Merry Christmas!

Mojo and I celebrated our 10th Christmas together today. Here's to many more!

Portraits with the kids

My friend Deb Baracco has a lot of fun with photography and was looking to do some portraits. So we got together with her and Ginger and Val and all of our respective pups to give her some practice. It was a fun time which produced some GREAT shots! Here are some of my favorites.

Mojo is BACK!!

After months of questions, worries and endless rehab Mojo made his big comeback at the ITZ trial in Millersville this past weekend. I was so nervous to run him but so very excited. He surpassed all my expectations and ran BEAUTIFULLY all weekend long, going 8 for 9 runs and even winning 3 classes!! He was so happy to be running and I was so happy to have him back. I still can't wipe the smile off my face.

I compiled a video of his runs from the weekend (one Jumpers run is missing) the old man was on FIRE! It is a testament to the hard work of all the people who took part in his rehab how good he looked and still looks after 3 days of agility. Thank you all for putting up with me and never giving up on him. At 9 1/2 years old he looks better than he has in a long time!

View Video

This experience has brought a lot of things to light for me. One is to never skimp my dogs on the conditioning and stretching they really need to perform well and hold up, especially as they pass through their veteran years. I am determined to give everything I have to them to keep them happy, healthy and sound.

The other is to always trust your gut, you KNOW your own dogs better than anyone so if you have a doubt, definitely seek a second opinion! The more experienced hands and eyes on your situation, the better off you will be. Don't ever fall prey to the opinions of others, but never discount them either.

And finally the very most important lesson of all, and one I will never forget. Every run with your partner is a privilege, every snuggle under the covers, every naughty grin or quiet moment of connection. Cherish it, every single second. I know I do and I intend to every day of our lives together.


I love you so much Mojo-Man. I am so lucky to have you in my life. Welcome back.

Jinn is becoming a "real" agility dog

My little girl has had some troubles with focus and motivation over the past year or so. We have struggled with her hyper vigilance about things in and around the ring, she often cruises past obstacles whilst scanning the area, and her speed suffers because she is not fully engaged with me or with the activity at hand.

Well with the blessing of a bit of age and experience and the lovely, cooler weather, my Jinni is beginning to blossom! She still has her moments of distraction, but all in all she is holding it together much more consistently and her speed is improving. She really is starting to discover how much fun it is to do this sport WITH Mom and not to worry so much about all the other stuff.

Photo courtesy of Jim Poor

A few weeks ago she had her best agility weekend ever, qualifying 7 out of 11 runs which included 2 Chances!! She finished her Novice Chances Title and her Novice Touch-n-Go title all in the same weekend. She then went on to finish her Novice Jumpers Title and her Superior Novice Tunnelers title the next weekend!

Photo courtesy of Priscilla Warnock

She continues to pick up speed as she develops more confidence. Barry Rosen even managed to get a great shot of her first "flying aframe" during Touch-n-go.

Photos courtesy of Barry Rosen

I am really excited about the winter and the good times and the lessons it has in store for me as I make this journey with my baby dog.

Photo courtesy of Priscilla Warnock

Platinum Speedstar Mojo!!

With the release of the latest trial results my greatest hopes have been realized. Mojo earned his Platinum Speed Star with two kickass Jumpers runs at the PAWZAZZ trial in October!!! I have been chasing this milestone for so long and have more than once opted to give up altogether. But we kept at it, pushing for speed and risking the dropped bars and off-courses to try and lay down those 100+ DRIs. To have gotten the two he needed on the same weekend is simply magical. I am so thankful to my friend and judge Dwayne Bonker for bringing those beautiful courses and for judging us to this achievement. And I am thankful to Paula and Debi for their superb instruction and for sage advice and shoulders to cry on. And to all of my agility friends who have had to endure my obsessing with unwavering good humor and support.

But most of all I am thankful to my heart dog Mojo. He is my soulmate and the journey to this ultimate achievement has been an amazing one. He has without fail done EVERYTHING I have ever asked of him and sometimes more. With all of his faults, he still remains the one most constant and devoted partner in my life and my very best friend. From here on out baby boy, we run purely for the joy, which is of course how it should have been all along. Here's to a long and wild ride yet to come!



Mojo is the first Doberman to ever achieve the Platinum Speed Star so he yet again has stamped the NADAC history books for his breed. I hope there are a lot more Dobes that start to compete in NADAC in the future and follow in his pawprints.

I love you old man, thank you for everything.

Jinn's first time in the ring!

I took Jinn and Luxx to the Metropolitan Baltimore Doberman Pinscher Club's annual sanctioned match on Sunday 9/12. It was to be Jinn's first time seeing the inside of a competition ring of any kind. My little 1 year old did not disappoint!! She started off with a bang, doing Novice Rally more precisely than I ever dreamed she would her first time in, outdoors and in the rain no less! She got a 94 and a second place.

In Sync!

Luxx also showed in Rally in Excellent and had a grand time, even went on a little zoomie right after the first jump, but managed to pull off a 90 and a first place. :)

Next up was Jinn's turn in the Pre-Novice Obedience class. She did some great heeling, parts of her figure 8 were awesome, some distraction and sniffing at times but overall I was thrilled with her showing. She did break her down stay but I am very happy with her overall performance in the ring.

Boogieing down!

gotta love that swing finish!

Straight after the stays she marched right on over and earned her CGC with flying colors! She now has her very first alphabet soup. She's Andalin's Dance on Fire CGC! I was worried about the 3 minute separation, but she handled it fairly well, if a little anxious. Nothing that would keep her from earning a passing grade.

We broke for lunch and the puppy brain got to rest a while, napping in the van while we ate. Then it was straight into conformation. Jinn was the only Novice Bitch so she won her class. She did very well gaiting for me and is getting better and better at being stacked the longer we stay in the ring. She is very suspicious of men but did pretty great letting the judge go over her. He was a very nice man who took special time and care with the puppies and I think it really helped her build some confidence.



We went back in the ring to judge for Best Adult. Jinn did the cutest little free-stack on the down and back and gave the judge some great expression. I think that must have sold him because he picked her as Best Adult in Match! She got a rosette and fun, pink pig toy. I am so proud of my baby girl, I couldn't believe how well she handled all that activity and the amount of focus she displayed for such a young, crazy girl. So she got her first alphabet soup and her very first win photo all on her first day in the ring. What a great day!

Star City Photo Dump

Diane Lewis got some great shots of the kids when we were at the Star City Canines trial in Roanoke, VA back in March. It was Jinn's first big-girl photoshoot. She did a great job for just a 7 month old spud! Here are some of my (many) favorites. You can see more of Diane's stunning work at http://www.dianelewisphotography.com.

NATCH-10 Mojo!!!

It's the pipe-dream milestone I never thought we'd reach. We finally earned that last, elusive jumpers Q to complete Mojo's NATCH-10 and Versatility NATCH-10!! It was hot all weekend and my boy worked hard for me. I am so proud, I only cried a little and those were tears of joy and relief and just generally being overwhelmed. I adore this dog, he has done everything I have ever asked of him and more and through all of my mistakes and occasional bad choices, he remains ever still a faithful and smooth dancing partner who just "fits." I love that boy, we make a great team.

Mojo AXJ!!!

FINALLY!! After trying for a year and a half to get the last leg we had a beautiful JWW run to complete our AXJ at the Delaware County Kennel Club trial at Dream Park in New Jersey. Mojo and I have been having a hard time putting it all together in AKC with my timing and his sometimes unpredictability. But it all came together for that one run. We struggled the rest of the weekend, beautiful moments just one thing here or there. But since he was the first dog to run all weekend, Luxx reaped the benefits of me learning from my mistakes handling him and went 7/9! She finished her XF and got her first two legs toward her MXF. She also got her very first TRIPLE Q on Saturday! She is now officially working on her MACH. Not sure how far I'll take that particular quest, but I'm not averse to giving it a shot! It was a good weekend indeed. :)

Blizzard(s) of 2010!! Photo Dump

Well, starting Friday, February 5th and going on through Saturday we received 24" of snow!!! I've lived in MD my whole life and I have never seen snow like this. After the snow finally stopped I went out and stomped out paths all around the house so the dogs could get around. They had a BLAST playing in the snow and blasting through their snow tunnels. I took hundreds of pics but I will just highlight a few of my favorites here. To make it even more interesting, we received an additional FOOT of snow on Wednesday the 10th! Is it spring yet??

The view from my front door

Enjoying the newly blazed trail

Mojo chases Jinn down the hill

Moj says snow is YUMMY!

Jinn is FLYING!

Pretty girl Luxx poses in front of the tunnel

Love this pic of Mojo

Handsome Lad

Mojo and Jinn

Jinn and Luxx

Luxx and Mojo

My darling Luxx

Mojo says I'm coming Momma!

Upside-Down Crazy Time with Jinn during the storm

Mojo says don't even THINK about getting on my sofa!

All tuckered out after a good romp.