And Now It's Jimmy's Turn!!

For the last couple of posts it seems I've been bragging on Wilson, what with him earning an award and getting his picture in a 2016 calendar. Well now it is time for a Jimmy brag! (Am I coming across as a pompous arse? Hopefully not!) The AKC  (American Kennel Club) runs a report at mid-year to see the rankings of dogs competing in agility. In our case, it is the Preferred ranking. Their listing is sorted by breed, and shows the top five dogs based on a points formula. And guess what?! Jimmy made it onto the list! Woohoo! We made it in just under the wire at # 5! What we lack in double-q consistency, Jimmy makes up by being so speedy, so he achieved enough points to make the list.

I know this is tiny. Click to biggify!

Congratulations to the four Cardis and their owners who came in ahead of us! The full list showing all the breeds can be seen HERE.

Here's Jimmy in all his proud glory:

Have a great weekend, Everyone!

The Weekend Report: Starting Over....With a Bang!

This weekend was our first agility trial since Jimmy and I earned our MACH (Master Agility Championship) back at the end of April. To earn that title, Jimmy ran in the "Regular" class, which based on a height measurement at his withers,  required him to jump 12 inches. I know that doesn't sound like very much, but for a dog with 3 inch legs and weighing in at around 34 pounds, it requires a significant effort to clear all those jumps. Many a run was lost to "just one bar" being knocked down. That felt like our team motto sometimes. But now we are starting over in what is called the "Preferred" class, where the dog gets to jump one jump height lower and gets 5 more seconds to complete the course. For the first several years I was doing agility, the Preferred class had no big title to shoot for. Eventually, due to competitor demand I am sure, the AKC added a PACH (Preferred Agility Champion) title. It has the same requirements as a MACH, 20 double-Qs and 750 speed points. So now we are working toward our next goal. And let me just say that Jimmy LOVES jumping at 8 inches! That height is so much more suited to his body type. He sails over the jumps with ease!

This weekend was a trial given by the Potomac Valley Golden Retriever Club. I only have video from Saturday, but they were great runs, and worthy of sharing.

Here is the Standard run:




Here is the Jumpers run:





These runs were speedy and clean, earning us the 1st place blue ribbon for both. Woohoo! And this was our very first double-Q toward our PACH and 44 points. What a great start!

I didn't get anyone to video us on Sunday, but it was another stellar day! We again Q'ed in both runs, earned a 1st place in Standard and a 2nd place in Jumpers (we missed 1st place by less than 1/2 a second!)

Here is a victory photo of Jimmy that I took when we got home:

Such a GOOD BOY!

Tracking Jimmy's PACH progress:
Very 1st Double-Q: Saturday 06/21/2014
Masters JWW legs: 2
Masters STD legs: 2 
Double Q's: 2 (out of 20 needed)...10%
PACH Points: 91 (out of 750 needed)...12%