Sooo...

I've really been a slacker and haven't posted here in almost a year! Eek!

A lot has happened in the last year. We've been trialing a lot and Bailey earned a bunch of new titles!

AXJ: 01/02/2011 (AKC: Agility Excellent Jumper)
AX: 03/11/2011 (AKC: Agility Excellent)
NF: 04/08/2011 (AKC: Novice FAST)
PD: 05/07/2011 (USDAA: Performance Dog)
SPJ: 05/08/2011 (USDAA: Starters Performance Jumper)
MXJ: 07/31/2011 (AKC: Master Excellent Jumper)
OF: 08/06/2011 (AKC: Open FAST)

We're also only 1 leg away from Bailey's MX (AKC: Master Agility Excellent) title and have 5 double Qs and around 150 points towards Bailey's MACH (AKC: Master Agility Champion - a prefix that is the highest title you can earn in agility at the local level).

Last December, I set a goal for Bailey to earn his MX and MXJ, along with all of the USDAA Starters agility titles by my 30th birthday in November. At that point, he hadn't even earned his AX or AXJ titles and had only earned one of the six USDAA Starters titles. He had also been in a long string of NQs in the Excellent ring, so I was feeling REALLY discouraged. I didn't really expect to reach my goals. I knew I was being ambitious, but hey! You gotta aim high, right? :-)

We are currently about halfway to accomplishing those goals, since he has earned MXJ, PD, and SPJ titles. We're almost to his MX and have a USDAA trial next weekend where I hope to earn SPG (Starters Performance Gambler), SPK (Starters Performance Snooker), and SPR (Starters Performance Relay).

This little dog impresses me more and more every weekend. The two of us have really come MILES in the last year. The amount we've been able to accomplish just floors me! He's so much more consistent, my nerves are under control, and we really work well as a team now. I'm truly blessed for each and every time I get to go play this game with him! I hope we still have many years left in this partnership!

Bailey with his MXJ rosette that he earned with a 3rd place finish on 07/31/2011

Oops

Well, I haven't posted in forever because quite frankly, we've been busy! As you can see, Bailey completed his OA and OAJ titles in June and July respectively. He also got the first legs of his NF (Novice FAST) title and his AX (Agility Excellent) title. Finally we went to his second USDAA trial where he completed his Performance Standard I title (PS1) and if he'd had just one more Q under a third judge, would have gotten his Performance Dog 1 title (PD1) meaning that he has the PS1 and also 1 Q in each of the 4 agility games (Jumpers, Snooker, Gamblers, and Pairs Relay).

In addition to all of our agility, I bought a house and the two of us moved in. I've been in a constant state of cleaning, unpacking, cleaning, organizing, cleaning, improving, cleaning, etc. We now have a huge yard to play in and a giant shed in which to store all the agility equipment (and the riding mower!).

I've also been getting lazy about having people film every run. As much as I'd like to capture it all on film, sometimes it's hard to make time to beg people to record your runs, especially if you're working the entire trial too. Oh well.

At some point, I will come back and post the video of at least the Q runs from the last couple months. I wish I had a computer that could stitch all the videos together into one longer movie. That would make it all so much easier!

Anyway, no upcoming shows yet. I may enter the Bearded Collie trial coming up in the beginning of September if I remember to mail the entry form. It will be our first time in Excellent for both Standard and JWW! It seems that the agility trial season is coming to an end, so I think it's just back to classes and backyard practice for us!

More Upcoming Agility Trials

I entered Bailey into a couple more agility trials for the next month or so:

Capital City Cocker Club AKC Agility Trial - May 29-31, 2010 (3 day) - Fredericksburg Field House in Fredericksburg, VA

PVGRC AKC Agility Trial - June 26-27, 2010 - Carroll Indoor Sports Center in Westminster, MD

April PVGRC Agility Trial

Here is the video from the weekend. It was our first time in Open. We had 2 Qs, both first places. The other two runs were NQ - one due to handler error and the other one too many refusals. The rules get stricter at the Open level! The video has comments on what happened in each of the runs. If I get time, I will scan in and post the course maps. I know I still owe the maps from the last competition.

The video below was actually filmed in widescreen HD, so it's probably better to click on the video to bring it up in a separate window. That way, you'll see the entire screen.



Thanks for watching!

Next Agility Trials

I have entered Bailey in to a couple more trials in the next few weeks:

PVGRC AKC Agility Trial - April 24-25, 2010 - Carroll Indoor Sports Center in Westminster, MD

TAG USDAA Agility Trial - May 9, 2010 - Dulles Sportsplex in Sterling, VA

Bailey is running in Open 24" Standard and JWW at the AKC trial (our first time in Open! Eek!) and in Performance I (Novice equivalent) 22" Standard, Jumpers, and Snooker for the TAG trial.

Wish us luck!

Clean Bill of Health!

I took Bailey back for a return visit with a chiropractor tonight just to make sure that the adjustment he had on Easter Sunday stuck. It was a LONG drive, but Dr. Bierly looked and felt him all over and gave him a clean bill of health! We're going to keep the jumps low this week, and put them up to full height next week just to be on the safe side. We're back in business!

Adjusted and Massaged!

I took Bailey down to the Mid-Atlantic Agility Showcase today to have him adjusted by the chiropractor and massaged by Kim. Bailey started the day off with a massage, which he absolutely loved. He had a great time just lying on the table while Kim worked on him and he only needed a little bit of peanut butter as a bribe.

On the other hand, he wasn't a huge fan of the chiropractor. She took a quick feel and indicated that the ribs along vertebrae 9, 10, and 11 (if I recall correctly) were subluxated. She tried to pop them back manually, but couldn't so instead used an activator. The activator (or popper as I called it) is supposedly low force, high speed and it's a tool used to help put parts back where they belong when it can't be done manually. Bailey was not a huge fan of the popper, but he survived. Every time she popped him, he turned around and tried to lick her. Silly boy! The chiro said his hips and everything else felt normal. She instructed us to take a 10 minute walk, get some water, and completely rest for 4-6 days. I'd also already had him on Traumeel to help with the soreness and she said to keep him on it for the next week or so.

So, we begin a week of complete rest (no agility, no running, leash walks, etc) and hope that this does the trick...

Injured!

Tonight in agility class at ACA, Bailey stopped wanting to do agility. He ran the first course of the night OK, but very slowly and carefully. I figured he was just sore from all the agility over the weekend. For the second course, he completely refused to do any jumping, and he blew his contacts (not normal for him). I crated him up and we thought we'd give him another try at the end of class. I brought him out again at the end of class and the same thing happened. Refusal to do anything. We put the jumps down to 20" with the same result. Finally, at 16" we were able to get him over a jump a couple times. Claudia watched him closely and said he wasn't jumping like he normally does... he was jumping off his front end instead. He normally has pretty nice jumping, so that worried me a lot.

Thankfully Kim Bennett of Stablemate Massage was at ACA for the night and took a quick feel to see if she could tell find anything wrong. Bailey has a large knot in one of his hamstrings, but no other pain points along his back or neck. Kim thinks maybe his hips are twisted funny and suggested that I take him to a chiropractor. I couldn't run Bailey for the rest of the night. Kim and several chiropractors are scheduled to be at the Mid-Atlantic Agility showcase this weekend, so I plan to take Bailey down on Sunday to get adjusted and massaged. If that doesn't work, we're off to the vet...

Mattaponi Kennel Club AKC Agility Trial - March 28, 2010

This is the second day of the trial. It was another early morning and both of us were quite tired, but were able to make it through the day. Since Bailey had qualified (and titled!) the previous day in JWW, I could have moved him to the next level - Open. Instead, I opted to keep him in Novice just to have a fun run.

Course maps will be posted as soon as I get a chance to scan and upload them.

I'm glad I did, because we had quite a messy start on this run, which resulted in an NQ. I think Bailey also started hurting at some point during the weekend, so he was not nearly as enthusiastic as normal, even during warm-up.



Bailey knocked the bar on the second jump and then went off-course when he back-jumped #4. We NQ'ed. It didn't really matter though, since he titled in JWW the previous day. After the messy start, the rest of the run turned out OK though!

Again, we settled in for the long wait until the Novice Standard class. I started to get really nervous, because a Q in the Standard class would mean that he'd get his NA title this weekend too. The course looked pretty straightforward, with only a couple tricky spots. Nothing we haven't trained for and I knew we'd be able to handle it, so long as he didn't drop any bars or miss the table completely.

We were the very last pair to run in this ring and the entire ring crew was cheering, hooting, and hollering as we entered the ring. Everyone was watching us, waiting for the minute we cross the finish jump so they can pack up and head home.



SUCCESS! Bailey qualified, earned a perfect 100 score, and placed first with this run. I was especially proud of his perfect contacts and stellar table performance. He got a little distracted at the weaves, but thankfully weaves aren't faulted in in the novice class. He completed the course in 57.64 seconds (SCT was 69 seconds) and overall did a great job!

Bailey earned the third leg and his NA title! What a great end to the weekend, and just what I needed!

Mattaponi Kennel Club Agility Trial - March 27, 2010

This is Bailey's Novice A Jumpers With Weaves (JWW) run from Saturday. Once I get a chance, I'll scan in and post the course maps. They are tiny, so I'm not sure how well it will work, but I'll definitely give it a try.



We qualified and placed third with this run. Bailey was quite distracted at the tunnel, and that cost us 7 points... 5 for the refusal and 2 for time faults, since he took such a nice, long detour. I also did a really ugly front cross at the end of the weaves. I should have just let him go and done a rear there. He completed the course in 40.09 seconds (SCT 38 seconds).

Either way, a Q is a Q!

Bailey earned his third leg and the NAJ title!

We had a long wait before the standard course, during which I hung out and watched the other competitors run with their dogs and spent some time chatting with my friends.

A little bit before our standard run, I took Bailey out of his crate with the treat pouch to warm him up and get him ready. Since treats aren't allowed in the ring, I had to dump off the treat pouch outside the ring somewhere before we ran. Stupidly, I brought Bailey with me, so he knew exactly where I put it. I got him in the ring, he went over the first two jumps, then excused himself to go find the treats. Oh well! Clearly no Q there! Lesson learned!

Next Agility Trial

Things have been going swimmingly as far as our dog training goes. Bailey and I have been taking plenty of classes. So many, in fact that I barely have time to blog anymore!

I have entered Bailey into another trial coming up at the end of March - the Mattaponi Kennel Club trial. It will be held at Cedar Run Horse Center in Woodbridge, VA on March 27 and March 28. Bailey is entered in the 24" jump height for Novice A Standard and Novice A JWW both days. Wish us luck! And as always, we welcome spectators to cheer us on! :-)

Bailey helped!

We spent all day Saturday outside raking and bagging the zillions of leaves in our yard, and of course Bailey had to help us out!



He was happy as a clam!

CCCC Agility Trial Day 2

Yesterday was the second day of the CCCC agility trial at Cedar Run. I had a hard time sleeping Saturday night because my brain was still reeling from the success of the day. The fact that the Sunday judging started an hour earlier made for a very tired me! Nonetheless, we still had a great day!

Since the classes were run in the same order as the previous day, our first challenge again was the JWW course. The AKC requires that you earn each leg of your title under a different judge (or 2 judges for the 3 legs, can't remember which), so the judges had switched classes. Kim was judging JWW and Scott was on Standard. The Open JWW class preceded ours and seemed to go way too quickly! I had picked up the course map shortly after I arrived again, so had plenty of time to study and make a plan for handling the course.

The course map:


As soon as I picked up the map, I immediately noticed that there was not a single tunnel in sight! As the judge later said in her briefing, this is a true jumpers course with just jumps and weaves. My nerves felt much calmer today, until I started walking the course and decided that the best way to handle it was a rear cross between bar jump #7 and double #8. I've only recently been doing rear crosses with Bailey, since he was never really able to read them that well before. Do I dare try it in a trial and over a double, where if he picks his head up too high to find me, he might knock a bar and eliminate us? Earlier in the week, we had done some fantastic rear crosses in our video handling class, so I figured I might as well give it a try. It was into a pinwheel, which Bailey loves and has a very easy time finding the line. I figured if I was going to try it, this should be the spot. Lo and behold it worked! He read it perfectly and turned to the #9 jump without any issue at all! He took the turn between #9 jump and #10 jump a little wide because I think I pushed up too far into the pinwheel. I should have trusted him to find the line. He also did a great job when I sent him out over the #12 jump so I could get in position in front of the #13 jump for a front cross. We made it through the entire course with NO faults! CLEAN RUN! Yeah!

See for yourself!

JWW run


We were first into the ring in the Novice class and sure did set the bar high! Soon after we ran, the unofficial results were posted. We got a perfect score of 100 and qualified! Our time was 27.49 seconds, which meant that we came in well under the standard course time of 36 seconds. We beat the next best dog by about 1.5 seconds to take FIRST PLACE! Go Bailey!! Second leg of the NAJ title earned!

Again, we settled in for the long wait until the Novice Standard run. Bailey seemed much more settled and spent most of the afternoon napping in his crate. I picked up the Novice Standard map and spent a good chunk of time planning my afternoon run. I also ate some lunch, played some games on my phone, and watched my instructors run their dogs. While I was waiting, a classmate (and obedience instructor at ACA) ran with her dog Flynn and they earned their MACH! How exciting for them! I took some time out to sign her MACH bar (when you get a MACH, the sponsoring club usually gives you a jump bar as a memento - friends and fellow competitors often sign the bar). I grabbed some lunch and soon enough, the Novice Standard course was set up. I could tell Bailey and I were both getting very tired, so I was just hoping to make it though the afternoon run.

The standard course was, again, very straightforward.

The course map:


I had originally planned to do a front cross after jump #11, so I could have Bailey on my left for the closing. When I walked the course, I found that this would give the dog a really horrible angle to the teeter unless you brought the dog WAY wide on the turn. Bailey has had issue with teeters in the past, so I decided not to chance it. I kept him on my right for the teeter, then used the pause at the contact to do a front cross before #13 chute. The course itself wasn't that overwhelming, but I definitely felt the exhaustion of 2 days of early mornings and little sleep. We got two 5 point faults for table issues. For the first one, Bailey blew right by the table instead of getting on it. This was the first 5 points off for the refusal. Next, as we were on the table, I could hear the judge counting down from 5. When he got to 2, my brain somehow thought it was time to go, my body listened, and Bailey followed right along with me. Another 5 points for a table fault. *sigh* I was just so tired that my head wasn't thinking straight. Who goes on 2?!? You're supposed to wait for the "1 and GO" before leaving the table and that was totally my fault. Other than that, it was a nice run and Bailey did everything I asked of him, including sticking all of his contacts exactly like he's supposed to.

Here is proof:

Standard run


The unofficial results were posted and Bailey got a 90 and qualified. His time was 58.06 seconds, well under the standard course time of 64 seconds (even with having to do the table twice!). Because of our faults, we placed second, but still had a great run! Second leg of the NA title earned!

Overall, Bailey way exceeded my expectations and I'm looking forward to being able to enter him in some more trials in the spring. Hopefully, we'll soon be campaigning for our MACH too! :-)

CCCC Agility Trial Day 1

Today we went to our first agility trial. The trial was held by the Capital City Cocker Club and took place at Cedar Run Horse Center in Woodbridge, VA. I entered Bailey in the 24" height division in Novice A Jumpers with Weaves and Novice A Standard.

Thankfully, I packed up the car last night so I didn't have to do it in the cold darkness of a November morning. Boy was it cold this morning! The only thing I'd forgotten was Bailey's jump height card, which I tore apart the house looking for and finally located inside the cover of a book I was reading a couple months ago. With jump height card in hand, I loaded Bailey and myself into the car and hit the road. After about an hour's drive, we arrived at the horse center and got a great parking spot. I was going to leave Bailey in the car all day, but after taking him on a quick walk around the agility rings, I decided to set up inside. He was acting somewhat nervous with the noise and activity level, so I thought that sitting inside all day would help him acclimate. I found a good spot near the jumpers ring, set up the crate, and settled in.

Jumpers with weaves was our first challenge of the day. At 9:30, they set up the Open JWW course. I think there were about 50 Open dogs and it took a little less than an hour for all of them to run. As soon as the Open class was done, an army of people set up the Novice course. I had picked up the course maps on one of my earlier walks around the building with Bailey, so I'd had plenty of time to study them and develop a plan. The course seemed pretty straightforward. We had about 10 minutes to walk it, then the runs started. They were running tall to small and Bailey was the last 24" dog to run. There were about eight 24" novice dogs, so we had a few minutes to practice some obedience to get him focused and ready to go. I was so nervous that I don't know how I kept myself together. However, as soon as we entered the ring for our run, my nerves disappeared. It was just me, Bailey, and the course. The run went very well and I did everything I'd planned during my walk through. Bailey did take one detour to sniff some of the pigeon feathers on the ground near the end of the course (they might be edible!). Unfortunately, this was counted as a refusal, but only 5 points off. Overall, we had a great run and my confidence was boosted a lot by this morning's performance.

The course:


Our friend Karen was kind enough to take some pictures of us on the JWW course with her iPhone.

Getting set up at the start line:


Bailey anxiously waiting while I lead out 2 full jumps. Most of the other novice competitors thought I was nuts for trying this, but I trust my dog and his stay! :-)


Nailing the weave entry:


After just a few minutes of waiting, the unofficial results were posted. We got a score of 95 and qualified! Even better, our time was 27.11 seconds, which meant that we came in well under the standard course time of 33 seconds AND beat the next best dog by six tenths of a second. FIRST PLACE! Yahoo!! First leg of the NAJ title earned!

The Standard run wasn't until the very end of the day, so we settled in for a long wait. Bailey spent most of the afternoon napping in his crate. I wandered around, fiddled with my new phone, studied the Standard course map, ate some lunch, talked to some friends, watched some other dogs run, studied the standard course map some more, and cheered some friends on.

About 4.5 hours after we finished our JWW run, the Novice Standard course was set and ready for the walk through. Again the course was pretty straightforward and I'd had plenty of time to develop a plan. Walking the course just confirmed that what I planned on paper would work for Bailey. I was also able to see a couple alternatives in case things didn't quite go how I planned. The same eight dogs were in this 24" class and we were last up. The run went really well and almost exactly how I planned. Bailey did take a detour on the way to the table to see if the table legs laying on the side of the ring were edible. That, unfortunately, was counted as a refusal for 5 points off. Other than that, he did a fantastic job. He hit all of his contacts, did a wide variety of jumps with no issues, had no issue with the start line timer at the entrance to the tunnel (he'd never seen that before, so I didn't know what to expect), and did a great job with the weaves getting and keeping the entrance. I left the ring VERY pleased with his performance.

The course:


Again after just a few minutes of waiting, the unofficial results were posted. Bailey got another 95 and qualified. His time was 58.57 seconds, well under the standard course time of 67 seconds. We beat the next best dog's time by about 1.1 seconds, earning us another FIRST PLACE! YEAH!! First leg of the NA title earned!

Bailey did a great job and surpassed even my best expectations for him. I'm exhausted and need to hit the hay, since we're back there again for another day of fun bright and early tomorrow!

First Agility Trial

After probably too long just training for agility, I finally entered Bailey in his first agility trial - the Capital City Cocker Club AKC trials on November 7th and 8th. I entered him in 24" Jumpers with Weaves and 24" Standard. I'm not sure whether he is completely ready, but I guess we'll find out. The trial is in a horse barn at Cedar Run Horse Center, so I'm hoping the sniffing doesn't become a major distraction. I've heard that the surface is much cleaner than where we normally run at Frying Pan Park, so I hope those rumors are right.

I'll post more about it once we're done with the trial. Wish us luck!

Another win!

On a spur of the moment decision, I entered Bailey in the Certificate of Conformation Assessment (CCA) at the PVGRC Specialty Match the last weekend in August. The CCA is a program run by the GRCA that evaluates the conformation of dogs against the Golden Retriever breed standard in a non-competitive format. It was set up for dogs who are otherwise ineligible to enter the breed ring for formal conformation competitions/evaluations. I hadn't entered because I wasn't sure how strictly they evaluated your dog against the standard. I know Bailey has some minor faults that would probably prevent him from getting a Championship in the breed ring if I'd kept him intact. Anyway, I decided to enter him. If nothing else, I'd have a better understanding of what his flaws are and I'd "donate" the $65 entry fee to PVGRC.

We showed up at 8:30 in the morning to check in and get photographed and measured. The dogs are photographed from the side and the front. These photos are filed with the evaluation results at the GRCA. The dogs also have to be measured to ensure they are within the height requirements for the breed. Deviation of more than an inch from the height requirements would disqualify the dog. Bailey measured in at 23.25", so he's well within the range required. Then I set up his crate, which as it would turn out, would be our hangout for the next several hours. There were at least 25 dogs entered and they go into the ring in groups of 3 for evaluation. Each group of 3 takes about 45 minutes in the ring with the judges. We were in group 7, so that meant we had about 5 hours to wait.

I think the judges got through the first 5 groups before lunch, then took a lunch break. We had the PVGRC club meeting after the lunch break. The judging began again around 1:30 and we were in the ring around 2:15 or 2:30ish. I was afraid that Bailey would be too friendly with the judges, but he was great. He also did a great job moving with me on the movement evaluation. It's like he knew I meant business and that being in the ring meant it was time to work! One of the judges even asked me if he is an OTCH dog. I just laughed because there's no way my silly little pup could be an obedience champion! Overall, the judges were very complimentary and only really pointed out the conformation flaws I already knew Bailey had. He did very well on the temperament evaluation and they said his movement was nice. At the end of the evaluation, I thanked the judges and left the ring. Then got back to my primary job of the day... WAITING!

We had to wait for the final scores to be tallied and recorded, then sorted according to whether they qualified or not. In the morning groups, only about half of the dogs qualified for the title, so I got a little nervous especially after seeing some of the dogs that didn't qualify. In any case, around 4:00 the PVGRC president came out with a large stack of score sheet envelopes and ribbons and started passing them out. To my surprise, Bailey qualified under all 3 judges and earned a new title! The judges' scores were all pretty consistent and he got a passing score of 79 from each judge. Finally, we posed for the group win picture (which I'm told will be published in the GRCA publication Golden Retriever News).





I'm so proud of my little boy!

DGOTC Agility Match

On 08/29/2009, we entered the DGOTC Agility Match/Run-thrus held at Banshee Reeks Park. I'll spare you the details of every single run that we did, since we ran the course probably 6 or 7 times. Overall, I was very impressed with Bailey's performance given that it was really his first time doing agility outdoors, except for practice in our back yard. I did have someone take a video of our first run.

Click here to watch the video.

DGOTC member Ann Hereford is also a fantastic photographer and got some great still pictures of Bailey that you can view on her website HereForDogs. Pictures of Bailey are on pages 8, 9, and 11.

It's been a while

So, I haven't posted in a long while. This seems to happen to me with blogs. Not that much has been going on recently, so I've been short on things to write about.

We're still training in agility at DGOTC and ACA. Right now, I'm taking a Pre-competition class with DGOTC and Handling 3 at ACA. I'm hoping that we can start competing this spring or summer in agility. We will also be attending a jumping seminar with Susan Salo on February 27 and 28. Looking forward to that. Also, looking for someone to go with me and take photos and/or video! If you know or are someone who can do that, let me know!

On the obedience front, despite what I originally planned, I have started training Bailey for Open obedience. I found a great website on how to do a clicker-trained dumbbell retrieve, so I've been working on that pretty diligently. Despite having a Golden RETRIEVER, retrieving a plastic dumbbell on command is totally unappealing to Bailey. He will play ball for hours on end, but the dumbbell just isn't the same, I guess. Anyway, in about 4 training sessions, I've clicker trained him to pick up the dumbbell and return it to my hand from varying distances. The farthest distance is about 8 or 10 feet so far, but that's not bad for a dog who wouldn't touch the darn thing a few weeks ago!

On the Rally front, I don't have much ambition to do more rally just yet. I did get a premium for a trial in March and I thought about entering in Rally Advanced just for fun. But it's an expensive thing to do for fun! I think we need to take an Advanced rally class before I'd feel comfortable entering a trial.

As for me, I actually volunteered for and got voted into a board position for DGOTC. I am now the Fairfax Member-at-Large. I'm not exactly what this entails, but I'm sure I'll find out soon enough!

DGOTC had their awards banquet this year where I got presented with a nice plaque honoring Bailey's accomplishments this year. I think he was one of three dogs that earned Obedience titles. The rest of the mile long list of dogs were all on there for agility titles.

PVGRC is having their awards banquet in March this year and I plan to attend that as well. I have applied for consideration for several trophies, but I'm not sure whether I will be eligible for any of them since I joined the club so late in the year. We'll see, I guess! At the very least, Bailey will get two new rosettes for the titles he earned this year. It's so nice when your clubs recognize your accomplishments, even if they are small!

Finally, Bailey and I supported DGOTC in the Purcellville Christmas Parade. Here are a couple quick photos from the parade.

The majority of the group getting ready at the parade start:


Walking in the parade:


Bailey's coat kept twisting around, but he was a good boy for most of the parade:


The whole group coming down the street near the end of the parade:

What is a Golden

A fluffy wind-up teddy-bear with shoe button eyes and your best towel clutched in his teeth.

Nobility reclining on a grassy bank,
A white-faced old sportsman still keen for the whistle of wings.

In Spring a Golden will put mud on the carpets,
fur all over your best navy blue,
and the flowering bloom of joy in your heart.

A Golden is a flame of colour against dark summer covert,
the spray of surf sent flying, peace spread against cool earth.

He is competence wearing a guidance harness,
pride with a bird in his mouth,
dignity wanting his tummy rubbed,
elegance working in the swampland.

A Golden has the understanding of a saint
and a tail that challenges perpetual motion.

Having a golden Retriever is never knowing where all
your shoes are at any given moment,
Hearing the neighbours call up because he’s sleeping out
in the snow instead of in his kennel,
Keeping cups off the table because of his wild tail,
and not being sure if you paragon will decimate a burglar
or fix him a cup of tea and show him where the silver is.

Somebody else with a Golden is an instant acquaintance.

Your veterinarian wishes all his patients were Goldens
and you just wish you were as great as your Golden thinks you are.

-Author unknown

Trial Photos

I finally got some photos back from the recent trial where Bailey earned his CD and his RN. Without further ado...

Heeling in Novice A Obedience. I think this was taken just after the judge issued the "fast" command.


Bailey sitting patiently while he waits to be recalled.


Bailey bored out of his mind during the 3 minute down stay.


The official Novice A/New Title win photo.


Doing the straight weave once exercise in Rally Novice A.


Bailey heeling after the right turn. Look at that attention and loose leash!


Bailey staying while I walk around him for the "halt, sit, walk around dog" exercise.


The official Novice A Rally/New Title win photo.