Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

L to R:  Pepper, Lucky Lucy, Maxie

Here's our very first doggie posed Christmas Card!  I sent it out to family in magnetic frames, and to the dog's teachers and friends in a big card.  Of course the question was "Where's Willow?"  All I can say is Willow doesn't do agility and didn't attend the trial where the photographer was.  I posed the dogs I had with me.

Christmas was fun.  Jonathan came into town, we gathered at Audrey's house Christmas night with all the usual peeps.  I made a double batch of Seafood Gumbo, Audrey made her Oyster Dressing and Sweet Potatoes, other people brought salads and desserts.  Yum!   Then Nathan, Jonathan, John and I all went to see Hobbit II 3D the next night (John's treat).  The dragon was the most awesome ever, but my assessment of the movie was . . . . .  too loud, too long, with too much dragon, and too many orks . . . . . and 28 minutes of previews).  They overdid everything.  I had to make earplugs with my napkin to survive the high decibels.  Movie theatres seem hell-bent on making the populous deaf.
 
New Year's Eve . . . after 15 straight years of partying around a bonfire in our yard, writing our resolutions on a cabbage leaf, and all jumping the fireline and walking the labyrinth at midnight, we didn't do anything this year.  The energy just wasn't right.  The lawnmower broke so we couldn't vacuum the leaves nor even see the grass labyrinth, John pulled his back and was (still is) moaning with acute pain, my knee prevents me from walking much, Schuyler had the flu, the kids all had young people plans, and Laura's sister, Julie, came to her house to get some rest (she's going to have a baby in 25 days or so and is exhausted). Besides which, it drizzled all day and evening in 45 degree weather. Everyone hunkered down at home.  We all talked on the phone, though.  Audrey and I made sure to be talking together at midnight, and I went outside with towels and wiped the wet dust off my car, with fireworks exploding everywhere, so numerous it sounded like a 3 hour air-raid! And fireworks are illegal in Baton Rouge!!!!!!!!

John and I sat on the front porch sipping hot chocolate, discussed our resolutions and pretty much agreed on a direction for our new year, health being a top priority, financial stability,  family & friends, of course. Following our passions, enjoying each and every day.  And then, of course, being useful,  minimizing stress, etc.

His passion is astronomy, mine is my home, my dogs, and recording audio books for Librivox. 2014 will be interesting for both of us because there's not enough time in the day to learn or do all we want to learn or do, and that's a very good place to be.

Today was the LSU/IOWA game at noon (we won), and Laura made it over for cabbage and black eye peas!  I'll build a fire tonight in my newly repaired fireplace, and we'll look for a new series to watch on Netflix while we recover from our injuries.

My best wishes to everyone out there, and I'll now share my favorite recent fortune cookie wisdom with you: 

"Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out."

Upwards and onward!

Port Allen Agility Trial

Maxie, 6 runs,  3 Q's, 2 1st places, 1 2nd place, 54 MACH points, 6 videos
Lucky Lucy, 6 runs, 0 Q's, 6 videos



L to R:  Pepper, Lucky Lucy, Maxie

Well, I got what I asked for at this trial,  a few Q's.   And a surprise bonus -- some wonderful doggie portraits!

Maxie Q'd all 3 of his Standard runs and NQ'd all 3 of his Jumpers runs!  No QQ's for us this weekend. Oddly, all of his Jumpers runs were 1-3 seconds over course time - that's very odd, because on all of his Standard runs he made good time, 17, 16, and 21 MACH points with 2 1st places and 1 2nd place.  He mostly walked his weaves, though, and back-jumped 1 jump because I mis-cued him.  I held my own, not ever getting lost on course, but he's not yet back to his old self.  Will he ever be? After his last run we visited the on-site chiropractor who popped several vertebrae back into place and I heard a big crack which she said was popping his sternum back into place.  OUCH!  But she did NOT confirm the vet's assessment that he has any compressed disks!

Lucky NQ'd all 6 runs, and never once made course time.  She ran clean twice, but made lots of errors between the other 4 runs.  There were pretty parts to each run, though, and she never once stopped on top of the A-frame to survey the arena and never missed a contact!  I have got to get her into some open-air trials and under-roof matches where she will run fast.  I'm convinced she just hates under-roof agility.  Where are the matches?

Pepper was a superb crate mate the whole weekend, walking on a loose leash, not barking or whining when Maxie left the crate, hardly ever bolting out of the crate, and not even trying to lift his leg on arena posts and other dog's crates as at previous trials.  He is maturing very nicely, encouraging me to begin training him more than casually.

The best thing that happened at this trial is some new photographers that were taking group shots in front of a green screen, then letting you select your background.  First time I've had any of my dogs sit for a professional photograph.  I bought the CD @ $50  (only because they took about 30 pics and gave permission for me to use them any way I want).  I will have lots of fun learning how to extract the photos from the green background and add in my own.  Above is one of many shots taken.  I will be mining this field for individual portraits, for of course trying to pose three dogs at once is difficult, and there are often shots with one dog that looks great while the other two are looking away, etc.  What fun!

Another good thing, my son and his wife Allison, stopped by Friday noon and got to see Maxie's first run, a fast and solid Q.  Here we are at my crate space, with Pepper probing Nathan's ear with his ant-eater tongue.

Another thing, we learned that the Port Allen arena has a wireless mike system, and Wi-Fi, and will make these available to us for future trials.  I don't have to bring our equipment anymore to call the FAST points.  I can stream Librivox files between runs and relax.  I also got tutored a bit by our Trial Secretary on how the runs are scored and score sheets printed out.

Maybe the best thing of all is that John, using up 3 days of his vacation, worked his tail off the whole 4 days, beginning by supervising the new professional movers in loading and offloading of the trailer on Thursday afternoon then helping Nedra and me set up tables and hang signage around the arena, then showing up at the arena by 6:30 every morning, being in the ring at every course change all three days, filling and tamping holes (which a dozen or more competitors thanked him for profusely, or came up to me and praised him to the skies) and being the last to leave every night helping the arena guy with the injured hand water down the dirt, and organizing the equipment for pickup Sunday after the trial was over.  It felt great for me and our dogs to have him near and feel so well supported.  He was my hero.

Unfortunately, our Ring Steward decided to "economize" on volunteer concessions tickets this year, consequently she gave John only 5 $1  tickets per day, not counting Thursday!  Just enough for one small hamburger and fries per day.  As a result, not for the lack of food (because we brought or bought our own) but for the principle demonstrated, we are both less inclined to bust our butts in future.

Upwards and onward!

 

Maxie's Bronze Titles

Maxie indulging Mommy in yet another photo session,
this one to commemorate his BRONZE AGILITY TITLES.

Q = Qualifying Score (no mistakes)
Bronze Title = 25 Q's in either Standard or Jumpers
QQ = two Q's in one day, both Standard and Jumpers courses
MACH (Master Agility CHampion) = 20 QQ's

Maxie's Bronze Lifetime Achievement AKC titles in Standard (MXB) and Jumpers (MJB) both came in this past week and are a very welcome acknowledgement along our way towards MACH.  Interestingly, he got his 25th Q in both Standard and Jumpers in New Iberia this past February 15 and 16, just one day apart. That tells me he is equally skilled in both venues.

These awards are so new to AKC, it never crossed my mind until the certificates came in to pick up ribbons for those titles. I won't be able to get them from the hosting club until next year's trial.  Lacking the rosettes, I decided to take a commemorative picture today, of him amongst our beautiful azeleas, and I couldn't resist sharing one or two of him with our other Paps as well.

Maxie and Pepper doing their "cross your paws" trick.

Maxie acquired his Master's titles (10 Q's) in both Standard and Jumpers almost 18 months ago (my, how time files) and we've been inching up the laddar towards MACH since then, with only 12 QQ's under our belt so far and a long ways to go to Championship.  I'm finding out, it can be long way from a Masters title (10 Q's), to MACH (20 QQ's).  He's had a reasonable 50% Q rate, but rarely 2 clean runs in one day, and doing only about 10 trials a year, it could take a good while longer.

I have reason to hope we can quicken the pace now, as his NQ's (non-qualifying scores) are almost always due to one single fault per run.   I see no scientific or psychological reason why there should be one fault every 19 or 20 obstacles?  In fact, it's absurd for Maxie and me not to Q almost every time!  Yes, yes, that's right, we shall simply quit making errors!!

Master Bronze (25 Q's) in either Standard or Jumpers is, of course, more achievable than MACH.  For slower dogs like Lucky Lucy, who rarely Q's in the fast paced Jumpers courses due to exceeding course time, Bronze and Silver Standard titles may be the only advanced titles she ever earns.  For her to MACH could take years (unless I can speed her up).  So I must say that even though they don't carry the same prestige as MACH, I appreciate the interim Bronze titles.  They give teams some acknowledgement for their hard work, and goals to strive for that can keep us reaching for the gold ring.



L to R:  Willow, Maxie, Pepper
Willow wants no part of those crossed paws.

Upwards and onward,

Krew Of Mutts Parade

Maxie, Pepper and I had a blast at the Krew of Mutts Parade yesterday. This event is put on annually by the local Capital Area Animal Welfare Society, which rescues and raises funds for their low cost/free spay/neuter program.  It was this event 2 years ago which originally prompted me to develop a booth presence for my dog club, LCCOC, so we could let the public know about the dog training opportunities we offer. Here's how it looks so far:


Maxie left and Pepper right, in my arms, our booth behind us.

I had spent the last 4 days painting our LCCOC logo on all 4 sides of our canopy, and was very pleased with how it looked.  The cost of silk-screening would have been prohibitive, not to mention I couldn't find a printer who would do it, so I did it myself for about $5 using 3 coats of fabric paint. We were one of the only booths with an overhead logo, plus we had so many volunteers, we had to set up an additional canopy to shade all their dog crates!

I only brought the two paps, leaving Lucky, Willow and FoohFooh at home. We were gone all day, but Nathan came by and let them out mid-day so that worked out well.

My plan was to have all the volunteers and their dogs walk together in the parade, a sea of blue shirts, with someone pulling my wagon full of beads, throws and literature, while the other volunteers passed out stuff, with Maxie and Pepper riding in the caboose and me close behind them.  I only saw one other Papillon all day, so my two drew lots of attention in their crate, walking around on leash, but especially in the wagon.

But first, Pepper had never ridden in the caboose so I had to do a bit of on-the-spot training.  He looked so adorable misbehaving with his front paws hooked over the edge that numerous passers-by wanted to snap pictures of that, but he quickly learned that he only got treats from Mamma when he sat with both front feet tucked in.  I myself had to resist the urge to reward him for cuteness alone, but the next step would be his jumping out.  Here I am testing his resolve while I reach for more treats.  He is getting much better at impulse control.

Unfortunately, it was unclear when the parade started or where, so we ended up with everyone scattered. Not how I pictured it.  I ended up pulling the wagon alone with my dogs unattended in the back, and no hands for throwing beads or time to pass out brochures. Both sat perfectly throughout the parade, though, demonstrating perfect obedience, and many people made me stop so they could take pictures of the darling pair.  Are they not ADORABLE???? I think Paps look better in pairs.

Pepper left, Maxie right, riding in the caboose.
wearing their Mardi Gras collars and posing for photos.

Only problems I had were the kids demanding I "throw them something" and me with no free hands or time due to the young man behind me who had a large mixed breed shephard dog on a 6 foot leash.  The dog had a long "better to eat you with" snout and kept sticking it in my dogs' faces which of course made me (and them) nervous.  No matter how many times I went back and asked him to keep his dog at a 3 foot distance, he just could not reign his dog in.  No control. No spatial awareness.  Probably no training whatsoever.  If his dog pulled, he moved forward.  He assured me his dog didn't bite, was just being friendly but I didn't care. I eventually managed to put some distance between us, but it was like trying to shake a pesky driver on the highway that insists on riding your bumper whether you speed up or slow down.

That said, nothing bad happened.  In fact, I am amazed every year how hundreds of strange dogs can gather at the event, held on loose leashes by untrained owners, and there aren't many, if any, incidents.

We all came home totally pooped, they conked out, and I began running a fever and coughing my head off.  Today I went to the doctor, got a chest X-ray, and was diagnosed with pheumonia!  No wonder I've been dragging.  Got a shot, antibiotics, and an inhaler and if I don't improve within 48 hours they are putting me in the hospital.

It is also my son's 41st birthday.  My how time flies when you're having fun!

Upwards and onward!

My First Cortisone Shot - for Hip Bursitis

Willow hovers over me and seems more alert and
affectionate since I've been hurting.  Her personality
is noticably different.

I got my first cortisone shot last Monday, after suffering another bout of debilitating hip pain that sent me to the doctor for hip X-rays.  This after a 4 month healing period where I didn't train or trial due to hip pain and an inability to run.  I feared the worst, that my hip joints were deteriorating, but NO, my hip bones appear to be fine.  It's just another bout of Hip Bursitis, this one brought about by repetitive motion picking up sticks and raking twigs for days on end after Hurricane Isaac.  My recent blog post about my new mantra - "Llittle And Often Makes Much", took on a new twist.  While the yard got cleaner, my hip pain got much much worse!

It's been 5 days since the shot, I still have soreness in the hip, I still wouldn't dare run, but I can walk around without pain.  (It's most painful when I first get out of bed or chair, but loosens up after a few minutes.) Doc says I should be able to train and run after a week, and by next week should be able to run my dogs in our Port Allen Agility Trial.  Today I reviewed my blog post from last year on Bursitis and am digging out the Ultrasound Machine to add to my ice pack regimen.



Maxie lies around and waits for Mommie to get better.

Meanwhile, I've hired a young Iraqui War Vet on disability to finish my yard work, in little drips and drabs when he's available, and I'm taking it easy in my TV chair.  Thank God for commercial-free Netflix. Also managed to take a great photo each of Willow, Maxie, and Pepper, gather and fill all the hummingbird feeders, reorganize my pantry and deep freeze, and gather all my darning around me (repairing the dog's stuffed toys, torn pockets, broken zippers, etc). Also got to participate in the 4th Agility Blog Action Day yesterday, which took a whole day. Slow down time can still be productive.



Pepper at 11 months, locked and loaded,
always ready to play.  Those ear feathers
are still coming in.

Took Maxie and Lucky to class last Tuesday, and though I didn't run them, I got a few agility classmates who say they're willing to run my dogs.  And proved again Lucky will run for anyone carrying her ball, Maxie will run for anyone carrying his gizzard treats.  (Why do so many handlers say their dogs won't run for anyone else, or that they can't run anyone else's dogs?????) In fact, both ran like the wind for Sandy, who is younger and runs faster than I do, and handles pretty much like I do.  It was a joy to watch my dogs fly!  A joy to have her declare that my dogs are fast and fun to run. 

Sadly, they aren't nearly so fast for me.  I slow them down.  Need to address that issue one day soon.  I still need a running coach.  And my instructor says I sound angry when calling out obstacles.  Do I?  I'm certainly not angry in the least, but do I need to sound more cheerful?  I've got to look into that. 

Always more to do. Always room for improvement. Never enough time.

Upwards and onward!

Maxie's 1st Visit To A Dog Groomer

For our upcoming Christmas visit to Mom and Dad's (in Florida), and anticipating frequent pet therapy visits to Dad's rehab, I decided after 4.5 years of "doing it myself" to take the plunge and have Maxie professionally groomed.  A papillon friend highly recommended her groomer in Watson. I made the appointment over the phone for 10 a.m. yesterday, and was looking forward to it. It was NOT a good experience!

First off, I think a groomer should put you at ease, and having run a day care for nearly 30 years with hundreds of parents leaving their babies and preschoolers off with me, I know what that takes. Groomers should also have some showmanship, some pinache! I was so ill at ease leaving Maxie off with these particular strangers for 3 hours, I nearly threw up.
I've never left Maxie in a strange place with anyone -- ever.  Second, it was way down at the end of a lonely road in Watson, in a ramshackle house with a front yard/porch that reminded me of Sanford & Son.  Inside was old but clean.  The owner wasn't mean but just busy thus perfunctory, her hair was died purple, her daughter's hair was red and fluorescent pink. Next, they never checked the shot records they had asked me to bring, until I offered them the paperwork.  Next, they made no suggestions, just asked me to explain what I wanted, and especially what I didn't want (no shaved anus, bobbed tail, or trimmed ear feathers).  I, being a novice who doesn't know how papillons are supposed to look, was hoping they would examine Maxie and offer suggestions. NOT.  At one point the electricity went out.  Not a good omen.  Then, they said "We'll call you when we're done, maybe around 3.  OH NO, I REPLIED.  YOU TOLD ME AROUND 3 HOURS, AND I'VE ALREADY MADE AN APPOINTMENT TO TAKE MY CAR IN WHEN  I'M DONE HERE.  So the owner offered to "push my dog ahead of 12 others" -- an almost sure way to get a rush job!  I didn't like that.  After I snapped a few "before" photos, they grabbed Maxie out of my arms and disappeared into a back room, and just like that he was gone.  And their last words to me were "the more often you call, the longer it will take us to finish."  In other words, go away and don't bother us.

I drove off heavyhearted and trepidacious, worried about the power, the back room, etc. I called within minutes to check on the power.  Yes, it was on.  I called 10 minutes later because I forgot to mention how I wanted his belly shaved.  Okay, will do.  I argued with myself that I should trust my friend who brought her Papillon there regularly and recommended these people as "excellent".  I decided to call her for assurances, saying to myself that if she answered that would be an omen to leave him there.  (In all the time I've known her she has never once answered her phone.)  She answered.  I tried to talk but words barely came out, then I began to cry.  She talked me through a bawling jag with just enough assurances that I went ahead and left him there.

Nowhere near home, my plan was to go to Wal-Mart in Denham and finish my Christmas shopping.  I walked the aisles for 2.5 hours, with puffy eyes, an upset stomach, and dazed.  When they called I checked out immediately and rushed back.  Maxie leaped into my arms and curled up so close under my chin, when they asked "Do you like it?", I couldn't see his cut at all.  Paid my $40 and left.  Didn't care if he was bald or butchered so long as he was alive and well and back in my possession.  He was still damp, and very nervous.  But he smelled good.  They hadn't pottied him so I took him outside where he peed on his freshly washed paw.  He wasn't himself.

Once home I dared take a look and took some After pictures.  He looked freshly washed.  Yes they trimmed his nails a bit, bathed, conditioned and blow dried him mostly dry.  They trimmed his feet, but not in the rabbit foot cut Papillons are supposed to have, just a round cut.  They shaved his belly but didn't taper the chest hair like I do, so he still can pee on it.  They bobbed his arm feathers in a "straight cut", didn't bother feathering the bob so it looks chopped off, unnatural, and it's still so long he can pee on the bottom hairs.  I have to reshape and feather these.  They did not trim his tail or culottes, which still needed shaping.  They did nothing to solve the whispy hair problem on his back and chest which makes him look frumpy these days.  The anus trim is fine.  The runny eye stain I sent him in with was still there, telling me they didn't bother to wash his face.  In short, he looks about the same as after I wash and fluff him.

Very disappointing, not what I'd call a professional job, not what I was looking for.  I do as good or a better job at home.  It's about the same way I feel when I get my own hair styled.  I ask for a shape and trim and get a whack job I hate.  I ask for a "body wave" and get a pile of frizz that has to grow out for a year.  That's why I just wear my hair straight and cut it myself.  I guess it will be the same for my dogs -- no more groomers for us. Certainly not these ones.  Dog groomers should consider the trauma parents feel leaving their dogs with strangers, and work harder to gain their confidence.

L to R: Laura, John, Nathan, Portia,
Allison, Alex, Audrey. I, of course,
am taking the picture.

5 hours later, my heart still palpitating, face still puffy, I had to prepare for our family Christmas Dinner at Red Lobster, (my treat in lieu of my usual Christmas and New Years parties as I'll be out of town).  I was dragging, feeling stressed.  Once there, we feasted, enjoyed ourselves, swapped gifts, etc.  My son gave John and me a Kindle, there were gift cards, LSU gear, and tasty treats.

Shark Pet Vac

I handed out books, outdoor thermometers, and Shark Pet Vacs (in preparation for the new baby coming to our family), which are awesome for cleaning pet hair off of upholstery (far superior to the Dirt Devil which in my opinion is worthless).  I told my dog groomer story, which got some laughs, and others shared similar experiences about the emotional trauma of boarding their pets.  It makes me ponder . . . . . if I could set so many children's parents at ease leaving them with me 5 days a week, surely I could do as well with dog owners.  What are the ramifications of running a boarding house/school for dogs? I haven't the slightest idea, though I have boarded a few friend's pets and I enjoy the spare cash plus giving them the royal treatment.  John enjoys it too. 

Humm . . . . . my latest fortune cookie says "a new business venture is coming your way" . . . . . and this is an intriguing idea.  We have the room.  Yet the very thought of going into a full scale business again, managing staff, licensing, zoning, inspections, filing quarterly taxes, etc., makes me tired.  I ain't as ambitious as I used to be, nor as young, nor as hungry.

Upwards and onward!

Lake Charles Agility Trial - 2011 CKC

Maxie - 6 runs, 3 Q's (1 XJ, 2 XS), 2 1st places, 1 2nd place, 37 MACH points, 5 videos posted
Lucky Lucy - 6 runs, 1 Q (XJ),  6 videos posted

MAXIE:
Well, no QQ's for Maxie this weekend (he Q'd once per day), though I have to say I was running faster and surer, and we were mostly just 1 mistake from Q'ing on each NQ run.  He ran fast and focused, always exceeded course time by 6-22 seconds) and I know for sure now there's a MACH dog in there.  We met our goal of adding at least 35 MACH points to our tally at this trial, but didn't get that 6th QQ we were hoping for. Mistakes were as follows:

• XS Fri - no video, but he was under course time by 17 seconds, with only 1 fault, probably popped out of the weaves as I can't remember any other fault.
• XJ Sat - knocked the first bar - he hasn't knocked a bar in over a year, but I positioned him, then repositioned him at the start.  I've never done that before, so I must have broken his concentration, or else the bar was barely on there (which happens).  Then he popped out of the 10th weave, still under course time by 7 seconds.
• XS Sun - Skipped the 3rd weave. Otherwise a clean run with 10 seconds to spare, but the video shows his time could have been improved by at least 5 seconds with fewer wide turns.

SUMMARY: With Maxie's fast, reliable weaves at home, I can't figure out what to do about his less reliable weave performance at trials. Am I doing something different, like holding my breath, babysitting him, watching too hard?  As to the wide turns, we will practice more front crosses, which I tend not to do to spare my ankles, stronger pulls, and collection drills.

Lucky on the start line, intently watching a fly.

LUCKY LUCY:
Lucky's runs went like this:  "Look a fly, try to catch it".  Flies in the stands, flies at the start line, flies in the ring.  OMG, flies everywhere, and Lucky the only dog I saw constantly lunging at them!  She must have captured and swallowed 3 dozen flies.  I couldn't always get her attention on the start line, nor in the que waving her tug toy in her face, or offering her peeled shrimp, and she HAS NEVER REFUSED THOSE before.  I once had to collar grab her at the start line and push her forward to the first jump, after which she proceeded along.  It must be programmed hard into her DNA to be a fly catcher!  Major distraction work is needed here.

• XS Fri = clean run, but exceeded course time by 4.93 seconds.
• XJ Fri - trotted around 3 jumps in a row, tracking flies, about the 15th obstacle decided to run and finished fast.
• XJ Sat - Q, clean run, under course time by 1 second.
• XS Sat - clean run, but exceeded course time by 9 seconds.
• XS Sun - no faults until second to last obstacle, she leaped over the down contact on the A-frame.  Broke my heart because I failed to say "halt", tho I was pointing down.  Exceeded course time by .62 seconds anyway.
• XJ Sun - clean run, but exceeded course time by 6 seconds.

SUMMARY: Lucky's problem continues to be lack of speed in the ring.  She is mostly accurate. Outside the ring, or in practice when I'm carrying her tug toy, she runs like the wind.  We'll be going to lots of matches next year.  We'll also practice on focus, learning to ignore flies and other distractions.  I also need to discover just how to "transfer value" (which Susan Garrett assures me can happen) from her favorite toys, tugging and fetching, and just plain running for joy, to agility.

THE WEEKEND:
Apparently I wasn't the only one whose entry got screwed up (last post).  Various CKC members proclaimed the situation "intolerable", "unacceptable", etc.  On Sunday they couldn't provide Q'ing ribbons, either, because they were left out on the scoring table and had gotten wet in the driving rain.  They offered to mail them out to us, which got a few serious competitors PO'd.  The trial secretary is going to catch some flack.  But my question is . . . . . has the club bothered to train her to take over when their usual trial secretary became unavailable?????  Here's a perfect example of my oft repeated concern -- clubs ought to be mentoring members for every job.  Never know when some key person will leave in a huff, move, die, have an emergency, etc.  Part of belonging to any club is being in a sharing environment.  One gets to learn things free of charge, or far, far cheaper than taking private lessons or paying school tuition.  Clubs are a natural outgrowth of people wanting to share what they know, meet and do things with others who enjoy common interests.  Sailing clubs, sewing circles, reading and/or writing groups -- all great social inventions that only work well with enthusiastic sharing, teaching, mentoring.

Audrey drove over from Baton Rouge on Saturday, stayed from 10:30 to 3:30, and it was real nice having a family member/best friend around. She brought me some of her famous sweet potato casserole, helped me manage the dogs and gave encouragement, but unfortunately she only saw the last 2 runs, neither of them Q's.

Saturday's Horrific Storm:  The weather was typical Gulf Coast once again -- cold, wet, and windy.  On Saturday about 4 p.m., in blew a horrible storm. The sky turned black, with north winds whipping thru at hurricane force, with trees bent over and heavy rain going sideways.  The dogs and I were tucked into the camper, and within 30 minutes of Audrey leaving the awning envelope was flapping and banging hard and relentlessly against the roof, the canvas walls were bowing in about 15".  Afraid my camper was going to blow over or the telescoping uprights that hold up the roof would snap, I made a command decision that it was better to be wet than crushed or broken, so I cleared the middle area, unzipped the clear vinyl window coverings on either side, draped them down over the couch cushions, and let the wind and rain blow right thru the camper.  I also unzipped the side windows a crack to let some air thru. This relieved enough pressure on the canvas walls, and they held.  We all sat out of the way, dry, on one bed, with all our belongings stacked on the other bed, for about 40 minutes, watching the water pour off the vinyl onto the floor.  Afterwards, I dried everything off with a beach towel, then swept about an inch of water out the door.  I don't know if Fleetwood designed this intentionally, but it was neat that the side windows had a rain flap, and the main window vinyl unfurls down when unzipped so it covered the couch cushions, which stayed mostly dry.  No damage was done, and the floor needed a good mopping anyway!

RV'ers Social: By 5:30, still raining on and off, about 30 RV'ers filtered into the concessions area of the arena and outdid themselves with a huge spread of food.  Each brought a dish, from home-made boar sausage, to shrimp scampi, rasberry salad, merlerton pie, and lots of desserts.  Judge Gerald Marotta attended. The boudin balls I brought from the King's Truck Plaze in Iowa were appreciated.  Tall agility tales were flying around, laughter abounded, I got acquainted with a few more folks.  Very colorful folks. So much talk, I didn't get to tell my harrowing tale about surviving the storm.

My new video camera rocks.  I was able to get vivid pictures, clear videos, and I can't wait to post a composite of all the closeup videos I took of Time2Beat dogs going thru the weaves. I hope to do that later this week, but with our mailbox down, a friend's funeral, weeding and decorating for Christmas needing doing, and this new laptop I'm still getting used to, it may be awhile.

My new laptop ROCKS! I was able to watch HD quality DVD movies Friday and Saturday night while tucked in the camper. Saw the first 2 seasons of Dallas!  Picture quality was great!  The built in speakers are adequate. I can import videos from my camera using Windows Live Photo Gallery, bypassing Sony's Picture Motion Browser, which I despise. 

RAFFLE: I managed to win 2 raffle items again. Paid $10 for 12 tickets, same as usual, and I'm guessing I came home with over $100 worth of loot.  What fun!

1. 

   

   Huge basket was full of LSU paraphranalia,
   including a few more items not shown.

   First, a huge basket full of LSU paraphranalia. I only put 2 tickets in the LSU drawing bag, and only because I liked the blue basket (matches my kitchen decor) for picking garden vegetables, and because Audrey called my attention to the potential Christmas gifts I could give my LSU-loving friends. I find it odd that I start liking football only 2 weeks ago, and the Universe immediately presents me with a huge LSU Flag, mug, dog collar, bracelet, blanket, back scratcher, piggy bank, LSU dog sweater that fits Willow perfectly, and other assorted LSU paraphranalia. That's how it works when one opens doors, (according to various scriptures, as well as my own pagan experience).
2. 
   I also scored 4 christmas hot chocolate mugs we'll surely use, with a Christmas vinyl tablecloth and rawhide chew wreath.  

I was actually not the last person to leave the campgrounds this time. Having figured how to shave off about 45 minutes and several buckets of sweat to camper set-up and take-down. Mostly, I store the shelving boards out on the floor instead of tucking them under the mattresses, I store the awning poles outside under the tongue end rather than the back end of the trailer (saving many steps), and I don't put out any decorative items. Also, by parking the camper with the door facing north, the sun hits the south side of the camper and gives afternoon shade where the table is -- so I don't need to put up the awning for shade purposes (in winter) -- a huge time savings.

Interstate Nightmare: The drive home was strange and stressful!  I left Lake Charkes at 2:30 Sunday with half a tank of gas, expecting a 2.5 hour, 140 mile drive, and didn't get home til 5 hours later, 7:30, because traffic on the interstate came to an idling standstill for 2.5 hours.  There was no news on the radio, so I called John and he couldn't find anything either.  I was watching my gas needle go down and had no idea where I was or where the nearest gas station was, so I eventually called 911 with my mile marker, and she said the Tiger Truck Stop was 2 miles ahead.  I reached it about 20 minutes later with less than half-a-gallon left in my tank - 9 miles worth.  It took another 15 minutes to pull up to the pump because the place was jam packed with people pulling off for gas, bathroom, food, and nobody was directing traffic.  The clerk said they had to call in another gas truck.  Oh, did I mention it was cold, windy, and drizzling? We found out that a cucumber truck had overturned at the Gross Tete exit at 10 a.m. and they expected it to take until 8 p.m. to get the interstate cleared.  I managed to park us in a safe spot, pottie the dogs in a grassy area, and prepared to stay put several hours if necessary.  About 6, though, I could see traffic moving on the overpass, got going, and made it home slowly but without further incident.  We had gas, plus a dry spot, food, water, money, my cell phone, nearby bathrooms, and each other, so I was calm.  The dogs mostly slept thru it all.

I always have done pretty well in a crisis.  I get practical. It was real funny watching numerous men jump out of their idling cars on the interstate, run across 40 yards of ditch, in the dark, to the woods, to pee.  Don't know what I would have done if I had had to pee. Certainly not cross a dark ditch! Probably just maneuver to the left lane, open both car doors on the drivers side, hold up a towel or sweater between them, squat, and pee on the road.

Motor Home Fever:  Of course, all those hours on the interstate and I'm thinking how I have to set the camper up to dry out the next day and what a pain that will be.   And all that while, in the next lane over, I'm idling alongside this beautiful BTCruizer motor home.  It looked small, about 24', with only 1 slideout, and seemed to be saying "Check me out! I'm perfect for you."  I called John and had him Google it, he printed out several sheets, and I Googled it the next day but we couldn't find one smaller than 27' with less than 2 slideouts or under $40,000.  I'm sure this one was shorter.  I'm now following a few E-bay bids.  Yes, okay, hell yes, I still want a motor home.  I can't see me setting up this camper when I'm 70, but I intend to do agility til I'm at least 75.  I want to stay packed and ready.

"The right motor home, at the right price, is on its way to me."

This basket is 15" across,
these grapefruits are 4" across,
a lot bigger than they look in this photo.

Monday evening John heard it was supposed to freeze overnight, so we picked about half the grapefruits (40) off our tree.  My new blue basket came in real handy!  John will take some to work, I'll take some to class and some to neighbors, and we'll be eating a grapefruit a day all thru December.  Mostly, I peel them like an orange, divide into segments, then peel back the thin bitter membrane on either side of each segment to get to the juicy pulp. Monday night got out the electric juicer and tried guessing how much juice was in one of the large ones, John saying 6 oz and me saying 5 oz.  He won.  Mixed half-n-half with Sprite, it makes a sweet dinner drink. Yum, yum!

LESSONS LEARNED:

• Always gas up on the way there AND on the way back to any trial.  You never know when you'll get stuck idling on the interstate for half-a-tank's worth of going nowhere.
• Pee before you leave, and every time you stop.
• Have your car stocked with food and drink.
• Don't bring the camper to Lake Charles ever again!  As someone said last year, you can always count on it being "cold, wet and windy in Lake Charles" in November.
• Camping experience matters.
• Backup Accommodations: The LaQuinta Inn in Sulphur had my reservation, and allowed me to cancel by 6 p.m. on arrival day.  The cost was about $50/night. Red Roof Inn offered some kind of 24 hour special that was about the same price.
• Practice positioning and re-positioning my dogs at the start line. 

Now, with the weather cold and me staying in, I'm on to fooling with the 1st trial videos taken with my new camera.  I'm thinking of putting all of Maxie's videos together into 1 video per trial, with my audio commentary.  Same with Lucky.  Maybe a slow motion evaluation of good and bad points. We'll see how long it takes me to learn how to do that.

Upwards and onward!

Canine Good Citizen Test thru AKC

Jo Beth Britt (Evaluator), Lucky and me.
She congratulates me for passing the test.

Lucky and I passed our Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Test two Saturdays back, plus our TDI (Therapy Dog International), which adds another component to the test.  Several of our club members' dogs were being tested, I videoed them all with permission using my brand new HD camera, and used a trial version of AVS Video Editor to edit the best one below (of Blair and Torren) to illustrate the disciplines tested for:

1. Accepting a friendly stranger
2. Sitting politely for petting (including the paw touch)
3. Appearance and grooming (including brushing)
   (These 1st 3 are combined in what looks like one exercise.)
4. Out for a walk on a loose leash (left turn, right turn, about face)
5. Walk thru a noisy crowd
6. Sit and down on command/Stay in place
7. Come when called
8. Reaction to another dog test (should be no reaction)
9. Reaction to distraction (loud noise and jogger going by)
10. Leave it (TDI only)
11. Supervised separation from handler (3 minutes)

It was nice weather, cool. windy and sometimes noisy at the Blue Cross/Blue Shield parking lot.  Not everyone passed.  It's a wee bit more difficult than it looks.  Lucky and I had a few bobbles, like her collar being too tight, her trying to visit with the other dog in "Reaction to another dog", and veering toward the food bowl on the first pass, but I got blamed for those, not her. I had over-tightened her collar for the test, I forgot to say "Sit" as we approached the other dog, and passed within 2' of the bowl instead of 3'. We nailed it the 2nd try. 

A few additional points:

• Dogs need to be clean, nails clipped, well groomed.
• Handler is also being evaluated. Should be neat and clean, calm and pleasant, attentive to and obey the judge immediately, no smart talk, harsh talk or goofy behavior.
• No treats allowed during testing.
• You can talk to your dog all you want.
• You can touch/pet your dog.
• No corrections such as snapping the leash, saying "NO" or AAAH, or anything like that. Certainly no whacking, bopping, or yelling.
• Loose leash at all times.
• Dog should be paying attention to you, following you.
• No jumping up on people, even in greeting.
• No visiting with other dogs.
• Evaluator observes dog's behavior the entire time they are on premises, not just when they are being tested.  Lunging, growling, fighting, whining, jumping up on people, being highly distracted at any time can disqualify them.
• Dog's collar should be loose enough for a collar grab (2 finger space at least).
• The title covers both dog and handler, and if a different handler wants to take a CGC certified dog to pet therapy venues, a separate title must be earned.

CGC can be added to the dog's official AKC name along with their other AKC titles, so Lucky's official name now is:

LUCKY LUCY LU-LU VON FRY, AX, AXJ, CGC

Nothing is added to the handler's name.  I'm still just Michele T. Fry, NP

Our club provides 6 weeks of "training to the test" prior to the judge arriving, and while it isn't required, the class really helps.  One learns a bunch of tricks to help your dog pass.  Lucky, for example, often growls if you touch her paws.  But she will shake with anyone.  Tracey coached me to say "Shake" at the same moment the judge was about to take her paw.  It worked.  Forewarned, she didn't growl.

The class was open to the public, $25, all of which applies to the cost of the test if you take it, plus an $8 processing fee to AKC to be sent in with the paperwork.

THOUGHTS:  I may never do Pet Therapy with Lucky, but I want her to have the title and know the drill.  She and Maxie are both comfortable in crowds, and both have a very good "leave it" when I set food on the coffee table -- unlike my older dogs FoohFooh and Willow who rush at oncoming dogs on our walks, can't resist any available food, and make pests of themselves with begging.  A few sessions of early obedience training has made all the difference with my younger dogs.  They are beneficiaries of going to school and my improved dog training skills.

Upwards and onward!

P.S. Maxie earned his CGC/TDI back in 2009 and has made quite a few Pet Therapy visits. Willow, who could NEVER pass the test because she won't sit/stay or walk on a loose leash, accompanies us and is a wonderful Pet Therapy dog as well. Everyone loves her, she is soft, pettable, and friendly, and our club's Pet Therapy program allows non-certified dogs to participate.  So why did I bother getting Lucky certified?  Because it's good training, very cheap, so why not get a certificate along with it!

Weave Pole Performance

Studying the still shots taken by professional photographer Michael Loftis from last weekend's trial in Kiln, MS, I've discovered that many dogs have inconsistent stride thru the weaves.  Since the poles are all spaced at 24", you would think over time an experienced dog would establish a stride and maintain it.  But the photos indicate otherwise. 

Here are a group of thumbnails of my own Lucky Lucy, posted with Michael's permission, to illustrate my points.  Lucky is a fairly green dog  who just earned her AX and AXJ titles from AKC in 7.5 months, who can two-step the weaves beautifully in practice but at trials generally slows down to a walk.  Below, she is running, doing a single pass with 3 different ways of maneuvering, all caught by Michael's camera:

Here's a few more dogs with inconsistent stride in a single pass:

Obviously, dogs that can't maintain a consistent stride are slowed down, must often get confused, give up trying to re-balance, pop out, etc.

Now here are 4 shots from a single pass thru those same weaves by my little Papillon, Maxie, who, when he runs instead of walks the weaves, has very consistent "two step" weave pole performance with a "single bounce" stride that is very fast.

On the last photo, it's clear that Maxie completes each pole in a single stride by extending his body.  With these photos confirming his consistency (same degree of lean, same head and tail position, same gaze forward, same shoulder distance from the poles, front feet landing right the same distance back from the pole, outside foot landing first), I now wonder if what makes him walk the weaves sometimes is when he doesn't hit the entry just right and can't hit a consistent stride, and if that's true, how do I train his entry to be at an exact spot?

Here are more examples of the "two-step" stride with different size dogs. Notice their back feet are close together and pushing off simultaneously.

Here are a some examples of dogs using their inside leg to lead in, pushing off with their outside leg, which sometimes (not always) resulting in the coveted behavior known as "one-stepping the weaves":

And shots of dogs using their outside leg to lead in, which has to slow them down and sometimes trip them up as they struggle to cross the new outside leg back in (last photo):

A few trials back, I attempted to video the back ends of a few dogs going thru the weaves, to find out how the back feet are moving.  Viewing each run in slo-mo (50%), turned out the back feet push off mostly simultaneously then hop into the space right behind where the front feet were, even while the front feet are varying as described above.  All the dogs take each pole in a single stride. The larger dogs have to "collect" and land their rear feet farther away from the line of poles, the smaller dogs have to "extend" and work closer to the line of poles to cover the distance. One dog, running with the lady in pink, was "one stepping" on one side of the weaves, and "two stepping" on the other side and mixing up leads, but the back feet were doing just about the same thing all the time.  Watch for that:

(Correction: dogs tend to take each weave in 1 stride, not 2 as stated in the video.)

As to training stride, my hunch now is this: I think we rush to closed weaves.  If we open the channels a bit then give our dogs a lot more time to figure out and develop the muscle memory of a consistent stride, they will eventually be able to do fast and reliable closed weaves.  Problem with that, our club has no 24" channel weaves.  I'll have to use my stick in the ground poles at home, but straight weaves at class.

We should also spend a lot more time doing "around the clock" weave pole entries.

Anyone with other weave stride training suggestions, ideas or comments, please feel free to share.

Upwards and onward!

Kiln Agility Trial - Swamp Dog Agility Club

Maxie:  6 runs, 2Q's, 2 1st places, MX TITLE, 38 MACH Points - Videos posted
Lucky Lucy: 6 runs, 2Q's, 1 1st place, AXJ TITLE, 1 MACH Point (our first) - Videos posted
Judge:  Scott W. Stock

Diorama made by some Swamp Dog members,
an agility course with a Halloween theme. 
It was widely admired and created a festive atmosphere.

All of our 2011 goals have now been met, excepting the 6th QQ for Maxie and 400 MACH points by November 1st.  It's been a long row to hoe, with a much poorer Q'ing rate this year (about 33%) compared to last year's 66%.  Some of that is running 2 dogs at different heights, and on different courses while bringing Lucky up through Novice.  Obviously, the split focus didn't help my performance.  With both Maxie and Lucky in Excellent this weekend, I had no trouble memorizing 2 courses per day, and didn't have any personal off courses.  Maxie's MACH points after this weekend tally 305, but we would have 363 if AKC hadn't changed the rules in June, no longer giving double points for 1st place. Only 37 points off my goal (on the original system).  Close, very close.

We would have had that 6th QQ this past Sunday had I not pushed Maxie off the second to last jump.  But even if I hadn't, he ran out the gate and got eliminated.  Now we must go to Lake Charles trial over Thanksgiving, or give up the goal.

Maxie runs like the wind.

Maxie's speed was incredible all weekend (always among the top 3 in time even when eliminated), and mine was improved some as well.  The mini-running drills I've been putting myself through seem to be paying off, though the progress would be hard for anyone else to notice. Here's a thumbnail of a photo I'm purchasing, and a video of Maxie's MX TITLE RUN, where he was 1st place, 23 seconds under course time, and 9 seconds faster than the 2nd place dog.  I was so afraid he'd take the tunnel instead of the dog walk and the A-frame instead of curving to the jump, I was calling him harder than usual.  Next year I hope to replace my yelling with more confidence in our teamwork.

Lucky leading with the
wrong foot.

Lucky's speed was improved as well -- she NEVER ONCE exceeded course time!  And on her title run, she was 9 seconds UNDER course time, and was listed as 'HIGH IN CLASS", whatever that is.  Also, she never missed her weaves, though she walked them 4 out of 6 times.

Looking at the Michael Loftis professional photos, he caught a strange thing.  It looks like Lucky sometimes steps thru the weaves with her outside foot leading in, which I've never noticed before, and which would certainly slow her down.  I'll research that further real soon by studying her photos and re-watching her videos in slow-mo, and in any case will retrain the weaves this winter by opening the channel a bit.  (See next post on Weave Pole Performance).

KT Tape on my calf.

The KT Sports Tape I wore on my calf worked miracles.  I had no muscle problems whatever.  I got home and took the tape off (it lasted 4 days with no problem), and today the calf has twinges again!  I am totally baffled how this stuff works as there is no stretching when applying and it isn't medicated, but all the top athletes wear it over sprains and torn ligaments, so it must be doing something!  I also sat on one of my new instant ice packs for about 30 minutes on Saturday to soothe my aching sciatic nerve.  It stayed very cold for 30 minutes, and the sciatic never bothered me again.

It was a 3 day trial, with a match on Thursday.  I brought my pop-up, so we were on-site for 4 days.  40's at night but we were cozy inside.  I decided to run Lucky once in the match, the last dog on Thursday evening, around 6:45 p.m.  A great decision, it turned out.  It was quiet in the arena.  We had the place almost to ourselves.  We ran around helter-skelter with her tug toy in my hand, I threw it several times after she did fast weaves or contact equipment, and she ran her heart out and had an obvious blast.  They let us play longer than 2 minutes.  We both loved the spontaneity, not following course numbers.  Then during the trial, before and after each run, I bribed her with steamed shrimp, which I discovered motivates her more than the usual hot dogs and string cheese.  She is a shrimp fiend.  I show her I'm putting one in my mouth just before we enter the ring.  She thinks it's there during the run but of course I've swallowed it (no treats allowed in the ring).  I have another one stored just outside the ring and immediately after the run I fetch her tug toy, tug a bit, then toss her the other shrimp which I've slipped into my mouth.  The same for Maxie, minus the tugging.  I think I've got them both fooled for now.  They both ran faster than ever before.

This was a really good crate space, near everything.
It was breezy and chilly in the mornings,
so I covered my crates with the blue sheet
seen here.

Swamp Dog trials are always fun.  They are run efficiently, the club members seem to really like each other and work well together, the atmosphere is festive, everyone is friendly, competitors are personally invited to help and thanked profusely, they call you by name and praise your dog, the food is plentiful and delicious, and the placement and titling rosettes are nice.  They let me wait until all my runs were done for the day, then I helped with the novice and open classes and tearing down the rings after the last dog has run.  My red wagon came in handy moving those heavy sandbags.  I love my ringside crate space, close to everything.

Coolaroo bed, just Lucky's size

Swamp Dog's raffle had awesome items. To my surprise, I won 2 prizes-- a large Coolaroo raised dog bed stretched on metal legs selling on Amazon for $30, and a bleacher seat, both exactly the kind I've been wanting to get.  I bought 14 tickets for $10, mostly just to support the club, so winning $50 worth of loot was a totally unexpected bonus.  I rarely win anything in the raffles, and as my crate space was right next to the raffle table, I watched many people plunk down $20 and $40 -- a lot more than I did.

The bleacher seat has no brand name showing, but it's the identical one I bought at Wal-Mart last year for $18, then went back for another one for John and they were out.  It's wide, light, has great cushioning and support, arm rests, clips firmly to the bleacher, lots of storage pockets both front and back, and stores really flat.  It's the best one I've ever sat in.

Pumpkin Carving with Swamp Dog RV'ers.  I did a witch flying
over a jump, held up by 2 ghosts.

The Swamp Dog RV'ers outdid themselves with a Halloween pumpkin carving party on Friday night, and a birthday cake and outdoor gumbo dinner for the judge on Saturday night.

Judge Scott Stock was very engaging, and regaled us with stories of football, his travels, and other trials.  He said we had "the slowest dogs and the worst Q'ing rate he's ever seen, but we were more fun to be with."  He said up north he can attend 35 trials a year without ever driving more than an hour from home.  He said those Yankees take their agility seriously and get agitated quickly with anything they don't like.  His courses were interesting, challenging but not impossible, he judged fairly and cheerfully, and he watched each and every dog intently.  During the breaks he pumped disco music into the arena.  Everyone was dancing around to Thriller and such. That was a first for us, but he says he's not the only judge who does this.  During Sunday's Excellent briefing he told how last year at a Halloween trial he came "costumed" as AKC Judge Scott Chamberlain -- white pants and jacket, white shoes, blue tie!  We had the impecably dressed Judge Chamberlain at a Kiln trial earlier this year so we knew what he was talking about! Everyone roared with laughter.

I'm still streamlining my camper set up and take down routines, eliminating, adding or changing items for efficiency and comfort.  Every movement counts. I'm getting better at it.  Still, it takes me two hours to set up, and I was by far the last one to leave even though I started packing up in the early morning and more between runs.  Sharon Mc stayed in the park until I pulled out, which I really appreciated.

The excitement is hard to explain, since a run
lasts less than a minute
John took this i-photo of Lucky and me at a trial, rare
since I'm almost never in a photo.

After all that comradery, excitement and hard work, coming home was a let-down.  Two hours behind the wheel and I was stiff as a board and really tired.  There were no bands playing, no champagne, no dinner prepared, no cake to celebrate our titles.  The house was dark, nobody came to greet me at the door, and the porch light wasn't even on.  When my husband finally heard the dogs barking and roused from his TV chair, his first comment was about a new TV series he's watching.  This totally burst my bubble and led to a less than stellar evening.  After helping me unpack and set up the new doggie bed, John resumed his TV viewing while I disappeared into a hot bath with a stiff drink, gave Willow a shampoo and blow dry, ate my boiled crabs, and slunk off to sleep in the guest room.  Amazingly, I slept like a baby, and had sweet dreams.

Now I've got to figure out how to photograph Maxie with all his ribbons thru MX and MXJ titles, and Lucky with her AX and AXJ's.  I've got a box full of them for each dog, all in a jumble, which need sorting out and displaying somehow.

And I've got to decide whether to sign up for more trials this year, or just concentrate on training "back to basics" skills 'til January.  If all that counts now are QQ's for Maxie to reach MACH status next year, and Lucky has to run faster to attain Masters titles next year, we'll have to improve our speed and accuracy considerably.  On the other hand, with 15 more QQ's to acquire Maxie's MACH status by the end of 2012 (is that a realistic goal?????????), maybe I'd better get started as soon as possible.  We only got 5 QQ's this year!  But most of the misses were near misses (only one teensy weensy mistake), so we almost QQ'd several times.

Today I tallied all our runs to date on that Competition Records Sheet I designed earlier this year in Excel, and here's the summary:

Maxie: 82 runs in 17.5 months, 15 trials, 40 Q's, 35 placements (23 1st, 5 2nd, 4 3rd, 3 4th), MXJ Title, MX Title, 5 QQ, 305 MACH Points
Lucky: 46 runs in 7.5 months, 8 trials, 22 Q's, 17 placements (9 1st, 6 2nd, 2 3rd), AX Title, AXJ Title, 1 MACH point
Michele:  128 runs, 62 Q's (not quite 50%, but this is misleading because there were about 66% Q's in Novice, Open, and Excellent A for Maxie).  Our Excellent B performance has been about 33%.

Our dog club is revising its Constitution and By-laws, in particular the membership requirements (I was on the Constitutional Revision Committee earlier this year).  Tonight it's being put before the membership for discussion, so I've been reviewing the document.  Not as fun as running dogs, but we must make progress, and updated governing documents are an important part of our 48 year old club's ability to grow and thrive.

Upwards and onward!