Sunday's Results

Sonoma got three more "Q's" (qualifying runs), one in each for Standard, JWW, and FAST. She placed first in FAST, and second in Standard and JWW. That was a perfect 6 for 6 in terms of Q's this weekend. Sonoma achieved her Novice level in only two trials and can now compete in the Open division. This may be the average length of time to spend in Novice (Crystal and I are unsure), but we did meet a guy who has been competing with his Sheltie in the Novice division for 2 years!

By the conclusion of the trial on Sunday, we could hear people whispering Sonoma's name as we walked by, followed by more obvious pointing and staring. She's making a name for herself as an "up-and-commer". Multiple people on Saturday and Sunday came up to me to compliment Sonoma and our team. They are excited for us, and have been very willing to show their support for us. Our friends from Jumpin' Java Agility were also so helpful, showing us the ropes at the trials and keeping us informed on when our runs will be.

We are really pleased with the progress Sonoma has shown over the past year. We are excited about this journey we are beginning with our lady - and we know it makes her happy to work as a team with us. For anyone interested in agility, I would recommend it highly. It teaches the dog to be obedient, confident, and a teammate - all important qualities of a happy, healthy dog. You may think, "My dog would never do well in agility, he is too _________!" (fill in the blank with your own adjective: crazy, stubborn, stupid, nuts-o, lazy, etc). But agility helps dogs of all sorts get the positive attention they deserve from their owners as well as exercise and discipline - which helps with all types of behavioral issues.

Unfortunately, under the big cover and with the rain we had this weekend, a lot of our pictures came out blurry. We're still learning how to take good shots with our camera, but we'll get there. Hopefully in the next couple of days I'll manage to get videos of our runs this from this weekend posted. Keep your eyes out for that.

And finally, here's a picture of Sonoma with her ribbons from the two trials - not a bad start to her collection!!