Some things fall through every now and again

Blogger wasn't working a few days ago....

Anyways,

With the whole jump height thing..her being a 22 regular but I put her into 16 special last summer...well, it just got all screwed up therefore I couldn't apply anymore due to the lack of trials, etc at the appropriate height in the time they requested.

It's alright, though. Toffee doesn't have to prove to anyone that she's worthy. I know she is. She's an amazing girlie and I am just so happy to get to play with her and live with her and just look at her because she is just *SO* cute!!! She's awesome.

And plus, Mach is showing great potential! So eventually I will get there..I am determined!

I don't have any recent pictures of my babies...I've been gone for a fews days.......

World Team..??!!

I decided to split this post up..it was entirely too long, and this is basically all I really wanted to share anyways.  :)

NOW FOR THE NEWS!!!

Before my last run, the judge, Roger Pierre Cote came up to me (yes, he seeked me out by my tent!) and said that I should apply for the world team. *jaw drops* Yep. I was having a slight hyper/panic/Ilovemylife attack while talking to him. When I asked him which one, he said both, but because Toffee isn't registered...we rescued her...she wouldn't be able to run on the CKC (FCI) team. That doesn't really matter, because of her size, she'd have to jump 26"..and well, that would be stupid. She's 17" for Pete’s sake!

She would, however, be able to be on the IFCS team and would only have to jump 22", which she had been in AAC. I moved her to specials because she was 5 and a half and she has a bad back. Her spine comes out of alignment, which causes her ribs to pop out, and causes a lot of soreness and she's unable to fully extend her stride. (but Elana helps her tons!!) And plus, the lower height is more suitable for her size, poor little thing having to jump 5" more than she is.

Anywho, I was pumped. I have looked into applying for the world team before. I've always known that I could only be on the IFCS team, and I was fine with that because as stated above, that would be stupid; jumping he at 26. I had applied for the 2008 team, but we had only been trialing for a year and her speed just wasn't fast enough then. By the time the 2010 team came around, it was already picked before I realized. It has been in my mind since we had proven ourselves worthy when we started back in the fall of 2006. But now I'm going for it. They're in Forth Worth, Texas next year in May (just a year away!) And like Roger said, even if I don't get on the team, at least my name will be in their minds and for possibly Mach and me in the future!

He was very kind and said that I was a great handler and Tof was a great dog. :)

I need to stay focused and keep having all the fun in the world. I only need 2 more standard for my Lifetime, too.  (WOW!) And whatever is waiting for us will happen and I'm sure it'll be friggin awesome. YAY!

Trials, MUD and the future!!

Super fun fun fun weekend!

Victoria day weekend is now over and back to school I go bright and early in the morning...
It's *almost* done. 25 days all together, but I only have 12 days of school plus three exams. Can you say PUMPED?!

It has been raining...STILL. There have been maybe three days in about 2 and a half weeks that have been nice enough that the sun shone, but it wasn't even an all day thing.

There was a trial Saturday and Sunday. The field that it was on is usually super great, but because of all this RAIN RAIN RAIN, it hadn't drained completely, so it was still pretty wet. By the end of the day, there were mud paths where everyone was standing, and running on the course. And when I say mud, I mean MUD. Like Woodstock mud. MUD. MUD. MUD. It was so filithy. And bitter cold. I think it was a high of 6. On the long weekend of May. 6 degrees...com'on!

Though, we went to our friends house for the night (she's the most kind person ever!). And Rowdie and her papillion Tadgh (I think I got the spelling correct..maybe it's Tagdh..."Tag") and our other agility friend's 10 week old aussie had GREAT fun playing all evening. Fun Fun.

Sunday wasn't so bad. We moved the field over so the mud could start drying up, and so that we didn't have to run around in the mud again...It was much better, and easier. It cleared up by noonish, I think. So much that I got a killer sunburn on my face (that still hasn't gone away..I look like a tomato, or just permantely embarassed...)

Toffee kicked butt, yet again. We were clean all 8 runs, but were a second overtime in the gamble. We had a great opening, though and she even got the gamble, which most people didn't...it was pretty tricky. She's actually the most amazing dog. I can't stress enough just how lucky I am to have her. She has changed my life forever. Man, I just really love her.
Video coming soon...enough

Today a few from our club went out to our new field to set things up...it looks promising! I'm excited!!


...con't to next post...

Here comes the sun..

YES.

She was hiding for most of the day yesterday, but you could tell she really wanted to come out. She finally did in the evening, and it was glorious. She went back into hiding, but left her heat for today until this afternoon. Mmm, sun :)

Yesterday we had a supply in for out OP class. She was away teaching in Malawi for a year and just got back two weeks ago. Our school had raised enough money to buy a video camera for a class over there in the refugee camp, and her special program was the Video Club. The students made a video filled with skits and dancing and life. It was pretty powerful. Gave me goosebumps.

I wanted our class to make a video to send back to them, but it's only the advanced OP class that gets to do that. Bummer. But she said that if we wanted to make one, she would send it along. Scout's honor.

A few of us are getting together to start filming it tomorrow at school. I was thinking of ideas for it last night and I found it difficult to show our life without it seeming like we have everything and they have nothing. I want to point of the movie to be that we're just the same as them. We're all human.

Mach's card (totally irrelevant) But with wrong address...ha! You can't find me...

So I've brainstormed a little bit more and thought that we could just show what our school looks like, our new technology. Also show the people at our school. Our school is packed with different races of people, cocaision, black, asian, etc. but we don't judge. Our school is pretty great about that. We have a lot of different styles of people, too. There's a lot of different groups, like sports teams, music groups, science clubs, etc. We all come together each day and co exist with eachother. We even have GIRLS that go to school. (they don't get many girls in the classrooms in Africa..:()

I want to go around the school, sort of like a tour, and then get people to wave and say a quick hello.
My OP class is going on a camping trip soon, and I think it would be cool to show a little bit of that in there, too. I have this vision for the end of the movie when the credits are rolling. When we're on the trip, having a campfire at night, I want all of us to sing "We are family! I got all my sisters with me..." Okay, that's the only part of the song that I know, but I think that it would be pretty cool if we could pull that off.

Rain on the pool from a few days ago. As ugly as rain is, I really love this picture. Cool colors.

One the topic of Africa, I've always wanted to go and maybe build schools or something..ANYTHING. I always have great ideas, but rarely pull through with them. I want to do this. It would totally change my life. I hope to get to do this. I really. do.

Afica Unite. (Bob Marley <3 )

Guess What?

More rain. (sorta...) It's still cold as heck, spitting a little bit every now and again, but it's seemed to hold off for today.

And guess what else?!! (this one is actually exciting)

Mach's ID card came in today!!! Now introducing #18041 :)
I took a picture of it, so I will post later. haha

I think I will put that number into use in July, at the FAST trial. There's a jumpers and a steeplechase that I think he should be able to handle by that point. You know something really cool about that trial? Other than the fact that it is one of my favorite trials of the year, the judge, Lynda Yielding that's booked for that weekend was Toffee's first trial judge back in Setpember 2006. I think it should be good karma or something like that. (eeek!!)

I finished Laguna Cove that day I started it. That is pretty good, seeing how I'm a pretty slow reader..I get distracted easily. (ha) And well, I rarely can keep focused on one book for longer than a half hour. Unless it's Twilight series, then I could read all four basically in one sitting. (love them!) Anywho, it was a super good book, highly recommended. Yesterday morning on the bus ride to school, I started the other book, Cruel Summer. Yes, my bus ride is about 45 minutes long. (Not impressed). I didn't have a whole lot read, so I wasn't expecting to finish it last night. I read on the bus ride home after finishing my homework (yeaaa..I'm on the bus for an hour after school..but nice to have it to get all my homework done!!).

I teach class on Monday's so after I got home at 9:30, I made some tea and went to bed and read. and read. and read and read read read. Like I said, sloooow reader, so it takes me forever to get through a book usually. It was getting late, and I was already not feeling all the hot so I really should have gone to sleep, but I just kept saying "oh, just a few more pages". That is, until a few more pages turned into a few hundred pages...hehe. It was a super amazing book, with emotional highs and lows and with a really cool message at the end of it.

In the end, no matter what you had to go through, you'll be okay.
Okay, it said it much better and more elaborate in the novel itself, but that's the condenced version. (I didn't want to spoil it for you;))

The way the book was formatted wasn't in chapters, but rather journal/blog/letter entries. (which made it even more difficult to put down!) It has really inspired me to keep up with this blog and talk about many things other than dogs(okay, that's basically my whole life) but the lessons they teach me and things more profound than "TOFFEE AND MACH ARE AMAZING!!" even though they totally are!!

Despite my enjoyment of reading the book and writing about it later, going to sleep at 1:45am and getting up at 6:30am is not fun...I haven't been feeling good all day because of it...the room has been constantly been sprining.

Hopefully the weather will clear up by this weekend, as there is a trial to attend!! YAY, first outdoor trial of the year!! :)

Off to write the conclusion to my Human Nature essay, titled Tabula Rasa, meaning blank slate (John Locke) and my physics homework and maybe get to bed early tonight! (doubtful, Biggest Loser is on!)

Peace

Chain of love.

As I read that post from the other day, it was super negative. I don't like being negative about anything in life, but for a while that's all I could focus on. The very beginning of our journey together was shaky, but now I'm growing and learning to slap out of that place.

So now I'll tell you about all the great things about Mach. :):) (this part is much more fun:))

Last Saturday we went to a funmatch in support of two ladie's WAO trip and well...it's a fun match, it's fun! A competetive enough environment but having the bliss of having fun!
I was super excited to go. Mach had been doing a lot better in training last week, and I knew it would be a great learning experience for the  both of us. I didn't know how he would react from all the commotion. At seminar's he seemed to shut down a little bit, but it was probably from my on-edge aura. I didn't go in there expecting anything from him. We'd just go with the fllow.

I had run Toffee before Mach, so I got a feel for the course (Toffee Rocked, duh. <<watch it) It started raining, and the battery was dying, so I only got Mach's runs. This was a day about Mach. He was going to have a rockin' video, no matter the outcome of the day.

I kicked off my shoes..(err, I didn't even put them on..), and grabbed his favorite toy and just went out and had FUN. It surprised me when I lined him up, he got all squirmy. He only gets like that when he's really super happy to see me/mom/dad/people in general, really. So I was like, wow, he's excited!! He was a naughty boy on the startline, though, shifted his paws a few times.

I broke him, and he came flying! We hadn't done much on the aframe other than running straight off, and the course had pull off's on the aframe both times. He went over and he did the conact beautifully! I was so happy, but then he missed the jump after that..hehe..



Mach waiting his turn at the FunMatch

We went on to do a rear cross, which he followed beautifully (better than Toffee..okay, my fault, but still!) I told him "weave", and he got the entry but didn't collect enough and by passed the second pole. I brought him back (usually  this results in him being like "Oh man! :(:(" ) But his eyes did something I had never seen before. I can't tell you exactly what they did, but I could just tell that he was having a ball!

I hadn't (still haven't) done 12 wevaes with him in alittle while, and in the past, if I hadn't, it seemed like he forget them completely. But he went into them like a pro, faster than he has ever done them. (so exciting). We went on and did more pieces of the course, breaking it up and rewarding at certain spots. I did the aframe a few times and went back and did another set of weaves.

I couldn't have been more happy about his performance, I was really blown away! love him :)



Happy Boy :)

Next was jumpers. It was a really cool course, nice and challenging for the starters dogs. I brought him out to the startline and because he was being such a good boy, I went back and rewarded him  for staying. I decided to try the entire course, as we haven't done much more than 10 obstacles ever...and it's usually not even that many, 3 or 4. He ran the entire course beautifully and kept a nice speed the entire time.

Finally was the tunnellers run. It had started pouring by then. The grass was basically a slip n' slide. Super wet and muddy and gross. I even had to put shoes on.... :\ I didn't think he'd really like this course at all. He's not a fan of tunnels (well, never used to be!!) so I thought he'd be pokey all the way through them, and since it was a mine field out there, I thought if he slipped, he'd be done for (yes, that's how sensitive he is..). But I was gladly proven wrong. He was a rock star, he even got the part that Toffee didn't!

I can't even begin to express how amazed I am by him. Each day we're growing as a team. He has made leaps and bounds from even two weeks ago. You know, life ain't too shabby ;)

And so here he is, The Machinator himself, being a pro at everything! I love him :)

As for everything else...

DW running contacts - straight and slight turns.
Aframe running contact - straight, pull off, "left" to a tunnel, decel into tunnel.
Weaves - able to pull off earlier and earlier! Getting much faster and trying to figure out that single step stuff!
Table - Pretty sweet, I must say
Teeter - muuuuch better. Still need to work on him driving to the end with speed every time, but like I say, much better!
Handling - he's super responsive. He's keeping me honest, that's for sure!!

I'll leave you with one last message...

Peace and love will give you happiness.

Growth

A post of Mach.

Mach 3 Speed is utterly amazing, ya know. That sounds like it should be an ice cream with rocket things inside that crakle.

I am going to be brutally honest about him. I've had a dream of being on the world team, winning at a big event and all that golden gloriousness. Toffee is amazing, however her awkward size sorta kinda maybe holds her back from those opportunities (except she kicked butt at nationals last year!!!!). When he was a young pup, I had little hope. He was so timid. So timid. Sure, he loved to play and tug and eat (alot). Yeah, he did the puppy jump bumps, circle work, sit stays and hand targets with awesome accuracy and precision. But I just wasn't feelin' it.

It was extremely difficult for me to remember how to train a puppy. Toffee was my last dog, whom I trained when I was 11 and had all the time in the world to do what I needed with her. There were no essays to write, no hours and hours of homework each night, there were no exams to write. It was just me and my dog, in grade 6, lovin' life.

Working through his timidness has been very challenging. Even as challenging as working through Toffee's reactiveness. It's been frustrating, maddening even. I didn't know, really, what that best route to fixing this problem was.

As he got older, he did get better. But as he got older, the more challenging things we trained. Like weaves and contacts and and and.... When he failed, he failed a lot. And he did it over and over and over again. That, of course, drove me crazy. Since he's a very super extremely sensitive dog, he picked that up like burdocks on dog hair. I swear he's an elephant, because he wouldn't forget that overly expressive sigh that I exhasperated the week prior. Or maybe I didn't forget it, and I was still in that moody mood....

Toffee taught me a lot on the whole growing up part of life. But Mach brought on a whole different set of lessons; patience, more than anything. He's also taught me that sometimes things take time. Not everything in life is handed to you. In fact, very little is. I've always known this, but it took some getting used to...celebrating the little success', realizing that our time with them is unfairly too short, and dude, if he's not a national champ, who cares? He's your baby boy :)

I think I have come a long way in that sense. That success isn't measured on how far you go your agility career, but in your relationship. Love makes you richer than gold does.

As I have relaxed when training him, whadaya know? He's become amazing.
He's a late bloomer. This past month, I have seen more improvement, from even session to session, than I have in his entire life. (Okay, he's only almost 20 months..but still) I feel as though he has actually started to enjoy playing agility. I think up until now, it was fun, sure. But it was work.
His eyes go crazy when he's playing, something I have never seen from him. He even asks to go play.

And if he's happy, I'm happy and that right there is success. :)


More on Mach, to be continued...

Just flying by

Ahh, time is a tickin'

Last weekend (Easter Weekend) we were at a trial. Super awesome, indeedio. Toffee rocks at everything, you know.  7/8 Q's ain't too shabby, eh? :)

Here she is...

So good.

I also got to run this amazing border collie, Blaze. His owner has been saying for a long time that I could run him in a jumpers sometime..I thought that time would never come. But I guess throwing your back out has some upsides (okay, none for him [poor guy], but I got to run him because of it!)

He is incredibly fast and incredibly awesome. He's 7, I think but has lost none of his gusto. He is a national champion, too. He won the 2009 AAC Nationals in the 22" Regular division. (Saawweeeeet)

He is a lil' wired at the start line and well...I couldn't get him lined up. He circles your feet and does crazy neurotic border collie things, and I sucked at lining him up, so he altogether missed the first jump.hahaha, but the rest was beautiful. We got through all the hard parts (the actual handling) but failed at supporting him to a tunnel, so he pulled off. What a good dog :)

Here he is...

This past weekend there was another trial. And once again, Toffee rocked everything in life. She's so sweet and so kind and so amazing, I am so blessed to run this wild journey through life with her. Seriously amazing.

Here she is ...


Okay, um, youtube is being weird. BUT here it is.

I am up very late writing this because I haven't in a while, but I should go to bed. I haven't done any of my physics homework..eeeks. I have a Math midterm/accumulative thingy tomorrow, but I don't think it will be that bad. It's only an hour long, two pages. Piece of Cake. I should go to bed...but I won't. I'm very stubborn sometimes...

A Rowdie Rooster picture, just because.

Last night we started classes again. Looks like a promising group of teams this year. From now until school's over, Monday's will be even longer, but that's alright. I love my job :)

oh my gosh, I really gotta go to bed.
NIGHT :)