On June 29, at the North Star Herding Group agility trial at Soccer Blast in Burnsville, Mellie qualified in both her JWW and Standard runs, earning another Double Q and a beautiful red, white and blue rosette ribbon to mark the occasion. She ran both courses 10 seconds under course time, unfortunately, a mistake in the scribing of her scoresheet took away many of her MACH points on her Jumpers course. We were able to rerun the course for time, and earned back 3 more MACH points, but it was disappointing to say the least. We ended up with 12 MACH points for the day. She also took fourth place in her Standard run which was a nice finishing touch. More agility trials coming up soon!!

On June 1st, Abby and Mellie were entered in an assortment of games and regular agility courses in Minnesota Agility Club’s USDAA agility trial at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Lake Elmo. It was a scorcher of a day, and the dogs showed their less than enthusiastic attitudes on the course. Mellie did manage to get her final qualifying leg in Starters Standard to earn her SSA title. She also had a nice Starters Jumpers run and got her second leg toward that title. Unfortunately, not much luck in Snooker or Gamblers. Abby’s stress levels have been rising and the outdoor venue did not help her confidence. She did not finish either of her two runs she was entered in. We may need to take a break from some trials for awhile. She is still very enthusiastic in the backyard and in practice.

On May 22nd and 23rd, Mellie had a most incredible successful set of runs at the American Rottweiler Club National Specialty all-breed agility trial at the Washington County Fairgrounds. She qualified in 5 of her 6 runs, placing in all five runs. Three first place ribbons and two second place ribbons. She really earned one of the first place ribbons, as she was in a run-off for her Exc. B. Jumpers with Weaves run on Friday. She managed to run that course clean both times and with a time as fast as she has ever run. I could not have been prouder. We also did the new FAST runs as they were offered both days. With qualifying runs both days, she earned the second and final legs of her Novice FAST title. She double Q’d on Saturday, but a mis-step in the chute on her Standard course on Friday, kept us from earning one that day. She managed to rack up 60 more MACH points for those two days as well. Helps to get those high placements and earn some multiplier points.

Abby was entered in 6 runs as well, but she qualified in only one, her Open Standard run on Thursday. She did do all her contacts (including the teeter!) and earned a first place finish to get that elusive first leg to her OA title. Unfortunately, some trial stress crept in and she had some issues with weaves and the teeter for the remaining courses. She did do the distance challenges in her FAST runs, however, and once we get some more trial experience, I am sure we will get those legs soon enough.

The weather was just idyllic and it was a very enjoyable day challenging ourselves on the courses. Both girls had a good time and we are looking forward to more outdoor trials in the summer months.

On May 11, Mellie and Abby competed at the agility trial at Twin City Obedience Training Club. Since this is where they train, they had home court advantage and they capitalized on that. Mellie had two great runs, earning a second place finish in the Ex. B Jumpers run (with 9 seconds under course time) and a first place finish in the Ex. B Standard run (11 seconds under course time), thus adding another Double Q to her growing total. She also managed 35 MACH points for the day. Not bad at all.

Abby, not to be outdone, absolutely excelled in her Jumpers run, she was debuting in the Exc. A. class at this trial. She was 15 seconds under course time, a phenomenal 4.95 yards per second speed. She took first place and her owner’s unending pride. She would have beat many dogs much larger in size and stride. Unfortunately, she continued to have some issues with refusing the teeter and hesitant with the dog walk, so no qualifying leg yet in Open Standard. All in all, a great day at the agility venue!

Alasera Phalenes all went to the PCA National Specialty in Frederick, Maryland from April 21-April 27th. It was a long drive out to the East Coast. On Monday, Mellie and Abby competed in the National Specialty agility trial. Mellie qualified in her Jumpers with Weaves run and in the FAST run. Mellie had never ran in the FAST class, which requires some distance work as well as some obstacle strategies to gain points. She took second out of over 25 dogs in the Novice B FAST class. Only one point out of first place!

Abby only qualified in one run, her Open Jumpers with Weaves class, but she made it count. She earned a second place finish with lots of time under course time. It was a superb performance and earned her High Scoring Phalene in Trial! She got a huge beautiful rosette and a lovely commemorative tote bag. It was also her third leg of her Open title so she earned her OAJ title at the trial as well. She had a few issues with her contact obstacles so it is back to the drawing board there!

Later in the week, Ace competed in the Open dog- drop ear conformation class in the PCA Specialty show. He took third place, earning a nice rosette and a beautiful print of a Phalene by the beach. He was lovely in the ring and has really come alive in the show ring.

Mellie, not to be outdone, took fourth place in the Open bitch-drop ear class out of 7 bitches entered. She has been out of the show ring for two years and I was happy to see that she is ready to come out of retirement. She moved beautifully and loved every minute of her time in the ring. She also earned a nice rosette and took home another Phalene art print.

Ripley was not entered in the conformation show, but enjoyed our outings. We took the dogs to the Capitol Mall in Washington D.C. where they were a hit with the crowds. They posed by some famous monuments and enjoyed the beautiful spring weather.

On April 13, 2008, at the Indianhead Kennel Club dog show in Eau Claire, WI, Abby went WB, BOW and Best of Breed to finish off her American Championship. She was flawless in the ring and looked every inch a Champion. This is the first Champion conformation dog for Alasera kennel. I am grateful that Abby’s breeder, Anita Jonsson, trusted me with Abby.

On April 6, at the St. Paul Dog Training Club’s AKC agility trial, Mellie earned her Masters Excellent Agility title. She was awesome, earning a double Q, and 23 MACH points. She earned a second place finish and a fourth place finish to top it all off. She now has 5 Double Q’s and 175 MACH points and hope to add to those in the upcoming months.

On March 16, at the Norwegian Elkhound Association of Minnesota’s AKC agility trial, Mellie earned her Masters Excellent Agility Jumpers title. She had a great day, earning a double Q, and 32 MACH points. She earned two second place ribbons for a nice touch. Only one more leg needed for her MX title.

Abby qualified in her Open Jumpers with Weaves run and was 11 seconds under course time. She took first place in her class. She managed to do a perfect clean run and was the only dog out of 33 dogs to do that. Only two other dogs qualified in the run. She now has two legs toward her OAJ title.

On March 1 and 2nd, at the Twin City Obedience Training Club in Minneapolis, Mellie and Abby had a great agility week-end. They both ran super courses and earned placements for all the qualifying runs they had. Mellie earned two double Q’s and 30 MACH points for the week-end. She had two second place finishes, a third and fourth place finish.

Abby qualified in two of her four runs and got first place in both of those. She now has her novice Standard title (NA) and earned one leg in the Open Jumpers class. She is consistently very speedy and way under course times. We look forward to more agility trials in the near future.

On February 23 and 24 at the Minnesota Agility Club (MAC) USDAA agility trial in Cannon Falls, MN, Mellie enjoyed tremendous success her first time running in a USDAA venue. USDAA has runs similar to AKC with a Standard run and a Jumpers run, but they also have additional “games”, including a relay, a gamblers run and a game called Snooker. She ran in 9 runs over the course of the week-end and she qualified in 8 of them for 1 or 2 legs towards titles in all of the games as well as the Standard run. She managed 6 first place finishes and a third place finish. Good course times too. It was a great week-end. On Sunday, she qualified in all five runs she was entered in. The best part was qualifying in the gamblers runs as it requires doing a distance challenge as part of the course. She has to work away from me and do obstacles on her own. She seemed up to the task. We are very much looking forward to the next USDAA trial in May in St. Cloud.