Sunday Evening Hike

It was great to get out this afternoon for a nice hike at the Carolina Beach State Park.  Mia has been in season so she's been stuck at home and hasn't really gotten a chance to run.  I haven't been to this park in a while mainly because it's been too hot.  On the days when the heat wasn't too bad, it's usually packed full of people.  Fortunately today, the weather wasn't as bad and there weren't many people on the trails.  Mia had a blast running wild and spent a good deal of time hunting...for what, I'm not sure but it'll be nice to get her started back on birds this fall.

One of the things I love about this park is that part of the trail runs along the Intercoastal Waterway.  Of course, Mia didn't miss the chance to take a swim and cool off.

Pure joy!

Retrieving Practice

Mia is doing really well with her retrieving practice.  Today, she did her first 2 retrieves off of the launcher which required her to swim farther than she ever has.  I'm so proud of her and how much progress she's made!  I'm planning to enter her in the retrieving ratings this fall and hopefully get her NRD rating (novice retrieving dog).  She is hard to see in some of the pictures, but I wanted to show how far she had to swim.

 Watching and waiting from the shoreline.

Hey!  I wanna go!

Ransom note for Mia!

The following message was received regarding the capture of Princess Mia:

"If you ever want to see your princess again, I'm gonna need $5000 and a Diet Sundrop!"

Needless to say the ransom was paid (at least the drink part of it) and Princess Mia was safely returned to her owner.

**My sister Anna, Mia's aunt, picked her up one day while I wasn't home and sent me this text and picture.  And no, I was never really worried because Mia adores her aunt and visa versa...but the look on Mia's face is priceless!  ***

Mia's Official Best of Breed Photo

Mia's win picture from the Asheville Kennel Club where she went Winner's Bitch and then went Best of Breed over a special for her 13th show point!

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!