Nationals here I come!

Woofhoo!! We are headed to Sussex, New Brunswick this coming August for the AAC National Agility Championships! Awesome logo, don't you think? (though I do think a wire fox would have been a better dog choice ;))

So this past weekend I competed in the Ontario Regional Championships and did awesome earning 445 points and qualifying for Nationals for my 3rd year in a row.

Friday - Steeplechase Qualifier
On Friday there was the Masters Steeplechase round that was the qualifier for the Sasha's Blend steeplechase finals. I was a bit off and missed the weave entry and had to come back to do it. Then just before the end of the run, I thought for sure that I saw a big piece of food so I ran over to grab it and guess what...it was just a stupid dandilion!! Mom didn't seem impressed that I left her but what is a terrier to do?! In the end I still did well and ended up getting my 9th Masters Steeplechase Q! Only 1 more to go for that title now too! We also earned 6th place which was a really pretty pink ribbon...I like pink. Unfortunately I missed out on the steeplechase finals :( Maybe at Nationals?!

Saturday - Regionals Day 1
Gamble - 6th place finish. We started our day in the gamble ring and mom was very pleased with me. I was able to get the mini-gamble once and racked up quite a bit of points. I didn't get the main gamble which was very hard as you had to go away from the tunnel and go to the teeter. I misunderstood and went back in the tunnel. If only she would show me those course sheets BEFORE the run!!! ;)
Jumpers - 13th place finish. Our next round was jumpers. There was a nasty tunnel call off after the tire jump to the tunnel that a lot of people went off course on. Mom was very worried about an off course, so she called me off by mistake prior to jumping the tire so we got a refusal fault. If she didn't do that, we would have done well as I was flying!
Standard - 6th place finish. Our last round of the day was standard. I was very hot and tired from our long day so I had slowed down. Mom kept telling me to move faster but at least I got all my contacts and the weaves! Some humans are never happy ;)

Sunday - Regionals Day 2
Jumpers - 5th place finish. Our first round today was jumpers. Mom didn't make any mistakes today and I was running at a good pace. I went clean and got a good time bonus too!
Standard - 6th place finish. Woops, I made a boo-boo on this one. I sometimes can't help myself and just don't want to touch that yellow on the contacts. So I jumped off the dog walk before the yellow so that I could get to the jump/tunnel combo quicker. I heard after that because of that, we got 5 faults and lost our time bonus...sorry mom!
Gamble - 7th place finish. This gamble was pretty hard but my mom was "thrilled" that I got the mini gamble which was tunnel out to an A-frame (I got the contact..woofhoo). We ended with some really great points but didn't get the main gamble.

So with my great individual finishes (mom says its a very competitive division these days) I came in (drumroll......) 7th place overall in my division!

I will try and post some pictures from Nationals soon.

And then there was 1....

So with the help of our friends Breezie and Colleen on Sunday, we were able to get our second Masters Team Q!! woofhoo! I did almost go off course from a major hard trap at the tunnel but I used my listening ears and heard mom call me back to the weaves. Breezie is a superstar and did her side with such ease! Thanks Colleen and Breezie!

Countdown Stats:
1 Masters Team Q = 1 left for ATChC
2 left for MSCDC

This coming weekend is the Ontario Regional Championships. They are being held in Ilderton, ON from Friday to Sunday. If we qualify at Regionals we will make the trip to Sussex, New Brunswick for the Nationals in August. I feel that I am ready to take on Ontario so lets hope that the courses are good, the weather is good, and like I always say, that I get out of the right terrier side of the bed ;)



For more info, check out the Ontario Regionals website at http://www.dogsportemporium.com/ontregionals2008/

a WFT record!!

You are looking at the 1st Wire Fox Terrier to earn the Masters Gamble Dog of Canada (MGDC) Title! Yes...I did it!! Today was a good day :)

I got to sleep in a bit this morning which is always good for getting out on the right side of the terrier bed ;) We headed just north of our house (did I ever mention I hate to drive?) to Spot On's AAC Agility trial. The weather wasn't really that great when we got there but I was really happy to be outside and able to roll in the grass before my run. But don't worry, once I was finished rolling around, I got serious and was ready to run!



The first course of the day was the Masters Gamble. My mom picked out a nice course for me that I was able to run real fast and was perfect timing for when the buzzer went. The main gamble was a jump (easy) to the tunnel along the line (easy) out to a tire jump (ok, not easy). I didn't really understand what mom was saying so I ran over to her. She then said "go out hoop" and sure enough...I understood! Out I went over 20' away from my mom, jumped to tire jump (we call it hoop) and then she called me back to jump the first jump again and the tunnel again. YAY, I did it! I got my 3rd Gamble Q to get my Masters title.

I didn't stop there for Q's either. My next course was the Masters Snooker, which is my favorite course. Mom teases me saying I am the Snooker Queen but she doesn't seem to mind when I get those Q's. Here is me and my mom running the course (thanks Andrea for taking the pics of me today!)


Our final course of the day was Steeplechase. I was smoking and my mom didn't make me mad (which is always a good thing...I bite you know!) She said she was very proud of me because I got 2 great A-frame contacts and nailed the weaves. Sounds pretty good, don't you think?

Well tomorrow I am headed back there to see if my friends Breeze & Colleen can help us to get a Masters Team Q. I will let you know how that goes :)

Countdown Stats:
1 Masters Gamble Q = 2 left for ATChC
1 Steeplechase Q = 2 left for MSCDC

Cool new tags

Ok, I know that I said this blog was about agility but I just had to show off my new tag that came in the mail from, get this, Australia!! My mom found this amazing website that sells the coolest dog tags and they are really inexpensive! They had the Canadian flag as one of them so she got us those...because as I say "I AM Canadian!" hehe.

Owen, Baxter, Ripley and I (I didn't really want to be seen with the boys, so I closed my eyes ;))

Don't we look awesome with our new tags? For all my American friends and "boyfriends" (yes, thanks for all the offers...I am very flattered ;)) they also had the American flag.

Check out their website http://www.pawprintpettags.com/

Now on an agility note...this weekend we are going to the Spot On AAC Agility trial in Blackstock, ON. I am running in the following Masters classes: Gamble, Standard, Snooker, Steeplechase and Team. That means that I have 2 opportunities (Gamble and Team) to come away with more Q's towards my champion title!! Lets hope my mom doesn't screw up and make me mad! I will give you an update next week.

Till then,

Licks, Abbey

Another title on the line

Along with working towards my ATChC, I am also working on getting my Masters Steeplechase Dog of Canada title. In order to get this title, you need 10 Q's. I had 4 Q's at the end of 2007 and have so far been able to get 3 this year, just another 3 more to go :)

Here is Q#6 at the Rat Pack Trial in April:

The beginning of my blog...

Welcome to my blog. As you can see by the pictures and the heading, I am a wire fox terrier who competes in agility. I am hoping that 2008 will be the year I will become the first WFT to receive the Agility Trial Champion of Canada (ATChC) title!

The history of how I became such a great agility terrier :

My mom and I started our agility training back in 2004 at a place called Grand Paws in Edmonton, Alberta. Our teachers were Gayle Grant and Sue Charlton, they were awesome and taught me how to perform all the agility equipment to compete. My mom entered me in my first agility trial in Aug 2004 just prior to us moving to Ontario, I got my first Q and was hooked on the competition (I am very competitive...I bite my mom if she messes up!)

I was always a very fast little girl and had a lot of challenges with having to "stop" on the table. Can you imagine? Why would anyone want to stop in the middle of the agility field and lay down on such a rough table?! So it took me a while to get my Agility Dog of Canada (ADC) title. I completed that task in Sept '06 and headed into Advanced standard. I had much more success in the advanced ring (though the table was still in there...how stupid) and I completed my Advanced Agility Dog of Canada (AADC) title in Sept '07. During these 2 years I did finish my Starters Games Title (SGDC), my Masters Snooker Dog of Canada (MSDC) title and my Masters Jumpers Dog of Canada (MJDC).

2008 has started off with a BANG! I have come into my own and have completed the 2 Advanced Team Q's needed to get my Adanced Games Title (AGDC). I also completed my Masters Agility Dog of Canada (MADC) title by March! I am now on countdown to my final Q's to ATChC. I only need 1 more Masters Gamble and 2 more Masters Team! Keep your fingers crossed for good courses, good handling and me getting out of the right side of the terrier bed the morning of the trial ;)

I will keep you up to date on how it is going :)
Licks, Abbey