Tara earned her CGC tonight!

So she is now Tamarack's Autumn Rain, RN, RL1, CGC. Yay Tara! : )

Tara's APDT Rally Weekend

Tara and I went to RI this weekend for an APDT Rally Trial. We had a very successful weekend, returning home with 6/8 qualifying scores, and 5 ribbons! On Sat. we got our first two RL1X legs (we need 10 total), with scores of 199 (out of 210), and 208 (for first place)! We had two RL2 runs also, our first run was a 194 and first place in the A class, our 2nd run would've been a 205 (they continue to score even if you NQ) if I hadn't tried to send Tara from too far away to the jump. She didn't take her eyes off me and instead jumped the jump sign!!! Lol, NQing us. It was a great run other than that though. On Sunday, we had 4 more runs. We got two more RL1X legs, with a 201 (for 2nd place), and our last run of the day was a 210 (and first place) --- the only perfect score of the weekend!!! Tara is so phenomenal! Our first RL2 run on Sunday was a 205 and first place, while our 2nd run was another NQ due to Tara taking the jump bar down (We were on track for a 206!). We got many compliments on how consistently she works, and had a blast. The trial was at a great state park with lots of trails to explore in between runs. So we now have 4 legs towards our RL1X, and 2/3rds of our RL2. Woo-hoo Tara-girl! : ) We will now be focusing on jumping, lol.

The photos below are of Tara and her collie friend Margo playing on Friday night. They have so much fun together. Collies just love other collies.

Tara's blue ribbons

This weekend Tara and I competed in Rally in Scarborough, ME. The ground conditions were awful, with inches of water and mud all over the place. Yesterday we got a 99 (out of 100) in Rally Novice Obedience, and 1st place to finish her Rally Novice title (her 1st leg way back in Dec. was an 83 and 3rd place, our 2nd leg in April was a 92). Today we moved up to Rally Advanced. I was a little nervous about her being off-leash, but I guess I needn't have worried; we qualified for our first RA leg with a 95 and got another 1st place. Not too shabby for a girl that just turned a year March 19. This weekend marks her first full year with us and I couldn't have thought of a better way to celebrate it. I'm still in disbelief that we came home with not one, but two blue ribbons. Thank you Tara girl, I'm looking forward to having many more adventures with you.

Tara is now: Tamarack's Autumn Rain, RN, RL1

Tara got first place today!

She is now Tamarack's Autumn Rain, RN, RL1! : ) I'm so proud of my little girl. She got a 99, and was first out of about a dozen dogs. : ) WE are so excited. Tomorrow we try for our first RA leg, off-leash, outside. Wish us luck! : )