We also had some Wildpawers in attendance. Karen with Scarlett (Ms. Woo), Patty with Ziggy and April. Scarlett is so pretty, and she had quite alot to say - so sweet. Ziggy is a love, sweetness personified!!

Sebastian weighed in at 154, Cinnabar at 118. Sebastian disappointed those waiting for a show. He started to whine as we were getting the sling on him, Moses whined back at him, and he was silent for the remainder of the weigh in process. Silly boy didn't know what to make of that.

The Gallaghers brought down their cart (thank you!) in addition to themselves and all their dogs.

Attendance was lighter this year for both conformation and weight pull, as it apparently was for all conformation. We were in a different building this year, and the one we were normally in was empty. This building is an older one and smaller, just 3 conformation rings instead the 6 in the other building. But, it got the job done.

Laura (Celticwolf) was there with 'Nook, who won novice last year. He pulled a personal best for her this year at I believe 1400 lbs. She did a good job pulling him, getting him back on track when he wanted to go check out the food bags on the cart or sniff the chute fence.

Michele was there with Shiver, (leaving her other 3 mals home) who also pulled a personal best I think at 1200 lbs.

Barb was there with Bee Gee who pulled well, and with her new puppy Trace who did well in the conformation ring as did his sister Sophie.

Just 30 dogs pulled, so we pulled all classes together. 300lbs start weight with 100 lb increments. Both of my boys had competition. I think 4 or 5 total in Cinnabar's class, and Bruin was in Sebastian's class.

On his first pull Sebastian realized there were stuffed toys on a table off to his right at the end of the chute. They were the prizes, all laid out nicely on the awards table. Well, he steamed over there on that pull. Looking over the photos, he kept his eyes on those toys the whole pull.

Watch how the weights get higher, but where his eyes are, the brat:

Sebastian eyeing the stuffed toy prizes - photo by Moses Martin

Sebastian eyeing the stuffed toy prizes - photo by Moses Martin

Sebastian eyeing the stuffed toy prizes - photo by Moses Martin

Sebastian eyeing the stuffed toy prizes - photo by Moses Martin

Sebastian eyeing the stuffed toy prizes - photo by Moses Martin

Sebastian eyeing the stuffed toy prizes - photo by Moses Martin

Sebastian eyeing the stuffed toy prizes - photo by Moses Martin

Sebastian eyeing the stuffed toy prizes - photo by Moses Martin

Sebastian eyeing the stuffed toy prizes - photo by Moses Martin

Cinnabar in his digging in stance - photo by Moses Martin
click here for hi-res

Cinnabar in his digging in stance - photo by Moses Martin

Cinnabar in his digging in stance - photo by Moses Martin

Cinnabar got the cart started - photo by Moses Martin
click here for hi-res

Cinnabar moving toward the finish line - photo by Moses Martin
click here for hi-res

Cinnabar moving toward the finish line - photo by Moses Martin

Well, the last 4 dogs standing were the same as last year and the year before - Ranger, Raider, Cinnabar and Sebastian. Cinnabar went out pulling 3000 lbs (26% body weight and this should be his final X leg), so that left 3. Cinnabar did a great job for me, always working, putting in his best effort every single time. All three pulled all the weight there was, 3200 lbs, so it came down to time. Sebastian also did a good job for me, but only put in the effort needed, just hum-de-dumming his way down the chute - except for his first pull at 500 lbs where he steamed over to the awards table off to his right at the end of the chute to check out the stuffed animals over there :) Dave Gallagher joked he was going to DQ me for baiting him. Other than that he was just walking the cart over the line. I did bring Sarge out to keep his focus on his last few pulls.

Raider went first on that final pull, and pulled beautifully for Val. Then Ranger, who pulled it in 13 seconds flat, beating his time on his previous pull and Raider's time. Then Sebastian, who'd pulled the previous weight in 31 seconds. I wanted to get him to pull quicker this time, and he did! But, he did it in 19 seconds, not enough to knock off Ranger.

Congratulations to Ranger, Dave and Susan!!

Here's David Gallagher's recollection of those final pulls:

"When we got to the 2500 lb mark, which was the minimum needed to get a leg for the Bogie Trophy, we still had a bunch of dogs pulling. So we knew at the very least a leg was going to be handed out. Ranger pulled 2900 lbs and I believe there were still 4 dogs pulling at this point. I think it was Ranger, Raider, Cinnabar and Sebastian. I decided to double pass and go right to 3200 lbs which was the maximum weight that we had, hoping that the other 4 would follow suit and it would be too big of a jump for them. Val with Raider decided to do the same thing I did. But Sheryl stuck to her game plan and kept pulling her two guys. Sheryl and Sebastian made it all the way to the 3200 lbs. At this point, I was really starting to feel the pressure. I was hoping my decision to double pass with that much weight didn't come back to bite me. Raider was the first one in the chute. He worked really hard to pull the 3200 lbs down the track. I think his time was somewhere around 30 seconds working hard pulling the cart slowly, but steadily down the track. At this point I got really nervous because all day Raider and Ranger's times were really close. Since Raider made a full pull, I knew I had to beat him on time. Next up was Ranger. Before I took Ranger into the chute, I whispered into his ear, "do this one for Chili." I hooked him to the cart, jumped across the line and started working him hard right off the bat. Ranger responded by pulling the cart down the track fairly quick. After the judge yelled pulled, I waited to listen for the time and was a little surprised that Ranger pulled it in 13 seconds flat. The weight was really getting heavy and I knew this time would be tough to beat. Up next was Sebastian. At this point I was still nervous, since up until this point, Sebastian was making it look easy. Sheryl set Sebastian in the chute, crossed the line and started calling him. Sebastian hesitated and at this point I started counting in my head 1 1000, 2 1000. When I got to 5 1000, Sebastian started pulling the cart and the cart started picking up speed. Brenda started yelling "run, run, run" because she didn't want to see the Bogie Challenge end. Sebastian made the full pull and we stood there waiting, listening for the time. It was 19 seconds and change. Had it not been for the 5 second hesitation in the beginning, it would have been a real close decision on who would have taken most weight pulled."

Sebastian starting the cart - photo by Moses Martin

Sebastian merrily rolling along - photo by Moses Martin

Sebastian still merrily rolling along - photo by Moses Martin
click here for hi-res
click here for closeup hi-res

Sebastian still merrily rolling along - photo by Moses Martin

Sebastian still merrily rolling along - photo by Moses Martin

Sebastian rolling along toward the finish line - photo by Moses Martin

Sebastian the Great Dane in my Sebastian's harness - photo by Moses Martin

I also got to see some of my agility buddies (flat coat people) who were there for the shopping at all the great vendors.

Moses again took photos.

We got out of there 2 hours earlier than normal and had a very uneventful trip home. Both boys slept well

April 18, 2009 - AMAEP - Harrisburg, PA
The weather was thankfully a few degrees warmer than Saturday, the sun was out and the wind was down. Much more pleasant.

We lost at least 6 dogs from the day before. Same weight increments, 100 lbs, all classes pulled together. This means more pulls because of the lower weights. It's tiring on the dogs because they pull more times to get to the high weights, but it gives all levels of dogs a chance to be successful in a fun competitive environment.

Bee Gee had another good day after his first pull where his nose got him in trouble. He got a crate timeout and came back with a better attitude for Barb. He hadn't pulled since Nationals and she was thrilled with him.

Roseann's dogs did well, especially Pebbles. It was her first time pulling and I think she got a leg toward WWPD. I forget for which one of her dogs, maybe Hutch, but Rich hid behind my chair while he pulled, it was funny.

Dave pulled Ranger after 2000lbs to give him a break looking forward to IWPA nationals this weekend. Cassie did really well. Gosh I love her pulling style and heart.

We got down to the final 3, Raider, Cinnabar and Sebastian.

Cinnabar was great. He worked hard on his last 3 pulls. I had been pulling him out after he worked hard after being frustrated on 2 pulls, but this day I went for 3 and he did not disappoint. He again pulled 3000 lbs. and won his class (4 dogs total)

Sebastian was hard to get a bead on. He was very lackadaisical, but he was putting in enough effort to get it over the line. I passed more rounds with him later on than I did with Cinnabar because of how easy he was pulling. I brought Sarge out at the end on his last few pulls, as he was losing interest toward the end of each. But, I think that Sarge was a little too "sarge" on his last pull at 3100 lbs. He stopped 2 inches short of the line, but not really. He was on the line, but the cart had evidently been placed ahead of the line at the start so he still had those two inches to go. Even though I always ask him to go more than the line, he's smart enough to know where the line is. So Sarge was working him, but he wasn't working. I sat down to get his interst and went sweet voice, he pulled another inch, and when time was called he decided to finish the pull with his tongue hanging out and looking at me with that brat face. I'm going to blame that one on me, my strategy should've been a little different for motivation for him. (Where are those sheep when I need them :) )

Raider pulled the 3100 for Val, slow and steady. She had them put the last two bags on the cart, and he pulled the 3200 for her, too, slow and steady right to mom. I'm so happy for them, he's such a good dog and has come so far in the last 3 years. I'll always remember him from 3 years ago, so timid, crawling over the line for his mom, and now he's much more confident in himself and would do anything Val asked of him.

Raider missed getting highest percentage by 4 tenths of a percent to Cassie, I think it was 32.75 percent to 32.35 percent, or something close to that. Congratulations to Cassie on top percentage!

Karen and Scarlett with us again on Sunday for the whole day! Scarlett found a couple buddies, she's a hoot. When she finds a boy she likes, she's rather assertive in humping them! Karen met so many people, and I think she knows more of them than I do! It was wonderful spending time with her!!!

No photos from Sunday's pull, as Moses was was unable to be there. But here are a few favorites from Saturday:

Cinnabar showing off his new harness - photo by Moses Martin

Sebastian showing he does know good form - photo by Moses Martin
click here for hi-res

Cinnabar being gorgeous - photo by Moses Martin
click here for hi-res

Sebastian showing offf his new harness - photo by Moses Martin
click here for hi-res

Cinnabar being gorgeous - photo by Moses Martin

Sebastian hamming for the camera - photo by Moses Martin

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