Whew, what a year !! But we survived & a lot of good came out of it despite everything.
Originally, I had lots of big goals for 2020 that we were working hard towards. Including, traveling to Brazil for the Americas y Carribe on Team USA with Zae. I also had full intentions of attending World Team Tryouts and earning a spot to be on Team USA to compete at the Agility World Championships. Obviously, all those events got cancelled.
So, we were forced to take a step back from our big competition goals for the year and instead took the opportunity to try many new things we wouldn’t have pursued otherwise. I am quite grateful for all the new endeavors & activities we experienced in 2020. & for all the learning and growth that came in the past year.
Zae’s 2020 Accomplishments
Zae turned 6 years old in December. We had a really fun year together. Our bond continues to strengthen & I really think it was our best year yet. I’m so proud of him !!!
-earned his Novice, Intermediate, Advanced & Performer Trick Dog titles
-earned his NASDA Lost Item Online Level 1 & 2 (first pyrshep to earn a NASDA scentwork title)
–earned his Dog Parkour PKQT Level 1 title
-earned his AKC Rally Novice title with scores of 95, 100 & 99
-qualified for AKC’s 2021 Agility National Championship
-earned his Master Agility Champion title (MACH)
-started training in tracking
-qualified for AKC’s 2021 WTT
-earned his AKC Rally Intermediate title with scores of 70, 99 & 99 (handler errors for points off)
-qualified for AKC’s 2021 Rally National Championship
Onnea’s 2020 Accomplishments
Onnea grew up beautifully & has started her ‘big dog’ jiliity trainings. She had quite a few accomplishments last year, and at not even 2 years old !! What a bright future we’ll have together. I just adore my little raccoon.
-competed at the Joriad North American Truffle Dog Championship 2020 (at 11 months old)
-earned her NASDA Lost Item Online Level 1, 2, 3 & Master Championship
-earned her AKC Trick Dog Novice, Intermediate & Advanced titles
-had her agility debut & since earned 3 legs
-started training in tracking
-earned her first Rally Novice leg with a score of 97
-invited to NASDA’s Invitationals for being a top 10 qualifying dog in 2020
-awarded NASDA’s Best of Breed as the top competing Pyrshep in 2020
PYRWILD Updates
At the end of summer, we relocated to a great new arena in the area. Temporarily, until the perfect property comes along and those big plans come into fruition. 😉 Meanwhile, I stay very busy with all my awesome students each week & am so grateful for each and everyone one of them !! I love what I do – and yes, I am still taking on new students ! I am happy to help you towards any sport or training goals you may have ! Please see the Training page & email me. 🙂
This summer, we hosted two different ACT 1 tests @ PYRWILD. ACT is a pre-novice AKC agility title. At the first test in July, 5 out of 7 students tested earned their ACT 1 title. Four of those teams were ‘Novice A’, aka had never earned an agility title on any dog before. At the second test in September, 5 of the 7 teams tested earned their ACT 1 title (all Novice A teams). So cool !! I am so very proud of each of you.
Also, now I am a certified ACT evaluator !! Going forward, there will be more ACT 1 & 2 titling opportunities @ PYRWILD for students !!
& l’ve purchased a new set of equipment that will be coming in from Europe !! Super excited. Will be top of the line stuff that is the same equipment seen at big, international events & is super safe for the dogs. Currently counting down the days until it arrives to Oregon. 🙂
Mayhem & Stormy Updates
Mayhem went back to home to WI to live with my dad early last year. As hard as the decision was, it was for the best & now all parties are as happy as could be. Mayhem is back with his favorite person and is happily living as an only dog & heathen. The dynamic in my household has had a big positive shift since he left & really strengthened the bond between me and Zae. After a cross country trip to escape the wildfires here, we all got to visit in September & that was really nice.
Stormy turned 12 in March and was diagnosed with an enlarged heart. It was very sad and unexpected news. But luckily, she is doing just fine since. She is still the best girl & enjoys some hikes with the rest of us here and there when the weather is mild. She is truly such a special dog to me & I look forward to enjoying many, many more days together. Without her, there wouldn’t be any of this !! 💜
Breeding
Zae is available as a stud to approved bitches. I look forward to the Zae-babies that come into the world eventually. They’ll be really talented & cool. If you’re interested in a pyrshep from me at some point check out my Breeding Plans & Litters – it’s never too early get in contact & on my list !! 🙂
Online Classes
The next session of Teeter Tune-Ups will be sometime in summer. Perfect for those needing to revamp, or ‘tune-up’ their teeter & for those looking to build a strong teeter from the start.
& I have a new online learning opportunity, PYRWILD Online is an ongoing, follow-along class that follows both my in-person teaching & my own agility training with my dogs. Each month there will be 1-2 course sets with many nested courses and challenges & variations to work through and master on one set up. A really fun, online learning community !! PYRWILD Online is the perfect way to work with me remotely & really dive-in and learn.
In 2021, I continue to be grateful for all that’s been & continue to look forward to all that is yet to come with much gratitude. Thank you to everyone who was a part of our year.
