Web Editors:
2010 BRAGS FOR KCTC MEMBERSHIP:
Brags from 2009
August 2010
The Ritchey family is pleased to announce
Our new Conformation Champion!
Ben finished Casey’s Championship at the Canfield show on Saturday, August 7th, by taking 1st place in Open Dog, Winners Dog, Best of Winners for the major, and Best of Breed! Ben had a great support group cheering for him from Keystone; Barb Newman came along and Toni and Clare although busy with their Westie Specialty, made sure they were there ringside to encourage and cheer for Ben and Casey. Sharing the moment with friends made it all the more special.
Our 12 year old Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Sunny, had her final go-around in the ring earlier that day in the category of Veteran Bitch. It was a bittersweet moment for mom. The first time Ben entered the show ring was with Sunny when Ben was just 7 years old (he is now 14); and she was just a young dog. Sunny has been in retirement for several years but she agreed to come out of retirement for one last show. As the only 12-year-old dog in the ring she automatically got Best Veteran and more applause than she could imagine.
 |
Registered Name: Ch. Sweetbriar Cayce’s Charisma,
RN, CGC, TDI
Call Name:
Casey
Handler:
Benjamin Ritchey
Sweetbriar Kennel, Dan and Dana Graff
Steel Valley Cluster, 8-7-10
1st in Open, Winners Dog, Best of Winners,
Best of Breed. This show was considered a “major” in our
breed. |
Amy Wustin tells us that... On Saturday, August 21 and Sunday, August 22 at the Youngstown All Breed Agility Trials held in Washingtonville OH, Bella, a German Shorthaired Pointer, owned by Amy and Elizabeth Wustin, had a clean sweep both days. Bella earned 2 Open Std legs taking a 2nd and a 3rd and in Open JWW, she brought home 2 - 2nd placements. Bella was extremely proud of herself and not shy about telling Amy just that !
Lisa Paciorek tell us that... On Friday August 6, 2010 at Columbiana County Kennel Club Inc., Her Majesty Queen Alice(Ellie) earned her last leg needed for her CDX (companion dog excellent) Title. She took 2nd place with a score of 188.
From Dee Farrell:
From Denise Letterman:
At the same trial Troy qualified in 8 of the 9 events. At Level 4 Troy
earned his final leg in Jackpot to fulfill the requirements for his CL4-S
(Strategy Games) Title. At Level 5 he earned 1 leg in Fullhouse,
Jumpers, Wildcard, Snooker, as well as
Colors, and 2 legs in Standard. Troy's qualifying runs were all for
placements earning him six 1st place, one 2nd place, and one 3rd place wins.
One second was the difference in a perfect weekend for Troy.
Also, at the same trial Hector qualified in 8 of the 9 events. At
Level 4 Hector earned 1 leg in Jackpot. At Level 5, he earned 1 leg in
Fullhouse, Jumpers, Wildcard, Snooker, as well as Colors and 2 legs in
Standard. Even though some of Hector's runs were slow with an
occasional weave pole mishap, he did receive eight 1st place wins.
That was a total of 25 Q's out of 27 runs all for placements and we were
very tired by Sunday night. Thanks for letting me brag about my little
boys. I'm so proud of them including Hector who is going through a
'sheltie phase'.
From Karen Mattson:
LUCY
AND SONNY'S WEEKEND
(Picture on right)
The weekend of August 7 & 8, Sonny and I went to Wadsworth, Ohio. We
visited the Medina Swarm Club and participated in Sonny's second APDL rally
trial.
The following are a list of his accomplishments for the weekend:
1. He earned 4 more level one B Legs toward his individual championship
title. (RLX1) he now has five out of the ten needed.
2. He earned his level two title (and just to brag - he placed first in all
three legs)
3. He earned his second award of excellence this one for level 2A
(all qualifying scores must be above 190 points)
4. He earned his first double Q (level 1B & level 2B) he needs a total of five double Q's and 100 points for arch title (APDT rally champion)
What a weekend. Thank you Sonny
From Pete & Peggy Grandillo, Sr.:
Peter & Peggy Grandillo Sr. are very proud to announce that… Suntera Molly
Ann Grandillo competed at the Greater Pittsburgh Golden Retriever Club
agility trial on July 24th
and 25th,
at the Pittsburgh Indoor Sports Arena. On Saturday, Molly earned one
leg in open jumpers and one leg in open standard, both 1st
place runs. This earned Molly both her Open Standard and Open Jumpers
titles. On Sunday, Molly did not qualify in either Excellent A runs,
but the experience of walking the course with all the Excellent level dogs
was an accomplishment unto itself.
From
Pete & Yvette Grandillo, Jr.:
(Picture on
right)
Pete & Yvette
Grandillo Jr. are very proud to announce that Cammi, Dawson, and Bryce
competed at the Greater Pittsburgh Golden Retriever agility trial on July 23rd
through July 25th,
at the Pittsburgh Indoor Sports arena. The furkids results are as
follows:
Cammi qualified
in all six runs in Excellent B Preferred earning her six 1st
Place finishes and 3 double Q’s.
Dawson qualified in all six runs in Excellent B. On Friday, Dawson
earned a 3rd
place finish in Excellent B Standard. The three double Q’s and the
nearly 100 MACH points made everyone proud
As for Bryce,
this is the first trial where he ran Excellent B in both jumpers and
standard. Bryce qualified five of six runs earning two double Q’s and
118 MACH points. Also, Bryce earned a one 1st,
2nd,
and 3rd
in jumpers, and one 3rd
in standard. For his first trial in Excellent B, Bryce also made
everyone proud.
From Terri Chasser:
I'm also thrilled to report that Maggie competed in her first AKC agility
trial on Sat and Sun, 7/24 and 7/25. I entered her in the Novice JWW
Preferred class. She qualified in both runs, and she earned a first
place and a second place ribbon. Maggie also had much success and even
more fun at the recent Splash 'n Dash CPE. She earned 3 qualifying
ribbons and 3 third place ribbons. My shy, unconfident girl has come
so far!
July 2010
From Lisa
Paciorek and Ellie:
On Sunday June 13, 2010 at the Mountaineer Kennel Club,Ellie
earned her 2nd leg for her GN (graduate novice) title receiving 3rd place.
Then, on Sunday June 13, 2010 Ellie earned her 2nd CDX
(companion dog excellent) leg receiving 4th place.
Peter & Peggy Grandillo Sr. are very proud to announce that…
Suntera Molly Ann Grandillo earned her 2nd leg in 12” Open Standard Agility
while earning a 1st place finish at the Three Rivers Shetland Sheepdog Club
of Greater Pittsburgh’s agility trial on June 20th, 2010.
From
Elaine Kelvington:
Conformation News:
At the South
Hills Kennel Club show on June
24, our puppy , Suri, aka Kelvington's Circle O' Life was reserve winner's
bitch. The next day, at the Mountaineer Kennel Club show, her litter mate,
Semper aka Kelvington's Celebration O'Life was reserve winner's dog.
Sharisse, aka Kelvington's
Dancing 'N Moonlite was also reserve winner's bitch on June 25 at the
Mountaineer Kennel Club show and the next day, June 26 at the South Hills
Kennel club show.
From
Elaine Kelvington:
Herding News:
The Shetland
Sheepdog Club of Greater Baltimore held a herding testing trial at
Berryville, VA on July 1.
We are very happy to report that Sawyer aka
CH Kelvington's Talisman
CDX, RE, AX, AXJ and Solomon aka
CH Kelvington's Once 'N A Blue Moon both qualified to get their first HT
legs.
From
Terri Chasser: I'm
pleased to report that Mackenzie earned her AKC MX title on Sunday, 6/13/10
at the Youngstown All-Breed Agility trial in Washingtonville, OH. On
Sunday, 6/6/10, she also earned her CL2-R and CL1-S titles at the Splash 'n
Dash CPE trial in Cheswick. I'm
so proud of my sassy girl.
I am also
thrilled to add a special brag about my other Sheltie, Maggie.
She is my 8 year old girl who has always been a shy, rather insecure
girl. I started her in agility
classes a year or so ago in hopes that agility would help build her
confidence and also get a little extra weight off of her.
After each class, I saw improvement in her confidence.
At first I thought she really didn't like agility but as she
continued to train, she began to show marked improvement in her confidence
and signs that she was actually having fun.
I also think the lessons we have recently learned in Denise's soft
dog class have made a tremendous difference in my girl.
With all of these positive signs, I thought I'd take the next step
and enter her in her first agility trial.
I entered her in 2 games in the Splash 'n Dash CPE trial in Cheswick.
I admit I had no expectations for her and was hoping she would at
least not leave the ring or maybe take a jump or two.
Well, I was
amazed when I entered the ring with her, removed her leash, lined her up at
the first obstacle and she took off with enthusiasm over the first jump.
After recovering from the initial shock. I ran with a wide smile on
my face with my shy girl. We had one minor fault but she soared over that
last jump and started spinning and jumping the whole way back to her crate.
Needless to say, she got lots of treats after that major
accomplishment.
Her second run
was even better. She couldn't
wait to enter the ring and practically took off without me when I removed
her leash. She had a clean, fast
run (for her) and finished in first place.
She was actually smiling, yes smiling, as she ran with me to get her
leash. Oh, the joy and pride I
felt. My sweet, shy girl earned her first agility title (CL1-R) on that
special day. Special thanks to
Denise Letterman for her guidance in helping me and my soft dogs grow and
achieve so much.
Rita
& Wayne Slepcevich are happy to report that...at the Splash and
Dash CPE Agility Trial in Cheswick on June 5th, Homespun Cubbie Blue RA "Addisyn",
tried agility for the first time. Addy was entered in Jumpers Level 2, and
qualified with a 2nd place. She said she had so much fun, she wants to enter
two classes at the next trial.
AND...at the same trial, U-AGI Homespun Sweet Home Chicago
CD, RE, AX, MXJ, OAP, AJP, NF, AG.I.J, NAC, NJC, OGC, RS-O, JS-O, GS-O,
CL3-H, CGC, TDI "Hannah", earned her CL3-S title and a Full House Level 3
leg, all with 1st places.
AND…at
the WCOTC Rally Trials on June 11th and 12th in Delmont, Homespun Cubbie
Blue RA "Addisyn", finished her Rally Excellent title. One of the legs was a
2nd place.
AND...at the same trial, U-AGI Homespun Sweet Home Chicago CD, RE, AX, MXJ, OAP, AJP, NF, AG.I.J, NAC, NJC, OGC, RS-O, JS-O, GS-O, CL3-S, CL3-H, CGC, TDI "Hannah", earned the 3rd and 4th Double Q’s of her Rally Advanced Excellent title.
Lucy McCloskey is very proud to announce that... On, Sunday June 20, 2010, I am proud to announce that Hamilton's Mystic Lord of the Dance, Sonny, is officialy a Canine Good Citizen (GCG) and Therpay Dog International (TDI) approved. He passed both test with no problems. As usual, I am very proud of how well he is doing.
June 2010
From Denise Letterman: Caesar, Troy, and Hector competed at the Four Seasons CPE trial held in Washingtonville, OH on May 22 and 23. Hector Q'ed in all 8 runs earning seven 1st and one 2nd place wins for another perfect weekend. Hector also earned hisÿCSL4-F (Level 4 -Fun Games) title as well as his CSL4-R (Level 4 -Standard) title. Troy Q'ed in 7 of the 8 runs receiving two 1st, one 2nd, two 3rd, and two 4th place wins. Troy earned his CSL4-F (Level 4 - Fun Games) title during the trial. Caesar Q'ed 7 of the 8 runs receiving five 1st and two 2nd place wins. Way to run CZ!! Also, Hector competed at the Golden Triangle AKC trial held in Cheswick on May 29, 30, and 31. Not sure what was up with my little boy but he seemed to be very distracted over the weekend. Despite this invasion that changed his personality, Hector was able to Q 5 of the 6 runs. He picked up 2 QQ's for a total of 21 and 46 MACH points bring his total up to 515. Maybe he was on strike since his brothers were not running. Who knows???
Also, the 'Greek' boys competed at the Splash N Dash CPE trial held in Cheswick on June 5. Hector Q'ed 5 of the 5 runs all for 1st place. Troy Q'ed 5 of the 5 runs earning four 1st and one 2nd place wins. Troy also earned his CSL4-R (Level 4 - Standard) title. Despite the thunderstorms, Troy ran really well. Caesar Q'ed 5 of the 5 runs earning one 1st, two 2nd, and two 3rd place wins. CZ earned his CSL2-S (Level 2 - Strategy Games) title finishing all Level 2 requirements. When the dust (or mud) settled at the end of Saturday, we Q'ed in all 15 runs. Sunday, no one was moving much from the couch. Thanks for letting me brag and as always, I'm so proud of my little 'Greek' boys. Two more weekends remaining from this 5-weekend run then a well deserved 4 weekends off.
From Barb Pohodich: At Keystone's Teacup Agility Trial in April, Sadie received her Teacup Intermediate Agility Dog (TIAD) Title and her Teacup Games 3 (TG3) Title. Both were 1st place finishes. We are very proud of her accomplishments.
Peter & Peggy Grandillo Sr. are very proud to announce that... Suntera Molly Grandillo earned a 2nd Place finish in the GTOTC AKC Agility trial in Open Jumpers over Memorial Day weekend. Molly then continued on with a 1st Place finish in Open Standard.
Peter & Yvette Grandillo Jr. are very proud to
announce that... Cammi, Dawson, and Bryce competed at the GTOTC AKC
Agility trail over Memorial Day weekend.
Cammi earned five 1st Place finishes in Exc B P Standard and Jumpers.
Dawson qualified in five of his six runs earning nearly 100 MACH
points in Exc B Standard and Jumpers.
Bryce earned his Excellent A Jww title with two 1st Place finishes.
Bryce also earned a 1st Place finish in Exc A Standard.
Finally, Bryce moved into Exc B Jww and earned 1st place earning 33
MACH points, his first MACH points.
From Elaine Kelvington:
EXCITING NEWS! On Thursday, May 27, 2010,
Kelvington's Dancing 'N Moonlite
aka "Sharisse"
our blue merle girl, was Winner's Bitch for a major at the Laurel
Highlands Kennel Association's Show.
That gives her 7 points, one major and several reserves/major
reserves. As always, Sharisse was Breeder/owner handled.
On Saturday, May 29, 2010, Sharisse got a major reserve at the same
cluster. Thanks for listening and sharing our good news
From Rita & Wayne Slepcevich: Addisyn
had a great weekend at the Butler Dog Training Association Rally Trials on
May 1 & 2. On Saturday she
earned her Rally Advanced title with a 1st Place, and on Sunday she earned
the first leg of her Rally Excellent title with a 3rd place.
Harley Darlin
- CGC, CD
Lucy
McCloskey tells us that... On Memorial Day Weekend, of 2010, Sonny
and I took our first road trip.
We were off to Columbus, Ohio to his first APDT Rally Trial.
He was one of the best behaved dogs and he more than proved that he is the son of Lad.
Trial 1 Level 1A - Fourth Place with a score of 198 out of a possible 210.
Trial 2 Level 1 A - Third Place with a score of 208 out of a possible 210.
(Three dogs ties with that score)
Trial 4 Level 1 B - Qualified with a score of 202 out of a possible 210 (1st of 10 needed for a Level I Champion Title)
Trial 5 Level 2 A - First Place with a score of 203 out of a possible 210.
May 2010
Rita & Wayne Slepcevich are happy to report that...at the BDTA Rally Trials on May 1st and 2nd, Homespun Cubbie Blue RN "Addisyn", finished her Rally Advanced title with a 1st Place on Saturday, and earned her first Rally Excellent leg on Sunday with a 3rd Place.
From Elaine Kelvington: Sawyer aka CH Kelvington's Talisman CDX, RE, AX, AXJ, CGC, TDI got another leg towards his Masters' jww's title and two legs towards his Novice Fast title (with a first and third place) at the Mountaineer Kennel Club's agility trials.
And... Kelvington's Dancing 'N Moonlite aka Sharisse was Winner's Bitch and Best of Winners on Saturday, May 1 at the Magic Valley Kennel Club show under noted, sheltie breeder judge, Dorothy Christiansen for one point. That brings her up to 4 points and several reserves/ major reserves.
From Rose Marie Nicotra: My Rat Terriers, Moxie & Kit Kat both moved up a level when we went to the Morgantown, WV AKC agility trial on April 10. Moxie moved to Open and Kit Kat moved to Excellent. I’m so proud of my little rats, they try so hard. Both dogs had 1 first place ribbon; Kit Kat got a 3rd and Moxie a 2nd place ribbon in their other runs. We had 4 Q’s that day. Kit Kat ran against Pete’s new dog “Bryce” and got her first place ribbon. Pete’s dog ran 6 seconds faster but Kit Kat ran clean. I’m sure Pete will beat us next time, his dogs are really good.
Peter & Peggy Grandillo Sr. are very proud to announce that… At the Keystone Canine Training Club TDAA agility trial on April 24th, 2010, Suntera Molly Ann Grandillo earned two 1st place finishes resulting in her Games 2 Title. Also, Molly followed up the next day earning a leg towards her Games 3 Title.
Peter & Yvette Grandillo are proud to announce that… Cammi and Bryce competed at the Mountaineer Kennel Club agility trial in Morgantown over the weekend of April 10th and 11th. Cammi competed in Excellent B Preferred for all four runs. In all four runs, Cammi came in 1st place. Bryce competed in Open for all four runs. In all four runs, Bryce qualified with three 1st place finishes, and one 2nd place finish. Given this is the first time Bryce competed in Open, we were thrilled with the results. For those who are wondering why I don’t have any news for Dawson, Dawson was sidelined for the weekend after getting stitches removed from have a soft tissue mass that had to be removed (non-cancerous) from his leg.
Lisa Paciorek tells us that on... Sunday May 2, 2010 Ellie (HER Majesty Queen Alice CD RN) earned her 1st leg toward her CDX title taking 2nd place. This took place at Butler dog training association.
Brags from Tom and Phyllis Bandi: During these past few months our Yorkshire terriers brought some sunshine into our lives. Little Amber Star passed her CGC (Canine Good Citizen) and TDI (Therapy Dog International) tests. How proud we are of her. The teacup agility trials at Splash and Dash in February gave Amber Star five 1st-place qualifying ribbons and earned her a title in TDAA Beginner Standard (TBAD) and two legs in TDAA Games I. Tiffany had two successful runs with two 2nd-place qualifying ribbons and earned a title in TDAA Superior Standard (TSAD). Now on to Washingtonville, Ohio, in mid April. Amber Star got two first-place qualifying ribbons and earned her TDAA Intermediate Standard (TIAD) title. Tiffany had two successful qualifying runs in TDAA Standard Superior Champion. On the last weekend in April we all had such a great time at Keystone with members and guests. We heard only positive comments about our trials, and everyone did such a good job of helping to make the weekend a success. More brags about Amber Star, who got four 1st-place qualifying ribbons and earned her title in TDAA Games I (TG1). Tiffany had her first qualifying 1st-place ribbon in TDAA Games III. A big thank you to all the great instructors at Keystone for their help and encouragement in making this possible.
By
Dee Farrell: As many of you know, Pebbles is currently
sidelined with a knee injury. She had TPLO knee surgery on March 22 and is
doing well and may be able to return to agility in a few weeks. In the
meantime, Pixie has unexpectedly become an agility competitor, too.
After taking “Intro to Agility” and completing some preliminary agility training in “Basic Obedience,” I decided to enter her in an agility class where I was delighted to learn that KCTC’s new Teacup equipment would be in use. Pixie had not previously attempted the contact obstacles, and I thought it would be a good learning experience. Pixie’s class was scheduled to start the week after Pebbles’ injury occurred, and I decided not to take Pixie because I didn’t want to do agility without Pebbles. It was an emotional weekend for me, since Pebbles and I had to miss the CPE trial I had eagerly anticipated. With the permission of our instructor, Shelley Wolf, my husband, John, who had shown only a limited interest in agility prior to that decided to take Pixie to class if I would go also; and I decided to go if I could take Pebbles. So our whole family of four attended Pixie’s first agility class. The plan was that John and I would take turns holding Pebbles and running Pixie.
Since the equipment was new for all the dogs, we started with obstacle familiarization; and John and I, while carrying Pebbles, together helped Pixie become accustomed to it. John agreed to take the first run with Pixie, and he liked it so much that he ended up doing all the runs with her that day. Since then, when people remark that I got him hooked on agility, I reply, “Not me! It was Pixie!” I cried the first time she went over the A-frame for John, partly because she did it so well and partly because Pebbles wasn’t able to try it at the time. She went up the Teacup dog walk and A-frame as if she had been doing it all her life.
I was fairly content to hold Pebbles throughout Pixie’s first class, as she especially needed me then; however, as the weeks progressed, I wanted to be involved with handling Pixie, too. It soon became apparent that as a “daddy’s girl,” Pixie performed better with John than she did with me. I, of course, did not like that at all. During the third week of class, John decided to take Pixie off leash, just to see what she would do. Amazingly, she stayed with him on the course. John didn’t think that was such an accomplishment until I informed him that it had been years before I took Pebbles off leash in agility class. He commented that it was so much easier without the leash, and of course that’s true if the dog stays with the handler, which Pebbles rarely did.
Pixie made progress with all of the obstacles except the teeter, as Shelley advised us to take that one more slowly in order not to frighten Pixie with the height, the movement, and the noise. I didn’t realize how much John wanted Pixie on the teeter until one Saturday morning a few weeks later when he called me to come into our game room, and I was totally flabbergasted to see that he had built a “practice teeter” for
Pixie. A simple board mounted on a flange so that it sloped upward from the floor only a few inches, it might not have been much of an accomplishment for a handyman type of guy; but the last thing I could remember John building was some bathroom closet shelves more than 20 years ago. Pixie became accustomed to the movement of the “practice teeter” and quickly learned that treats were awarded only when she went all the way to the end of the board. In class we still skipped the teeter on the course and only attempted it when our teacher was holding onto it so that Pixie didn’t have to balance it by herself and didn’t have to hear the loud noise it made as it hit the floor after her dismount. As the time neared for Keystone’s TDAA trial, I was looking forward to helping with it but also disappointed that I didn’t have a dog participating in it. I had gone ahead and registered Pixie with TDAA and decided to get her first measurement at our trial, but I really hadn’t thought about entering her since I didn’t think she was ready. Our instructor and classmates were so encouraging, though; and as the time neared, I began to think what part of the trial Pixie might be able to do. We had practiced a version of one of the games in class, and I thought maybe we could do that one and avoid the teeter. Then I read the description of “Helter Skelter” and realized it would contain only jumps and tunnels at the Games I level. I thought it might be an excellent introduction so that Pixie could experience the noise, crowds, and distractions of a trial and decided to enter her in both games. I chose to enter them to be scored rather than for exhibition only, just in case she would “accidentally” do something right. A picture of Pixie on the A-frame was featured in The Almanac with an article about Keystone’s upcoming trial, and that only added to my excitement.
I had calculated that Pixie was on the border between the four-inch and eight-inch jump heights and was anxious to see what she would actually measure. At our first class I had her jump at eight inches, but I moved her back to four for subsequent classes since it was easier not to have to change the jump heights just for her and since I assumed it would be a “long time” before she actually competed anyway. I didn’t know if Pixie would stand still to be measured or would assume her usual position of greeting someone by rolling over on her back to get a belly rub, but she actually cooperated. The judge was almost apologetic when he explained she would need to jump at eight inches. I wasn’t really surprised but was glad to know in advance, although then I thought it would have been good if we practiced more at eight inches.
On the day of the trial, I wasn’t nearly as nervous as I was at Pebbles’ first trial. I did my best to keep my expectations low. Pixie had been in training for only about six weeks at that point and had not even been on an agility course without treats before, so I had no idea what she would do. She did fine jumping the practice jump at eight inches. During Helter Skelter, as we neared the third obstacle, Pixie veered off toward the scribe and timekeeper; and I immediately had flashbacks of Pebbles’ trials where she had gone to visit anyone in the ring. But Pixie came back to me, and we kept going, jump after jump, through the chute, more jumps, and ending with a tunnel. Pixie completed all 13 obstacles! I was so delighted, and I scooped her up, amid thunderous applause. She was about three seconds over time, but on that game she was allowed to be five seconds over if she had no other mistakes; so Pixie actually Q’d on her very first run at her very first trial! We received not only a beautiful blue Qualifying ribbon but also a lovely yellow third-place rosette!
It became apparent that if we were to gather enough points in the second game, we would have to complete the teeter. During obstacle familiarization, I took Pixie out on the course on leash and tried the teeter. About halfway up, she jumped off the side; another try, same result. The next time I tried holding my hand in front of her face and “luring” her to the end of the board, even though there were no treats in my hand; and Pixie was successful! We tried again, and she completed it a second time. I consulted with Shelley, who was still hesitant for Pixie to attempt the teeter. I realized if I tried it too soon, I could traumatize Pixie for a long time. I decided we would try it and if Pixie balked at all, we would just go on and do the rest of the course and not reattempt it. I offered to let John run with Pixie, although I really wanted to do it; and he decided since she had done well with me that morning, we could try again. As we played Quidditch, Pixie completed the first three jumps, then the tire (fortunately, at the beginning level, I didn’t have to stay outside the containment line), then the next three obstacles and the tire again. Then it was time for the teeter, first time off leash. Pixie ran right up with no hesitation and then followed my hand all the way to the end of the board! After she landed, the board banged loudly when it returned to its original position. Pixie looked back as if to say, “What on earth was THAT?” But I got her attention by directing her to the next obstacle, a tunnel, which she completed easily. After that there were two more jumps, then the tire, and then the table to stop time. She completed the first jump, but when we reached the last obstacle, Pixie ran everywhere around that jump except over it. She had completed the most difficult part of the course and then didn’t do the easiest part! Still she came awfully close to Qualifying, and I was delighted and amazed. Although Shelley refused to take credit for Pixie’s performance, John was happy to point out that she “couldn’t have done it without him.” And that’s true, as he was the one who encouraged her to perform off leash. It was a team effort, and “Team Pixie” triumphed on our first attempt.
It will be interesting, I think, to see what happens at her next trial. Will Pixie regress before she improves? Will she become as good at agility as her littermate, Amber Star? And, more importantly to me, who will be the second member of her team, John or me? Stay tuned for the further exploits of Pixie the Agility Dog!
April 2010
Rita & Wayne Slepcevich are happy to report that... at the WPKA Rally Trials on March 27th and 28th, U-AGI Homespun Sweet Home Chicago CD, RE, AX, MXJ, OAP, AJP, NF, AG.I.J, NAC, NJC, OGC, RS-O, JS-O, GS-O, CL3-H, CGC, TDI "Hannah", Double Q'ed in Excellent B and Advanced B both days, earning her first two RAE legs along with a 3rd and 4th place. At the same trials, Homespun Cubbie Blue RN "Addisyn", earned her first two RA legs, one with a 3rd place.
Denise
Letter: (Picture on right)
Caesar, Troy, and Hector competed at the CPE agility trials held in Washingtonville, OH on March 12th and 13th. My little Hector earned eight 1st place wins giving him another perfect weekend ribbon. He also received the CTL4-H (Level 4 Handler Games) title. Troy Q'ed in 7 out of 8 runs earning one 1st place, four 2nd place, one 3rd place, and one 5th place wins. Troy also earned the CTL4-H (Level 4 Handler Games) title. Caesar Q'ed 7 out of 8 runs earning one 2nd, four 3rd, one 4th, and one 5th place wins.
The boys also competed at the Youngstown/Westmoreland AKC agility trials held in Washingtonville, OH on March 19th, 20th, and 21st. Hector Q'ed 5 out of 6 runs (mom's mistake on the first run) taking home one 4th place, 2 QQ's, and 56 MACH points. He now has a total of 448 MACH points and 18 QQ's. Luckily I was able to convince Hector to take down the 'New Handler Wanted' sign he put on his crate. Troy walked away with three 1st place wins in Novice JWW Preferred earning his NJP (Novice Jumpers Preferred) title. He also received two 1st place wins in Novice Standard Preferred. Troy was enjoying the novice courses so much that during his first standard run when he reached the top of the A-Frame, he whipped out his Superman Cape, tied it around his neck, took two steps and tried to fly to the next obstacle. He almost made it -- NQ!! This was Caesar's
first AKC trial. He earned two 1st and one 2nd place wins in Novice JWW Preferred earning his NJP (Novice Jumpers Preferred) title. He also earned one 1st place win in Novice Standard Preferred. On Saturday, for some unknown reason, the teeter became a very scary obstacle, which carried over to Sunday. Oh well, there's always another trial. I am really proud of my three boys
From
D. Hareza: (Picture on right)
Rio, my husband, David and I attended our first agility trial on March 13 at Washingtonville, OH. We had a wonderful time. Everyone was very friendly. Sue and Dave Wray were there to support us and run Heidi. Denise Letterman and the boys were also there with tips for us. She even walked the course with me a couple of times. I thank all of you for your friendship and support. We couldn’t have done it without you all! I also would like to thank all of the instructors I have had through the last few years at Keystone. From the puppy kindergarten classes to the basic obedience classes to rally to the agility. Each built upon the next to get us to the point we are at now. But most of all I want to thank Rio. He has given me a memory that I will never forget. He gave me his all. He ran with joy. Even if we had not Q’d the happiness in his eyes would have been more than enough. To you Rio and the Q’s in Wildcard, Fullhouse, Standard and Jumpers you earned. You are my hero.
From Barbara Newman:
Sterling and I were surrounded by many of our KCC friend at the WPKA event at the convention center. We accomplished 2 of our 10 necessary legs in Rally Advanced/Excellent. We are attempting a third leg Friday, April 9th in Youngstown. As we count it KCC received a minimum of 21 qualifying ribbons in Obedience and Rally. New to competing was Wendy A. with Zoe – they attained 2 Q’s in Rally novice and one in Obedience. I am stopping calling out successes, as I do not want to miss anyone – human or dog – by omission. Sterling and I want to congratulate all and wish all, no matter which venue in the upcoming season, safety and success.
From Ben Ritchey:
Ben Ritchey won 1st place in open dog and winners dog at the WPKA show in Pittsburgh on March 29.
From Lori Ritchey:
Gernie, our Jack Russell Terrier, passed his CGC!!!!
From Pam Lewis:
Crystal earned her Rally Advanced title at the WPKA trail at the Pittsburgh Convention Enter.
And...
At the WPKA trial at the Convention Center on March 27th & 28th, Pam Lewis & Crystal(Crituque's Magical Crystal) got her second & third legs in Advanced Rally (she took 3rd place on Saturday). Icey ( Country Doll's Icicle) also competed & got her first leg in Novice Rally.
March 2010
From Paula Shimko: Our Debut Agility Trial:
On
March 6th Shane and I entered our first agility trial. The first day,
Saturday, did not go so well. Shane and I were extremely nervous, to say the
least. At the beginning of the run the judge gave his little speech and
clearly said “ Do not touch your dog when you are in the ring” and what do I
do? I touch my dog! He was so nervous that when I led him to the tunnel he
went in, but when I stepped away to meet him at the other end he came with
me. This is when I touched my dog to lead him back into the tunnel, like he
was a bowling ball! A big DQ! Things got better on Sunday though. After
watching the video that my Granddaughter Sammie took of our run on Saturday
I was able to see where we went wrong and vowed not to repeat those same
mistakes. Sammie should be my camera person from now on because she does a
fantastic job. I was very impressed with her video. She caught the whole
run. My friend Lynn advised me to worry more about getting a nice clean run
and less about speed, that speed would come later with other agility trials.
She was right and we had a beautiful clean run. We went a little over time,
but that’s O.K. We qualified and as a bonus came in first place. I have a
big blue rosette to prove it!
A special thanks to Pete, poor guy, I hounded him for advice while he was walking the course for his own run. He was gracious enough to take the time to help and I thank him. You’re the best Pete! I also would like to thank Amy and her helpers for all their invaluable instruction. We simply could not have done as well as we did without them so thank you all. It can only get better from here.
From Dee Farrell:
I am so pleased to report that my precious little Pebbles earned her TIAD (Teacup Intermediate Agile Dog) title on February 28! She earned her first Q in Teacup Games II and her third Q in Intermediate Standard at the Splash N Dash TDAA trial.
From Rose Nicotra:
Moxie and Kit Kat were at the TDAA trial at Splash N Dash on Feb 27. They ran 3 runs each – Kit Kat had 3 1st place ribbons and 3 Q’s and Moxie had 2 1st place ribbons and 1 2nd place and all Q’s too.
From Elaine Kelvington
Sawyer, aka CH Kelvington's Talisman CDX, RE, AX, AXJ, CGC, TDI got a Master's Standard leg at the Puli Agility Trial, Zanesville, OH on Saturday, March 6, 2010. That makes his 4th towards his title.
Pete
& Yvette Grandillo Jr. are very proud to announce that… Cammi, Dawson,
and Bryce competed at the Puli Club of America agility trial in Zanesville,
Ohio over the first weekend in March. It was a new facility that none of
the dogs had ever competed on. Furthermore, this was only Bryce’s second
agility trial, and yet another new surface, equipment, sights, sounds, etc.
Bryce overcame the new environment with a 1st place finish in Nov B Jumpers
and a 1st place finish in Nov B Standard. These qualifying runs earned him
both his Novice Jumpers Title and his Novice Standard Title. Cammi
responded by earning four qualifying 1st place finishes in Exc B P Jumpers
and Exc A P Standard. Dawson couldn’t let anyone do any better than him.
Dawson competing in Exc B Jww / Standard qualified in all four runs with a
4th in Standard and a 3rd in Jumpers (out of 38 entries). For the entire
family, 10 qualifying runs out of 12 earned the kids another McDonalds. The
two-hour trip home, not a peep was to be heard, only rapid paw movement from
their dreams, and an occasional whimper in their doggie dreams.
Pete
& Peggy Grandillo Sr. are very proud to announce that… Molly competed at
the Splash N Dash TDAA agility trial the last weekend in February. For the
entire weekend, Molly had 9 runs (5 in standard and 4 in games). Of the 9
runs, Molly qualified in 6 runs. In Games on Saturday, Molly qualified and
earned two 2nd Place finishes, one in CopyCat and one in Bowling. This also
earned Molly her Games TG1 title. Also on Saturday, Molly had three
standard runs in Beginner’s Agility. Molly earned two 1st place finishes
and one 2nd place finish resulting in her Beginner’s Agility Title. In
Games on Sunday, Molly moved-up into TG2 or Intermediate Games and continued
her success with Chutes & Ladders and Football. In both, Molly qualified
with 1st place finishes. Also on Sunday, in Intermediate Standard Agility,
Molly did not qualify in either run, but did well enough to earn a 2nd and
3rd place finish. Molly is so strutting her accomplishments in front of
Cammi, Dawson, and Bryce (her fur cousins).
To be continued… Bryce and Molly get to compete head-to-head in AKC Open Agility Standard and Jumpers in their next trial. There will be no living with the winner!
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From Lucy McCloskey: (Pictures on Left & Right)
On January 16th and 17th Toby and I took a road trip to Columbus, OH to participate in our first APDT Rally Trial. We had a great time, enjoyed ourselves and made many new friends. We (probably just me) was nervous, since, we have never practiced APDT Rally nor ever saw an APDT Event. Toby, being the trooper that he is, worked his magic and by the time the trial was over we earned our first APDT Rally Level One Title. He qualified in every run and had second and third place finishes.
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February 2010
From Joanne Kerfonta:
(Picture of Corey on the
right)
Corey has been working hard visiting area nursing homes and made this picture his official Valentine for the residents to enjoy !
From Dee Farrell:
Pebbles earned her second Qualifying score in Intermediate Standard at the Teacup Dogs Agility Association trial at the Four Seasons K9 Athlete Center in Washingtonville, Ohio, on January 16 with a first-place finish! On January 30 she passed the Therapy Dogs International evaluation at the Western PA Humane Society! I'm so proud of my sweet little girl!
From Pete Grandillo: (Picture Below)
Suntera Bryce Grandillo, call name Bryce, made his debut at the Altoona Area Kennel Association agility trial on January 23rd and 24th at the Penn State Ag Center. This was an especially difficult debut because Bryce had only run on grass or rubber matting whereas the Ag Center was packed dirt and saw dust. Plus, the Ag Center offered all new sites and smells. While waiting in line for Bryce’s first run, Bryce watched each dog intently before him like he always does as a spectator. Then, to Bryce’s surprise, it was show time. You could tell, that despite the warm-ups, Bryce thought it was only training time and/or spectator time. Little did he know that he was going to compete. Bryce, with all the enthusiasm of a 21-month-old puppy roared off the start line and around the course in under 26 seconds. All the stress of an agility first run was over in fewer than 26 resulting in a score of 90 and a 2nd place finish. Bryce went on to finish the trial with 4 qualifying runs out of 4. Bryce earned two 1st place finishes and two 2nd place finishes. What a great first weekend for the little guy. You better believe Bryce is letting Cammi and Dawson (his older siblings) know that he started off better than they did! Bryce even made sure he got a bigger piece of ice cream than his siblings during treat time at the PSU Creamery. Then again, I don’t think anyone expected Bryce to try to take such a big chunk. (The sight of seeing him get chilled by the ice cream was hilarious! Whiskers shivered and all) Thanks for reading…
And… Suntera Cammi Grandillo, call name Cammi, also competed at the same trial as Bryce above. Cammi earned four 1st place finishes in Open P Std, Exc A P Std, Exc A P Jww, and Exc B P Jww. Cammi also earned title in Open P Standard and Exc A P titles.
And… Suntera Dawson Grandillo, call name Dawson, also competed at the same trial as Bryce and Cammi above. Dawson did extremely well earning two 1st place finishes, one in Exc B Standard and one in Exc B Jww. Dawson also earned a 2nd place finish in Exc B Jww. For the entire weekend, the Cammi, Dawson, and Bryce went 11 for 12, placing in each round that they ran. Thanks for reading…
From Barbara Newman: (Various pictures below.)
Although Cleveland was not friendly to the Steelers on Thursday, Lori and Ben Ritchey, Sue Wray and I, along with four dogs set out for Cleveland at 5:00 am Friday morning. It was a rainy trip but the travel was uneventful.
We arrived at the Cleveland IX Center and learned Ring 4 was our home for the next 3 days and was at the furthest point from our entry, literally about a half mile away. We schlepped wet dogs, chairs, crates dog and people drinks and treats, etc. to Ring 4.
I was first in the ring everyday with a 9:00 a.m. walkthrough. For those who want a “cliff notes” version of the weekend and the results: Paula Shimko arrived Saturday with Shane for her first show ever. They qualified for 2 legs of Rally Novice taking second place on Sunday. Ben and Casey got Reserve Winners Dog in the conformation ring both days. Lori and Frances attained a new Rally Novice title qualifying all 3 days. Sue and Heidi attained a Rally Novice title plus one leg of Rally Advanced and, last but not least, my Sterling is now RE-Rally Excellent! Honorary club member, Cookie, came back from Cleveland with a new Confirmation Champion! Toni, our ever-supportive President, was there to root us on all weekend. We still hate the Browns, But Cleveland treated us well.
Keystone Canine Club has sure moved forward in our development as a fully rounded club. I am proud to be associated with all who during 2009 attained titles and qualifications in all venues of dog sports from teacup, to earth dog, conformation, obedience, rally agility, field work and just the outright uncensored love of our 4 legged partners.
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Paula Shimko |
Lori Ritchey, Sue Wray & Barbara Newman |
Ben Ritchey |
January 2010
From Dee Farrell:
On
New Year’s Eve, Pebbles earned a Level 1 Handler Games Title and a Level 1
Strategy Games Title at the CPE agility trial at the Four Seasons K9 Athlete
Center in Washingtonville, Ohio! Happy New Year!
Pebbles and I said good-bye to 2009 (a wonderful agility year for us) and welcomed the new year of 2010 with more agility competitions. As a Christmas gift, my husband John gave us a four-day trip to Washingtonville, Ohio – not the greatest vacation spot, not the “happiest place on Earth,” but the site of a CPE agility trial; and it did turn out to be a happy place for us, as Pebbles exceeded my expectations. Part of the gift was that John would take care of Pixie while we were away, which is probably what made it such a happy place for Pebbles – with “Mommy & Me” time at a motel (where she was a well-behaved guest) and without Pixie to bother her.
We ended the year by earning four 1st-place blue ribbons, with two of them representing Qualifying scores, one of which was actually 15 seconds under time! As a result of those two Qs, Pebbles completed two Level 1 titles – Handler Games and Strategy Games.
Then we started 2010 on a particularly high note. I decided that Pebbles must have made a New Year’s resolution to stay with me on the agility course because she had four perfect runs on January 1. Only one of those was a Qualifying score, but it was a 4th-place finish in Level 2! The other three were 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-place finishes which were respectively three, six, and two seconds over time, an amazing accomplishment as far as Pebbles and I are concerned.
Just as most New Year’s resolutions seem to be, Pebbles’ was apparently short lived. We slept in on Saturday morning, as I reasoned it was not a vacation if we didn’t sleep in at least once; so we had only three runs that day. Even though Pebbles didn’t stay with me consistently, she did return to me two of the three times. We ended up with a 1st-place NQ and a 3rd-place Q, again in Level 2! I learned that news of Pebbles’ Level 1 titles had been spread at the KCTC Hair of the Dog Party on New Year’s Day, and it was easy to determine the source since a limited number of people had been informed and since I couldn’t persuade John to attend the party with Pixie. Isn’t it fun to have friends to share our agility victories?
On the last day of the trial, Pebbles wavered between staying with me and running off on her own to investigate yet another distraction. However, we managed to get one 1st-place NQ and two 4th-place Qs in Level 2! So we earned a grand total of six Qs during our 16 runs, which was quite a record for us. We ended the trial really tired but really happy and returned on Monday morning in time to say a quick “hello” to John and Pixie before going to our agility class. There were so many enjoyable moments – earning Qs and winning ribbons and completing titles, of course – but also just being with my dog and watching her sleep on my lap as we waited for our next turn. I also read three (fairly short) books and started a fourth over the long weekend. (I heartily recommend Saturdays with Stella.) And I reflected on how my life has changed. It used to be that CPE for me represented “Continuing Professional Education” credits that I needed to earn each year to maintain my accounting certification; now I think of CPE as “Canine Performance Events.” I definitely like this phase of my life better; it’s a lot more fun!
From Denise Letterman:
During the December 31 through January 3 CPE trial held in Washingtonville, OH, I entered Caesar, Troy and Hector for two long days of agility competition. This was Caesar's second agility trial and he was entered in 9 events over the 2 days. He qualified in all 9 events with three 1st place and six 2nd place wins. He also earned his first agility titles which were CL2-R (Standard level 2) and CL2-H (Handler level 2). Troy was entered in 8 events and qualified in all 8 taking home two 1st, two 2nd, three 3rd, and one 4th place wins. Troy earned his CL3-S (Strategy level 3) title on Thursday. Hector was also entered in 8 events and qualified in all 8 taking home eight 1st place wins. Hector also earned his CL3-S (Strategy level 3) title on Saturday. Way to go my little boys -- that was 25 Q's out of 25 runs and 4 titles.
