It's that time of year... Time to reflect on the year just finished and plan for the new one just begun.
- Joker loves to cuddle and still enjoys playing with the big black dogs.
- Did series 1 & 2 in one in May, but he pulled something stepping in a hole, so I scratched him from the last series.
Had an aMAZing National, getting 1st runner-up in the Steady Singles field competition out of a field of 70+ dog. making the final cut in the Veterans 9-11 Sweepstake class, and winning the Veterans Novice class with a 198.5. Each thing we did brought me so much joy that week...
Then about 3 weeks later he was gone very suddenly to cancer... Still miss him every day... But what a ride we had!
We Qed in Open B with a 3rd place at the National - I realized this fall I hadn't passed Open at the National since Treasure's days, and she's been gone since 2006 :-). Gryff never managed it.
We did not qualify for the NOI, which was just as well, because I didn't really want to be training obedience at the end of 2012.
Retired her from field. She did a bit in the summer, but mostly, she is now retired, period, other than demoing in class
I showed her in conformation just a few times. Since she's mostly looked like a field lab, I figure I ought to wait until she has grown up. We are entered one day at the big January shows, since she has been growing hair and I'm finally getting a bit of meat on her skinny bones. It is my excuse to get out to a dog show :-).
We did a few matches in Beginner Novice and sort of Novice. My obedience training definitely took a back seat to field most of the year, but one of my long-time students has been teaching a class at my place so that I can take it, and though we don't do a ton of obedience work in between Tuesday mornings, Sonic has continued making progress. I think she is going to be a lovely heeling dog, if I ever really commit to making it a priority.
I did something in the spring I've never done before: I did Around the Clock Scent Discrimination every day for 30-some days straight, and by the end of that, she was working a random pile. We did it a few more times, then I didn't try it again until fall. She seemed to remember it just fine. Very cool to get through it that efficiently - though I think it was on day 2 of the first week that I wrote some friends that I might have to shoot myself from boredom :-).
Field basics... we are building up to Double T, have been much of the fall. Now with 6" of snow on the ground and 10 degree temps, I'm not quite as motivated to get out there. She is a complete blast to work in the field and if I stay patient and don't let her start driving the bus as often as she would like to, I think she is going to be very, very good at it. She sure does love it and we love doing it together.
She earned 2 JH legs in mid-September after completely failing one in July (almost totally out of control getting to the line, never retrieved the 1st duck, so was out right away - I'm still mystified by that lack of finding a bird that day), earned her WC the next weekend.
Earned her RN in October at 2 local trials. That experience made me appreciate how well trained Ty is :-). I used every bit of my handling skill to get Sonic through the courses, and she had fine scores (97, 100, 99), but I also knew we were far from ready for Advanced. I am aiming to do Advanced with her at an upcoming trial in early February, since I'll have some students showing in rally for the 1st time.
Joker – 11 years and going strong
Goal is to keep him that way.
Ty – 8 years old.
I've accomplished what I hoped to with her – Ch UDX OM2 SH WCX, and applied for the FCRSA HOF. She needs a job, but I don't know what it ought to be.
Little – 2 years old
I've just sent her back to Helen's for a while, since I'm finding training both her and Sonic in the snow tiresome. I'd like to have her ready for the WCX at the National and for Senior by fall. Helen may do Novice with her at the National if she has Little enough to train her regularly, and maybe rally.
Sonic – 16 months old
My 2012 dog goals were:
Joker - 10 years old
Having accomplished my Lifetime goals for him in 2011, he is now the resident retired dog in the family.- Joker loves to cuddle and still enjoys playing with the big black dogs.
Gryffin - 8 years old
Keep exercising him with the hope of running several Master tests in 2012.- Did series 1 & 2 in one in May, but he pulled something stepping in a hole, so I scratched him from the last series.
Had an aMAZing National, getting 1st runner-up in the Steady Singles field competition out of a field of 70+ dog. making the final cut in the Veterans 9-11 Sweepstake class, and winning the Veterans Novice class with a 198.5. Each thing we did brought me so much joy that week...
Then about 3 weeks later he was gone very suddenly to cancer... Still miss him every day... But what a ride we had!
Ty - 7 years old
- Finish her OM1.
- Earn her OTCh. There, I said it! We'll see how it goes.
- Earn her UDX. I actually think this will be the toughest one of the 3.
- Earn her OM2. Haven't had one before.
- Qualify in a regliar class at the FCRSA National. Haven't managed that with her since her HIT Novice B debut.
- Qualify for and attended the AKC NOI (National Obedience Invitational) next December in Orlando.
- Field goals are vague. My pursuit of Master with her will depend on Gryff's soundness. I like having 2 dogs to train in field, but 3 is unwieldy.
We Qed in Open B with a 3rd place at the National - I realized this fall I hadn't passed Open at the National since Treasure's days, and she's been gone since 2006 :-). Gryff never managed it.
We did not qualify for the NOI, which was just as well, because I didn't really want to be training obedience at the end of 2012.
Retired her from field. She did a bit in the summer, but mostly, she is now retired, period, other than demoing in class
Sonic - 4.5 months
She is such a dream to train! I haven't started a puppy so young for field, since I knew next to nothing about it when I started Gryff, so I have no sense of how good she's likely to be in the field. She shows great promise for obedience.- Show her in conformation.
- Have her ready to match in Novice by the end of the year.
- Lay foundation for scent discrimination done so she understands how to use her nose before completing her field basics.
- Get her through field basics.
- WC
- JH
- RN
I showed her in conformation just a few times. Since she's mostly looked like a field lab, I figure I ought to wait until she has grown up. We are entered one day at the big January shows, since she has been growing hair and I'm finally getting a bit of meat on her skinny bones. It is my excuse to get out to a dog show :-).
We did a few matches in Beginner Novice and sort of Novice. My obedience training definitely took a back seat to field most of the year, but one of my long-time students has been teaching a class at my place so that I can take it, and though we don't do a ton of obedience work in between Tuesday mornings, Sonic has continued making progress. I think she is going to be a lovely heeling dog, if I ever really commit to making it a priority.
I did something in the spring I've never done before: I did Around the Clock Scent Discrimination every day for 30-some days straight, and by the end of that, she was working a random pile. We did it a few more times, then I didn't try it again until fall. She seemed to remember it just fine. Very cool to get through it that efficiently - though I think it was on day 2 of the first week that I wrote some friends that I might have to shoot myself from boredom :-).
Field basics... we are building up to Double T, have been much of the fall. Now with 6" of snow on the ground and 10 degree temps, I'm not quite as motivated to get out there. She is a complete blast to work in the field and if I stay patient and don't let her start driving the bus as often as she would like to, I think she is going to be very, very good at it. She sure does love it and we love doing it together.
She earned 2 JH legs in mid-September after completely failing one in July (almost totally out of control getting to the line, never retrieved the 1st duck, so was out right away - I'm still mystified by that lack of finding a bird that day), earned her WC the next weekend.
Earned her RN in October at 2 local trials. That experience made me appreciate how well trained Ty is :-). I used every bit of my handling skill to get Sonic through the courses, and she had fine scores (97, 100, 99), but I also knew we were far from ready for Advanced. I am aiming to do Advanced with her at an upcoming trial in early February, since I'll have some students showing in rally for the 1st time.
Little
Little, who I trained in field from June-early October of 2011, came back for more field training in June 2012 and pretty much stayed until just a few days ago, other than a stretch in July/August. She got as far as doing Pattern Blinds and Blind drills on land, well beyond finishing Double T as I'd hoped. We didn't get as far in water as I'd hoped (wanted to have Swim-by done, apparently the Holy Grail of field work for me and my dogs), due to cold weather. She and Sonic have a lot of fun together - I've never had two FCRs in the house so close in age who play so much together. Ty and Gryff were just 18 months apart, but Ty does not engage in something as demeaning as bitey-face :-).Myself
I didn't actually write down any goals for myself at the end of 2012, but I did a lot of field training education efforts throughout the year. I audited Mike Lardy's Basics and Transition workshop in Georgia in March, something of a Bucket List (which I don't really have) goal; I audited Carol Cassity's workshop in June; I had a working spot in Mitch White's 4-day workshop in July; and went to Tennessee to Clint and Sherie Catledge's marvelous property for a heavenly vacation week in November.Adele's 2013 Goals
I am feeling surprisingly lost about goals to set for the coming year, much more so than I can remember feeling for a lot of years. Maybe it is having only one dog of my own for whom to set goals? Maybe it is that I haven't done field with enough dogs to feel confident about how long it will take me to advance?Joker – 11 years and going strong
Goal is to keep him that way.
Ty – 8 years old.
I've accomplished what I hoped to with her – Ch UDX OM2 SH WCX, and applied for the FCRSA HOF. She needs a job, but I don't know what it ought to be.
Little – 2 years old
I've just sent her back to Helen's for a while, since I'm finding training both her and Sonic in the snow tiresome. I'd like to have her ready for the WCX at the National and for Senior by fall. Helen may do Novice with her at the National if she has Little enough to train her regularly, and maybe rally.
Sonic – 16 months old
- Get to do water in the Derby at the April National, which means doing land well enough to move on to water. In my dreams, we place. But being realistic, getting to water would be a grand achievement. I just have to hope that there are enough entries to hold it - the Derby was canceled in 2012 due to entries being too low.
- Finish her JH.
- Get her running cold blinds, land and water.
- Earn her WCX
- Run Senior with her in the fall. While I'd love to earn her SH, that is a pretty tall order - I think.
- Earn her RA and RE.
- I've been completely focused on field work with her lately, and plan to continue that as much as possible this winter, so I don't know if I'll devote the time to obedience titles or not. If I do, we might do Novice in the fall. Or BN. Or GN. Or none.
Myself
- Update the NDT website! It has been on my list for at least a year, and other things keep getting in the way.
- Continue with my field training education – to that end, I'm already signed up for two seminars with Mitch White and plan to sign up for the Carol Cassity one that Marshbanks will be sponsoring in Jliy, and maybe one with Bill Hillman in June.
- Keep honing my Getting Things Done chops.
- Blog more regularly again.
- Get back to some form of aerobic exercise. Aim for 100 workouts.
- Work on some multimedia product. I have some half-baked ideas. Website first, though.
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