Darbi WINS!

Darbi WON the Open at the Red Deer Retriever Club yesterday.

It was pretty fun.  She ran her guts out.

Pretty emotional for me, as any win is.  Darbi is my first trial dog and we have had many ups and downs together.  She has suffered for my many mistakes as a rookie handler and trainer over the years.

Kenny has made a big difference for both of us.  After I told him that Darbi won yesterday he said that when he met me over a year ago I wasn't ready to win an Open, and neither was Darbi.  He pushed both of us hard, and we are a better team for it.  Darbi is now running better than she ever has and I am hopefully becoming a better handler.

I think this picture is fitting for Darbi's win.  Here she is resting at the hotel after her long hard day.  We ask so much of these dogs and they give us their hearts and their guts.  A sleep on the hotel room bed was the least I could do for her.

Darbi is a pretty nice trial dog, but she is my buddy, my house dog and my bed hog first.

A congrats goes out to Darbi's son "Turq" who has now finished both Derbies he has run with a JAM at the Montana Retriever Club this week-end.  He is sure a fun young dog and he shows lots of promise in training.

As for Miikka, she ran kind of poopy all week-end.  She just came out of season, so not sure if that is the cause, as it sometimes can be with females.  Oh well, she still made me laugh and that's all that matters.