Nari at the 2014 Purina ProPlan Incredible Dog Challenge (Eastern Regionals) - Small Dog Agility!!

What can I saw but WOW!! I first learned about agility when I saw the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge on TV. Imagine my surprise when out of the blue I received an invitation to compete at the event. Nari took 3rd place in the small agility dog competition. We've won and placed in several USDAA Regional Championships but the venues never had a podium and now we finally got our chance!

Camera crews, sounds guys, little GoPros in her face - and Nari never batted an eye. She was even recovering from mange (still unable to really run full out or even run on the rubber contacts) and from a recent hospital scare and all she wanted to do was go out there and play! She is such an amazing girl.

Here are our runs and you also may get a chance to see us on TV.



It was one of the most amazing experiences I will ever have. And I cannot believe how lucky I am to have this little girl in my life.

It's been a very LONG time...

Hi everyone!

It's been a very LONG time since I've written a blog entry and a lot has happened! We've gone to several trials, competed for the 3rd time in USDAA Cynosport World Games and the puppy is growing up - she's huge now! Also, we spayed Inara. We hadn't planned on breeding her but I kept her in tact so she would develop properly for performance sports.

We're slowly learning agility and so far she absolutely loves the game. Here's a quick preview on how she's doing:



It's taking me a while to figure out how to train a sheltie and I've learning it's very different from a Klee Kai. Not to mention it's becoming harder and harder to travel to the agility field (40 minutes away) when it starts getting dark around 5 pm.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving feasts. The girls love it because we have visitors!

Well - bye bye for now, expect some more posts in the future with videos from our trials this past fall.

Nari goes to another USDAA Regional!

Well, Nari went to her second USDAA Regional this past weekend. We flew all the way to Kansas City to compete. Normally I wouldn't go that far for USDAA except that we had an awesome DAM team lined up with TWO World Team members - my good friend Jean and her sheltie Cheer and Cassie with her poodle Bliss!! We were '16s In Cheerful Bliss' :) Sweet! Our team was in first place through pretty much the whole weekend but our team had one little off course so we dropped down to 8th. Still super impressive considering all of the talented teams there and that our whole goal for the weekend was simply not to be an asshole to anyone. Seriously, that was our goal :)

Nari also took 1st place in the local Grand Prix tournament and made it to both the Grand Prix and Steeplechase finals! She ran clean in Grand Prix finals and was in 5th place with a bye. It was actually a crazy experience because someone forgot to set the timer so we had to re-run for time. Of course our second time through we were tired so we weren't as fast but we were happy to get another run for free!

Oh - and we also made it to the 'podium' for the Master Challenge Biathlon Tournament. This time we took 3rd place!

See that little BC who took 1st? That's Smitten and she's AMAZING!!

Wishing everyone a great weekend!

A schutzhund sheltie pup?

Yep, sounds crazy doesn't it - a sheltie in a schutzhund class. But that's my little Battle, AKA The Beast:

Better look out, The Beast will paw you! 

You may wonder just what is she doing in that picture - well, she was doing 'bite work'. She had the whole gang watching her and laughing at a little sheltie wrestling with the guy who gets bit. 

Tackled!! Watch out for the mighty Beastie grip!

And here is the only picture where she looks remotely vicious:

Look out toy, I bite you!! 

So far Battle is liking the class. We're just doing it for fun, just something out of the ordinary for me. I really like learning new things and meeting new people so it's been great. And this is one of the few schutzhund clubs that only uses positive reinforcement. So lots of treats and toys :)

Any dog friendly places?

Happy Sunday everyone!

BattleStar had quite the day yesterday - a little agility at what we call her 'battle field' :), brunch at our favorite restaurant, and an afternoon hanging out at the salon while Aaron got his hair cut.

Here she is - looking cute at the salon:

Apparently looking cute is hard work :)

So, how about y'all - any cool dog friendly places where you live? 

Puppy Shower

My sister and Aunt threw me a puppy shower since I don't have any kids. It was quite cute - complete with decorations and puppy friendly food! Here are some pictures from the party. 

Puppy fruit kabobs

The party girl! Notice Starbuck is in the background trying to steal food!

Puppy banana, string cheese and strawberry sandwiches. 

Battle trying to steal some ice. 

And finally - a naughty Alpha trying to take the deviled eggs!

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Everyone just loves puppy pictures!

Here's just a quick little post with some puppy pictures of BattleStar:

The girls patiently waiting for some walkie treats - don't they all look cute in their harnesses? The left side has their names on it and the right side always has a nickname.

And here is BattleStar's nickname - THE BEAST! 

Don't let her brown little puppy dog eyes fool you, she is a cute little ball of fur and teeth! One of her favorite past times is doing drive by bear hugs to your ankles in an effort to take you down. She also quite enjoys biting the air at you to show you just how much of a vicious beast she is :)