More updates

I saw this picture on Facebook.  I just couldn't resist saving it.  Our shelties already sleep on the bed, and Spryte will even sleep right on our pillows.  I'm sure this is what it will look like when we have four shelties.  Haha,  Sheltie bliss!

First update: I have approval to use Ch Shobna Ace of Spades CD RN CGN as the stud dog for Spryte's summer breeding.  I am very excited about this breeding. I have been lucky enough to meet several of his offspring and they are all very outgoing, confident and driven dogs.  Friends of mine own a bi blue son of Ace's and he is an amazing agility dog so far.  Flash is a little over a year and he is excelling in his training, he's confident on the equipment, and loving the handler focused moves. Flash just wants to go fast!  He is fun to watch and he is so much like Spryte in his personality.  I really am excited to see what Spryte and Ace produce!

here is Ace's page:  http://www3.telus.net/public/lstring/ace.htm

Second Update:  Spryte's running Aframe is going well. I still have the box on the aframe and I would say about 90% of the time she is striding right into the middle of the yellow before leaving the frame. I'm very pleased with it. My first few sessions I was just throwing the food to her ahead of the aframe after I clicked. This was causing her to look sideways sometimes and not driving ahead.

 I remembered that when I taught Strider's running contacts I always had a food bowl set out ahead of the equipment and sent him forward to that. The idea was to pattern him to move straight off the equipment, look forward and hopefully run lower and not jump early.  Well it worked with Strider so I started to do it with Spryte. I was much happier with the results from this and I will have to do it in every session from now on.  Below are some videos. The first video is me throwing the food the second is with the food bowl on the ground. (Notice how we have practically no snow! How lucky for us!)

Third Update:  I had Spryte's Hips and Elbows xrayed last Thursday to send off to OFA.  She is 20 months now and we plan to breed her just after her second birthday. So there was no way I would have OFA's done on her (they need to be 2 for the final grade) by the time she would be bred.  But I  noticed on the website that you can send xrays for preliminary grades.  And with her being 20 months, she is done growing and her joints are formed.  So I figured that whatever grade they give me for her preliminary will be her final grade.  So this way I can get it done before she is bred.  I think the only difference with the preliminaries is that she won't get a final grade and it might not be listed on the OFA website.  But at least I will have a professionals opinion on her hips and elbows. The xrays looked good, so here's hoping they come back at least rated "good".