A friend of Donnie & Daryl's videoed the race in Lethbridge, she did an awesome job, I love the perspective .
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Lethbridge Race
Last night we raced at the Lethbridge Kennel Club show. It was our first race since April!.
Some dogs were a bit rusty, Kort for one, he forgot how to smell apparently in the first race, but redeemed himself in the next 2 :) Gyppie had a couple of bobbles but also came through for the team. Bosley was right on the money in every race, good boy :) Jethro seemed to forget to jump "all" the jumps but he had a great time!!
We had 3 new dogs debut!, Maizie, Izzie & Brit. Maizie & Brit were right on with no mistakes!! Izzie had to get some help at first but after that, with some encouragement & cheers from the crowd, she did a great job!
Roberta debuted as the boxloader as Kharma is out with an injury. Thank you Roberta, you did a wonderful job!!! Boxloaders often go unmentioned , not intentionally, but it is not an easy job & Roberta boxloaded multiple times for the other teams as well as ours!
It was a small group of racers, with just 5 teams entered, but it was full of fun & good sportsmanship!
No Nonscents came in 3rd place out of the 5 teams!!
Well done !!
Some dogs were a bit rusty, Kort for one, he forgot how to smell apparently in the first race, but redeemed himself in the next 2 :) Gyppie had a couple of bobbles but also came through for the team. Bosley was right on the money in every race, good boy :) Jethro seemed to forget to jump "all" the jumps but he had a great time!!
We had 3 new dogs debut!, Maizie, Izzie & Brit. Maizie & Brit were right on with no mistakes!! Izzie had to get some help at first but after that, with some encouragement & cheers from the crowd, she did a great job!
Roberta debuted as the boxloader as Kharma is out with an injury. Thank you Roberta, you did a wonderful job!!! Boxloaders often go unmentioned , not intentionally, but it is not an easy job & Roberta boxloaded multiple times for the other teams as well as ours!
It was a small group of racers, with just 5 teams entered, but it was full of fun & good sportsmanship!
No Nonscents came in 3rd place out of the 5 teams!!
Well done !!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Superstar!
Yesterday some of our group got together at Henderson Lake for some practice. We caught the eye of the Lethbridge Heralds photographer & he stopped by & took a bunch of pictures.
We were all excited to see that CRAWFORD made the front page this morning!!
We were all excited to see that CRAWFORD made the front page this morning!!
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Still Kicking!
The blog hasn't been updated but I assure you we are still training!
In fact our second team is nearly ready for their first race. We've got some pretty great up and coming dogs. But as with all dogsports there are lots of training issues that pop up. Just when it seems we've got one thing covered they give us something different!
Because of our "learn as we go" approach we took with No Nonscents we are trying really hard to make sure that we've thought of everything and proofed for all sorts of things BEFORE we actually race a new team.
It was pretty hard to be "the newbies" that first time. Our first few races especially were pretty horrible. Crossing over, no fetching, no scenting- just a gong show really. lol. We did get better- but it took lots of training and trial and error. (and we did annoy some of the other teams..)
Here is a short list of things that the No Nonscents team learned the hard way. Because of this the new team should hopefully not be as rough the first few races...hopefully! lol
Be Flexible. We learned that sometimes we had to run dogs in different spots, or not at all based on who was running in the next lane. With some exciteable dogs on our team we had to be sure that they remain focused and on task- the best way to do this was to race them against slower dogs (and not a sheltie. lol). We still always try to keep in mind the dogs preference (i.e. Kort doesn't run well last), but we are much more flexible now. We even practice in different orders etc. so that the dogs don't become too patterned to the same dog ahead and before them.
Don't be afraid to ask for help! When we first started we didn't really know the rules well (they are hard to understand!!) but some really awesome people from another team helped us out. The explained that we could help our dogs out by forfeiting a race and running down with the dog if it was neccesary. As long as it didn't become a habit it is okay. We were careful to do this only if we had to, and only once the other team had finished (which was often the case anyway! lol). This really helped Gyp overcome her "at the box nerves." There are some nice people in this game- you just have to look for them! (You can usually tell by the smiling faces!)
Proof, Proof, and Proof some more. Really we were not ready to race our first race. Our dogs had never raced against anyone but each other, and Due South. We had never proofed the whistle, or the excitement of the dog show setting, or switching sides!!! Switching sides almost did us in! lol. Our dogs had no idea there were TWO lanes. lol.
Are we really ready? Taking a good honest look at where our dogs were we knew that maybe they weren't quite ready...lol. Poor Gyp got thrown in way before she was ready- in her typical fashion she did figure it out- but at the cost of her confidence (which we've rebuilt). Things to look at in relation to being ready- how accurate is the dog? how focused is the dog? can the dog recall past other dogs? does the dog want to play?. does the dog have the stamina??? With these questions to ask ourselves with the second team we will hopefully have a good idea if/when they are ready to race.
when we are ready the Full of Nonscents team is going to be a force to be reckoned with! We've got some pretty cool dogs who are raring to go!!!
Here are a few photos from a practice a few weeks ago. Thanks to Paws on the Run Photography for the great pics!
In fact our second team is nearly ready for their first race. We've got some pretty great up and coming dogs. But as with all dogsports there are lots of training issues that pop up. Just when it seems we've got one thing covered they give us something different!
Because of our "learn as we go" approach we took with No Nonscents we are trying really hard to make sure that we've thought of everything and proofed for all sorts of things BEFORE we actually race a new team.
It was pretty hard to be "the newbies" that first time. Our first few races especially were pretty horrible. Crossing over, no fetching, no scenting- just a gong show really. lol. We did get better- but it took lots of training and trial and error. (and we did annoy some of the other teams..)
Here is a short list of things that the No Nonscents team learned the hard way. Because of this the new team should hopefully not be as rough the first few races...hopefully! lol
Be Flexible. We learned that sometimes we had to run dogs in different spots, or not at all based on who was running in the next lane. With some exciteable dogs on our team we had to be sure that they remain focused and on task- the best way to do this was to race them against slower dogs (and not a sheltie. lol). We still always try to keep in mind the dogs preference (i.e. Kort doesn't run well last), but we are much more flexible now. We even practice in different orders etc. so that the dogs don't become too patterned to the same dog ahead and before them.
Don't be afraid to ask for help! When we first started we didn't really know the rules well (they are hard to understand!!) but some really awesome people from another team helped us out. The explained that we could help our dogs out by forfeiting a race and running down with the dog if it was neccesary. As long as it didn't become a habit it is okay. We were careful to do this only if we had to, and only once the other team had finished (which was often the case anyway! lol). This really helped Gyp overcome her "at the box nerves." There are some nice people in this game- you just have to look for them! (You can usually tell by the smiling faces!)
Proof, Proof, and Proof some more. Really we were not ready to race our first race. Our dogs had never raced against anyone but each other, and Due South. We had never proofed the whistle, or the excitement of the dog show setting, or switching sides!!! Switching sides almost did us in! lol. Our dogs had no idea there were TWO lanes. lol.
Are we really ready? Taking a good honest look at where our dogs were we knew that maybe they weren't quite ready...lol. Poor Gyp got thrown in way before she was ready- in her typical fashion she did figure it out- but at the cost of her confidence (which we've rebuilt). Things to look at in relation to being ready- how accurate is the dog? how focused is the dog? can the dog recall past other dogs? does the dog want to play?. does the dog have the stamina??? With these questions to ask ourselves with the second team we will hopefully have a good idea if/when they are ready to race.
when we are ready the Full of Nonscents team is going to be a force to be reckoned with! We've got some pretty cool dogs who are raring to go!!!
Here are a few photos from a practice a few weeks ago. Thanks to Paws on the Run Photography for the great pics!
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| This crazy dude is Nitro. |
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| Crawford the flying corgi. He is fast and accurate, but lippy. ;) |
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| Miss Reliable. AKA Karma. Karma never makes a mistake... |
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| Indy- an ex-flyball dog who has plenty of speed and is learning the nose part |
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| Brit. Who is piecing things together... |
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| Rocky- the crazy corgi who is just learning stuff. |
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Red Deer
Well we certainly had a great time in Red Deer, we didn't do as well as we did in Calgary however, coming in 6th place out of the 7 teams entered, although we did manage to win a few races.
Every dog seemed to have a moment of relapse( except Pixel! )
Our team spirit could not be broken however, & we proudly showed off our flashy new wrist bands thanks to Amanda S :)
We had our traditional cupcakes courtesy of Donna, thanks Donna , they were yummy !!
A couple of dogs earned new titles as well:
Congratulations to BOSLEY & KORT who came home with their SCENTHURDLE CHAMPION Titles !!!
And to EPIC who earned his SCENTHURDLE DOG title!!!
Every dog seemed to have a moment of relapse( except Pixel! )
Our team spirit could not be broken however, & we proudly showed off our flashy new wrist bands thanks to Amanda S :)
We had our traditional cupcakes courtesy of Donna, thanks Donna , they were yummy !!
A couple of dogs earned new titles as well:
Congratulations to BOSLEY & KORT who came home with their SCENTHURDLE CHAMPION Titles !!!
And to EPIC who earned his SCENTHURDLE DOG title!!!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
What a night!!!
No Nonscents headed to Calgary this past weekend to race at the Alberta Kennel Club dog show. It was our best showing yet!!!
We worked as a team and all the dogs had a great night. Only a few small bobbles, and only one No Time all night. I am so proud of everyone for working so hard with their dogs. We have come a long way from a year ago!!!
Here are the total points for each dog. This is a total so far in their career- not just for one night.
We worked as a team and all the dogs had a great night. Only a few small bobbles, and only one No Time all night. I am so proud of everyone for working so hard with their dogs. We have come a long way from a year ago!!!
We ran in 7 races, and won 5 of them- that is pretty awesome! At the end of the night we placed 2nd out of 7 teams. We had competitive times, with one time under the 35 second mark. That race earned each dog in that race 10 points!
I've put together a video of all the races. You'll see the two mistakes were by Pixel and Kort- the pressure of the pillar in that lane really pushed them off their path. Pixel's race was the NT one as I didn't communicate with our box loader quick enough to put in another 4 for Pixel. Kort redeemed himself and was able to go back and get the dumbbell.
Having the video is pretty great- you can really see small things that we can be fixing to improve our time. I think we need get some of the dogs picking up the dumbbell sooner- not circling a few times. Bosley needs to wear his coat every time so he can stop shaking each time. lol. And we need to proof for pressure for the dogs to stay in the jump lane. Discrimination wise there were no issues- all the dogs were bang on.
Here are the total points for each dog. This is a total so far in their career- not just for one night.
Jethro 53
Bosley 235
Pixel 285
Kort 240
Swift 170
Epic 40
Gyp 135
Pretty impressive I'd say!!!
A big congrats to those that came home with new titles!!!!
Jethro SHD
Gyp SHDX
Pixel SHDCH
No Nonscents will be racing in Reddeer in April.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Practice Night
In Attendance:
Amanda/Pixel/Brit
Jolene-helper
Kim/Maggie
Roberta/Kharma
Sarah/Gyp
Liz/Cava
Judy/Maize
Tina/Jethro
Jaime/Cookie
Amanda/Izzy
Donna/Epic/Sport
Last night was for the in betweeners & newbies.
It is exciting to see these dogs come along so quickly!!! We worked with restrained recalls over the jumps as well as back chaining to the box from 1 jump, then 2, then 3, then all 4.
At the end of the night we finished with a game of scent by everyone throwing their dumbbells into the middle & 2 dogs at a time being sent out to find their own dumbbell, the dogs really enjoyed this as did the handlers :)
2 weeks to the first meet in Calgary !
This was also the last practice for Donna & her crew as they are moving to Edmonton. We will miss you all & wish you the best of luck!!! See you at the races!!
Amanda/Pixel/Brit
Jolene-helper
Kim/Maggie
Roberta/Kharma
Sarah/Gyp
Liz/Cava
Judy/Maize
Tina/Jethro
Jaime/Cookie
Amanda/Izzy
Donna/Epic/Sport
Last night was for the in betweeners & newbies.
It is exciting to see these dogs come along so quickly!!! We worked with restrained recalls over the jumps as well as back chaining to the box from 1 jump, then 2, then 3, then all 4.
At the end of the night we finished with a game of scent by everyone throwing their dumbbells into the middle & 2 dogs at a time being sent out to find their own dumbbell, the dogs really enjoyed this as did the handlers :)
2 weeks to the first meet in Calgary !
This was also the last practice for Donna & her crew as they are moving to Edmonton. We will miss you all & wish you the best of luck!!! See you at the races!!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Exciting News!
With the start of a new year we sat down as a big group and discussed our options for 2012. We have some really fantastic dogs that are almost ready, so many in fact that we could split into two teams. Do we do it? Or do we stick it out as one. It was a hard decision to make, but in the end we decided to split into two.
So we've got No Nonscents (NN) "The Originals"
Pixel (height dog)
Kort
Bosley
Epic
Swift
Gyp
Jethro
And introducing Full of Nonscents (FON)
Izzie (height dog)
Crawford (height dog)
Cookie
Chase
Maggie
Brit
Karma
I am very excited that Lethbridge is able to have TWO teams. How awesome is that!!
I am planning on doing some videoing at the next few practices so I'll have some stuff to update this blog with. In the mean time know that we are training hard.
No Nonscents will be racing in February at the AKC Show.
So we've got No Nonscents (NN) "The Originals"
Pixel (height dog)
Kort
Bosley
Epic
Swift
Gyp
Jethro
And introducing Full of Nonscents (FON)
Izzie (height dog)
Crawford (height dog)
Cookie
Chase
Maggie
Brit
Karma
I am very excited that Lethbridge is able to have TWO teams. How awesome is that!!
I am planning on doing some videoing at the next few practices so I'll have some stuff to update this blog with. In the mean time know that we are training hard.
No Nonscents will be racing in February at the AKC Show.
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