Point Number 14 and Open Obedience Debut!

We traveled back out to Waynesville, NC this weekend to compete again in conformation.  Mia went Winner's Bitch and Best of Opposite on Saturday to earn point number 14.  She just needs 1 more single point to finish her bench championship.

We also made our Open A Obedience debut.  Open A is considered the "heartbreak" class because it's difficult to qualify and many people NQ several times before they get their 3 legs to earn the CDX title.  We didn't qualify either day (Mia decided to go around the jump instead of over) but I was beyond thrilled with her performance.  She showed a ton of drive and enthusiasm and I had a great time with her in the ring!  We have some things to work on but we are definitely well on our way...and she's only 2 years old.  Here are some clips of our runs

Saturday - Drop on Recall, Retrieve on the Flat, Broad Jump

Sunday - Drop on Recall, Retrieve on the Flat, Retrieve over the High Jump (even though she went around, I still loved her attitude).

Mia goes Best of Breed!

Mia not only went Winner's Bitch but also went Best of Breed over a special at the Asheville Kennel Club Show under judge Helen Lee James.  Mia only needs 2 single points to finish her AKC championship title.  Thanks to Debbie (Sky's owner) for taking this picture on her phone.  The official win picture will be posted later. 

Since we won best of breed, we got to go into group and even though we didn't do anything in group, Mia looked beautiful and represented the breed well.

 And because these shows were in Asheville, we got to stay with Debbie and Sky (who went winner's bitch today - big congrats!).  Here are the girls relaxing on the couch.



Mia's First Duck Retrieve

We were very lucky to get to spend the day out with our friend, trainer, and mentor, Diane Gallagher, to do some field work. Diane works mostly with labs but since weims are versatile hunting dogs who can and do retrieve, we were invited to a duck day to work live birds. Mia has developed a really strong retrieving drive which has helped tremendously with getting her to swim. When she first tried to pick up the duck, she wasn't sure how to handle it. After a little patience, a lot of encouragement, and some time watching other dogs retrieve (she is a competitive little thing), Mia took off into the water and completed her first duck retrieve.

 Novice Retrieving Dog, here we come!
 

Mia and Remi's Day at the Beach

The girls spent Memorial Day on the beach with their mama's (Erin and me). We had a great time and so did the girls - and they were so well behaved. Needless to say, we will be spending many more summer days just like this!:)

Retrieving Practice

I've been working really hard on getting Mia to swim and it's paid off - not only is she doing water retrieves but she's really starting to like it.  When I first started trying to get her to swim, she wanted nothing to do with the water and if I pushed her out, she turned right back around and swam to shore.  I worked a lot on building her retrieve drive and that has helped tremendously.  The more she goes in, the more she likes it and the less scary it is.  Hopefully, we can get our Novice Retrieving Dog Rating (NRD) this fall.  I am so proud of Mia and how far she's come.  LOVE her!!:)

Goofy girl!

Mia was actually sleeping like this today (notice the bone in her mouth).  Her eyes were closed but she opened them when she heard the camera...here she is 15 seconds later:

Goofy girl!

Mia wins her second major!!!

I am thrilled to announce that Mia won a 3 point major at the Myrtle Beach Kennel Club show in Florence, SC under judge Susan St. John-Brown (handled by me).  This was Mia's second major which means she only needs 3 single points to finish.  She showed beautifully both days and came close to winning yesterday.  Here are a few pictures taken at the park last week by our friend and mentor, Diane Gallagher.  Our official win picture should arrive in the mail in a couple of weeks.