Abby finally had her litter of puppies! We were originally expecting three puppies based on ultrasound and the first x-ray taken about 1 1/2 weeks ago. We repeated the x-ray and found five puppies! She started labor on Sept. 29th, but things did not progress well. She had one puppy naturally, but the next puppy in line became stuck. After 6 total hours of labor, she had an emergency c-section at 3:00 a.m. This after two restless, sleepness nights of uterine monitoring due to increased contractions prior to labor. I now understand sleep deprivation on a very personal level. The stuck puppy did not survive, but four puppies are doing well now. Two boys and two girls. Abby is still feeling the effects of surgery, and although she is allowing nursing, she is not caring for the pups yet. So, I am their substitute “clean up” mom. The boys are a little small and are getting supplemental feedings. Watch for puppy pictures in the puppy gallery in the upcoming days and weeks!

On September 13, at the Bloomington Obedience Training Club agility trial at Soccerblast in Burnsville, Minnesota, Mellie earned her AKC Master Agility Championship (MACH) title. This is the highest award in AKC agility and I am thrilled to get this with her. She was my first agility dog and to succeed in this sport at this level is a wonderful accomplishment. She needed 26 points from the two runs. She nailed the Standard course and earned 18 points so we knew we had to be 8 seconds under course time to get the last points needed for her title. A slow start had me a bit nervous, but she picked it up in the end.

Tradition is that at the end of a successful MACH run, you take a jump bar from the last obstacle and do a little victory lap. The crowd cheers and you get a decorated bar to take home. At the next agility trial, you bring your MACH bar and treats for all the competitors. Everyone signs your bar and you have a wonderful souvenir of your achievement. You also get a nice rosette to mark the occasion as well. Now, on to MACH2!!

At the Minnesota Agility Club (MAC) agility trial at the Washington County Fairgrounds on Sept. 5 and 6th, Mellie and Ace earned many qualifying runs, placements and titles. More ribbons!!

Mellie earned her Advanced Snooker and Advanced Jumpers titles and finished her versatility title-Advanced Agility Dog (AAD). She had a great Snooker run on Sunday, earning 1st place, a good way to end the week-end. She will be in Masters level classes at the next USDAA trial but will need to significantly improve her speed to excel at that level. More challenges for us!

Ace earned his Starters Standard title and his first versatility title-Agility Dog (AD). He managed his first qualifying Gamblers run with a second place finish. He also had his first qualifying runs in Starters Pairs and Advanced Snooker and Advanced Jumpers. He is pretty consistent but needs to pick up speed as well. Too much like his mom, Mellie!

Abby remained home due to her pregnancy, and Ripley is not quite ready for USDAA so he stayed home as well.