I’ve been lax in writing blog posts – mostly because we have had quite a busy fall/early winter so far!
We attended two Flyball tournaments, and Casper broke his personal best multiple times, now down to a new best time of 5.002 seconds.
We started training for Agility in September and are entered in our first fun run on Casper’s second birthday!
At the end of September, despite a points-recording snafu that took until mid-December to resolve with AKC, Casper ran 4 Fast CATs (lure coursing tests in a 100 yard straight dash). He loved it and while he earned 144 points (150 needed for a title! So close!) he also set a 2017 Kooikerhondje record of 26.12 MPH, which is also the second-fastest run all-time.
In October we drove to Portland to meet with some veterinarians at Mars Animal Health who are working on genetic testing products including our breed. We then participated in a Judge’s Education event in Clackamas, OR.
The next weekend we had our local Kooikermeet (/Wandeling) in Kubota Garden in South Seattle. It was a lovely location and we had a nice walk with five Kooikers, five other dogs, and their people!
In November, I went without the dogs to the VHNK Symposium and Clubshow in the Netherlands. The Symposium was absolutely what I needed – I met (and reconnected with) so many European Kooiker people and we had great presentations and discussion about the current state and future of our breed. The next day we attended the Clubshow in Zutphen, and I saw a fascinating variety of dogs (find a public album of my pictures from the show here).
Come December, the boys tried their first Barn Hunt experience, and both of them took to it naturally, and we are eagerly awaiting our first trial!
Braam got to work at the University of Washington during finals week as a therapy dog, visiting stressed students. We hadn’t had a therapy visit in a few months, so he enjoyed it quite a bit!
In December, Casper passed his CGC test and has started training with me in bikejoring. We also have been continuing his agility, nosework, Flyball, and bird training.
Here’s to an equally busy new year!