5 Years Time.... and Starbuck goes to the 2015 USDAA Cynosport World Games!

I'll make this post quick....

Last week was the 2015 USDAA Cynosport World Games and both Starbuck and Nari got to play :) Some people may remember the early days of Starbuck's agility career - some running out of the ring, doing what she wanted, 'bucking' around :) Well - little Starbuck is all grown up now and she got to run in the team event as well as in the Steeplechase semifinals AND the Grand Prix semifinals!!

She was oh so very close to making the Grand Prix Finals - I learned the hard way what the teeter rules are :( but she was fast and happy and had a blast.

Enjoy Starbuck's video from Cynosport:

Halloween madness!!!

My birthday is November 2nd so I've always had Hallween birthday parties - making Halloween my favorite holiday!! So I've been known to get a little too excited over Halloween decorations :)

I came across some skeleton dogs at Costco a little while ago (they have red glowing eyes) and that started the current madness :) Then I found out that there's going to be a Halloween decoration contest at the upcoming national agility competition so things are starting to get crazy!

I've decided to go with a 'Day of the Dead' theme this year so here's a sneak peak for now and I may just be posting some random pictures in the next few weeks :) The skeletons come plain and I've been painting them and making little hats. 

Conviently, Alpha is the same size as these little guys so her coats fit them :) 

And here's a close up so you can see the eyes. 

Anyone else out there crazy about Halloween?

The story of the come back kids!!

The sisters with some of their bling!

We drove the whole gang out to Kansas for the USDAA Central Regional Championships this weekend. It was a LONG car ride but the girls love traveling so much that they just slept the whole time in their crates - they are very good little travelers!

The girls have been through a lot - Starbuck had troubles staying in the ring when we first started trialing and Nari had been sick for so very long so my only goals were to make sure we all had fun. WOW did they exceed my expectations because not only did we all have a blast the girls even made it on the podium!!!

Starbuck - Steeplechase Champion!!

Nari - 3rd place Regional Grand Prix

Nari has just started getting back into shape and trialing and not only was she able to compete again but she qualified for Cynosports!!!! I can't believe this is happening - it's been like a dream to have her back to her happy, energetic self again.

Nari - Top Overall Individual 14" dog - think she placed something like 3rd or 4th overall out of ~140 dogs!!

Both girls managed picking up semifinalist byes for Steeplechase AND Grand Prix!! Starbuck took 4th in Grand Prix and Nari took 5th in Steeplechase (her time was faster but she faulted the A-frame).

Happy (belated) Shark Week!!

Shark Week was a big deal here a few weeks ago because Nari got a new cave bed!! Hope everyone had a wonderful Shark Week :) 

DIY Saturday! Emergency IDs for car crates

Happy Saturday!!! This is a very rare Saturday for me as I have absolutely nothing planned and it feels pretty weird. So today I decided that I would finally make up IDs for the Variocage I have in my car. Since it varies which dogs are in the car with me I wanted something that was very easy to put on the crate to make it obvious which dog(s) I have with me. The Variocage has metal doors so I thought magnets would work quite well.

Here are the supplies you'll need:

1. Plain sheet of thin magnetic material. I found one at a local craft store for $4. 

2. Sheet of clear single-sided laminate - office supply stores carry these. 

3. Spray adhesive

4. IDs - you can find templates for free online. There are several out there. I used this one: http://dogandcatid.com but I may try to make my own as this one turned my high-res photos to pretty low-res when I printed it. 

As for instructions - just spray the adhesive onto the magnetic sheet, place on the paper IDs and cover with a clear sheet of laminate. Pretty simple and cheap. I like that I'll be able to store the IDs I'm not using inside the little metal flap on the Variocage doors. 

As for tips on what to put on the emergency ID cards - I will always warn that my dogs may be frightened in case of accident, Nari hates other dogs so I put that on her ID, I also guarantee vet costs/reward and never put the microchip number. That number is something I don't make public as it's something that helps me to prove I'm they're caretaker. 

I also have this magnet on my bumper that I got from a fundraiser. 

Wordless Wednesday - a smiley little Beastie!

Nari goes Rhode Island!!

We're in the final stretch now to try and pick up some qualifying scores so that Nari can run at Cynosports this year - we were cutting it close with only a few trials left and of course they had to be Regional Championships where it's harder to qualify at. Luckily we had some great help from Nari's friends and she picked up the Qs she needed to run in the DAM, Steeplechase and Grand Prix tournaments at Cynosports this year!!!

Here are a few highlights from the New England Regional Championships that were held all the way up in Rhode Island (Nari's first time being in Rhode Island).



We had a great time at the event - it was really well run, great turf and everyone there was so very friendly!!! As an added highlight - she got to run in both the Steeplechase and Grand Prix finals and picked up another Steeplechase bye and took 5th place!