At the Greater Twin Cities Golden Retriever Club agility trial held Aug. 20-22, 2010, Mellie managed to get her 20th Double Q for her 2nd MACH title. She was smooth and fast and happy. What more could I ask from this wonderful dog? She ended up with three Double Q’s for the long week-end, 143 MACH points, and placed in every run. We are already well on our way to MACH 3!

Abby had a variety of issues that kept her from qualifying in her Standard runs, BUT, she did the teeter every time!! We have a new, unknown to us before, table issue however. Back to the drawing board. But just so I wouldn’t get too discouraged, she put up some dynamite Jumpers runs, earning three qualifying runs, two first places and one second place finish, beating out Mellie. She went over 5 yards/second on two of the runs. FABULOUS!!! She earned 83 MACH points on just those three runs!

Ripley threw me a bone and got one qualifying leg in Jumpers. No MACH points because he was rather slow. The rest of his runs had moments of accomplishment as well as moments of distraction, hence no other qualifying runs. He will be a challenge, God bless him.

Ace and Terry had some really nice runs, but just enough hiccups to prevent them from qualifying. Ace did, however, do a few teeters, leading Terry to believe that maybe, just maybe, a qualifying run is in his near future. Maybe. :-)

On July 31-August 1 Team Alasera competed at the North Star Working Group agility trial. Only Ace competed on Saturday and his teammates, Mellie, Abby and Ripley joined him on Sunday.

Ace did not get those elusive Q’s this week-end, but he did have 3 out of 4 very good and fast runs, with lots of promising moments. Terry and Ace are soooooo close to putting it all together. The teeter remains a tricky obstacle, but he is getting more and more confident.

Ripley was…well…Ripley. A bit distracted and ever the socialite, he went visiting bar setters and judges. HOWEVER..he did return to me AND carried quite a bit more speed in his runs. He actually had some very nice sequences and he came right to me at the end of his runs. We didn’t get any qualifying runs, but he is progressing well. Stay tuned…

Mellie had two great runs. She was super speedy and nailed all her contacts and made pretty tight turns. She took first place in her Standard run and second in her Jumpers run. She earned 64 MACH points and another Double Q. She is just a joy to run these days.

Abby was STELLAR. She earned her first Double Q in 5 months. She took second to Mellie in her Standard run and took 1st place in the Jumpers run-beating Mellie! She earned 60 MACH points and looked like a pro. No one would know all the stress issues we have battled. Her teeter was perfect and I made sure to let her know how good she was. She was so happy running. I can tell you it is pure joy to work through these issues and see the fruits of that labor.

Very proud of Team Alasera again this week-end. Happy to be able to play the game.

Team Alasera attended the North Star Herding Group agility trial July 3 and 4th. It was a red, white and blue themed week-end and the Team brought home all those colors in their ribbons and more.

Abby somehow determined this was an AKC trial and stress crept in for a few runs, especially anything involving contacts. She had a break out fast Jumpers run on Sunday, and earned fourth place in a very competitive class and finished with her MXJ title to boot. Best of all, each and every run, she is learning to relax and just have fun. Glad to have my fast Abby back!

Ace also wasn’t up to all his contacts, so no elusive AX leg this week-end. But he did have moments of brilliance on the Standard course. His Sunday Jumpers run was also very nice, and he did manage to give Terry a qualifying run performance, just to keep Terry happy.

Mellie had a great week-end. She earned another Double Q (with two third place finishes) and yet more MACH points. She missed a qualifying run on Sunday in Standard due to a mistake by each of us, but still, blazing fast speed. Her JWW run on Sunday was a lesson in how fast she can run when I just let her do her thing. She took 2nd place and earned 21 points on the run. Wow. Just Wow.

Ripley decided to show off his contact skills to Abby and Ace, and he managed to get his second and third legs in Ex. A. Standard to earn his AX title. Slow but steady and I was plenty happy to get this far with him. His jumpers runs this week-end were too slow for qualifying, but all in due time. All in due time….

All in all, a fun week-end for all of us.

Team Alasera attended the USDAA trial in Burnsville on June 19 and 20th. Only Mellie, Abby and Ace were entered. Ripley needs more speed before he can compete in this venue.

Abby showed minimal to no trial stress this week-end and it translated into dynamite runs and four titles. She was fast, accurate and best of all, she was having fun. She qualified in 7 out of her 8 runs in the Performance Class and she earned all first place finishes. Quite a comeback after some real breakdowns in AKC trials. She earned her Performance I Snooker, Jumpers and Standard titles. With those qualifying runs, she also earned her first versatility title in USDAA-the Performance Dog I title. She can move up to the Advanced level now and we’ll see how she does there. Best of all, she did the teeter in public!

Mellie had a grand time in USDAA as well. She had to jump 12″ jump heights to be in the Championship Class, when normally she only jumps 8″ in AKC. This is a bit more effort for her, but she did very well, not dropping a bar all week-end. She was entered in 9 runs for the week-end and ran clean in all of them. She qualified in 8 of the runs, just missing her Masters Standard qualifying ribbon by a few seconds over time. She qualified in both of the tournament runs, earning a second place finish in both as well. In her second Snooker run of the week-end, she put on a great performance earning all possible points except one. That was enough to earn her a Super Q, which is a qualifying run in the top 15% of the height class. This was even more special, because her height class was combined with the 16″ class to determine the super Q’s. She needs 3 Super Q’s as part of her ADCH title (Agility Dog Championship) which is USDAA’s championship title. Only two more to go. She was really running and jumping like a true pro and I couldn’t be more proud of her progress this past year.

Ace struggled with trial stress this week-end and unfortunately only had one qualifying run. He did qualify in one of his Snookers run even though he refused the last obstacle which was the dreaded teeter. He had a nice jumpers run that would have been a qualifying run but for the moment after a tunnel that he caught the judge out of the corner of his eye and decided to turn around and bark at her before continuing on. Unfortunately, he back-jumped a jump during the brief interruption and caused an off course. He was super speedy and gave Terry something to work with as they go back to working on a few foundation skills and more motivation. I’m sure with time and patience, they will prevail.

On May 29-31, Team Alasera competed at the Bloomington Obedience Training Club agility trial on Saturday and Sunday, and on Monday, Mellie was entered in the USDAA trial in Lake Elmo for a Dog Agility Masters (DAM) Team Tournament with her training buddies, another Papillon, named Sky and Josie, a Lhasa Apso.

The dogs again enjoyed some great successes as well as more humbling defeats. Never a dull moment with this group.

Abby managed to do the teeter several times IN PUBLIC during her runs. Great moments to savor! She also had a great Jumpers run on Saturday even running in tall grass, earning a second place finish (edging out Mellie!) in a very competitive field of participants. She earned her ninth MXJ leg with that run and quite a few MACH points. She did manage to get an Open FAST leg on Saturday as well. Sunday did not go quite as well, as she decided the Standard run was way too scary and she quit after the second obstacle. She never even got to the start line on her Jumpers run, as she started reverse sneezing and couldn’t settle down. On her Sunday FAST run, she ran great, but a send to an A-frame proved too tough.

Ace had a beautiful jumpers run on Sunday and earned his MXJ title, much to Terry’s delight. He had a great set of weaves and stuck with Terry til the end. He earned an Open FAST leg on Saturday and took 3rd place, showing that he CAN do some distance work after all. He melted on his Standard runs and the curse continues.

Ripley did get an Exc. B Jumpers leg, but no MACH points as he barely made course time. He is staying more focused and does not try to run off anymore, so we feel we are making progress. He really shut down on Sunday and I can only think that the combination of heat, and being outdoors got the best of him. We’ll keep trying and I’m sure he’ll eventually get the hang of it.

Mellie was once again, on fire. She double Q’d on Saturday with two great runs, including a second place finish and a third place finish. She had one of her best ever Standard runs on Sunday but dropped a bar. Fastest yards per second she has ever had in a Standard run. She earned a second place finish in her Jumpers run on Sunday and took in 56 more MACH points for the week-end. She also managed to get two Open FAST legs and get her Open Fast title. On Monday, she and her DAM teammates earned their first DAM qualifying run at the USDAA tournament. She had clean qualifying runs in all 5 of her runs at the tournament. She placed well in each run as well. I am especially happy with this accomplishment as she had to jump 12″ versus the normal 8″ for AKC. Never dropped a bar all day.

On May 5th, Alasera’s Catch Me if U Can, “Katie”, showed in the PCA National Specialty Sweepstakes show under judge John Oulton. This was her first time ever in a conformation show, at 7 months of age. She looked every bit the “full of herself” show bitch and intended to make the most of her time in the spotlight. After seeing the rest of the families ribbons from the agility trial, she was determined to not leave without one too. She managed to place fourth out of a large class of 25 puppy bitches. Not bad Katie!!

On May 7th, she was also entered in the Phalene match. She took first place in her class and enjoyed strutting her stuff once again. She has a great conformation future and we look forward to seeing how she does in the local shows this summer.

On May 3rd and 4th, Team Alasera competed at the 2010 PCA National Specialty Papillon only agility trial in Des Moines, Iowa. All four adult dogs participated and everyone brought home ribbons. Here are each dog’s accomplishments:

Abby had nice runs both days. A few dropped bars (very unusual for her) kept her from qualifying in some otherwise super runs. She did manage to get an Open FAST qualifier which involved some distance work, so that was a pleasant surprise. In addition, she managed a second place finish in that run. She showed good progress in trying to overcome those pesky stress responses.

Ace enjoyed some nice runs as well. He earned his Novice FAST title and took 4th place and received really nice ribbons. In Jumpers with Weaves, he took 3rd place and another leg towards his MXJ. His teeter issues surfaced, so no Standard legs were earned. He vows to do better next time.

Ripley had some surprisingly good runs. He earned his final Open Standard leg to get his OA title and the very next day, got his first Excellent A leg toward his AX. Didn’t think that would ever happen! He also had a nice clean run in Jumpers but didn’t make it under course time. Go Ripley!!

Mellie was the star of Team Alasera. She earned High Phalene in Trial both days of the trial, getting some very nice ribbons, a travel carrier and a dog bed for trophies. She double Q’d both days of the trial and placed in all her runs. She earned an Open FAST leg toward that title and took first place with a score of 78 out of 80. She earned two first place ribbons, and three second place ribbons and 100 MACH points. Best of all, her speed is improving with almost every run. Look out world, here she comes!!

See Mellie’s runs on YouTube

On March 23rd, Mellie and I headed to Tulsa, OK to attend our first AKC NAC trial. Our goals were to try to run at least a few clean runs and to stand up to the pressure of National level competition. We succeeded in both goals.

On Friday of the competition, it was the State Team tournament. All the Minnesota competitors scores and times were taken into account and compared to other states. Team Minnesota ended up 13th overall. Mellie ran clean in both of her runs. It was so fun.

On Saturday and Sunday, the exhibitors ran three courses-a Standard run, a Jumpers run and a Hybrid run. After these three runs, a combined score plus time is taken. The top 6 dogs go on to a final round. A few others are allowed into the challengers round to allow one more team to advance to the finals. We did not make the Finals round, nor the challengers round but we still had great success. Mellie ran all her runs clean, with no mistakes. In addition, she ended up 12th overall out of 97 dogs in her 8″ jump height. This is a tremendous showing. I was very pleased with Mellie’s runs. We need to work on speed, but she is so consistent now.

We were able to see many of the top handling teams in the country and the finals were exciting to watch. A tiny Toy Fox Terrier took the NAC title in the 8″ jump class. There were 32 Papillons in the competition and Mellie was the only Phalene.