So I've been gathering information, talking to all sorts of folks, researching on the internet.... It's of no surprise that there is conflicting information out there. High protein/low protein...supplements/no supplements...high fat/low fat...prepackaged "kidney diet"/homecooked.... You get the idea.

Add on top of this, my current line of thinking is:

1) Cole does not do well on carbs
2) The best food I can feed Cole is raw

Well, in preparation for the big Amsterdam trip, where Cole will be staying with a wonderful friend that has agreed to take him on for 8 days, I've been trying to figure out what to have her feed him. I'm trying to balance complexity of the whole "feeding process" (it currently takes me about 15-20 min to feed the dogs in the evening) with giving Cole what he needs.

So I went out and bought a few items to experiment with, based on either advice of others or ideas of my own:

1) Kibble with a bit more carbs to it - purchased "Spot's Stew"

2) Canned dogfood to mix with kibble - grabbed cans of California Natural (one each of Salmon, Lamb, and Chicken), one can of Timberwolf Pheasant, one can of Evangers

3) Lowfat yogurt (as opposed to the nonfat I had been buying)

4) Canned sweet potatoes (drained and rinsed to remove as much sugar syrup as possible)

5) Frozen sweet potato fries

6) Tried to find canned pumpkin but so far 2 grocery stores have only had the "pie mix"

For the past 2 days, Cole's meals have been the following twice a day:

1 oz kibble
3 oz canned (CN Salmon)
1 oz yogurt
2 oz sweet potato

I held my breath and waited for the "explosion" at the other end. None came. And I thought he may have been a tad more energetic yesterday. Well, Gary tells me this morning, he literally burst out of his crate in the morning, charging down the stairs and heading outside.

I think the boy feels SOOOO much better. Prior to this experiment, Cole was eating chicken necks, raw turkey, eggs, nonfat yogurt...things like that. Of course, I'm not sure what it is that's making him feel good, but I can't help but think it's the carbs...

Makes me wonder if my other dogs should be getting some. Anyone know any solid research around this?

I know Cole doesn't get much blog mention, but I'm hoping to get some advice from some of the wise folks out there. Cole has been diagnosed with the early stages of kidney disease. I've put the lab report at the bottom for those that are interested.

I've done quite a bit of research on the topic, as well as consulted with both our local vet as well as our holistic vet in VA. At this time, our primary goal is to get Cole to consume as much liquid as possible. So far creating "liquid snacks" of water, broth and yogurt is making Cole feel like he is getting extra treats and he is slurping them up.

I've heard conflicting thoughts on whether or not to lower his protein intake. Given that he eats raw, he consumes quite a bit of protein. In the past, Cole has not tolerated carbs of any sort, and I have a feeling the same is true for fat. I'm going to experiment with pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and some canned foods to see how these work for him. I need travel options that are high in water content. I also bought some more Honest Kitchen, as I can make that very soupy if I want to.

Lab Results:


IDEXX VetConnect 1-888-433-9987

Client: MILLER
Patient: COLE
Species: CANINE
Breed: SPANIEL, COCKER Date: 6/18/2009
Gender: MALE
Weight:
Age: 13Y Requisition #: 103848
Accession #: M2248167
Ordered by: VALENZISI, DVM, AMY HIDDEN VALLEY ANIMAL CLINIC
2315 LYNN RD STE 104
RALEIGH, NC 27612
919-847-9396

Account #25992



TOTAL HEALTH PLUS w/LAB 4Dx and O&P : CHEM 27


Test Result Reference Range Low Normal High

ALK. PHOSPHATASE 152 10 - 150 U/L HIGH

ALT (SGPT) 47 5 - 107 U/L

AST (SGOT) 33 5 - 55 U/L

CK 76 10 - 200 U/L

GGT 6 0 - 14 U/L

AMYLASE 2331 450 - 1240 U/L HIGH
LIPASE 804 100 - 750 U/L HIGH

ALBUMIN 3.0 2.5 - 4.0 g/dL

TOTAL PROTEIN 6.1 5.1 - 7.8 g/dL

GLOBULIN 3.1 2.1 - 4.5 g/dL

TOTAL BILIRUBIN 0.2 0.0 - 0.4 mg/dL

DIRECT BILIRUBIN 0.1 0.0 - 0.2 mg/dL

BUN 75 7 - 27 mg/dL HIGH

CREATININE 1.3 0.4 - 1.8 mg/dL

CHOLESTEROL 222 112 - 328 mg/dL

GLUCOSE 91 60 - 125 mg/dL

CALCIUM 10.3 8.2 - 12.4 mg/dL

PHOSPHORUS 5.3 2.1 - 6.3 mg/dL

TCO2 (BICARBONATE) 21 17 - 24 mEq/L

CHLORIDE 111 105 - 115 mEq/L

POTASSIUM 4.7 4.0 - 5.6 mEq/L

SODIUM 145 141 - 156 mEq/L

A/G RATIO 1.0 0.6 - 1.6

B/C RATIO 57.7 HIGH
INDIRECT BILIRUBIN 0.1 0 - 0.3 mg/dL

NA/K RATIO 31 27 - 40

HEMOLYSIS INDEX 1
N
LIPEMIA INDEX 2
N
ANION GAP 18 12 - 24 mEq/L


Comments:
1. Index of N,+,++ exhibits no significant effect on chemistry
values.

2. Index of N,+,++ exhibits no significant effect on chemistry values.






TOTAL HEALTH PLUS w/LAB 4Dx and O&P : CBC STANDARD


Test Result Reference Range Low Normal High

WBC 8.9 5.7 - 16.3 THOUS./uL

RBC 5.93 5.5 - 8.5 MILLION/uL

HGB 14.6 12 - 18 g/dL

HCT 39.8 37 - 55 %

MCV 67 60 - 77 fL

MCH 24.6 19.5 - 26.0 pg

MCHC 36.0 32 - 36 g/dL

NEUTROPHIL SEG 68 60 - 77 %

LYMPHOCYTES 22 12 - 30 %

MONOCYTES 5 3 - 10 %

EOSINOPHIL 5 2 - 10 %

BASOPHIL 0 0 - 1 %

AUTO PLATELET 505 164 - 510 THOUS./uL

REMARKS NORMOCYTIC/NORMOCHROMIC BASED ON RBC INDICIES
ABSOLUTE NEUTROPHIL SEG 6052 3000 - 11500 /uL

ABSOLUTE LYMPHOCYTE 1958 1000 - 4800 /uL

ABSOLUTE MONOCYTE 445 150 - 1350 /uL

ABSOLUTE EOSINOPHIL 445 100 - 1250 /uL

ABSOLUTE BASOPHIL 0 0 - 100 /uL




TOTAL HEALTH PLUS w/LAB 4Dx and O&P : T4


Test Result Reference Range Low Normal High

T4 1
1.4 0.9 - 3.9 ug/dL

Comments:
1. Interpretive ranges:
<0.9 Low
0.9-3.9 Normal
>3.9 High
2.1-5.4 Therapeutic

Dogs with no clinical signs of hypothyroidism and results within the
normal reference range are likely euthyroid. Dogs with low T4
concentrations may be hypothryoid or "euthyroid sick". Occasionally,
hypothyroid dogs can have T4 concentrations that are low normal. Dogs
with clinical signs of hypothyroidism and low or low normal T4
concentrations may be evaluated further by submission of free T4 and
canine TSH. A high T4 concentration in a clinically normal dog is
likely variation of normal; however elevations may occur secondary to
thyroid autoantibodies or rarely thyroid neoplasia.
For dogs on
thyroid supplement, acceptable 4-6 hour post pill total T4
concentrations generally fall within the higher end or slightly above
the reference range.

Please note: As of April 28, 2009, the reference intervals were
adjusted due to a change in assay performance.






TOTAL HEALTH PLUS w/LAB 4Dx and O&P : URINALYSIS


Test Result Reference Range Low Normal High

COLLECTION METHOD FREE-CATCH
COLOR STRAW
CLARITY CLEAR
SPECIFIC GRAVITY 1.024
GLUCOSE NEGATIVE
BILIRUBIN NEGATIVE
KETONES NEGATIVE
BLOOD NEGATIVE
PH 6.5
PROTEIN NEGATIVE
WBC 2-5 0 - 5 HPF
RBC NONE SEEN 0 - 5 HPF
BACTERIA NONE SEEN HPF
EPI CELL RARE (0-1) HPF
MUCUS NONE SEEN
CASTS NONE SEEN HPF
CRYSTALS NONE SEEN HPF
UROBILINOGEN NORMAL



TOTAL HEALTH PLUS w/LAB 4Dx and O&P : OVA & PARASITES


Test Result Reference Range Low Normal High

OVA & PARASITES 1
NO OVA OR PARASITES SEEN

Comments:
1. Semi-quantitative results are reported to estimate the number of
parasites seen during this exam. They do not reflect a quantitative
parasite count.
**********************************************************************
In cases of acute or chronic diarrhea in addition to a fecal
floatation for ova and parasites consider testing for viral, bacterial
and protozoal infectious agents using RealPCR (canine diarrhea
panel:
test code 2625; feline diarrhea panel: test code 2627).






TOTAL HEALTH PLUS w/LAB 4Dx and O&P : LAB 4 Dx


Test Result Reference Range Low Normal High

HEARTWORM NEGATIVE
EHRLICHIA CANIS 1
NEGATIVE
LYME 2
NEGATIVE
ANAPLASMA PHAGOCYTOPHILUM 3
NEGATIVE

Comments:
1. The Ehrlichia canis antibody portion of this test uses p30 and p30-1
proteins that are very specific and sensitive for this organism. A CBC
is recommended to identify abnormalities consistent with infection. If
confirmation of
infection is desired, Ehrlichia PCR test, code 2634
can be useful, especially in clinically sick animals.

2. A positive C6 antibody response is highly suggestive of active Lyme
disease in dogs, rather than exposure or vaccination. Based on current
research, this test shows positive before clinical signs of chronic
joint disease. One unique property of the C6 antibody is that levels
decline sharply after treatment (may take up to 6 months). J
Infect Dis 184:2001; 870-878.

3. Anaplasma phagocytophilum was formerly called Ehrlichia equi.
Antibodies indicate exposure to A. phagocytophilum or a similar
organism (Anaplasma platys) but does not confirm presence of disease.
A CBC is recommended to identify abnormalities consistent with
infection. If confirmation of infection is desired, Ehrlichia
(Anaplasma) PCR test, code 2824 can be useful, especially in
clinically sick animals.

*SNAP and 4Dx are trademarks or registered trademarks of IDEXX
Laboratories, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other
countries.

I did manage to dig up an old video of Regan at a trial in 2006....can you guys see a difference???

Found an old email with trial results:

Rival's Winter Day RN OA AXJ. DN02560701. 02-21-03. B (Female).  Border Collie. Owner: Melanie Miller, 8437 Sawyer Dr., Raleigh, NC 27613. Regan. Handler: Melanie Miller.

 

    4/21/2007

               Excellent B JWW - 20 Inch - Judge: Karen Paulukaitis

               Distance: 164 yards  SCT: 44 seconds

               Score: 100 (Q)  Time: 44.58 seconds

Yep, that's when I learned that you could be over time and still Q, since any fraction of a second is rounded down....Regan has come a long way in just 2 years!

I tested out and decided to buy the Agility Trial Journal (thanks for the recommendation cflyrun !)  Besides really liking it, I'm enjoying analyzing data from trials over time.  Now granted, I've only got 3 trials worth of data, but I'm finding the trend analysis awesome.  It's especially helpful for working with Regan for a few reasons. For one, my expectations for her continue to increase, and I quickly lose perspective for any progress that she is making trial to trial.  Also, running Smitty does make Regan feel quite a bit slower, again making it difficult to judge her progress.  But take a look at this:

Asheville (May) Average JWW = 5.27 yps

Sanford (June) Average JWW = 5.4 yps

Concord (July) Average JWW = 5.57 yps

Now I know yps will depend somewhat on judges, how twisty the course is, etc.  But I find this trend very encouraging.  Perhaps she is still making progress after all.  Folks do continue to comment that she seems to be getting faster and faster (or at least they can't believe how fast she is compared to how she used to be), but I just thought that was relative to the really bad times of a few years ago.

And not to be outdone, here's the data for little Smitty:

Asheville (May) Average JWW = 6.07 yps

Sanford (June) Average JWW = 6.16 yps

Concord (July) Average JWW = 6.38 yps

Holy crap!  I had no idea she was getting faster too!!!  Hang on Smitty...I'm still figuring out how to keep up!!!

Today was the 4th and final day. I really enjoy multiple day shows, as I think I get acclimated to the environment and enjoy already being set up with crates and such. We had MORE FUN COURSES today! I'm incredibly impressed with these judges (Kim Reeher, Laura English, Rhonda Crane). Totally fun courses that let the dogs open up, but are not cake to run.

I felt like my head was in a much better place today, and I was committed to give my dogs what they needed each run, rather than get so focused on how fast Smitty's time was, or whether or not we could double Q. It really payed off!

Smitty - Standard:
The great things: startline, teeter, table, weaves, handling in general
The dogwalk had a tunnel underneath the exit, far side visible, close side not. She appeared to be collecting nicely for the turn and all was well as I was saying "T-T-T", then I think I said "Come", which sounds a lot like "TUN-nel". Suddenly she dashed into the only tunnel hole she saw, which was an offcourse. But the rest of the run was freakin' brilliant, so who cares about a stinkin' offcourse???


Regan - Standard:
Well, we finally made it through one! I was very pleased with her drive on this course. She also had a major slip just before the dogwalk, and I thought she recovered extremely well. She took 4th place on this run with a speed of 4.2 yps!


Smitty - JWW:
I was determined to not let the love of competition get the best of me today. I'm not sure Smitty and I are ready for that as a team just yet! So I vowed to be calm and more deliberate with my cues, and opted for mostly rear crosses. Well, apparently it worked! She was clean, and just happened to turn in a time of 22.30 sec...fastest in the class!!! A full .5 sec ahead of 2nd, and there was no pushing for speed going on!!! She also did a spectacular job getting in the weaves!!!


Regan - JWW:
Now this was an interesting experiment...and I'm curious to hear the thoughts of others. I decided to handle with mostly rear crosses to see if Regan liked that any better. It didn't feel like she ran any faster, and I lost her to an offcourse (weave poles). However, when watching the video, I noticed that she only had one stride between several of the jumps, which is my goal, but unusual for Regan. I didn't get a time, but guesstimating from her video and subtracting out the errors puts her at about 25 sec, which is about 5.7 yps, faster than I think I've seen her run at a trial.

The judges at this trial have had just fabulous courses, and today was no exception. My dogs were 0 for 4 "Q-wise" today, and it had me a bit down. But just before I left, someone commented to me about how wonderful my dogs are and how awesome my runs have been....someone I didn't even know. She said one of my runs was her top 3 favorites of the weekends so far, and it was because she thought Smitty was so adorable on her table (you'll see why in the video below). And you know what? She's right. So before I give the run down on each run, I'd like to list what has been great about our trial weekend so far:

1) I am fortunate to be staying "rent-free" with my parents 15 min from the arena. My dogs have had a fenced in backyard. I've had access to a full sized refrigerator. Staying with Mom and Dad is always relaxed and comfortable.

2) The facility is very nice. Plenty of crating room. They are keeping it nice and cool, to the point that I wear a fleece when not running. The courses are fun and challenging. The competition is high quality. The equipment is beautiful. 24" weaves are wonderful.

3) Some of my dearest friends are here with me. It has been easy to exchange video cameras and get all runs captured. There has been lots of time for socializing and hanging out. I've also enjoyed talking with some folks that I haven't talked to as much in the past.

4) All of my dogs are healthy and happy, whether entered in the trial or not. I know I made the right decision with who was/wasn't entered, and Austin and Cole were relaxing and stretched out in the A/C while I was away each day.

5) Regan just keeps getting faster and faster. She is now quite easily tugging before we got into the ring. I can turn her on very quickly if necessary. She is becoming more independent with obstacles every day. She had several moments of doing things more "on her own". Small bobbles no longer shut her down. She had at least 2 runs where she should have peed first and she still ran fast and focused. She also hit a shoulder on one set of weaves and kept weaving.

6) Smitty's potential continues to shine through every pore of her skin! Her startlines have trended better and better over the weekend. I'm beginning to feel comfortable taking handling risks with her, whether or not they work out. Her weave poles are DRAMATICALLY better since the last trial we did on this turf. Her teeters have been totally solid. Her tables have been totally solid. She is understanding this game more and more, and I feel good that all of her training and trialing is trending in the right direction.

So on to the videos for today....

Smitty - Standard:
ROCK SOLID on her startline. So the missed weave entry really threw me off. I think you will hear that I was very unhappy with that, then I had a little trouble deciding whether to stay or leave. She really seemed to get the point that I was not happy, so I decided to go on. I'm glad I did, as the rest of the run was awesome!


Regan - Standard:
I guess I didn't have *quite* the commitment to stay in the weaves that I thought I had...and she missed the last pole. I didn't quite see it...thought she might have banged a shoulder (doesn't look like it in the video), so ignored and went on. The dogwalk was just naughty. I've got to noodle on what to do about her contacts. The more excited I get her to run, the harder it is for her to do her contacts.


Smitty - JWW:
Loved the tunnel start, so opted for no startline. I was super pleased that she got in her weaves and stayed for the blind!!! I decided to take a risk and go for a double front after the weaves. I was late with the first rotation, then distracted by the bar going down, and then late for the 2nd. Oh well. I'm glad I took the risk, but not 100% sure what I would do if I had it to run again. I was very uncomfortable with the rear cross option, so probably need to put that on our list to work on, as we should be able to do either.


Regan - JWW:
I thought she might be a touch drivier on this run, given the tunnel start, but she still ran decently. My front cross before the weaves was a tad off, and of course, Regan requires that I be perfect, so she missed the entry. I hadn't walked this option, just found myself so far ahead I decided to throw it in. I did get the double front in with her.

Today brought us 2 incredibly fun courses! Some different challenges than the norm, and lots of room for the dogs to fly! The BCs continued to run well on the surface. I continued to miss running Austin (especially when I went 0 for 2 in standard!), but it only took watching one upright 24" dog to remember that I made the right decision. It's funny, folks keep asking me if Austin is ok. Seems interesting to think that a dog doesn't show up to a trial because they are hurt, rather than because one is trying to prevent them from getting hurt! ;)

Smitty - Standard:
I told Smitty, and everyone that would listen, that I really hoped she held her startline, because I really wanted to run this one. After the table, it really was just all out running. And running it was! Unfortunately, I held back a fraction of a second to make sure she got on the dogwalk, and that put me behind, making any deceleration pretty much ineffective. She had a poor hit at best, and turned towards me rather than away from me, dashing into an offcourse tunnel. Even with this extreme off course, she was faster than the winning time by 2 sec! And yes, it was a super fun course to run!!!


Regan - Standard:
She was super fired up AGAIN! Tugging her rabbit tuggy like a mad woman before the start!!! I was very pleased with her drive on this run. Of course, that drive seemed to make contacts worse, and she not only missed the dogwalk contact, but then dashed off to the same offcourse that Smitty found. Even still, it was and awesome run, and I can hardly be upset that she's having so much fun.


Smitty - JWW:
I was actually nervous about this run for some reason. I thought she was slightly naughty on her startline in STD, and I was not confident that she would stay for this one. And, I had some risky handling decisions that I had made, and for some reason that made my stomach a bit fluttery! Well, she was mostly good on her startline, and damn, we got those handling moves in! Had one strong call to avoid an offcourse tunnel, but still a super nice run! She took 2nd by .09 sec!


Regan - JWW:
She continued her "ON FIRE" streak with another awesome run!!! Big news....she hit her shoulder on a weave pole and KEPT GOING! Not sure which is cooler...that she was going fast enough to hit a shoulder or that she recovered. Regardless, it was an awesome run. No placement, but 16 sec under course time, so not too shabby either!

I mostly love this trial. You can't beat staying at my parents' house, 15 min away. And the arena is lovely. The astroturf is very clean...I mean really, I wore a WHITE shirt today...when can I do that around Smitty and keep it white???

But I'm very sad that I couldn't enter Austin. It's the first time I've chose to run just the BCs. I told myself it would be cool, because I'd only have to stick around for 16", so we'd be in/out in no time. And I told myself he doesn't really care if he runs or not. Well, I don't like it. I missed having him there like crazy. I wanted him to be working his butt off for those damn meatballs. I wanted to play our ready, ready, GO! game. And I wanted to see how he would tackle those courses, as I know he would have LOVED them.

The good news is, I've gained an even deeper appreciation for my time with Austin in agility. This was my choice not to enter him. At some point, it may be forced upon me not to run him. And one day he won't even be here to remind me what it was like. So I look forward to those future trials, however many we have left (and hopefully it's MANY!).

Anyway, he and Cole stayed at my parents' house while we were at the arena...picture Austin lounging on my bed pretty much the entire day, and Cole actually able to relax in his crate instead of surrounded by all the commotion of a trial. Boy was Austie excited when I came home though....just couldn't wiggle hard enough! I made sure we got in extra snuggle time, which he seemed rather pleased with.

I should mention the match yesterday (sorry no video, battery was dead). I wish more AKC trials made this an option, as it's one of the best training opportunities out there. I put Smitty in 2 standard runs, and Regan in 1. Smitty's plan was to work startlines, teeters, dogwalks, and weaves, in that order. Regan's plan was to have a super good time, get some good contacts in, and just have a blast in general. Each "run" was 60 sec of pretty much whatever you want. I put Smitty and Regan back to back, so that I could swap out Regan for Smitty if Smitty didn't hold her startline.

Well, Smitty was a little tiny black statue. NO MOTION whatsoever. So we went ahead with the course. Solid teeter. Nailed the weaves. Gorgeous dogwalk.

Next up was Regan. DAMN, she was on fire. Really got her fired up to watch me run Smitty. She really was a lot of fun. And very pleased to tug her bunny tug. (you may recall that back in January, she was so suspicious that I had a toy in the ring she barely moved faster than a trot, and even hid in a tunnel).

Smitty's next turn I opted to just work on dogwalks. I was concerned about the wear on her pads already, and I figured just some specific dogwalk work would be good, and doing the dogwalk "backwards" presented several next obstacle choices to cycle through. I'd say the session was marginally successful. Some hits were barely a paw. Mostly, I was just standing still, sending her around and back up the dogwalk and then largely using verbal to tell her where to go. The one time I did run and used deceleration was GORGEOUS, and I think motion is going to be important to get what I want with her.

So on to day 1 (finally....I seem to be a bit wordy today!)

Smitty - Standard
Course started with the chute. I was fairly confident that she would stay, since she was so solid in the match. As soon as I stepped away from her, she did a couple of hops. I opted to give her a 2nd chance (mostly because I wanted to run the course!), backed up since I hadn't passed the first obstacle, and reset her, and leadout again. Another hop, I told her absolutely not, and carried her out of the ring, immediately taking Regan out. Boy, was Smitty pissed! Lots of barking in her crate long after I was gone with Regan.

It's funny the comments I get from folks about these types of decisions, basically where I pull my dog when it hasn't actually NQ'd yet. I guess folks really like to watch Smitty run, and they are disappointed when we leave the ring (not that it happens incredibly frequently, but I always get comments after I do it). I often hear "but you could have still Q'd". And that's true. But I think Smitty needs things black and white. I'm not mean when I take her off. I don't do anything but unemotionally carry her out and put her in her crate or give her to another person. It's just simply removing what she wants if she doesn't meet criteria. As much as folks like to watch her, it's even more fun to run her, so I understand. But I think it's important that she understand her job, so that I can focus on actually telling her where to go, rather than wondering if I can get her over the first obstacle because she has scooted so far out of position!

Regan - Standard
I have to say this run was classic "Regan". Got all the hard stuff. Plenty of "yellow" on her contacts. Nice weaves. Efficient lines. We get to the one obstacle on course that doesn't have any off course options, just take what's in front of you, and I make the mistake of looking where I'm going, rather than watching her take the jump. And, you guessed it, she ran around the jump. She has very specific rules, one of which is that I must be perfect and give her 200%. It's not her responsibility to figure out where to go; that's my job. Oh well, it was still nice and fast, and I did nothing about the missed jump, just kept running. Little monkey!


Smitty - JWW
I was so very curious to see what would happen in this run. No double Q on the line, so I really wanted to push the startline. I also was a little anxious, as I was worried that the behavior might not change. I don't want to be pulling her from runs over and over again. That means she's not learning. I also thought this course was going to be a bit tricky. (ha...apparently I had no idea!).

Well.....drumroll....she held the startline like a pro. And you'll see she was determined to get those weaves, no matter what! I had decided to try for a front cross that was going to take some hustling to get to. Well, in the top right of the ring, there's a double jump, and I almost ran into it. When I swerved to avoid it, my right foot caught behind my left calf. I took step after step off balance, trying to regain my footing while feeling myself fall. I just knew I wasn't going to stay upright, but somehow I did. I even made the front cross, although it was quite late. And we recovered from that doing well until she felt me push in and took an offcourse tunnel that bit a lot of dogs. Oh well...I'll take the startline stay and staying upright over an offcourse any day! :)


Regan - JWW
This is a really cool run. I kinda like running Regan after Smitty, as I actually have a lot of confidence where I can get to, and I know what to look out for. We did our signature "reverse leadout" on this course (yes, folks, this is where you actually start BEHIND your dog). Not ideal, but Regan LOVES it...I mean REALLY LOVES it. And you can see, she's a bullet off the start. I still see plenty of places for Regan to speed up, but she was only about 2.5 sec off the fastest time and only 1 sec off the 20" time. She's not usually that close, and I really thought she was moving out. Doing this on the turf is even more amazing.

Oh, and after the run, she started pulling me outside, really hard. Once outside, she found the first pine needle she could and immediately peed. OH MY GOD. Regan had to pee and she didn't do it in the ring!!! In fact, she still was blazing fast!!! WOW. I know such a milestone is an odd one, but it's a HUGE one!


One more thing to note...the club is using 24" poles, which are incredibly awesome!!! The dogs love them, plus I'm getting 9 opportunities to run on them before the EO. Woo-hoo!!!

Hmmm...yes, I still need to post about the NE Regional...hoping to get to that this week...would rather write about what's fresh in my mind at this point...

This was the 5 weekend in a row of trialing, and yes, I will agree that it was too much. I seemed to be ok until 1/2 way through today, and then I just seemed to lose motivation. I'm hoping that I'm just tired.

Summary:

Austin - Q in Std on Sat and JWW on Sun...probably around 40 points, but not certain

Regan - Q in JWW on Sat and Sun; probably her best weekend ever at Bon-Clyde!

Smitty - Double Q on Sat and Q in JWW on Sun. Beautiful startlines. Pulled for naughty teeter on Sunday.

On to the videos:

Sat - Austin - Std: Nice run, Q and 2nd place! I was worried that he wasn't as fast in this run, but watching the video, I think I worried too much!


Sat - Regan - Std: Check out her valiant effort on the slippery table! She really did try to pull herself back up, but couldn't figure out how!


Sat - Smitty - Std: Held her startline! I couldn't be more proud...smokin!


Sat - Austin - JWW: I wanted to "throw and go" for motivation, but clearly I didn't signal well where to go! Oops!


Sat - Regan - JWW: Learned from Austie's run...she took 4th!


Sat - Smitty - JWW: Another brilliant startline! Yay! 1st place and a double Q!


Sun - Austin - Std: I was shocked the last bar came down...I'm wondering if it was the surface, as I don't think I pulled up at all. He had a 42 sec time...22 sec under time, which was amazing!


Sun - Regan - Std: Uggh...dogwalk contact distracted me and then I didn't indicate the next jump...I thought she was quite drivey though!


Sun - Smitty - Std: Well, awesome startline (there's an odd repetitive front leg lifting, but as long as there's no forward motion, I'm ok). Not so great contact (the sand gets on the contacts and makes them slippery), and then a naughty teeter (I stupidly told her "wait", but it really shouldn't matter, now should it), so we walked.


Sun - Austin - JWW:


Sun - Regan - JWW:


Sun - Smitty - JWW:

OK, so given the Evo fiasco, what is your favorite high protein kibble, and why?  I've had good results with Barking at the Moon, Orijen and Timberwolf Wild and Natural, but like to rotate...

This past weekend at the PA regional, I did as I have done for years, and packed kibble for my dogs.  I feed raw at home, but traveling with raw, especially when staying somewhere without a refrigerator, just got to be too dicey, so I switch to high protein kibble on the road.  I usually rotate through different brands of kibble, and have fed Solid Gold Howling at the Moon, Timberwolf Wild and Natural, Orijen, and others I'm probably forgetting.

This was our first time trying Evo (Turkey, large bites).  I did not transition them over to it, but I've never transitioned before.  My dogs eat something different every meal in their daily life, so a meal of kibble is just another different meal.

EVERYONE got diarrhea almost instantly.  This was very unusual (as in it's never happened before).  By the end of the weekend, Austin and Regan had cleared up, but Smitty and Cole were still affected.  As soon as we were back home and they were back to eating raw, all was well.

Anyone else had a similar problem?  Given that I paid over $2/lb for the food, I was suprised to see there was an issue!

Looking for a team for Itty Bitty Smitty...  She actually placed in Team Gamblers, Jumpers and Standard (momma had a brain fart in Snooker).  Anyone looking or know someone looking?  Would like to Q, but mostly going for experience.  We've already got a Q for Nationals...

I am just estatic with today's results.  I went into today with very different expecations from last weekend.  I wanted to plan courses that were appropriate for Smitty, supported where we are with her training.  I was not looking for wins or q's or points or anything else.  Just solid runs that ended with my dog better off than when she entered the ring.  I'm thrilled to report that I think that was true with all of Smitty's runs.

Gamblers: The fun part here???  My dog is fast as hell, and I underestimated the obstacles that she could complete by nearly 10 sec!  Even with the wasted time of essentially doing nothing for at least 5 sec, she tied for most points earned, placing 2nd in the class!  We got in two brilliant dogwalks and 4 aframes.  She seemed unphased by the rubber contacts and had good and better hits.

Standard: Nailed the turn off the dogwalk!  Nailed the weaves.  Solid stop on the teeter until released.  Lovely, lovely, lovely.  Did have one spin due to an overhandled rear cross, and STILL came in 4th!!!  WOW!  I was incredibly thrilled with this run, and also thrilled that we kept our heads on and kept focused on what was important.

Jumpers: I thought this course was really tricky, but enjoyed that it forced you to drive your dog.  Smitty was a bit naughty on the startline, and I had to lean in to make sure she took the first jump.  This took up just enough mental space to let me get slightly out of position, and cost us a bar before the weaves.  Otherwise, she handled brilliantly, and was so fast she still took 7th!!!

Snooker:  I had the opportunity to let Smitty run flat out nearly 80 ft to a tunnel.  And I got so wrapped up in just watching how freakin' fast she was running, that I forgot my snooker plan!  Dang it!  She is going to be one hell of a snooker dog, that's for sure.  Even just running those few obstacles was a blast, and in a funny sort of way, I'm kinda pleased that I would be in such awe of my dog as to get distracted while I watched.  I think that's cool.

I shouldn't leave Miss Ray-Ray out of the report.  She ran a fine 4 courses, with respectable times and points in each.  She is such a solid team dog.  I focused on giving her everything I had (snooker just about killed me!) and know that we gave every course our best shot.  She is not a big fan of running in the heat, so it's awesome that I was able to get as much out of her as I did.

Expectations....that my big take away from last weekend that I want to improve upon.  Particularly with Smitty, I let the atmosphere get the best of me last weekend.  I really wanted to see how my little girl stacked up against the competition.  I wanted to let her potential shine a bit.  And I really got focused on the wrong things.  I let other runs influence my runs, and I asked for outside advice when I should have trusted my own instincts.

So this weekend, I will be focusing on giving Smitty what she needs, in the moment.  I will handle every obstacle to the best of my ability, and we will see what happens.  I'm not dependent on the outcome of any of these runs, and realizing this really frees me up to do what's best for us as a team.  Of course it would be fun to do well on a couple of runs, but if I give her what she needs each and everytime, that will happen soon enough.

We made it to the Red Roof around 9pm, and are settled in for the evening.  Dogs have been fed and enjoyed bully sticks, so we are ready to get our rest and hit the ground running.  I am wondering what the conditions of the rings will be tomorrow.  Lots of rain today (and currently raining) with more rain forecasted for tomorrow.  We'll see.  This is a good reason for the club to have rubberized their contacts...can't wait to see what the pups think of those....

Austin:

So the big news for the weekend is that Austin earned his Tournament Master - Platinum title! Outside of regionals and nationals, he is now done with the Championship Tournament classes and will move to Performance.

He also Q'd in Team Snooker, DAM and GP

Austin was much slower than last year, and even last weekend. I'm REALLY hoping this was the medication. I will be watching him closely to make sure that there's not something else going on.

Regan:

This was Regan's best Regional ever (2 years ago, she pooped in the ring at Perry). She picked up DAM, STP and GP Q's, and is now Q'd for Nationals!

Smitty:

Smitty Q'd in Team Jumpers and Gamblers. She had many brilliant moments, and some good training opportunities too.

Today I slept in all the way until 5:30 (wow, I know!), but had to get up in time to pack up the room. We left again with enough time to run in the fields for just a bit. I had started weaning Austin off the pred some the day before, and he only got me up once overnight, and only peed a couple of times in the field.

First up was Steeplechase Finals, and only Regan was in it from my crew. This felt really weird. I knew that the delta in her time vs the winning time yesterday was more than 115%. So part of me felt really discouraged. I wasn't sure that there was really anything I could do about that. Walking the course, it didn't take me long to determine the best plan for Regan, so I didn't really obsess over the course. I decided to get her as charged as I could and just run as fast as I could. And that's what we did. She was very happy and motivated. She was responsive to my cues. She made the weave entries look easy, and I got to all of my front crosses. It was her first time every going clean in round 2 at a regional. I was super proud of her. However, her time was nearly 7 seconds off the winning time, almost 3 seconds outside of the cutoff for semifinal byes. This did make me sad, as I really wasn't sure what more I could do to make her go faster. However, watching the video, I can see that she's putting an extra stride between nearly all the obstacles. If each stride is .3 sec, that's a lot of time. I've always known her weaves weren't fast, but it's probably better to focus on removing the strides right now. So we'll be playing with that next. But regardless, this was one of her best runs ever at a big event!


Next up was GP. What a freakin' hard course! It looked so plain on paper. But boy didn't bite dog after dog. None of my guys got through clean...

Austin was up first. He started off with a bit more enthusiasm, but we had an uncharacteristic refusal and 2 offcourses. It felt like we were just a bit out of synch the entire course, again, unusual.


Next up was Regan. She actually made it through all the tricky parts, but didn't touch the dogwalk contact, dang it. And just going clean on this course would have been enough... Ack!


Last was little Smitty. I had watched so many dogs struggle to find jump #4, I was determined to tell her go...well, she did, and then went offcourse! I let it go and carried on with the course, and it looks like she thought the teeter was the dogwalk (a first, actually). Stopping seemed to really frustrate her and while I gave her a few chances to get it back together, when she popped out of the poles, I decided she had had enough, and we walked. A bit of a bummer to end the weekend on.


The good news was I was on the road by noon, and home by 7:30....lucky to drive the entire way in the daylight. I have lots to ponder this week before we head off to PA's NE Regional...

Back up at 5am, this time I planned on taking the dogs to run around a bit before we got to the arena. Still seemed to take me a long time to get out the door. Perhaps because Austin got me up multiple times to pee for incredibly long periods. Of course, if I took him out, I took everyone out, so it was a bit of an ordeal (remember, or in case you didn't know, Cole poops EVERY time he goes out...).

We did, however, manage to get to the fields in time to let them run around for 10 min. Poor Austin peed no less than 5 more times, and his poop was, um, not normal. He seemed ok though, and was most interested in my string cheese.

Today started with team relay. Austin's team was pretty much guaranteed a Q, but sitting in 4th place, I was hoping that we might move up a spot (or 3) ;) Smitty and Regan's teams needed to avoid any E's to have any hope of qualifying. Neither team needed it, but of course it's always nice to Q!

Smitty's team was up 1st. Smitty was running 2nd, as it allowed her teammate a better side of the weaves. Unfortunately, it sent her over the moon, and her 1/3 was a bit wild, resulting in an eventual offcourse trip around 1 weave pole.


Regan's team was up next. What a well matched team we had. We all had a struggle here or there, and even each took down a bar in the relay! ;) I thought our name "Zia and Regan have Flex Appeal" was adorable. This team squeaked out a Q with the last spot before the cutoff!


Finally Austin's team was up. I was incredibly nervous about the offcourse jump after the 2nd jump in. Two years ago Austin went offcourse in a similar situation, costing us the win. I was determined not to let that happen again. He was a total superstar...never even looked at the jump (plenty of dogs did!), and our entire team was clean! However, we remained in 4th place overall...still not bad!


Next up was Grand Prix. Both Austin and Smitty had vouchers. It was a fast and flowy course which didn't look too tricky.

First to run was Smitty. It started off so well, but somehow I lost sight of her for a split second on the way to the aframe. She was right where she needed to be, but it distracted me, and I wound up out of position for the poles and she missed the entry. Then coming around the corner, before I knew it, she was offcourse on the teeter. Came off, but stopped on the ground. We carried on, got a paw in the yellow on the dogwalk (yep, that's all), and then had a great opportunity to do another teeter. This time she NAILED it. Good girl. So all in all, a nice training run.


Next to run was Regan. She did a very nice job, hit all her contacts (not by much on the dogwalk!), and got herself her last Q needed for Nationals!!!


Last up was Mr. Austin. Again, not the fastest, but a good solid run. You can see the judge's hand go up for the dogwalk up, but she must have changed her mind, as he wound up qualifying. Besides, upcontacts are stupid if your dog gets on the contact straight.


Last run of the day was Steeplechase. I can't say that I thought this was a fun course. Just all seemed stressful for some reason. Lots of difficult choices around how to handle the weavepoles, and if you played it safe in one place you were punished at the next obstacle. I'm also disappointed in that I didn't trust my own decisions on this course, and asked for outside advice. No one knows my dogs like I do, and I should have gone with my gut, especially for little Smitty. Oh well, another lesson learned.

First up was Smitty. Two dogs before it was our turn in the ring, someone comes walking over with a vizsla on a leash (note that Austin is the only vizsla at the trial), asking it he was my dog. They said they found him by the glass doors trying desperately to get outside. He gave me a forlorn look and just started peeing in the dirt. Poor buddy! I asked her if she could just wait to let me run Smitty and then I would take him. So it's possible I was a bit distracted, although I did my best to focus. I was THRILLED with her first weave entry. And I made the blind after the weaves, but then I hung back (some advice I shouldn't have taken) and didn't cue the 3rd jump well, and she dashed in the tunnel. Then I raced ahead to front cross the next set of poles (more advice I shouldn't have taken), and that amount of speed was just too much for her. Oh well. I asked for the advice, and it was good advice for most dogs, just not my dog!


Next up was Austin. I tried to give him ample changes to pee, but I think he was pretty miserable. In fact, he goes slow when he needs to pee, so that could have been part of the problem. At any rate, he just missed the cut-off to move to round 2...a real heartbreaker!


Last, but not least was Regan. I didn't actually get this run on video (actually the only one we didn't get...pretty amazing). She did very well. About 6 sec off the fastest time, but fast enough to move to round 2.

At the end of today, I had planned on going out to dinner with friends, but after packing up and walking the dogs again, I was ready to just veg, and enjoyed just chilling with the dogs a bit. I think those few hours of doing nothing bought me the energy that I have now.

The alarm went off at 5am, which was painful, but I felt like I needed a lot of time that morning, and I was right. Austin looked surprisingly good, and I was feeling optimistic. It took me longer than I expected to get ready to leave...making breakfast...fixing a salad for lunch...feeding the dogs... I had given Austin 10mg of pred the night before...did the same this morning, along with his cephelexin.

We finally headed out to the arena, and I was able to find a place to park that was quite close to our crating spot, which totally rocked! Two trips later, a security guard said that we would all have to move. I managed to talk the security guard into letting us unload and move (oh yeah, forgot to mention it was RAINING again!). So then I moved the van, and quickly tried to get everything set up.

Next task was to get Smitty measured (MEASUREMENT #7...ridiculous) and get checked in. Measurement was (as always) extremely stressful, although I was more confident since she has been measuring 15 3/4" quite consistently for me. Well, the environment proved to be very stimulating and Scott just did get her to measure at 16". So she now has 7 exactly 16" measurements. In a lot of ways, that felt more stressful than the entire rest of the event!!!

Snooker and Jumpers courses were up first and folks were already walking. I quickly put Smitty away and began to plan my courses. Snooker looked fairly easy to do 3 7's, but required a bit of a leadout (a challenge for Smitty). I opted to do the same plan for all 3 dogs, mostly because I couldn't find anything with any other options that had better flow, which is unusual for snooker. Seemed odd that nearly all teams wound up going for the 3 7's.

Snooker - Smitty: I thought she did this very well, and I truly believed she was going to get her weaves. Not sure if I did anything to pull her out, but she missed the 2nd hole, not decelerating enough. Since we had to leave anyway, I opted to carry her out, to help her understand that they were important! I hoped that she would get them on her next run!


Snooker - Regan: I thought this would be a easy one for her. And she sure did charge off the startline!!! But I was too gray in my handling for her, and she got a bit fuzzy on me. Before I knew it, she had backjumped the 3rd red!


Snooker - Austin: I thought he was just brilliant! All 7's, and the buzzer goes off just as he finishes 7 in the closing...perfect. He was 8th place on this run and picked up a lifetime Q!


Jumpers - Austin: Here's where I started to worry...I felt like I was dragging him around the course, and the places that he usually will drive ahead, he didn't. He was clean, but methodical, placing 20th. After this run, I decided to ice his foot regularly before/after each run, as I thought perhaps it was still sore. However, he seemed to be running evenly, so was hard to say.


Jumpers - Regan: Another good run for Ray-Ray. She looks decidedly more comfortable here than last year. She had one bar down and I miscued a turn, but she recovered well, and had brilliant weaves!


Jumpers - Smitty: Argueably her best run all weekend! She had a smokin' time, despite a super wide turn that nearly bought us an offcourse tunnel! One bar that you can tell I took down. Even with the bar, she took 9th place and a lifetime Q! Oh, and BRILLIANT weaves, so she DID get the hint in snooker!


Standard - Smitty: I thought this was another nice run with just a couple of bobbles that added up to an E. :( Questionable dogwalk that didn't get called (although Scott seems to stare at the dogwalk itself for quite some time!). Then she didn't read my rear cross at the teeter. I got in too much of a hurry to get her back on, earning another refusal (looks to me like we should have gotten 3 of them). Then, I left her to do a blind after the aframe and she ran around it. All just baby dog stuff, but lots of good stuff on that run too!


Standard - Austin: Clean, but slow. Dogwalk was particularly slow. Just sort of looks like he's not all quite there. REEEEEALLY hoping this is the medication...


Standard - Regan: Other than a miscued turn before the weaves, this was nice. Regan is my most exhausting dog to run, that's for sure. If I don't push, push, push, she just doesn't go. Again, she looks so much more comfortable than last year!


Gamblers...just a note in that this time gamblers was a bit more stressful than usual. If you were over time...you lost ALL your points, effectively E'ing in Gamblers. LOTS of teams bit the dust on this one, going for that one last obstacle...

Gamblers - Regan:
Pretty darn drivey!!! I was surprised to learn that the judge thought I crossed the plane of the mini-gamble. But then, you'll see that we got quite the gift of an aframe, so I can't complain too much!!! I had originally planned Austin's no contacts/weaves strategy for her too, but our team needed points so I decided to go for it! I'm glad I did!!!


Gamblers - Austin:
This run made me feel better, as he looked a little more normal. But of course, we didn't do the dogwalk or weaves. Interesting to note that this run earned 44 points...quite respectable. You don't *HAVE* to do contacts to pick up a lot of points!!!


Gamblers - Smitty:
Wow, she was very good on this run too. Another nailed weave entry, fabulous teeter, and nice contacts in general. I pulled out a little too early...was going to do the mini gamble twice, but only got it once. I didn't figure out where she would have placed if I had gotten the 2nd mini gamble, but even without it she was 5th with a Q!


After the 4 runs, Austin's team was in 4th, and Regan and Smitty's teams were in striking distance of Q'ing. I had high hopes for the next day!

Once we had finished up the day, I took the dogs on a mostly offleash walk around the grounds...was nice to let them move about. Austin looked pretty good, still no signs of lameness or soreness, but just "less dog" in general. We were lucky this year...it was on average about 30 degrees cooler, according to my car's thermometer, than last year, so was much more pleasant to go for walks.

I then packed up the pups and headed out to dinner with friends, eating at the "Oil Lamp". Good, southern cookin' (had meatloaf, green beans, black-eyed peas and cornbread). Was a lot of fun. Not quite the healthy food I had planned on, but it was the kind of food I grew up on, so quite enjoyable. And fun conversation!

Once back in the room, I took a quick shower, fed the dogs, and quickly went to bed...