This fall I made myself a promise that if we were lucky enough to earn our Sporting Detection Master Champion title, I would book a photo session with an amazing local photographer Bev Holoboff Photography Brodie proved to be a bit of a challenge. He wasn’t comfortable posing on top of the table so he was just panting like crazy. Nearly every picture she took, either his tongue was hanging out or his ears were back and he looked nervous. We decided we would try getting some actions shots by throwing a bunch of his scent detection ribbons in the air. Not sure that Brodie found it as funny as we did.
When we finished our last trial in October I thought that would be the end of our 2018 season but I was wrong. When I saw the premium for the K9 Scentinels trial in Surrey BC, I just knew we had to enter. The best dog teams in our sport were going to be there and we would have the opportunity to trial along side them and learn so much. Traveling through the mountains at this time of year can be very treacherous but we were lucky and had great weather both ways. It is very rare to be able to see the top of Mount Robson…it is usually hidden in the clouds.
Brodie only needed one more Q in Excellent Interiors so I entered him both Saturday and Sunday hoping that he would pass one of them and earn his Master Championship. I also entered him in Elite for both days but we didn’t get a spot on either day. We ended up first on the waiting list for Saturday and 3rd on Sunday. Spirit has been “off” on scent work lately so I did not enter her at all. A few days before the trial we got the great news that someone has cancelled on Saturday so Brodie would get a chance to do an Elite run.
For Excellent Interiors you have 15 minutes to search 3 rooms. One will have 1 hide, one will have 2 hides and the other will be clear. You cannot leave a room until you call it clear or finished. As luck would have it, Brodie passed his Excellent run in 2 minutes and 40 seconds and earned his Master Championship on Saturday. K9 Scentinels made a video of each dog’s run and shared it with us after the trial (thank you!).
Since Brodie didn’t need his run on Sunday, K9 Scentinels allowed me to substitute Spirit in for him and switch it to Exteriors. I was so proud of Spirit. She worked her little heart out (slow and steady) and not only got high in trial but she earned her Excellent Title. Here’s Spirit’s video It was early Sunday morning, -2C and the whole search area was on a steep frosty covered hill (concrete and grass). There were 3 hides.
We ended up getting the opportunity to run Elite on both days. Elite is so much harder than all the previous levels combined. There are an unknown number of hides, you have to deal with converging and pooling odour and it is a real head game for the handler. Unfortunately not a single team qualified in Elite either day. I was so hoping to see history made and witness the first team ever to earn their Elite Championship or Grand Master Championship. There are two teams that just need one more elite title to reach both of these milestones.
After Brodie’s learn to pull class last weekend, I had planned to take the dogs out this weekend and introduce Brodie to a kicksled and then if things went well, connect them to the kicksled as a team. Mother Nature actually cooperated and gave us a good dump of snow yesterday, so rather than pulling the sled on grass they got to work in the snow with me riding and kicking behind them. We didn’t get much speed or distance but it was a decent first effort.
Another Running Room 5 Mile Classic is in the record books. Spirit did the race with us but she could not come into the hall after the race so she wasn’t included in the picture.
Yesterday Brodie and I took a dry land pulling clinic at the Nordic Ski Club in Fort Saskatchewan. Dogs with any kind of obedience training have a hard time transitioning to pulling while in harness and he was no exception. We did manage to get him to pull me on the scooter a few times. My hope is that he will like this pulling game so that he can join Spirit and I kick sledding this winter. Thanks to Marc Debrule for the great pix.
So proud of my little man being the first Golden Retriever to earn his Sporting Detection Elite Title (SD-EL) and of course a Championship title is a nice addition too.
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 and his first 40 Sprinters points. Wow!! His second run was identical and we ended up with two Q’s in Sprinters and 80 points.
On Saturday afternoon we tried Chase Ability which is 600 yards non stop looping around. Again he was over the top excited to chase the lure. He successfully completed the course and earned his first CAP Q.
On Sunday we came back for day two and the results were the same, 2 more Q’s in Sprinters and a Q in Chase Ability. Brodie earned his CKC Sprinters Novice (SN) title by achieving the required 150 points in his first 4 sprinters’ runs. He is now officially Coppermoon Lightning Bug CGN RI SD-CH SD-EL SN
Photo courtesy of Bev Holoboff
Judging by his enthusiasm (looks like he is smiling) I think he loves Sprinters and CAP even more than he loves Sporting Detection.
Dad gave him an amazing full body massage after all his hard work this weekend. In almost 30 years of being together I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a massage….just sayin’.
Thank you to Wade Waters for sharing these amazing actions shots that he took of Brodie:
This fall I made myself a promise that if we were lucky enough to earn our Sporting Detection Master Champion title, I would book a photo session with an amazing local photographer Bev Holoboff Photography Brodie proved to be a bit of a challenge. He wasn’t comfortable posing on top of the table so he was just panting like crazy. Nearly every picture she took, either his tongue was hanging out or his ears were back and he looked nervous. We decided we would try getting some actions shots by throwing a bunch of his scent detection ribbons in the air. Not sure that Brodie found it as funny as we did.
