2013 Weimaraner Nationals - Day 1

I was thrilled to be able to attend our first Weimaraner Nationals in Perry, GA this year.  I have never been to a Nationals for any breed and it was exciting to not only be able to go, but compete in multiple venues.  We left Wednesday afternoon and headed to Perry, GA.  I always enjoy any time I get to spend with Mia, but it was also great to see so many weim people and their wonderful dogs.  On Thursday, we competed in the RDX (retrieving dog excellent) stake at the WCA Ratings.  This stake requires a land double, water triple, and water blind.  The dog has to be brought to the line off leash and under control, and must be absolutely steady on the line (no change of position allowed).   While Mia did well on her retrieve and remained steady, she refused to give up the bird so I had to NQ myself.  Even if I could have convinced Mia to drop the bird, the more retrieves she did, the worse this problem would have gotten and I didn't want her to ever think it was okay to hard-mouth a bird.  She had started "testing" me a little in training so it was only a matter of time before we would have this particular conversation.  Mia is a high-drive princess who, every now and then, decides to ask me if I'm serious.  Of course, my answer is always yes, I am.  Back to training we go...

Mis is super focused on the bird throwers.

The next post will be about our first experience in Utility Obedience.

*All photos by Phyllis Ensley Photography*

Spring photo shoot with the new camera

Just some photos I took of Miss Mia with my new camera - I'm having a lot of fun learning to use it, especially when I have such a cooperative (most of the time) subject :)

Happy Birthday Princess!

I can hardly believe my special girl is 4 years old today - how time flies!  Cherish your time with the ones you love - you don't get them forever.  

Training for Utility - Scent Discrimination

Mia and I have been working on the exercises for utility obedience.  One of the most challenging parts of training at this level is that the dog has to do a lot more away from you - which can be very stressful for them.  Up until this point, there has been a lot of value placed on being near you in obedience so to get them to work away from you with confidence takes time and practice.  Scent discrimination is one of the required exercises at this level.  The dog is required to work a pile of metal and leather articles and bring back the one that you scented.  I have been working with Mia on this for several months and even though we've had our struggles and minor setbacks, she is overall doing really well.  I am hoping to post some video soon.  Here are a few pictures:

The pile

One of the things I struggled with in the beginning was not panicking when Mia went to the wrong article.  In order to complete this exercise successfully, the dog needs to check the wrong articles - that's why they call it "working the pile."  As long as the dog is working and trying to find the correct article, they're fine.  I want her to check the wrong ones instead of just blasting to the pile and picking the first one she finds and assuming that must be it - one of the differences between scent discrimination and just retrieving.

"Here it is mom!"

Good girl Mia - lots of praise and cookies for you!!:-)

I'm just resting my eyes

Silly girl! 

You're disturbing my sleep :-)

Miss Mia is now a Junior Hunter!

I am so proud of my girl for earning her Junior Hunter title this weekend at the Sandhills hunt test in Jackson Springs, NC.  She is now CH Grayhart's Special Request, CDX, RA, JH, NA, NAJ, NSD, RD, VX!  Thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged us along the way - we could not have done it without you!

Mia earns two JH legs!

I am very proud of Mia for earning 2 Junior Hunter legs at the Tarheel Weimaraner Club Hunt Test on February 2nd and 3rd.  She ran hard and had a blast!  She even earned all 9's in Saturday's test.  These legs were the first for both of us and I am looking forward to continuing to train for more advanced birdwork.  Here is a picture from Saturday - it's a little blurry but that's okay with me.  I am hoping to get a picture of the two of us with both ribbons sometime soon.