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Tinker is (ALMOST) the Fastest JRT in U-FLI

June 16, 2008 – 5:11 pm

( EDIT: Well, she’s not the fastest as of this date, the fastest JRT time is actually 4.108, but she can beat that we know it! )

We had a great weekend doing flyball in U-FLI. Long days… Saturday I got up at 5am and got to the tournament site at 6:30am. I wanted to be there to help get all the paperwork done since there is quite a bit to do to get ready for the day.

Racing started at 7:30 am and there were 104 races on Saturday. It was a busy day. We had three teams running and a number of dogs running in singles and pairs. We were hopping all day long. We may have had about a ten race break in there somewhere… which is maybe 30 to 45 minutes, but the rest of the day we were racing or supporting our other teams racing. It’s fun, and exhausting. We didn’t get done racing until 9:30 pm! Ugh and I thought flyball would be easier than agility. Boy was I wrong! It’s more work! But it’s also a ton of fun.

I am proud to say that Chase got his new fastest time on Saturday morning in singles. He ran a 4.4! His fastest time before then was 4.7, which is still pretty darn good.

After dinner Saturday I got to bed about 10:30… so after six measly hours of sleep, we woke up at 5am again to get to the tournament site by 6:30. We were only fifteen minutes from the tourney site but still, it takes a while to show and feed the dogs and get ready, and I didn’t want to be late.

Sunday went well.. there were only 91 races Sunday. We started at 7:30 am again and were done by about 5:30. Chase ran in singles, pairs, and he was start dog on his team, so he was running a lot. He is very tired now that we are home! He loves it though, he’s one of those dogs that would run himself into the ground and not know he’s too tired. And it was 103 degrees in St. George, much too hot. The building was air conditioned so we were okay indoors, but I was still concerned about the dogs overheating.

Anyway so the best thing happened on Sunday. Tinker, a long legged Jack Russell Terrier on our team, ran in singles. She took her brother Bandit’s place, since Bandit is young and was crossing lanes. And Tinker was going to run against a Cocker Spaniel, but she is very competitive and we know she can run faster if she has a fast dog to run against. So after much whoo ha we were able to switch her so she ran against Chase. She’s much faster than Chase… and he was getting slower it being Sunday at about 4:00 pm. But still he could push her more than the cocker could have.

So we set them up to see how fast Tinker could run. I told Chase he could beat that silly little dog and to run really fast and he was pretty fast! And I am proud to say he was an integrel part of:

Tinker breaking the record for Fastest Jack Russell Terrier in U-FLI!!!

We were so excited! The whole building erupted in cheers, and Touch N Go was there and was even helping Tinker’s Mom release Tinker in the right position for a perfect start. Her start was .003 and her time was.. I think, 4.13. I’ll have to double check the time. She is one fast girl our Tinker!

The hotel we stayed in was okay… basic but pretty good. They had soap and shampoo.. though I hope I won’t need any natural acne treatment after using the stuff. :p

We are very proud of Tinker and her Mom Cindy. And we had a great time at the tournament! We are excited for the next one!

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Cynthia Blue [My Barks!] | Posted in Chase, Flyball, Levi, Stuff | Also tagged Border Collie, Chase | Comments (15)

Flyball Demo Today

May 31, 2008 – 7:07 pm

Today Chase, Tatum and I went and did a flyball demo with the Thunder Paws, our flyball team here in Utah. It was a lot of fun! Chase did a great job, and we even recruited someone to take some pictures while Chase was running! I usually am taking the pictures and so I don’t get any of Chase. So I’m excited to have these of Chase doing flyball.

He is such a good boy, and so very fast! We went to Strut Your Mutt.. which was okay, but my dogs don’t usually do very well there. Tatum didn’t like the loud music. She didn’t want to take treats, either. But we walked around some and when the loud music stopped she was okay and took treats. And she liked the Bearded Collie who we met who wanted to play with Tatum!

Chase only snarked at a couple of dogs that got in his face when we were walking around. Unfortunately many people don’t understand that other dogs may not be all that friendly, even when their own dogs are friendly. Chase is a good boy, though, and I usually watch him and control him pretty well. And we didn’t walk around too much. I did get lucky with him, though.. he is a good boy, the sounds didn’t bother him, and he loved the flyball and Course A Lure. He also did the little agility field they had set up, and his contacts were great! I’m glad when I can practice his contacts!

And I do like to get Tatum out as much as I can to get her socialized. Poor dear. Her tail was sucked under her a bit, but she was very brave. Oh, and I have to post about her agility obstacle training last night! She did great, I was so excited! That’s for a post of it’s own, though. Tonight I’m going to a movie with a friend, hopefully I won’t eat too much popcorn… but I do need some time without the dogs. As strange as that is! I do love them all, though!

Tomorrow, Sunday, I actually have no dog things planned. Plus, it’s a down day for me. I haven’t had a down day in like six weeks. So tomorrow is it. I’m sorry to everyone who I said no to about doing things, but I really do need to take some time for myself! I might take the border collies jogging, though. In the morning. It’s so nice outside. I love being outside. Maybe I’ll even do some yard work.. or clean the bathroom. Even though I don’t really like cleaning the house, I like having a clean house… and sometimes I just enjoy being in the house and experiencing it. And cleaning it up works for that. LOL

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Cynthia Blue [My Barks!] | Posted in Chase, Flyball, Tatum | Also tagged Chase, Tatum | Comments (0)

Chase in Course A’ Lure

May 31, 2008 – 3:16 pm

We went to do a flyball demo today at Strut Your Mutt, the local big huge dog walk for raising funds for No More Homeless Pets in Utah. Our flyball team, Thunder Paws, had fun and everyone did great! Chase had a good time, too.

Chase got to do Course A’ Lure as well, and he just loves it! Maybe he has some sight hound in there after all. Good thing this is on grass, because indoors would need steam cleaners when it’s all over, those dogs are a mess!

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Cynthia Blue [My Barks!] | Posted in Chase, Flyball | Also tagged Chase | Comments (2)

Four Very Tired Dogs

April 6, 2008 – 7:03 pm

Yes… three dogs and one human do fit on a couch. Although barely!

Today I took four of our six dogs to flyball practice. It was fun. Chase already knows it and does a great job.

Levi.. I’m going to train him up, because he would have fun even if he isn’t fast. He should learn pretty quick. He went away from me just fine toward the box loader who had some treats, but on the way back he didn’t go over the jumps. He went by them! I thought that was odd. So I know what I have to work on with him.

Tatum is catching on to the jumping, she is such a good girl! I was so proud of her! We had her on just the jumps, and I put a lid and treat out on the other side of the jump like we have been doing at home. And she knew it! She went over the jump and got the treat like a pro! Then we did two jumps… then three! And she got them all! But on the way back… she came back to me but then ran off again and bunny hopped around the park again. LOL she is such a goon. I just adore her. I gave other people treats and she went to them, too, though, which was excellent. I want her to learn to go to people because people are good, not mean. No one is going to grab her collar anymore and drag her. Poor dear. I was just glowing I was so proud of her.

And Muffit.. he is too overwhelmed by the whole environment and just needs to be there for a while and get used to it and distress. Poor guy, he pooped in his crate. Realistically I should only bring him, and I should start really far away from the dogs so he can focus on me and think. He gets too excited and stressed to think. I was hoping he would be better than he is. But he’ll learn. He’ll be okay. I have faith. I knew Tatum would come around, and I know Muffit will, too.

All the dogs are sleeping now.. except Lucy. My Husband didn’t take her for a walk today, so she wants a bone. But if I give her one, all the dogs will wake up and the dynamic will change. And so she gets to just relax today and let the other dogs sleep. And I get to watch TV, fiddle with my HDMI switches on my HDTV, and veg. Flyball is tiring!

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Cynthia Blue [My Barks!] | Posted in Flyball | Also tagged Chase, Levi, Muffit, Tatum, Training | Comments (16)

A Sad Thing from the Flyball Tournament

April 1, 2008 – 5:05 pm

I just have to post, briefly, about a sad thing that happened at the flyball tournament this past weekend. We love our dogs… and we know (I’d say all of us, but I guess I have to say most of us) that our dogs perform their best when they are happy and when they trust us humans.

When we were running (we are the Thunder Paws in Utah) we saw a member of another team, angry at his dog.. a red border collie, slam the poor dog into the wall. Not once… but three times. The poor dog was terrified. It was a very sad thing to see. The dog, and the person, were members of Atomic Dogs, a team from Las Vegas.

The judge had a word with him, and our captain talked to their captain. Their captain said that this man’s dogs do love him, and he treats them well… but I cannot believe that. If he is doing that in public, then what does he do at home? Actions like that should never, ever be tolerated. If someone on our team, new or not (he was new, they said) they would be told to leave, immediately, and never come back.

It would be best if we could keep the dog.
Ugh.

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Cynthia Blue [My Barks!] | Posted in Flyball | Comments (48)

We Three are Tired

March 30, 2008 – 9:31 pm

Oh boy.. the tournement is over. We had an awesome time. Chase did great, as usual. He ran fast and clean and got more points. His team broke out twice.. which is really cool and I’ll explain it later. Okay maybe it’s not that cool because we don’t get points for that run, but it was nice to run so fast. And after we had to slow our passes down and determine what speed we needed to run to still win but not break out a third time.

Tatum also did good today, she played with a few dogs and pooped and peed. Just one poop a day but that is better than none. Two pees a day and that is better than one! She is going to be a great collie doing flyball! She is still shy but when she gets used to being at tournaments she’ll be fine. This was her first flyball tournament she came to socialize in, and he had her tail up a lot of the time and was exploring. Though she did get spooked some too.

I’m tired… had a margarita to drink and now I’ve toast. But it was yummy. Going to go to bed and sleep in tomorrow, then drive home whenever after I wake up. Zzzzzz Chase and Tatum are already asleep.

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Cynthia Blue [My Barks!] | Posted in Flyball | Also tagged Chase, Collie, Tatum, Travel | Comments (10)

Good, Tiring Day

March 29, 2008 – 10:26 pm

Oh boy.. just got back to the motel. What a day. It was a ton of fun. Chase ran in singles and doubles, in addition to his regular teams. He ran a lot. He needs to be in better shape, as do I, as I say way too often. I wish my back felt better, we need to seriously jog on a regular basis.

Chase has about 1650 points now.. he got over 600 today. He needs 2500 to get his Top Flight Executive I title. He will probably get that in June when we come back down. He ran his heart out and he loves it. It was a lot of fun getting the timing right for being the start dog. I know pretty good now… 46 feet, let him go when the first yellow light turns on. We got some .003 and .142 starts. Not bad. Got a -.004 too, which was too soon!

Tatum is doing well. She peed twice today and just had a big poop before we left the tournament site. Yay! She goes through times when she’s confident and her tail is up, then something might spook her and her tail sucks between her legs. I stepped on some sage brush and that spooked her pretty good. But she is hanging in there. I know it’s a lot to ask of her, taking her to all these strange places when all she knew for the first year, or more, of her life, was one yard with familiar dogs in it. She is being so good. I wish I could turn back time and socialize her as a puppy. She would be unstoppable, then.

I’m going to get the pictures off my camera, not sure if I’ll get them uploaded. I’m pretty tired and it’s pretty late. We had a good dinner at the trailers of our teammates that are parked at the tournament site. It was a lot of fun. Now, it’s time for bed!

Edit… I added a couple of pictures! I hope my back survives tonight and tomorrow, it was hurting me pretty good today when I was running Chase. Ugh!

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Cynthia Blue [My Barks!] | Posted in Chase, Flyball, Tatum | Also tagged Chase, Tatum | Comments (13)

In St. George

March 28, 2008 – 10:19 pm

Well… Chase, Tatum and me are in St. George. The internet connection here at the Red Cliffs Inn is not too good… but it looks like my two pictures are going to Flickr now. Hopefully they went… and then I’ll include them here in this post.

I’m blogging from my desktop, using BlogDesk. Hopefully it will upload okay. I need to test this out for when I go on my cruise and I don’t want to spend a lot of money being online.

Anyway… the drive was uneventful. I didn’t get out of Salt Lake until 1:30. Got here at 5:30. Not bad… 4 hours isn’t too long a drive anymore. I even drove through rain! And maybe some snow. Since my latest rollover (I’ve been in 2) I’ve been very afraid of driving in weather. But with all the driving I’ve been doing the last couple of years, I’ve gotten better. I still won’t drive in the snow.

Tatum is pretty nervous. She hasn’t peed or pooped since we left. Which is no surprise. She is sleeping now. She’ll loosen up in a day or two. Chase is just fine, as usual. He loves to travel.

I’ll try to blog tomorrow after the first day of the flyball tournament! Our team, the Thunder Paws, is gonna kick butt!

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Cynthia Blue [My Barks!] | Posted in Chase, Daily Posts, Flyball, Tatum | Also tagged Chase, Tatum, Travel | Comments (13)

Wish Us Luck

March 27, 2008 – 4:41 pm

Tomorrow I’m leaving for a flyball tournament in St. George, Utah. I’m excited… and really, a part of me wishes I could just lie in bed all weekend and let my back get better. Alas… the dogs and the dog sports shall not wait for the measly pain a human, an old human… a busy old and feeble human… might have to endure. Just ask Chase, my border collie, whether or not he would rather stay home while the Mum rests up. He will say ‘Suck it Up Mum!’ LOL.

Chase already has his Top Flight III title with U-FLI… hopefully we’ll get a bunch of points for his next level. Though I’m not quite sure what that level is yet. I should really look it up. I do love titles on my dogs. I figure I’m never going to get any more letters after my name. My school days are over. And the dogs are just more fun anyway.

And I know, I know, these are agility pictures, not flyball… you’ll have to wait until this weekend for flyball pictures. Though I think I’ll be taking more videos than stills. It’s an indoor tournament so it won’t be bright enough for some good stills. But I’ll give it a try.

I need to find all my gear tonight, and pack tomorrow. I need my little fridge that fits in my car and plugs into the cigarette lighter. My tankless water heater so I can keep warm water with me… well, hopefully I won’t need it. It better not be too cold or snow down there! It snowed here today, but I hope the weather 4 hours south is warmer.

So, wish us luck!

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Cynthia Blue [My Barks!] | Posted in Flyball | Also tagged Chase | Comments (9)

Too Busy to Rest

March 25, 2008 – 3:18 pm

I was just looking at my calendar and realized that yes, I am going to be much too busy this spring. As usual, I guess. Lots of dog sports going on. And my Husband wants to squeeze a camping trip in there too… we didn’t go camping at all last year, and we both missed it. So this year we have to squeeze a couple in between my dog events. I’m going to need some vehicle tracking to even figure out where I am.

This weekend is Flyball Tournament in St. George. Then the following weekend is a weekend off. After that, April 12th, I’ll be in Colorado doing agility. April 19th we are going camping. April 26 is a USDAA trial I’ve entered Chase in. May 3 is a 3 day AKC agility trial. May 10 I’m going back to Colorado just with Chase for USDAA trial, and then finally on May 17th I’ll be able to stay home that weekend.

Ugh! The worst part will be missing flyball practice. I wonder if someone would take Chase for me, on those rare weekends when he’s not coming with me.

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