies... *sniff*

Calendar Kids!

2009-07-05T14:03:00.007-04:00

Mojo and Luxx have made it into 3 Calendars for 2010! I knew getting their pics done by as many photographers as possible would pay off eventually. LOL

First there is the Willowcreek Press Calendar

Luxx is Miss April!

Next we have the Brown Trout Calendar

Luxx appears to be Miss April again. And Mojo is the middle pic, second row up from the bottom. Running at the camera with a big smile!

Last, but certainly not least is the Petprints Calendar

Mojo and Luxx are the cover dogs! And also Mojo is Mr July with the bucket of flowers. What a good sport he is! :) I think it's pretty darned cool that they are going to be in stores and other folks will buy them and hang them on their wall. Curious to see what they make it in next year!

NATCH 7 Mojo!!

2009-05-24T09:22:00.002-04:00

On the last run of the trial at PAWZAZZ Mojo and I had the UGLIEST Jumpers run in existence and he somehow came out clean and earned his NATCH-7 and Versatility NATCH-7!! That boy is full of surprises. This was a special one for me as it's his 7th NATCH and he turns 7 on June 30. That also means this was his last as a non-Veteran dog. He will be a 16" jumper from July on!

Mojo says NATCH? NO PROBLEM!!! Bring on the tough stuff. I eat NATCHes for breakfast. LOL

Luxx does it again!

2009-01-11T22:28:00.002-05:00

Well, I braved the snow piling on and freezing cold in State College. Add to that, my nearly succumbing to the plague (gawd awful respiratory illness/general malaise) and it made for one hell of a weekend! I had almost no voice, much to my friends benefit. ;) And no energy either. Still, both of my dogs ran pretty darn well in spite of me. Mojo ran a breathtaking Regular on Friday, his time was off the charts for what he normally turns in. He was just really fired up after spending so much time just laying around in bed with me. Not to mention he LOVES the surface at the Ag arena up there. The sound of his feet thumping on it as we ran just made my heart smile.

But the superstar of the weekend was my little Luxxie-poo. She nailed her Chances run on Saturday and got her NATCH-3! The two of us didn't get much right at this trial, but we did accomplish what we came for!

By Sunday I was feeling a little worse for wear, so Auntie Paula ran Luxx in Regular Round 2. It was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time and they even Q'd. Luxx loves Paula and it was so cool to see them run together. She even nailed her weaves! WTG girls!

We managed to make it home safely, going down the mountain out of State College is a bit hectic, I can tell you. I have paid the price for pushing it over the weekend, but it was well worth the suffering.

Mojo is a NATCHural...

2008-12-06T20:29:00.001-05:00

Well it took us till our third and last chance at a Jumpers leg, but Mojo finally nailed it and earned his NATCH-6 and Versatility NATCH-6 at In the Zone in Millersville. Carole Daggett brought some really nice courses and we had a great (if friggin COLD!) weekend. I'm so proud of my boy. He just keeps getting better and running with him is like breathing sometimes. We just fit. On to NATCH-7!

The Impossible is Possible!

2008-11-12T22:24:00.003-05:00

It was a great weekend at Canine Kinship! After years now of highs and lows, times when I thought I would just retire Luxx from Weavers altogether... We finally got that last Weavers Q to finish Luxx's Versatility NATCH!!! I was flabbergasted, she nailed those 22" poles like she's been a great weaver all her life. Who knew? That was the first run of the trial, not a bad way to start the weekend.

We had fantastic weather and a lot of shenanigans. But somehow I must have made an impression on the judge, Pat Fox. Vickie created a special award after she lost her heart dog, Brother Vincent. It is selected by the judge for the team that best represents in that judges opinion the Spirit of Agility. Well we must have done something right in his eyes because he chose Me! I have endured a fair share of ribbing over this, as I am not exactly "Miss Sunshine". But I am honored beyond belief. I think Pat's criteria was not so much my sunny personality but how I treat my dogs I guess. No matter what, even with the teasing I must endure it is pretty damned cool. :)

To end the weekend with our last run, Mojo nailed Tunnelers and earned his 7,500 Lifetime Point award... I can't believe we've had 750 Qualifying runs... WOW. With his Q rate you have to at least double that for our total times stepping to the line together. It's STILL not enough. I love to dance with my boy. On to 10,000!!

2008 NADAC Championships - The Final Installment

2008-10-22T19:24:00.017-04:00

We finally made it to Gillette! I can't believe I have made this trip every year for the past 3 years. I think I'm really going to miss it when it's gone... I've sort of gotten comfortable here, a home away from home.

Our first agenda was to go back to Devil's Tower, one of my favorite things about the area. I just think the tower is so cool. And the energy there is wonderful. You'd have to be there to feel it and you would understand. I can tell why the Native Americans regard this as sacred ground.

I found this cool stump (yep, I have some fascination with the darned things!) I think it looks like an archer drawing his bow. What do you think?

And of course, a trip to Devil's Tower would not be complete without a visit to the prairie dog town! I can't get enough of these little buggers. They just crack me up.

This one was pissed off that I was taking his picture

Yep, they walk right out in the road. They have these great roadkill prairie dog socks at the gift shop... LOL

Since dogs are not allowed in the park, not on the trails anyway. We stopped at the Camplex on the way back to the hotel to let the dogs run and play ball and frisbee for a while. It takes a while to get the kinks out after riding in a crate all that time!

Mojo is cross-eyed with joy!

Now give me the damned frisbee!

I MEAN it!!

Score!

You can see the trance he slips into when allowed to noop on his fris...

A tug and a kiss from Mommy

Two very tired pups... did I mention how friggin HOT it was in Gillette??

Bury the grandma back in the hotel room (with their buddy Raven, my Mom's Sheltie)

It's finally Tuesday, setup day for Championships!! I always get a rush when I look at the sign and know we're here for real. I love running these big courses with the best NADAC dogs in the country.

Mojo and Luxx wait patiently for us to get in the building (we stood in line for almost 3 hours!)

Nelson peeks in the door to see if our crating spot is available from last year. (it wasn't)

The doors finally opened at 2pm and we were in the front of the line. I swear to you, it is worse than general admission at a rock concert. I was nearly crushed as people shove through the door and then start to run into the building to set up their spots! We had worked out a truce with the very large Pacific Northwest group to make strength in numbers we helped them and they helped us snag our pre-scoped spot in prime territory! As we were running in people were literally throwing tarps ahead to get spots, one hit me in the head on the way by. What a rush.. LOL Might be the most adrenaline I felt all week!

But we got an even better one! Here is PAWZAZZ CENTRAL.

The crating area at Champs is always a sea of purple and balloons

Everyone goes overboard decorating their areas and proudly representing their clubs

Mojo and Luxx in their digs for the week. They both had mattress pads under their crates to help cushion them from the concrete floor underneath. Not to mention about 100 beds!

We were able to set up our PAWZAZZ/MD raffle basket once we got our crating area situated. Lots of people from our club donate items to include and Pat Moloney-Harmon and I pretty much take it from there and kick it up a notch! This year was our best basket yet, it has expanded to 3 individual baskets with a pair of hoops included. We try to include a lot of MD themed items and they are in bushel baskets. It always draws a lot of tickets every year.

The mighty PZ basket!

After the briefing, we headed to dinner at the Chop House in Gillette. It's tradition to have a big dinner the night before Championships starts. We get together, discuss our plans and just generally unwind for the last time before hell week starts. It's a lot of fun, but once they begin, you don't have much in the way of "leisure time". :)

Wednesday dawned and we were ready! Sharon likes to hit you with something unusual at each Championships and this year was no different. The twist this time (and I'm sure it was mainly to save some time on the LOOOONG days) was that you got a time bonus if you opted to run rounds one and two of each game class back to back. The kicker was, round 2 was NOT the same as round 1 and it was NOT numbered! For instance Jumpers was first. Round one was numbered, 22 obstacles. Round 2 was a direct reversal, but unnumbered. So you had to make sure you figured it out correctly on your own. If you ran these back to back, utilizing a connecting tunnel to flip them back to the last jump, you received a 3 second deduction off both of your times. I opted NOT to do them back to back, simply because I was sure I didn't have the air (I was right!) and I didn't want to run them on a 45 obstacle jumpers course where a dropped bar was certainly not worth the 3 second bonus. Clear as mud?

Those of us who chose to run separately got a numbered course and another walkthrough. I still think I made the right decision for my dogs, though it was tough when I realized that had I done so, Luxx's FLAWLESS jumpers would have garnered her a 6th place out of 60 dogs! I should have just attempted it to get that bonus, but I made the right choice for her. In order to place you HAD to run the double course. But I was proud to know that she turned in the 6th best time in reality. Here is her run, the highlight of her and my Champs and it was our very first one. :)

Luxx also ran beautifully in round 2, but she took and off course tunnel and that was that. Mojo had two very nice, clean runs but baby sis beat him on time for once! WOOHOOO Luxxie! Jumpers was the only thing I had Luxx entered in Wednesday, but Mojo did Weavers and one round of Hoopers later that night. I opted to do the double rounds of Weavers because there were no jumps and it was a much shorter course. Mojo had a nice run, but boy was I running out of gas by midway through round 2. He adjusted accordingly. But he was in the top 15% of dogs placement-wise and that was pretty cool. It's tough being a Doberman with all the BCs and Aussies running out there. Here is his weavers run(s):

After running weavers and doing 60 weave poles, the boy got a massage. He EARNED it!

It turns out I was running out of gas for a reason. I ended up waking up with a horrible stomach virus Wednesday night/Thursday morning. I had to spend the whole day Thursday in bed at the hotel and missed day 2 of Championships. :( Luckily, I was able to drag myself though still not eating on Friday for the start of Regular. It was worth the effort. Mojo ran like a dream and took 4th in round 1! We dropped a bar in round 2 and were just out of the ribbons in that round, but he was still running nicely. Here is round 1:

Come Saturday, still not eating much. Living off saltines and water. Not good for 15+ hour days and high stress and adrenaline. I made a MAJOR mistake in Round 3 and pushed Mojo off course in addition to crossing the distance line like it wasn't even there... I was in so much pain and so out of it. I don't know how I ran at all. I had some time to rest and regroup for round 4. We pulled it back together and Mojo ran great for a 6th place Qualifying run! Luxx had a great run, but since she was nailing her weaves and this was no exception... I squealed when she completed them and she got revved and went zooming ahead (and off-course...) LOL I don't care. It was great to see her nailing the weaves. Here is Mojo's round 4:

Sunday dawns with me feeling just a smidge more human. Still not eating though. I think the most I have put down this week is half a turkey sub. That was a feat! I have neglected to mention that during the week Sharon gave out the yearly Top Ten awards. Mojo made the top ten in all of NADAC for every class! I couldn't believe it!! He was #4 dog in Regular, #5 dog in Chances, #6 dog in Jumpers, #3 dog in Touch-n-Go, #4 dog in Tunnelers and #3 dog in Weavers! What a good boy he is! That will by default make him the number one Doberman in NADAC for the second year in a row. I am so proud of my boy.

The top of Mojo's crate once he started accumulating ribbons (and top ten medals in the back)

Here was our last chance to shine. Round 5. I went out and ran my dogs like it was the last time I'd get the privilege. Both dogs ran great and Qualified! Mojo in 4th (tied with our PZ teammates Jean and Kopper - how weird!) and Luxx in 8th place!! My little girlie got a ribbon in 20+ Elite. I never thought it could happen for her. I was just busting at the seams. I can't think of a better way to end the week.

Luxx also had a great time in Team with her buddies Hattie and Piper. Their repeat team "Screw Loose & Fancy-Free placed in both rounds we ran in ( I scratched from round 1 due to my health issues...) We were 5th in round 2 and 3rd in round 3!

Screw Loose & Fancy-Free from L-R: Nelson and Hattie, Nicole and Luxx, Tom and Piper

I thought my week at Championships was over... boy was I wrong! When Sharon announced the dogs that would be running in the finals Mojo was on the list! It turns out he was actually entering the finals in 4th place! Wow, who knew what consistency will get you? We had a clean finals run though not as fast as our others of the week. I tend to be super-careful in the finals and he runs slower to make sure he's right... But he maintained his placement and finished 4th overall in 20+ Elite! He was just that one crappy round 3 (my fault) out of 3rd place for a second year in a row. Oh well, considering my condition I am thrilled with the outcome. He is such an honest boy and he loves those courses and that arena. And for Luxx to finish off her Champs with a nice clean run as well. I couldn't ask for more!

It was a whirlwind of emotions, a great, if trying time with great friends. Both those that came with me and those that I have made from all over the US and Canada that I love seeing every year. I can't wait to go to Tennessee next year and do it all again! Maybe without the whole stomach virus thing... :)

2008 NADAC Championships - Part the First

2008-10-15T21:34:00.008-04:00

So it's Friday, September 12 and we are on the road again! Same plan as last year, we are making the relatively short trek from Pasadena, MD to Maumee, OH as the first leg of our trip. It's also the most boring part of our drive.

By this point, Mojo and Luxx are old pros at travel and hotels. They pretty much have it down to a routine:

Step 1: Check out the bed

Step 2: Chew on Luxx

Step 3: Commence Wrestlemania XII!!

Day two is our long leg, we hit the road before dawn. We just happen to drive through the most rain I have ever SEEN in my life! It rained from the second we left Ohio, through Indiana, Illinois (drove through flooded streets in Chicago), Wisconsin, and then the sun peeks out in MINNESOTA!!

It really was such a relief, after being soaked to the skin more than once trying to get "we don't DO rain" dogs to go potty at the rest stops and just generally losing hours of progress due to the weather.

We finally arrived around 7pm in Worthington, MN.

They have a PERKINS!! Guess where we had dinner that night??

But not before the dogs were exercised and fed of course! Mojo would never let me forget he was in the car...

And believe me, that isn't a bark. It's a prolonged, heart-wrenching wail that only a boy dobe cane really perfect. :)

Ahhh, a hotel room. I think they know what to do here... Bed? CHECK!

Chew on the sister? CHECK!

Uhhhh.... Double CHECK!

Aaaaand let's get ready to RUUUMBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLE!

Sunday dawns moderately dry, at least it's not POURING! We make the last part of the trek through South Dakota (my favorite state, though not to drive through...) to Gillette, WY! Hey, I remember this bull:

South Dakota has loverly rest stops. Mojo and Luxx thought it might be nice to get a photo with the huge sky factor:

NEAR................far

"Mommy, can you PLEASE stop taking pictures now? I gotta go pee...."

To be continued...

NADAC Championships - The Final Installment!

2008-03-12T13:12:00.000-04:00

Well, I can't even remember Championships anymore! LOL I got caught up in life and never finished the story. So here is the Cliff Notes version of events:

At some point during the week, Sharon gave out the Top Ten Awards for 2007. Mojo was #6 Touch-n-Go dog, #2 Weavers dog and #1 TUNNELERS dog in the country!!! I had made such a point to get those weavers legs that I never gave Tunnelers a second thought... Miss Luxx made it into the Top Ten as well, #9 Tunnelers dog!! Pretty cool for the crazy red girl. The rest of Champs went swimmingly, we had a hiccup here or there, but Mojo ended up making it into the FINALS!!

8 dogs made it into the finals, Mojo was in 7th place. I had no pressure on me at all except to try and run clean because up until this point Mojo had run clean in EVERY run so far. But I had ZERO expectations. They usually run from last to first place in the finals, but not this time. So I had to wait a long time to run. It is SOOO quiet during the finals. It's really weird. The crowd is the biggest it has been all week, but you could hear a pin drop. We finally made our way to the line and started our run. Jump, jump, A-frame, jump, jump, tunnel, jump (WIDE turn looking at an off course a few dogs took), jump, weaves (holy crap we might do this...), jump serpentine, switch out, back through, pull into the tunnel, out tunnel (so close, so CLOSE!), COME WALK IT!! (I was sweating this one for some reason), get your feet in that contact buddy, go on, go ON!! YEEEEESSSSSSSS! He did it! Our 14th out of 14 clean runs at the Championships!! I couldn't help but leap into the air and skip. I could hear my friends cheering for us and my heart was just bursting with pride in my boy!

It turns out we finished in Second place in the final round! SECOND place out of the 8 top dogs to attend this year. A DOBERMAN in a sea of Border Collies and Aussies.... To say I was pleased would be the understatement of the century! I was pretty bummed because this year Sharon did not give out ribbons for the finals round as she had last year... I had so looked forward to that special red ribbon. But I wasn't sweating it and we went to watch the Overall Champion awards given out. My friends that I came with did very well, Paula won 16" Skilled with Split and came in Second in 20" Pre-Elite. Tom won 8" Superstakes with Maddie and came in Third I think with Piper in 16" Elite. They finally got around to announcing the 20+" Elite dogs. Starting with 3rd overall, Nicole Bailey and Mojo!!!! I almost fainted I was so surprised!! I just started to cry and cry, it was a little overwhelming. I knew he had done well in the finals, but I didn't think it was good enough to bump him from 7th to 3rd place!!

It was like a little fairytale come true for us. I had NO expectations at all when I went to Champs this year. Moj just isn't fast enough to be competitive at the National level. But he can be bloody consistent, and that and his better than average speed carried us into the top 3. Let's just say that I spent a lot of time glancing back at the ribbon hanging in the van on the trip home to make sure it was all real. :)

So that's it, that's our big trip! I'm already fully involved in plans for this year's Champs. Same place... AGAIN! But I can't wait, I love to see all the Canadian and West Coast people that I never see and met through going to Champs these past 2 years. It's a really cool experience. I have made some very cool friends out there that I look forward to seeing again!

To finish off, here are the rest of the pics of note from our trip, ENJOY!

Miss Luxx, with her Top Ten medal and her 5th place Touch-n-Go ribbon! (That's 5th out of 61 dogs! Good Girlie)

Mojo Proudly displays his loot, his Top Ten Medals (Tunnelers #1 around his neck), his High Scoring Doberman award, his Triple Superior Versatility Award (clear thing) and his ribbons from Regular. Just look at that purdy third place rosette!
One of the mornings we arrived at the Camplex, there was the most beautiful rainbow I have ever seen! It was also the BIGGEST! Wyoming is so open and expansive, I could see the whole rainbow, from beginning to end arching over me. It was an amazing experience. You just don't get that on the east coast!
Little Pup-Pup is hauling ASS! (and overjumping... LOL)
#2 Weaver in NADAC struts his stuff!
Patriotic Pup-Pup, she kinda does have a lovely head...
Brother and sister, posing pretty.
Handsome lad, he looks so thoughtful in this pic.
Our team this year, "Screw Loose and Fancy-Free". Tom & Piper, Nelson & Hattie and Luxx and I make our "Reservoir Dogs" entrance into the arena.
Nelson shows us his "agony of defeat" face... ;)
More with the agony... NICE SHIRT though! I wonder who designed those shirts??? LOL
Luxx shows us exactly how you run to get 5th place in Touch-n-Go! My little girl is DRIVING!
She knows she's doing well, just look at that smile! :D
Yes indeed, I WAS skipping with joy. He caught me mid-bounce to go and hug my BOY!!

NADAC Championships - Part the Fourth

2007-12-16T21:55:00.000-05:00

Championships has begun!! We put the raffle basket together Monday night and staked out a pretty sweet home base Tuesday during set up. It was time for the fun to begin!! Our first run was Jumpers and both dogs NAILED it! Traditionally it's not my best class especially with Mojo, but we had a blast. It was a fun course.

Mojo took 14th out of 69 dogs and Luxx was 18th. I was pretty damned happy with that! It was a great way to start the week.

Luxx had some issues with Regular, but Mojo was clean in both Round 1 and Round 2 and came in 6th and 8th place respectively. Good enough to be in the ribbons! I think Round 1 and 2 of Regular on Wednesday were the best runs we had all week!

Round 1

Round 2

Luxx is flying! WHEEEEE!

Mojo showing off some of his better jumping form. :)

He's gotta crouch pretty far down in those tunnels.

The weaving machine!

So far our Championships is GREAT! Mojo has been 100% in what he has run. And Luxx has had some DAMN fine moments for a baby girl her first time in Elite. But it is far from over yet!

*To Be Continued*

NADAC Championships - Part the Third

2007-12-14T23:07:00.000-05:00

Ahhhh, first full day in Gillette! Since today (Monday) was the only day we had that didn't involve Championships in some way, we opted to head to Devil's Tower. It's only about 45 minutes outside of Gillette and it was totally worth the trip! I proceeded to take a million pictures while we were there. Here is the first view of the tower we had.

There was a fire in the area a few years ago and there were some of the coolest stumps floating around.

My first impression of this place was how spiritual it is. I can't explain it really, it just speaks to you. It's sacred to the Native Americans. They leave these prayer bundles in the trees and bushes surrounding the base of the tower.

The views from up there are amazing, none of my photos will do it justice.
Here is Nelson goofing off on one of the surrounding cliffs. Of course he almost fell off right after I took this picture...
We spent a good deal of time watching all the crazy assholes that climb this thing. They are so high up and it's so far away you can barely see them. They are just these little specks up there. This is as far as the camera could zoom.

I love this part of Wyoming. I think I could live here...

Another interesting stump...

I liked this little black stump in the middle of all this green.

For some reason, red squirrels are worthy of photographing whereas our local grey squirrels are boring... go figure. Dad takes a break I thought these trees were beautiful.

Once we finished our hike around the base of the tower it was time to head back to Gillette, but first Mojo and Luxx had to check out this tepee.

On the way out of the park there is a HUGE prairie dog town. Ok, I LOVE prairie dogs! These guys will let you walk right up to them if you are careful enough. I took probably a hundred pics, but here are a few of my favorites. Cute little fuckers! This guy just needed a beer in his other hand...

Peek-a-boo!

This is the guy that let me get really close. He did all kinds of posing.

Here is my favorite shot of the tower from the entrance to the park. It was a great place, I can't wait to go back next year and hike the longer trail! Tomorrow we set up our "home base" at the champs site and compile our state themed raffle basket. Competition starts on Wednesday!
*To Be Continued*

NADAC Championships - Part the Second

2007-12-13T18:48:00.000-05:00

On the road again! The long stretch between between Minnesota and Wyoming called SOUTH DAKOTA!! I love this state dearly, but can I just tell you how LOOOONG Interstate 90 really is. One of the parts I have really come to like is where you cross the Missouri river and it starts to look like South Dakota. It's just like magic.

Cop shots part deux, I finally got one!

My girlfriend Nicolette who took this journey with me last year could not come this year. Because I missed her so much and in her honor we stopped again in 1880 Town so that I could see if it was as creepy (it wasn't) and to get her a postcard. Lot's of silly dog pictures ensued.

The town itself

Good sports with the bathtub
...still good sports with the stagecoach. I think this one is so cute!
Raven in all of her cuteness.
Here is a shot of the back of town
In the back they have 2 of the mules they used in the movie Dances With Wolves. They used to have Cisco, Kevin Costner's horse, I saw him last year. But he died in August. :( That is this place's big "draw" is all the Dances With Wolves stuff. They have all kinds of props like the dead buffalos and tepees and stuff. They also have a camel. WOOHOOO! It's a thrill ride.

This was the last stop of any photographic interest on the way to Wyoming. I did forget to mention in part the first about the fact that we had a cartop luggage carrier on the van holding most of my parents' luggage and my dad and Josh's fly fishing gear. Well it was pretty noisy most of day one and two. Well on this, day 3 it was DEAFENING!!! It was making this high-pitched whistle that was driving me out of my mind. I am not exaggerating. It actually affected my hearing for a little while it was so bad. I finally stopped at one of the rest stops in Wyoming and stuffed cotton balls in the dog's ears so they didn't go deaf too! They did seem to settle pretty well after that. :) So after about 10 hours of that beautiful music we pulled into the Clarion in Gillette Wyoming!! It was perfect, we listened to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on CD on the way out and it ended about 10 miles outside of Gillette. Couldn't have planned it better!

Upon checking in and returning to the car, I noticed that the cartop carrier was half smashed with stuff hanging out the back... YEESH! The wind is insane out there in the land of no trees. It must have just crushed it with the pressure. Luckily nothing fell out completely. We pitched the cursed thing in the dumpster right there in the parking lot. Silence at LAAAAAST!

Unpacking and settling in was in order. Tomorrow we go to Devil's Tower!

*To Be Continued*

NADAC Championships - Part the First

2007-12-13T11:40:00.000-05:00

Ahhh, so I finally get around to starting a damn blog about the trip this year! We left Maryland on September 14 to head out to the NADAC Championships in Wyoming. The first day's trip was just a short one to Maumee, Ohio just outside of Toledo. Mojo and Luxx make themselves right at home in the hotel room.

We set off before the sunrise for our second stop Saturday morning.

I saw a lot of this view, it's the backside of my friend Nelson's van.

...and here is the backside of my rental van. The kids make themselves right at home in the Sienna! I think we were at a rest stop in Wisconsin, but don't quote me on that!

We drove past these interesting rock formations in Wisconsin as well. Interesting place... LOL

Mojo snoozing in the back.

About this point in the trip, I developed this obsession with trying to photograph cop cars who had people pulled over on the side of the road. Boredom does FUNNY things to people you know! Here is my first attempt... not so good. I've pretty much delved into full on madness.
Madness?..... THIS.... IS......SPARTA!!!!!
FINALLY we reach our second night's destination, loverly downtown Worthington, Minnesota! Somehow, don't ask me why they put me in the "Suite" for less than Nelson paid for his regular crap room. LOL We had a lot of fun with this. Of course Mojo and Luxx had to test out everything in the place! First they tried the King-sized bed.

...then they tried the whirlpool tub

...and finally to the sofa in front of the OTHER television.
Needless to say, the 3 of us got a great night's sleep curled up in our nice secluded suite with French Doors cutting us off from the noise and the rest of the world. :) Which is good, because it's a LONG way from Worthington, Minnesota to Gillette, Wyoming!!!

*To Be Continued*