Mad About BCs

Token had 2 very nice runs in Excellent A Standard although not qualifying…just one refusal on Saturday, and one refusal & one bar down on Sunday. Overall I was very pleased with our runs.

April 28, 2008 – Clumber Spaniel Club of America – Shawnee, PA – RAIN all day!!!
Dandy shook off the rain & qualified in Novice B Standard, 24″, for his 3rd leg finishing his Novice Agility title (NA)
Score 100, Time 39.75 (SCT: 69, 143 yards) – 1st Place

Novice B Jumpers With Weaves was the last class of the day, as the rains started to come down harder, and both boys were running in the same class. Dandy ran in 24″ and Token in 26″, and I only had 4 dogs in between. The SCT was 39 seconds, 118 yards. They BOTH ran clean, qualifying with scores of 100, and Dandy was right on the heels of his papa! Token’s time was 20.18 and Dandy’s time was 20.56! This is Dandy’s second leg in Novice JWW, and finally, it’s Token’s 3rd leg for his NAJ!

Token goes MAD!

May 3-4, 2008 – USDAA Agility Trial – ACE Agility Club, Granby, MA

Token qualified Saturday in Masters Standard with a 2nd place, and on Sunday, he qualified again in Masters Standard, this time with a First place, to finish his Master Agility Dog title (MAD)! He had an awesome run on Karen Gloor’s course…173 yards, SCT: 56 seconds, and Token finished clean in 40.6 seconds to win the 26″ class.

Ten years ago, Robin & Toss both finished their MAD titles under Karen Gloor, on the same weekend (Robin on Saturday & Toss on Sunday, in the pouring rain in New Hampshire in May 1998). So it was extra special that Token finished his MAD in Karen’s ring.

Token also finished his Snooker Master title today! He needed one more Super Q, and he earned 57 points (4 reds) by nailing SIX sets of weaves in this course (4 sets in the opening, and TWO in the closing as #6 & #7 were both the 12 weaves, in opposite directions). We finished our closing & crossed the finish line at 51.37 (SCT was 51). After all the 26″ dogs had run, Token came away with First place, and a Super Q to finish his SM!

In addition….Token qualifed in Master Pairs and also in the Grand Prix with a 3rd place. So we ended up with 5 Q’s out of 7 classes (we blew Gamblers & Jumpers). I am so very proud of Token, and running him is a blast!

On May 10-11, we went to Greenfield, Massachusettes for New England TrailBlazers’ Flyball tournament. Token raced fulltime on our Regular Division 1 team which took 3rd place. And he raced halftime, sharing a spot with another Border Collie, on our Multi Division 2 team which took First place.
Dandy raced fulltime as start dog on our Multi Division 1 team which took 3rd place. He broke 4.0 THREE times on Sunday, twice being in his last race of the weekend, so being tired didn’t slow him down! He set a new personal best time of 3.962!
Dandy also was back-up for our Regular Division 4 team, and he was called upon to pinch-hit several times when one of the dogs needed a break. He was needed in their very first race of the weekend, replacing the anchor dog in the 5th heat. Apparently he caught the eye of a dog on the opposing team who decided to cross over to our lane and go after Dandy. When the chaos ended & I had Dandy back to me, I checked him for possible injuries. His neck was completely wet, so I know he was grabbed. But there were no indications of an actual bite, and he seemed to be OK. (The dog that chased him did not run again for the entire weekend, so we didn’t have to worry about a repeat of the incident.) The judge was very concerned, and she allowed Dandy to run down by himself to retrieve his ball & bring it back, which he did without hesitation. And he continued to race all weekend without any issues at all, so we were very lucky on many accounts. I found this to be an incredible testament to Dandy, who is just 18 months old, and to his drive and “work ethic” as well as his trust in me, just like his dad Token. They both continue to make me very proud.

Since we are heading full steam into Agility season, we have no flyball on the calendar for the next couple of months.