Our mailbox was overflowing with mail for Brodie and Spirit. Starting with Spirit, she got her CKC Scent Detection Instinct Title (SDIN) and her SDDA Aerial Games Title (SD-GA).
Brodie received his CKC Scent Detection Novice (SDN) and his Chase Ability Excellent (CAE)
SDDA Games Aerial (SD-GA), Games Speed (SD-GS) and Games Distance (SD-GD)
as well as his C-WAGS Scent Investigator (CS-SI).
I’m so proud of my little man. This morning he earned his CKC Chase Ability Excellent Title (CAX) at the Alberta Lure Coursing Association’s Hot Doggin’ trial.
Here is a video of his winning run. At one point he actually caught the lure in his mouth and did a 360 degree spin. When he realized that the rest of the lure was still moving, he spit the piece out of his mouth and took off in hot pursuit again. Gosh he loves this sport.
What do you do to celebrate such a wonderful accomplishment….an ice cream cone from McDonalds of course 😉😂. He inhaled it.
Filed under Brodie, CKC Chase Ability Program, CKC Title, Lure Coursing
It’s Brodie’s turn to get a new title in the mail. This is his CKC Chase Ability title that he earned at the Alberta Lure Coursing Association’s June 7th trial.
Filed under Brodie, CAP, CKC Chase Ability Program, CKC Title, Lure Coursing
Photo Credit: Bev Holoboff
On Friday night we braved pouring rain, thunder and lightning so that Brodie could participate in a CKC Chase Ability run. We didn’t get home until almost 10pm and didn’t get to sleep until closer to midnight by the time we had unloaded and reloaded the dogs.
Our alarm went off at 3:15am so that we could drive to Calgary for Spirit to compete in the first CKC Scent Detection trial in Alberta. Her first two runs were perfect. On our third run we heard the dreaded “I’m sorry”. She has a bad habit of alerting at the fringe of odour rather than following it back to source. Too bad, we headed back to Edmonton with 2 qualifying ribbons but no Novice title.
Sunday morning we were up at 6am for a 45 minute drive east of the city to attend the final day of the ALCA speed demons trial. Brodie ran 2 Sprinters and 1 CAP. He managed to get two new personal bests on his Sprinters. He is the fastest male Golden Retriever in Canada running 42.33 km/hr. There is one female Golden who is faster than him at 42.5 km/hr…..so close!!!
At the end of his last Sprinters run he slid through a muddy slough and came out looking like this
Brodie qualified in all 4 of his runs this weekend.
This past weekend we drove to Calgary so that Brodie could chase some more plastic bags at the Foothills Gazehound Club’s trial. He did 3 Chase Ability runs and qualified in all of them. We get so many comments from the sighthound owners about how unusual he is for a Golden…..they think his running style is closer to a greyhound. Maybe that explains why he is so fast. In 2018 he was the 3rd fastest Golden (fastest male), with a speed of 40 km/hr. At his first Sprinter run this year his speed was 42.11, moving him very close to the fastest Golden in Canada, a female who ran 42.41. Thank you to Mike Johnson for these amazing pictures.
Filed under Brodie, CKC Chase Ability Program
Enjoying a post race massage
On Friday and Sunday we participated in Alberta Lure Coursing Association’s Sprinters and Chase Ability Program races. Brodie ran two CAP and 2 Sprinter events and qualified in all 4. With his CAP Q on Friday he earned his Chase Ability (CA) title.
Big thank you to ALCA for putting on a wonderful weekend despite all the weather challenges.
Filed under Brodie, CAP, CKC Chase Ability Program, CKC Sprinters, CKC Title
On Sunday we went to our first Chase Ability practice of the year to prepare for a trial in a few of weeks. We wondered if Brodie would show the same enthusiasm that he had when he first tried it in October. No need to wonder….he is still obsessed with chasing and catching that plastic bag. As we sat in the car waiting for the previous group to finish their runs he was vibrating and chirping
He is virtually uncontrollable when he see’s it flying across the field. We had a harness on him with a leash clipped to the front and another clipped to the back and both of us holding on for dear life as we moved towards the field. Bev captured these beautiful photos of him. You can see the intensity in every muscle in his body and the sheer joy of the chase.
Filed under Brodie, CKC Chase Ability Program, CKC Sprinters, Lure Coursing
This weekend we attended the ALCA (Alberta Lure Coursing Association) Frosty Canine Trial. We had a blast. We were shocked to see how intense Brodie’s prey drive was. I wasn’t strong enough to hold him back if he caught a glimpse of another dog running after the lure. We decided that I would be the catcher at the finish line and Don would be the holder at the start line. While we were waiting for his first run, Brodie flipped Don over trying to get to the lure on the opposite side of the field. We ended up using two leashes and both of us holding on for dear life to get him off the field after his run. It took him just under 9 seconds to complete his first 100 metre sprint which equates to 40km per hour. Wow!! His second run was identical. We walked away with two Q’s and 80 points.
In the afternoon we tried Chase Ability for the first time. It is a 600 yards (545 metres) with several twists and turns. The runs are not timed but the dog must complete the run without stopping and with enthusiasm. I was a little worried that the distance might prove to be too much but I was wrong. He never got distracted or lost interest in the chase.
When we got home Saturday, I thought he would eat and pass out….not! He showed no sign of being tired.
Filed under Brodie, CKC Chase Ability Program, CKC Sprinters, Lure Coursing, Sprinters
Life In The Dog House 