They Told Us We Couldn't Do It

Jax isn't a "perfect" dog. He's got some conformation issues that make me cringe when I see them, but that's because I pick him apart. He's a gorgeous dog in his own right, and I get compliments on him all the time. What he does have is a fabulous temperament and working ethic. I cannot deny that his personality is stellar.

Because of these faults, I have heard that I would never win anything "big" with him. I was told he's not worth breeding. I've been told he's not worth showing. I've heard the whispers about my dog, including the "I can't believe that dog won over those other dogs!" I've heard the snarky comments behind my back. I've heard it all. And I've only been showing Jax for about a year and a half.

I always say, "Jax isn't a perfect dog, but he's perfect for me."

I love this dog. He tries so hard for me. He is a saint with my toddler daughter. He may not sweep all of the best in show events, but we don't need to.

I like to focus on the dog sport end of this dog show stuff. We are working on advancing through the levels of rally and obedience, and eventually we'll tackle agility. So, Saturday's show was nothing but something fun for us, and experience for me. I am a ball of nerves no matter what show ring I step into, but I want the experience. I want to be able to show off my dog to the best of my ability, and I will only get better the more I do it. And that's what I went to do this past weekend at a UKC show in Ann Arbor, MI.

It was a normal day for us. Honestly, there were no other APBTs in the ring that day, but he won the terrier group handily, and won over a couple of multi-best in show winners. Group 1 ribbons always make me happy. I was pleased with those.

UKC Show - 4/13/2013 - Ann Arbor, MI

On Saturday, the judge's eye fell on us. I managed to show off my dog in a way that made her smile, that caught her eye, and I held my composure and convinced her that my dog was the best dog in that ring. Jax and I were the perfect team.

There was much rejoicing. I started crying. The other dogs who made it to the final show-down congratulated me, and in between my happy tears, I thanked them. Because I was truly grateful. I wanted to grab the judge and give her a big bear hug and thank her for seeing my dog, the dog I see every day at home. My best in show dog.

They told us we couldn't do it. And still, after having my ribbon in hand, there were nay-sayers who spoke ill of my dog and our accomplishment. But there were several other people who congratulated us. And I am grateful for both of those people. I am grateful for the nay-sayers because they give me the push to prove them wrong; I am grateful to the people who cheer us on, because without them we wouldn't be where we are today.

Thank you, to everyone who supported us this far.

Our First Competition of 2013

This past weekend, Jax and I ventured out into the Michigan winter weather to compete in our first trial of the year. This was a C-WAGS Rally and Obedience trail hosted by Wolverine Dog Training Club, and held at Northfield Dog Training Club. I mention all these venues because they are all incredibly wonderful people who truly love the dog sports and work to improve them. I love competing with all of these groups.

First, C-WAGS is a rather laid-back venue. They are a group of people who love to train and compete with their dogs, but their trials are not as competitive as UKC or AKC. There is one huge difference in this organization, and that is you can reward your dog during a Rally or Obedience test. For this reason, I recommend the venue to my students as a place to get your feet wet; it's also great for new dogs just getting into competition.

This was my first time competing with Jax in this venue, so we entered Starter (level 1) Rally and Level 1 Obedience. On Saturday, we had 2 Rally tests and 2 Obedience tests. Both of our Rally tests were phenomenal, and I was incredibly proud of the way my boy performed - first place in both classes! Our obedience tests left something to be desired, but we did pretty well, considering.

Their level 1 obedience test is a basic obedience test with a few simple tasks. On Saturday, I missed the walk-through for the test due to being in the rally ring, and bombed our first test. Completely my fault. But, our second test was much better, since I already bombed a test and being able to attend the walk-through. First place in the second test. Success!

Our winnings from Saturday!

Sunday was a bit different. We showed up, and we competed in Rally, Obedience, and a fun class called Rally Zoom - it's rally with not stops, sits, or pausing signs.

In our rally test, we had a PHENOMENAL run. I mean, it was perfect. I left the ring beaming because we had done so well. I ran Jax back to his crate, gave him a big kiss and few cookies....and turned around just in time to see the ring steward right a big "NQ" on the board. WHAT? Our run was perfect! The gentleman I was crating next to must have seen the shock on my face because he came over to me and said, "You looked beautiful out there, but I think you missed that sign..." He pointed to the Down-Walk Around sign I had clearly missed. I sighed, admitted to my mistake, and we moved on.

I was still elated with our performance, and chose to focus on that rather than the fact I was the reason we NQ'd. The woman who did win the class was also elated to have won, because it was her first time showing in rally. If I had to lose, it was great to see her be so happy to win!

We placed third in our obedience test, because when I changed into a slow pace, apparently Jax did not change his pace. Still, it was a good test, he did really well!

Rally Zoom was fun! And it was also a great test! We placed 2nd, missing first by only half a point.

Our debut weekend and a tough contender with Team No F.E.A.R. was a success!

In other news, I had two judges tell me that Jax was ready to learn OPEN exercises. My little man proved that was was ready to move up to bigger and better things. Watch out, he's going to be a tough contender!

Wordless Wednesday: Winner, Winner!

Wordless Wednesday: Show Dog

Photo by Megan Rennert

Wordless Wednesday: Sleepy Puppy

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2013 Big Announcement #1: Team No F.E.A.R.

Now that the official announcement has been made, I can make my own!

To start the year off right, I have accepted an offer to be a member of a fantastic group of dog people. I feel honored, privileged, and flattered that Clay of Team No F.E.A.R. would think that I have enough talent to be a member of their group, and I hope that Jax and I can live up their expectations.

Team No F.E.A.R. is a group of dog trainers based out of Houston, TX - all of them are talented and accomplished in their own right. All of them owning and competing with working American Pit Bull Terriers. Clay himself has the two youngest UKC Super Dogs - dogs #75 and #76. I met Clay at 2012 Premier and he's been a source of encouragement this past year, helping me move past Howie's death and continue working with the dog I still had. We met up again during NAPBTA Nationals, where he gave me pointers and encouraged me to continue, even though Jax and I racked up 3 NQ's in formal Obedience.

When Clay asked me to join his well-accomplished group, I was thrilled. I didn't view myself as anywhere near as talented as this group of guys. But, Clay has faith in me, and I will use that as motivation to keep moving forward with my goals.

So, thank you, Team No F.E.A.R., for having faith in Jax and I. We hope that we can live up to - and exceed - your hopes for us!

Year in Review: 2012

Work-A-Bull has been quiet for a long time. I'm just not much of a blogger, but that's going to change. We have a lot of plans for 2013. But first, let me summarize what's happened around here in 2012.

We lost Howie. He was my heart, my love. He was the dog that started it all. He's been gone for six months, and the days don't get any easier. The house is too quiet, it's not the same. He was 4 years old, and he wasn't around nearly long enough. I don't think I will ever stop missing him.

As big as that dark cloud has been, 2012 has been full of plenty of ups. Jax really stepped up to the plate and not only was he a fabulous Nanny Dog for my daughter, he been an even better companion. He is the model of what an American Pit Bull Terrier should be.

We earned our Grand Champion show title early in 2012, and from there, it was nothing but good things. He went on to earn his AKC CGC title, his Coursing Aptitude title, his United Rally 1 title. In June, just after Howie's passing, we started our journey to be ranked in the UKC Rally All-Stars. As of the date of this posting, we are raked as #12 in the URO1 All-Stars and plan to compete in the invitational at Premier in June of 2013.

We tried our hearts out for our UCD obedience title, but it wasn't in the cards this year. Next year we will train hard, with some good support who has our backs, and we will move on.

While that in itself is an achievement for me, Jax's shining moment came the past November at the National American Pit Bull Terrier Club's National breed show. On the day of our National show, he racked up a list of achievements that made me bursting with so much pride for my little awkward dog:
- Jax and junior handler Megan earned the title of National Junior Handler
- Jax earned an Award of Merit, this combined with his qualifying scores in Rally earned him his 5th Total Dog award (his 3rd of the year).
- Jax's breeder drove up from GA with his mom and littermate brother, and together, his mom earned National Brood Bitch.
- Together, we had three qualifying scores in Rally that weekend, and a qualifying run in lure coursing to earn his CA title.

After Nationals, we took it easy. We kicked back and relaxed. I am using the next few days to map out our road map for early 2013 - at least the events that get us up to Premier in June. I will write a separate post soon once certain announcements have been made and plans have been finalized.

2012 has been a rollercoaster year for me. I hope 2013 brings more joy and goal achievement for us.

Wordless Wednesday - Jax

(Yes, I know, I'm a day late...)

In which, I am a horrible blogger.

My last post here was in August of 2010. That was a long time ago.

Since then, Howie has gone on to earning a couple legs to his first C-WAGS rally title, the first two legs of his AKC Rally Novice title, and the first leg to... some other title. And then he became a couch holder-downer. Howie loves training and learning things, but when it comes to competing, he'd rather cheer from the sidelines.

Also, since then, we added a new member to the family (actually, two new members, but that's another story!). His name is Jax, and as of last month, he's been a member of our family for a year now. And, in that year, he and I have earned his UKC weight pull title and his first UKC rally title, and also his show champion title. This past weekend, with a little help from our friends, he finished his grand champion title. He's also finished 30/100 points to his weight pull champion title. So, he is officially:

UWP URO1 Intl/Natl CH UKC GRCH'PR'Cross's Home Run Hitter

He is a great little dog, from a wonderful line of wonderful and accomplished dogs. And now, he and I are on our way to accomplishing the Super Dog title together. To do this, we need to earn a show champion title (check!), a weight pull title (check!), a rally title (check!), an agility title, and his United Companion Dog title. I suppose this blog will turn its focus to our adventures down this road together.

And I will do my best to keeping up with the blog!