Sweet Summertime!

Tess, Indy, and Jazz celebrating the start of summer:

Obedience Photos

What a great surprise to find that one of my friends at WCOTC took photos of me and Jazz while we were in the Graduate Novice ring and sent them to me yesterday!

Figure 8 

Drop on Recall

Finish after the Recall

Dumbbell Recall

Recall over High Jump

I'm so happy to have these photos.  I've never allowed Jim to take pictures while we're in the obedience ring, because I don't want Jazz to catch sight of him and be distracted, so it was a special treat to have these appear in my e-mail inbox yesterday!

Jazz's Green Weekend

Jazz had a wonderful weekend of green qualifying ribbons at the Westmoreland County Obedience Training Club trial.

We started our weekend off by getting qualifying scores in both Rally Excellent B and Rally Advanced B, thus earning Jazz's ninth RAE leg.  Just one more to go!

Saturday and today were our first foray into Graduate Novice obedience.  It's an optional titling class that's sort of a stepping stone between Novice and Open.  It involves exercises in heeling, figure 8, drop on recall, dumbbell recall, and recalls over a high jump and a broad jump.  I'm pleased that Jazz qualified both days, got fourth place today, and was high scoring Dalmatian in the trial both days.  Jazz also got a very special award on Saturday for being the high scoring dog with an AKC Therapy Dog title!!  So nice to be recognized for both our work in obedience and as a therapy dog.  Many thanks to Nina B., who sponsored this award in honor of therapy dogs everywhere, including her boy Rocky.

Jazz relaxing in the back yard after her big weekend.  It was really fun to be back in the obedience ring with Jazz.  I've said it a thousand times, but I'll say it again:  Jazz is a joy to train and to live with.  She is my heart's dog, and it's an honor and a privilege to be her partner.

Beach Friends

Here are some pictures of the group we traveled with to the Outer Banks:

Ian, Ethan, Tess, Indy and Jazz on a bench at Hattaras Light Station.

This is Sammie doing what he loves most at the beach...retrieving his bumper from the surf.

Indy and Shaina meet up for a play date on the beach.

Here's the whole gang at Hatteras Light Station:  Kim, Eric, Ian and Ethan with Bently, Twist, Scorch and Blizzard; Jim and Mariann with Sammie; me and Jim with Jazz, Tess and Indy; and George and Lois with Toby and Shaina.

After we took this picture, a woman stopped and asked me if there was a dog show going on!!  I told her that we are just a bunch of friends on vacation.  How blessed we are to be a part of this crew who loves to relax and spend time with good friends and their dogs.  The fact that we get to do that at the Outer Banks is just icing on the cake!!  We had another awesome week at the beach and look forward to next year's adventures.

Just Loungin' Around

Even though we are back home from the Outer Banks, I have a few more posts of beach pictures to share.  Jim took nearly 600 pictures while we were at the beach (thank heavens for digital cameras)!

After a morning at the beach, here are some pictures of the Dals lounging on the deck by the pool at our beach house.  Rough life, huh?!

No Rules...Just Right!

Apparently, the dogs enjoyed a "no rules" vacation.

During a poolside lunch, I turned around to catch Jazz jumping off the picnic table...

...and two minutes later, I see Tess standing on the picnic table!!

Indy wants you all to note that the sign says "No Diving," not "No Running with Toys"!!

Here's Jazz violating the "don't sit on our guests" rule.  Somewhere under all those spots is Mariann!

Meanwhile, over at Lois and George's beach house, Toby and Shaina are enjoying a "no rules" vacation at the outdoor bar.

Vacation Adventures

Here are a few more pics from our Outer Banks vacation:

The start of another beautiful day on Hatteras Island.

Indy is starting to wander into the water a little more instead of running away from the waves!

Jazz and Indy head into the surf.

Tess jumping for joy over being at the ocean again!

Now, I know our Dals have had lots of adventures, but hang gliding?!!  We snapped this picture while visiting Jockey's Ridge State Park this afternoon...and, no, we didn't let the Dals attend hang gliding school!!