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!!!

Indy's Birthday Party

I think we've sufficiently recovered from Indy's birthday party on Sunday to post a few pictures!

Indy's birthday cake

 Here's the whole gang who attended Indy's birthday party playing a game which involved a story about Indy's first year.

Indy sampling his birthday cake

Here's a picture of Indy and his siblings who attended the party:  From left to right, it's Jewel, Willie, Indy, and Gabe. It was great to see the puppies again and see how everyone has grown.  All of these puppies have made their families very happy!

Indy before he opened all those birthday presents!

Indy received many wonderful and thoughtful gifts from our friends and family, including toys, treats, and even a backpack so he can help carry some of the goodies he can get when he goes shopping with the gift cards he received, too!

Indy had the able assistance of my great-nephews Ryan and Logan in opening his birthday gifts.

Many thanks to everyone who attended Indy's birthday party.  We had a fun afternoon with friends and family, both human and canine!  It was great to have a few of Indy's siblings join us for the party...and we wish them all many more happy birthdays!!

Happy Birthday, Indy!

The date September 11 has significance for most of us because of the events of 2001, but this date has come to have a happier meaning as we celebrate Indy's first birthday today.

September 11 is also the birthdate of our friend LaDonna, and because Indy's litter was born on her birthday and was actually made up of the exact number of males and females in LaDonna's family, the litter was named after them.  Indy was known as Dalton, after LaDonna's adorable grandson.  The picture above was taken when he was just five days old.

If you follow our blog, you know how Indy came to be Rim Rock's Out of the Blue and became a part of our family, despite the fact that we hadn't planned on adding a puppy at that time (see Out of the Blue post).  This little guy has been a great addition to our household and has brought us much joy and laughter.  He has the sweetest personality and makes friends wherever he goes.  He's lovable and smart and has been a blast to train.  We're so glad that Indy dropped into our family "out of the blue"!

While Indy's actual birthday is today, his first birthday celebration with his human and canine friends will be this coming Sunday, so stay tuned for photos of Indy's birthday bash!

APDT Rally

This weekend, myself, Jazz, and Indy were entered in our very first APDT Rally trial at Keystone Canine Training Club.

 

Here's Jazz with her ribbons.  Jazz completed her APDT Rally Level 1 (RL1) title this weekend with two perfect 210 scores and a 207 in the A class.  She also completed one leg in the B level, with a score of 202.  Because Jazz's first three legs in Level 1 scored 190 or above, she will also receive an Award of Excellence.

APDT is a great venue to compete in, because they offer a Puppy level of competition with only 10 stations to get young dogs used to being in the Rally ring.  Indy did a great job this weekend, earning his Rally Level Puppy title in the A class with scores of 203, 205, and 207!!  Because his first three scores were over 190, he will also receive an Award of Excellence.   Indy went on to earn a leg in the Puppy Level B class, with another 207 score.

This was Indy's very first time in the ring for any sort of competition, and I am so proud of how well he did.  By the end of the weekend, he had an entire cheering section and everyone, including the judges, fell in love with his little mannerism of lifting a front paw every time he sits!  Not only did Indy earn his very first title (days before his first birthday), but he did it with four first place finishes!  I'm really pleased with how well our little guy handled the trial environment and continue to be thrilled with his awesome temperament.  Indy loves every person and dog he meets and is just a happy, amiable dog.

Thus ends a wonderful weekend, Friday spent with our conformation friends at the DNA Specialty in Ohio and Saturday and Sunday spent with our Rally and Obedience friends.  Although I am not anxious to head back to work tomorrow, I am looking forward to Indy's birthday party next Sunday.  Stay tuned!

Temperament Tested

This past Friday, we went out to Ravenna, OH, to help with the Dalmatians of North America National Specialty.  While we were there, we had the opportunity to have Tess and Jazz Temperament Tested through the American Temperament Test Society.

For those of you not familiar with the test, it's sort of a more rigorous CGC test.  The test is run as if you're taking a walk in the park with your dog and encounter various real-life situations.  There are ten stations measuring the dogs' behavior towards strangers, auditory stimuli, visual stimulus, tactile stimuli and self-protective/aggressive behavior.  The tests include meeting a neutral and a friendly stranger, approaching and investigating a hidden noise, response to gunshots, having an umbrella suddenly open, walking on plastic and wire footing, and the most interesting part of the test, the "weird stranger."  An oddly dressed individual appears and acts erratically, and as he approaches the dog and handler, his actions and demeanor become more threatening.  The test gauges the dogs' ability to detect a potentially threatening situation and realize when it progresses to aggression toward the dog and handler.  Dogs are permitted to react to this situation, but they are looking for an appropriate reaction for the breed and a quick return to baseline after the situation resolves.

Not only was it fascinating to watch other dog/handler teams take this test, but I'm proud to say that both Tess and Jazz passed their Temperament Test with some very nice comments from the evaluator.  To date, only around 250 Dalmatians have passed this test, and I'm so pleased that Tess and Jazz are among them!

McConnell's Mill

Part of the Dals' Labor Day weekend was a trip to McConnell's Mill State Park.  Here are some of our photos: