Monday, April 12, 2010

Like Father, like son!

This past weekend, there was a big dog show called a cluster (yeah, no kidding!) and my new brother, Kaiden, got to meet his pappa Brayden, who was showing in conformation-- where dogs get all spiffed up and strut their stuff. Brayden's new owner Noel, said that Kaiden and Brayden were like twins they were so much alike! Kaiden, though, didn't care for his dad.

Noel and Brayden and Scott (Noel's boyfriend) with Kaiden

Father and son!



Brayden "Ch. Winpara Dragonfire RN CGC" (Australian import)


Scott works to stack Kaiden



Kaiden even got to see some goats that were being used for the Herding Instinct Test. I got mine at the Border Collie Specialty in 2003 when I was a wee pup. Mom hopes Kaiden can get his at the Specialty this fall if we get to go!



Mom and Kaiden got to meet up with one of their good friends from Iowa, Julie Bosier, and her border collies Taz and new puppy Cee Cee. Cee Cee is a half sister of Chaney out of her dad "Ch. Kybota Wildblue Rhythm". What a cutie!

Our little friend, and Chaney's half sister Cee Cee, with owner Dawne Bosier.


Getting ready for another big agility weekend! Wish my bro and sis good luck!

Skye-guy Fieri, proud RN and the ultimate Pet Idol

Monday, March 15, 2010

Kaiden's first agility title and trials!

Hey, bloggers!

We have been busy, enjoying our new brother!




Not only is he our new playmate,


he helps protect us from our mean, scary vacuum! He and Chaney did their best to kill it tonight! They are so brave! Meanwhile, I'm the smart one and stay safe in the other room!




Kaiden got to run in his very first agility trial in a couple of runs at the NADAC trial in March. Mom had just gotten him 2.5 weeks before that, so they hadn't had much time to work together. But, mom wanted to take the opportunity to give bro some trial exposure. He made mom real proud when he Qualified in his first ever agility run-- Novice Tunnelers! Way to go, Kaid! (although, it's still not as impressive as being a Pet Idol!!!!!!!)



After a busy trial, we crashed in the hotel room. (Does mom really think we REST at the trials???)


Here's Kaiden's very first Qualifying run! Just one little bobble. We are all proud of the guy!


This was his very first ever Tunnelers run. He did a zoomin' job until he missed a tunnel and then ran through it the wrong way. Good try though!


Kaiden in one of his Novice Regular runs.


Mom was most proud of this run! Chaney was only 1 of 4 dogs out of 24 Elite dogs to pass this Elite Chances course! It's her 15th Chances Q. Most dogs missed the double jump discrimination at the end. Chaney proved to everyone that she is a bonafide Versatility NATCH girl!


One of Chaney's Elite Jumpers Q runs!


A nice Elite Weavers Q run by Chaney! She ended up with 11 out of 14 Qualifying runs at the trial, one of her very best trials!


Here is mom working with Kaiden's "target" command between runs. Mom thinks he's so cute when he does this!


So, after the trial, Mom worked with Kaiden to get him better prepared for his next trial and teach him what she wants him to do out there.









So, off we went, ready or not, to the next trial. We just found out that Chaney has rectal cancer. The vet said they think they removed it all during her biopsy, so Chaney unexpectedly had to rest for awhile and wasn't able to compete. We made the long journey for Kaiden's 2nd trial in our BorderMobile and on the way, got to stretch our legs and sploosh in some of the water of Turner Falls! They don't allow dogs right by the falls, so we had to find dog friendly areas to play in.












At the trial, Mom got to meet up with her friend Renate and her BC Rusty. Both Chaney and Rusty earned their NATCHs in late 2009 and this was their first time to congratulate each other and celebrate together. Chaney's bars are on the jump upright and Rusty's is in front. Mom is hoping Chaney will be well enough to finish her NATCH 2 as they are halfway there already!


Mom took photos of us outside of our hotel on Easter Sunday morning before the trial. Our new bro K doesn't know how to be photogenic like Chaney and I! We love posing for photos. Don't our faces just make you smile!




Kaiden finished out the weekend, getting better on Sunday's runs, with 5 Qualifying runs out of 12 runs. He earned his very first agility title: Novice Agility (NAC) with 3 Novice Regular Qs, and 1 Chances, and 1 Hoopers. SO PROUD OF the Tartan Bay fella!!


Here's his Chances Q run. Had a couple of bobbles, but did real nice distance work in there, mom said, even though she hadn't formally trained him distance work yet. Way to go, K!!


He ran a nice Jumpers run, but ran "under" a jump, causing the disqualification.


Here is a real nice non-qualifying Chances run (he just missed the discrimination at the beginning)--


Here's one of his Regular Qs. Mom says that she is going to keep K in Novice for awhile, though, since they need more work before she feels he is ready to move up to Open.


Back in March, Chaney had a great AKC trial, getting 2nd place on one of her Excellent Jumpers With Weaves courses, a third place on one, and earned her much needed Open FAST Q to get her Open FAST title. She did great and we are all proud of how Chaney did! We are hoping she is healthy enough to earn more Jumpers Qs so someday she can get her Masters Jumpers title in AKC!






Kaiden and Mom at Chaney's AKC trial--


After all of this trialing and excitement, Kaiden and I chilled out at home before our next fun adventure! Don't stray too far from our blog!


Skye-guy Fieri (proud RN and Pet Idol extraordinaire!)

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

New kid on the block!

My family left R.C., Chaney, and I one day and returned late. Lo and behold, a new guy had shown up with them. We weren't going to buy the "the dog followed me home" story! But, he was a pretty cool dude!

After we all gave him a close once-over, we decided he was our new brother and released our pent up energy by playing wrestling games with him!

I haven't played this hard with another dog since I met back up with my dear brother Puck when we were 1 year old!

So, I am proud to introduce our newest brother, Kaiden (a.k.a. Special K)!



He's the litter brother of our good friend, Fenway--

He was telling me all about his super long journey in noisy flying thing from the Big Apple. I didn't know cars could fly in the sky, but Kaiden said it was something called an airplane. He thought his new home looked much different from his last one (where the hell are all of the buildings???), but he said he instantly felt at home with his new Border sibs!

Here are some photos from when Kaiden arrived in our great state:





Mom has already started giving Kaiden a "job", 'course he doesn't see it that way. He thinks everything is a fun game, like Chaney and I do! He's already had 2 agilty training sessions, and although mom says he's "green" (she must be color blind because he looks black and white like the rest of us!), he has incredible potential in agility, rally obedience, and can hopefully get his Herding Instinct Certification.
Kaiden loves to play agility and do some obedience heeling. Check out his great form!




Maybe he can follow in my "Perfect 100 Novice Rally Score" footsteps! (although I'll always be the only one that is the "Pet Idol"!)

Here, Kaiden practices agility!




We've even gotten to go shopping together and am looking forward to lots of trips together in the Bordermobile in our future!


All in all, I think he's a pretty cool dude. After all, he likes to play tug with me!

So, welcome, dear bro!



Skye-guy, Proud RN and Pet Idol