Imagine Border Collies

Snow Fun

2012-01-24T07:48:00.002-06:00

Eastern Michigan got a significant snowfall recently and Deb with Cinder went to visit Deb's daughter, Amy, who owns Rio from Trey's second litter. The border collies had a great time running, chasing, and stalking thru the snow.

Cinder has always loved the snow!

Border collie dilemma
Rio "herds" Cinder as Cinder "herds" Keehgan

Cinder's half-brother, Rio

The 1st Snowfall of 2012

2012-01-13T07:24:00.004-06:00

Yesterday our "snow drought" (that's what the local meteorologists have been calling it) of the winter came to an end. Our first significant snowfall of the 2011-2012 winter season fell . . . and fell . . . and fell yesterday. And of course there were gusty winds to help push that snow into some impressive (and not-so-impressive) drifts. The worst is the cold and wind-chill. Bitter, bitter cold yesterday and again today. Br-r-r!

But the dogs wanted (needed) to go outside and run a bit, so I bundled up and took them out. This was Callen's first snowfall but other than running around like her butt was on fire, she didn't seem to take any notice of the 'new stuff' on the ground.

I LOVE this dog! She has the best expression!

The girls sure enjoy the new snow!

Look closely - there are THREE border collies in this photo.

Snowy Trey

Snow bouncing

Momma Trey & Daughter Callen

Momma Trey is a Champion!

2011-12-31T09:24:00.000-06:00

On December 4, 2011, Trey finished her breed championship by winning twice in one day - two different dog shows 4 hours apart. It was a marathon in driving but was well worth it.

We went into the weekend of December 3 & 4 needing only two single points to finish. On Saturday, Trey went Reserve to Winners Bitch at both shows - a big disappointment, altho at the second show in Belleville it was a Reserve to a major so that made me feel a bit better. But I would have been happier if we had garnered the point at the morning show at Kankakee.

But on Sunday it was all Winners for Trey. She won at Kankakee in the morning, reducing her points needed by 50%. Four hours later she won a 3 pt major to finish. Sweet!

Here is her win photo. It's not the best but at least I have it and the memories!

Trey finishes her breed championship with a 3-pt major
Judge Rick Gschwender, Belleville, IL
Photo by Downey Photography

A Merry Border Collie Christmas!

2011-12-24T07:55:00.002-06:00

Wishing everyone a very merry Christmas and a new year filled with fun for you and your dogs - and maybe some new titles too!
Kat, Beckett, Trey & Callen
Imagine Border Collies

We've been VERY good, Santa!

A Border Collie Christmas

Suunta Goes Hiking

2011-11-21T07:52:00.001-06:00

Jen is well on her way to recovery from her hip surgery. She is now able to get out and about her northern Colorado winter home. She really has some awesome scenery to view as she works on her rehab PT. And apparently there is a ton of wildlife to observe and be wary of (bears and puma). This big horn sheep was near the house (photo courtesy of Jen Jones).

She has also started hiking with Suunta. Altho she is anxious to start running, she is finding her body has to work hard just to walk distances. Time is and will heal that issue and I'm sure she will be running soon - but not soon enough for Jen!

Jen and Suunta against a backdrop of gorgeous Colorado

Sunnta's backpack to hold water and supplies
(and bear spray, I hope!)

MX & MXJ for Cinder!!!

2011-11-14T07:00:00.001-06:00

I got the following email this morning from Deb & Cinder -

Well, we had an interesting weekend this weekend. Six VERY nice runs, but only 3 Qs, and only 1 per day, so no QQ. BUT, the Q in Std on Friday gave us our MX, and the Q in JWW on Saturday (with a 4th place) was our MXJ. We got another Q in Std today.

The NQs were for just one little thing each time; we are coming SO close to getting those QQs!! On Friday, Cin passed a jump that even the video looks like I was clearly directing her to, but obviously there was something missing. On Saturday, I was not in my "planned" position for the weaves, so I stopped for a bare second, and Cinder popped out to follow me. And today's JWW course LOOKED fantastic; we were the 15th dog in the ring, and there wasn't a Q until 3 dogs AFTER me!! Cinder took the outside of 2 jumps and was supposed to take the inside; I tried to call her off while running; should have stopped running all together to stop her.

But the NQs were being caused by many different issues, nothing was obviously causing all the problems. I've never heard so many groans and laughs, all at the same time! Only 9 dogs out of the 40 dog class Q'd. And it WAS a nice course!! Was there a full moon or something last night??

We'll finish the year at MSU in December, then we're done until probably late January; next year we will get serious about QQs and picking up the speed (oh, and we'll actually start that quest at MSU).

WOW! What a nice weekend Deb and Cinder had. I know she's frustrated at not getting those QQs (I know how it feels since I experienced kind of the same thing in my QQ quest for our UDX). But the Masters titles are nothing to sneeze at either!

Congratulations to Deb & Cinder!!!

Late Update on O'my

2011-11-08T08:19:00.000-06:00

I got sidetracked and never posted this email update from Lois - sorry! It was dated October 23rd . . .

Well, O'my and I have spent the last couple of months revisiting our skills and working on ways to improve our game. Trying to find a better normal! So along the way we have picked up a few Q's and a bunch of placements. Making a lot of mistakes trying to get settled.

Anyway today we had a tie score in Jumpers. We both had a time of 24.55, 153 yards, 6.23 yps.
So we got to have a run off!!

So much fun!!

It was not a real fast course so hard to push for much more. The guy we were having a run off with often runs right after us and we are often neck to neck. So we both went for it. I was able to take .6 sec off of our time, for 23.99, and Tom ran almost the same time of 24.54! We knocked the first bar because I set O'my too far back and Tom knocked a bar on course. But we won the runoff!!

Lois and O'my are quite the team and they enjoy each other so much. I am glad that she is his owner.

Halloween Greetings from Emma

2011-11-01T09:04:00.001-05:00

Emma, Ern & Laura send Halloween greetings from Houston, TX to all Emma's siblings & half-siblings.

Like Emma's devil costume? All that's missing is the pitchfork!

They've been in Houston about 4 weeks now and Emma is doing well. Emma's going for walks on all the old trails, enjoying the sunshine, and constantly chasing squirrels.

Where did that squirrel go?

She loves to play with Ern's brother's Corgi puppy, Cooper, who gives her a run for her money in the energy department.

Last week they took her to watch his other Corgi, Winnie, at an agility trial. Emma was much calmer and focused on 'sit', 'stay', etc. around all the other dogs than before. It looked like a lot of fun, so they're planning on Emma starting in their trainer's next beginner agility class.

Such a lovely shot of Emma!

Suunta's First Snow

2011-10-27T07:56:00.001-05:00

Jen and Matt are wintering in the mountains near Ft. Collins, CO, with the three dogs. I am so jealous! I absolutely love the Rockies and they are my retirement dream. (It won't happen but it's nice to dream!)

Yesterday was their first snowfall of the season. It was also Suunta's first snowfall (along with brother, Bentley, the St. Bernard). Remember, Suunta has lived in Florida for most of her life. They had almost a foot of heavy, wet snow.

Jen is recovering from hip repair surgery and is just off crutches, but that didn't stop her from going out to enjoy the snow with the dogs!

Suunta's first snow experience

Now that's a lot of snow!

Warm up by the fire

Agility Update from Deb

2011-10-11T07:00:00.003-05:00

Deb and Cinder had another weekend of agility but only came home with one Q. Deb is pleased with comments strangers give her on her dog but laments ever getting right all the 'little' things that go awry during their runs. But she looks at the bright side of things, which is the only thing that keeps you sane if you compete in dog sports - Cinder's yards-per-minute time is getting faster, her weaves entrances are much improved. But it is hard to go and not achieve what you'd hoped to that weekend.

According the the AKC's website, Cinder has 150 MACH points plus any she has earned in the last couple weekends (AKC takes about two weeks to record updates). She is also at nine Qs (of the ten needed) for both her MX & MXJ. So something is going right.

I think that the little things that go wrong can all be traced back to a handler error and I think Deb would agree with me. It is amazing how our dogs cue off of our body language and it's difficult for us to learn how to not throw out conflicting signals! Cinder is just 3 so they still have lots of time to work on their "issues."

New Title for Skye

2011-10-03T07:36:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, Skye and Mel finished their Excellent Standard title (AX). Congratulations to them. (Somehow I had already thought he had that title - even had it posted on his page, but guess my old brain was playing tricks on me!)

Mel reports that altho they had no qualifying runs in the Jumpers classes, they were near misses. So good runs and a great weekend.

Congrats to Skye and Mel!

A QQ for Cinder!

2011-09-28T12:00:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, Deb and Cinder got it together to qualify in both Standard and Jumpers on the same day, giving them their second QQ (of 20) towards their MACH.

Way to GO, Deb and Cinder.

Deb was also thrilled that Cinder hit every single one of her weave pole entrances the entire weekend. Nice feeling, I'm sure.

2011-09-20T13:59:00.002-05:00

From Deb & Cinder via Facebook --

Sunday, September 18 --
Triple Q for Cinder and me for our two days in Grand Rapids - but it was in FAST and Standard on Friday and JWW on Saturday. That's not really how you're supposed to do it. Brother Skye beat us by about a half second in that jumpers run.

The best news of the weekend was that Cinder entered and completed six sets of weaves perfectly - something we have been working on, since if I so much as turn my head she will pop out.

Very nice pieces even in our NQs...
--------------------------------------------------
Good job, Deb! Nice to be able to find the good in an NQ without offering excuses for the bad. That's the sign of a good trainer/handler.

Update From Lois

2011-09-13T07:19:00.000-05:00

Hi All,
Just wanted to let you know that O'my got his C-ATCH 2 this weekend. He Also got his Championship in Wildcard. Standard, Fullhouse. He only needs 10 of the 40 legs needed for C-Atch 3. (These are all from CPE agility.) Not sure of the abbreviations for the champion titles but will check.

Rayna is well into level 5 and getting close to her C-Atch and Journey is finishing up some level 4 games but then is also well into some for level 5. So maybe C-Atchs for them next year. May be hard as we only do about 5 CPE trials a year.
-----
Congratulations to Team Lois and O'my and also to Lois and her Dobermans!

Note From Laura

2011-09-11T11:21:00.001-05:00

Hi Kat,
Thanks again for letting us come visit you guys! We had a wonderful time chatting and watching Emma have fun with her canine family. It was so cool to watch Emma's instincts kick in when she herded those ducks. I was like a proud parent at work, telling everyone about it and showing them the blog and pics. I even cried some when I first saw the blog. LOL
We'll keep in touch!
Laura

An AKC Agility Update for Cinder

2011-09-08T07:17:00.002-05:00

We had a blast this weekend; two JWW Qs and just missed the 3rd when I cued for extension instead of collection and we missed a jump. But it was probably our best run of the weekend. Cin loves to stretch out and run! Still have the little bobbles that cost us a couple Std legs and one VERY UGLY run that Cinder has to share the blame for! Even at 6 (Qs) of each now (jumpers and standard)...

We did a 2X2 weave class with one of the really good teachers from down a ways from us on Friday night. I took Grace and Pat took her new pup. Lots of fun with a new method that everyone is raving about! So I started re-doing weave training with Cinder and we'll be spending the next 2 weeks seeing if we can get some independent performance so I can LOOK AT THE NEXT OBSTACLE and my dog will STAY IN THE POLES!!! We'll see in Grand Rapids if it helps!

I know it's frustrating for Deb to not get those QQs towards her MACH. But she is racking up speed points with the Qs she is getting and she needs points and QQs to earn that MACH. Good luck to them on their retraining and in the upcoming trails in Grand Rapids.

Emma's Last Visit

2011-09-07T08:14:00.000-05:00

As previously mentioned, Ern and Laura and Emma are moving to Houston, TX, in a couple of weeks. Sigh. So Ern and Laura brought Emma down for a visit before the move. That was SO sweet and considerate of them!

They arrived about noon last Sunday. It was a mild, sunny day, perfect for sitting in the yard and letting the dogs run and play. Emma greeted Trey first and with very little trouble got down to play. Then I brought out Beckett and Emma remembered her and her authority immediately. Emma greeted Beckett respectfully and initiated play with her but didn't do the rough play she was having with Trey.

I then brought out Callen and the two sisters hit it off immedieately! But I did have to put Trey in the house as she decided she needed to "keep an eye" on the two girls and "protect" Callen. This was the first of this behavior I'd seen with this litter. Last litter (Trey's first), Trey was "protecting" Riley even when he was bigger than her. Caused a lot of posturing and bitch fighting between Beckett and Trey. So as soon as I saw Trey go into (belated) mommy-mode, I put her up.

Emma and Callen ran circles, full-speed, around the yard until they couldn't catch their breath. It was so nice to see them play together as if they'd been friends all their lives.

After Emma had taken off some of her exess energy, I collected a set of ducks and let her have a try at herding. At first she just wanted to chase, as was to be expected. She really liked going in and causing them to flap their wings, but she never bit, stepped on, or try to hurt them in any way. She was just figuring it out. After only a couple minutes she started to go around them instead of into them and do a gather/fetch. Yay!

She worked really nice with no cheap shots. Of course with the edge taken off she didn't work real long but what she did was beautiful!

She looks very much like her momma here!

I am super-pleased with her interest, instinct, and ability. And I am SO very glad I got to see her before she moves to Texas. It's probably the last time I'll ever see her. . .

Cinder & NADAC

2011-08-30T07:21:00.000-05:00

I'm way behind on my updates. Having a puppy keeps one SO much busier than you'd think. Cinder ran in a NADAC agility trial weekend before last and here's what Deb had to say about the experience --

NADAC is different - much more casual, more game type stuff. They LOVE their tunnels and have a "hoop" that the dogs just run through instead of some jumps. Every new dog has to start at Novice, no matterwhere they might be in CPE or AKC, so we had five 1st places for six runs. I caused our only NQ when I was trying to get a blind cross in, looking behind me to pick Cin up and ran into and knocked over the next jump. Unfortunately, Pat did NOT get that run (on video). It would have been good for a laugh!

It was a fun day with our dogs, rain held off until the trip home.

Back to AKC over Labor Day in Toledo.

Moving

2011-08-19T08:33:00.000-05:00

This spring, Jen & Mike (Suunta's owners) packed up their big RV, rented their Florida house out, and went up to Minnesota for the summer. I've been following Jen's summer and also her winter plans via her blog. She's been looking for a winter home to rent as they are not going back to Florida for now.

From Jen's blog --

Finally, a house has been rented for this winter! I'm am so pumped. This place is great, it's up in the foothills west of Fort Collins, Colorado. It's a log house, which I love since I grew up in one. It's mostly furnished, I only need to get some bedroom furniture. It is surrounded by AWESOME trails, right out the door! It's a 5 minute walk to Horseshoe Reservoir, a massive lake. There is a great kitchen, which I've never had and I can get into town with a 15-20 minute drive where there are great organic/vegan/Jen-friendly stores and farmer's markets--I'm going to be a cooking machine out there.

This is a photo of the place.

Quite the home, huh? I would LOVE to spend my winter there!

And I also heard from Ern and Laura about Emma --

Emma's doing great! She's very active, but the off button still works (thank God). She's gotten quite well socialized at the off leash park nearby, but more work on her recall would be useful there. She constantly herds the other dogs, running circles around them and nipping at them as she runs by. Bet she'd love to try ducks or sheep.

We're moving back to Houston for awhile at the end of September. We plan on finally getting Emma to some obedience and agility classes once we get settled. On the way down I-55, we would like to stop off and let her visit with momma Trey, aunt Beckett, and gramma Kat if we could.

Here is a picture of Emma with a friend.

Emma is not looking!

More Legs for Skye

2011-08-17T08:12:00.000-05:00

Got this update from Mel --

Skye recently got a second MXJ leg, 14 MACH points and took 7th place out of 40 dogs. He also was cooking along at 5.76 yard per second on course which is pretty good. He's very efficient at covering ground on course but he never looks like he's moving that fast. He also got his first MXF leg. His other runs were really nice, but handler errors kept more Qs at bay as I am still learning how to execute this handling system better.

Congratulations to Mel and Skye. Sounds like they are coming together as a team!

Another QQ For O'my!

2011-08-14T08:11:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, O'my earned another QQ towards his MACH2. Lois and O'my are one AWESOME team!

This is what Lois posted on Facebook -

This weekend Rayna (one of her Dobermans) got her first QQ. Her first try in EX B! A QQ for O'my and Journey (her young Dobeman) tried EX STD for the first time and did pretty well. She also did OK in Open Jumpers once she got over the people sitting behind the tunnel and the little boy that was there. She thought it was her friend, Thomas. She is really picking up her speed. We had a great time.

Cinder's Weekend

2011-08-09T09:51:00.001-05:00

Whew, finally recovered from the weekend and have the energy to send you a note!

I took both Grace (her pomeranian) and Cinder to a CPE trial on Friday. Grace has some issues that we needed to work on, but in her defense, she's never even been to an agility class in her life! I've taken her to fun shows, and we've done 2 trials already; she does pretty well on her first run, but then tends to shut down and get distracted if I take her in the ring again.

So I signed her up for 3 Level 1 classes. First class was Full House, and she ran with her typical "first run" enthusiasm and managed a 1st place! Then we had Standard... embarrassed to admit we were excused for pooping in the ring! Yes, I had taken her out for a nice walk before we ran, but she must have been too excited to go with all the other dogs around there... Her last class of the day was Jumpers, and my brave little girl ran another great run for another 1st place!! Granted, there were only 2 other dogs in her classes, but as they say, you have to Q to win! We'll take it!!

Cinder SCORCHED level 3 with 5 1st places!! And not cheap runs, either; she ran and looked awesome; several people we've never met even came up to congratulate us on our nice runs. In the 2 classes that run the same course for all levels, (think they were Full House and Jackpot), just need different point counts, she even beat the highest level dogs. What a day we had!! I was so proud of both my girls!

Then we drove about 40 miles away for an AKC trial on Saturday. We camped at the site, and Carrie and Noah came down (her daughter and grandson). Care was showing Keeghan (Carrie's red BC) for the first time since Noah was born. We used to camp alot and we really loved it; this time not so much. It was HOT! Mosquitoes were BIG! YMCA kids camping close by were LOUD! Did I mention it was HOT? Did I mention that the mosquitoes were BIG? Oh, and no running water, so the bath was a washcloth and a hose. So none of us got a very good night's rest.

Saturday was still hot and very muggy, even rained off and on all day, but unfortunately, all that did was make it muggier. Cin missed a contact so we were short points in FAST (but did get the send).

Then I ran Keeghan and he showed her how it was supposed to be done by tearing it up for a 1^st place! Of course, it was his first time in FAST, so he was in the novice level. Then Grace ran a very nice JWW course and managed another 1^st place!

Cin’s next try was Std; not only did she struggle to sit at the start line, when I walked away she got up and started sniffing everything around her and all around the first jump. I swear she thinks she’s a beagle!! So I excused us from the class.

Back to Grace for Std; she ran a great course but still refused the rain-soaked chute (she runs right through my light colored chute; need to go practice on someone’s dark one…) for an NQ, but she stayed with me and ran with confidence, exactly what I was working for!

Cin’s JWW course started with a jump to the weaves; they were laid out right along the snow fencing between the two rings. As I released her, instead of coming to the weaves, she ran to check out a dog walking between the rings. Talk about distracted!! I think we were both hot and tired and just not giving it 100%. Once I got her back we did ok, but neither of us were too excited.

So now we have a quiet spell until September when it gets busy again.

Riley's Vacation

2011-08-07T06:53:00.000-05:00

Chuck sent me these photos of Riley on vacation down in Florida. It certainly looks like the boy enjoyed his time there!

He's such a handsome, silly boy!

Cinder's Friday

2011-07-23T08:56:00.001-05:00

From Deb and Cinder --

Went to an unplanned trial today that some friends talked me into signing up for... and managed to get a QQ... too bad it was in Std and FAST! BUT, we placed in both, too! Fourth place in Std and 2nd in FAST. We were in 2nd place in Std until the last 2 dogs ran, darn it. Less than 2 seconds under our time, too. But WOW, that amazes me.

Cin popped out of the weaves in Jumpers and it was down hill from there... I kinda lose my mind when we NQ early...

Congratulations to Deb and Cinder on the Qs and the placements! Now if Deb can just polish her handling skills to help Cinder so that they can get those QQs towards their MACH. I'm confident that they will get it all together and then look out world!

Agility Updates

2011-07-07T07:45:00.000-05:00

I have been so busy right now that it's been hard to find the time to jump on the computer and post things. Sorry.

Last weekend, Cinder finished her Excellent FAST title. It was the only Q she got over the weekend but was happy with Cinder's efforts. Most of the NQs were tiny mistakes, many caused by handler error. Deb is still learning this game and she forgets that a body turn or a head flick can push or pull her dog off an obstacle. It'll come together eventually. Cinder is only just 3 so they have lots of time to perfect this.

At the same trial, Skye got two Ex FAST legs to finish his title. He also earned a Q in Ex Standard, his first, and got his first MXJ leg (of 10) along with 10 MACH points. So a great weekend for Skye & Mel.

At different trial, O'my earned QQ #9 (of 20) towards his MACH2. Over the weekend, he placed with three firsts and a second. He is getting quite consistent in his qualifying. He has gotten nine QQs in nine weekends, meaning a 50% rate of getting his QQs. Not something to sneer at, I can tell you.

So congratulations to all the Imagine Border Collie agility dogs!

Cinder (and Deb) Come For a Visit

2011-07-02T09:31:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, I got to again see my beautiful "Pink Girl" Cinder. She was the puppy I was supposed to keep from the Trey x Sonic litter but changed circumstance didn't allow. She is well-loved and treasured by Deb, but Cinder will always hold a very special place in my heart since she was "mine."

Deb's daughter, Amy, came to pick up her new puppy from my current litter so Deb and Cinder rode along. It was SO good to see both of them as I consider Deb a good friend now. So of course I had to take pictures to remember this occasion.

Cinder was very good with Rio, her half-brother who is Amy's new puppy, but got a bit overwhelmed when the other 6 were let loose to play. But she was absolutely appropriate in how she handled letting the puppies know she didn't want them climbing on her. What a good girl!

Two New FAST Titles

2011-06-27T16:42:00.001-05:00

Over the weekend, both Cinder and Skye earned their Excellent FAST titles. Way to go teams!

Skye also earned his first MXJ leg (out of 10 needed). His owner also reported that he qualified in all three classes for the first time (not that it counts at this point) and was very pleased.

I get to see Deb this Friday when she drives over with her daughter to pick up Amy's new puppy. Can't wait to see her again.

Looking for MACH2

2011-06-14T07:44:00.000-05:00

O'my got QQ # 6 and 7 this past weekend. They were one bar from a perfect weekend, but they did take two 2nd and two 3rd places and 125 points. Not that they need the points. O'my is so fast that he is already accumulating speed points towards his MACH3. Those darn QQs are what he's looking for - again. Consistent, clean runs are sometimes difficult to get even with an amazing dog.

Congrats on a great weekend, Lois & O'my!

Riley and the Half-Siblings

2011-06-09T10:46:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, Chuck, Darlene and five of their grandkids came down to visit the new litter of puppies and to help me socialize them to kids. Riley came along to see his Gramma Kat, momma Trey, and auntie Beckett.

Chuck said that Riley didn't seem to care for puppies as one of his daughters has a new golden retriever puppy and Riley wants nothing to do with him.

While Riley really didn't show any interest when the puppies were loose in the yard, he did designate himself the official babysitter of the litter while they were in their playpen.

Riley the Frisbee Dog!

2011-06-05T16:10:00.001-05:00

Here's another great Riley story from Chuck --

Darlene saw a blurb in the paper about a "disc tournament" in downtown Naperville. I assumed it was a Frisbee tournament and went to take a look. Well, that's what it was so I went up to the desk and asked if I could enter. I play Frisbee all the time with Riley and I thought he did as well as some of the dogs there.

Entres were closed already. But I must have looked like a forlorn schoolboy with a look of disappointment (This is the same look Chuck used on me when he wanted to take Riley home right away & I wanted him to wait a day and think about it. It worked because he went home with the dog!).

Well, they asked if he was a novice, which he was, and since that hadn't started, he could enter that group. So I paid up, and they gave me this awful Frisbee. It was cheap and light. I practiced with it a few times, but it was so light, I kept throwing it into the ground. Some nice people helped me out.

So when we were called, I floated my first one just a few yards, next one a few yards longer, then feeling supremely confident, I threw the next one into the scoring tent. The judge just swatted it back onto the field, and Riley caught it, and ran back to me with it. No points.

We were waiting for our second turn, but Riley got bored and when I wasn't looking, ran onto the field and tried to snag someone else's Frisbee. They stopped the clock, and gave her another turn. I apologized to her and she just laughed. She was a good sport.

Our next turn came, first toss was short, next a little longer, and the third was a Hail Mary to the end on the field, Riley did a triple somersault back flip and caught it in mid air, then he had to run furiously back to me before his minute expired. He got applause from the crowd.

I kinda hoped for a third place, maybe. Well they called out the winners, and third place was "Fluffy", second place was "Whiskers" so we started back to the car. Then they called first place and it was Riley! Everyone cheered as they told the story of our late sign up and first time status.

There were about thirty five dogs there and about fifteen were Border Collies. Riley wasn't bothered by the crowd and handled himself real well.

So Riley came home with the gold on Saturday morning.

Busy Weekend for Imagine Border Collies

2011-05-16T07:21:00.000-05:00

Both Cinder and O'my ran in agility trials this weekend.

From Deb:
Cin had 2 great JWW runs; yesterday I pulled her to a wrong jump, today I was running hard to get a front cross and she read my forward motion as "go to that tunnel" instead of "stop and turn here..." Imagine that... We did get a 3rd in Std today with 16 MACH points; I think that puts us over 100 now. Std yesterday was a mess; she missed the weave entrance about half way through the course and it was down hill from there. Fast class was tunnel under a dog walk to another tunnel to the dog walk. Darn, we couldn't get into the 1st tunnel, so wound up sending her to the 2nd tunnel, then got the dog walk - go figure; she got the hard part!!

Congrats to Deb and Cinder on their successful runs.

Word on Facebook is that O'my earned three QQs towards his MACH2. He already has all his speed points so just needs to rack up 20 total QQs. He now has 4. He earned placements with the qualifying runs. He is a very talented boy with an extremely talented handler! Congrats to team O'my!

MACH Photos

2011-05-11T10:10:00.000-05:00

I just love these shots of Lois and O'my. That gorgeous ribbon is the one they earned with their new MACH title.

More Weekend Updates

2011-05-09T11:44:00.000-05:00

From Deb and Cinder --
Great time at the GRAC trial this weekend; love that trial. Fri was a bit of a mess; moments of brillance but a bunch of handler errors. Sat was a bit better with a 2nd in Fast for our 2nd ExA leg and a Q in JWW. Still mad at myself for sending her to the wrong jump in Std. Worked on the start line stay problem from Fri and got all of our weaves that gave us trouble too...

From Lois and O'my --
Well O'my started on Mach 2 today with a double Q! with 2 - 4th places. We already have all of our points for Mach 2 [so just need the 20 QQs]. Last year at this trial we ran Ex B for the first time and got our first ever QQ. Also some good friends, Sue and Pat, brought a MACH cake to celebrate. What a surpise and so nice!! Thanks!

Skye's Weekend

2011-05-09T06:46:00.001-05:00

This past weekend Skye earned his Open Fast title and his Excellent Jumpers title. Way to go!

He is still a work in progress on his weave poles and had issues with his entries into them and so did not qualify in Standard, but I'm sure with more work he'll solidify that exercise and be on his way towards his AX and then his MACH.

Congrats to Mel and Skye.

Belated Birthday Update from Jen & Suunta

2011-05-02T06:01:00.000-05:00

Jen posted the followng as a comment to the "Happy 3rd Birthday" post and I copied and pasted it here so it would be seen and read . . .

Yes, I am pretty broken from Boston. Running that far on a bad leg is a TERRIBLE idea ; )

Suunta puppy is rocking her life, as you know. She is the perfect momma's girl, unlike any puppy I've ever owned! We are packing for our travels north for the summer, she can't wait!

Our pack is the best of friends, which is pretty cool. They all truly love each other. I could spend all my free time just watching them interact, it's so special and so much fun! Even our friends and neighbors enjoy watching them play :)

Suunta is awaiting pictures of the next litter (...and might be stalking your other blog). Even though she is already the "big" sister, she can't wait for the new puppies!

Emma Enjoys Spring

2011-05-01T09:52:00.001-05:00

Pictures from Laura and Ern on Emma's 3rd birthday. She looks happy and well-loved, doesn't she?

I love owners who let their dogs get dirty & wet!

She really resembles her mom.

Whee-e-e-e!

Beautiful girl

Riley Plays a Trick

2011-04-30T06:29:00.002-05:00

Got this from Chuck and thought I'd share as I thought it was so funny!

Riley (who believes he should go everywhere with us on his vacation) has created a new trick to make us miss him when we leave him behind.

The first time when we came back after going out without him we couldn't find him in the first floor. I immediately panicked and thought we had left him out. I went running down the street yelling "Riley" at the top of my lungs. Darlene found him in the upstairs bathroom with the door closed. Whew.

Then it happened again, and again we thought he had closed the door accidentally behind him.

However the third time smells fishy.

I think he just goes there, nudges the door close, and waits for us to miss him. . .

I also got some new pics of Emma which I will post here soon.

Birthday Update from Skye

2011-04-27T08:34:00.001-05:00

Happy belated birthday to all the sibs!

Skye celebrated the next day by earning his first excellent leg in JWW... it was a beautiful run!

He had a near miss showing under grandma Sharon, but if he had not popped his weaves (which was followed by immediately visiting Sharon as I set him up to take them properly), he probably would have run that one with a Q as well. Lots of stuff to work on, but the boy is doing very well for me as we tinker with agility.

Skye has been a very busy boy with his goose control job this spring as we have lots of geese to herd off our properties in the nesting season. With a very busy spring in goosing, and not good weather in general, has meant not a lot of time to get out to herd sheepies at the farm lately. In a couple weeks he will be having a first go with ducks. We are hoping spring will stop dumping rain and the spring goose season slows soon so we can finally start making it more regularly to the farm.

Happy 3rd Birthday!

2011-04-24T07:31:00.004-05:00

The Trey x Sonic litter turned three on Friday. Wow, it seems like just yesterday they were being born.

Trey with her seven babies in 2008

I sent birthday greetings to all seven pups and owners and received back some sweet and some cute replies.

From Earnest & Laura - Emma was 3 yesterday? Awww, my little baby is growing up! She got skunked a few days ago and has had a couple of baths, but still kinda stinks if you smell her up close. So I am gonna take her into the preserve and let her get all nice and muddy and as smelly as she wants, and then give her a 3rd scrubbing!

From Sara, Dean & John - Sam is as wonderful as ever. Yes, I think she's really ready for spring! She has helped with some yard work already but she's really waiting for the mower. LOL! She and John have truly bonded. She loves Dean & I, and Joe when he's home, but John is her boy and it shows. It's so cute. He's very good with her. Fate knew what to do, didn't she? ;-) Best dog ever, hands down! Our birthday girl is wishing it weren't raining but doing a great job working her toys this morning. LOL! Happy Birthday to all!

From Lois - Yes happy birthday to all. Very nice to have both Kat and Sharon to share my travels with my first BC. Every day I can not believe how lucky I am to have my boy. O'my is wondering if it is his Birthday why is it 11 am and he has not done anything yet. Off to the field we go.

From Deb - Happy birthday to everyone! I hope everyone is doing exactly everything they love today!! Cinder celebrated in the cold wind, rain, snow and sleet at an out door agility trial, then had Frosty Paws with the rest of the pack after dinner tonight. She loved every minute of her birthday! Thanks Kat and Sharon (really Trey and Sonic!) for giving us these awesome pups!

*Update* The weather was perfect on Sat for an outside trial; 70, sunny and a bit breezy to keep it from being too hot. So the weekend was a wash; one wet day, one great day. We had some terrifc runs Sat, but in our std run, she popped out of the tunnel AFTER she went in; guess she noticed me moving away to get a front cross past the next jump. And in JWW, I pulled her off a jump; again, trying to get ahead of her. But, otherwise the were both great runs. Today, in stead of agility, we went to Amy's for dinner and the pond for my water collies...

From Chuck - Yes Happy Birthday to the best litter in the world and the best breeder in the world, too. It's just amazing all these perfect dogs found perfect owners. Here's to us and Kat. Riley is celebrating his birthday in Florida for a month. Perfectly adjusted, great traveller, wonderful companion. I think he likes Gulf Shrimp - the expensive kind.

I've not heard from Skye's owner or Suunta's owner (but in Jen's defense she is recuperating from running in the Boston Marathon on a hurt leg).

I will post 3-year pictures when I receive them and also any other updates as they come along.

Happy birthday to an AWESOME litter. I am very proud of the whole lot of them!!!!

Thoughts From Lois

2011-04-12T07:27:00.002-05:00

So on my ride home I was thinking about my journey with O'my so far.

He has been with me for just over 33 months.
We started playing as a puppy in the breed ring to take a Best of Breed and 1 point.
Then on to Rally from start to finish for the RAE title while training for agility.
Cpe agility from Novice to his C-Atch in 17 weekends!!
Also while playing with sheep for a little bit. Enough for him to pass his HIC.
Then AKC agility from Novice to MACH in 33 weekends!!! He has only started playing the game for 19 months.
First AKC National and now already qualified for next year. Enough points for MACH 2! MXF title!

All of this while sharing his life and me with the girls who take up more time than he does. He has had to give up a lot for me to find time to work them through their stuff. My gosh imagine if I could just focus on him.

While at the National I was thinking of my Promise because all the Dobe people were going off to tke a photo and walked past me and said "Lois you should be in this with us".

Then I was in line about 12 dogs out and over the loud speaker comes "there is a Volvo with MA plates that read PROMSE I believe that spells 'Promise' the lights are on." I almost died. How could my lights be on because they shut off with the car. My friends ran to shut them off. However then I realized that was Promise's way to let me know she was there.

So this has been an amazing three weeks. Getting #19 in NJ, then to the National, and then to come home and MACH and to cross the finish line clean with Rayna in EX after only 4 weekends in AKC.

How lucky am I!!!!

MACH O'my!

2011-04-10T07:37:00.000-05:00

O'my and Lois finished their agility championship over the weekend with their 20th QQ and a first in Jumpers.

This is quite the feat, but is made especially amazing by the fact that he's not yet 3 years old.

As you can imagine, Lois is over the moon happy. And to add a bit of sugar to that happiness, that QQ also was the last they needed to qualify for next year's agility nationals. Amazing.

O'my At the Agility Nationals

2011-04-04T06:54:00.001-05:00

Well finding results is hard for me but what Lois told me was that on Saturday she caused O'my to fault on the Standard course by telling him "free" (his release command) at the end of the dogwalk instead of using his name to send him to the next obstacle. Ah well. She's only human.

But the great news was that they were clean and fast for Jumpers.

So they were clean in Standard on Friday and clean in Jumpers on Saturday with only one fault in the other class each day. That is awesome for a young team and a not-yet-even-three year old dog.

I am so proud of them!

National Agility Championships Update 2

2011-04-02T06:49:00.000-05:00

From what I can glean from posted results Lois and O'my finished 15th on time but was the 10th fastest dog on the Time to Beat course on Thursday. the other five dogs who were faster either had a bar down or a wrong course fault which added 5 points to their overall score. Will post their actual rankings when I find out.

On Friday it was the Jumpers course and the Standard course --

Round 1 Jumpers – they must have had a fault – probably a dropped bar, 5 faults for a score of 29.21 so they must have been cruising. They were 93rd out of 280 entered dogs but some were absent.

Round 2 Standard – clean round – 39.006 seconds with a standard course time of 63! That was 40th out of 280 dogs.

This is awesome for a young team such as Lois and O'my. I am bustin' my buttons proud!

National Agility Championships Update 1

2011-04-01T08:26:00.000-05:00

From the AKC Twitter page:
AKC Ring 4 # 0 T2B - R1/20" 200935 OMy / Lois Platt -- Time: 25.485 Faults: W:0 F:0 E:0

This is the "Time to Beat" class. At one point, Lois and O'my were the ones to beat. Don't know final result but that is cool to see their names as the ones to beat!

#19 for O'my

2011-03-31T07:21:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday Lois and O'my earned QQ #19. Way to go!

O'my also earned a QQQ towards the new TQX title.

Lois and O'my will be competing at the AKC Agility Nationals this weekend. Wishing them lots of luck and fun.

O'my Master Excellent FAST

2011-03-21T08:25:00.001-05:00

O'my finished his MXF title. This means he qualified in Excellent B FAST classes ten times. In Excellent you have to run clean - no refusals, no knocked bars, no off-course. It's harder than it sounds.

So he now has all the "old" AKC titles except for the MACH - which he is one QQ away from finishing.

But AKC added a new title - the TQX. In order to acquire the Triple Q Excellent title, a dog must receive 10 triple qualifying scores obtained from Excellent B Standard class, the Excellent B Jumpers class and the Excellent B FAST class on the same day.

VERY hard. But if any dog and handler can do it, it'll be Lois and O'my!

Stayed tuned for updates!

Officer Riley

2011-03-11T08:04:00.000-06:00

I started writing this on January 20th and it got put aside and almost forgotten! So better late than never . . .

I wanted to have a picture of Riley in a cowboy hat, badge, and gun belt but . . . use your imagination. I got this update from Chuck a few days ago.

The boy says HI. He has a new job at the (frozen) golf course. The City golf course sent out a general email about the course, conditions, and rates for the new year. They also mentioned in one sentence they were looking for a few good herding dogs to chase geese from the course, before they could nest for the spring. The geese here live here all year because of the ponds on the landscaped building grounds don't freeze, and downtown they have a RiverWalk, where people feed the geese/ducks year round. Last fall they noticed more geese than normal on the course, and thought this would be a precaution.

Anyway, I took him over to the course, extolled his excellent herding skills, and he got the job. Well, anyone except a hungry Doberman would probably get the job, as geese still are a protected species.

I think he gets a sweater with a gold badge embroidered on it, and a doggie holster, and a doggie gun too.

We went over today and boy did he love it. We had about four inches of snow that was pristine over the whole course. He ran from tree to bush to tree the whole time, stopping only to sniff. Then he would run as fast as he could across the fairways and stop and wait for me. He had soooooooooooooooo much fun.

Most of the ponds were frozen so there were no geese, and a few creeks were flowing, and there had been some game around them, and I did see some goose droppings there too.

Riley was beside himself. His paws got balls of snow on them, but I was watching closely, so when he limped, I went and broke them up, and off he went again. I think I will do this a lot more even though they won't be any geese until closer to spring. This was a lot more exerting than the dog fields so he and I both took longer naps after we got back.

Yesterday we went again and for 16 holes only saw some robins and some ducks. But on the last two, voila, we found about one hundred geese on one and two hundred on another.

Unfortunately Riley was over against the fence along the side of the fairway where some homeowners have their dogs. They were barking at him, and he just sat there wagging his tail back at them.

I called him and kept pointing to the geese and he followed my directions, and actually walked into the fringe of them, then he realized what they were and put his head down and charged into the middle. They all rose together and took off. Then I pointed to the ones in the other fairway and he trotted up to that fairway, lowered his head and charged into them. What a noise!

Officer Riley takes dead aim on the villainous geese

We followed them to a thawed pond and I got Riley to just walk along the edge and the geese left again. We waited there and the geese made a few huge circles and then left. But they got any eyeful of Officer Riley.

By the time we got to the clubhouse, he was tired of running.

Of course, if we hadn't played frisbee on the fairway, he might not have been so tired either.

New Title for Skye

2011-03-08T07:02:00.000-06:00

This past weekend Skye and Mel earned their agility Open Standard title. They also picked up another Open FAST leg (#2).

So now Skye will be running in Excellent in both Standard and Jumpers classes.

Way to go!

Perfect Weekend - Plus

2011-03-08T06:59:00.001-06:00

The last weekend of February was a perfect weekend for Lois and O'my. They were in New Jersey running on dirt for the first time for practice for the AKC Agility Nationals which will be held on the first weekend of April. Lois and O'my have never run on dirt before so this practice was essential.

They ran all three days and earned QQs each day. This is a confidence-builder for Lois in regards to the Nationals. But it's also fabulous news as O'my earned three more QQs towards his MACH by having a perfect weekend! Wow.

Then this past Saturday, O'my had two more qualifying runs and earned QQ #18!! At this rate he will have his MACH before Nationals!

Go Lois & O'my!!!

A Good Practice

2011-02-26T06:45:00.001-06:00

Lois and O'my are getting ready for the AKC Agility Nationals which are the first weekend of April. This weekend they are in New Jersey competing for the first time on dirt. This is important as the Nationals will be run on dirt. Lois and O'my have always run on grass or mats. So this is an important weekend as far as getting used to new footing.

This is a three-day trial. Yesterday O'my showed Lois that he likes the dirt by earning double Q #15 towards his MACH. Only five more to go.

Lois says that O'my runs much faster on the dirt and that she's much slower. Still stuff to work on. They have two more days to "practice" this weekend.

Go Lois and O'my!

A Walk in the Snow

2011-02-09T07:57:00.000-06:00

Emma had a wonderful time in the snow after the blizzard last week.

Heading out for a walk

Cold day for a walk

"Reading" the "newspaper"

THROW IT!!!

Here I come!

Isn't all this snow FUN?

Got it

Cinder is Back at Agility

2011-01-24T07:11:00.001-06:00

The weekend of the 15th, Cinder and Deb braved a blizzard for a CPE agility trial.

We performance dog competitors are nuts! Actually, I'll extend that to all dog competitors. A friend and I could have left Kansas City a couple years back before the blizzard blew in but wanted to show our dogs to the judge the next day. Good thing we stayed as we finished the boy's breed championship that day. And the drive home wasn't so bad with us grinning like fools the whole 8 hours home!

Anyway . . .

Cinder finished her CL-2 level title in that blizzard, which always makes braving the elements worthwhile!

Pitiful Riley

2011-01-08T06:58:00.001-06:00

Mommy, my foot hurts! Kiss it and make it feel better?

From Chuck earlier this week:
Here is a picture of the boy sucking up sympathy. We were at the dog field this afternoon for an hour, and there was a female BC who he wanted to impress with his speed and agility. He was fine there, and at home, then about two hours later, he begin to limp. I checked his paw and saw a layer of skin on one pad was gone. He is OK, still wants to play outside, even if he has to limp. I think it will mend itself, but I think he want to talk to his gramma Kat. Any advice? Should we go to the Vet?
--Worried Parent

My reply to Chuck:
This is the time of year a lot of pads get torn -- feet are dry and the hard ground is razor-sharp. The torn pad just has to toughen up since it is fresh, new skin. Time will do that. Let him walk and play as he wants but I'd keep him from running full out until the pad heals. Keep close to home for a while. You can take iodine and dab it on the pad up to three times a day to help toughen it but be warned - it stings! Plus you have to hold it until it dries or you'll have iodine stains all over the place. I only do that if I have a competition coming up that I need them sound for, otherwise I let time take care of it. It should only be a couple days.
Tell the man I'm sorry his foot hurts. He could come here to recuperate if he wants! Gramma will spoil him.

And then this morning came this message:
Hi, all is well. WELL, except for Riley, who is driving me crazy. He is been on house arrest, only going outside to go to the bathroom. That has been since Tuesday, now its Friday, and he doesn't limp, ( at least that I have seen) and he wants to go play with the Frisbee or tennis ball. His pad still is red and I can't seen any new skin that has formed over the pad. So I don't think there is any healing, just that he tolerates the pain better. How long would you wait before you let him outside? Would that slow down his healing?
Now he wants to sit on my lap. Something he hasn't done in months

So I replied (realizing that I didn't explain it clearly):
You won't see any new skin for a while, but the raw skin toughens up and quits hurting. Imagine when you rip a fingernail back too far. It hurts like hell for the first few days and then the rawness seals over and it only hurts if you do something (stupid) to it. If he says he can run then let him. He knows best what his foot can tolerate. And better to let him play than to have an obnoxious pest in the house. I'd still stay out of the Dog Fields for a few more days, but ball in the yard should be fine. Lots of leash walks will do you both good, too!
I can commiserate. Both girls are going crazy as Mike has long ago gotten tired of taking them out to play after work. (You do know that he's not the dog person in the house?) So we toss a soft toy for a while until a bitch fight breaks out. They are teetering on the edge of bonkers right now. Three more weeks until I'm 'released' (I hope) and then I can take them outside to play and then another couple weeks and we can start training again.
As always, Riley is welcome to come here and sit in my lap while his paw heals!!!! Us two gimps can recoup together. . . .

I'm not sure who I feel sorrier for - Chuck or Riley! It's tough to keep an active BC down for long.

Snowy Sam

2010-12-22T07:46:00.000-06:00

Got this pic of Sam in the snowstorm that we had here this past weekend. She lives about an hour and a half south of me.

Little Miss Sunshine

2010-12-20T09:04:00.000-06:00

Heard from Ernest last week with an update on Miss Emma. As it turns out Laura is now as besotted, or maybe even more so, than Ern. Go figure. Emma's charm is hard to resist.

I am always so glad to hear from my puppy owners. I love every one of those seven dogs as if they were living with me and my heart warms to hear how much they are loved.

Ern promised me more pictures. I'll post some when I get them!

Skye's New Agility Title

2010-12-16T06:06:00.000-06:00

Skye (in MI) added a new title behind his name and picked up a few legs towards other titles.
He is now Imagine A Perfect Storm NA OAJ NF.

On Friday, 12/3, Skye picked up his first Open FAST leg with a second place. Unfortunately he was too distracted by his surroundings to qualify in Open Jumpers that day. And Gramma Sharon was the judge in Open Standard and all bets were off when he realized that he knew the judge so he had to go up and greet her which gave them their first fault of the run before the run had barely started.

On Saturday, Skye ran Jumpers under Gramma Sharon and managed to ignore her and qualify for his second Open Jumpers leg. In Standard he earned his first leg and a third place!

On Sunday, Skye earned his Open Jumpers title (OAJ) with a fourth place. He also earned Standard leg #2 under Gramma Sharon with a second place. I'd say that was a good day!

So he now needs one more Open Std leg to earn his OA title and two more Open FAST legs for his OF title.

Congratulations to Skye and Mel on their new title!

New Pictures of Sam

2010-12-15T07:43:00.001-06:00

Sam is the littlest of the puppies - or she was, anyway - so I still think of her that way. She is the one who got stuck because Trey's cervix started to close before she finished whelping which forced a C-section. So I am particularly protective of this little girl since we could have lost her.

What a treat when I received new photos of her.

Beautiful Sam

Sam is one of the two bitches who are marked tri-colors. Suunta in Florida is technically a tri but like her mom and her aunt Beckett, the brown markings are extremely understated, almost non-existent.

Sam and Cinder (the other marked tri) are also built alot alike and have the same long, thick coats. Emma and Suunta have coats much more like Trey's.

Sam and John play tug

What a pleasure to receive photo updates like these!

Cinder Begins the MACH Quest

2010-12-13T07:43:00.000-06:00

Last weekend in Michigan Deb and Cinder began in earnest their quest for a MACH. This will be Debbie's first MACH. Cinder finished her AXJ in October and managed a double Q on that title run, but wasn't able to pull it together the next day to officially grab their first QQ.

After a long layoff, their teamwork was rusty and it showed over the weekend with Cinder bailing off the dogwalk for the first time ever to NQ their Friday Standard run and Deb rushing the weave entrances in both Std and Jumpers on Saturday causing Cinder to pop out.

But on Sunday it all came together and despite a real twisty course that was a nightmare on paper, the teamwork held together and they qualified in both Standard and Jumpers for their first official QQ! They also picked up 18 speed points. Congratulations!!! Only 19 more QQs to go!

This was the last trial of the winter so lots of practice over the winter should produce a more mature team in the spring. Gotta remember that these dogs are just over two years old . . .

The Amazing Riley

2010-12-12T07:50:00.000-06:00

Riley is a very talented dog. He has proven to be an excellent coyote rouster, goose intimidator, and people trainer (ask Chuck how well he is now trained to serve Riley's wishes).

So now Riley is trying his hand, or should I say paw?, at being a magician.

Here he is trying to use his mind's energy to levitate not one, but two bones! Amazing!

That's my boy!

Awesome O'my

2010-12-03T06:45:00.000-06:00

Last weekend at the Thanksgiving cluster, Lois and O'my were the team to beat, surprising everyone including Lois. This was the show that only a year ago O'my was running in Novice.

It was a four-day cluster and O'my was entered in FAST, Standard, Jumpers and ISC (for two days). Of course, not being an agility person I had to ask what ISC was and its importance.

ISC stands for International Standard Course. All dogs jump 26" no matter their height. This was one of four qualifying trials for World Team tryouts. So a pretty big deal.

In the Standard course, Lois and O'my ran 5th out of the 20" class and was the first 20" dog to qualify. Remember, he was jumping 6" higher than he trains and competes. After the 20" dogs ran O'my held first place. Then the 24" dogs ran and O'my held onto first. Then the 26" dogs. O'my remained in first until there were only three dogs left to run -- Linda Mecklenburg and Wonder, Terry Arnold and Yankee and Annie Pyle and Fearless, all big-name teams.

Lois and O'my held onto first after Annie and Fearless ran, but then Terry Arnold and Yankee knocked them back to second. When it was all done, Lois and O'my got third place! What an awesome accomplishment!

Then in ISC jumpers, he earned 5th place with another awesome run. This was a big trial -- over 150 dogs running.

Over the four days Lois was very pleased with O'my's efforts. They picked up two more FAST legs, now needing only two more for his MXF title. He also picked up another QQ towards his MACH. Only six more to go.

They qualified in 75% of the runs, qualifying in Standard three times, Jumpers twice (earning a 4th place), twice in FAST with a 3rd, and then the 3rd in ISC Standard and then 5th in ISC Jumpers. Wow!

Lois is now trying to decide what she will do with O'my once he finishes his AKC MACH. Being as he is still so young there is a whole world of opportunity out there for them as a team. She just has to decide what to do.

Congratulations to a fantastic team!

Emma Update

2010-12-02T07:50:00.002-06:00

I received a call from Ernest while I was shopping yesterday. SO good to hear that she is doing well and adjusting flawlessly.

Emma is lapping up the attention and love. She gets to sleep in the bedroom with them and in the morning, jumps on the bed and makes herself comfortable until they decide to get up. No pawing or cold noses in their face, just another warm body on the bed. How sweet!

Emma is very smart, so says her besotted owner. Ernest bought a book on training dog tricks and they are rolling thru them rapidly. Emma's "dead dog" is alive and well (she was demonstrating this here for me) and she picked up rolling over - both directions - in very few repetitions.

She has one annoying habit and that is not bringing the ball back all the way. Most of the time she will toss it at you, but sometimes she drops it 8-10 feet away and stands there and looks at it. Laura finds this annoying and hates to get up and get it since she has a painful back. This is the dog training the handler!

Pick it up, mom!
What Laura needs to do is cue it as wrong (I use "I can't reach it") and just stand there and stare at the ball. The dog will get frustrated enough to toss it closer. If you want it returned to hand, then don't accept it or throw it again until it is in your hand or close to your hand. Returning to hand needs to be refined in steps but bringing it close enough to reach can be taught in a play session. Remember the throw is the reward for returning the ball.

Each time you pick it up for them or go out and get it, the dog is teaching you to retrieve! The game ends if the ball isn't brought back where you want it placed, be it at your feet or in your hand. Riley used to do this and I showed Chuck how to correct it. I believe Riley is still returning to hand (or close to it since Chuck is a soft touch).

Emma also snores. We noticed that while she was here but forgot to mention it to Laura and Ernest. It was one of those funny email updates I received entitled "Emma snores". Too funny.

All in all, Emma is adjusting well and enjoying her new home. I am SO glad as this is what I want for all my puppies - to have a loving forever home with people who appreciate her 'border collie-ness' and love her.

Thanks Ernest and Laura for providing this for Emma!

O'my Continues On

2010-11-23T08:01:00.000-06:00

Over the weekend O'my and Lois earned TWO double Qs towards their MACH title making their QQ count 13. They are way over a thousand points so are just needing the last 7 QQs to earn the MACH.

Once again he earned placements with the Qs -- a 2nd and two 3rds. That is awesome as Lois lives and competes in a highly-competitive agility area.

They have six more trials this year so the MACH won't get finished this year but it is so close . . .

Emma's New Home

2010-11-22T07:17:00.000-06:00

This is just so perfect of a home for Miss Emma.

Ernest and Laura stumbled across my website purely by accident and found Emma's picture. They had recently lost their dogs to old age and were looking for another to add to their family. No puppies for them. They wanted an adult which worked out well for Emma.

They came down from the Chicago area to visit the day after we talked on the phone. Then they went home to think about whether she would fit into their lifestyle and home. A couple days later I received the call. They wanted her!

So they came back down on Saturday to pick her up. I cried as they drove away with her happily waving her tail in the back seat. She will be loved, cherished, spoiled, and well cared for with them. I am very happpy for Emma even tho my heart is sad that she had to leave.

Then Sunday morning pictures arrived that made me smile. Emma settled in immediately and completely.

Updates

2010-11-10T11:42:00.000-06:00

I heard from Lois and O'my and they now have 888 points and earned QQ #11 last weekend. Way to GO! There was also a first in jumpers and a third in standard with those Qs. They are regularly placing and/or winning in the Ex B classes so that means they are meshing as a team.

Deb and Cinder were thinking about coming to Milwaukee the first part of December but that plan has fallen thru. Guess I'll have to wait until spring to see them run again.

I met Skye for the first time since he left here as an 8 week old puppy. He grew into a very handsome dog, classically marked with a sweet personality. It was great to see him finally all grown up. He was at my club's herding trial for his first AKC event this past weekend. The run wasn't auspicious but he is young and the team is still green. I'm sure he'll do better in the future.

Emma has really blossomed here. She is continuing to 'remember' her training of sit, down, stay, and come. She is now playing a lot with Trey and has even engaged in a game or two of tug with her. Things with Beckett and Emma are still a bit rocky but time should fix that.

Emma met my friend's young dog, Kira, yesterday and they were buddies from the start. She is great with kids, too. I am now sure that Emma will fit in nicely in just about any home.

Emma Needs a Home

2010-11-03T10:05:00.001-05:00

This is Emma, a.k.a. Imagine's Little Miss Sunshine. She is two and a half years old, housebroken and is spayed. She was born 4-22-08 in a litter of seven pups that I bred. She needs a home.

Emma was placed with a young couple and was loved by them. She got to play frisbee and run in a big fenced yard. But then things changed.

Both owners started working long hours away from home and then a baby arrived. Emma was no longer the center of attention and spent a lot of her time in her crate in the basement. It was decided that life would be better for her if she came back to me.

Emma is very people-friendly. In fact, she's quite the suck-up. She is starving for attention and interaction.

Emma loves to play fetch and generally will return the ball to you (sometimes at you). She's a bit hard on stuffed toys, preferring to shred them, so she only gets stuffed toys under supervision.

Emma is currently working on polishing her manners. She wasn't required to obey at her old home apparently because she'll only come if she feels like it and her sit and down are iffy. But she is making huge progress in the few days that I've been working with her.

She had a thorough grooming and was really pretty good about it. She did not mind the bath at all and stood on the grooming table without fear. Clipping her toenails was relatively uneventful but she really didn't like being dried with the blow dryer. But considering that she got all this done a mere 24 hours after she arrived here, I was pleased.

She went to the vet for a health check on Monday and passed with flying colors. She is now up-to-date on her vaccinations and heartworm preventative.

Emma is a lovely girl. Some of her littermates are competing in agility and herding and are excelling, so she may make a great competition dog, but I know she would make someone a great companion.

If you are interested in Emma, you may contact me at Kat@imaginebordercollies.com

MACH Quest Update

2010-10-21T11:00:00.003-05:00

O'my and Lois are now up to 718 points (of 750 needed) and 10 QQs (needs 20 total) so they are steadily advancing on that AKC MACH title.

Lois is pleased with their progress and she is continuing to work on her handling and their teamwork skills with an eye on next April's Agility Nationals.

Way to go!

Cinder Does It!!

2010-10-02T08:34:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Cinder earned her AXJ and double Q'd (even tho it doesn't count yet) by earning her first Excellent B standard leg with a first. She also picked up her first MACH points!!!

photo by Rick Fleming

Deb's goals were modest for this year. She wanted to get into Excellent B in both standard and jumpers, and she wanted Cinder to have earned MACH points. Mission accomplished, I'd say.

Congratulations to Deb and Cinder! She is now Imagine A Sonic Fireball AX AXJ OF. This is one very talented team!

The MACH Quest for O'my

2010-09-28T07:04:00.000-05:00

A quick update on O'my -- he now has 9 QQs and 533 points

He needs a total of 20 QQs and 750 points for his MACH

Skye's New Titles

2010-09-24T09:03:00.000-05:00

Last Friday and Saturday, Skye (Imagine A Perfect Storm NAJ) finished up both his Novice Standard agility title (NA) and his Novice FAST agility title (NA), all with placements!

Photo by Grand Images

What a good boy! Congratulations to Skye and his owner/trainer/handler!

AKC National Agility Qualifier

2010-09-10T07:22:00.000-05:00

O'my secured his National Agility invitation by snagging 20 more points at a trial last Friday. He only needed 5 to finish his qualification status. He ran a lovely Standard course and did so with an injured handler.

This weekend trial was the same one he debuted in AKC agility a year ago. So in 363 days O'my went from Novice A to qualifying for the Nationals. Not too bad.

So now the sights are set on finishing his AKC agility championship. Only 12 more double QQs and less than 340 points needed for his MACH.

I am very pleased with this litter. Three of the seven are competing in agility and doing very well. The other four are excelling at being perfect companions and devoted family members.

Excellent Cinder!

2010-08-28T07:54:00.004-05:00

On Thursday, Cinder and Deb earned their Agility Excellent Standard (AX) title!

In a very limited number of trials, Deb is quietly working her way towards her goal for this year. I applaud her dedication and determination. The fact that she just LOVES Cinder also helps.

Congratulations to Deb and Cinder!!!

He's On a Roll

2010-08-23T06:45:00.001-05:00

This past weekend O'my and Lois completed their MXJ title, earned a first in Ex B Fast, another QQ (total up to 7), and 31 speed points. This was in just 11 months of competition in AKC events. Lois is hoping to have those last 69 speed points they need to qualify for the Agility Nationals by their one year anniversary trial in a month's time. Shouldn't be too much trouble if she continues to rack up 30+ points a weekend!

Of course he's a long way yet from his AKC MACH (agility championship). He still needs 13 more QQs and 419 points, but I know they can and will do it!

Imagine's First Agility Champion!

2010-08-17T10:41:00.002-05:00

O'my earned his C-ATCH! He is my first home-bred champion of any venue, but most certainly won't be the last. Sister Cinder is also well on her way.

Intensity

Lois and O'my started CPE agility exactly one year ago this past weekend in Level 1 and they proceeded steadily thru the levels until he finished all the levels' games. There are 5 levels with 7 games at each level. In order to finish a level he needed to qualify in each game three times.

O'my earned his C-ATCH in exactly a year's time. He was out competing only 34 days. That is quite the achievement. He is not quite 28 months old.

From an earlier trial

O'my loves his A-frame

Excellent contact work

New Title for O'my!

2010-08-10T08:57:00.001-05:00

Last Sunday O'my earned his MX title! Way to go!!!

That weekend was a great one for the Massachussettes team. They earned their sixth double Q, which is the last they needed to qualify for the Agility Nationals. They also picked up more speed points, raising their total to 300 so they only need 100 more to finish their eligibility for Nationals. These QQs and points also go towards their MACH title (altho the 20 QQs and 750 speed points are still a bit away).

O'my also earned MXJ leg #8 and MXF leg #4.
Here is a video of his MX title run
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kDPvdkAE1A

Congratualtions to O'my and Lois!

Adding Up

2010-08-02T07:09:00.002-05:00

O'my and Lois are definitely in the hunt for an AKC MACH title.

This past weekend, O'my garnered another double Q on Saturday and a Q on Sunday in Jumpers and also earned an additional 62 speed points. So that gives him by my count 4 QQs and 218 points, 7 MX legs and 6 MXJ legs.

Way to go!

Title Update

2010-07-26T12:09:00.000-05:00

After this past weekend O'my is up to 7 MX legs, 4 MXJ legs, and has 3 QQ's, & 156 points towards his MACH.

Beckham, who is to sire Trey's next litter, added a herding title to his name two weekends ago. So his is now CH Locheil Dare Devil PT. Congratulations to Sonja of Cordillera Border Collies.

New Titles for Imagine Border Collie "Pups"

2010-07-13T08:21:00.002-05:00

Cinder did well this past weekend. She got her first Ex A JWW with a 1st place (the only Ex A 20" dog to Q) with gramma Sharon as judge. She got her Open FAST title (OF) with a great run and a GREAT send and a 2nd place with 1 point and 2 seconds behind the 1st place dog.

Cinder only needed 1 Q in Exc Std to get the AX, but fell a bit short with small errors. It is a work in progress . . .

So her title progression thus far is
AKC: OA (with 2 AX legs), OAJ (with 1AXJ leg), OF
CPE: CL2-H, CL2-S, CL2-F; need 1 Std leg for full CL2

A new dog has entered the agility scene. Imagine A Perfect Storm made his agility debut back in June and finished his first ever title this past weekend at the same trial where Deb and Cinder were playing. Skye earned his Novice Jumpers title (NAJ) in four tries. He is having a bit of trouble taking his contact training on the road, but that will come with a bit more experience. He has one leg in Novice Standard and one leg in Novice FAST. Congratulations!

O'my Update

2010-07-12T07:04:00.003-05:00

As I said in the last post, the agility folks are putting titles on their dogs a LOT faster than what I'm used to around here. Perhaps because they train for agility exclusively. Perhaps they're better trainers. Perhaps their dogs are brilliant. I'm going with the last one since I bred them!

O'my is working on both his AKC and CPE agility champion titles (MACH and C-ATCH). Hard to believe that he's just over 2 years old and has accomplished so much already.

He ran in CPE this weekend and went 10 for 10 earning several of the level 5 legs he was needing. As of this point he only needs 2 standard runs and 1 full house for his C-ATCH. Lois is hoping to finish his championship on Aug 14 and 15 which is the same show he made his CPE debut in last year. Not too shabby to start a young dog and then finish his championship title in only a year's time! Thinking good thoughts for Lois and O'my.

On the AKC front, O'my has earned his Excellent Fast title (XF) which I mentioned in a previous post. He also is working on his Master Agility Excellent titles in both standard and jumpers. In order to earn those titles (MX MXJ) he must qualify 10 times per class. To date he has 5 standard legs and 3 jumpers legs.

To earn the MACH title, a dog must qualify in both Ex B standard and Ex B jumpers at the same show 20 times (kinda like a UDX in obedience -- now that I understand) and also acquire at least 750 points which are based on course time. Points are earned when a dog runs under course time - a point per second under with no partial seconds counted. If a dog places first or second in their class they earn multipliers for their speed points -- double for 1st place and 1.5 for 2nd place. Clear as mud?

O'my has two double Qs and about 120 points last time I heard. So the MACH isn't imminent but he's well on his way.

Excellent Fast for O'my

2010-06-14T07:26:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, O'my finished his XF title. The boy is sure moving along quickly.

I'm told this is not the norm but it's all I know as he and Cinder are the first serious agility dogs that I've known from the beginning. I know other people who do multiple venues so their titles seem to take longer as they are cross-training many things instead of concentrating on just agility. So this is very impressive to me.

He also picked up more MACH points and a Q in Excellent B standard. Way to go!

Cinder Moves to Excellent

2010-06-03T07:45:00.000-05:00

On May 25th, Cinder finished her Open Agility Jumpers title. Way to go! So she is now at the Excellent level in both Standard and Jumpers.

These agility titles sure rack up much faster than obedience titles. Congratulations to Deb and Cinder!

QQs and a Breed Win

2010-05-19T08:10:00.000-05:00

We had a GREAT weekend at Scott County KC. Beckett was fabulous in the obedience ring, qualifying in both rings both days and earning her 7th & 8th UDX legs. Only two more to go! She had some nice scores, too, which earned all but 3 (from Utility) of the Obedience Masters points that we need to finish that title.

Then on Saturday, I had Trey entered in the breed ring under my favorite judge, Mrs. Linda Robey, and she was awarded Winners Bitch and Best of Opposite Sex. I was very pleased. That's another single point towards her breed Championship. She now has a total of six points and one of the two required majors.

Nice weekend!!

Yay for Cinder!

2010-05-12T08:12:00.002-05:00

Cinder and Deb competed in AKC agility at Grand Rapids, MI, last Friday and Saturday. Cinder is such a solid dog compared to Deb's first dog, that Deb is getting bolder in how she handles her -- not always the smart thing to do.

On Friday, Cinder earned her Novice Fast (NF) title and also her second Open jumpers leg!! Deb NQ'd their Open standard run (it's always the handler's fault) by moving too soon and causing Cinder to drop a bar. But it's a learning process with a new partner and they have to learn to 'dance' together.

On Saturday things turned ugly -- once again because of handler error. Deb said that the Fast course "had a very obvious flow that all the dogs were taking so I thought I'd try to get extra points and totally confused my dog." NQ. Then came their Open Jumpers run. "JWW was a great run but [we] dropped a bar near the end when Cin turned to look behind to see where the heck I was, then more confusion on the last bar which resulted in a back jump." Deb needs to run FASTER to keep up with her dog!

But their Open Standard run was perfect -- literally -- they kept their 100 points, earning first place and their title!!! Now it's on to Excellent Standard A.

Cinder is now Imagine A Sonic Fireball RE OA NAJ NF. And soon she'll get that last jumpers leg to move up to an OAJ.

I Just Can't Keep Up . . .

2010-05-12T06:56:00.000-05:00

. . . with the titles that O'my is acquiring. I knew that agility titles can come much faster than I'm used to, especially with an experienced, talented handler like Lois!

Last Saturday, O'my earned his AXJ (excellent jumpers) title on a very hard course that had him as the only "A" competitor to qualify and it also knocked out most of the "B" competitors. Way to go!

Then on Sunday, Lois moved him up to the "B" jumpers class. He already was in Standard B since he earned that title a couple weeks ago. O'my earned his first double Q which is his first leg towards his MACH (AKC agility championship). He also picked up points towards his MACH.

I'm not sure what it takes to earn a MACH but I do know he needs a lot of points. I think he needs 20 QQ legs (19 more to go!) and if I'm remembering correctly 750(?) points to earn his MACH.

How they earn the points is a grey area for me -- something to do with course time? But they are not in direct competition with the other dogs in the class, just the clock. It's a title of speed and consistency, of which O'my has an abundance apparently.

I'm guessing that we will have a MACH in the family by year's end. Go O'my and Lois!

Quite the Accomplishments

2010-04-30T08:45:00.001-05:00

O'my has been a busy dog in the first 24 months of his life. Actually it didn't start until he went to Massachusetts to live with Lois so make that the past 22 months.

He has earned several advanced titles in Rally and Agility, no doubt due to the fact that he has a dedicated performance trainer as an owner. Lois trains dogs for a living and spends all her free time training her three dogs for competition. She is a very knowledgeable trainer and is also lucky enough to live in an area where there are other knowledgeable trainers to tap.

Here is a list of what O'my has already accomplished in his short life . . .

His OAJ title and his first leg in EX A Jumpers
His AX title
His NF title and 2 legs in Open Fast
The completion of all of level 4 in CPE. Now on to his C-ATCH (CPE equivalent of a MACH)
His RAE (Rally Advanced & Excellent -- dog has to qualify in both classes on the same day 10 times to earn this title)

Not bad for only 8 months of trials!

O'my is very happy about this last one as he thinks any kind of obedience is a waste of his time. Lois promised him he would not have to do it again until he is an old man. He finished his RAE at the same show where he first started in Rally Novice last year.

Not a bad list for the "slug" of the litter. Congratulations!

Trey's 3-pt Major

2010-04-28T10:15:00.000-05:00

Here is the photo of Trey's major win at Dubuque back in March. She looks pretty good!

Cinder Motors Along

2010-04-28T09:07:00.000-05:00

Ha! Get it? Motors? Cinder lives in Michigan kinda near Detroit. Okay, bad joke. I'm not known for my sense of humor. Sigh.

Cinder did an awesome job last Friday and Saturday at an AKC agility trial. She is still learning, but then so is Deb since Cinder is a way different dog than her previous agility partner, Sadie.

Out of six runs over the two days, Cinder qualified three times for a 50% Q rate. This is way above the average. Deb even fell down during one run and Cinder continued on as directed. But then Deb got so excited that her dog was doing it, that she issued another command and pulled Cinder off and NQing her. Ah well. Still learning as I said.

So now Cinder has two legs towards her Novice Fast title and towards her Open Standard title and got her first leg in Open jumpers. Not bad for limited showing. She should finish the titles soon as Deb has several shows lined up in the next month or so.

Birthday Present for Emma Leigh!

2010-04-24T07:14:00.002-05:00

Just heard from Mike and Michelle in the Quad Cities. They had a baby girl! Mariah came home on Emma's birthday. What great news. Mike sent photos of Emma and of the baby. Very pretty little girl.

Emma has grown into an very pretty dog, too. She has a crooked stripe up her face which is really endearing.

She has the same ear set as the rest of the litter (except O'my whose ears do their own thing). It's really strange that their ear set is so different from their parents'. Both Trey and Sonic have prick ears. On Trey's side, both parents had rosebud ears (traditional BC ear set). But I've seen pictures of Kane, Sonic's dad, and THAT'S where the litter's ear set comes from. Weird how a feature will skip a generation and show up down the line.

So the Payne household had changed in size. Emma will have to make some adjustments since she will no longer be the baby and darling of the family. But she'll learn to cope with the change. She IS a border collie after all!

How Time Flies!

2010-04-22T11:17:00.001-05:00

The Trey x Sonic litter turns two today!

Wow, can't believe that it's been that long. Seems like just last month that Trey was moping around with this huge belly and uncomfortable look on her face.

And then there was that l-o-n-g 48 hours of pre-labor culminating in an emergency vet run (thankfully my vet handles his own emergencies) and 6 naturally produced puppies. But little number 7 got stuck and had to be removed via a C-section. Ouch -- that hurt the budget.

I am so thankful to Sonic's owner, Sharon Woolman, for allowing me to use Sonic as the daddy for the litter. She got burned by one bad experience but was willing to try again with Trey. I hope it was as good an experience for her as it was for me!

Sonic added some nice things to my lines. We got some nice broad chests in all the pups. We also got some fantastic temperaments and biddability. And he passed on his beautiful herding 'style' (that famous border collie crouch) to most of the litter. (Trey isn't very 'stylish' but she gets the job done.)

Unfortunately, the combination also produced some less than desireable traits, like the blue eyes in a couple of the pups and the unilateral (one ear) deafness in a couple of different pups. The combination also produced some pretty tall males. Trey is just 20" which is on the average size for a bitch and I think Sonic is 21" yet we produced two males that are close to 24' tall. I don't know how tall the other male is as that owner didn't stay in touch.

I did find fabulous homes for the entire litter, altho one of them was supposed to stay with me until my husband nixed that. Sigh. Most of them stay in contact with me, sharing with me what their dog is doing and how he/she is looking. I am very grateful for that!

Along the way, new performance titles have been added to some of the pups' names. Others are wonderful household companions and treasured family members. Everyone is extremely satisfied, as am I.

Happy birthday to all seven dogs -- Suunta, Emma Leigh, O'my, Riley, Skye, Cinder, and Sam!

The Agiltiy People Get Busy

2010-04-02T07:11:00.000-05:00

Well, last weekend when Trey and I were playing in the breed ring, Cinder & Deb and O'my & Lois were playing in the agility ring. Both teams finished titles!

Deb and Cinder did CPE agility and earned their CL2-S and CL2-F titles. One more leg and they'll have all their Level 2 titles.

Lois and O'my did AKC agility and O'my got that last Open Jumpers leg to finish his OAJ. So he's now in the Excellent level in both standard and jumpers.

Way to go guys!

Dubuque Breed Ring Results

2010-03-28T08:22:00.003-05:00

I have not been showing Trey a whole lot in conformation. I didn't at first because she was just too gangly as a young pup and I had money issues. I lost sight of why I show in the breed ring -- to increase my dog's confidence and to make her comfortable in strange places with strange people -- not necessarily to win or finish the title. So Trey hasn't been in the breed ring much.

When she was 19 months old, she got her first Reserve Winners Bitch (RWB) to a major -- not a win or points, but exciting all the same since we beat a lot of "show-type" dogs. But since then, we've not shown much. Last night I was trying to count up the number of shows she'd been entered in and I came up with ten shows, eleven counting yesterday. So since she is 4 years old, I'd call that 'limited showing.'

It takes 15 points for a dog to earn their breed championship (CH) and points are figured on the number of dogs the Winners dog/bitch beats. You acquire points by beating all the dogs of the same sex (dogs beating dogs, bitches beating bitches) competing against you that day. The number entered doesn't count, they MUST show that day and not be excused (it happens!). You can also earn points by going Best of Winners and if the other sex points are higher than the ones you earned in your sex, then you get to replace your points with the higher count. You may also earn additional points if you beat confirmed champions by going Best of Breed out of the classes. It's a bit confusing at first, but after you do it awhile it makes sense and is easy to figure.

Points are based on a point schedule that the AKC publishes every May and varies depending on where in the country you show. The minimum dogs/bitches you must beat is 1, earning you one point. So it sounds easy --beat one dog fifteen times and you are a breed champion!

Not so fast. Of those 15 point wins, two of them must be "major" wins, meaning that they are 3-point wins or better. That shows that your dog/bitch can win in large entries and that you're not just beating the same mediocre dog time and time again. People have entered two bitches (or dogs) of their own to 'make points' and the good one always wins and gets a lot of points that way. But the requirement of earning two major wins separates the 'wheat from the chaffe.' You also have to win those two majors under two different judges and have wins from three different judges total. There are other ways to earn points, like from the group judging and going Best in Show, but those just confuse things at this point.

So yesterday's counts for Dubuque was 3 dogs and 5 bitches, making it two points in dogs and a 3-point major in bitches, providing all that were entered showed up. The judge was Carolyn Herbel, a breeder-judge (a judge who breeds border collies). She's the judge who gave O'my Best of Breed and his first points when he was just over six months old. I had absolutely no expectations going in to the show. Mrs. Herbel is known for preferring the 'working-type' border collie over the 'show-type' so I knew that the competition would be bitches a lot like Trey.

I enter the new Ameteur Owner-Handler class with Trey to stay out of Open and (also now) American-bred because it is becoming populated with the one big breeder's (in this area) dogs and professional handlers. I like to at least win my class so as to get into the Winners class and get a second look and a chance at the points. To my dismay, there was another bitch entered in AOH yesterday, a bitch who wins fairly regularly. I think she just needs a major to finish her CH.

Well, to my surprise, Trey showed very well (she doesn't particularly like the breed ring) and won the class. So then after the Bred-By Exhibitor class and the Open class, the three class winners entered the ring to vie for Wnners Bitch and the 3-pt major. To my stunned surprise, Trey WON and earned her first major! She now has a 3-point major and two single wins (won by being the only bitch and then going Best of Winners and picking up the boy point each time) for a total of 5 points. Not bad for 'limited showing.'

A couple of my friends said, "now you have to finish her since she has a major" but in my mind I won't "have" to finish her breed championship unless we somehow earn our second major. I am planning on showing Trey in breed thru the end of October since this year there are a lot of shows with judges who will look at my type of dog.

But if she doesn't earn a second major by that time, then I am done showing her in breed. I'll have a new puppy next spring to start training and showing and Trey will be almost ready (I hope) to go back into herding trials. That will be enough of my time and money spread around and breed has absolutely no control or way to train for a win. It's kinda random luck each time. I don't have the money to spend on random luck.

I am thrilled that Trey has her first major. That IS a big deal. Hopefully, she'll pick up another one but I'm not counting on it or pinning hopes on it. Heck, I'm still stunned that we won yesterday! I'll post the win photo when it arrives in a couple week's time.

A Good Weekend for O'my

2010-02-25T06:39:00.004-06:00

O'my & Lois (MA) went to a CPE trial this weekend and had another fabulous outing. O'my went 11 for 11, all with first placements. This dog is really burning it up in the Northeast. Here's the story . . .

O'my was the fastest dog there. He was 9 seconds faster than the next fastest dog. The good news is that all the bars stayed up! (O'my has had problems with hitting bars when he goes so fast because he's trying to jump and watch Lois at the same time. She has to move faster to stay in front of him or he has to learn to jump with his head twisted!)

In the Jackpot game, you have 25 seconds to collect as many points as you can, then 18 seconds to get the 'distance challenge' which is obstacles at a distance and the handler cannot cross a certain line. Well, in the opening part we did 22 obstacles in the 25 seconds for 60 points. I think we needed 30-something.

We were at the jump in front of the tunnel that started the distance challenge when the horn blew to start the closing time. The challenge was the tunnel that went under the A-frame. Then you had to send them to the back side of a jump, come around and do the A-frame for the discrimination, and then another jump.

O'my is at Level 4 so this was the biggest distance we've done, but I'm not sure how far it is.

Anyway, he did it perfect!

I counted the Qs needed for a C-ATCH (CPE agility championship title) and if you start in level 1 which we did, then you need 120 Qs to earn the C-ATCH. O'my has 62! So over halfway there in a little over six months with limited trialling.

Congratulations to Lois and O'my!

Another CPE Agility Update on Cinder

2010-02-17T07:07:00.005-06:00

Deb & Cinder had another great day running CPE agility. Here it is from Deb's email . . .

Pat (her friend and instructor) and I went to Dexter yesterday (2/6) for more CPE fun. This trial usually fills, as there isn't too much AKC going on around here this time of year, so we were surprised that we were able to get DOS (day of show) entries; but it was a larger trial and it was almost 7 before we left. We had a number of 1sts for the day...

We got our first Jackpot Q with our first run of the day. The judge had a very strange jackpot; you had to get the 3 tunnels that were all over, and when the whistle blew, all of the 5 pt obstacles doubled in value, then getting to the table under course time gave you the final 8 points of the "jackpot." My favorite part was doing the dogwalk with confidence (albiet my staying very close), not jumping off, and stopping at the end. MY lack of confidence on how to play the game got us 63 points and a 2nd place. Yay.

We had a very nice standard run, and Cin actually RAN over the dogwalk AND the teeter; I can't believe we didn't get called for a fly off, as I'm pretty sure it didn't hit the ground before she was off. BUT, she came off the END, not the MIDDLE! Loved it. And no, I won't give back the blue ribbon. There was only one dog faster than our 37.37 (68 SCT) in any height, and that was a 24" dog.

For Colors, levels 2 and 3 ran the same course, so Pat and I walked it together. Talk about simple; a big circle: jump, tunnel, jump, Aframe, jump, jump, double, tunnel. We walked it 1 time and Pat looked at me and said "well, I guess we got that down pat..." So I told her I would add a challenge and try to do it under 10 seconds, she just smiled. I almost made her eat her smile with a 10.47; 7.16 yps is her fasted time in ANYTHING, ever. Sadie never even hit 7yps. The closest other time, all sizes, was 17.23. A first 7yps run, another 1st place.

There was a very obvious flow with the Snooker class, and 5 dogs got 48 points, so placement came down to time; Cinder's 31.31 beat the 2nd place 35.89.

Our last class was Wildcard, and it was wild. A 4 jump line down the wall turning to either the dog walk or a tire/tunnel combo down the back wall, turning to 2 jumps coming back down the side, turning into the middle to either 2 jumps or a tunnel, then some tight middle work. Perfect for those long-legged SYTs; not so good for FOLs who've had start line stay issues... (which by the way, was NOT an issue even 1 time yesterday). But, I released her before I got too far out, just in case. Not a pretty run, and we dropped our FIRST bar ever at a trial with the jump after a tunnel with me behind her. RATS, I needed this leg to get our first CPE title... Then, to my surprise, I discovered that in CPE, dropped bars don't necessarily mean NQ; it was just a 5pt fault, and every dog in our class had faults, we had the fastest time and our 4th first place of the day!! And with that, we earned our CL2-H.

It was a great day; Cinder is really enjoying this game, and had lots of fun playing with a friend's new Bouvier puppy. Other than these being very LONG days, we are having a blast. She is so much fun to run... We get back to AKC at the end of the month, and then maybe another CPE trial in March.

No doubt this is WAY more detail than you care about, but I'm just so excited to have so much POSITIVE to share; guess I'm making up for all the NQ stories I had to share with Sadie!

What a fun day for them! I know that Deb is very pleased with Cinder, as her first agility dog, Sadie, had so much trouble qualifying that she was finally retired. It's nice to hear how everyone is doning and how well the pups have turned out for everyone. Congrats to team Michigan again!

A Lot Has Been Happening . . .

2010-01-24T07:03:00.007-06:00

. . . for Imagine Border Collie off-spring! Gotta get y'all up to date.

Deb & Cinder (MI) went to a CPE trial for one day last weekend and ran in five different classes, bringing home 4 Q ribbons. Cinder had problems again with the new rubberized traction surface on the contact equipment. Deb is going to start taking her elsewhere to practice on it since where she takes lessons still has the sand surfaces. Here's an account from Deb's email to me. Since I don't run in agility, she explains it all in layman's terms for me.

CPE trials are usually 3 days (up here, anyway), and they mix the classes up so that there's a good representation of the 5 various classes. On Saturday, we had Wildcard (new for us), Standard, Full House (new for us), Snooker (new for us) and Jumpers.

[We] started out with Full House; this is a free course where each obstacle had a point value and you try to rack up as many points as you can until a buzzer sounds then you run to a table to stop the clock. Every level has different point requirements; our level 2 needed 21, top levels needed 25. We got 40! But, we were a bit late getting to the table and lost 2 points by being over time. Still got us a 1st place!! AND, all levels run the same course; there were only 2 dogs with more points on any level.

Then the standard class. I was pretty geeked after the FH run and had great expectations. until I walked the course and noticed the rubberized dogwalk and teeter!! Yup, I must have sent Cin the subliminal message to jump off of them, because that's exactly what she did!! Otherwise, she ran a great course, nailed her weaves, sent to tunnels, it was nice.

Wildcard has 3 "paired" obstacles and you can choose which of the pair you do, each is pointed "a" or "b" and our level had to have 2 "a"s and 1 "b". We ran a scorching 17.7 course for another 1st; we had the fastest time in all heights at our level.

Snooker is a game with 2 halves; first half you are required to jump a "red" jump and then a colored obstacle, another red, color, 3rd red, color, then for the 2nd half you have to run the numbered sequence. There are points for the colored obstacles in the opening, so again the idea is to score high points. I was the timer for the higher levels, so I got to watch them and their strategy, which totally made me change my planned path. Did I ever mention that I'm a little OCD? Of course, I wanted to try to get every point possible. Our 50 points got us our 3rd 1st place. Oh, but by now Cin was really starting to have fun and did break her start line stay again. Need to work on this!!

Last class of the day was Jumpers (almost 6:00, one of the reasons I don't do more CPE trials!!) Luckily I didn't need too long a lead out, since Cinder stood up when I walked away and I'm sure would have broke if I hadn't released her. Our course started with 2 jumps to a 2-tunnel combo, then a long path around the outside of the ring; Cin did a great job working away from me so that I had a shorter path, but there were 3 jumps after a tunnel with the 2nd one offset towards the middle of the ring. Cin came blazing out of the tunnel, got the first jump, ignored the 2nd and was headed for number 3. I was able to scream here,here,here to keep her from jumping it and sent her back to 2; our 23.36 was still well below the 42 SCT (standard course time) for our 4th first place. There were only 2 dogs faster in all jump heights, and funny, they were all smaller dogs (some of those little dogs are FAST!)

She is really picking up speed and really seems to love to run. I had lots of nice complements about her, though was asked more than once what breed she was (VERY naked right now) and had to patiently explain that no, she doesn’t look like all those overgrown Shelties that are passing for BCs these days because she comes from herding lines built to work. She is a dream to run with, she is just AWESOME! I did get a few runs on video and will have them on Youtube soon. I didn’t get home until about 8:30 last night, and work must have seen me pull in the driveway, cause I wasn’t home for 5 minutes before I got a phone call that kept me busy for the next hour, so haven’t even watched them all yet.

Four 1st places for 5 runs; not too bad!

That must have been an exciting day. Congratulations to Team Michigan!

Then I got an email from Lois in MA. She & O'my had also been at a CPE trial last weekend. He finished all of his level 3 titles and is now working on his level 4 titles. Here's a nice story from her email.

O'my rocked the house!! He has lots of fans in NH! Someone asked where he is from so I mentioned Imagine BCs and they said "Oh there is an awesome dog from Imagine BCs that lives in MA, is he related to him? I said this IS that dog!!

So O'my's reputation continues to grow on the East Coast.

And Imagine Border Collies is well represented both in Michigan and the New England area!

Then I got an update from Chuck & Riley in the Chicago area. Chuck has a wonderful sense of humor and an engaging writing style so I'm just going to copy his email here and let everyone enjoy it.

Riley is fine. We just {got} back from the dog fields. When we got there, it was sprinkling, and when we got to the furthest distance from the car, the sprinkle turned into rain, then it froze into sleet, then the wind whipped it into horizontal sleet. It didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the boy, but it drenched his coat, and me too. By the time we got back to the car, even my underwear was drenched. When we got back I loaded his bong [Kong] with peanut butter, he finished it, and then crawled into the chair in my office.

I enrolled him into agility lessons, and we went to the second session last Monday. The first night we went, there were only three dogs. There were 14 in the earlier session. One of the three was a German Shepard who never stopped lunging for the other two dogs, and barking constantly. This last session, we were told he opted out of agility, and into obedience training. I think the trainer was just being nice to the owners, who realized what a problem they had. After the first night, I thought I had a better chance of winning "Dancing with the Stars" than completing this successfully. Luckily Riley knew what to do, and he was great. He loved jumping, running, leaping, and going thru the tunnels. I went on You Tube and saw the execution of front cross, rear cross, switch, and got up to speed.

Now for neat part. We were to learn the table, and the trainer said, Borders were notorious for refusing to go onto the table, and into the down position, and I would have to work with him. She took his leash, and was going to demonstrate the command. Riley went right with her, hopped onto the table sat down on his own, and then cocked his head into that " what do you want me to do now" look. She took a biscuit in her hand and put her hand on the top of the table, and Riley laid down immediately. She turned red. She asked me what his release command was, and I told her it was OK. She said OK, he got up, and walked off the table. Cool huh?

He got more peanut butter that night. I did notice after two hours at the dog field, and that training, he was really tired for the rest of the night

He has so much innate talent. Well, lets hope I graduate from the beginning class with him. They will probably pass him, and hold me back.

Good job! to both Riley (Mr. Smart) and Chuck (Dancing with the Stars dropout).

I do so enjoy getting updates about what everyone is doing with their dogs!

Sam Goes Herding!

2010-01-04T06:42:00.005-06:00

The weekend before Thanksgiving (yeah, I'm a bit behind things) Sara, Dean, and Joe came out with Sam to see what kind of herding instinct she had. John, who is Sam's 'boy', stayed home due to schoolwork or something so he missed out on what his dog can do.

At first when Sam saw the ducks all she did was divebomb and blow thru them, so much that they left the pasture and headed back to the barn at high speed. By the time I got Sam in hand and under control the ducks were clustered by their pen trying to hide. So I got them back in the crate and took them into the back acreage where it was a bit smoother ground.

This time when I let the ducks out Sam seemed to figure out what she was supposed to do. This is a picture of her approaching the ducks as they came out of the carrier.

Sam has moderate style (meaning the 'border collie crouch' when herding) and a moderate eye, following what I have seen in her littermates who have been on livestock. So this litter is consistent in another way. I'm pleased as I like to breed for a consistent litter. Okay, back to Sam's herding.

I had Sam on a longline to prevent her divebombing the ducks but after a brief time, I dropped the line as Sam was showing no desire to repeat her duck abuse. In fact, she did something that I had not seen any of the other dogs do -- she drove the ducks!

The main instinct in a border collie is to fetch -- to go around the flock to the opposite side, balancing the flock to the shepherd and to bring the flock to the shepherd. There are natural droving (driving) breeds, the Old English Sheepdog is one, and they were bred to push or drive the flock down the roads for long distances, usually to market. Border collies are fetchers as they were bred to go out on the hills of Scotland and bring in the widely scattered flock to the shepherd. Occassionally, a border collie will be a natural driver, but I'd never seen one until Sam.

We let her work freely with no input from me to see if she would ever go around them and go into fetching mode. Nope, she just kept driving them away from the pen. If I hadn't stepped in and turned the ducks, she would have taken them into the next county on a straight line across the bean fields.

She did finally figure out that she could influence their direction and her first attempts were a bit tight, but as she progressed I could see the beginnings of some nice square flanks. One time I tried to get her to go around the flock but when she got to balance she promptly turned the flock away from me and drove them away. She clearly didn't want me to play with her with the ducks!

Sam had two five minute sessions and she continued to show amazing control and thoughtfulness for a young dog's first time on livestock. She was very serious about her job, never playing or bouncing around. Her tail was always down against her hocks which is a sure sign of doing a job and not playing.

We took video of Sam's herding evaluation and I editied over 10 minutes of raw footage into a shorter version that gives a good idea of what Sam demonstrated that day. Here's the link --
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUBhPpDYBtM

New Titles for Cinder

2009-12-06T07:01:00.007-06:00

On November 29th, Cinder had a wonderful day. She went 4-for-4 in qualifying runs!

The day started with her Rally Excellent class. Deb said that her attention was fabulous but that she (Deb) cost their team 10 points because she didn't wait for Cinder to do a complete sit before moving again. Ah well. They were 3rd in the class and earned their RE title, which officially ends their rally/obedience career. Deb isn't much for the structure of obedience and was using the rally classes for getting Cinder acustomed to the noises and stress of trials before she was ready for agility. Apparently it worked as Cinder is very serious and undistractable when doing agility.

The rest of the day was her three agility classes. Novice FAST was first and Cinder did very well, garnering 2nd place with a solid run. Then came her first attempt at Open Jumpers. Deb tried to do a lead out but Cinder had other plans and broke her start line stay -- a first for her, but it was bound to happen. Luckily she took the two jumps she was supposed to and they continued on the course. 28 seconds later they had their first OAJ Q and second place of 18 dogs.

After an early 8:00am Rally start, their last class of the day was Novice Standard at 5 pm and they needed a Q for the title. They had a couple of difficult spots -- the weave pole entrance and an awkward front cross caused Cinder to stop halfway up the A-frame -- but they finished and qualified with a third place and their title!

Photos by Moonshots Photography It was a very satisfying day for Deb and Cinder is now Imagine A Sonic Fireball RE NA NAJ

Catching Up

2009-11-30T12:09:00.005-06:00

I've been real busy and have been a bad blogger. Also I've still been recovering from the Border Collie National Specialty shows. I re-injured my ankle at the Specialty and have been trying to give it a lot of rest in the hopes that I can avoid a third surgery. It's been almost two full months and it's not much better and I'm getting worried. But nothing is going to happen until after the holidays. I had one holiday season ruined by having surgery on this ankle the Monday after Thanksgiving (the first surgery) and I won't do that again.

The month of October was a special one for Imagine Border Collies. Besides Trey earning her B course duck title (HSBd) and Cinder earning her first ever agility title (her NAJ), both at the Specialty, O'my (on the East Coast) was also earning titles. On October 4th, he earned his OA (Open Agility) title. Then later in the month he went 10 for 10 at a CPE agility trial, garnering several new CPE titles (CL-1, CL-2R, CL-2F, & CL-2H). Then on November 20th, he finished the oh-so-hard-to-get (for him) Novice Jumpers title (NAJ). Way to go O'my!

Beckett and I are stuck at 3 UDX legs as double Qs elude us. Two failed attempts were my fault due to senior moments when I gave the wrong signal (once in Open and once in Utility so I don't feel so stupid). The last two attempts were all on Beckett. I gave the 'sit' signal, she saw the 'sit' signal, but she didn't sit -- both days! I'm not sure what's going on there because even here at home she is blowing off my signals, and not just the 'sit' signal any more -- all of them. So I'm going to give her a little time off and then pick up her training again to be ready for the spring obedience season in late March.

I am waiting for Trey to come into heat -- again. Two years ago, I was in this same situation -- wanting to breed her in the late spring/early summer but with Trey's heat cycle not cooperating. According to my calculations she's due to come in December 11th. But that's not cut in stone as she is rarely regular in her cycles. So I am once again trying to decide when to breed her.

It's easy if she comes in in December -- I'll just breed her on the next cycle. But if she goes beyond the first of the year, then I have to rethink things. Either I breed her on that winter cycle or wait and see when she comes in later in the year. If it gets to be late in the summer of 2010, then I'd be looking at puppies on the ground in cold weather and I really don't want to do that. So then I would have to decide whether to wait for another cycle and breed her on that one, giving me a new pup in 2011 instead of 2010. It's hard to decide what to do. This is "deja vu all over again" just like it was two year ago!

The BCSA National Specialty

2009-10-21T13:39:00.004-05:00

I still haven't recovered fully from the week I spent in Wisconsin at the Border Collie Society of America National Specialty dog show. The first three days had herding scheduled and besides having Trey entered all three days on B course ducks, which I have been training her for since last November, I also worked the trials to help keep things moving smoothly along for the other competitors. I must have walked 10 miles those three days as I ran score sheets from the judges to the secretary to record, kept the judges on schedule by having the competitors at the gate in some semblance of order, and also scribed for my friend Robin while she judged sheep runs.

Trey held up well and worked thru some sticky moments (my fault) and did a qualifying job on Monday (a 64 -- barely) and Tuesday (windy, cold, rainy, yucky with a 69.5). I'm proud to say that she did very well despite having a novice trainer and handler (me) who made too many mistakes out on the course.

On Wednesday, she drew the most difficult set of ducks there, ones I saw Sonic struggle with earlier in the week. As soon as I saw them come out of the holding pen, I figured that the possibility of a qualifying run was gone and I went into training mode.

That's probably what saved us as I relaxed and handled better than I'd ever handled in my life. Trey earned her best score of the three days (an 81) under a judge who is extremely hard to qualify under. The judge is a friend of mine but she is tough! So to have qualified and earn our title under Robin was fantastic. And for her to say many nice things about Trey and about my handling was just double thick icing on a great day.

I had just gotten back to the car to put Trey in her crate when Deb walked up. She had just missed our run but was there to share my joy in the new title.

Thursday and Friday were Cinder's days as, after a rocky start in the FAST class which resulted in an NQ, Cinder went on to qualify in four straight classes! which earned her a new title in jumpers (NAJ) and two legs in standard. One more to go and she'll get that NA title, too.

I only got to watch the runs on Thursday as on Friday I was busy working rally and sweeps. But I was real impressed with Cinder's work ethic and the serious way she went about her agility runs. She wasn't real flashy but was so consistent and intent on doing it right. I never have been impressed with most BCs in agility as they tend to be very hyper and out of control, some even to the point of total disregard for their own personal safety. Not for me. And it has really turned me off of agility. But watching Cinder showed me that there can be other ways to run agility. So perhaps I'll give it a try someday.

I was thrilled to have shared in the joy of Cinder's first agility title. It was fun and satisfying, but tiring week. Wonder how long it will take me to recover?

Spectacular September for O'my

2009-10-02T07:18:00.003-05:00

O'my and Lois have been very busy in September, earning three AKC titles.

On September 20th, O'my earned his 2nd Rally Advanced leg and then went on to finish the title on 9/24. Lois then moved him up to the Excellent class on the 25th and he continued his qualifying streak with three straight qualifying runs with placements to earn his Rally Excellent title. Tough to do when the agility ring was right across from the rally ring and O'my would much prefer to do agility!

On the agility front, O'my earned his second NA (novice standard) leg on September 12th and then goes on to finish the title on 9/24! That's two titles on the same day for O'my. The NA title also came with three placements earned.

Congratulations to both Lois and O'my on a spectacular September!

O'my Does It Again!

2009-09-18T07:27:00.002-05:00

Last weekend, O'my again had a spectacular run and earned another AKC agility leg towards his Novice Standard title. One more to go. Jumpers Qs on the other hand are still eluding him, as Lois and he learn how to work as a team. Lois likes to talk during a run, giving direction, but O'my doesn't stay focused if she does talk and can get pulled off a jump, knocking bars, which is what happened last weekend. Ah well. It does give Lois a chance to 'train' once she knows it's not a qualifying run. She bragged that she was doing rear crosses and that the boy hit every one of his weave pole entries, even with a rear cross. Now I'm not an agility person, but since she was so excited, I'm guessing that that is a GOOD thing.

Way to go Lois & O'my!

The Titles & Legs Keep Rolling In for O'my

2009-09-05T10:04:00.003-05:00

For a pup that we had nickname 'the slug', O'my has matured into a very fast, very talented agility dog. He has added more CPE titles to his name and has, at last notice, his first AKC agility leg for Novice Standard.

That boy is going to be making waves and parting the seas in the east coast agility community!