Smart Girl!

There is one air-conditioning vent in the living room. One guess where it is??? Nice touch that she dragged her soft lamb toy over to rest her chin... Don't worry, the rest of us don't mind sweltering in the heat!

Carly and Denise

Everything in one place, toys, tugs, bones, and new mom Denise.

Carly's Leaving, from Syd's perspective-And Tigger, Too!

From Syd: You know, I can't lie (well, I can and I do, but in this case, I won't lie), I don't love my sisters. So tonight, half of my Master Plan will be successfully accomplished. My pesky baby sister Carly is going to move to her new house. Now I just have to find a way to send stupid Breezy away. I know mom would be mad cuz she says Breezy is the sugar and I'm the spice. Pahtooey, who needs sugar.

For anyone who likes my baby sister, her new moms have already got Carly blogging over here:
http://www.carlygirlsgig.blogspot.com/

I'm just glad I won't have to keep claiming all MY toys and wiping HER slobber off them. If I want it, it's mine. If I don't want it, you can't have it. It's a lot of work trying to make BOTH my sisters miserable.

Wuv, Syd
Peace-Out

Tigger Sez:

Oh, are you still here??? Someone let me know when she's gone, please...

AOM

Here's Syd with Miss Jacque, and the judge, Gayle Garvin, at the Three Trails specialty. Too bad Syd was still half-nekkid, but she still showed well, and I'm proud of her. :-)

No Talk-y, No Text-y

Oh dear, Syd. I know I said I need to take the phone in to have it looked at, but did you have to take it in your own hands today? Even another few weeks and I could simply "upgrade." sigh. All day with no talk, no text. I'm in withdrawl! Syd is going to have to do some extra work around the house to pay for the new phone. Sadly, because it's a PDA device, the insurance deductible is still pretty high.

Sydney and Specialties

Sydney only got to participate in conformation at the CWCCA specialty last week. She came in season early, so she had to cancel out of agility. She had to get a doctor's note and everything...

A few pix of Syd from the Sunday Three Trails CWC Club of KC specialty.

I think she was a bit over the whole show scene, especially the waiting around part. But then Miss Jacque showed up with a box of crackers to share, and that made it all better!

You may have read over at the Hurrikane Chronicles that Syd won an Award of Merit at the Sunday Three Trails specialty. I was very proud of her, especially knowing that she had a long week of travel and being away from home. I showed her twice last week, once in the Megan (where she made it to the cut of the final 5 in brindle bitches- THANK you Garrett and Joanne for the pre-show wine!), and once in BOB (where she didn't do nothin'). She behaved herself in the ring and did not stress about anything. Especially when another exhibitor, in a show of stellar sportsmanship, let her dog turn and look at Syd and bark at Syd's face the entire time we waited in line. The funny thing is that Syd didn't care a bit. The only thing I heard commented about afterwards from spectators was that the only attention drawn during that round of judging was to the exhibitor who didn't seem able to control her dog. The behavior definitely got attention from people, but not from me and not from Syd.

So, on to Sunday's Three Trails specialty... Since I had shown Sydney twice that week, and I was worried she was getting tired, I wanted to give her Sunday off and call it a GREAT week. I was vetoed by Syd's "other mother" and so I handed the leash off and went and watched my dog show. I know people love to show their own dogs, but I have to say that I love watching my dog show. Whether she's the best Cardigan out there or not, it always makes me smile to see her expressions change subtly, like the "working" expression after the down and back when you say "Let's Go!" and she starts to move it out. So, I watched Jacque show Syd expertly on Sunday, and the two of them worked hard and were rewarded with an Award of Merit.

BIGGG stretch to get warmed up!

Completely focused on Miss Jacque

Syd's Agility Trials, Continued

Syd was entered in two days of trials after her fun time at Wentzville a few weeks ago. Friday, in a cold and windy Iowa, her jumpers run was going well, but when we got to the weaves, I lost her attention, and she had a Reactive Moment. This arena uses the open , tubular steel cattle fencing. There is no visual barrier between the ring and the very crowded crating area, and the fencing is large enough for dogs to crawl through. Someone was walking down the narrow aisle next to the Jumpers ring with a GSD, and when I lost Syd's attention, she went over to the fence, stood back about 3 feet, and barked 5 or 6 times at the GSD. The judge whistled, and I was on my dog with a very insistent DOWN. Thankfully, Syd dropped instantly and responded very well, and I escorted her out of the ring. She was not overdone or having a panic attack, but this was definitely a worthwhile experience that showed me that Syd still has a stress reaction and we have to keep working hard.

Next up was the Standard course. Syd was amazing, and SOOO fast. She did not seem to remember her stress on the Jumpers course, and she paid no attention to anything outside of the ring. It was a SIT on the table, and Syd did get a nice giggle from the judge when her sit began with a "sit pretty" but thankfully turned into a regular sit. :-) We had only the chute and tire to go, and Syd just blatantly ran behind me and over to the teeter. She's had some trouble getting up speed on the teeter, so it gets great reward at practice. Perhaps she thought she should try it again during the trial! It was just too late, she was on the teeter before I could really figure out where she was headed, so an NQ. But I have no complaints, she ran with me, and she had fun and tried her best.

Fast forward to Sunday, and a town south of Kansas City... Kane and Syd were entered in just Jumpers (we have to get better about early entries for agility!). Kane, well, you might have read on the HurrikaneChronicles that Kane was 20 seconds over course time. Syd was on fire on that jumpers course, but she got ahead of herself and popped out of the weaves at the end. We wasted a lot of time at the weave poles. But she was a speed demon and almost literally got "Wound up" on the 5 through 8 pinwheel combination! The dirt was flying for the rest of the course. The jump from 11 to 12 (course map below) was a tight turn, and it turns out that Syd just doesn't have the experience yet to correct herself. She came flying, but got a foot caught in the jump and took the jump and herself down. I hate seeing the dogs land on their chest and chin, but thankfully Syd was up in an instant and back on the course. She finished a full 8.5 seconds under course time, and that includes the seconds we burned at the weaves! Syd got lots of applause at the trial, and people came up to me to tell me how great she ran, and what a neat dog she is. That really made me feel good, like Syd is on the right track, and we've come a long way in the last 18 months. I really can't explain how proud I am of my girl, and how glad I am that she's found her love in agility.

Here's the course map from the Carthage, MO Jumpers run, where Syd took a spill between 11 and 12, but otherwise ran an amazing run.

Good and Normal

huh? I know, not two words I usually associate with my little angel, Sydney. But, today she got lots of mail. Her agility height card came today so she'll be spared all the measuring at trials from now on. But more importantly, her OFA results came back for her hips and elbows. I'm quite happy and relieved to have the results of OFA Hips: Good, and OFA Elbows: Normal. Yay Syd!

Updated! First Trial, First Q!!!

I found someone with a camera to take our photo and email it to me. :-) Not very clear, but still a photo! And, course map at the end of the post for agility enthusiasts.

The dogs (all of them) and I left Kansas City with the snow right on our heels. Syd was entered in her first agility trial for jumpers and standard. We started out early this morning with jumpers. Believe it or not, syd qualified with 100 points and ZERO faults. I couldn't believe it. Of course I have no camera because I never expected syd to quify. Shoot, I just taught her weaves last week!!! We now officially love the 2x2 weave training!!! Now we wait forever for the standard run and if Syd takes the Aframe I will call this a wonderfully successful day.

News from the Standard Run. Almost 6 hours after our Jumpers run yesterday (and exactly 12 hours after we left the house that morning), Syd and I were on task for the Standard Run. I did say that if Syd performed the Aframe, I would be thrilled and call it a successful day. Well, it's a good thing I had it in writing to remind myself of what I considered success. :-P

We got to the Standard run, and I was concerned that Syd was tired and not quite so excited at the start line. She ran the first four obstacles beautifully, great speed, and she turned without me even directing her verbally, and she shot up and over the Aframe like a champion. Contacts at the bottom; a wildly successful attempt at an obstacle that's been a confidence issue for Syd.

After the Aframe was the table, and Syd ran over without her usual table-gusto, and hopped up on the table. When she lifted her head up and turned my way, I knew instantly by her expression that Syd was utterly and completely disconnected from me. She just stood on the table, not actively avoiding me, just locked in a far away gaze, in her own world. I tried to reconnect with her and get her to go to the next obstacle, but she seemed stuck. Somehow, she did get off the table, and she went and stood behind a tunnel. Very odd. So, I motioned to the judge to whistle us off, and that was that. It toook what seemed forever to get her to come to me and get off the course. I think about it over and over to try and figure out what happened. At this point, I think I have to chalk it up to a very green dog, a long day, and maybe even a bit of a shock to herself that she flew over the Aframe so fast! Who knows, but at the end of the day, Syd got great experience, a completely unanticipated first Jumpers leg, and she met lots of new friends who thought she was just as cute as can be on the course. And, as Cardigan Addie's mom Carrie said after I got Syd off the course in Standard, "Wow, she's got a lot of speed, doesn't she?" I think the fact that Syd finished the jumpers course at least three jumps ahead of me is an indication that she needs a faster handler!

Movin' On Up

Syd was a rock star at agility class tonight (at least in her own mind!). This was our last class of the current session. Tonight was the evaluation period to determine who stays in "Advanced Sequencing" and who moves up to the "Competition" class. The course was a bugger for green dogs, but it really did test our handling skills with plenty of opportunity for the novice dog and novice handler to go off-course. Rear and front crosses, calling the dog over the back of jumps, angled entrance to the weaves, etc. Lots of fun, and really enlightening to see how Syd interpreted my body language. The first run through, she went from jump 6 to the dog walk (16). I had too much forward motion, and forgot which dog I was running (Kane would never dare to be even 1/2 a step ahead of me)! One step too far forward, and Syd was off like a shot to the dogwalk. The next time through, I pulled her around much earlier, and she came right back over the correct jump. Good girl, Syd!

I'm thrilled to say that Sydney did fantastic, and our instructor asked me if Syd would like to move up to the Competition class. YAY! I can't believe this is the same dog I started training last year. :-) Oh, and here's the course, for agility nuts!