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Helen

Dudley Australian Shepherd from Fort Lauderdale, FL Bookmark Dudley’s Page… vote for me again tomorrow!

Here’s one of Luigi Easter Bunny with that certain attitude that one catches after living in South Florida too long.

Here are Leissl and Raven looking fresh before the DoberDiva wore them down to their last threads of patience.

Enjoy your holiday!

Helen

Here is Raven getting measured.  She stood very very still and got a cookie when she was finished being so good.  She topped off at 26 and 3/4 inches.  That’s my girl.  Her legs are long and slender just like her tail.  That lovely tail got commented on several times, most of the time was, “Ouch that thing hurts!”  But a lady whose Standard Poodle sports a mohawk mentioned her preference for the all natural look.  They are striking, those Dobies au natural…in more ways than one.  Tehehehe.

As a matter of fact, our judge, Roger Eiermann, has a Dobie, among other breeds, and this was his frist time seeing a tailed Dobe.  He also has a Pomeranian (or a Papillon), Chihuahua, white GSD, and one other.  Maybe a sporting breed.  He lives in GA.  Very nice man and a good agility judge.

Getting back to tails, there was a professional photographer or two at the trial.  They work together for the same team and play for keeps.  They take pictures of everybody’s runs and if you are a photo hound, like I am, and you take a look-see, you end up spending $39.50 for 4 photos.  OK, one was of Raven entering the dog walk, tail is sticking straight back behind her.  It’s a thing of beauty.  I could not resist that one.  Those pictures will arrive sometime in the next 6 weeks.  Unbelievable that these folks have a monopoly on this and you only get to see paper proofs on the day of the trial, no e-copies, no internet site, just $8 for a 4 x 6.  $12.50 for a 5 x 7.  And let us not forget the shipping and handling.  I would have loved just for them to just send me the whole set for $50 through e-mail.  Forget postage, photo paper and such!  I’m going to scan them anyway!  I hadn’t even thought about trading off with someone to take pictures for me and I for them till after the trial.  Maybe next time.

Here is Raven at home taking a quiet moment for meditating before her big weekend.  She loves her teeter, and she also likes to get on chairs, tables, anything above all others.  Raven is a reincarnated mountain goat.  I’m pretty sure of that.  Stubborn in some respects, loves to climb, and has a non-stop vocalization when she wants her way.

This is us on Saturday with our two ribbons and happy faces.  The white ribbon (our first placement) was on one of four tables with my camera and a half full traveler mug of peppermint tea.  I was putting our gear together to go home, and Raven got busy.  She had to put her paws on the table, collapsed it, and everything slid down to the ground, including me as I rolled under trying to save my camera.  The white ribbon is now a lovely tea-stained white, which will remind me that though Raven is now trained, she is still Raaaaaaaaaaven!  Thank goodness the camera came out of it still clicking.

Here she is in her “Driving Miss Raven” seat ready to be chauffeured home. And later, at home, she poses with her colorful rainbow of ribbons from the weekend. Who’d have thought we’d get to here from there when I was ready to strangle her all those months ago?

Not many teams qualified all four times – the maximum entries you could make with one dog in this two-day trial.  I know because they had a raffle for teams that Q’d all four times and for those who NQ’d all four times. (Q is agility speak for qualify and NQ is the opposite of Q.) The NQ cup was half full.  When I put my ticket in the Q cup at the end of the trail on Sunday eve, it had two other tickets.  Some others followed us, but not many.  We did not win the raffle.  My luck with raffles is another story for another time.

I have grown so much as a dog trainer from working with Raven, and I’ve had some wonderful help along the way.  The best part is I can finally say that I totally love and like this little rascal and have been able to throw away that medication for high blood pressure! 

Helen