Way to Go, Indy!

It's been quite an exciting few months for Indy.  Just before his first birthday in September, he earned his very first title in APDT Rally.  Indy quickly followed that success with his AKC Beginner Novice Obedience and Rally Novice titles.

 Tonight, Indy became a Canine Good Citizen!  The CGC tests things like accepting a friendly stranger, sitting politely for petting, grooming, loose-leash walking, walking through a crowd, sit and down on command, recall, reaction to another dog, reaction to distractions, and supervised separation.  Indy did a nice job on all elements of the test.

At the same time, we also took the Therapy Dogs International test, which incorporates the CGC exercises and adds things like visiting with a crowd of people with canes, crutches, walkers, etc., leaving food that's on the ground, a startling noise, and a "rescue," where someone pretends to fall down and they gauge the dog's reaction.  Indy was very tender and compassionate, and I'm proud to say that he passed the Therapy Dog test with flying colors!  In a section for comments, the evaluator wrote that Indy is a "Sweet, obedient dog"!

Of all the titles that our dogs have earned, the Therapy Dog title is the one that I'm most proud of and brings me the most joy, so I'm thrilled that Indy will join Tess and Jazz as a Therapy Dog.  I think he'll do a phenomenal job.

Indy's Trial Photo

Thought I'd share Indy's trial photograph from the Golden Triangle Obedience Training Club trial where he earned his Beginner Novice and Rally Novice titles.

I'm told by his breeder that Indy is the first Rim Rock bred LUA Dalmatian to earn an AKC title!  That's pretty cool, since Indy's litter was the first LUA litter registered with the AKC and we've supported registration for LUA Dals for many years.  So proud of our handsome little guy!!

Three Peas in a Pod

Here are our three peas in a pod...I mean, on a couch!!

As the weather gets cooler, our spotted family gets closer and closer.

Makes you just want to cuddle right in there with them, doesn't it?

Rim Rock's Out of the Blue, BN...and RN!!

Another big weekend for Indy at Rally and Obedience, this time at the Golden Triangle Obedience Training Club trial!

We started off the weekend with a Rally Novice B run and a nice qualifying score of 96.  Then it was on to Beginner Novice Obedience, where Indy scored a very nice 193-1/2 and earned his Beginner Novice title!!  

Today, Indy had another nice Rally Novice B run with a score of 97, earning him his Rally Novice title.  After the trial, the Rally judge was nice enough to tell me how impressed she was with Indy.  He certainly has a way of charming everyone he meets!

We also ran an "insurance leg" in Beginner Novice Obedience today, and Indy once again came away with a very nice qualifying score of 192.  

I was thrilled with Indy's performance, not only because of his high scores, but also because this was Indy's first multi-ring trial in a very large venue.  Our other two trials have been in smaller buildings with just one ring, where the GTOTC trial is in a huge soccer arena and has three rings running all at the same time, not to mention kids' soccer games in the other half of the arena.  Needless to say, there were a lot of distractions to work through, and although we had a few rough spots, Indy was able to concentrate on the job at hand and do very, very well.

At just 13 months old, Indy is the youngest dog I've titled in both Rally and Obedience.  He earned both of these titles in three successive trips in the ring over two weekends.  It is looking like Indy is shaping up to be a good working dog, like Jazz.  And like his big sister Jazz, he's a joy to train and to live with.  Not bad for an unplanned addition to the family, huh?  How fortunate we are that things worked out the way they did for us and Indy!

Jazz in the Newspaper

While we were at Paws for the Cure yesterday, a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette photographer snapped this picture of me and Jazz and it was in the paper this morning!

Read the whole article about Paws for the Cure here.  As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and this one will tell you how I feel about Jazz.  She is my heart's dog and so much fun to be with.  

By the way, I'm wearing the pink pigtails because Tess shook hers off after the costume contest and it was easier to wear them than to carry them!  Seems that that then set the stage for this photo.  Like Jazz, I was a good girl and wore the pink pigtails for the remainder of the walk!!

Paws for the Cure

The girls and I attended the Susan G. Komen Paws for the Cure event this morning at Hartwood Acres.

Tess and Jazz got all decked out in their best pink attire to help raise some money for breast cancer research/awareness.

While we were at my sister's yesterday, she made the girls these awesome pink ribbons to wear to the walk today!

Nothing completes an outfit like pink pigtails!  Tess and Jazz were very good sports about wearing the ribbons and pigtails, and although they didn't win the pink costume contest, they girls had their photo taken many, many times today in their pink finery and received lots of compliments.

As always, Jazz was such a good girl.  She wore this outfit the entire time we were at Hartwood Acres, including on the one-mile walk!  She was going to do her part to raise money for this worthy cause.

Speaking of raising funds, we want to thank the many folks who contributed to Paws for the Cure through us.  We sold handmade jewelry to raise money and wish to thank the folks at UPMC Passavant, the Greater Pittsburgh Dalmatian Club, and Splash 'n Dash K9 Sports who purchased jewelry in support of Paws for the Cure.  Also, a big thank you to the folks who work with Jim at Siemens who made generous contributions.  Last, but certainly not least, a big hug and thank-you to my sister, who sewed purses and tissue holders and key rings to sell and also made the awesome pink ribbons that Tess and Jazz wore today.

I have several women who are dear to me who have battled breast cancer, so I was so happy that Tess, Jazz, and I could participate in Paws for the Cure and help support this cause in some small way.  It was a marvelous event and lots of fun, despite the chilly weather!

Autumn Adventure

On a nearly picture-perfect autumn day, we met up with my sister, brother-in-law, nephew, and the Dals' canine cousin Dancer at the Oglebay Fall Festival.

Here's Tess, Jazz, and Indy at a fountain in the park at Oglebay.  We were a little hesitant to sit Indy on the edge of the fountain with the girls, fearing that he might take a little swim in the water!

Just had to snap a picture of Jazz near all those beautiful pink flowers.

The Dals and their scarecrow buddy.

Tess, Jim, me, Indy, and Jazz sitting for a family portrait.

We had a wonderful day at Oglebay Park on a beautiful fall afternoon.  I was very pleased with how well behaved the dogs were.  They were polite in the crowds of people and graciously accepted pets and attention from many, many adults and children.  This was Indy's first trip to the festival, and he did remarkably well.  We then went back to my sister's for dinner and a little play time with the Dals' Golden cousins, so it was a good day all the way around!

Jazz RAE!!

Jazz finished her Rally Advanced Excellent title this past weekend at the Westmoreland County Obedience Training Club trial!  RAE is the highest title in Rally classes, and it requires that you qualify in both Excellent B and Advanced B on the same day ten times.  Jazz went all the way from Rally Novice to her RAE without a single non-qualifying score!

Jazz and I really enjoy Rally, and now that we've finished AKC Rally, we're going to move on and compete in APDT Rally.  Jazz has already finished APDT Rally Level 1 and we're looking forward to moving on to Level 2 at our next trial.

Jazz wasn't the only Rally/Obedience success story last weekend.  It was Indy's first AKC trial, and he totally exceeded my expectations!

On Friday, Indy had his first AKC Rally Novice B run, and he qualified with a wonderful score of 98 and earned third place!  On Saturday and Sunday, Indy and I stepped into the Obedience ring together for the very first time in any venue, and the little guy got a first place score of 195 on Saturday and qualified with a 188 on Sunday to earn his first two Beginner Novice B legs!!  By Sunday, he was reminding me that he is still a baby and that three days at a trial in a crate was too much for him.  Although he still had a respectable score, he was more distracted than usual.  He behaves so well that it's easy to forget that he's still very young.

Jazz will be on a training break from obedience while we polish the Open exercises and get ready for competition next spring, but Indy will be back in the ring for Rally and Obedience next weekend.  He's really fun to train and show...and he can only get better with age and a little experience!!!