Pet-a-Palooza Dock Diving

I'm really late to post about this, but better late than never, right?

Exiting the pool

Photo by Ruthye Cole

So, on April 26th we attended a large pet fair called Pet-a-Palooza, which is intended to be both a celebration of our pets and an opportunity to raise awareness of shelter dogs and adoption efforts. The event is sponsored by several local radio stations and features all kinds of events and performances, including dock diving.

Photo by Ruthye Cole

The days leading up to the event, we had been drenched by several rain storms and I was worried it might be too chilly for Pi to want to swim, let alone put in a good jump or two. I ended up being half right and half wrong. The day was overcast, so there was not a whole lot of sun, and the high temperature ended up being in the mid 70's. He was enthusiastic as always, and achieved a new personal best, but his endurance towards the end of the day really went down and I'm sure the weather had something to do with it.

There were three splashes, and I got a little ambitious and entered all three. Pi still has a tendency to hesitate right before he jumps, but even so he manages to jump pretty far. His first jump measured 14 feet 2 inches, just 2 inches further than the next longest jump in his division, which earned him a 1st place in Splash 1.

After the first splash I toweled him off and went to explore the rest of the fair. There were tons of vendor booths handing out free samples of dog food so I quickly visited as many of those as I could, and also grabbed some lunch. After I was done cramming a tri-tip sandwich down my face we headed back to the dock just in time for roll call for the second splash. I never know what possesses Pi to pull off new personal bests, but he really went the extra mile and jumped 15 feet 6 inches! The funny thing about personal bests is that while they are exciting they also frequently bump your dog into a different jump division, which often means you get a lower placement overall. By jumping 15 feet, Pi moved up to the Senior Division and placed 7th overall for that splash.

Photo by Lisa Smith

For the third and final splash, I could tell that Pi was getting cold and tired, but he still put in two good jumps, and placed 1st in his division with a 14 foot jump. I didn't even consider staying for finals given how tired we all were, although I really wanted to. There will always be other competition days, and with summer looming upon us there will be plenty of opportunities for better jumping conditions. Until then, I was happy to go home with two 1st placements and a new personal best; which is pretty sweet actually :-)

Gil's 30 Seconds of Fame

Gil's image was just voted "Best in Exploring" on the Purina Pro Plan Facebook page. Every two weeks the editors of the Pro Plan page start a photo contest with a specific theme. Viewers are allowed to submit as many photos as they want for consideration, but only four are chosen for the final vote. My photo was chosen by a very narrow margin, as far as I can tell. There were some equally nice submissions, but in the end my photo of Gil took the prize. I think it's pretty exciting! And yes, he does actually eat Pro Plan dog food :)

New Dock Diving Title

Photo by Kaylee Jeske

I really despise hot weather; even temperatures in the mid to low 80's annoys me. In the past I really had nothing to look forward to in the summertime in terms of dog events, because it's really too hot to do anything, even go to a dog show (unless it's indoors). All of that changed once Pi got started in dock diving competitions last year; and while it's not my personal favorite activity, he really enjoys it and it gives us something to do during the summer months.

Photo by Kaylee Jeske

The weather here has been hovering in the mid to high 80's in recent weeks, so I decided that it wouldn't be a bad time to take Pi out for a dive or two before the summer, just to make sure he still remembered how to play the game.

One happy puppy

Photo by Kaylee Jeske

So, on April 12th we made the long drive down to the Doggone Dirty Dock Diving Facility in Hollister. There were four splashes that day, but I only entered two of them; first, because I didn't feel like waking up at the crack of dawn so that we could arrive by 9:00am, and second because I was sure it wouldn't be terribly warm that early in the morning and I didn't want to run the risk of Pi losing enthusiasm for being chilly.

Photo by Kaylee Jeske 

So we arrived around 11:00am, giving me enough time to get my stuff set up and get a practice dive or two in before the splash started at noon. While waiting in line for our turn to practice, Pi was quite excited and animated just watching the other dogs jump, so it looked like he still remembered the game and, hopefully, was still willing to play. He did two practice jumps with no hesitation other than a slight faltering at the edge of the dock, which he has a tendency to do anyway.

Pi is not known for being patient

Photo by Kaylee Jeske

He was called first in the noon splash, and made two very good jumps. The first jump measured 14 feet 5 inches, which ended up being his longest jump of the day and earned him a first place in the Junior Division (out of 4 total in the same division). His second jump in that splash was significantly shorter at 11 feet 6 inches. I probably need to work on getting him more amp'd up the second time around in addition to working on overall technique.

Photo by Kaylee Jeske

Photo by Kaylee Jeske

The next splash had a slightly larger entry, which always makes things a bit more exciting. Both of Pi's jumps also ended up putting him the Junior Division; the first jump measured 12 feet 10 inches, and the second jump measured 13 feet 3 inches.

Photo by Kaylee Jeske

Photo by Kaylee Jeske

Photo by Kaylee Jeske

That longer jump earned him a second place in the Junior Division (out of 6 total), and also earned him his "JD" dock diving title. Dock diving isn't the original vocation of the Magyar Agar, but it's still fun to achieve new milestones with a breed, particularly a rare breed.

Photo by Kaylee Jeske

Photo by Kaylee Jeske

Photo by Kaylee Jeske

No Puppies This Spring :-(

We took Luna to the vet for an ultrasound yesterday hoping to confirm a pregnancy. She was bred to Gil on March 14th and we were hoping to have a litter on the ground towards the end of May. Unfortunately it was not to be; the vet was unable to find any puppies, and we were understandably disappointed. The vet suggested that we do a complete thyroid panel and cultures on Luna to make sure there's nothing wrong on that end. Given her age, and the fact that she's a virgin bitch, we may have to use a more invasive breeding method next time around.

Pi's First Meet Win!

Photo by Steve Tradewell

Every spring, our little racing club (Racing and Coursing Enthusiasts "RACE") hosts a weekend of all breed sprint racing. This year's spring meet was actually the first time since the Grand Course that Pi and Gil would be competing in any kind of running event. Although Pi came out of the accident unscathed, Gil's right arm had taken a bit of beating, particularly his wrist joint. Over the preceding weeks the inflammation had gone down, along with his lameness, but the joint was left with some permanent and noticeable calcification. I considered leaving him out of the race meet, but considering his age (he's going to be 7 years old in June) and the fact that his most competitive years are pretty much over, and his total lack of pain or tenderness in the joint, I could not justify keeping him from doing what he loves most. I decided that if he came up lame again the worst that could happen would be scratching him from the rest of the meet, and if he stayed sound I would continue to let him run and he would be a very happy puppy.

Gil making a strong finish,

Photo by Steve Tradewell

As it turned out, Gil ran soundly the entire weekend and doesn't seem to have slowed down at all despite being the oldest dog still competing. While his wrist did swell up a tiny bit (barely noticeable), he did not present with any lameness at all so I allowed him to finish both meets on both days. I wrapped his foot and wrist with elastikon tape just to give it a little bit of support, and to cut down on any swelling. I don't know how effective it actually was, but it didn't hurt.

Gil in white, Pi in red, and Gator in blue

Photo by Steve Tradewell

The first day's meet was a match between the three big boys, Gator, Gil, and Baby Pi; and Dude was entered in singles. With Luna possibly in whelp we decided it was best for her to sit this one out (much to her distress). Pi finished second in the first two programs, then went on to finish first in the final program. This secured his spot at the top and earned him his very first High Score in Meet award!

Pi in blue, Gator in white

Photo by Steve Tradwell

Pi pulling ahead for the win!

Photo by Steve Tradewell

Gator came in a close second in the meet, and Gil a close third. Dude ran some very fast singles races, with a best time of 12.58 and an average of 12.78. His times were only bested by the whippets, which is great considering that whippets were made for sprint racing!

Gator, photo by Steve Tradewell

The next day was just Gil and Pi running in the regular stakes, and Dude running in singles. Either Pi was having an off day or Gil had decided that he wasn't going to let his only son beat him a second time, because Gil won the meet with a perfect score and a significant lead in every program. I was extremely pleased, not only that he won against a far younger dog, but that he finished so strongly all weekend despite his recent injury. Dude also had a better day running in the singles stake with a best time of 11.4, only a tenth of a second slower than Hattie's slowest run (and Hattie is one fast Greyhound)!

Gil coming into the finish, and coming down hard on that right wrist with no issue,

Photo by Steve Tradewell

Overall it was a great weekend, and a great start to the 2014 racing season. We look forward to more weekends of racing and lure coursing before we take a break for the summer.

Gil in red, Gator in white

Photo by Steve Tradewell

Stripey Dogs in the Snow

Gypsy and Bukky are still enjoying a winter wonderland up in California's Sierra Nevada mountains.

Gypsy, age 5

Bukky, age 12 and still going strong!

News from Abroad: Emlek Goes Coursing!

Emlek, her bracemate, and the hare they caught

Source, Rita Korpas

I've been meaning to write a post about this for some time, but never got around to it until now. With legal coursing becoming more and more of a rarity in Europe, it is refreshing and exciting to see Magyar Agars doing what they were bred to do in their country of origin. 

Thousand yard stare

Source, János Farkas

Emlek is a relative to Gil, Pi, Patti and Pesh (she is Gil's niece and first cousin to the Operetta puppies), so when I found out that she started coursing I was thrilled! Coursing in Hungary is very strictly regulated by the Hungarian government, but is allowed for Magyar Agars exclusively because they are considered a national treasure. These coursing tests are overseen by the Magyar Agár Tenyésztők Országos Egyesülete (MATOE), which is an independent registry not affiliated with the FCI. In order to be granted permission to course, each dog must be registered with the MATOE. Unlike FCI registration, each dog must go through an individual evaluation process to determine whether they meet certain conformational criteria as set forth by the MATOE. One of the stricter requirements is that the dog be solid colored with full pigmentation on the toenails. Apparently the wisdom is that dogs lacking sufficient pigment are more likely to sustain foot injuries due to the more brittle nature of their toenails. As such, poor Gil and Pi would not be allowed to course in Hungary, but thankfully they can enjoy that privilege here in America. 

Emlek is the lighter colored dog

Source, Zsuzsanna Barabás

The coursing tests are always done by the walk-up method, meaning that the dogs walking with the gallery in a line to flush the hares. Once a hare gets up, the dogs are slipped in braces and evaluated for their coursing abilities. Unfortunately, I was not able to get more information on the judging criteria.

Emlek straining in slips

Source, Rita Korpas

Emlek and her bracemate

Source, Rita Korpas 

Watching for hares

Source, Rita Korpas

Source, Rita Korpas

 Emlek and her owner, Rita, on the far left

Source, Imre Kovács

Source, Imre Kovács

Group Photo

Source, János Farkas