Out of the Blue

Well, folks, I have a lot of explaining to do and I don't know quite where to start! Our friend Barb at Rim Rock Dalmatians bred a lovely litter of Dalmatian puppies whose Daddy is one of only 8 Dalmatians in the world who have two copies of the gene for low uric acid (LUA). Every puppy he produces will have at least one copy of the gene and therefore also have low uric acid. We have always been impressed with Barb's efforts to improve the health of the Dalmatian breed, even though it is not always popular with many long-time breeders. As if that weren't enough, the puppies were also lucky to have Bizzi for their mother! She's got an International Championship, and both AKC and UKC Championships and Grand Championships, but most importantly to us, she is a wonderful, sweet girl. Check out the puppies' blog at http://www.maks-bizzi.blogspot.com/.

Let me first say that Jim and I did NOT plan on taking a puppy from this litter. Although a third dog was probably in our future, we were planning on it in perhaps another two or three years. As you can see below, all our planning went out the window on Friday evening when we picked up the sweetest little boy puppy!! There were several circumstances that led up to this, but since he really wasn't planned for, we named the puppy Rim Rock's Out of the Blue! His call name is Indigo, but we mostly call him "Indy." Our blog friend Kim has a wonderful Dal named Indy, so we already knew it was a special name.

So although the timing wasn't quite what we had planned on, Indy became a part of our family Friday evening and has spent the weekend wiggling his way into our hearts. He's sweet, funny, smart, and cute as can be!

Like all puppies, he's an angel....when he's sleeping!

Who could resist this little guy? He jumps into the pile of dog toys and pulls out the biggest stuffed critter he can find and shakes and tosses it. Here he is napping on a toy duck!

Indy at 9 weeks

Here's Indy with Tess and Jazz at his very first agility trial. He was awesome! He was very comfortable in the building with all the noises and sounds of an agility trial, and he was incredibly well behaved in the ex pen with the girls.


Indy's sister Emily joined him for some socialization at the trial today. She also did very well in the trial environment and became more and more comfortable while she was there. Here they are snuggled in the ex pen together. By the way, Indy wants me to let you all know that he's terribly embarrassed that all his hand-me-downs are pink!!! He's the first boy puppy we've ever had and he has to suffer through some pink beds and blankets before he can get some decidedly more masculine accessories!



Tess and Jazz have done phenomenally well with Indy, and I think they're going to love having a little brother. His temperament is fantastic. He's the right mix of loving, curious, smart, and eager to please. Even if the timing wasn't quite perfect, he was just too good to pass up! We have known Barb since 1988 when we got our first Dalmatian, and she played a big part in us getting three of the four we've owned, so it's a real privilege for us to welcome a Rim Rock Dalmatian into our home. Thanks, Barb, for trusting us with this special little boy. We look forward to many years of adventures with him!!

Perfection!

Just returned from CPE agility at K9 Four Seasons Athlete Center in Washingtonville, OH, where Tess earned another Perfect Weekend ribbon. Tess qualified in all eight of her runs on Saturday and Sunday, as well as two qualifying runs on Friday evening that didn't count towards the Perfect Weekend calculation. All of Tess' runs were in the Championship level, which is the highest level of competition in CPE, and all runs must be clean.

Jazz was just one tiny mistake away from a perfect weekend herself! She qualified in seven out of eight runs in Level 4 and Level 5, just one error away from earning her first perfect weekend. Jazz is improving by leaps and bounds (pun intended) with each trial. She finished her Level 4 Strategy Games title and had qualifying scores in all her Level 5 runs. Her only NQ of the weekend was a back-jump in Level 4 Standard, and I think it was because she got excited when she saw the broad jump because we've been working it in our obedience training. Even though she was heading in the wrong direction, she thought she'd show off her broad jump skills ;) Very few judges put the broad jump in their courses, so it's not something Jazz has encountered often in agility and it just appeared at a time when we've been practicting the broad jump exercise in preparation for Open Obedience competition.

All in all, we enjoyed a very successful weekend at CPE agility, as well as a great weekend with friends. We're looking forward to another trial in two weeks at B&D Creekside Activity Center in Latrobe.

2010 Agility Rankings

My Front & Finish magazine arrived today and it contains the 2010 Bratix Agility Ratings, so, of course, I perused the Dalmatian rankings to see if there was anyone I knew. Imagine my surprise when I saw that Jazz was ranked No. 6 in Novice!! Also in Novice, our friend Susan's liver boy Ripley was No. 8, and in Excellent A, our blog friend Kim's Peyton came in at an impressive No. 3!!

Spotted Dogs Rock!

Sneak Preview

This morning, we woke up to a sneak preview of winter! I thought I had forgotten to flip a page on the calendar and it was late November instead of late October. Although this is a sight that I don't look forward to, you can see that Tess and Jazz had fun in the snow this morning while it lasted.

Cowgirls

Yesterday I had the pleasure of sharing my love for riding horses with some of my friends. LaDonna, Cindy, and Donna joined me and my Victory Stables riding companion Lynn and Victory Stables owner Sandy for a trail ride on a spectacular fall afternoon. Donna has just started taking lessons at Victory and Cindy is about to start taking lessons! LaDonna hasn't ridden in quite a while, but she had a wonderful time and says she'll come out again with us sometime.

From left to right in the photo above, it's me on Corey, Cindy on Matthew, Donna on Dianah, and LaDonna on Harley. Ride 'em, cowgirls!!

Wowza!

It seems that in the past month, Jazz has really come into her own. It started with the Splash 'n Dash USDAA agility trial in late September. Jazz qualified in six of her seven runs that weekend! We were especially proud of her, because we feel USDAA is the toughest competition venue in agility. Tess had an unusually rough weekend, but she still managed a couple qualifying runs in very tough Performance III competition.

The first weekend of October, both girls showed with me at the Westmoreland County Obedience Training Club's Rally and Obedience trial. On Friday, Jazz earned her sixth Rally Advanced Excellent (RAE) leg. She needs 10 qualifiers to earn her RAE title. Tess completed her very first Rally Excellent leg with a very nice second place finish. The girls then went on to earn first place in Rally Advanced Pairs, where both dogs do the Rally course together. We always do well in Pairs, and I think Tess and Jazz like being out there together.

On Saturday, Tess and I stepped into the obedience ring for the very first time together, and she got her first Beginner Novice leg with a third place finish. Tess went on to be High Scoring Dalmatian in the trial, as well as High Scoring Non-Sporting Dog. Not a bad start! Jazz completed the third leg of Novice obedience competition, thus earning her Companion Dog title. She had the best run ever with some very nice off-leash heeling, and it ended up being a first place finish to top off her title. Way to go, Jazz!

On Sunday, Tess got her second Beginner Novice leg and a fourth place finish. She was once again High Scoring Dalmatian in the trial. Although Tess performed very well over the weekend, she lets it be known that this is charity work for me and she'd really rather be on an agility course! Jazz, on the other hand, loves to do whatever it is I want to do and had another great run in Novice obedience. Even though it was an extra leg not needed for a title, she put in a very nice second place performance. Jazz has mastered all the exercises needed to go on to Graduate Novice and Open obedience competition. She loves to retrieve and I'm looking forward to training and competing in the next levels with her. Below is Jazz's official Companion Dog title photo:

This past weekend, we were once again at USDAA agility, this time at K9 Four Seasons Athlete Center in OH. Jazz had another great weekend, qualifying and placing in five out of eight runs and earning her Performance I Jumpers and Performance I Gamblers titles. Tess had a better weekend, earning four qualifying scores in Performance III competition. Way to go, girls!

You may wonder why we compete for so many titles. While it's nice to get all the pretty ribbons, it's really not about the titles at all. It's about the joy of being in the ring with our dogs and reaping the rewards of the training we do with them. A title merely lets the world in on what we already know: We love our dogs and they are awesome! I cannot begin to describe the special bond and relationship we have with our dogs through training and competition. The teamwork between us is one of the most rewarding things I have ever experienced. It is such a pleasure and so relaxing to train, travel, and compete with these two Dals. We've made lots of friends in every venue and almost always stop for dinner with a group of folks after the competition, so there's a social element as well. Our dogs are content and well behaved because we spend time with them and give them something to do. I think they enjoy it every bit as much as we do. Just the level of communication alone is worth the effort. I know many of you who follow our blog train and compete with your dogs, too, so you know what I'm talking about. If you want a happy, well-behaved dog, I'd encourage you to develop a bond and mutual respect through training. Your dog will love you for it!

Corey

Well, this introduction has been a long time coming! Meet Corey, my 13-year-old Tennessee Walker gelding. I got Corey back in May, but I never get any good pictures of him since I'm usually riding him! I keep telling myself that I need to get some photos, but it's much more fun to ride than to take pictures!!

Back when I started training Jazz for the Road Trial, I was telling everyone that all I wanted to do was get out of this without owning a horse. Well, that obviously didn't happen! I have enjoyed being around horses so much and found the perfect place in Victory Stables. They have made it very easy for me to have Corey. Because I work full time, train my dogs, and try to have a life left over in between, I don't always get to the barn as often as I'd like. While I'm not there, Corey is well cared for and is used for riding lessons and public trail rides. He was a trail horse in a mountain range before he came to Victory Stables. He's sweet, fun, and reliable...and he's wonderful with the dogs.

Here's Jazz hocking with Corey. These pictures were taken at our Dalmatian Fun Day, which we held at Victory Stables to give everyone a chance to try coaching with their Dals. Corey was many of these dogs' first introduction to a horse. He was wonderfully patient with the dogs and the folks who rode him a bit. He was a great ambassador for Dals and horses that day!!


This is Tess and Jazz coaching with Oscar. Oscar was rescued by Victory Stables, and although they're still putting weight on him and conditioning him, he enjoys getting out and pulling the cart. Oscar was also great with the dogs and seemed to enjoy himself.

I'll try to get some more pictures of my handsome new boy. I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying having Corey. We're learning all about natural horsemanship and we enjoy trail rides with the wonderful folks at Victory. I am looking forward to taking Corey to a Road Trial with Jazz in the near future!