Vacation Countdown

One month until our annual Outer Banks beach vacation, and we're counting down the days until we can feel the ocean breezes and the sand between our toes!  Jazz has her sunglasses, flip-flops, and beach ball all ready to go!

No Foolin'

 Every year, we celebrate a very special April Fool's prank...Tess' birthday!  Her Uncle Jim likes to say that Tess was born on April Fool's Day and has been fooling the world ever since!  Tess turned 8 today, but we celebrated with a group of our agility friends on Friday evening at B&D Creekside Activity Center.

Here's Tess as she approaches her birthday cake.

Mmmm, yummy peanut butter carrot cake!

Never one to stand on formality, Tess just digs right into that cake!  She did leave some for all her canine friends to enjoy.

In addition to visiting with friends and running agility, Tess also got to play with Blaze.  It was just a blur of black and white!

Here's a blast from the past...a photo of Tess napping when she was just about three months old in late June of 2005.

We're grateful every day for our little April Fool's girl and look forward to many more years together!

Easter 2013

 Happy Easter!  Here's a picture of Indy, Jazz, and Tess with their Easter basket. Unfortunately, no pretty outside pictures this year!  I should have taken a picture outside yesterday when it was nice, but I was too busy taking advantage of the good weather and riding Rocky!!

As you can see by the two pictures below, it's tough being a bunny in a house full of Dalmatians!

We're heading off to our Easter visits, first to Jim's family and then to my sister's, where the Dals will have some Easter fun with Dancer, the Golden Retriever.

Wishing you all an Easter filled with your favorite treats!

Indy Nationally Ranked

I was both surprised and thrilled when I received this certificate in the mail today indicating that Indy was the #8 puppy in the country in APDT Rally for 2012! Not bad for a little guy who only showed four times in the Puppy Level!

Indy had also been invited to the AKC Rally Nationals, but the event was held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the travel was a bit too much for us to undertake at this time of year.

Needless to say, we're very proud of Indy and all he has accomplished in his first 18 months!  He's a joy to train and equally as pleasant to live with.  The girls think he's the best toy we ever bought them!  Indy has also begun his pet therapy career, and he's made a good impression on those he met at UPMC Passavant, including at their Cancer Center.

We're looking forward to continuing Indy's training in agility, obedience, and rally and spending time with this sweet, sweet boy.

Lazy Day

Today is another in a string of cold, gray, ugly days we've had lately, and the dogs aren't mustering much enthusiasm!  We're all not-so-patiently waiting for spring and the arrival of some better weather.

Indy snoozing on the couch pillow.

Tess and Indy snuggled under their blankets.

Where's Waldo?...I mean Jazz!  She's so tucked into her blanket that she's almost camouflaged! 

When is it going to be spring so we can get out from under these blankets and go have some FUN??!!

Aside from the lazy day we're having today, the Dals have been keeping pretty busy, despite the weather.  We are attending our classes, both obedience and agility, and Indy was in his first two agility trials!  He did great and has earned his CPE Level 1 Standard and Level 1 Handler Games titles!  He's also qualified in a couple of Level 2 classes, so he's coming along nicely.  

We're looking forward to spring's arrival next week and are counting down the days to our Outer Banks beach vacation in early May!

Uncle Indy

Although they met briefly on the day she came home, Indy got to spend some time with his niece Gracie today.  Gracie is a puppy from the Maks-Emily litter who joined our family and now lives with my sister and brother-in-law.

Here's Indy with his typical play-bow introduction.

Gracie is used to playing with her big brother Golden Retriever Dancer and wasn't too sure about Indy at first, but he won her over and she decided that he could be a fun playmate.

"Stick with me, kid, and let Uncle Indy show you the ropes."

Indy, Dancer, and Gracie playing.

Tess, Jazz, and Indy all had a great time visiting with Dancer and Gracie today, and Jim and I were treated to good company and a yummy dinner.  Gracie is a real sweetie, and she's coming to visit our house at the end of the month, so I'll hopefully have more pictures then.

Sweet dreams, Gracie! 

APDT Rally Weekend

Jazz and Indy participated in B&D Creekside Activity Center's first APDT Rally trial this past weekend.  We had a wonderful weekend!  Indy and Jazz each had 12 runs and qualified in every one of them.  Both Dals earned their Rally Level 2 titles and will receive Awards of Merit for scores of 190 or above.

Here's is Indy's trademark paw in the air when he sits.  He lifts one paw just about every time he sits, although he alternates which paw he picks up!

Jazz and her wonderful focus and attention.  This dog is amazing!  Out of 12 runs, she had 9 perfect scores of 210, two 209s, and a 207 that was my fault because I repeated a command.  She is such a great working dog.

Jazz going over the jump in Level 2...a piece of cake for her at only 16".

Here's Indy going over that same jump.  Throughout our run on that course, he kept glancing over at the jump, patiently waiting for his turn to fly over it!  Jazz has learned an "easy hup" command where she doesn't build up a lot of momentum going over the jump.  Unfortunately, Indy hasn't mastered that command yet and takes the jumps in Rally with the same gusto as agility jumps!

Look at the legs on this boy!  Indy's got the longest legs of any Dal we've ever owned, and, boy, does he know how to use them!!

Jazz with some nice heeling.  Several people told me how pretty it is to watch her in the ring.  I know she makes me look good!

We had quite a successful weekend at APDT Rally.  It was a lot of fun to compete with Jazz and Indy.  Indy did amazingly well for a 16-month-old.  He had scores ranging from 205 to 209, with a 197 and 199 to remind me that he's still a baby and gets tired and loses focus.  Despite that, he was able to acquire four of the five double qualifying scores in Level 1B and 2B towards his ARCH (APDT Rally Champion), which need to be scores of 190 and above, and has also accumulated more than the required 100 championship points in Levels 1B and 2B.  He just needs one more QQ!!

Jazz also got three of the five double qualifying scores towards her ARCH (Indy has attended one more trial than Jazz, so she's one behind him) and has nearly double the amount of championship points needed for her title.  Points are awarded based on your score, and Jazz quickly amassed the 100 required points with her nine perfect 210 scores.  Way to go, Jazz!  Just two more QQs for Jazz's ARCH!!