From Fernie To The Ocean and The Desert June 16, 2011
Posted by admin in : Denise's Blog , add a commentWith the closing of the ski hill and the ensuing muddy springtime here in Fernie, we headed out for a month long vacation south of the 49. Our first destination was Woodburn, Oregon where I trained with my Dobie girl Jagged for five days with the amazing Craig French. Although the weather was only slightly better than what we left behind, there was none of the white stuff in sight and everything was in full bloom. Oregon is absolutely beautiful!
We did 10 hours of agility training and I had the pleasure of running Craig’s Dobermans, Risty, Tristan and Kibi, along with my own girl Jagged. It was awesome training with Craig again and reviewing all of his philosophies, as we try to do once a year or so. We were also getting ready for our first AKC (American Kennel Club) agility trial, so things were pretty intense.
From there, we headed up to Auburn, Washington for the AKC trial April 30 & May 1. It was a great trial held at Argus Dog Ranch and we got to re-visit people (and dogs) we met through Craig in years past. There were several Montwood Dobermans there, all relatives of Jagged, and that was very cool!
Jagged did four runs over the weekend (a Novice “Jumper with Weaves” round and a Novice “Standard” round each day – 24″ height class). She qualified three out of four rounds which was awesome! She knocked a bar in the last Jumper round which resulted in an NQ (non-qualifying) run. I was thrilled with her performance over the weekend though, and I hope she shows that well for the rest of the season.
After all the excitement of the dog show, we drove two hours to the coast of Washington….one of our favorite places; Long Beach Peninsula, Washington. Although it was cool and a little wet, we were able to get in lots of beach walking (Viper discovered that flushing Sandpipers and running in the surf was a blast). We also did a little biking on a new trail along the peninsula. So after three days at the ocean, we were ready for some warmer weather and headed to Utah and the desert.
We were more than ready for the warm temperatures, sunny skies and red rocks of Moab, Utah. The temperatures didn’t disappoint as it was in the high 80’s! Moab is simply gorgeous along Windows and Arches Park, the Calf Creek Recreational Area, and Zion Nat. Park, all a part of our journey. After Zion, we spent five days in Vegas before heading back to Canada.
It’s always nice to come home and things are a lot greener than when we left.
The agility equipment is in the backyard now and all lessons are outside (including rally and obedience). It’s been unusually cold for this time of year and I actually have to wear mitts and several layers of clothing while teaching some mornings!
So come on out and have fun with your dog! Wear lots of layers….summer is almost here?