Cannon Falls #2 and a New Puppy!

This past weekend we had another go at CPE at Simon Arena.  It was 50/50 weekend in terms of Q's, but the ones that weren't, I learned a lot as always.  The highlights for the show were getting our first jackpot and first two standard runs in level 3.  We also Q'ed in a really tough jumpers course, which was the very first run of the trial.  Zoe looks more and more like her old self and didn't have any issues with the contacts.  Surprisingly, weaves were her biggest issue this weekend - mainly when they were early on in the course.  I guess we'll have to focus on those again in practice.  All in all, she ran well and looked like she was having fun - one image that really sticks out was in our second snooker course, where Zoe really started to kick up some speed and had that look on her face that said "oh boy, I can't WAIT to do that tire".  Now a snooker course is really technical and tight, so to have a motivated dog who is running with enthusiasm is definitely a personal Q.  Alas, we did not Q in this run because she then took the tire again for an off course, but that look of total motivation was priceless!  

We're a little less than halfway through level 3 now.  We'll be taking a break from CPE until August, but then after that we'll have plenty of opportunities this fall to advance.  I am very excited that the CPE National competition will be in MN next June and am hoping that by then, we will be in the prime of our career.  There is lots to work on and I think we can accomplish a lot in the next year.  This will be an awesome event to participate in and watch - 6 rings of agility out in Lake Elmo with dogs competing from around the country.  It is bound to be a wonderful time!!

In other news, about a week ago, we welcomed a new dog in the family.  She's a 5-month-old blue merle border collie (mix?) whom we named Breeze.  We adopted her from the BC Rescue of MN, who got her from a shelter in KY.  She's got a tail, but a little thicker, so she may be part aussie as well.  Hard to tell until she grows into her body.  Nonetheless, she is a little spunk!  She's eager to please, has great toy drive, and is oh so sweet!!  She also has a lot of confidence, which will make agility training much different than her.  In some respects, it will make training easier, but I know it will come with it's challenges.  Right now, we are working hard on her foundation training and things are going very well.  I brought her to Simon arena for one day and she did wonderful waiting in her crate and also meeting new people and dogs.  She is definitely going to be an agility star someday.  Most importantly, she and Zoe get along great!  Zoe generally does really well with puppies and Breeze is no exception.  They love to wrestle and chase and Zoe doesn't seem to be too jealous.  I've been weary of having two females, but with their personalities, I think it will work just fine.  Stay tuned for more updates on her progress!