More Competition Preparation...

I do like to film each of the routines I am planning on competing, so that I can get an idea on how it looks and areas where we can focus our training to get the most improvement/polish. This is Pixie's new HTM routine.

Gearing Up For Competition...

Well, I am excited to announce that we will be having our very own freestyle competition right here in Oklahoma mid-September. So, we're back to working on getting our routines ready. Last weekend, we filmed a couple of the routines to see where they were and whether they still feel good. We have quite a bit of work to do still - but it's good to have a goal ahead.

Shelby's Mary Poppins Routine


Circus Beagles (Brace)


Playing With Pixie's New Music

WCFO World Event Results Are In...

Well, it has taken a little time to get the results, but they were worth waiting for:

2009 Junior World Champion Heelwork To Music Level I
Megan & Bonnie performing to "LoveBug"

2009 Junior World Champion Musical Freestyle Level II
Megan & Nellie performing to "UP!"

2009 World Champion Beginner Brace
Kris with Shelby & Pixie performing to "Hot Honey Rag"

2009 World Champion Novice Pairs
Kris & Roxie with Laura & Tilly performing to "He's A Pirate"

2009 World Champion Pro Stars Special
Kris with Shelby & Roxie performing to "Riverdance"

2009 Reserve World Champion Pairs Beginners
Kris & Shelby with Megan & Pixie performing to "Let's Get Together"

2009 Reserve World Champion Pro Stars Heelwork To Music
Kris & Shelby performing to "Once Upon A December"

Franken-Bonnie

Well, Bonnie is starting to feel better. She went in a couple weeks ago to have a mammary tumor removed. She got the staples out recent and seems to be back to her normal self. The official results indicated "ademocarcinoma".

The good news is that if they were able to remove it all, the prognosis is good. However, the biopsy did indicate that the tumor extended all the way to the margins and that a blood supply was involved, so the official prognosis is "guarded".

She's back to feeling like her normal self, so we're happy about that.

Pixie's Tail Dances A Reel...

or a jig, or whatever this song might be. As some of you know, Pixie is more or less the most mellow dog I've ever known. At least her tail is happy!

Michele Pouliot Comes To OKC

Well, no rest for the weary... My friend Karen arrived from AZ on Thursday afternoon, and she helped me finish up some last minute errands we needed to take care of for the seminar. Michele's flight came in late - and was even later due to a weather delay, and we were even later due to construction on the highway... so, we finally rolled into bed about 1am on Thursday.

Friday was a great day. We started off with a private lesson with Shelby. Michele had some good ideas for a routine concept I have playing with for some time - but, boy do we have a lot of work cut out for us now! We had another private lesson with Michele in the afternoon to work with Pixie - again, she had some really good suggestions on how to go back and work some of the basics to hopefully eliminate Pixie's idea of running out of the ring.

We had a nice dinner with Michele and the gals from Little Rock on Friday night. Saturday began the two day workshop. We had 18 working teams and 10 auditors - what an amazing group of freestylers!

The seminar was fantastic - one of the best I have been to in quite a long time. If you have an opportunity to attend one of Michele's seminars - RUN, don't walk to get in line to sign-up. I simply cannot recommend her highly enough. She is not only a fountain of knowledge, but just a lovely person as well... you couldn't hope for a better combination.

I'm hoping to sign-up for her online class starting next month. The "training" aspect of freestyle is the part that I usually find the least "fun" - so I need to make sure I have a way to stay on track and keep motivated to reinforce some of the foundation work I've been a little neglectful of lately.

Of course, I was thinking of taking some time off of freestyle this year - but Darn, That Michele! - I am now full of all sorts of ideas... even considering hosting a competition here in OKC in the fall. We'll see...

PA Competition

Well, our first competition this year came a little bit earlier than expected when I made the decision to attend the freestyle competition in Pittsburgh, PA that was held at the end of March. Roxie & Shelby needed one leg to finish their Brace Championship, and since Roxie is getting older - I felt that taking this chance was the right thing to do.

We entered Roxie & Shelby's brace routine, Shelby & Pixie's brace routine, Shelby's MF routine, and Pixie's HTM routine. The brace routine has been a challenge since Roxie had a seizure during the routine about a year and a half ago. It wasn't so much a technical challenge for her - as it was an emotional one as I know she still carried some anxiety about doing the routine with Shelby.

Our last practice before we left for PA did not go as well as I would have hoped. After some initial confidence in our "new" routine, I could tell that Roxie was very anxious - and then a miscue that resulted in me almost falling on Roxie and actually stepping on Shelby only added to the concern. Of course, we only had a mere three days before we left for the competition. I knew I had two choices - worry about whether Roxie will shut down, or try to find a solution that might help. Going back to when we made a music/costume/choreography change for the last competition with good results - I decided that I would change out the music and rechoreograph on my drive to PA (I had a good 16+ hours in the car).

Fortunately, I found a piece that I really liked and was editing like mad the night before we left. I had the new choreography planned even before I was done editing. I really liked that the new music had a much softer feel and not so heavy a beat/rhythm - I knew this would make it easier for Roxie somehow.

We had a nice drive - just a bit of weather. My friend Chuck, who runs the beagle rescue, tagged along for the ride as his family lives in Pittsburgh and he hadn't been able to get back home for several years to visit. So, it worked out well. Of course, Shelby went all kinds of crazy when she saw him... once she figured out he'd be in the car for a while - she FINALLY settled down. Chuck is one of Shelby's absolute favorite people.

We got to the hotel on Friday, dropped off our "gear" at the competition - three crates, one chimney, two circus buckets, three clothes racks, one chair, 6 costumes... all the while I was thinking "why I am unloading this much stuff? I can't possibly NEED this much stuff!" Then it was off to find a grocery store to pick up hot dogs, and then off to bed.

Saturday morning started with Roxie & Shelby's brace. As we entered the ring, I could tell Roxie was a little unsure. The music started and she responded - a bit slower and a bit less enthusiastic than normal - but she hit every cue and performed as best as I could hope. Shelby was an absolute rock - totally focused and needing very little additional direction from me, which was nice because then I could really focus on supporting Roxie through the routine.

I really enjoyed the new music and the choreography just seemed to "happen" - I didn't even really have to think about it... they did as well as I could have hopped for... and managed to get their final Q!

I promised Roxie that if they qualified on the brace on the first day, I wouldn't make her do it again on Sunday - so I bumped the entry over to the individual class and danced with just her. We had a great time and I saw her be able to relax and have fun with the performance. Roxie is now "officially" retired. We'll continue to do freestyle - but just for us, and just for fun. We won't be pursing any titles - if some come along, great... if not, we'll just enter and do the routines we want to do because we want to do them. It seems appropriate that Roxie ended her "serious" competitive career dancing to a song called "FairyTale".

Shelby was an absolute rock all weekend, and it was a pleasure to see her so focused. We did her Mary Poppins routine and Saturday was probably one of the best performances of this routine she has done in competition.

Pixie is going through a learning phase - on both routines on Saturday (her individual HTM and her brace with Shelby), she ran out of the ring just as we started the routines. I actually think this is a good sign - as it shows she is starting to "think" on her own and not just follow me - but it is definitely something we will have to work on in practice - back to the basics!

She did better on Sunday, after an initial attempt to run out as we entered the ring for the brace routine (but before we actually started), she was going along quite well... until I cued a beg and realized I was getting a "oops, gotta poop now" instead. Since I didn't want it to hit the ring - I just reached down and caught it... to everyone's amusement of course. I guess I just figured that is what soap and hot water is for! I definitely didn't want it to be a problem for whoever came in the ring next - and I know from having "dogs" that are really just noses with four legs, that it would still smell "different" (either of poop or of cleaner)... so it was just a natural reaction - of course, I ended up winning the "Fastest Scooper" award!

But Pixie ended the weekend on a positive note and did a very nice job on her HTM routine - and was able to get a Q and finish her Novice HTM title.

We had a really great time - it was so good to see old friends and to finally meet some list friends in person. I don't often get to travel to shows in this region, so that was a lot of fun.

The drive home wasn't too bad - we had achieved a very long time goal of finishing our brace championship, and Pixie managed to finish a title as well. Of course, when we arrived home on Monday afternoon - we had little time to rest. Michele Pouliot was arriving on Thursday for the seminar I was hosting... pretty good timing, maybe she'll have some suggestions for Pixie!

New Titles...

Well, once again - I have fallen a little bit behind... we received the results of the December video competition and our pairs routine (me with Shelby & Megan with Pixie) Q'd and won a 2nd place. Not too bad for having two beagles in one routine! That finished our W-PFD (Pairs Freestyle Dog) for this routine. If Megan comes out and visits again this summer, maybe we can work on a new routine.

Catching Up & TDAA Trial...

Well, I've been pretty bad about posting lately. This year has been full of all kinds of "weird" for lack of a better term... mostly weird weather than has a tendency to put a damper on things. In February, we got back to working on our freestyle routines. It's been rather slow progress, but the girls have several new routines in the works.

The big "event" was our trip down to McKinney, TX for Shelby & Pixie's first agility trial this year. Neither dog was really ready for competition - but it was being held on dirt (horse barn) which is an environment that is particularly challenging for the beagle noses. So, I figured it would be a good learning experience for them.

After driving three hours in a torrential downpour (did I mention we've had "weather" this year?) - we arrived and as soon as we walked into the building, the beagle noses hit the ground like they were magnetized.

Both girls did well on their first run - Connect The Dogs - and each received a Q. This finished Shelby's Games II title and was Pixie's 2nd Q.

The standard runs were a little bit more challenging - Shelby doesn't quite understand the weaves poles yet, and Pixie is still a little confused on the table. We elected to use the standard runs as training for Shelby, and just ran past the weaves. Pixie gave everyone a good chuckle when she hopped on the table and begged.

By the middle of the third run, I could tell Pixie was beginning a mental melt-down. She tried to run out of the ring, but everyone was on top of things and kept her contained until she came back to me and finished the run. She has a very low mental and physical threshhold, and it was just more than her little brain could handle. We'll keep working to build up her stamina in working longer runs. Can't really blame her when we usually only do 4-6 obstacles at a time in class -- the long drive, new environment, and four full runs was just a bit too much.


Even though Shelby only Q'd her first of four runs - it was a good day for her. Each run got stronger as a whole with less sniffing and less distraction. She is one of the most "aware" dogs I have ever known, so new enviornments can be a little difficult for her. So, it was nice to see her improving as the day went on.


Pixie did really well. Other than the mental meltdown at the end of the day, she has shown lots of improvement - and even managed to get more points on the first game than Shelby did (she had one extra jump), and ended up winning the award for High Scoring Beagle.

It was a really fun weekend, and we're looking forward to playing more agility once we are done with our freestyle competition. Now - it's back to freestyle!

Goodnight Sweet Jacquelyn...

It is with a heavy heart that I let you know that I said goodbye to my little Jacquelyn on Saturday. She had been pretty sick since last Sunday. After showing some improvement on Friday, she took a turn for the worse Saturday afternoon and we knew it was time to let her good. She passed quietly and peacefully wrapped in her favorite blanket in my arms.

Jacquelyn was a very special little girl. She came into the rescue about 3 years ago and her arthritis was so bad, the director called me with a very basic question - is there anything we can do, or is letting her go peacefully to the bridge the best option?

She could barely walk. If she laid down, she couldn't stand back up on her own. If you touched her, she'd scream in pain. I volunteered to take her to my alternative medicine vet (also a DVM) to see if accupuncture might help. The look in her eyes was so sad and empty, as if she had already given up. I “asked” Jacquelyn to give me two weeks to see if this might help, and if not - we'd let her go so she didn't have to suffer.

Each morning broke my heart as I had to get her up to go outside. She screamed, I cried. We went for treatment every other day for two weeks. By day 11, I still wasn't sure and figured we would probably be saying goodbye since she was still in so much pain. However, the morning of day 12, Jacquelyn "told" me she wanted to keep fighting. I went to go help her up that morning, but before I could get there, she made the attempt to stand up on her own. She still needed help, but it was obvious she was fighting. For the first time, she really "looked" at me and I could see her spirit returning to her eyes.

We endured several more hard months, but she showed slow and steady improvement. It was such a joy to see her personality emerge. One that liked the spotlight very much. As part of her therapy, we started doing some basic freestyle skills – mostly just heeling, a few spins, and a couple weaves to help her build muscle and improve her flexibility. I’m not entirely sure that Jacquelyn ever knew she was doing freestyle, but she enjoyed going to training with us.

A highlight for Jacquelyn was when she was able to actually compete. After a lot of thought, I made the decision to enter Jacquelyn in the handi-dandi class at the upcoming competition we were attending in Austin. I could tell that Jacquelyn LOVED being part of the gang and getting to go on the adventure. Our routine was done to the song “I’m Walkin” – because her victory was truly the fact that she was able to walk into the ring. I’ve never seen her happier. She had a grin on her face and I could tell she was having a great time. My favorite picture of Jacquelyn is of her wearing her 1st place medal. I’m very thankful to all the freestylers that were there to share Jacquelyn’s “victory” with me. I had worried when entering her that some may see how she walks (still with a limp and some obvious challenges) and think “why is she doing that to that poor old dog?” But everyone cheered her along and she seemed to enjoy soaking in all the applause. It was a very special memory for both of us.

She loved having her ears rubbed, and her motto was always seemed to be "It's Jacquelyn's world, you're just living in it." She was just such a happy dog. She knew how to open the cupboards in the kitchen and more times than not I was trying to scurry her out of the pantry. She didn't think twice of walking over her sisters to get her ears rubbed, and loved nothing more than to wander out in the yard in the sunshine making piggy noises. Well, she might have liked being dressed up more than searching the yard – she’d “run” over to get a fancy collar or to have her sweater put on.

She has really taught me so much - patience, endurance, and a love for life. I was blessed with 3 more years with her than we ever thought we'd have... but it still doesn’t seem like enough. She will be truly missed.

Happy 2010!

Wow - what a year... 2009 was quite busy for us - we were able to go to four different freestyle competitions. We travelled to Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina - and enjoying having the year's freestyle conference right here in OKC. We finished several titles and had a very good time with friends along the way.

We said goodbye to our sweet little Nellie, and are grateful for each day we have with the senior girls.

We travelled back to California to spend the holidays with family. We had a great time. Pixie got to go tracking 3 times and we didn't even have to wear a jacket. One day we got to go play at the agility show n go. Pixie did very well, and Shelby had a good time - although she was a little distracted by all the activity going on. We even got to say HI to an old obedience friend - it was surprising to see that he was no longer showing akita's, but it was good to say HI and catch up.

Jacquelyn LOVES Christmas. She's quite the character. I was a little worried about how she would handle the drive. She is quite old and doesn't move so well - but that didn't stop her from sniffing each present under the tree every morning and going in and out the dog door. Roxie and Kelly sat with my dad whenever I was out doing something. Bonnie settled in quite nicely as well.

We had a great time giving a freestyle workshop at Jump Start Dog Sports in Yorba Linda, CA. This was our "sixth annual" and I am always so honored to be invited back by this group. They are a lot of fun and I enjoy spending the day with friends. Megan even joined me and attended the workshop with Pixie. They do a very nice job together.

So - now we're onto looking at 2010... not too much "planned" at this point. I did just send in my entries for the competition in Pittsburgh in March. I'm hoping I'll be able to finish up three titles - and then maybe we can focus a little bit more on tracking and agility. Pixie is doing very well with tracking, and Shelby really seems to enjoy doing agility - so that might be a nice change of pace.

Hopefully we'll see lots of our friends at events over the year. Best of luck on your way to achieving your own goals this year!

Holiday Photos...

Well, now that our competitions are mostly over for this year... we thought we'd share some of our favorite holiday photos. We hope you and your family and friends have a very merry christmas and a happy and safe new year!

September Video Competition Results

Well, the results are in - Megan & Bonnie finished their W-JFD/HTM (Junior Freestyle Dog in Heelwork To Music) title with a 1st place. Megan & Nellie finished their W-JFDX/MF (Junior Freestyle Dog Excellent in Musical Freestyle) with a 2nd place. We were really excited to receive these results, especially since little Nellie crossed over to the rainbow bridge just a few weeks after we filmed their routine. Their placements also qualified them for the first ever World Competition. So, we'll keep our fingers crossed for them.

We also qualified our pairs routine with a 2nd place - Megan dancing with Pixie and me dancing with Shelby. We entered the routine in the upcoming December video competition, so we'll be keeping our fingers crossed on that as well. This routine also qualified for the World Competition, so we'll see how that goes. I think we should get bonus points for dancing with two beagles!

I have several other routines entered in the World Competition - Roxie's ProStars MF routine, Shelby's ProStars HTM routine, Roxie & Shelby's ProStars Brace routine, and my pairs routine with Roxie and our friends Laura & Tilly. I don't anticipate we'll win any of these - but it is fun to say that we qualified and entered.

I had a really good time teaching a workshop for the Wichita Falls Obedience Club last month, and will be doing my annual visit/seminar at Jump Start Dog Sports in Yorba Linda, CA on 12/20... then I think that's it for the freestyle action this year.

After the first of the year, I'll sit down and start planning out next year's routines!

Did You Ever Have One Of Those "Doh!" Moments?

OK - so I'm at Walmart this past weekend trying to catch up on grocery shopping. On my list is laundry detergent. With 6 dogs, I do my share of laundry. Between piddle pads that I leave for the old gals while I'm at work, to dog blankets, crate pads, beds, etc... I easily do one load a day. Being single, I maybe have one or two loads on the weekends for my "stuff" (clothes and bedding, etc.).

So I'm standing there in the aisle looking at the detergent, and thinking - "wow, this stuff's expensive". I look down the line of all the brands, and I see the "Great Value" (Walmart Generic) sitting there on the shelf. I look at the Tide that I normally get because it doesn't make me itch as much as others -- as gasp, what do I see? The tide is twice the price of the generic!


Then it dawns on me!! Why, oh why, am I washing all the dog stuff in the expensive stuff? The dog stuff can just as easily be washed using the generic - at half the cost! And it is even lavender scented!


OK - I suppose it is better that I figured this out now rather than later (or never)... but really, I can just hear the "cha-chings" adding up in my head when I think about all the money I could have saved!

Dynamics Of A Spin...

A friend took this picture of Shelby spinning at our agility picnic a few weeks ago... It is probably the best picture I have of capturing favorite move of spinning. You can really see her bending to spin as tightly as possible. I've yet to figure out how she keeps from getting dizzy!

SC Freestyle News Clip

Figures Shelby is on her chimney... but Pixie looks a little bored!
http://videos.thestate.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=7201115

SC Freestyle Competition Results

We had a great weekend in Columbia, South Carolina for our last freestyle competition for this year. We had a wonderful time. The drive long, but it was an easy drive - especially since my friend Yvonne from Little Rock and her dog Aspen were able to make the trip with us.

The girls did very well. Roxie finished her Sassy Senior Championship on Saturday with a 1st place. This is our 25th WCFO title together. This little pup has come a long, long way. On Sunday, I bumped her up into the PDP (champion) class - and she got her first leg. I don't know if we'll continue to pursue this title or not, since you need five Q's with a 9.5 in both technical merit and artistic impression. That's a lot to ask from an older dog.

The other highlight is that Roxie & Shelby did a wonderful job on their brace - earning their first two advanced legs. We now only need to qualify their routine one more time for them to become the first brace champion team ever. It will be a challenge as it is a very hard class to qualify in - doing an advanced routine with one dog is hard enough, but trying it with two dogs at the same time is borderline crazy. I was just so happy to see Roxie having a good time again. Looks as though she's maybe moved past her worried about brace, so I'm hopeful we may be able to earn that last leg eventually. We still have a lot of work ahead of us.

Shelby did nicely and got her first two PDP legs. Her performance was not as solid as I would have liked with some focus issues at the beginning of each routine. So, we definitely know what we will be working on in practice. Seems like a good time to go back and reinforce the basics.

Pixie did a wonderful job on her Novice HTM routine. Saturday was a little shakey with a big attention break, but she still managed to squeak out a qualifying score. Sunday was probably the best I have ever seen her do this routine and it was darn near perfect for her. It's a pretty basic routine, but she's really starting to show some polish and potential.

Pixie and Shelby also did their brace routine and earned their first two Novice legs. I mostly entered to continue to get a feel for how these two work together. On Saturday, they came up with a really nice combination that we'll work to formalize. I also now have some ideas to start working a solid routine so that we can start trying to make it up as we go along. I'm hearing a circus theme in my head...

I was really excited to watch the other brace team. Melissa and her two pharoh-hound/basinji crosses did an amazing routine to "Walk Like An Egyptian". It was just wonderful and is probably one of the best brace routines I have seen.

All in all, it was a very good trip. It was also my first judging assignment, and I was very pleased that both Peggy & Cameron and Mandy & Sadie passed their proficiency tests. It was funny - judging was both easier and more difficult than I thought it would be. Doesn't make sense - but that is kind of how it felt.

I was also really excited to be able to watch my friend Yvonne and her dog Aspen finish up their championship. I met Yvonne several years ago when she and her friend Cindy came to one of my workshops. It is so exciting to see how far they've come and to know that they've also developed a passion for freestyle.

Needless to say, after such a successful weekend - our drive home was pretty easy. We even made it from Columbia all the way back to Little Rock on Sunday. Well, I guess we technically arrived on Monday morning - but who cares. We were singing and dancing in the car all the way home. I'm sure the dogs (and those who were driving past us) thought we were crazy - but isn't that part of the fun?

This is our last competition for this year, and it's been an amazing year. Lots of titles finished, and lots of awards that have been won. I'll take a little time off and then start setting our goals for next year... but for now, sleep is my top priority!

Feeling Crafty...

Well, not exactly sure what has gotten into me lately - but I have been trying to figure out something to do with the 150+ qualifying ribbons I have. I was at the horse show and saw frames wrapped with ribbons, and figured I'd try to duplicate it. I don't think mine turned out quite as nice - but they'll work, and I don't think they turned out half bad.

Collar Making

I've had several people ask me about the collars we use for our freestyle routines. They are the easiest things to make, and only cost about $3 - $5 depending on the types of ribbons you use.

You can usually find the trims at any hobby or fabric store. For the bottom trims with the beads, these are sometimes found with the upholstery supplies. For the top trims, any flat ribbon will work - there are prints, sequin trims, and beaded ribbons that all work well.

Anyway - I put together a little how-to video in case anyone is interested in making their own.

Happy Fall...

Every now and then, we do something just for fun. Here are some pictures of the girls at the pumpkin patch.










Pixie Helping With The Harvest...

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Jacquelyn & Bonnie Waiting For The Great Pumpkin...

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Shelby Wagging Her Tail...

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