1 year anniversary in Pet Therapy

One of the facilities where Winston and I visit had a party for him for his one year anniversary! The residents sang "How Much Is That Doggy In Window" and gave us some gifts! Winston received a basket full of dog toys and had a  grand time shredding paper.

They let me open my present!

Look at all my great toys!!

We had a great time with the residents! They had dog and bone shaped cookies!

The wonderful residents and Ms Kathy (the coordinator) gave us a lovely card, some pretty flowers; plus Winston's toys! We had a great time visiting with everyone! We enjoy our visits and I was very touched by the gifts and party for us.

Winston with all the gifts

Winston & I read our card. 

Australian Shepherd Club of America Weekend!

Mark and I are lucky enough to have an Australian Shepherd Club of America (ASCA) dog show within 40 miles of us. What makes ASCA unique is that it allows any breed of dog to attain a tracking number with ASCA and compete in agility, rally and obedience. http://asca.org/Portals/0/obedatad.pdf

We entered Winston in Novice A obedience this weekend. We were mainly interested in getting ring time for Winston (and handlers!) and helping him (them) to feel more comfortable in the ring. There was a lot going on at the show: an agility ring to the right of obedience and a confirmation show beside us. Plus it was a dirt horse arena (always a challenge for a terrier!) and there were some baby lambs present behind us somewhere, too. Winston handled it all in stride.

We had our first ring time on Friday evening at 6PM and showed under Judge Stephen Picciuolo.  All the exercises are the same in obedience for ASCA as they are for AKC but ASCA had the handlers perform the group sit and down stays before the individual exercises.  This is a good change for Winston and gave him some variety. Mark and Winston had a good performance and Q'd.  Winston just earned his first leg of Novice Obedience for ASCA.

Look at me! I WON!(bad lighting in the arena!)

We returned on Saturday morning to show again in Novice Obedience to Judge Carol Ann Hartnagle. Winston and Mark had a little trouble with the off lead heeling this time around but still managed to squeak by with a score that allowed them to Q and obtain a second leg for ASCA Novice Obedience! We also found out that on Friday, Winston and Mark earned High in Trial (HIT)!!  Winston and Mark also entered Wildcard Novice Obedience on Saturday so they could have more ring time under their belt. This class does not count towards a title but they both had a good run and received another ribbon. We were not originally planning to attend the Sunday trial but after having 2 novice A obedience legs under our belts we had the taste of victory and we decided to return on Sunday and see how things would go.

Saturday's win! 

So, today we returned to show in Novice Obedience A under Judge Susan Croswell. Winston and Mark had a great performance today and Winston earned his third leg in ASCA Obedience and a new title for ASCA--Companion Dog (CD.)

OOPS, I did it again! Another Q!

We are so happy with our little Glen! He has proved he can complete all the exercises! Now we just need two more legs in AKC Novice Obedience to have an AKC CD title.

This was a fun and laid back show and everyone was friendly and helpful. Winston earned a ton of ribbons and prizes at this show too. We are so glad we went. What a great experience! We also had 2 other unusual terriers at this show: a Border Terrier, our friend Laz, and an adorable Australian Terrier, Sidney! Terrier Power UNITE!  Thanks to the Florida Pan-Handlers ASC for having this great show! I think Winston may be the first Glen of Imaal terrier to earn an ASCA CD title! Now to conquer the last two legs for the AKC title!

WOW! Look at all my ribbons! I also won a rain poncho, can cozies, treats and some balls!

Cinco de Mayo!

Hola, amigos!