Woo-hoo! We are back from a whirlwind weekend in Texas and were just about to update the blog, but — more good news first!! Halo’s OFA Thyroid test came back today and it’s a “Normal!” Happy dance. Last test up is her eye test and we have it scheduled in just a couple weeks. Puppy fever may be setting in!
Okay, back to Karmie and her AMAZING trip to Texas. This weekend we went down for a double-double. Making the trip was Karma, Wyn, Kai, and Tok. Wyn & Kai are half-brothers to Karma and Tok is everyone’s Dad (or for you formal people, Sire.) Wyn & Karma were working towards Senior Hunter titles and Kai was going for Master. Tok was along for the ride and hoping for a chance to run as a bye dog.
Saturday morning Karma went birdless in her run. It was really hot (especially compared to Colorado) and the grass was super tall. Karmie worked hard but those birdies evaded her. Thankfully, we only need 1 leg and we had 4 chances so we didn’t get too defeated.
Her afternoon run, however, was spectacular. Again, it was another field with thick, tall grass. Through the draw we had to go through, the grass was literally up to Jenny’s hip. Guess that’s why they call it the “Grasslands” 🙂 Our little 21” Karma powered through and reached the top of the draw with a slam into honor. Her bracemate was on point, but got a little too excited about the flush and gave chase. Karma held her ground and was allowed to keep hunting. She followed her nose into a nice little gulley and went on point. The bird flushed and the gunners had a great shot, the bird fell straight to the ground. Karma was sent on retrieve and as she was getting ready to pick up the downed bird, she went on point again. Weird. There was no way her bird was still alive, everyone — the gallery, the judges, and the gunners were confident that bird wasn’t still alive…Karma should not be pointing. She was given the command to “fetch it up” she looked back with a very stressed look and picked up her bird. As she did ANOTHER BIRD flew up!! Right under her nose! Now she was holding her dead bird in her mouth and she stopped to flush the flying bird. Poor Karm!! Such a stressful situation! She was called in to complete her retrieve and Judges Bernie Stokes and Linda Lantz both gave their congratulations! She definitely earned that title today!
On Sunday, Karma moved up to Master Hunter, but forgot her manners on a covey of 8 birds in the morning run. In the afternoon, she had gone on point WAY ahead of us…just as the group started approaching her, she POUNCED that bird! OMG! Karma! Guess she was working out all that pressure from being such a well behaved girlie yesterday. 🙂
Wyn was also able to pick up his last two Senior legs to finish his Senior Hunter title, and Kai picked up two legs to put him within grasping distance of his Master title.
L to R: Karma, Wyn, Kai, and Daddy Tok
It was a very successful weekend! To top it all off, we were invited to have dinner with the Trinity Valley Vizsla Club folks. It was super fun, I mean how couldn’t it be with tacos and margaritas?! Everyone was so great, and while the grounds are very different than the ones we are accustomed to running on, they are by far the NICEST we have ever seen. They have their own section of the LBJ Grasslands dedicated to dog training; complete with a covered area for their picnic tables, and indoor porta-potties. If you ever have a chance to run at a test or trial on these grounds, you gotta do it! Ok, we are totally getting back to that happy dance — updated goal list time!
Agility Goals:
-Gunner & Karma’s OF titles — DONE!
-Get Karma qualified for AKC Agility Nationals — DONE!
-Gunner’s AX title
-Gunner’s MX & MXJ titles
-Gunner’s T2B title
-Karma’s MACH
-Get Karma ranked in the Top 20 (agility)
Conformation Goals:
-Grand Championship on Indy — DONE!
-Specialty Award on Halo (BISS, BOSS, SBS, JAM) — DONE!
-Get Halo ranked in the Top 20 (show) — DONE! Feb #15, Mar #17
Obedience/Rally Goals:
-Rally Excellent on Karma — DONE!
-Companion Dog on Gunner — DONE!
-Rally Advanced Excellent on Gunner — DONE!
-Canine Good Citizens on Gunner & Halo
Field Goals: (some may be 2 year goals)
-Junior Hunter on Halo — DONE!
-Senior Hunter on Karma — DONE!
-Senior Hunter on Gunner
-Tracking Dog on Indy, Karma, and Halo
-Coursing Ability on Halo
**Need an explanation on titles? Check out our “Games” tab for write-ups on most of these events**