News 1

17.11. - BIG congratulations to our US friends, Daisy&Solar and Ashley&Luka, for winning USDAA Nationals!!! And to Melanie&Smitty for 4th and Ashley&Luka for 1st place in Steeplechase! You can see some videos of all of them on my FAQ: My running contacts, that's why I'm especially proud of them:). Pretty cool, huh!?!

25.10. - Today, here come some latest hiking photos and thanks to Jitka who took those at the recent seminar in Czech Republic: some agility photos of Bu and Bi and some tricks videos of La, Bu and Bi. Thanks!

9.10. - Another big brag today: La won National Championship 2009, for the 4th time, with all-wins!!! She is also National Cup winner 2009 (for 5th time), also with all-wins. She is very consistent this season, that's why WC was a little bit of a surprise.

Bu was actually very close to the title too, just one bar away, but she ran faster as ever before in competition, I think she was so happy she doesn't need to run in that loud loud hall again that she ran twice as fast as usually, that was for sure her best run in competitions ever, I loved it!

1.10. - Finally, my S ummer Tricks Class video! With big thanks to all the participants for doing such a great job training their wonderful dogs, you were so much fun to work with!

22.9. - O.k., I sure could do a better job handling and if nothing else, NOT forget the course:), but I'm actually very happy about this year WC, I think both Bu and La did really great. I'm especially proud of my slow, no-drive BC, not only running in very scary environment for her, but also setting some best times. I thanked her after every run for trusting me so much to come with me to the start line, I know how hard it was for her and she sure is a world champion for me. And I was very happy to see that La is back to her normal wild herself, those 5 clean runs on EO, all with placements, but none with a win, was for sure NOT La-like. WC on the other hand was very La-like: she won her 10th run on WCs and was somewhat chaotic in some others:). I'll be posting videos soon, for now, just a short report from Dornbirn and a video of Bu, team jumping.

And of course: happy 8th birthday, my crazy little La!!! I hope you stay just as crazy and wild also for the next 8 years!

31.8. - So here comes a video of Bi on agility training. She is jumping 55cm now and can do all obstacles. Her dog-walks are mostly 1.3s, sometimes even under it.

I'm also putting up some agility photos from this season, taken by Andraz Cerar, Iztok Noc and Polona Zeleznikar (thanks!). And for everybody asking if I have some videos from EO - actually I don't, but there are several on YouTube, here is La in finals, here is Bu in team jumping and here are several more.

16.8. - Yes, back home again. EO was great, very nice place, plenty of space to walk the dogs, great organisation, many really great dogs and great runs, I loved it. I was also very happy with our runs, La ran all 5 runs clean and placed in each, she sure is a record holder of how many times one can appear on a podium:). But seems like times when I can run slow&safe and still win are over, time to start running now!

The seminars were lots of fun too, have seen many new great dogs and lots of progress from those that I see every year. But it's still nice to be home, the dogs are sure happy to have their old life back, hiking, swimming and learning some new tricks. See our Summer Hiking Photos and a short puppy update. I also put some new Q&A to FAQ: My running contacts article.

19.7. - Yes, we're back from vacations, but leaving abroad for some seminars and EO, so I'll post more updates when we are back, for now, just this cool picture from the mountains. The dogs were the major turistic attraction for the capricorns, they called all their friends to come see and then even followed us!

There was never any doubt about La, she won qualifications (we had absolute qualifications, S, M and L running together) with ease, leading from first competition on. Bu didn't start all that well, but on last two qualifications, judged by the two WC judges, she sure showed all her brilliance, beating La and all (she never before beat La in jumping!) and finishing as the highest placed large in qualifications (after two mediums, both experienced WC dogs: La and Sja). Another thing to brag about is that first four dogs in qualifications have running contacts!

Don't worry, the bar stayed up, she has it all under the control. She might be autistic, but she is a genius when it comes to calculating how and where to jump to have the most efficient path possible. She sure is the queen of turns - whoever thinks La turns tight, never met Bu!

And here comes the second trick video I promised, Labubi Drum Band. And off we go for vacations again...

24.6. - As promised, here comes the first from the two tricks videos, our Summer Tricks and a puppy update.

And yet another picture of La from yet another winning run, in pouring rain last weekend: yeah, sun or rain, those see-saws are way too slow, says La. Looking pretty good for a dog that was given no chance to survive a year ago, huh? She sure is the coolest little doggy ever!

Yes, we're still alive, just very busy and more on vacations as home... So for now, just an update of Teaching a trick is the least important part of teaching tricks article and a a video of various agility runs by La, Bu and some from good old Lo too from this season as many people asked to see some more of agility too (with BIG thanks to Petra for taping us!). But don't worry, I'm already preparing puppy update and two fun tricks videos so... Stay tuned!

16.5. - Finally: my puppy class video! Big thanks to all the cool puppies & their handlers who are starring in a video and to Petra for taping it! It's a great class, I really love breed variety, from the little Pug to the Malamut!

And a picture of La, yelling at the see-saw for falling down too slowly, taken in her winning run on a big international competition in Monza, Italy, last weekend:

30.4. - Thanks to Barbara, here comes a video for everybody that wanted a more detailed, step by step explanation on how I teach the correct position for heeling. The video is made by my puppy student and yes, of course that's a cute cute puppy, it's La's 3/4 sister! And yes, I promise to do a video with the whole class too, they're all such great students that I really need to brag with them some more!

Also, a short update on the whole gang this time, people are starting to complain they want to hear more about LoLaBu too:). - Starting with a photo of Lo, 12+ years, from a competition last weekend - I guess that smile tells you everything you need to know:

17.4. - Sorry, not much time for updating, being busy enjoying a wonderful, wonderful weather: as a proof, here come some hiking photos from various trips. I know, it's just too beautiful! And of course: a new puppy update, Bi is almost 10 months now!

28.3. - Well, I should be packing right now as we just came from the sea-side and I'm leaving tomorrow morning for some seminars again, but I just need to put up a short puppy update to use action photos that Polona Zeleznikar took (THANKS!). There are plenty of contacts, of course:), and also two family photos - the cute little puppy next to cute little La is her 3/4 sister, Desiree de Loubajac.

20.3. - Yeap, time flies... My puppy is 9 months today! So here comes puppy update - and yet another link for those that think that big dogs can't do running contacts: Malinois Chelsea

And two cool pictures of La from Norway (taken by Line - thanks!), enjoying enormously to be my only dog for 10 days - she had this plan to only grow up that much to still fit under a seat and fly with me anywhere I go, laughing at the other three who are too big to fly in cabin and have to stay home.

24.2. - puppy update, new winter photos, again by Iztok Noc (thanks!) and finally: a new tricks video, with all four dogs, showing our winter tricks - nothing fancy, just very cute:)

13.2. - short puppy update and new fun video, including playing in tunnels (can you tell my dogs love tunnels?:) and some contacts and turns

When celebrating their birthdays, I'm normally surprised by how old they are already... But with Bu, I'm always surprised by how young she is. We have been through so much and have done so much progress that it seems impossible for just three years. Yeah, my slow, no-drive BC was 0.02s in agility and 0.17s in jumping after La on a last competition and over a second before all the rest (and more than 2 before those that don't have running contacts and cik&cap) in both courses. Guess she is not all that slow afterall:). Not only this, she is also the sweetest dog I've ever known and is really easy to live with, she is well mannered without any training and is incredibly smart, she is always the first one to learn any trick and just ADORES it. The only thing she loves more as tricks are tunnels, she is really cute with her tunnel obsession. She still acts somewhat autistic in some cases, but hey, one thing is for sure: if she does as much progress every three years as she did in her first three years, then she will be the best dog ever by the age of 6!:)

Some agility photos from last year that I didn't post yet, taken by Andraz Cerar and Iztok Noc. Not much other news, still lots of water and mud everywhere...

30.1. - For all our US friends, asking when&where I'll be back to USA, here is the schedule for this year with contact addresses to people that can provide you with more info:

11/21-25   NC, Melanie: melanie at agilemindsagility.com
11/27-29   TX, Elizabeth: eedogs at earthlink.net
11/30 - 12/3   CA, Ashley: adeacon at slac.stanford.edu
12/5-9   OH, Beth: terriers_rule at roadrunner.com
12/10-13   NH, MJ: agile.kirk at videotron.ca

I'm really sorry for all the others who wanted to organize a seminar, but I had so many requests that I ended up going only to those that hosted my seminars before. I promise to include some new places next time!

Also: a short puppy update and new heeling video. - Pretty much just heeling, yes:). And quite some changes and additions in My running contacts article - the bigger changes and additions are marked with "new".

20.1. - Bi is 7 months today! Here comes new puppy update, some fresh winter photos and new tricks video! And sorry about the music, but YouTube got real strict about copy rights so there is not much to choose from...

10.1. - Happy 12th birthday, my good old Lo!!!

Lo is a living legend, in agility since 1997, writing its history by being the first dog in Slovenia to know left&right, the first one to know 2on2off and the first one to place in top 5 on World Championships (and still the only one, together with La of course). She has seen many rules changes and even more course design changes. She won many many competitions, was in World Team for 9 years in a row, she won first European Open organized - and she is still running... She is the oldest dog in the country still running, she is even older from all our veterans! And I bet you could never guess her age, she seems to live by the motto that we don't stop playing when we get old - that we get old when we stop playing. And I'm sure Lo will never stop playing! - More, including a short video of Lo at 12 years