Really Busy Summer/Fall 2011

Hello to everyone! Hope you all had a great summer!
Hazel and I were very busy this summer with training for hunt tests and obedience competitions, as well as traveling to trials and ACC specialties far and wide! All of our hard work payed off though and we were able to accomplish our goals that I had set for this year.

In July we entered our first Senior hunter test and passed!


We then traveled to Hibbing, MN for the ACC field trial specialty the first week of August and ran in the qualifying, but three days travel in the van and no training created a "wild dog" that didn't mark the birds very well! But she sure had fun!


After the specialty we ran a hunt test in Duluth,MN and suffered the same fate as above. But we did have fun traveling and seeing folks that we hadn't seen in a couple of years as well as, making new friends. Can't wait for next years field specialty in Idaho, what a sight-seeing trip that will be!
By the second weekend of August we were back on track and got our second senior pass, followed up with two more passes the last weekend of the month!


Senior Hunter title in the bag, now onto Utility Obedience title!
We had gotten one UD pass in June, but then put the obedience on the back burner to concentrate on our field training. The ACC Show specialty was held in Carlisle, PA so I planned on entering utility there. Even though it was outdoors, and very warm for the end of September, Hazel performed well and got her second UD leg!

We also earned an RAE leg and second place in Team Obedience where our team was the talk of the show!
Can't imagine why?


Then it was onto the working dog stakes on Sunday, and Hazel was happy again, doing what she loves most!
She performed beautifully and earned her WDQ title.


After all the excitement of the Specialty, we headed to VA for a little R&R on the Skyline Drive, where we had a great time in the mountains, saw lots of deer, black bears and even two rattlesnakes!!!!!




But the main reason for the VA visit was to meet Wes Christopher of Tugboat Kennels and his dog Rogue, who I was interested in using as a stud dog for Hazel. The meeting went well, I was pleased with what I saw and apparently so was Hazel! Two days after we arrived home, she came into heat (she wasn't really due until November)! So multiple progesterone tests and two weeks later we headed back to VA for the breeding to take place!
Check out the "Puppies" page for more info on that!

Finally back home and hopefully bred, our next stop was Burlington, VT for an obedience trial the first weekend of November. Again, Hazel didn't let me down and got two qualifying scores for her third leg and a "bumper" leg to spare!


So what's next on our plate for CH Blucollars Hocus Pocus RE UD SH WDQ TDI?
An ultrasound today confirmed that she is pregnant, so it's motherhood for the winter and then back to field training in the spring, with a whole new set of goals to strive for!