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.

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!!

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.

Team Alasera played to the home court advantage and brought home lots of ribbons, MACH points, and a title. At TCOTC on March 5-7th, the flying Phalenes had a great time.

Mellie: Still the queen of the course, she earned three doubleQ’s and a whopping 110 MACH points. She placed in every run-earning two 1st places, a 2nd place and three 3rd place ribbons. Nice to see some good consistency and pretty good speed getting ready for the AKC National agility championships.

Abby: Finally overcoming a teeter fear, Abby managed to qualify in 3 out of 6 runs, earning two Standard legs and a Jumpers leg and another Double Q. Handler Lisa got lost on course and NQ’d the team on a Jumpers run but Abby did great. She managed to place in all those qualifying runs, earning a first place, a 3rd place and a 4th place finish. She totalled up 64 MACH points on those three runs. Unfortunately, the last day, the teeter fear crept back, so she needs to still work on that problem. All in all, she was great.

Ace: Had only one qualifying run in Jumpers, but started getting better weave performance as the week-end wore on. He avoided the teeter too so it appears him and Abby have been discussing this obstacle. He did earn another 7 MACH points. We have high hopes for Ace…he just needs a bit more work to put it all together.

Ripley: Ripley managed to qualify in 3 out of 5 runs. He was really trying to focus despite the presence of a judge and people who sit in chairs in the ring. He had a great Ex. A Jumpers run and finally got his AXJ title with a 1st place finish. He also qualified and got his first leg in Open Standard with a first place finish. (Well, yes, there was only one 8″ dog in the class…) Best of all, he sat and let me put his leash on in all five runs at the end of the run. No more running away from me!!! He is really responding to some new training we are doing and I couldn’t be happier. He also earned his first ever MACH point the next day and took third place on a very difficult Ex. B. Jumpers run. Go Ripley!!

Ace went 0 for 2 but really had a spectacularly fast Jumpers run with one run-out-probably handler induced. Lovely weaves. His Standard run had some interesting activities, but once again, the teeter was just too much for him. Time will get these things under control.

Ripley lost all focus in his jumpers run but did manage to finish the run with just a few errors. But he proved he is not ready for further trials at this time. I scratched him from his Standard run. We will work on getting that focus in the upcoming weeks. Not an easy task!!

Abby had a nice jumpers run and qualified with 11 MACH points. Unfortunately, she had another stress meltdown at the thought of a course with contacts. On her Standard run, I did, somehow, miraculously get her to do the teeter, but the run proved just too much for her. We’ll give her some time to settle back into competition. I’m certain great things are in store down the road. Patience, I am told, is a virtue. Who knows, maybe she doesn’t like running in dirt?

Mellie is the new star of the Alasera team. She rocked the courses, gaining another Double Q, a fourth place finish in Jumpers and a first place finish in Standard. Outstanding times, earned another 60 MACH points in just this one day. She is focused, excited, happy and fast. Took 4 1/2 years, but hey, who is counting?? Check out her runs below.