Town and Country Canine Learning Center - Latest Blog Entries

Congrats, Monica, Carsten, Sully and Family!

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:40:00 -0500

Hi all! Monica and her family are back from an exciting time! I asked Monica's mom to send me a summary as they won so much I couldn't keep up with it!!! Here it is! Congrats!

We are back from Premier in Richmond Indiana. Premier is UKCs version of AKCs Westminster.

This is our largest show of the year. Last year there were more than 8000 entries over the 4 days

in the various events. I have not heard this years totals. We took both dogs. Monica was going

to compete with:

Carsten

Top 10 Jr Agility (invitational based on 2009 scoring in her region)

Terrier Racing (he was invited to compete in All Stars, we did not enter since he had so much going on and

it was going to conflict with Top 10 Jr Agility). So we just ran him in titling races and "Fastest Overall" races

Lure Coursing (a new titling event for UKC - even for non-sighthounds)

Sully:

Conformation all 4 days

Jr Showmanship all 4 days (altho we had to scratch 1 and pull her from another due to conflicts)

Top 10 Jr Handler for 2009 (invitational based on 2009 scoring in her region)

I STILL think I am dreaming ...if you had asked me what is the BEST, most unbelievable

things that could happen, I couldn’t have fathomed a list like this.

Carsten: got 4 titles

1) AG2-second level UKC Agility, including 1 perfect score and a High In Trial of all "A" dogs (all height divisions)

also had several other Q's in both AG1 and AG2....

2) Flat Racing Championship (few dogs in UKC have this, takes a lot of races, and you must win the races, not just Q)

3) Steeple Racing Championship (ditto)

4) Lure coursing title (first, and so far only, Amer Hairless to have done this)

- Won 3 of the 4 "Fastest Overall Racer" races (the program said there were 87 dogs entered, I don’t think it was quite that many)

- Monica had a respectable 192 in her Top 10 Jr run, he had a bit of a zoomy, didn’t place, but did Q.

Sully:

Won 2 Championship classes which is huge, and a Reserve. Needs one more Champion win to "finish". Didn’t think

he had a prayer of any wins as, at a show this big, with as many nice hairless dogs that were there, but he proved me wrong.

Monica:

The shocker was Monica took first runner up "Top 10 Junior Handler" in the country!!!! I bawled my eyes out. (Or as I coined the

phrase, since I don’t cry, "my eyeballs were sweating profusely"). You have to make top 10 in your region (5 regions) the previous year to

be invited to show. Then the Top Jrs (which was Monica) compete on Thurs, and they pick the top 5. (The Srs show on Thurs separately and the

top 5 are picked). Then the top 5 Jrs and top 5 Srs compete together on Friday. She took second. With SULLY, who just turned 9 mos on Wed.

A few pix/video if you are interested:

( pix attached and links below)

Top 10 Jr:

Snippets from the class (long 4:43min): http://www.flipshare.com/view.aspx?nRecipient=&nFrame=YzY0N2M3ZTEtZDUzZC00NDFmLTllOTYtYjVjMWE1NzE4MGEw&nMedia=ZThjYzM0MGUtMDEyOS00YWYxLWJhYjMtZTNkMzliZmUzN2Yy&nT=2593752027195709

announcement (1:24min) http://www.flipshare.com/view.aspx?nRecipient=&nFrame=YzY0N2M3ZTEtZDUzZC00NDFmLTllOTYtYjVjMWE1NzE4MGEw&nMedia=NTNhMTcwZGItNzEwNC00ZGIwLWE2YmUtZDIxYzYwNTJmNzA3&nT=2895772020890774

Carsten Lure coursing: http://sharing.theflip.com/session/936879fa5bcfd0d145e45996cf3c8561/video/16251548 what a cool event. Clearly Carsten's new favorite thing!!!

Congrats Penny and June!

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 13:19:00 -0500

Penny Leigh and June’s flyball team set a new speed record on May 29 at a tournament in Manassas, Va. The four-dog team (Fur Fun’s Formula Fun) clocked a time of 15.7 seconds – this is a record for the Region and also ranks as the 8^th fastest time in NAFA history! The team’s previous fastest time was 16.14 seconds. The team is comprised of three border collies and one border-jack – and June runs in anchor for the team. They are looking forward to the NAFA championships in October.

Way to go!!!

Laura and Grainger at the Swissy Nationals

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 07:53:00 -0500

Laura and her Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Grainger, were at their National Specialty last week in Springfield, IL. They did great - qualifying in Novice B obedience (and second place) and qualifying in Rally Excellent A (and winning the class!).

Grainger also finished his Working Weight Dog title with a pull in Statesville, NC on May 15th. He already has three legs on his Working Weight Dog Excellent title, so he just needs one more to complete that. Go Grainger!

Congrats Penny and Brett!

Tue, 25 May 2010 14:53:00 -0500

Brett finished his AKC Obedience title of Utility Dog on Saturday at the Greater Columbia (SC) Obedience Club trial. Brett took a second place with a score of 188. He and Penny will now be pursuing their UDX. In addition, Brett also finished his CPE Level 3 Agility title at a night trial Saturday at Paws4Ever in Mebane. He needed one last Snooker leg and he got it! A big day for Brett!

Congrats Monica, Carsten and Sully!

Mon, 24 May 2010 11:05:00 -0500

- Sully received notification that he achieved his Champion title from the April show just

in time to enter the Champion classes at this weekends show.

- Sully won 2 Champion classes towards his Grand Champion (needs 5) at this weekends show

(and one reserve)

- Monica won 3 Open Senior (Jr Showmanship) classes and 2 Best of Jr's, using Sully as her

Jr dog.

- Mr Carsten won all of his Flat and Steeple classes as well as all of the Flat and Steeple "Fastest

Dog" (all breeds, all classes) this weekend.

Congrats to Town and Country instructor, Penny Leigh with June and Cameo!

Mon, 03 May 2010 14:44:00 -0500

June finished her Agility Dog (AD) title in USDAA at the Blue Ridge Agility Club trials this past weekend. She now holds titles in three agility venues – AKC, USDAA and CPE. She had a spectacular Jumpers run at the Blue Ridge trial, winning first in the large 22-inch jump height division, with a time of 15 seconds!

Cameo, Penny’s mixed-breed dog Cameo just recently started her agility career and already has had several successes. At her first AKC trial in Beaufort, SC, this month, she q’ed and won first place in Novice Standard B both days and also in Novice FAST. At the Blue Ridge trials, she made her USDAA debut and q’ed and won first place in 16-inch Gamblers and q’ed and won second place in Jumpers.

Congrats to Shannon with Jackson and Ellie!

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:33:00 -0500

On Saturday, April 24th at the Old Dominion Club of Virginia show, Shannon and her beautiful Rhodesian Ridgebacks did very well in the Rally ring:

Jackson, CH JAGER'S SWEET REUNION OF INTRIGUE, got a 96 in Rally Novice B and his baby half-sister Ellie, INTRIGUE'S GEM ON FIRE, got an 89 on her very first leg in Rally Novice B. Jackson wagged his tail the whole time and really enjoyed it. Ellie was distracted, like many puppies in the ring for the first time, but she did well and she went on Sunday to win her conformation class!

Congratulations to Shannon and her furkids!

Congrats to Monica and Carsten!!!

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 13:37:00 -0500

Another GREAT weekend for this awesome team!!!

Monica and Carsten earned the following this past weekend at the Purcellville, VA Agility trial:

- 3 Ag1 Q's (and first, second and fourth placement ribbons) AND the last runwas a perfect 200 score in 35seconds (ACT 60sec). Carsten was tired by this time, and was doing very good listening LOL.

- 2 AG2 Q's (and a first and second placement). Needs another Q to get hisAG2 title.

- 3 (out of 4) Best of Junior Handler awards with competition.

Great facility, well run trial and 174 entries in total, so well attended.

Click here for video and photo!

AMAZING weekend for T&C Instructor Penny Leigh

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 09:25:00 -0500

Penny does not usually send brags about her dog showing adventures but this past weekend was too good for her not to share:

Dale had an amazing weekend in Charlotte with our 9-month-old flat-coat puppy, Skye (repeat of breeding that produced Angus – for those fans of his). Skye went Best of Breed over the specials on Saturday and went on to take a Group 2! In addition, they had puppy groups and Skye won the Puppy Sporting group and went on to BIS Puppy.

On Sunday, Skye again won BOB and went on to a Group 3!

As far as anyone knows, this is a record for a flat-coat puppy. She now has 9 points and a major – and just so you know how good she is, I handled her to the major at the Jan. Charleston shows when Dale had to work the weekend.

To make this weekend even more special, Brett and I traveled to the Cape Fear Dog Training Club trials in Lumberton while Dale went to Charlotte and Brett earned his second Utility leg! 1 more to go and then it is on to the pursuit for UDX.

Picture of Skye's Group 3 win:

Town and Country instructor, Debra Miller, and dogs, Kizzie and Nana, are awarded their CCA!

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:37:00 -0500

Debra Miller, and dogs, Kizzie and Nana, are awarded their CCA!!

Congrats team!

Congrats Kathy and Carsten!

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:29:00 -0500

Carsten (Handled by mom, Kathy)
Since super junior handler Monica had a conflict of scheduling, Monica's mom, Kathy, decided to try her hand at agility with Carsten. On their first trial together as a team, they Q'd in all 4 AG1 trials!! Kathy reports that she is totally " in a dream", and had an awesome time showing Carsten. It just proves she was paying attention all those nights that she brought Monica to agility class! Carsten titled and placed 2nd and 1st!!
Great job team!!!

Congrats to Town and Country instructor Penny Leigh!!!

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:09:00 -0500

Penny Leigh's Border Collies, Brett and June, have had several achievements recently in Obedience, Agility and Flyball and more.

Brett earned his first leg in Utility A on the Greenville circuit with a score of 191 ½ and a first place out of five qualifiers.

June finished her AKC Agility Open Standard title with a clean run and a first place at the recent Charlotte trials. The achievement resulted in June qualifying for the Border Collie Society of America's Versatility honor that honors dogs that have earned a certain level of titles in at least 3 sports (one of which must be herding).

At the same trials, Brett finished his Open Fast Preferred title - also with a first place and with 77 points - more points than anyone in the entire Open Fast division.

Brett and June also recently hit major milestones in Flyball. Brett earned the Onyx award for 20,000 points and June was awarded the Flyball Master Championship for 15,000 points.

Good job Penny!!!

T&C Rally Teams Earn Titles at Tarheel Cluster!

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 07:38:00 -0500

Three New Rally Titles Awarded!

From Laura: I am so proud of our rally program and our students. Our students not only excel in competition and consistently place in the top scores, but they have a great time and have been real examples of sportsmanship and teamwork. What great ambassadors for Town and Country's Canine Learning Center!!!

These were the titles and legs earned during Raleigh's Tarheel Cluster from March 25-28:

Rally Novice - Alyssa and her Sheltie, Lacy-Jane, earned their Rally Novice title on Saturday, finishing her last leg with a 97 - well done!

Rally Advanced - Jenn and her Pug, Otis, earned their Rally Advanced title on Thursday along with a second place. For extra practice, they went back in the ring on Sunday and won first place! The teamwork between these two is something to see!

Rally Advanced - T&C Instructor Laura Bullock and her Swissy, Grainger, completed their Rally Advanced title on Thursday with a fourth place.

Earned Legs for Rally Advanced-Excellent - T&C Instructor Patty VanSicklen earned another RAE leg with her Siberian Husky, Revs, on Thursday. Just eight more to go!

Monica Jones was named UKC's 2009 Total Junior Award winner!

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:07:00 -0600

What an accomplishment!!! Great job Monica and Carsten!!!!!

Town and Country Agility and Rally team member, Monica Jones, was named UKC's 2009 Total Junior Award winner!

The Total Junior Award recognizes the Total Junior Members who have successfully trained and participated with their dogs in multiple UKC Dog Events Programs. To be eligible for this award, a participant must earn points from the UKC licensed Junior Showmanship classes and at least two of the following performance events: Agility, Dog Sport, Obedience and/or Weight Pull. Points for this award may be accumulated from all eligible events and classes. However, if point totals from any single event exceed 60 percent of the Junior Members total combined points, the Junior Member is disqualified from being eligible for this award. All Junior members eligible for the award will then be ranked by their Total points earned to determine the Total Junior Award winner.The Total Junior award is aligned with the UKC Total Dog™ philosophy of “Our Dogs Do Stuff” and rewards the Junior Member's substantial involvement in a variety of events

Monica finished in the Top 10 in her Region in Junior Showmanship, Agility and Weight Pull and will therefore be invited to compete in all 3 of these events in July at the International Dog Show in Richmond,

Indiana. This event, called Premier, is the UKC version of AKC's Westminster. Additionally, her dog Carsten, finished on the UKC Year End All Star list as: tied for first in his division for Terrier Racing - Steeple and was #2 in Terrier Racing - Flat. She will receive her Total Junior Award at this event.

Grainger sets a new weight pull best!

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:07:00 -0600

Feb. 4-5 Weight Pull in Atlanta, GA - Grainger picked up another 10x leg and a 15x leg - setting a new "personal" best at 17.8 times his own body weight - pulling 1825 pounds on a wheeled cart (on carpet)!

Grainger is a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, owned and handled by Town and Country instructor, Laura Bullock.

Revs earns his Rally Excellent (RE) Title!!!!

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:38:00 -0600

Congratulations to instructor Patty Van Sicklen and her boy Revs!

Revs earned his third RE leg in Greenville on Sunday. He got leg #2 on Friday with a second place and leg #3 on Sunday with 1^st place. He didn't compete on Saturday.

Way to go Patty and Revs!!!

Congrats Penny and Dale!

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 10:06:00 -0600

Penny Leigh and Dale McElrath’s Flat-coated Retriever, Angus, won Best Adult in Match at Saturday’s AKC Canine Experience in Raleigh. Angus is 20 months old and has 12 points towards his conformation championship but he is waiting until after this year’s Flat-coat national specialty to finish the title.
Congrats Penny, Dale and Angus!

Town and Country teams excel at DKC Rally Trial!

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:27:00 -0600

Friday - Jenn and Otis got an RA leg and 4th place!

Saturday - Jenn and Otis got an RA leg and 2nd place (and to our surprise, Otis jumped the broad jump with no problems! Way to go!!!)

Saturday - Alyssa and Lacy-Jane got an RN leg and 2nd place at their first trial!

Remy wins big at little dog agility!

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:54:00 -0600

Remy wins big at TDAA (Teacup Dog Agility Association) trial in Fredricksburg, Va!
He was awarded 17 ribbons - 4 first place, 2 second place and 1 third place and 3 titles : TBAD (Teacup Beginner Agile Dog), TG1 and TG2 (Teacup Games), plus Q's for each!!

To Qualify in TDAA, the run has to be perfectly clean - even for beginners, so I am super proud! Those ribbons represent a lot of clean runs!!

Here's a start line high-five! You just had to know that would be a blue ribbon run!

High-five photos by Jim Poor (www.jimpoor.com)

Weekend Dogshow news!!!!

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:59:00 -0600

Congrats to Town and Country Trainers, Laura Bullock and Penny Leigh and to students Joe and Beth Sweeney!!

Laura's dog Grainger received his 2^nd leg toward his Rally Advanced title and Tucker was awarded his 2^nd and 3^rd legs of his Novice Obedience title (now has his CD). He got third place on Saturday and second place on Sunday!

Penny’s Banquo flat-coats won winners bitch, winners dog, and best of breed on Saturday! A complete sweep! ...and WD, BOW, and BOB on Sunday. Her bitch was reserve on Sunday.

Joe Sweeney’s Banquo flat-coat, Murphy, (handled by Penny's husband Dale McElrath) went WD both days to finish his conformation championship – Murphy has gone undefeated for the past five straight shows he has been entered in.

Team Beth Sweeney and Chance took 1st in Standard and 2nd in Jumpers at Vizsla Nationals held in October! They also competed in Rally Advanced and were awarded 1st place which earned Chance his RA Title.