Agility Trial (Part I)

Hey everybody!  Sorry to keep you all in suspense for so long. Thanks for all the good wishes in the comments to our last post.  It was heartwarming to know you were all out there rooting for us! What a weekend it turned out to be for us! 


The good news is that Brutus had an amazing, hugely successful debut at the agility trial.  The only bad news is that I had to experience the whole thing with a miserable cold.  At least the adrenaline kept me going for three days, and now Brutus & I can recuperate together with a day in bed (I never call in sick, but I genuinely needed to today).  Too sick to do dentistry, but not too sick to post apparently!



Going to do this post in two installments.  Not a lot of still pictures, but I do finally have some actual video footage of me & Brutus in action.  No flash photography allowed during the event, so today I'll share the story of the weekend in a text-heavy post.  You'll have to tune in tomorrow to see the video (you've waited this long, what's another day?).

Friday morning I strapped Brutus into the car for the 20 minute drive to the trial.  He knew something was up, and perched expectantly in his seat on the way.  It was a cold, dreary morning, but when we arrived there were already quite a few other competitors there.  

Luckily our good friend Courtney (who also competed with several dogs) had saved a prime spot for us in the crating area.  I toted in all our stuff and got settled with some other people from our club in some nice ring-side seats.

This was a CPE (Canine Performance Events) trial, in which each level (there are six) has 7 different classes to compete in.  Some are numbered courses, others are "games" where each dog/handler team designs a run that satisfies certain rules in order to accumulate points.  Competitors must complete each event with a set of minimal errors to earn a qualifying score or "Q".  Once you earn enough Qs in all of the events in one level, you can move up to the next level, where courses become more difficult and have fewer allowed errors.  In short, for each event entered, the ideal result is to "Q" as well as to score higher than similarly-experienced competitors in the same jump height.  Enough of that....  (If you want to learn more about CPE agility, visit their website).  Now back to our story!


Our first order of business was to check in.  Since Brutus is newly registered, he had to be measured before the start of the trial (to official determine the jump height he competes in, which is 12").  Got that accomplished uneventfully, and picked up our course maps for the two classes we were competing in the first day.  Here's one of our maps (we'll show you the actual footage of this course tomorrow in the video):

Before each class there is a walk-through, so that the handlers (without their dogs) can get on the course to do a sort of dry run (check timing, distances, ect).  This was a much easier course than what Brutus and I had been training for, so I was quite relieved.  Basically a loop around the ring.  Easy enough, but I still went over & over the run in my mind in preparation.  The only warm-up allowed for the dogs is one practice obstacle (typically a jump) placed just outside the ring for all competitors to share.


In all types & levels of agility, dogs must compete with nothing attached to them (not even a collar), and no treats/toys are allowed on course. Handlers can use unlimited verbal and visual cueing (hand signals, ect), but cannot touch the dog or the obstacles during the run.  Here's our view of the course from the gate:

So after my walk-through of the course, I got Brutus ready with a quick walk & potty break, then back inside to get him focussed.  Warmed up with some basic obedience maneuvers, lots of treats, and several practice jumps to get him just excited enough.  The runs go pretty fast, and soon it was our turn.  My mouth was dry (thanks in part to copious decongestants, as well as a good helping of adrenaline) as I placed Brutus at the start line & tossed aside his collar and leash.   I had practiced as much positive visualization as I could, but couldn't help fearing that Brutus would just take off with a case of the zoomies or totally ignore me.  Yikes.


I got the go-ahead from the timer, gave Brutus his release command ("OK, jump"), and off we went!



Our first run is a total blur in my mind. Thank goodness for Courtney's videotaping us, or I still would be wondering what we had actually done out there!  It seemed like everything happened in fast-forward.  But other than few seconds wasted in distraction (to go try to make friends with the judge, since she stands in the middle of the course), Brutus did EXACTLY what I asked him to.  Jumps, tunnels, dogwalks, A-frames, changes of direction, he actually did it.  My handling was certainly a bit wild, but still - we accomplished what we went out there to do!  Not only did we finish the course without disqualifying ourselves,  we did it pretty darn well!!  In fact, we actually managed a qualifying score on our run.  Our very first agility Q on our maiden run, and we placed 2nd in the class!  Here's a proud Brutus, relaxing after our run and modeling his winnings:

The second run of the day was even better.  I wasn't as nervous, knowing Brutus was actually performing better than he does in training.  Seems like he knows when he's in the spotlight & rises to the occasion.  We finished the second class with a completely clean course, no faults/errors.  As if that wasn't enough, Brutus was actually FAST - much faster than any of our training runs.  Once I adjusted to this fact & settled down a little myself, the rest of the weekend got even better.  We ended up qualifying in all our of 6 runs over the course of the three days (5 of which were clean/no faults), much to my complete amazement.   Talk about a successful weekend - yippee!!  Here is an actual score sheet to prove we had the the best score out of about 8 dogs that ran the course (although placements are awarded in each jump height), we still would have 1st if the whole class had been scored together.  We're listed about half way down, with a time of 22.65 seconds and 0 faults.  That's out of an allowed time of 49 seconds - only one dog (a lab) ran faster (by less than a tenth of a second), but had 10 faults:

Brutus & I actually won all but one class (came in 2nd there) we entered, so home with 5 blue ribbons and one red, in addition to the 6 teal qualifying ribbons - but the ribbons are just the icing on the cake.  The fact that Brutus behaved so well at the trial, and even more importantly that we both had fun was my biggest gratification.  We are apparently pretty entertaining to watch, with people being surprised how agile Brutus is for his build (it's been said he jumps like a frog), and gather quite a crowd when we run.  Not surprisingly, Brutus just soaks up all the attention and showed no sign of stress whatsoever (wish I could have said as much for myself!!)


We were both tired at the end of three days of trialing, and very happy to go home and rest on (or in Brutus' case in this photo, under) our laurels for a few days:

Hope I didn't bore you with all that commentary.  I'm just so excited to share our accomplishments, however silly they might seem in the grand scheme of things.  Now if I could just get Brutus to be less crazy at home....  Anyhoo....


Tomorrow I promise to have a shorter post for you to enjoy, including a video I have been promising our followers for the last 6 months!!  So tune in then to see me & my fabulous agility Frenchie in action!

Thanks for all the Awards!!

Hope that everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving day!  Although I spent the majority of it in bed with a miserable chest cold, I got up long enough to enjoy some turkey, stuffing & pumpkin pie!  I should be thankful, actually, as this is the first time in 2 years I've been sick, plus Brutus turned out to be a much better snuggler over the course of 36 hours than I ever would have guessed!

Without further ado, let me get on to posting some fantastic awards we've been given over the past few days:

From our new schnauzer pals Nellie & Calvert as well as our good buddy Dory:

From the lovely (& not to mention sassy) Sasha:

And from our pug pal all the way over in Norway, Bajas:

There would be so many of you to pass these along to, I wouldn't know where to start!  I wanted to post the awards to show our gratitude to those who thought so kindly to bestow them, but I'm afraid I have to keep this short today.   Please feel free to help yourself to any of our fabulous awards!

We awoke this morning to a surprise: the first snow of the season here in Ohio.  I must wrap up this post quickly, as Brutus and I have our big agility debut in a few hours, and need to still get a walk in to settle him down before we go!  I'll leave you with some quick photos of Brutus out in the snowflakes for the first time (he was still itty-bitty last year and seems to be taking them in as a whole new experience!)

You say I saw this stuff last year, mom?  Really?  I don't like it...

I think the sky is falling - I'm going back inside!!

Wish us luck - we'll be jumping, tunneling and climbing until you hear from us again!!

Thoughts from a Thankful Frenchie

Our pal Frankie Furter had the idea for all us doggies to do a post on Thanksgiving to let our parents know how thankful we are that they adopted us. From what I understand we are supposed to talk about what our lives and our pawrents lives were like before we met, and what has changed since the day we were adopted. Here goes - hope I do ya proud, Frankie!!

I was born near Toledo, Ohio in July of 2008. I don't remember much about the place, but I found these pictures of my actual parents. Here is my dad, Romain Pierre.

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And here is my mom, Acacia Belle. She is really all I can remember about the first 12 weeks of my life. I spent pretty much every moment with her in a big kennel until the day I was adopted.

I had two brothers (brindle like me) and two sisters (they were fawns like dad); my sisters were adopted first, leaving me and my two brothers to find homes. One day the breeder lady came in and picked up my two brothers, leaving me all alone with mom. I was really scared, wondering where everybody went.

Meanwhile my pawrents (who I will refer to as mom & dad from here on in) were meeting my brothers - one of them was totally crazy, spinning in circles and just a ball of energy. The other one was so quiet and shy that he just sat in the corner. My mom and dad played with them for a while, but just didn't think either was the right puppy for them. That's when the breeder lady said  "Oh, there's still one more little boy" and came back in and picked me up (phew!!).  She put me down in the playpen & I was relieved to see my brothers (even the crazy one). I don't think I'd been picked up by humans much, because when mom picked me up, I spread out my legs because I thought I was falling!

Mom and dad both held and played with all of us, then decided I was a "happy medium" - not so shy as my one brother, but not crazy (hehe I had them fooled) as my other brother. Here is a picture they took of me right after they decided that I was the puppy for them.  I sure am thankful that I grew into those ears!!

Finally it was time to go to my new home. It took a few hours in the car to get there, and I didn't know what to think. I wondered where Belle and my brothers were, but my new mom cuddled with me so that I didn't get too scared. When I finally got to my forever home, I was happy to find that I had two older brothers, Duncan and Mason. Here's dad supervising my first meeting with Mason:

And old Duncan even let me cuddle up with him sometimes (he was about the same size as mom my mom, so it just felt right...)

So adding me to the pack was pretty uneventful, although mom says she hasn't had a moment of peace and quiet since then!  Other than some common infections that the vet found when she checked me (I guess a lot of puppies that start out their life in kennels get parasites - yuck), I had no trouble in my new home.  In fact, I took over in a hurry!  The first night turned out to be the only one I ever spent in my crate - I cried so much the second night that dad caved and told mom to go get me.  Ever since then I've slept in the bed between my humans, head on the pillow just like them! In fact I have to be reminded on a regular basis that I'm a dog, not a human (although I don't totally buy into that fact).

It just so happens that mom used to work like 50 hours each week, but she had decided to make some changes just before I was adopted.  Since she's got a lot more free time, I gladly took it upon myself to make sure she never gets bored!  First we started puppy classes, so that I could meet other doggies and learn how to be good on a leash. I learn fast, and it turns out that I'm a pretty energetic boy (especially for a Frenchie) so mom kept signing me up for more classes to keep me busy. That's how I got into all the obedience and agility showing - guess it's sorta turned into mom's new hobby.  Not that I mind!  Besides, I love having a "job" and being in the spotlight, plus I get to spend lots of time with mom AND lots of treats!

I am so thankful to have such a great home and life.  A warm, safe place to curl up in every night, lots of places to go & doggies to play with, and a family that loves me.  I'm also thankful for some of the more unusual things I have, like my very own blog and tons of furiends all over the world!  Even if that means mom takes silly pictures of me, like this one of me wearing a pilgrim hat....

Good thing I took over posting for Thanksgiving, or who knows how many other silly pilgrim-type pictures there would have been (I put that one in just to appease mom).  

Nevertheless, I love sharing my life with you all!  I know I can speak for mom in saying we feel like we're part of a huge, caring family that goes far beyond what we can see.  Our heartfelt wishes that you & your humans all have the happiest Thanksgiving ever, and that your homes are full of love and joy this holiday season.  

Now if I can just get this silly hat off....

(almost) Wordless (almost) Wednesday

The Theory of Evolution, 

as observed by Frenchies:

"Big" things (well, sort of)

It was a quiet weekend for us.  The biggest news is that for the 6th time straight, the Buckeyes beat Michigan, clenching an undisputed Big 10 conference title!

Other than that not much going on here in Ohio; the calm before the storm for me & Brutus.  Not much to post from our relaxing weekend, so I thought we'd follow up on something from a prior post that got a lot of comments.

Remember the seeds I brought home from our summer trip to Sequoia National Park?

Last I reported (click here to see the post), we were excited to see a seedling sprout!  I commented on how amazing it was that this teeny little baby tree had the potential to turn into the largest, longest-living thing on earth!

Even Brutus was interested (although he was just hoping it was something to eat).

So yesterday we were checking out the babies to see how things were coming....

.. and look how much they've grown!  Two more seedlings appeared, and the biggest is almost to the top of the container already! By my measurement, it is over 4 inches tall!

Sequoias can grow 2-3 feet a year, with the potential to reach a height of over 300 feet.   The oldest trees,called "monarchs" are so enormous - up to 60 feet in diameter at the base! Still it is hard to believe that these little seedlings could live to be over 3000 years old (the oldest one still standing is thought to be over 3500!!). 

Pictured below is the the General Sherman tree at Sequioa National Forest in Califormia.  He is 275 feet tall, and over 100 feet in circumference at ground level!  For all you math-doers out there, that gives him a total volume of over 52,000 cubic feet, making General Sherman the largest tree in the world!  If you look closely at the bottom of the picture, those tiny-looking things are people - doesn't that put things into perspective???

So for now, we'll keep watering & caring for these little guys - keep your fingers crossed that they survive the upcoming transplant. Maybe some day we can decorate them some year in the future for Christmas!

No, Brutus - you still can't eat it! Perhaps he's dreaming of "watering" these trees someday...

A rare Saturday post!

It's the weekend!  Yippee!!


We didn't post Friday - oooops.....  Well, I tried to post, but blogger ate it.  Spent all sorts of time to get it just right, one last tweak before publishing and *poof*.  Gone.  Aaaaahhhh!  Nooooooooo!


Ahem. So, I have regained my composure after a good nights' sleep.  Here we go again....


Today is Ohio State's last game of the season, going out with bang in the annual game against our biggest rivals from Ann Arbor, Michigan.  It's an early kick-off, so Brutus is already in his pre-game routine.  He he is whispering a few tips to Tressel...

Those of you who are regular followers will remember that we spent most of the season trash talking with Sasha about her Wisconsin Squirrels Beavers Badgers.  After having properly dealt with Bucky, we now turn our attention to the Michigan Wolverines.  Need I mention that they haven't won a game against OSU in over 5 years?  

Don't even think about touching this football if you are a Michigan fan.  That is unless you don't like your fingers (hehehe).

Hey, Oskar .... Isn't that you team???  Any last words, buddy??

Ohio Sate already has their appearance in the Rose Bowl locked in, so todays game is just for fun.  A nice little butt-kicking to end the season on a good note.

Speaking of butts*, I am also posting our entry into JD & Max's Bootylicious contest.

*If that seems like a strange segue, consider that all Michigan is going to see are the behinds of the OSU players as they run down the field!!

Anyhoo...  There are several categories, some Brutus really doesn't qualify for since he almost nothing to speak of as a tail. So I picked out a bunch of my favorites.

This is one of our most popular photos ever with our followers.  Looks like Brutus is a bored little kid peering out the window.  The best part is how the jersey just barely covers his little hiney.

Here is Brutus' derriere doing what it does best, agility.  How do you think we build up those fabulous muscles anyways?

If there is a "Shiniest Buns" division, this photo would be a perfect entry!

I like to call this shot "Drumsticks" or "Thunder Thighs"

Thanks to Max & JD for hosting such a fun contest.  We know how much work it is to put something together now, so really appreciate all our friends creativity and efforts in holding contests!!


Phew!  I did it.  Posted.  And my browser only crashed twice while I was working.  Anyone else having problems with the "new & improved" editor from blogger??  Yikes.


Have a great weekend everyone!  See ya Monday!

We Pawed it Forward!!!

Hi everybody - Brutus here!  

Mom is letting me do the post today because I was just SOOO excited about the project we just wrapped up.  You might remember that a few weeks ago we received a fantabulous package from the relentlessly huge himself, Mango.  It was really fun to get a gift like that, and I am still enjoying all the wonderful things he picked out to send me (I even shared a little with Mason).  It was part of a game called Paw it Forward, and to keep up with our part of the deal in playing, we needed to send gifts to three of our friends.

A few days ago mom loaded me up in the car & strapped on my harness.  It wasn't time for agility or any of my training, so I wondered where we were headed

After a short ride, I found out: we were going SHOPPING!!!  Oh man, I love this place!

Mom said we were there to buy the gifts to send to our friends for the Paw It Forward game.  She let me help pick things out, so of course I headed right for one of my favorite aisles!

We had tons of fun picking out fun things to send.  I wanted to make sure we had the perfect pressies for everyone on our list!  Let's see - there's the stuff for Lucy & Tank....  Got some things for Captian & Candy....  What about Deborah's dogs??? 

We finished up our shopping, including a bag of food for our Mason.  We were in the store for a LONG time!  BTW, I always walk around and help shop from the ground.  Mom just plopped me in the cart to inspect the goods (or do you think she did that just to take a picture? Hmmm...).

When we got home mom unpacked everything and laid it out so I could make sure all my buddies had enough stuff.  She also got out some other things she had picked up on a separate shopping trip (without moi, the nerve).  Look at Mason in the background - he was saying "Dude - Mom said to stay away!!  You're gonna be in trouble!  I'm telling...."

Mom found boxes to pack up all the goodies, so that the postman could take them to our friends.  Mason & I kept a close eye on things to be sure that nothing got left out.

I insisted on testing a few things to ensure they were safe for our little friends to play with. Can't figure why mom kept taking them back.  I was only trying to help.....

Next I got busy on the cards.  Mom wrote the notes (my penmanship isn't so hot), but let me sign each one to give it a more personal touch.  As you can see, I took this responsibility very seriously!

I guess you could say that she caught me red-pawed here BOL!

Mom took care of the final packaging details while Mason & I rested on the couch.

After a power nap, I made sure to inspect the packages to make sure she had done it properly. Looked like a good job to me (I would have had a heck of a time with that tape gun myself!), so I gave her packaging job my seal of approval.  

Last thing was to check and make sure that all boxes were labeled & addressed properly so that the postman can deliver them to my friends.  Gee, he must be in really good shape to carry these boxes all the way to California, Arizona & Massachusetts!  Poor guy....

Well, off to the post office they go.  Mom said she had to do that part by herself, since doggies aren't allowed in - whatever!  Actually I was so tired by this point that I was glad to have a little peace and quiet.  Supervising is hard work, you know!!!

So to Captain & Candy (over at I Need a Sugar Fix), Lucy & Tank (from the Plus Size Pug blog) and Deborah and all her pack (at Amazing Animal Lovers' Blog), your presents are officially on the way!!  Hope that the snail mail isn't too jammed up with christmas catalogs, because Mom said they should take no more than a week to get to you.  

Thanks for playing along everyone!  Hope you enjoy having your gifts as much as we did picking them out.  It really is better to give than to receive!  

Now don't forget to Paw it Forward!!!!