PrimeTime Papillons

Happy 2nd Birthday Flera 🎊 Thank you Dzintra Krapovska for this marvelous girl! Her favorite thing to do is zoom around the back field and give Primo a run for his money 😅 She is the perfect blend of crazy and cuddly, she is the best girl on hikes, and is comfortable wherever we go. I have loved watching her blossom into such an amazing lady 🌸

Practice on an Alex Beitl course. I was the first to try my hand at this course, and running it like a team run… clean at all costs. The start was right up against the wall, so I couldn’t set him up to layer that first sequence. So my question, “should I just run around this mother f*cker?” was valid 😂 Abbey wanted to put the broad jump next to the poles for added difficulty 🤪 Happy to report, we made it through 💪

A course from our practice this week. Things seemed closer together than usual 🙈 Or maybe it’s because I’m running huge distances in my field 🤪

What are we doing to prepare for the European Open? 🇺🇸 Basic dog training for 3 new verbals of course 😅 The one we worked on today was “switch” which is a generic rear cross verbal. I’ve always handled rears with just a “jump” verbal or “jump left/ right”with appropriate motion and shoulders. And we have directional tight wraps “low” and “wrap” that I can also use for tight rear crosses. “Switch” is just easier to remember on course and he will know where he going prior to taking off for the jump. The first verbal we worked on was “hop hop” which we are are already using in competitions really well. “Jump” has become a jump in extension verbal, where “hop” indicates a soft turn toward me. These two verbals are supported by motion (usually) which is why I taught these two first. With how difficult these international courses are, Primo needs as much information about what is coming next as soon as possible. I’m confident we will be able to utilize these at EO 🇩🇰💪 The last will be “out”. Which will be a layering cue and also a ‘diverge from my line and do whatever I tell you’ verbal. This is going to take a bit longer and a lot more imagination on my part, to try and figure out lots of scenarios where we will likely need to use “out” and set up small sequences to teach this. My notes for ideas for this are ridiculous 😂

Omg 🥹 Yesterday I made the CUTEST decision 🥰 To deal with my nervous energy about the call for the World Championships, I decided it was time... Seeya had a beautiful full coat, but it was just too much for her tiny 7.75 inch body (19.5cm). She deserves a life with no hitchhikers on her undercarriage 🐌🌱🍃 And one where her hair can stay out of her mouth while she is conducting business 🎾 I didn’t think it was possible for Seeya to be any cuter! But it looks like I just made my own personal Muppet ☺️ 💖 She is definitely enjoying her summer body 👙☀️

Now THAT was a wild ride!!!! 🤩😅 Clean in Pentathlon Jumping 1 🙌 We are moving on with two clear rounds 🦋🇺🇸❤️🤍💙 Going to walk Pentathlon Agility 2 and Biathlon Jumping!!!

Call me crazy… while my friends in the USA were sleeping at 2:30am, I was running my booty off in Pentathlon Agility 1 in Netherlands 🤪😅 Super proud we could hang on to our lines (for the most part 🫣) through this super tricky Petr Pupik course 💪 Our only major bobble was at the backside of #5… Primo seemed a little concerned about how crowded this area was (honestly… so was I 😂). Out of the corner of my eye, it looked like he was going to flank #5 my decision to connect over my left to make sure he took it was bad timing. But we saved it!! 💪🇺🇸 So far so good, onward and upward 🇺🇸❤️🤍💙🦋

The cheers help fuel Primo’s fire 🦋🇺🇸 He was ready to represent WAO Team USA in Team Agility. One dog from every jump height is selected to run each team run. We were focused and together throughout the entire course 💕 And it was SO much fun!!!! We lived in the moment, and ran with all our heart 💗 Thank you Primo for being you 💙

Bath day is so exciting 😂🧼🫧🛁

Chai is an absolute joy in every way 🧡 One month ago, she did her very first agility training with equipment. This is a compilation of all of her “firsts” so far…from her first tunnel and wrapping an upright with Nadine (all the way from Germany 🙈). To today, where we did our first blind cross in a sequence 🤗 I love watching how dogs learn. And because I’ve been doing other life skill stuff and toy play with her, I feel like I understand how she learns. This will be an interesting journey… because she isn’t a baby, and I know her pretty well. We are just thoughtfully throwing things at her, taking a step back… seeing what sticks and what needs “more”. As long as she is having fun, we will keep going. My wishes for her to have a happy and fulfilled life are coming true 🧡 Onward and upward my sweet and spicy Chai ☕️ Next up (equipment wise) weave poles! And maybe someday we will get a startline 😅 (Or maybe not, who knows 🤷‍♀️😂)

Primo was ready to race his mama today 🤩 The goal is always to find the line, make the best handling and verbal choices, just RUN it if I can, and use his skills when I need to. With an added bonus challenge of not over utilizing his name, and trust him to listen to my verbals and think 😅 He was brilliant. But I must say, my favorite thing about my private with Jenn today was… watching Chai learn to be still… and think. I needed a friend to remind me to be still and LET her think ❤️ As a small spicy girl myself, I’m not good at teaching a dog to NOT move 😂 Of course I forgot to set up the tripod 🙈 Having done her first tunnel at 14 months this will be an interesting journey for my little nugget 💗 All she knows is that mom is fun, toys are fun, running around with mom AND toys is amazing, and food is beyond amazing. We have homework and Chai is ready for school 🧡

Flera just loooves to RUN 💗 They had been at it a while before I realized I had my phone in my hand 😅 Enjoying this beautiful evening after we got the last points we needed for AKC Nationals. This was the only day we were entered before the deadline 😬😅

Primo running a Zsuzsa course for EOTT prep 💪💙

Flera chasing a different kind of butterfly in the field 🦋😂