February 1, 2008: I
just stumbled upon a touching video on agilityvision.com - a tribute done by
a 14 year old for her rescue mixed-breed dog, to show people that mixed
breeds can excel at agility. It embodies everything agility is about,
and is told so eloquently it brings tears to the eyes (well, mine at least).
Any of us who own mixed breed dogs can totally relate to the video.
Go to Video
I'm now offering my services as
trial secretary to clubs and/or individuals - get the
details!
Buddy
got his C-ATE on January 19, 2008, at the SCOR CPE trial in Garnerville
NY! Ray Wheeler was the judge. Buddy is the 24th dog in the
nation to get the C-ATE, and I'm only the third person to have more than
a C-ATE on more than one dog (the other two are from Michigan, the
birthplace of CPE; and, of course, my other C-ATE was with Sandy in
2006). Buddy is 9 years old, and those who know him know he isn't
an easy dog - all rescues are "special", but I wouldn't trade them
for the world!!
Sandy made Top Ten for Specialist in 2006
and 2007 (and
she only started competing as a Specialist in July 2006), and also managed
to crack the Top Ten for lifetime points in 2006, which was really a pleasant
surprise! Go to CPE's Top Ten
Page
Crystal, my first agility dog and my inspiration for becoming a
dog agility trainer, passed away on July 25th, 2006.
You can go to her
tribute page to read about her life.
Agility
Trial premiums are available online for:
CPE June 14-15 (Note: Sat is full)
Premiums coming soon for July 4 TDAA
and July 5-6 USDAA trials, to be held at Altamont Fairgrounds!
I traveled across the country
in June 2006 to attend the CPE Nationals in Sacramento CA with Sandy and Buddy. I
have posted a page that's basically a "blog"
of my trip. I will keep it on this site
for awhile in case anyone else wants to read about my
adventures!
Fill out a simple form to be put on my email notification list!
What is Dog Agility, you might ask?
Click on the dog in the tunnel to
read all about it!
I believe in positive, no-force methods, and incorporating the
use of clicker/operant conditioning training, targeting, and backchaining into
everything I do with dogs. I have attended countless seminars and
workshops myself, learning from top trainers from the USA and beyond, and have
incorporated "the best of the best" into my own training philosophies.
View
my background and read my story:
I teach regular group classes and
private lessons, and hold
seminars across the country.
Sandy
(13 year old AA): USDAA ADCh; NADAC S-NATCH; 1999 and 2000 Top 10 USDAA jumpers;
USDAA Top 10 in every performance category in 2004; CPE C-ATE; CPE Top
Ten for 2005, 2006, 2007,and Lifetime Top Ten; Winner of 2003 CPE Nationals;
TDAA (Teacup Agility Dog Association) TACH; UKC AG-I; Purina IDC Finalist 2000,
and regional competitor in 1999 and 2001; NADAC Nationals winner in 2002,
as well as previous finishes of 2nd place in 2000 and 5th place in 1999; USDAA Nationals Semi-Finalist 1998,
1999, and 2000; 2nd
place in AMBOR Agility Nationals 2002; 5th place finisher in 16" division
at 2002 All Star Agility National event; CGC
Crystal
(AA, at the rainbow bridge):
USDAA PD-II; CPE C-ATCH; NADAC EAC-V, EJC-V and EGC-V titles; UKC AG-I; High In Trial, High Veteran In Trial, and First
Place Cumulative in Games at 2002 CPE Nationals; 3rd place in AMBOR Agility
Nationals 2002; TDI therapy dog; CGC
Buddy
(9 year old BC):
CPE C-ATE; USDAA MAD and MJ; NADAC Elite Standard, Jumpers and Gamblers titles; AKC OA
and OAJ titles; High Scoring Border Collie at 2002 CPE Nationals; CGC
Jart (5 year old AA, probably Aussie
and Papillon): USDAA PI Jumpers and PI Snooker
titles; CPE Level 4 Fun, Strategy and Handler titles; ASCA Novice
Regular, Gamblers and Jumpers titles