PSmitty

Very handsome! Good on you for volunteering with such a great group.

He's gorgeous! Congrats and have lots of fun with him.

Great job!

Sorry duplicate post.

I came to see how everyone was coming along, I remembered someone was having their first trial soon. I see it's actually in a couple of days, but Laura had a first fun run, so that's great, too. Here's baby Slider's first agility trial last month. We ran NFC (not for competition) at a UKI trial. If any of you have the chance to try UKI, do it! It was such a laid back atmosphere, and the training in the ring option is invaluable to baby dogs, or dogs who just need brushing up, or a confidence booster. I left it all in the video, mostly because it makes me laugh! Zoomies at the beginning (he noticed the dog who ran before us and lost his mind), zoomies at the end. Lots of bad handling from me, but I couldn't ask for more from Sly. He tried hard and had fun. We really weren't ready to trial, so it was 100% about making his first ring experience positive and fun. I think we succeeded!

Sounds like fun for all, and that is the whole point. Especially for first runs. Well done!

What Anyadogz said! Excellent advice.

I just took my 32 lb boy to his first trial, and used a 30" crate. After seeing him stuck in there all day, I'll definitely use the 36" in the future. So, I'd use your 36", you will not be hogging unnecessary space! What else to bring? The usual stuff you'd bring to class. Water, treats, poo bags. Make sure you have the right kind of collar (or no collar) and a leash that's easy to remove/put on. If it's allowed, food and drinks for you, of course (some places have a food vendor and ask for no outside food). A chair for you, jacket if it's cold inside, and a cover for the crate if he needs to be covered. Have lots of fun and don't worry. Things will not go perfectly, but as long as your dog has fun, it's ok. Your job at his first trial is to make it a good experience for him, period.

Massi is beautiful and I think she could be all BC, too. ABCR told me they thought Slider was all BC, but couldn't make any guarantees. For what it's worth, I'm convinced he's nothing but BC. I guess that doesn't matter, since you're open to mixes. And like Txmom said, they do adopt out of state, just sayin'... But Cate... seriously!

OMG, I am smitten with Cate! :wub: Go get her NOW! lol

Hi. I checked and Molly has been adopted. But, a FB friend shared this young female, also in CA. Very cute, sounds promising! https://www.facebook.com/BCRNC/photos/a.300741230039426.68513.300727733374109/1014079882038887/?type=3&theater

Great job!

Magnificent, your Lou. I know what a hole he leaves behind, but what a fantastic life he had with you.

Frogs & Dogs, I was wondering if you've looked at the Adoptable Sport and Working Dogs page? There's an awesome young female, Molly, who has been posted for a while. Looks like a super nice dog, from ABCA registered parents. Looks nice on stock, but also likes toys, frisbee, tugging and water. There are lots of pics and video on her thread. I thought she was located in WI, but recent comments say she is in southern CA now. Check her out, she looks like a gem!

I'm so sorry for your loss.

What a team. You two have a bright future, I can tell! Great job.

I tried to copy that link and couldn't get it to post, CSW. I'm smitten with Torque, he looks like a great dog!

I'm sorry for your loss, Kit was obviously a special girl. And I applaud your wish to go the rescue route again! Definitely watch the two FB pages that Maralynn mentioned, I've seen super nice dogs show up in both. Are you committed to just looking at shelter dogs? Or a dog from a rescue would be ok, too? A foster parent will have a good idea if the potential dog has the attributes you're seeking. For example, last July I adopted Slider, a BC puppy from a rescue in Texas, and he'd been in foster for about a month. Besides getting photos, I corresponded with foster mom and asked a ton of questions about him. I was looking for a few things: confidence (#1), drive (energetic, playful), good temperament, toy/food motivation, good with other dogs. Since my retired agility dog is noise sensitive, I also asked if she'd noted any issues like that, and at 4 months old, he wasn't showing any noise sensitivity so far. Nothing is a guarantee of course, but you get a little bigger picture than just a shelter evaluation. And so far, he is totally living up to my expectations. He's sweet, bold, confident, drivey and we're making good progress in herding and agility training. Having said that, just to hear how shelter dogs could go... My retired agility dog was adopted from a shelter. I didn't even see him there, someone pulled him for me. I adopted him without any evaluation at all, and he turned out to be an awesome sports partner and my heart dog. Alex went on to get championships in flyball and agility (and that was with ME as a handler, I imagine he could have excelled even more with someone competent LOL!), and we dabble in herding, as well. He is 100% the perfect dog for me, and I lucked into him entirely. So, none of that is particularly helpful, but the bottom line is there are lots of great dogs out there. I'm sure you'll find one!

He looks like a great dog for someone! Super nice.

Yay! We're working on weaves, too, so I know how exciting that is. Congrats!

My senior girl has had that problem the last few years. We started giving her a daily cranberry/d-mannose supplement, and I believe it helps.

Traits I'm looking for in an agility dog: temperamentally sound, structurally sound, not noise sensitive, confident, resilient, biddable, decent amount of drive. (all of which I found in my latest rescue!) That's not to say that an agility champion can't be made out of a dog that doesn't have all of those qualities, it's just different. (for example, my retired agility dog) I have no experience with puppies from breeders, but if I decided to go that route, I think Blackdawgs list is spot on.

Exactly. I couldn't agree more. And although I haven't made it through the entire discussion, Kristine, I share your feelings on the "it's always the handler/never the dog" issue. Dogs aren't robots. We're working with another living, thinking creature, and "off days" and mistakes are going to happen on both parts. That's life.

http://www.bordercollie.org/boards/index.php?showtopic=39315

Ah, very nice! Thanks for sharing.