Well.....what a long, sleepless, and busy week Nationals was- as always...and I loved every minute of it!
On the first Sunday, RHYA pulled her way to a WWPDA (advanced weight pull) leg, pulling over 23 times her own body weight! TASSI, weighing just a couple pounds more, had to pull one more round than her mother for an advanced leg- but that next round was more than 25 times her weight: she tried SO HARD, but just couldn't get it, so the cart attendants pushed the cart for her, so she thought she was successful, and she got huge hugs and praise for her effort...COBY pulled in the Novice pull, and easily pulled the allowed three rounds.
On Monday, COBY was my little star, earning a qualifying score and his first leg toward a Rally Novice (obedience) title!
Tuesday saw us running agility, where RHYA qualified in Excellent A Jumpers with Weaves, with a 1st place!
Wednesday we NQ'd in agility, before rushing off to the Working Dog Showcase, where I had the pleasure of presenting my girls RHYA and TASSI to the judges and audience as the multi-talented dogs they are.
Thursday: COBY qualified in Rally again, this time with a score of 95! and his second title leg..just one more to go! I'm so happy with him, it has been a number of years since I did any obedience training- now I guess I owe it to him to train him to do it right, so he can finish the title and move on to the next level. Later that day, COBY also competed in a big sweeps class, where he was happy but clearly not planning to stand still very often. Even 12-year-old ASHLAR took a trot around , just to show that he's still here and well.
Friday found COBY in the ring again, briefly, as he leaped, twirled, bounced, jumped and wagged his way through a far-too-energized version of happy puppy!
Saturday, RHYA placed 4th in her Working -titled class, also being happy and bouncy...and then TASSI took her turn for a spin in the ring, first alone and then with a group, as she made the cut for Best of Breed! What a thrill!
All in all, a great week, surrounded by our greatest friends and hundreds of beautiful Malamutes...pure bliss. Days after our return home, people are still exhausted, and the dogs are so glad to be sleeping on the bed again...
On the first Sunday, RHYA pulled her way to a WWPDA (advanced weight pull) leg, pulling over 23 times her own body weight! TASSI, weighing just a couple pounds more, had to pull one more round than her mother for an advanced leg- but that next round was more than 25 times her weight: she tried SO HARD, but just couldn't get it, so the cart attendants pushed the cart for her, so she thought she was successful, and she got huge hugs and praise for her effort...COBY pulled in the Novice pull, and easily pulled the allowed three rounds.
On Monday, COBY was my little star, earning a qualifying score and his first leg toward a Rally Novice (obedience) title!
Tuesday saw us running agility, where RHYA qualified in Excellent A Jumpers with Weaves, with a 1st place!
Wednesday we NQ'd in agility, before rushing off to the Working Dog Showcase, where I had the pleasure of presenting my girls RHYA and TASSI to the judges and audience as the multi-talented dogs they are.
Thursday: COBY qualified in Rally again, this time with a score of 95! and his second title leg..just one more to go! I'm so happy with him, it has been a number of years since I did any obedience training- now I guess I owe it to him to train him to do it right, so he can finish the title and move on to the next level. Later that day, COBY also competed in a big sweeps class, where he was happy but clearly not planning to stand still very often. Even 12-year-old ASHLAR took a trot around , just to show that he's still here and well.
Friday found COBY in the ring again, briefly, as he leaped, twirled, bounced, jumped and wagged his way through a far-too-energized version of happy puppy!
Saturday, RHYA placed 4th in her Working -titled class, also being happy and bouncy...and then TASSI took her turn for a spin in the ring, first alone and then with a group, as she made the cut for Best of Breed! What a thrill!
All in all, a great week, surrounded by our greatest friends and hundreds of beautiful Malamutes...pure bliss. Days after our return home, people are still exhausted, and the dogs are so glad to be sleeping on the bed again...