We enjoyed our first Agility show this year!

Hi! It's Cinnamon again.

We went to our first Agility show this year on Saturday.

Although we had entered for both Saturday and Sunday, our humans decided to go to the show on Saturday only because rain was forecast for Sunday. We wouldn't have minded some rain, but our humans don't like rain!

On the day we left home at 9am in order to compete in the 2nd round of classes on the day. When we arrived at the venue in Tokoroa, two and a half hours from our house, the first round of classes were still going on. So, we had a walk around in the large field before preparing for our runs.

In the competitions I really enjoyed running and jumping, as you can see!

Although I got only one CR in Novice from my three runs in Intermediate 2, Novice 2, and ADX, I had a wonderful time doing what I love!

But, what made my humans and me even happier was that Mint was enjoying himself as well! At the same show a year ago he didn't seem to be enjoying Agility as much as I was, as I wrote in my post about the show here.

Mint was focused in all his three runs on the day and he even got his first CR in ADX as well as a CR in Novice!!

Now I can't wait for our next Agility show! And I hope to do better in the show!

Agility is SUPER fun!

Hi! It's Cinnamon ;-)

I am sorry I was absent from this blog for a while. But, it doesn't mean that I was sick or anything. As Mint wanted to write posts, I let him do so.

Time flies! The first month of the year has finished already! This week we had the first training night of the year at our dog training club, Manukau Dog Training Club, where Mint and I practise dancing.

Well today's post is not about dancing. It's about Agility.

As the title indicates, I have been enjoying Agility so much! This year I have been to two Agility competitions and got three 2nd place ribbons ;-)

It's been seven years since I first started learning Agility, but I have never enjoyed the sport as much as I do now. I have always loved running and jumping, but I had often felt stressed at Agility shows, because Mum always got nervous before my runs and there were other dogs near me around the ring. But, I don't get stressed any more as Mum doesn't get nervous any more. Both Mum and I have learned to enjoy the moment ;-)

Previously Mum always tried to keep my attention on her before my runs and she didn't let me put my nose to the ground. But, now she doesn't mind me doing anything as far as I am happy. She doesn't even try to interrupt me if I start barking from excitement before my runs. (Yes, I get aroused when I know that I am running soon.) Because she doesn't interrupt me, I can focus on my upcoming run. And, if I am focused, I don't care about other dogs.

I hope Mint enjoys Agility more than he does now. He is getting better but he is still often unfocused in the ring. I know he can run fast, but he somehow doesn't try his best to run fast in the Agility ring. At least his start on his runs has improved since Mum started guiding him to the start line by doing some dance moves, which prevents him from getting nervous. All he has to learn to do is believe in himself and be confident!!

By the way, at an Agility show in Tokoroa last month, all the five Beagles currently actively competing in Agility in New Zealand got together! It was a very nice reunion!! All the other three Beagles are more advanced than us. I am very proud of them as a fellow Agility Beagle!!

From Left Bella, Barry, Halo, Mint, and Cinnamon

I can't wait for the next Agility show!!

A long weekend full of Agility

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

We went to NZDAC (NZ Dog Agility Championship) over the Labour Weekend, 23-26 October. Every year the biggest annual Agility event in NZ is held in a different location, hosted by one of the five regions in turn. This year it was held in Tokoroa, about two and a half hour from our house, hosted by the region 2, the Central North Island.

Because Tokoroa is a small rural town, there aren't many accommodations. So, we stayed in Rotorua, forty minutes from Tokoroa.

As the event started midday on Friday, we left home in the morning on the day and arrived at the venue, Tokoroa Memorial Sports Ground around 9:30am. More than anything, we were overwhelmed by the size of the whole venue! We had never seen such big sports grounds. In addition to the space for 8 Agility rings, camping sites, day tent sites, and huge day car park areas, there were multiple spacious dog exercise areas (each was bigger than most parks in our neighbourhood!).

Over the four days from Friday to Monday, there were three Jumpers events and three Agility events. We had entered all of them, but on the last day we decided to scratch our entries for the last Agility event and came home early to avoid a heavy traffic of people coming home from their holidays.

In total Mint and I had eight runs each, and Mint got five clear rounds (CRs) while I got four CRs. We didn't get any ribbons, but I think that we did pretty well, considering that we hadn't done Agility much for the last six months as we had a winter break from Agility. We are especially happy that all our Jumpers runs went CLEAR! Now Mint needs one more CR in Jumpers C to get the JD (Jumpers Dog) title.

Overall Mint got three CRs in Jumpers C and two CRs in Novice.

I, Cinnamon, got three CRs in Jumpers B and one CR in Novice.

Apart from Agility, we also had lots of fun with other dogs every day!!

Our next Agility show will be at our club's grounds this month. I hope we will do even better!!

Mint has got a girlfriend!!

Hi! It's Cinnamon!!

Yes, you got it right. It's true that Mint has got a girlfriend for the first time in his life!

Well, if you have been following our blog, you may already know the girl. In my first post of the year I wrote about her. Do you remember that Mint performed with a twelve-year-old girl in a Paws n Music (dog dancing) competition last October. Her name is Amy. Last month Amy and Mint set out for a new adventure together! They made a debut as a handler/dog pair at an agility trial!! Amy had never attended any agility classes, so it was a big challenge for her!

After the dog dancing competition last October, Mum asked Amy if she was interested in doing agility with Mint too, and her answer was yes. So, at our dog training club Mum asked an agility instructor if she could let Amy have a run on a course with Mint just for a try, and it went really well, so Mum entered Mint with Amy in an agility competition in January.

However, because there was a long summer break, they didn't have a chance to practise agility at the dog training club before their first competition. So, instead, Mum invited Amy to do some practise in our backyard. They had two short practise sessions in our small backyard. When she came, we also had some fun doing silly things like this!

Their first agility competition took place over the last weekend of January. Amy and Mint had two runs, all in the Jumpers C class, each day. On Saturday their first run went really well! It didn't went clear only because Mint knocked off one rail. Their second run didn't go as well as the first one, because Mint started sniffing. On Sunday in their first run Mint started moving before Amy gave him a cue to start, so she missed a chance to give him a command for the first couple of jumps. However, they did really well for the rest of the course. In their second run of the day Mint got naughty again and took off to check out something outside the ring not once but twice!

Although they didn't get a clear round in their first competition, I think Amy did really well!!!! As I said, she had never been to any agility classes. Nevertheless, she handled Mint really nicely as you can see in this video of their first run on Sunday. Well done Amy!!

Last week Amy and Mint attended an agility class together for the first time, where they did really well. I look forward to seeing them running together in their next competition, which is going to be a ribbon trial in early March.

How we have been doing in competitions recently

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

I just realised that I hadn't posted about how we have been doing in competitions this year. Sorry this post may be boring for many of you, but I wanted to post it as a record.

As you may know, we compete in Agility, Obedience, Rally Obedience, and Paws n Music. As for Paws n Music, last year there was no competition in or near Auckland, except for a video competition which Mint won (I didn't enter it), and this year there is no competition until National Dog Obedience Assembly (NDOA) in October. So, the last competition we went to is NDOA in 2011, where I got first and Mint second in Elementary Freestyle.

Early this year we had to withdraw from quite a few competitions because of Mint's frequent seizures. So, we haven't been to many competitions this year. We have been to three Agility competitions, three Obedience competitions, and one Rally Obedience competition. We haven't done any agility since mid-March after Mint had multiple seizures on the day after our last agility competition. Although we don't know what caused those seizures, we haven't done agility at all since the day just in case.

In the last Agility competition we went to, I won Novice. As I was doing really well in agility at that time, Mum wanted to continue to compete with me in Agility but decided to have a break because it was getting cold towards winter anyway.

Mint has competed in three Obedience competitions this year (I haven't competed in Obedience this year). In the first one Mint did really well in heelwork but broke his stay. In the second one, his heelwork was not as good as it usually is but he managed to get a 4th place because he didn't break his stays. And, in the third one last weekend, although his heelwork was better than the previous time, he broke his stays again.

In the only Rally Obedience competition we have been to this year, Mum made a lot of mistakes because she hadn't practised Rally-O for a long time. Because of her mistakes, I couldn't qualify in one of two rounds that I had. But, I got a 3rd place in the other round in Novice B. Mint qualified in both of two rounds he had, but he didn't get placed. Now that Mint has got three or more than Novice qualifying certificate, he is eligible for a RN (Rally Novice) title, which lazy Mum hasn't applied for.

Currently we train in Obedience and Paws n Music once a week on the same day. In Obedience Mint's biggest challenge is stays and mine is the dumbbell. (I can't sit close enough to Mum with my dumbbell in my mouth.) In Paws n Music both of us are just staring to work on our new routines.

Our last competition of the year

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

Last Saturday we went to Cambridge for our last agility & obedience competition of the year.

The venue is one hour and a half away from home and entries were to be taken from 7:15am. So, we got up very early when it was still dark outside and left home before 6am.

Leaving home at dawn

Many people were camping at the site

This time Mint entered Novice, Intermediate, and Jumpers C, and I entered Starters, Novice, and Jumpers C. Detailed report of each run of ours may be boring for some, so here I report the result only for agility.

Having a rest after having two runs each

Mint went clear in all of his three runs, even in his very first Intermediate. Well done, Mint!

Mint was flat out after finishing all his runs

I missed a clear round in Novice, as I entered the weaves from the wrong (left) side. But, yay, I got a 2nd place in Starters (Mini & Micro combined) and WON Jumpers C (Mini & Micro combined)! It was my first win after my very first win in Elementary B at the same venue in the same competition last year!

Me won the Jumpers C!

Well, as I said at the beginning of this post, this event was an agility & obedience competition, and Mint entered Special Beginners. This class consists of five components, on-lead heelwork, off-lead heelwork, recall, sit stay, and down stay. Mint did very well in the first three components that each dog does separately, but he broke his sit stay by standing up and sitting again, which lead to a big point reduction. But, he still managed to get a 2nd place.

Mint got a 2md place in Special Beginners in Obedience

Overall, Mum looked really happy with how we did, which makes us happy too! It was also good that we finished off the year with good results.

Now we will have a long break from training with instructors, but I am sure Mum will do some training at home occasionally. I hope both Mint and I will do even better next year!

Our first big agility championship event - Day 4

On the last day of our first big agility event, Mint and I entered three classes each; Jumpers C1, Jumpers C2, and Jumpers C3. Jumpers C1 and Jumpers C2 were held in the morning and Jumpers C3 in the afternoon.

We got up a little earlier than the previous two days, as we had to pack up all our belongings before departing the motel and arrive at the agility venue early enough to get ready for our first runs in the morning.

Fortunately it was not raining and the ground was not too wet when we arrived. After we had a morning walk in the exercise area, Mum went to walk the first two courses. It seems that Mum wanted to choose only one of the two for me to run, thinking that three runs in one day would be too much for me. But, each course had something I was not good at, so she decided to do both courses with me.

The first one, Jumpers C2, had three tunnels in parallel. As Mum knew that I don't like tunnels, she was a bit worried about them.

First Mint got a clear round, and about ten dogs after him it was my turn. I made a good start, waiting patiently until Mum said 'Ok, come!' But, just before the second tunnel I was distracted by something and started sniffing the ground. I knew Mum was calling me, but I didn't want to go that way, as the next obstacle was a tunnel!! Because Mum kept calling me, I gave in and started walking toward Mum, but at the next moment I got confused and went through a tunnel in a wrong way, for which I got disqualified...

In the second one, Jumpers C1, one tunnel was placed far out in a corner. If I had been good at tunnels, Mum would have been able to send me away to let me go through the tunnel. But, I don't like tunnels, Mum had to run with me up close to the tunnel to ensure that I would enter it without going around it.

This time my running order was before Mint's. My run started very nicely until at one point Mum said "Come!" But, it was too late to follow her command, so I jumped over a hurdle that I saw in front of me. What do you think Mum said then? She said "You did the right thing!!" Yes, it was Mum who got the course wrong, and what I did was correct!! After that, I kept running without any mistakes and finally made a clear round!! Well done, me!!

Mint? Yes, he got another clear round (^^)

Yay! I finally managed a clear round!

After these runs in two classes in the morning, we had a looooong wait. So, Mum took me to a mobile Bowen therapy clinic at the site for a short session of treatment. It was so comfortable and relaxing!!

I like her massage. She must be a very good therapist.

In our finals runs, while Mint got another clear round, I got a big time fault although I didn't make any mistakes in terms of jumps and tunnels, because I just couldn't help checking some smells I found in the middle of the course. What would you expect Beagles to do when they are free in the field after all? I think that Mint is an unusual Beagle and I am just a typical one!!

Mint flaying high.

Mint making a nice and sharp turn.

After Mum collected our clear round certificates and gave cheers for our friend Bella the Beagle getting a 2nd place ribbon at the prizegiving, we left the venue and headed home.

We were flat-out when we arrived home, but it was a wonderful experience!!

Mint tired after a big trip.

Our first big agility championship event - Day 3

On the third day of our trip it kept raining all day. At times the wind got so strong that jumps with wings were being blown to fall over.

No one was using it...

On the day we had only one run each; Starters 3. This time again my running order was before Mint's.

Before the judging started at 7.30am, Mum took me out of my crate and we went to the practise area. In the practise area we did a few jumps to warm up. What impressed me was that Mum gave treats extremely generously. Because Mum gave me treats one after another, I couldn't move my eyes away from her so that I wouldn't miss any bits! When I realised, I was already in the waiting area, and someone told us that it was our turn next.

I was a good girl, waiting on the start line without moving until Mum said "OK, come!". I ran very well but again missed didn't enter the weaves correctly, resulting in one fault.

On the other hand, Mint did really well making no mistakes ... and managed a clear round! Well done Mint!!

After our runs we had a chance to exercise off leash in the dog exercise area when no other dogs were using it.

We love running off leash!

Mum usually doesn't let us off leash when other dogs are around unless we know the dogs.

Mum doesn't let us off when there are other dogs around...

The majority of the dogs in the event were of course Border Collies!!

Later Mum went to the office building to get Mint's certificate. What do you think she found there? Mint had been placed the THIRD!!!

Well done, Mint!!!

That is a wonderful achievement! I am super proud of Mint who got a ribbon in his first big agility event!!!

After the prizegiving (in heavy rain!!) we went back to our motel and had a short walk in the neighbourhood. I thought we would spend the rest of the day in the motel room, but Mum told us to get in the car after Mint and I had dinner. About ten minutes later we arrived at a house in a residential area. When we got off the car, we saw a couple smiling at us on a porch of the house. I recognised their faces - the people who came to see us at the agility venue the day before!!

We had a wonderful time with them in their house! They encouraged Mum to let us free in the house. They didn't even mind us jumping on their couches!! But, it was so hard not to jump up while dinner for humans was being prepared!

Sitting patiently in the kitchen

But, it was worth being patient. They gave us a little share of their meal after the humans finished dinner. It was so yummy!!!

Back in our motel, we had a good sleep, dreaming about the delicious meat that we had had the night. zzzzz

Our first big agility championship event - Day 2

On the second day of our trip, we got up 5am in the morning and left our motel in Hamilton around 6am to head for our championship venue in Cambridge. We thought there would be lots of cars in the parking area, but there were only a few when we arrived at 6.30am. However, there were many dogs walking in the dog exercise area, many of whom had perhaps camped on the camping ground on the site.

This photo was taken the day before

Mint and I had two runs each; Starters 1 and Starters 2.

Our first runs were Starters 1. Mint had a slow start but gradually picked up the speed. Then, he entered the weaves, the third obstacle from the last, from the wrong side! So, Mum had to quickly bring him back to the entry to the weaves, then Mint did the weaves beautifully without missing a pole. But, because of the first failed attempt at the weaves, his run didn't go clear.

Mint

Well, as for my first run in Starters 1 ... I must admit that I ran out of the ring after two obstacles. I did it, because I wanted to go to toilet!! Mum was so nervous before the run that she forgot to let me do it. At the last moment before my run, she noticed what I wanted to do and quickly took me out of the waiting area, but it was too late! We had to go back to the start line before I did it!

After our first runs, we had a long wait. In Starters 2, our second runs on the day, my running order was before Mint's.

This time I didn't run out of the ring, as I didn't need to go to toilet this time. I think I did pretty well, but at the weaves, the second obstacle from the last, I missed the last pole!! About ten dogs after me, Mint had his run and he made the same mistake, missing the last pole!!

After our runs, a cheerful woman came to introduce herself to us. It turned out that she was one of fans of our Facebook page. It was wonderful to meet someone who knew us only in the cyberspace in person! I was so happy that I kissed her and her husband many times!

After all, we couldn't get any clear rounds on our first day at our first big agility championship event, so we left the venue early around 4.30pm, as we didn't have to stay at the venue to get any clear round certificates or prizes.

I thought we were going back to our motel directly, but we didn't. Mum stopped by a pet shop and bought a new soft crate for me! Yes, for me, not for Mint! On the day before, Mint and I slept in one crate together as you saw in the previous post (We had used to have two soft crates, but we had only one at that time, as the other one had broken). Mum bought a new one, because she knew that it had not been very comfortable for us to sleep together in one crate.

After a short rest in our motel room, we went out for a walk and found a beautiful walk way along Waikato River!!

Back in our room, we had dinner and went to bed... (Of course, in my new crate I had a much better sleep than I had the previous night!)

Our first big agility championship event - Day 1

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

Over the weekend we were at NZ Dog Agility Championship (NZDAC), a big annual agility show where dogs and people across New Zealand get together. Last year we went to National Dog Obedience Assembly (NDOA), our first dog event, but at that time we entered only one event, Heelwork To Music. This time Mint and I entered six agility events each, three Starters and three Jumpers C's over the Labour Weekend from Saturday to Monday. (The NZDAC was held from Friday to Monday, but we didn't enter events on Friday.)

Every year this big event is held in a different place. This year it was in Cambridge, about 120 km away from our house. Because the judging started at 7:30am every day, we stayed in a motel in Hamilton, about a half-hour drive from Cambridge, over the weekend. (If we had driven to Cambridge from home every morning, we would have had to depart before 5am every day, which would have been very hard!!)

We arrived at our motel in late afternoon on Friday. After checking in, we went to the venue of the big event, Leamington Rugby Grounds in Cambridge, to check out what it was like. This is one of photos Mum took at that time.

Don't you think that it looks wonderful? The right side of the ground on the far end is where agility competitions were held. To the left was the camping area. The ground in front was the practise area. It almost looked like the whole venue was designed for the agility event!!

Back in our motel room, Mint and I had a sleep together in a crate after having dinner.

Cinnamon got a Rally-O Novice title and Mint won an Agility Novice!

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

In September both Mint and I achieved a sort of a milestone.


On Saturday the 15th we went to a Rally-O Championship and both of us got a qualifying certificate in the Novice A class. As it was my third certificate, I also became eligible to apply for a Rally-O Novice title.

Moreover, in the competition, I got a 1st place and Mint a 2nd place!!

On Saturday the 29th we went to an Agility Championship and, to everyone's surprise, Mint won the Novice (Mini)!! It was a very impressive achievement, as he won in his second run in the Novice class.

Look at this video! Only ten months ago he was running in his first ever agility competition like this!

Unfortunately we don't have a video of Mint's winning run this time. But, hopefully in the near future we can show you how much he has improved.

Mangawhai & Whangarei Agility/Obedience Ribbon Trial

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

Well, perhaps Mint would be the right person to write this post, but I am writing as usual, as Mint is busy napping after a big day out.

Yesterday, on Sunday, we went to Mangawhai, over one hour and a half hours away from our house, for Agility and Obedience ribbon trials. Well, we hadn't to plan to go, but at the last minute, at night on Saturday, Mum decided to go to the trials with us if it didn't rain. As they were ribbon trials, we didn't need to enter in advance.

On Sunday, Mum, who usually has trouble getting up early, got up before 5.30am, packed her snacks and our treats, put us in the car, and left home before 6.30am. (In fact I am very impressed that she got up so early!) Although we had showers on the way to Mangawhai, it didn't rain at all while we were at Mangawhai Domain where the trials were held!

Preparing for our rounds

Both Agility and Obedience trials started at 9am. As the first agility classes on the day were higher levels than those we wanted to enter, Mum entered Mint in Obedience Special Beginners class which also started at 9am.

Mint was the third in the running order. Although I didn't see him competing in the ring myself, as I had to wait in a crate in Mum's car, it seems that he started off nicely in his on-lead heelwork. But, he did what I, not he, usually do, shortly after he started doing his off-lead heelwork. He suddenly ran off, sniffed around an edge of the ring, picked up something, ate it, and finally came back to Mum!! Of course, Mum was very disappointed with what he had done, but she said that she didn't get as upset as she had used to.

Mint doing his off-lead heelwork

In fact Mum was more worried about Mint's stays, as he had broken his stays many times before. But, to her relief, he finished both his one-minute sit stay and two-minute down stay with no problem. Well done, Mint!!

As a result, despite a big point deduction for his wandering off, he got placed the fourth!!

The first Agility class we did on the day was Starters. As we usually do, I went first and Mint next after four dogs between us (There were only six Mini dogs in the class). I did very well for most of  the course but had to redo the weaves twice. Mint had no problem with this class, getting placed the 7th in the whole class (48 dogs) which includes all larger dogs.

Next, I did Elementary A and got placed the 2nd in the whole (unsplit) class (only 11 dogs).

Then, both Mint and I did Jumpers C. Well, I didn't do well in this class, as my nose caught some interesting smell by the ring and I couldn't help checking it! Mint also felt like checking out the same thing, but he came back to Mum as soon as she called him. In this class he again gor a placing!! He got a 6th place in the whole (unsplit) class (45 dogs)!

At the end of the day Mint did his first ever Novice, which includes contact obstacles, and got a Clear Round! Well done, Mint!! He was placed the 4th out of 18 Mini/Micro dogs but the placing was not good enough to get a ribbon.

Ribbons we got yesterday :-)

It was a long but fruitful day. Altogether, Mint got three ribbons and I got one!

It is not only our human who's been working hard!!

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

I know that my blog posts have been slack again, but it is not only our human who's been busy and working hard!

Last month Mint and I went to two competitions, one agility competition and one rally obedience competition, and on Saturday we went to another agility competition. And, tell you what! We brought back at least one ribbon from all of these competitions!!

On 12th and 13th May we went to NorWest Jumpers Championship. Both Mint and I entered six Jumpers C rounds, and Mint got one clear round each day and I got two clear rounds on Saturday and one clear round on Sunday. In one of the two rounds from which Mint got clear rounds, he even got a 2nd-place ribbon!!



On 27th May we went to Manukau Rally Obedience Championship and entered the Novice A class.

As we hadn't done any rally obedience, Mum was very worried how we would perform. I have to admit that Mum's concern had a reason. In the last rally obedience competition, she was upset by my performance, as I wandered off many times, ignoring her commands. But, this time I enjoyed my round and did much much better than the last time, and I got a 2nd-place ribbon as well as my second qualifying certificate!



Mint also did very well despite the fact that it was the very first rally obedience competition for him. When our rounds finished, Mum actually thought that Mint had done better than me. But, later she realised that she had done something wrong in his round. She had forgot to make him sit before laying down, when she had to do so. So, Mint lost ten points for that mistake. However, he didn't make any fault otherwise, so he managed to get his first qualifying certificate.

Last Saturday we went to Counties Agility Ribbon Trial and both of us entered Jumpers C, Starters, and Elementary A.

In Jumpers C we both did very well but weren't fast enough to get a ribbon. When ribbons were given up to the 3rd place, I got placed the 4th and Mint the 5th.

In Starters Mint did extremely well and WON the class!! Well done Mint!! But, I didn't do so well. I was so excited at the start that I didn't wait until Mum said 'OK', and when I started running, Mum was so upset that she forgot how she had planned to run, resulting in three faults.



In Elementary A we couldn't run as fast as we usually do, as we were already very tired, but it seems that many other dogs in the class were feeling the same way. As a result, Mint got a 2nd place and I got a 3rd place.

Now that Mint has got a win in Starters, he has graduated from Elementary A, which means that he will be entering Starters and Novice in the next competition.

Besides competitions, we demonstrated dog dancing with another doggie at a primary school last week.

This photo was taken at home before we went to the school for our demo

It was great fun!! Over a hundred kids watched it, and they were a wonderful audience. As their teachers had told them to stay calm and quiet so that we dogs didn't get over-excited, they didn't rush toward us to pat us like children often do when they see dogs. Also, unlike other public displays, there was no one eating something and there was no food around us. So, I could concentrate on my performance, although I wandered off a little bit at the beginning of my routine, and I could hear the kids laughing every time I did a trick.

Mint did well too, although Mum didn't look happy with her own improvisation for the last part of Mint's routine. The audience also enjoyed watching a limbo dance by our dancing team mate, Fletcher.

What I thought was wonderful was that between our dance performances a teacher demonstrated clicker training with a couple of volunteers from the young audience. The children really enjoyed it, and later I heard that young children had been doing it for the rest of the day.

Our toilet training and a Beagle's nose tested!?

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

I hope you all had a great weekend whatever the weather was like in your place.

Firstly, I want to thank you to those who voted for Mint at Mango Minster. Although he didn't get any prize, I am sure Mint enjoyed entering the competition. I watched his entry too, and I thought it was a really good job.

On Saturday we went to our second agility trial this year. It seems that Mum was very worried because we hadn't started agility training this year yet. But, as you may know, Mum always worries too much! As long as she does her job as our handler well, we never fail to perform well!

This time we both entered two classes, Jumpers C and Starters. In both classes I went first and Mint next with several dogs between us.

In the Jumpers C I did really well, although, jumping excessively high at every hurdle, I was not as fast as usual.

I think I did well in the Starters too, but in the middle of the course I found myself deviating from the course, being called by nature. (I knew Mum was trying to make me do my business before the run. But, my stomach didn't act as I wished, and I missed the chance to do it before entering the ring for my run.) But, I suddenly realised that I was meant to run the course, so I returned to where Mum was and continued running and finished the course without any fault. At that time, I thought that I had made another clear round, but it turned out to be over-time.

As for Mint, he was running pretty well in the Jumpers C ... until he suddenly went off the course and ran out of the ring. What do you think he did then? He peed just outside the ring, and, as soon as he finished his business, he came back to the course and continued his run! Then, after running wonderfully for a while, his attention was drawn by something on the ground, and he stopped and ate the thing, before resuming his run again! Mum says that what he picked up then was a piece of food treat!! In fact, I am very proud of him, as he proved how good a Beagle's nose is!

In the Starters Mint again started running nicely, but he couldn't go through a collapsible tunnel in his first attempt, although he could in his second attempt. Also, he missed entering the weaves in his first try and in his second try he came out of the weaves too early, leaving the last two poles.

Although my first run was the only clear round from our runs on the day, both my humans looked really happy with how we had done. Mum said that at least we had proved how well we both are toilet-trained not to eliminate in the ring and how good a Beagle's nose is!!


On the way back home from the trial site, we enjoyed gorgeous views of Auckland city centre from the Northern Motorway. This is one of the shots Dad took from the car.

Our Year 2011

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

Can you believe that another year has passed already? What was the year like for you? The year has brought us a lot of changes and surprises.

January 2011

In mid January Mint was hospitalized. It seemed that Mint had eaten something toxic, which paralysed his nerve system, but the vet couldn't figure out what Mint had eaten. It took a few weeks before he got back to his normal self.

In the following week after Mint came back home, we moved from our previous house to a rental house where we lived for two months until our humans found, bought, and moved to our new house. When we were living in the rental house, we had a chance to go on a trip to Rotorua.

In late February there was a big earthquake in Christchurch and many humans and doggies lost their houses, which was really sad. And less than three weeks later there were even bigger earthquakes in Japan. Watching roads and buildings being pushed away and flattened by big waves caused by Tsunami was really saddening. Many lives were lost. Now, more than nine months later, there are still areas no one is allowed to enter because of radiation contamination. All I can now is believe in people's strength to overcome challenges.

Four days after the earthquakes and tsunami in Japan, we moved from the rental house to our new house. Our previous house was close to the city centre, only fifteen minutes by bus from a bus stop in front of the house to the city centre. Our new house is far away from downtown, but for giving up the proximity to the city centre, we got a great living environment for both humans and dogs.

In early June, I had the honor to be a member of the judge panel for my friend Honey the Great Dane's "Dancing with the Doggie Stars" contest. It was rewarding to see so many doggies and their humans with no experience in dancing working so hard on their routines while enjoying the time spent together. A few days later Mint got placed the first for the first time in an Obedience trial!!

In mid July my dearest boy friend Mango the Mastiff took me to a Dream Date full of adventures!!

In late July I turned four years old and on my birthday I enjoyed my birthday cake that Mum had made for me.

In late October we went to Porirua, Wellington, 600km away from our house, to compete in a national dog dancing competition, and, as many of you know, I won and Mint got the second place in the Elementary Freestyle class!

In November Mint made a debut in an agility trial, and in December I won the Elementary B class and Mint got his first clear round in another agility trial!

December 2011

Well, that's our year 2011.

We wish you all the best for the year 2012!!!

Resurgence of Cinnamon the Agility Beagle!

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

I did it! I did it! I won in an Agility trial for the first time!!

I entered my first agility trial two years ago just before I turned two years old, but I had to stop doing Agility a few months later because I started having pain in my hip joints. After retiring from Agility, I started doing dog dancing instead, with restriction that I must avoid jumping moves, and in fact my training in dog dancing has helped improve my hip condition, as the muscles around my hips strengthened through regular exercises.

Because I don't feel much pain in my hips anymore, my humans have decided to let me do my favorite dog sport, Agility, once again. But, this time they are doing it with caution. When I was doing Agility two years ago, I practised it almost every day, but now I practise it only once a week in order to avoid too much stress on my hips.

As I reported on this blog earlier, last month I made a come-back in Agility trials after a two-year break. Although I got a clear round in Elementary B in the trial, my run was far too slow to get placed, partly because of my Mum's clumsy handling. Two weeks later, I went to another Agility trial but couldn't get a clear round because of a refusal at a tunnel.

This weekend we went to my third trial, in Cambridge, about 150 km away from our house, and both Mint and I entered three classes, Elementary B, Jumpers C, and Starters.  Elementary B is a class for new handlers with new dogs, who have got no previous wins.

Our first runs of the day were in Jumpers C. Mint went first and I went after several dogs following him. Mint started nicely but missed a jump near the end of the course and had to retry it, resulting in not a clear round. I ran wonderfully and Mum looked super happy when we finished the course. But...it turned out that Mum had made a critical mistake of missing a jump, resulting in a disqualification! Silly Mum again!! 

Cinnamon

Then we ran in Elementary B. This time I went first and Mint went after several dogs following me. Both of us did really well, and in fact I WON it and Mint got the 2nd Place!! It was also Mint's first clear round!

After a long wait, Mint entered an Obedience trial in Elementary class. But, he was tired from the two agility runs already and looked absent-minded, according to Mum. His heelwork was so so, but in the recall he didn't sit in front of Mum straight away and instead he walked around Mum before sitting nicely in front of her. I had been entered in the same class, but I didn't do it because I had my next Agility run at the same time. Also, Mint couldn't do the Stays in the Obedience trial, because it collided with his next Agility run.

Mint

I did very well in Starters too and got another clear round, although I wasted a few seconds because of Mum's mishandling again. (Later it turned out that I had got a ribbon for the fourth place!) Mint ran very well too, but he couldn't go through a collapsible tunnel, the second obstacle from the last, and he got disqualified.

All in all we did wonderfully. Don't you think so? I wanted to show ribbons we got in the trial here, but I can't because we couldn't stay until the prizegiving so we had to ask someone else to take them for us and bring them back to Auckland.

Our next Agility trial is in January in the New Year. In the next trial we are not eligible to enter Elementary B anymore now that I have won once. But, I hope I can report good results again.