**TRY WATCHING THIS VIDEO IN HIGH QUALITY!!!**
Her first time in the ring after 2 years
**TRY WATCHING THIS VIDEO IN HIGH QUALITY!!!**
Her first time in the ring after 2 years off to 'be a dog', 'grow a brain', and 'mature a little'. She is now 5.5 years old, and apparently the time off agreed with her!
She is the whole reason I started in agility. When she was about 1 1/2 years old I saw some JRTs doing agility on Animal Planet and thought "oh, hell, Maddie could do that!!!", so the next week I was enrolled in classes!!
It took me several months and many bad days at class (& in the ring) later to realize that what we were doing was not working for us. I decided we needed a change, so I started taking lessons with Elizabeth Evans at "Best Friends Fun Farm". She allowed me to explore all sorts of training options for Maddie. Pretty soon Maddie was paying attention (for the most part) in class, and had moments of absolute brilliance!
The ring was a different thing entirely. She'd just run around like a crazy dog and randomly take obstacles (or just zoom in circles...depended on her mood!!). Then she'd come to me and sit like a little lady like "WOW, that was fun, Ma, let's do it again!!". *sigh*
(In the first clip of her NADAC tunnelers run, the judge allowed me to take an E and carry my leash into the ring, hoping that it might settle her down a bit...it didn't!!!)
I gave her time off from December 2005 to April 2008. During this time all she did was just be a dog. She was still my shadow and still got to accompany us to the park and the training field, only all she did then was hunt/chase vermin!!
After over 2 years off, I took her to 1 agility class (a puppy class) the first week in April 2008. She astonished me with her attention span and how well she remembered the obstacles. I took her to an Open level class the following week and she did even better there. Showing of her beautiful running AF, and holding it together and not running off to sniff even though there were really cool creatures JUST beyond her reach!!
I took her to the trial on 13 April 2008, fully expecting the same performance I'd gotten in years past. She surprised the hell outta me, and everyone else, though, and actually Q'd. It was her first Q EVER. It was very emotional -- you'd think we'd just gotten an ADCH, or won Nationals or something...!!!
Words cannot express how happy it made me to see Maddie enjoying herself in the ring, running WITH me, and trying her hardest to control her hunting instincts. She's an amazing little creature, and maybe one day she'll even get an agility title!!! :)
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Added: 3 months ago
Views: 1,271
**Watch in High Quality**
(Standard course map:
http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb2
**Watch in High Quality**
(Standard course map:
http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb217/EmilySnider_2007/?a ction=view¤t=GrandPrix_Path.jpg)
(Grand Prix course map: http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb217/EmilySnider_2007/?a ction=view¤t=Masters_Standard_Path.jpg)
Today was one of those days for the history books. I hope I never forget that feeling I got at jump #18, the "OMG, we might just do this...!!!" I hope I never lose the magic that overtook me as I jumped up and down doing what was deemed the '2-footed hippy-hop' when I was growing up, that I couldn't help but exhibit as my baby Josie ran a clean Standard run this morning. The energy from the crowd...the magnitude of what we had just achieved...I hope I never forget that.
(((The course was a booger of a course, too. Out of 60 or so dogs in the Masters/PIII class, two 22" dogs Q'd, one 26" dog Q'd, and 3 PIII dogs Q'd. &.that.was.it. It was a TOUGH course...!!!)))
Josie is my first agility dog to train from a pup to a fully trained dog. & she is now the youngest dog to ever hold the title of ADCH. Spiffy (& Linda M) achieved the ADCH in 1997 as the youngest dog, and we broke that record by about 3 weeks.
& here we are. ADCH Josie. I can still hardly believe it.
It's the relationship that we have that has brought us this far. I did not start strict agility training with her when she was very young. I did not push her before she was physically ready. I did everything in a safe manner, and she trusted (& trusts) me so fully that she grew into this wonderful agility dog in what seemed like a matter of moments...!! All I had to do was point her in the right direction, and she has always done her part!
Josie is wonderful, and I wish everyone that ever owned a dog could have ONE with whom they shared the closeness that Josie & I do. It's beyond description.
You'll see in the video that I did two blind crosses. One after the dogwalk in Standard, and one after the Aframe in Grand Prix. Neither of those were planned! They were front crosses that I felt it would be fine to blind cross and WOW, it worked...!!! That's what I mean, though...she reads my mind...!!!
I did let my adrenaline get the best of me and I quick-released (but I DID release!!) the contacts a bit in these runs, but look at that held teeter in GP...and still a win by a second and a half!!! My baby dog amazes me all the time!!
Thanks for all the support for me and Jos since I got her, but most especially since the 'ADCH-hunt' began. You can't help but have it on the brain when you're only 1 Q away. I really need to step up my mental game the next time I'm in this situation!! :)
In this video, you'll see our ADCH run (2nd & Q), our winning Grand Prix run (1st by more than a second), and our winning Steeplechase run where we had a time of 26.95, second place was 27.89. WHAT a weekend for the Jos!! She was smokin' it out there!!
I am beyond proud of my Josie-Monkey, and cannot wait to see what the future holds for us. She is my special, special girlie. !!!
Em (emdogs@gmail.com)
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Added: 2 months ago
Views: 1,058
The girls did great this weekend under Cherie Whittenberg. Ivie came home with Gamble Ch
The girls did great this weekend under Cherie Whittenberg. Ivie came home with Gamble Champion Gold, a Steeplechase win, & 2 Standard legs -- WOW!!
The AF in Grand Prix was Josie's only missed contact all weekend. We've been workin' on it!! & aren't her start line stays lovely?! :o)
The only bar either girl took all weekend was the one that I cause in Jumpers. Same bar, both dogs. What is WRONG with me?? Then in the very next run in that ring, Steeplechase Round2, I messed BOTH girls up at the next-to-last jump...AGAIN. I swear that ring was cursed!! :)
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Added: 2 months ago
Views: 389
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Night 2 of the CCS Night Trial.
Josie did GREAT!! She and Siryn (and her acrobatic AF
Night 2 of the CCS Night Trial.
Josie did GREAT!! She and Siryn (and her acrobatic AF performance!!) won Masters Pairs (it's a trend when we pair them together!!). Silly me in Jumpers...rotten handling! YAY for Gamble Champion-Bronze (15 Gamble Q's) with that pretty tough WP gamble!!
Good Girlie in Snooker -- twice, back to back!! Silly Gordon...poor guy had to judge Snooker at 2am...that's just mean!!! :o) Josie Q'd that run, even though her 1st teeter was a little mis-aligned the 2nd time around. She's a good babe!!
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Added: 1 month ago
Views: 162
Night 1 of the CCS Night Trial!! I LOVE night trials!! Started about 8pm and went until
Night 1 of the CCS Night Trial!! I LOVE night trials!! Started about 8pm and went until about 3:30am!! We got to go home about 3:00, thankfully ;)
Josie did great! The only NQ of the night was Jumpers, and it was my fault, so...sorry Josie!!
She won Masters Snooker with a 7,7,7,5, and earned her SCH-Bronze (Snooker Champion Bronze = 15Q's) title with that run as well!! What a good baby dog she is!!!
The last run in the video is Masters Pairs, with my bestest friend Donna running the Ivernator for me. In the 2nd angle, you can see how much trouble she was having getting Ivie's Easy Walk harness off -- hah!! She said Josie was on the DW before she got it off of Ivie!! Evidently Ivie only had eyes for me, but once they got going, she worked great for Donna!! THANKS for the memorable Q; it sure was fun!!
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Added: 1 month ago
Views: 71
Maddie earns her first ever agility title!! Woohoo little munchkin doggie!!
Maddie e
Maddie earns her first ever agility title!! Woohoo little munchkin doggie!!
Maddie earned her Starters Jumpers title in style this weekend, at the night/early morning trial around the corner from our house. What a girlie she is! Though she was a little more sniff-prone in the other ring, she managed to squeak out her first ever Gamblers Q as well, at 2:45am, no less!!!
Since I started entering her in shows again in April, I have only entered her in Gamblers and Jumpers, and she has gone 3 for 4 in Jumpers to earn her SJ title! What a comeback kid!!!
You've just gotta love the Mini-Mads!!
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Added: 1 month ago
Views: 105
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Both rounds of GP for both girlie girls!!
Round 1 - Ivie had a clean run, and placed 4t
Both rounds of GP for both girlie girls!!
Round 1 - Ivie had a clean run, and placed 4th!! Josie got called on both contacts, but had a bye into Round2, anyway :)
Round 2 - Ivie had another clean run, though I lost a lot of time at the last 2 jumps, having found myself on the wrong side of the teeter!! She came in 10th, thus earning a bye into the semi-finals at Scottsdale!
Josie had an unfortunate handler incident. Just about at the end, and BAM, I send her the wrong way over a jump. BUMMER, dude!! Love the monk!! We'll get 'em next time!!
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Added: 1 month ago
Views: 165
Ivie has this endearing habit of woo-woo'ing when she's happy. I guess she was a happy gi
Ivie has this endearing habit of woo-woo'ing when she's happy. I guess she was a happy girl this afternoon!! :)
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Added: 4 months ago
Views: 364
**Notice my assistant coach :')**
After two nights at 4'8", I raised the Aframe to 5'0"
**Notice my assistant coach :')**
After two nights at 4'8", I raised the Aframe to 5'0" tonight. She had a 96% success rate!! If we can get anything close to a success rate that high in competition -- you will see tears of joy in my eyes!! :o)
Perhaps someday in the not-so-distant future, I'll prefer double-AF to double-weave Steeplechases!! We can all have dreams...:)
In all seriousness...
The one that she missed was the first where I was significantly behind her. She got 4 feet in EVERY OTHER TIME, though. She just one-strided the down side the time she missed. I guess she caught just a wee bit too much air over the teeny tiny AF :)
At this rate we'll definitely have the 5'6" Aframe ready for her AKC show the 16th/17th of this month. & certainly we'll have the 5'10" AF ready for our USDAA two weeks after that.
I'm getting very excited as our success rate is increasing right along with the height of the AF!!
Notice she's really not checking in with me except a couple times when I'm behind her. I'll definitely work more on being behind her. She's also making sure to get that 2nd stride in, even many times when she COULD just leap over, if she so desired. What a GOOD pup she is!! LOVE my girlie...!!!
(Oh, and I don't have all the good AF's in this clip because my big butt's in the way on some, and I figure no one needs to see that...!!!)
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Added: 15 hours ago
Views: 115
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