I’m SO THRILLED with how Ticket is running right now. She is jumping better, paying attention, and trying her hardest. She really is growing up, sniff. 🙂
This past weekend at an AKC trial in College Station, TX, Ticket earned her 3rd Double Q towards qualifying for Tulsa Nationals. While my goal has been one double Q each trial this month, I can’t believe she actually did it. We are now halfway there! Frankly, I would have thought it would be years before Ticket earned a QQ at a trial, and Trip didn’t. Trip ran fantastic, and qualified in standard both days, and Time to Beat, but had tiny things happen in JWW. She dropped a bar Saturday, and popped the last weave pole (??? yes, really), on Sunday. Oh well, she’s running GREAT, and makes me think she has another go at World Team Tryouts in her. She seems as fast as she’s ever been.
I can’t WAIT for our next trial, 3 days on soccer turf Labor Day weekend. The girls LOVE the turf, as do I, and last time we showed there they were awesome. The goal is one QQ for Ticket, but I’m REALLY hoping she manages to earn two! It will be the most pressure and expectations I’ve placed on her to date, but she’s a tough girl who does everything I ask of her and then wants to know what’s next? She’s a force of nature. I love taking a baby dog to this stage in their career, where all the pieces start to come together, and you start to click as a team. There is no better feeling then that thrill of stepping to the line and knowing you can do it. For the first time, I’m in that place with Ticket, and I have that confidence. Before her JWW run on Sunday, trying to earn that Double Q, I walked the course saying she had it. I told HER she had it. I told my friend’s she had it. And she did have it–it was a great, fun course, that inspired confidence, and we went out there and nailed it. I am so proud of her.
So give your baby dog a kiss, and enjoy every moment of the ride. One day, they will grow up, and then the real fun starts 🙂
MACH4 Trip with judges Mary Mullen and Carla Boudrot
Last weekend the girls and I made the long trip to Hattiesburg, MS, for 3 days of agility in the air-conditioning. I used to go this show every year when I lived in Baton Rouge, but it’s a lot farther now. I forgot how wonderful the show site is–the dirt was perfect, plenty of crating, tons of grass for the pups to play, and lots of good friends.
It doesn’t hurt that we had a lot of success this weekend. Trip went 7 for 8, with 2 Double Qs, 2 Time to Beat legs, and her MACH 4 title. Oh, and all 1st place runs. Ticket also had a great weekend. She earned her second Double Q towards Tulsa, of course on Sunday since she likes to leave me hanging. She qualified in Standard all 3 days, and won Time to Beat one day. The counter to that was her less then stellar stays, one of which resulted in her being carried back to her crate. Must go back to fundamentals there. But still, I was ECSTATIC to earn that QQ, after being SO CLOSE for the last couple of months.
One other awesome piece of news. Ryan has agreed that we can go to Belgium for the European Open next year!!!! My plan would be to take both Trip and Ticket, if possible. Of course, it requires all 3 of us being physically and mentally prepared to face those challenges, and focusing our training on what we’ll see over there. I know both girls can do it, and I’m super excited. Definitely need to make sure that health-wise both girls are in top form, which means I’ll need to make some decisions about Ticket’s right knee very soon.
I’m focusing a lot on my own fitness as well–upping my protein, started a vitamin regimen that I’m liking so far, and adding weight-training to my cardio. Hopefully it will help me keep up with that blue monster. 🙂
So, the bag I’ve used for flying for several years is the Large Sturdibag. For a smaller dog, it’s a great bag, and is very economical and light. The Sturdibag is designed with flexible poles that give it a curved appearance. The advantage of these poles is that you are able to squish the bag under a plane seat, while maintaining the structure of the bag, and maximizing your dog’s room. It has a heavy foam board that zips into the bottom of the bag, giving a good base structure without adding a lot of weight.
Trip has flown a ton in this bag, on several different airlines (Continenetal/United, Southwest, and US Airways), and on all different sized planes. One plane I’d rather forget was so small, people in the first few rows had to move to the back of the plane to redistribute the weight. I’ve sat on the side of the plane with a single seat, I’ve sat where there were 2 or 3 seats across. The only issue I’ve ever had is I prefer an aisle seat, and on Southwest, the aisle seat is a bit narrower, and the bag wouldn’t fit. It fit fine under the window or middle seat (turns out the middle seat is actually the widest).
Front view
Top view
Trip and her bag
The Sturdibag also comes in an Extra Large size, which is considerably bigger, especially when you look at the height of the bag. The design is the same, just slightly larger dimensions. Ticket, my slightly larger Sheltie, fits great in this back. However, even though it *can* be fit under the seat on most planes, it’s so far outside of their recommended bag dimensions that it can definitely cause unwanted attention. I’ve had friends that have been hassled about flying with this bag, and threatened with not being able to get on their plane. I’ve also known people who used this bag for their small border collies without problem. Definitely a tricky situation that is very dependent on who you have to deal with at the airport. For this reason, I’ve never been 100% comfortable with the idea of flying Ticket in this bag–I don’t need the extra stress when flying. Ultimately, that’s why I kept looking until finding the Celltei bag.
Front view
Ticket in the bag
Travelling in comfort
In short, if you have a smaller dog–somewhere under 13″-14″, maybe 15-17 pounds, the large Sturdibag can work for you, and is no problem to fly with. If you have a larger dog, while your dog might fit in the XL Sturdibag, you may have more issues and be denied at the airport. With the slightly larger dog, I would definitely recommend the Celltei bag.
Size Comparison:
Large Sturdibag: 18″Lx12″Wx12″H
Extra Large Sturdibag: 20″Lx12″Wx16″H
Large Celltei Bag (Backpack-o-pet): 20″Lx11.5″Wx12.5″H
Agility Health Veterinary by .
