photo credit: Wise K9 Photography
On Last Week’s Episode…
Thank you for the great responses this week, I enjoyed reading them all! Reader Lisa P. graduated from high school in the late 80s and took me back in time with the following vocabulary list, her definitions, and my example usage:
Awesome: really good. “The way that border collie tackled the dog agility course was absolutely awesome, setting a new record time for the competition.”
Radical or Rad: very unusual. “The dog agility course designer came up with a radical new layout, incorporating innovative obstacles that truly challenged the canine athletes.”
Grody to the max: impure and gruesome. “After completing the dog agility course in the muddy field, the dogs looked grody to the max, but their spirits remained high.”
Bogus: that seems unreal or impossible. “When I first heard about the blindfolded dog agility competition, I thought it was a bogus idea, but the dogs and their handlers ended up loving the challenge.”
Geek: awkward smart person. “The self-proclaimed agility geek meticulously studied every aspect of dog training and obstacle design to ensure their dog’s success on the course.”
Goth: dark (both in dress and personality). “The goth dog handler brought a unique sense of style to the dog agility competition, with both her and her dog sporting dark, dramatic outfits.”
Psych: I fooled or misled you. “When my dog refused to come in from the field, I called out ‘time for dinner!’ and when they ran into the house I said ‘psych! no dinner for you.'”
One reader took exception with my example for the phrase “That’s cringe.” I wrote last week, “You see someone pushing their dog in a stroller and mutter to your friend, ‘That’s cringe.'” For nine months, the reader had used a stroller to get her small dog outside of the house following emergency surgery for a ruptured disc that left her dog unable to walk.
I’m glad she shared her story because I agree that her situation was definitely NOT cringe.
Senior Prom
I never went to my high school senior prom, although I did go to junior prom. Apparently, it’s a big deal and our son wanted to be a part of it, promposal and all. It didn’t take place at the school gym, but rather at a hotel in Galveston, 45 minutes south of us. A week or so before prom, I took Isaac to Al’s Formal Wear, where thirty years earlier as a college freshman I rented a tux for my first formal at Rice University. Now, prepare yourselves, because I’m about to channel my father: in 1994 I paid $95 for a tuxedo and shoes rental—Isaac stuck me with a bill for over $300 for his suit and shoes!
His date was his lifelong childhood friend, Anya (just friends, no romance here!). They went with a large group of people and had a great time.
Fédération Mondiale Bergers Belges (FMBB)
Romania hosted this year’s Fédération Mondiale Bergers Belges (FMBB) April 11th-16th. and as a newly minted owner of a Malinois, I took notice. Translated, FMBB means World Federation of Belgian Shepherds, therefore the event is open only to those dogs.
Malinois, Tervueren, and Groenendael are all eligible to compete in several different events: IGP, Mondioring, Agility, Obedience, Canicross, and Bikejoring (5 km and 2 km). Bikejoring is a growing newish dog sport I had never heard of until I wrote this Wrap Up. Learn more about bikejoring from this AKC article, where it looks like your dog is attached to your mountain bike. Wait, there’s more! If you don’t have a bike, you can attach your dog to YOU, and now you’re ready to compete in Canicross.
IGP (Internationale Gebrauchshund Pruefung) is basically IPO or Schutzhund, and I’ll leave the distinctions to the experts. Mondioring is also a protection sport, and I have to say, it looks pretty cool.
For the agility competition, Greece captured the team event, topping 15 other countries. Czechia (the Czech Republic) finished in 2nd, Spain in 3rd, and Italy in 4th. For the individual competition, the top 5 dogs all ran clean in both the agility and jumping rounds, but it was Kateřina Burdová (Czechia) and her Malinois Cayenne Clever Fox who won gold with a combined time of 75.46 and a beautiful running dogwalk! VIP members—I will be breaking down the winning run for this month’s run analysis.
[VIDEO]: Kateřina Burdová (Czechia) and her Malinois Cayenne Clever Fox
Second place went to Lisbet Jeremy (France) and Malinois Magma des Anges de Sheitan (77.45), while third place went to Rachele Corradini (Italy) and Malinois Omerta (79.17). Congratulations to all the handlers and teams that competed at the event!
No American dogs competed in agility at FMBB but I hope this will change in the next few years.
That’s all for this week, but let me ask you, do you remember YOUR prom? Feel free to share your story with me at team@baddogagility.com.
Happy Training,
