Brags

Cassie had another exciting day of Scentwork! She was entered for her NW1 in Kansas. There were 33 dogs entered. She finished 2nd Overall, 1st in Containers, 3rd in Exteriors and Overall Pronounced! Judges are allowed to declare exceptional teams Pronounced. This can be from speed, accuracy, teamwork, and clear indications. Essentially they stood out. Cassie was considered pronounced in every search! 

The very next weekend after Cassie's last competition, she and her mama travelled to Kansas for Scentwork. Cassie she went 12/12 and finished her AKC Novice title! She was High in Trial out of Novice B two of the three days, competing against up to 13 dogs, many of them experienced working towards elite titles! She averaged 13 seconds per search and made every judge laugh a little at her antics, especially in containers and buried where the surface was quite slick. What an amazing girl! 

March 8 weekend, Cassie finished Level 1 CPE, started Level 2 and went 7/7! Her scent career is really taking off! She looks very proud showing off all her winning ribbons from this weekend. Hurray to Cassie and her mama! 

Both in January and February, Summit and I got to compete in local agility trials. This is very exciting because normally we don't get the opportunity to compete during the winter. The downside is that with snow on the ground our practice time is limited. Despite not getting a ton of Q's, we had a lot of fun! Summit got a couple more points toward her Masters Jumpers title. With the opening as the Good As Gold facility, we now get to train where we compete! And we should start seeing more regular trials, year-round! Whoohoo!! 

On Feb 8, 2025 Maui obtained both his open containers and interiors. Unfortunately, there was a very appealing garbage can that needed marking during his exteriors, so he will have to finish his open exteriors title another day. My husband and I popped into visit Maui before his competition, and boy is he growing to be a handsome boy! We are very hopeful that someone will want to use Maui for their program one day. 

We are so thrilled for Cascade 

https://www.k9data.com/pedigree.asp?ID=1322464

for her success in Nosework this weekend. Cassie earned both her Novice Interiors and Exteriors titles, after finding 4/4 scents. The judge gave her extra points for enthusiasm! Without question this Torch x Summit puppy loves and lives to work. Congratulations Cassie and Trish! 

This past weekend (Nov 16-17th, 2024), Summit and I attended an agility trial at Dynamo Dogsports! Summit had a GREAT weekend getting another Q towards her Standard Excellent title, and getting 2 Q's towards her Masters Jumpers title. This was our last trial of the 2024 year, but we are so excited to return to competition in January. 2025 will mark the run towards Summit's Masters Agility Championship title. We will see how many points we can accumulate before her Fall breeding to Rio <3 

Nov 2, 2024, our first-born Cassie, attended her first scent trial. She went 2/2 finding both of her hides. Her mom sent us videos of her search and you could tell she was having the absolute best time! Cassie's mom has been told by very dog-experienced people that Cassie is the happiest dog they have ever met. We love to see her loving life whether it be cuddling on the couch, hiking, training or competing. This girl is up for it all! 

Today (Oct 13, 2024), we are celebrating 7-month old Maui, who just earned his first CKC Novice scent title with his dad, Owner of Canines by Chris (https://www.caninesbychris.ca/). He is a stellar dog trainer, and is proving it with his Rundlemtn puppy, Maui. I have no doubt this is the first of many titles they will receive together! So proud of our Rundlemtn puppies and their families!

Oct 5, 2024 Summit earned her Scent Detection Excellent title at the Alberta Portuguese Water Dog Club trial in Bruderheim, AB. She had a clean sweep getting her Excellent Containers, Interiors, and Exteriors all in one day! Now we are starting our prep for the Masters level of scent detection. We'll have to keep our eye out for any upcoming trials. But tonight, we celebrate! 

This past weekend (Sept 28-29, 2024), two puppies from Summit's second litter had great success! Icy (pictured above) from Uprise Retrievers got her Working Certificate. And Maui from Canines by Chris got his scent interiors and containers qualifiers towards his Novice Scent title. Such impressive work from 6.5 month old puppies. I love seeing the product of genes x rearing x training and great homes! 

Sept 6-8, 2024 we attended the Rocky Mountain Agility Club trial at WetNoses - one of our favourite places to compete! Summit brought home two new titles - Excellent Jumpers with Weavers (JWW) and Steeplechase! We are now at the Masters level in JWW, and starting her run for a Championship. 

August 1-4, 2024 we attended the AKC Summer Classic. Summit got 3 jumps & tunnels Q’s, 3 steeplechase Q’s, 1 jumpers and weavers excellent Q, and our first excellent standard Q! Before our last run, the photographer who had been there all weekend stopped to tell me that she thought Summit and I made a beautiful team 💕. I was deeply moved by her compliment! The courses by judges Jan Skurzynski and Dale Mahoney were absolutely gorgeous! The Alberta Kennel Club put on an incredible event. On top of it all, it was so great seeing and cheering on my fellow competitors, and sharing a tent with Cydweli Corgis. I want to do it all over again! 

June 8-9th 2024, Summit earned 2 more points towards her Steeplechase title. She now has 6/10, and will have a chance to earn this title at an upcoming CKC trial in August! Although she would have to get all 4 clean runs... This month is all about practice, practice, practice to get her ready for the upcoming trial. Yahoooo!

Summit earned her Intermediate Points and Distance title at the FSACA CKC Agility Trial in Edmonton, Alberta the first weekend of June 2024.

May 18, 2024 I helped the Golden Retriever Club of Alberta put on a structure and movement seminar led by CKC/AKC judge Nancy Talbott. Often performance breeders are criticized for not prioritizing structure. But, goldens need to be properly balanced for long and successful careers in dogs sports. I pride myself in my continuous learning and promotion of proper golden retriever structure, movement, and coat. This remains a high priority of my breeding program, despite not currently breeding goldens specifically for the show ring.