Goals for the Summer

This Saturday Scooter finished off a title that was a long time in the making, her ARChMX. For the non-rally obedience enthusiasts out there the ARChMX (APDT Rally Master Champion) requires 10 triple Q's from levels 1,2,3 after having earned the ARChEX (APDT Rally Master Champion Extraordinaire), ARChX (APDT Rally Champion Excellent), and ARCh (APDT Rally Champion).

Scooter and I got a pretty ribbon out of the deal - the green/white/blue one centered under her picture. I also got around to putting up Trixie's MACh2 ribbons, better late than never, right?

This title was one of MANY dog show goals that I'd always been meaning to get around to earning but hadn't actually scheduled the trials necessary to do so. With the prospect of leaving for college on the horizon I've begun to start to think seriously about what title oriented goals I want to have completed before I go away for the year. I've already decided that this  will be the last season that Scooter trials in anything - she's just so much happier on the couch ;) - and Trixie and I are going to be doing some serious retraining when I get back from my first year. Both dogs have dangling legs for at least 15-20 titles and I definitely have no intention of finishing all of them, but there are some that I want to have finished. After looking into the feasibility of scheduling, I've managed to compile a list of what I think can be finished before I leave for college in August.

The titles and how close we are:

Trixie:

AKC Coursing Ability Title: 2/3 Q's
AKC Beginner Novice: 1/3 Q's
AKC T2B: 14/15 Q's and 100/100 points
AKC Master Excellent FAST: 7/10 Q's
AKC Triple Qualifying Excellent: 5/10QQQ's

CPE C-ATCH: 35/40 Q's ( 9/10 STD, 5/5 J, 4/5 FH, 5/5 WC, 3/5 C, 4/5 JP, 5/5 SN)

USDAA Performance Dog Champion: 9/30 Q's
USDAA Master Performance Jumper: 1/5 Q's
USDAA Master Performance Gambler: 1/5 Q's
USDAA Master Performance Snooker: 1/5 Q's
USDAA Master Performance Relay: 0/5 Q's
USDAA Master Performance Standard: 1/5 Q's
USDAA Tournament Master: 7/10 Q's

Most of Trixie's title finishes were no-brainers. She's 5 Q's away from her CPE C-ATCH, so we should be able to complete that fairly painlessly. She's one Q away from her CA title and we've already scheduled two tests - honestly I like doing lure coursing more for the great cardio exercise than the title. The MXF should be doable. The TQX *might* be a challenge, still I think she's up for it :) I threw up the goal of a PDCH in USDAA just because I thought it was worth a shot. We've been having quite the unfortunate time with gamblers, but I'd like to see how close we can get. I also put finishing her beginner novice title up because there are some obedience trials on fridays, but I'm too much of an agility diehard to sacrifice a weekend of agility for some heeling ;)

Scooter:

AKC Coursing Ability Title: 1/3 Q's
AKC Master Jumpers Preferred: 9/10 Q's

CL4-R: 6/8 Q's
CL4-S: 4/8 Q's (2/4 Snooker, 2/4 Jackpot)

Wishful Thinking:

CPE C-ATCH: 9/40 Q's
AKC Preferred Agility Excellent (PAX): 7/20 QQ's

Scooter's list I had more trouble with. She's so far away from anything giant like a C-ATCH or a PAX that it's impossible for her to get both and honestly unlikely that she'd be able to finish either of the two. At the moment I'm feeling like I'll just get the Q's I can and enjoy running with her; we'll celebrate our successes and both get ice cream if we fail. This summer I plan on just enjoying the game and taking it all in stride.