The Weekend Report: A New Nickname

Well, I haven't posted a weekend report in a very long time! Our last trial was back on the last weekend in July. After that, Jimmy tweaked something in his left front leg that took a very long time to heal. Fortunately the very hot months of August and September helped keep him calm and resting as it was just too hot to want to be outside! During that time, I also had tweaked my back and that took a full two weeks to stop giving me spasms. I guess we were both down for the count!

This past weekend was the trial out in the mountains near Culpeper, Virginia that I love so much! The location is just so perfect. Oddly, the leaves have barely started to turn yet, so there was very little color. The weather was absolutely gorgeous both days so fall colors or not, it was a great place to be! And I never once got my camera out! I had it with me but just never got around to using it. Bad me!

Now, not only had we not been trialing, Jimmy had not been practicing or going to lessons either. So he was very enthusiastic to be back doing agility. So enthusiastic that he couldn't be bothered with doing the dogwalk contact either day!  (The dogwalk contact is the yellow safety zone on the down slope at the bottom. Dogs must put at least one foot on the yellow or they are disqualified. This is to ensure they are safely leaving the obstacle and not launching from too high up.) Jimmy just hopped right over the yellow. Sigh. No double-Qs for us! His jumpers runs were perfect and both earned the 1st place ribbon and 30 points combined.

It was very fun to be back doing agility so Qs or no Qs I had a wonderful weekend!

Now, on to explain what my title means......

When you are at an agility trial, there is a running order list by the ring, and a gate steward calls out who is next to go in, plus the next two dogs as well. This is to keep things flowing quickly. Usually the line gets five or six deep as people queue up. Now Jimmy loves this game and he gets very impatient for his turn! As we are waiting, he starts to vocalize quite loudly. BARK, BARK, BARK, BARK, BARK....I imagine he is screaming "my turn!" over and over. Of course not everyone appreciates his big mouth and probably feel I should train that behavior out of him. But under his tough exterior, Jimmy is actually a soft boy. Yelling at him to be quiet right before a run would be sure to dampen his spirit, so I just let him be himself for those few minutes and apologize. Anyway, now that I have set the scene...the gate steward is calling out the names of the dogs who should be ready to go, and when she gets to Jimmy, she calls out Jimmy the Mouth! Is Jimmy the Mouth ready go?! She says, you know, his Italian mob name....

She got quite a few giggles for that one, and it pretty much stuck for the rest of the weekend.It's a pretty fitting nickname as Jimmy is never at a shortage for words, either at a trial or at home!


There's another trial this coming weekend at a new location just 15 minutes from my house. Gotta love that!

And since I hate to have no photos at all on a blog post, here is one from a trial earlier this year. Can you see Jimmy's enthusiasm for the sport? (Click to biggify!)

Photo credit: Terri Keiffer of Key4Prints

And here is the very last photo I'll ever have of Jimmy going through the chute. This obstacle (also known as the collapsed tunnel) has been removed by almost all of the various agility venues on safety concerns. As skill and training methods have improved, so has a dog's speed and injuries have been reported too often with this obstacle.

Photo credit: Terri Keiffer of Key4Prints

And finally, here is Jimmy, attentively waiting for me to release him from his start line stay.

Photo credit: Yes, you guessed it....Terri Keiffer!

AKC Nationals 2017: Perry, GA
Double-Q's: 11 (out of 7 needed)
Points: 676 (out of 550 needed) We qualified on 07/09/2016 !!!

Tracking Jimmy's PACH 2 progress:
Very 1st Double-Q: Sunday 5/1/2016

QQ#20: 
Masters JWW legs: 48...MJP Title 01/25/15 MJPB 10/11/15
Masters STD legs: 41...MXP Title!10/24/14 MXPB 10/11/15
Double Q's: 8(out of 20 needed)
PACH Points: 1242

A Popular Mailbox

When we are just walking the neighborhood sidewalks, we often pass what is obviously a very popular p-mail box for all the local dogs!

What gives it away, do you think?

Dog Walking Week Leftovers

While I don't need a special celebration to get out and walk my dogs, joining in a blog hop is always a lot of fun. Many thanks to the Cascadian Nomads and My GBGV Life for a great idea!

Another benefit to all the walking is getting out often enough that you see the sights at various times of day. If you love to take picture like I do, this creates lots of good photo-ops. For me, dog walks and cameras go together like eggs and bacon (mmmmm, bacon! I haven't eaten yet today. LOL!).

Anyhoo, I have a few pictures to share that I never would have taken if it wasn't for walking my dogs.

Early morning reflections.....

Gorgeous colors in the waning daylight.....

These are all scenes I would have missed had I just let the boys into the backyard for a potty break. While suburbia lacks a bit of nature's drama, beauty is still there to be found if you just get outdoors and walk your dog!

The One that Got Away!

We had lovely, cool weather this weekend which made for extra-long walks each morning. We probably clocked about seven or eight miles over the two days and that's a good bit for eleven and a half year old Wilson. Jimmy, on the other hand, wasn't that tired.

Our local squirrel population went wild this summer! I can't remember seeing so many. Jimmy thinks each and every one of them is worthy of a chase......

.....even though he never actually catches them. It adds to the excitement and adrenaline of the walk, and keeps our pace nice and brisk!