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Friday, April 29, 2011

A First Place at AKC 2011 National Agility Championships

Just came across this photo on my iPhone and thought I would share it. It was taken just after the hybrid round at Nationals. Ran into Tom Slattery, one of our favorite judges, and he generously offered to pose with us to commemorate Taylor's first place win in the NAC Standard round. This win
was a huge honor and a big surprise for us and I thank Tom for helping us capture the moment.

Taylor got third in the other two NAC rounds and finished with the #1 cumulative score. In all honestly, I am almost more proud of this achievement than the actual win. It shows how well this tiny champ performed at every stage of the event. He is my heart and my own star. Love you Taylor! Thanks Tom and see you in 2012!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Rediscovering Pangaea

Honor your new title in artisan jewelry

Social media is a wonderful thing. Or can be sometimes. It has at least put me back in touch with the maker of some jewelry I once saw at a dog agility trial in Glen Carbon, Illinois. One of our favorite places to trial, by the way!

Anyway, this lady (who also runs Pugs) hand cuts and stamps silver jewelry and will customize it with your dog's name and title. You can personalize your piece further with beads, stones and other nice touches.

Browse the online Etsy store to your heart's content here.

I missed the chance to order last time we crossed paths, but now that I have the address, I plan to order a piece to celebrate Taylor's PAX2. Taylor and I both love sparklies!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Dana Pike Shows off Her Blind Wrap (Ketschker)

So as I have been trying to figure this whole thing out, guess who should pop up on my YouTube while I'm aimlessly browsing agility videos? That's right. Dana Pike pulling off a perfectly executed blind wrap, actually what would be defined as a Ketschker turn, jumps to weaves. Darn her and her blue Pony! She does this in a knee brace, too, for heaven's sake! Watch for it in this video, after the chute. Tres chic!





And not to be outdone by her own self, Dana pulls a couple more blind tricks from her sleeve in the following clip. It takes a lot of trust between handler in dog to pull off this type of handing, not to mention great timing and very accurate placement of cues. Amazing job Dana!

New! Help your dog master weaves and contacts at the Dana Pike Contacts and Weaves half day seminars, Oct. 29, 2011 at Town and Country Kennel Club in Bloomington, Illinois. Private lessons on Oct. 30. Get the details here. Download registrations forms at www.tckc.org.

Also big congrats on winning 2nd Place with Tangle in the 8" Finals of the 2011 AKC National Agility Championship. Your handling made all the difference and left not a spare inch of yardage behind!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Thanks Labtopia for the sharing Trevor's story

Trevor is a beautiful Golden with PRA.

Today I was happy to receive a comment on my blog from another owner of a performance dog who has been diagnosed with Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA). Her dog, Trevor, is a highly accomplished dog, who also is now fighting the characteristic slow decline to blindness.

I decided to share what Labtopia sent me because her website has a very insightful description of Trevor's diagnosis and subsequent experience with the disease.

Also, she includes some interesting information regarding dietary supplementation to help preserve remaining sight and also the fact that PRA is similar in some ways to the disease retinitis pigmentosa in humans.

Here are her notes on supplementation and care.

She also recommends a supplement called OccuGLO, which she say has some promising research data behind it.

Here are some of her compiled notes on PRA research.

Taylor's diagnosis is very new, so I find this information extremely interesting and helpful. Thanks to you and to all the people out there who take the great amount of time needed to post information on medical support topics, both human and animal, at no cost benefit to themselves, just so that it might help others in their search for answers on chronic and incurable disease.

Just when you start wondering about all negative things in this world, a person appears who has taken of their own very busy life to do something positive and hopeful for people they may never meet.

To Labtopia, thanks for reaching out. I hope your efforts and Trevor's spirit give him a long time longer in enjoying his time with you and all the shades and colors of life.

Friday, April 22, 2011

2011 AKC Preferred National Agility Champion Taylor - A Thank You

The new AKC National 4-Inch Champion
takes flight.


Taylor is a dog with the heart of a lion, the brains of canine mathematician and the clinical focus of a CFO. I count on him to draw the lines and work the angles. He has never let me down.

Though life gave him a fragile body, he refused to give anything but his best. He has always given 300% more than I ever could have expected.

When I first saw him, he was a 1-year-old conformation dog. My first glimpse of him was as we drove up the breeder's country driveway. There was X pen sitting next to an RV where the Papillons were exercising after they had just returned from a show.

The other Papillons were leaping and playing, all except one: Taylor. He was the smallest of the bunch, remarkable for his tiny size, and a beautiful face painted over with with contradictory, serious stare.

He seemed to be impatiently waiting for someone to drive up that driveway, and that someone ended up being me. Taylor made sure of that.

As we drove away with him safely crated in back, I turned around to see not as I expected, a scared young puppy on its first trip away from home, but a confident young dog, chest out, head held high, wind in his hair. He looked to me like a young man confident that he has left the farm behind and was off to meet a destiny he was sure was calling his name.

I kid you not, he has been on that path ever since. Didn't matter his knees were weak. Didn't matter his eye sight wasn't great. Didn't matter he could never really jump.

He was in the game, always. Never took the eye off the ball. And in the ring, always put in that extra 10 percent that I didn't even know he had. Always, that laser-like intelligence that seemed almost to the point of mechanical in its uncanny infallibility. Like his great-great-great grandfather before him, he was the Precision Clockwork Mouse.

I could have got a bigger dog. I could have got a sounder dog. But I could have never, ever have gotten a better one. He has made a mark upon my life far greater than his 5-pound size.

Thank you, Taylor. You are my rock, my inspiration and the best little dog in the world.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Working on the Ketchshker



We saw some of these turns on display at the 2011 AKC National Agility Championships this year, particularly in the ISC rounds. I was intrigued and wanted to see how difficult it might be to train. I've looked into it a bit and tonight did a few lead ins to it with Samurai. We haven't gotten quite to it yet, but started by working with some blind wraps this evening. Samurai picked this up turning to the right immediately. Turning to the left was more of a challenge, and he kept turning right at first.

We got that straightened out and once we caught onto it, he loved it! There's something about facing away from the dog rather than into them, as in a front cross, that speeds them up, or at least that was my initial experience.

It makes sense though when you think of turning into the dog as being a deceleration cue. Something to mull over and consider anyway. As with all "new" techniques, this one carries its share of risk and it demands a lot of clarity in cuing to the appropriate side.

I love the gracefulness of it and lack of herky-jerky-in-a-circle that you so often see handling transitions off of wraps and 180's. Gracefulness in agility is something I strive for, even though I am not very graceful as an individual. I do love movement that flows, and I believe my dogs appreciate that, too.

I hope to continue to work with this a bit just to learn and to see how it fits with our "handling kit."

Take a moment to view the video above to appreciate the beauty of the move in a competition context.



Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Samurai Soothsayer Predicts the Site of the 2012 AKC National Agility Championship


It will be Reno.

He thinks this because he heard it at Nationals and because he saw it on this calendar



It's the calendar page for the Reno Livestock Events Center in Reno, NV. Dates are Friday, March 31 to Sunday, April 1.

Livestock center floor plan:

Taylor is qualified to go, but with his recent diagnosis of PRA, we are doubtful. We will continue to have his eyes checked periodically and hopefully in a few months we will have enough data to plot the speed of his decline. What a sad thing to happen to such a wonderful little dog.

Whatever happens, we hope all of you that do go will have a great time. Maybe one of you will win. Take care and appreciate your good dogs. The time we have to live and run with them is way too short.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Response to Nancy Gyes inquiry on Early TakeOff Syndrome

The conclusion of an early takeoff over Jump 11 (A frame to weaves)
during the Finals of the 2011 National AKC Agility Championship.

Nancy Gyes recently posted a note on her blog about Early Takeoff Syndrome and I posted a summary of my experience with Taylor's vision.

Her blog is located here:

Thanks Nancy, for helping to share information on this topic and encouraging performance community participation into research on canine genetic disease.

My response:

My Papillon, Taylor, exhibits this syndrome and those of you at Nationals saw it on display when he won the 4′ Preferred National Championship last week. He has always had trouble judging his jumps and stutter steps, most noticeably when he is tired.

I wrote it about it on my blog, View from 4 Inch last year:
http://viewfr4inch.blogspot.com/2010/04/my-4-take-on-early-takeoff-syndrome-ets.html

His did have knee surgery several years ago, which is the main reason why I dropped him to Preferred, but he also seemed to be, for a lack of a better term, “near sighted”. I could see this in obedience and just a number of things where his ability to sight things seemed to be affected.

It wasn’t until I brought him in this past spring for a back injury that a brief in-office test showed some slightly irregular ocular reflexes. I made an appointment with a veterinary ophthamologist, and one week before Nationals, Taylor was diagnosed with PRA at 8 years old.

PRA is late onset in Papillons, commonly appearing between the ages of 6 and 8 years old.

Based on the fact that I could detect comparative deficiencies in his vision…for years before the actual diagnosis of an eye disease, it may be that defects in vision to small to detect may be enough to affect performance of training behaviors.

Basically, difficulty in performing visually-related tasks may be one of the first noticeable symptoms of an eye disease, and might even be in evidence for a long, long time before a disease can be medically diagnosed.

Perhaps, based on Taylor’s case, could there theoretically be eye problems to faint to be authoritatively diagnosed, but be enough to throw off things like depth perception, distance vision or possibly eye reflexes.

I would compare it to the fact that many people who are nearsighted can have their vision corrected by glasses, as opposed to people who have dramatic vision loss and blindness. At this point it could very well be that veterinary medicine is able to diagnose “blindness” but not mild deficiencies in vision.

It is likely that dogs could be as likely as humans to have slight visual deficiencies, but because most dogs are not subjected to measurable “tests” of their vision, these deficiencies are never detected.

It is only because high level performance of agility demands good vision to support judgement of approaches, etc., that these slight deficiencies are now being detected in practice.

Of note, our opthamologist noted that eye disease detected at early stage as Taylor was usually comes in the case when a person has a working relationship with the dog, not only in agility, but in activities like hunting.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

2011 AKC National Agility Championship - Our Winning Moment

Posing with AKC officials after the championship run.


Taylor gets to fly.

The photos came in from Stewart Event Images today, and they were great. Thanks Kristin and Ian Stewart for capturing our special moment. I look at the photos and it seems like it happened only yesterday.

The AKC was very kind in how they celebrated their new National Championships. Running in 4", we don't often get the recognition for how hard and well our little dogs work, and it was nice to see that our accomplishment was given the same enthusiastic reception as our larger counterparts.

Friday, April 15, 2011

We're on the AKC Newsletter!



I opened my mail today to find a surprise. Taylor and I, along with the other 2011 National Agility Championship winners were featured as the lead in to the "Your AKC" Newsletter that was sent out today. Really a nice way to recognize this years National Champions! All I can say is, "once in a lifetime!"

You can view the newsletter here:

Friday, April 8, 2011

Alert: "Nationals Lung" aka Walking Pneumonia

This is being circulated among the terrier folk, so thought I would pass it on just in case. Stay well!

If anyone who went to the AKC nationals in Lexington VA came home sick, you need to contact the Virginia Department of Health ASAP. Specifically you must ontact the local epidemiologist Mr. Jonathan Falk at 540-280-1984. Anyone who is sick or knows someone who got sick after the Nationals should contact him and file a report immediately! People are being diagnosed with M. pneumoniae", or "microplasma"which is basically walking pneumonia. Also, if you are reading this and are already sick, it is not just a flu. Get to your Dr. ASAP for antibiotics.
Jay is on the judges list and told me that they are calling it the "Nationals Plague." If anyone has been on FB you already know that quite a few from our area are sick. Jay came home sick and now I have it. Be careful, it is very contageous!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

We're on the 2011 AKC National Agility Championship page


The photos are up, and yep, there we are. Too bad I don't photograph as well as Taylor! Can't believe I was lucky enough to have such a wonderful dog. I knew he had a special destiny from the first moment I saw him. All I had to do was hang on for the ride.


Thanks, AKC, for hosting this event. For us, it was the experience of a lifetime.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Fox Door Knocker at Red Fox Tavern

Like this iron "fox on the run"!

The Red Fox Tavern at Natural Bridge Inn

Our own "red fox", Samurai, would have loved to hang out there.

Haunted House

Scary Monsters at Escape the Monster Museum

Entrance to Monster Museum at Natural Bridge Park

Waterfall at Natural Bridge Park

Mid-Day at Natural Bridge Park

Mid Day at Natural Bridge Park

Taylor enjoying his first day as a Preferred National Agility Champion

Smiling as usual on the river rocks at Natural Bridge Park, VA. Taylor loves living his life to the fullest.

Shaun the Explorer

Shaun contemplating the meaning of life on the banks of the river at Natural Bridge Park.

Dogs on Rocks

Just after Sami's first attempt at "fishing". He looked down from his rock to see tiny fishes swimming in the current. Impulsively, he dove in.

I don't think he anticipated that this would mean getting wet. I'll never forget the look on his face as he stood on the pool, fish scattering, with a look that said, "What just happened?"

You can see the wet breeches on him in the right hand corner.

Tool Making at the Monocan Village Re-Creation

Under the Bridge

Rock Portal

Late Morning at Natural Bridge

Just Like Old Timey Explorers at Natural Bridge

Tried an Ansel Adams-inspired look to bring out the expressions on the dog's faces. Look at Shaun (Toy Fox) smiling. That is truly priceless.

Mike and Pals at Natural Bridge

Mike Walks Through Natural Bridge

Natural Bridge, VA

One of the most beautiful walks I've ever been on.

The Dome at Natural Bridge Caverns

Water And Minerals Create Cave Formations

Stalagtite Formation at Natural Bridge Caverns

Mike Across America @Natural Bridge Inn

The Elegant Dining Room of the Natural Bridge Inn

This is where we had breakfast and dinner.

Lobby of the Natural Bridge Inn

Sort of The Overlook-like this time of year. Wait. Are those ghosts?

After the Nationals We Went For a Little R&R

National Bridge Inn in Virginia. What a quiet place to relax. Very dog friendly, too. Decor is a bit dated, but the it's very clean and the prices are reasonable. Nice restaurant, and best of all hiking through the Natural Bridge Park.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

New Preferred National Agility Champion (PNAC) Wingssong Sweet Baby James

Good night and thanks for being part of our journey.

New 24" AKC NAC Champion Blink #AKCNACResults

Ali in the Hot Seat #AKCNAResults 20"

Ashley and Luca 2011 16" AKC National Agility Champions #AKCNACResults

Angie and Dylan waiting for results @ 2011 AKC Agility Nationals

Andrea and Sparkle AKC 2011 National 8" Champions!

Andrea Samuels and her Bouquet of Stars

Johanna and Blink @ Challengers

Daneen and Masher head out for ChallengerS

Running order for 4" preferred 2011 AKC National Agility Championship