Yay for my baby girl. On February 12 Kindle finished her AKC Open Jumpers with Weaves title at the Tartan Gorden Setter Agility Trial in Amherst NH under Judge Jack Cadalso.
Here is the video:
She did incur a fault at the weave poles. She was a bit eager to get to the jump after the weaves. she has been a little over excited about getting her leash on at the end of her runs to get to her reward cookies. the day before she actually ran to the leash area and did a beautiful sit waiting for me to join her and accommodate her cookie obsession.
I had to make her come back to finish the course.
Ugh, its painful to watch this run. I did learn a lot from it though. She is not reading some of my signals and I need to really be careful to balance what I train her to do. She has a mind like a steel trap! I have to laugh too though, she has a wicked sense of humor. I also can’t help but admire how beautiful she is. What a lovely jumper and she moves so nicely on course.
We continue to work on our flaws and above everything else, I love running with her. She is a fabulous partner!
Let’s see, do I remember how to write a blog entry? Its been quite a while since I have actually written an article but I think I still remember how to do this. I have probably lost all my bloggy friends. I’ll give it a whirl.
I wanted to get back and document Kindle’s progress in agility. I am so proud of my little girl. She has really done well in competition. I LOVE running with her and in the past year we have managed to progress in USDAA to all Masters classes and in AKC to Excellent A in Standard and we need only 1 more leg in Open Jumpers with Weaves to progress to Excellent A Jumpers with Weaves. I hope we accomplish that this next weekend.
Here is a video of our Grand Prix from the BARK USDAA Trial this last Friday.
I was thrilled with her performance. Her attention has really improved and we are both dealing better with the stress of competition. We managed to come away from the weekend with a Master Gambler leg and a Master Snooker leg. We also ran our Master Relay course clean but our partner had a fault so no Q there. Over all, I was very happy with our performance.
In practice I’m working on improving our speed and getting Kindle’s wide turns under control.
We didn’t trial much last year, so we need to make up for some lost time.
Next weekend we’ll be at K9 Country in New Hampshire competing in AKC. We are looking forward to it!
I have been a little distracted for the last few months, ok the last 9 months. Just long enough to give birth to a new dog training center.
Last November we decided to dissolve Four Paws Academy, the training center we started back in 2004. I joined forces with one of our former partners, Christie McNamara, and we began a journey to start a new Dog Training Facility. We must have looked at 20 different buildings, most which did not fit the bill for one reason or another. With the help of our tireless real estate agent, Bruce Lee, of Lee Partners we finally found the jewel in the rough.
It didn’t look like much back in March when we first saw it.
The floor was grimy and the room was draped with cobwebs. It had been empty for years and we weren’t sure it could be cleaned up to meet our expectations.
The parking lot was a mess with broken pavement and huge potholes.
We analyzed the space and decided it could work for us and the price was definitley right. It was large enough, 14,000 square feet, to allow us to grow our business in all the ways we want to. We excitedly made the decison to pursue the building.
There was one problem. It was not zoned for a dog training school and the process to get it re-zoned would not be an easy one. But we were sure it would be worth it.
So began Louise and Christie’s excellent adventure. We worked our way through the zoning board, the planning board, hiring a civil engineer, Mark Beaudry at Meridian Associates who was a huge help in understanding the process and a source of never ending support through the process. Our architect, Liz Macarilla tirelessly answered our questons and intermin
We mailed abutter letters, appeared before boards, were filmed pleading our case and waited through two seemingly interminable waiting periods.
But at long last, (and when I say long, I mean LONG!) we are the proud owners of SureFireDogs Training Center, in Westborough MA. You really need to come check us out. We worked with Mimi Englander at Mountain Dog Marketing who created, what we think is an unparalled website that showcases our business. You can Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Last weekend we had our first public event and the turn-out was fabulous.
We hardly recognize the place. What do you think…
Set-up for agility run-thrus.
The reception area.
The soon to be SureFire Cafe
Come on back and visit soon. I’m sure I’ll have more to tell about SureFire Dogs Training Center. And now that we are up and running I might even be able to get back to talking about what is going on with the dogs and Scott and our life!
I was looking through my recent pictures and found some I really love. I just had to throw them out here so you all can see them too.
These 2 were from my trip with a few friends to Ogunquit Maine back in January.
It was so cold that weekend. We did manage a few walks bundled up against the wind and frigid temperatures, but of course that makes for nice pictures. These two were right outside our hotel, The Anchorage.
We had such a wonderful time of relaxation and fellowship.
And of course I have to throw in, the face that will melt your heart. My baby Kindle.
Most of us have lost someone at sometime in our lives who is dear to us and the empty, helpless feeling of loss is overwhelming.
I lost my Aunt Becky last Wednesday. She was only 63, and had been battling breast cancer for several years. I have what are probably the usual regrets. I wish I had called her when I thought of her a week ago, I wish I had gone to visit her as she kept asking me too. When she visited last fall for a few days, I wish I had spent more time with her, talked a little more, listened a little better. I’d been praying for her and she often came to my mind, but I wish I’d followed that with a call or note.
I knew her all my life, because my grandparents lived next door to us, I saw a lot of her when I was growing up. As a child, I really idolized her. She seemed so glamorous and very bold. She was only 10 years older than I, so as adults we were friends more than aunt and niece. I have so many great memories of her, shopping trips, spending summers at her home here in Massachusetts. She had a wonderful sense of humor and we used to laugh until our sides ached.
We’d had a couple of fallings out over the years, but always found a way to forgive each other and rebuild our relationship. I thank God for that. She had moved to the West Coast several years ago, so we didn’t see each other as often, but she usually made it back once a year and we spent a couple days together. I am very sad realizing we won’t do that ever again.
Her battle with cancer was a very difficult one. The disease, found late really took a toll on her body. She had tried a couple experimental treatments and went the traditional route too. Through it all she was able to stay positive and maintain a good outlook on life. It infuriates me that insidious, horrible disease took her.
I miss her, we were family, shared a love of good food, really good beer and a love for living. She was my friend and confidante through the years, my funny, quirky, unpredictable Aunt Becky. I can’t say good bye yet and I don’t think I will ever get used to her being gone, but I am so glad she was part of my life.
Such a lovely family!
Our architect, Liz Macarilla tirelessly answered our questons and intermin
