Go hup!

Waiting intently at the start line...

Jam in Novice B 24 inch class at the WCA Nationals

Attention

Jam's focused attention during our pre-agility warm-up at the WCA Nationals in May. You can see the pouring rain in the picture...that's rain, not spots on my pants. Another cool shot by Sara!

Perfect point!

Even on this super hot July day with sub-optimal scenting conditions, Jam found the quail and held this intense point and was steady through the blank shot and until I released her and heeled her away. She also had two nice backs (honored the other dog on point). Good girl!

WCWDC Obedience at WCA Nationals

Jam during her Novice B Obedience run at the WCWDC Obedience Trial during the WCA Nationals week in Gettysburg. Novice obedience exercises include heeling on and off lead with automatic sits, stand for exam, recall and groups sits and downs.

Jam in her show pose for the Stand for Exam. She has to stay standing while I walk 8 feet away, turn and face her, the judge then goes and touches her head, withers and rear and then tells the handler to return to your dog, where I then walk around her back to heel position. After the dog is told to stay, you are not allowed to give any verbal or hand signals. Jam got a perfect score for this exercise :)

Recall with great attention

All done with the individuals, now we wait for all the handlers to finish and the groups stays to begin. Pictures by Sara Renee.

Talk to me

Candid by Sara of Jam talking to me...impatiently waiting for her turn to play in the agility ring at the WCA Nationals in Gettysburg...the pouring rain didn't faze Jam nor Trixie!

Threadles and Wraps, oh my!

Threadles and wraps may sound foreign to you, maybe a gourmet sandwich? Well, these are agility terms and were the focus of the mini-agility seminar we attended yesterday at Mountain Freaks with Ali Roukas Canova. We've been going to these seminars on and off for the past 7 months and they are fantastic and have truly improved not only Jam, a Novice dog, and Trixie's performance, but more importantly, my handling. Each seminar has a specific focus and yesterday's was handling all kinds of jumps and jump sequences, many which are seen in Excellent/Masters level courses. I admit I was a bit, well maybe more than a bit intimidated by the complex course Ali asked us to walk prior to her breaking down into sections and teaching us how to handle each phase. With her expert instruction and plenty of time to work on each skill, I was thrilled that by the end of the three hours, both my girls tackled the course beautifully and I felt comfortable running it. We can't wait for the next one...who knows what sophisticated maneuvers Ali will challenge us with next!