USAgility Training Center

All Breed Agility Training

Student News & Brags - 2002


Blue Star From MACH3 Jasper, EAC, EJC, EGC, MAD, SM (Vizsla) and Susanne Glasgow:

Jasper Photo: Tien Tran
Jasper was the first Vizsla to complete his MACH2 and MACH3!  He received an AKC Award of Merit in 2001 for being the top agility dog in his breed.  He also receive the 2001 Dog of the Year Award in Agility from the Vizsla Club of America, and was a finalist in the 1999 AKC Agility Championships!


Red Star From Monica Gallica:

Photo: Tien Tran
 
Pepper received his AKC Novice Standard Agility title at the Kennel Club of Palm Springs trial!  He was focused and right with me!  He has only one leg to finish his AKC Novice JWW.  I am hopeful that "Team Gallina", Monica and Pepper, will have that to add to the next brag!


Blue Star From Kathy & Pilot:

Pilot and Kathy Pilot
Pilot managed to put it all together and earn a perfect score and a 3rd place in Novice JWW at the Dec. 30th AKC trial at the Fairplex.  His second trial ever, at 14 months, and it's only his first leg, but we are quite pleased that he's starting to understand the game and having a LOT of fun!  We have a long way to go!  His third trial at Silver Bay produced no "Q's" but some very awesome speed and great "would have" scores!  The things that will eventually make Pilot a great agility dog are also the things that make him a challenge to train: pushy, bossy, high energy, dominant, intense herding instinct...    (Pilot takes flight over a broad jump...)


Red Star From Katrina & Jarrah!

Jarrah
At the Ups & Downs trial in August, Jarrah had her best weekend ever!  She earned first place Q's in 3 standard classes, 2 jumpers classes and 2 gamblers classes, and one 2nd place and Q in another Standard Class!  "It was our best weekend ever!"


Blue Star A STAR IS BORN!!

Photo: Tien Tran Linda s Lady Snow White Mindy, aka Mindy (Cocker Spaniel), just came from a NADAC trial in Madera, CA where she competed in her 4th agility trial.  She ran with speed & accuracy to earn 12 Q's & 12 1sts in 12 runs!!  In short she cleaned house!!  It was no small trial either.  It had 3 rings & 4 judges who challenged us with the hardest courses we have seen to date.  Mindy was the only Cocker Spaniel in her height class, & despite the courses being twisty & trappy, & being in a field of 7 to 10 other dogs in each run dominated by Jack Russell Terriers & Pembroke Welsh Corgis, she carried over to agility what made her breed famous in the field (speed & endurance) combined with the tools we learned from SANDY CROOK to come out on top!
 
Mindy earned 4 titles at this trial (NAC, TN-N, OGC, OJC) & has earned 6 titles so far.  She is only 19 months old & has been trialing for 2 months!  At our recent trial, many people wanted to know where we trained!  A local Madera trainer approached us at the end of the trial on Sunday & said she was watching us the entire weekend because she had a few students running with us & she commented that my handling style & abilities were above what you normally see for our level.  One of the judges commented that competitors are coming into agility better prepared nowadays because it's highly competitive, but we still performed better than he normally sees at our level.
 
We believe it's the master type courses Sandy trains everyone to do in her classes, her experience, and her ability to catch the small things that make a difference between winning & losing that helped us to confidently handle the difficult courses we faced at this trial!  If you're interested in agility we recommend Sandy Crook at USAgility.  No matter what kind of dog you have or your goals, she can help you reach them.  Thank you, Sandy!
"
Jonathan & Linda Centers & Mindy, NAC, TN-N, OGC, OJC


Red Star From Carla & Bella (Welsh Corgi):

Photo Tien Tran
Bella has been competing for approximately 8 months now.  She has not titled yet, but she has received 4 Q's and lots of 1st places!  Agility has helped her become more focused and our bond is greater than ever.  Due to agility she listens to me at the dog park (which she didn't before) and at home.  My husband can't understand why she doesn't really listen to him though...Bella and I really enjoy doing agility and the competitions and we are looking forward to the year 2003 which we hope we will be getting some titles. 
 
I want to thank Sandy for her help and her patience with Bella, because Bella is a handful!


Blue Star From Cindy Dahlberg, Turbo & Gunner:

Photo by Tien Tran
I just wanted to share our experiences at the ASCA Nationals in Bakersfield.  Turbo was my little star this week!  Out of 4 runs, we received 4 Q's and three titles!!!!  I am very pleased with him.  Everything I heard from the people that were with me, was how well we worked as a team, and how consistent we were in all our runs.  This is something I have not been able to achieve since Turbo and I began competing in August of 2000.  I wanted to thank you for all your help and for bringing Turbo and I together as a working team!


Red Star MORE Great News from Cindy and Turbo!

Photo by Tien Tran

Turbo took #5 over-all in the year 2002, USASA (United States Australian Shepherd Association) in the Excellent A Standard 20" category!  I am so VERY proud and was VERY shocked to see our name in the TOP 10 (let alone the top 5) category in USASA Agility standings!!!  Thank you to all of those who helped us get where we are today!
 
Gunner had several achievements himself.  Although we did not receive any Q's, we DID hit all of our contacts and made all of the weaves without a hitch.  We had a wrong course in Regular (yes, I said right and he went right...but I meant "left"...oops!)...I was very pleased with his runs and everyone couldn't believe the difference in him from previous trials!  You've helped us so much to get through all of our "hang ups!"


Red Star From Tina Yapelli and Stella, NAC, NGC:

Photo: Tien Tran Photo: Tien Tran
Stella was found living on her own in Wild Cat Canyon when she was about seven months of age.  Flea-bitten and tick-ridden, she was rescued by Help for Homeless Pets and was given refuge in foster homes for two months.  Then, just in time for Christmas, Stella, Tom (my husband) and I became a family on December 5, 1998.
 
The following summer Stella and I began agility training with Sandy, and first competed at an agility trial in April 2000.  At the time, Tom and I used to joke that Stella was really a cat in dog's clothing.  She was aloof, and definitely had her own agenda.  Her reserved demeanor was likely the result of her difficult puppy-hood, and at the agility trial she was much more interested in doing her own thing--sniffing and exploring the ring--than in following my commands.
 
With slow and patient progress, and lots of encouragement from Sandy, Stella has become not only a dog, but an agility dog.  She's happy, confident and secure, and has become truly bonded to Tom and me.  And we are so proud of her!  At the NADAC trial held by Ups-n-Downs Agility Club on November 16 & 17, 2002, Stella completed her Novice Regular and Novice Gamblers titles with two first-place ribbons and one second-place ribbon.
 
In addition to the excitement and satisfaction of doing well as a team of two, agility training has given Stella and me an opportunity to get to know some wonderful people and to make some great canine friends.  Thanks to Sandy and to all of our training buddies who help keep us on course!  Thanks again!>


Blue Star From Peggy Jencks & Blue (Border Collie):

Blue
True Blue and I started taking lessons from Sandy in the Fall of 1999.  I am a bit clumsy, and knowing left from right has not come easy!  True Blue came to me with a few "issues", one is that he is extremely shy.  With Sandy's help and patience we have come a very long way.  Blue is able to compete now and has recently earned his first Q in Performance 1 Standard at the USDAA Trial in August!  We also tried Gamblers, but "mom" stepped over the line.  I want to thank Sandy for all her patience and understanding!  She is very good at what she does and without her we would have never come this far!


Red Star From Monica & Pepper:

Pepper
Pepper is a shelter rescue Australian Shepherd.  He and I met in May of 2000 and have been a team ever since.  He had little or no training...and nipping behavior.  A basic obedience class improved our relationship.  We started training with Sandy in August 2001.  We are having a GREAT time!! Pepper is a quick study and works beautifully: IF I can get my hands, voice and body to give him the correct signals!  We have been to AKC, USDAA and NADAC trials.  He has two Q's in AKC Novice Jumpers, one Q in USDAA Starters Standard and he just earned his first NADAC Q in Novice Jumpers on October 27, 2002.  We are a work in progress.  I credit Sandy Crook for ANY AND ALL skill advances we make each week in class and the confidence we gain at each trial!  Thanks, Sandy!


Blue Star From Jessi & Scooter:

Photo: Tien Tran This past October was my Chihuahua, Scooter's, first show.  We drove all the way up to LA to stay the weekend.  Saturday morning tested both of our nerves when we completed our first Gamblers, Regular, Jumpers, Weavers, and Tunnelers courses.  To my surprise, we managed to get half a Q and a 2nd in our regular run and a fourth in Jumpers.  The second day was an improvement on the first!  We managed to get a Q third in our jumpers, a first in a regular round, and second in our tunnelers!  Our second show also went well, regardless of the fact that Scooter decided to express a dislike for all contact equipment by substituting them with the obstacle of her choice (preferably a jump, and if that was unavailable, a tunnel would suffice).  We managed to get our Novice title for Jumpers because Scooter was more than willing to complete a course composed solely of jumps.  Then on the second day, we got a Q in Open Jumpers and a Q in tunnelers!  The most important factor was that we had a great time at both our shows and cannot wait for the next event.  Even when Scooter was not the most capable of agility dogs she was one of the cutest!!!


Red Star From Joan Keif & Scoobey Doo:

Scooby
My Great Dane, and I began Agility training with Sandy in July and we could hardly spell "agility" much less do it.  Although we are far from perfect we are having so much FUN!  Scooby Doo is my star.  Weaves are still a work in progress but he has all the other obstacles down pat.  Most of the time his mistakes are my miscues.  Scooby even knows left and right which is more than his dyslexic Mom knows!  Agility is so much fun and Sandy and her patient husband, Bruce, deserve all the credit!  They are GREAT!  But so is Scooby!


Blue Star Fun Stuff from the North County Times! (11-11-2002)

Lil and the flag Diamond Lil, a Boston terrier owned by Sandy Crook of Poway, jumps a set of bars while holding an American flag during auditions for the Animal Planets Pet Star television program, which will air in January.

Other Boston 2002 Brags:

Katie (6/1/02) Qualified in USDAA Advanced Gamblers with a 1st and was one of only 2 Q's in the entire class (and the other one was a Border Collie)!
 
Janie on 6/29/02 earned a Q and 1st place in NADAC Elite Gamblers, the ONLY Qualifier in Elite Gamblers, all jump heights!


Red Star From Sandy and the Bostons after the NADAC Trial at Ups and Downs (August 2002):

We came home with 12Q's and multiple 1st place ribbons, a 2nd and a 3rd.
 
Katie had a Q in Elite Gamblers.
 
Lil (just 18 months old) was competing in NADAC for the first time and was the star of the weekend with FIVE first place Q's and THREE titles: Novice Tunnelers, Novice Agility Certificate and Novice Gamblers.


Blue Star From Dan Roy and "Nala" Red Forrest Sage:

Nala
At the 2001 NADAC Nationals, Nala earned 3rd place in the 24" division.  She also recently received the merit award of "#1 Agility Dog" from ASCA for 1999.


Red Star In August 2001, Nala was invited to participate in the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge in San Francisco, on August 18.  Naturally Dan Roy accepted, and Dan and Nala won third place! "Incredible Dog!!" She and Dan were on TV in September!  A Star is Born...


Blue Star At the 2002 NADAC Nationals in Mandato, MN, Sept. 26-28, 2002, Nala won NADAC Grand Champion 2002 in the 20+ class.  Nala was both accurate enough and fast enough to beat some pretty awesome dogs: I'm so proud of her!  Thanks to you and everyone associated with our agility quest!


Red Star From Aspen (Golden Retriever) & Donna Murdoch:

Aspen Aspen earned her Novice Gamblers Certificate and her Novice Jumpers Certificate on 28 Apr 02.  She, also, earned her Novice Agility Certificate on 29 Jun 02. 
 
Recent brag: Aspen earned qualifying scores and placement ribbons in both Novice and Novice Jumpers at the Nov. 30th AKC trial.


Blue Star From Sandy Crook, Liz & Kofi (Aussie):

Kofi
A Certificate of Achievement was awarded to Sandy Crook and Kofi for earning the most (10) Dog Agility titles in the year 2001 by the Ups 'N Downs Agility Club.
 
For example: At the AKC Trial August 12-13 in Huntington Beach Thanks to Sandy's excellent training and handling, Kofi placed first in the Novice B Standard Run on Saturday and placed third in jumpers.  On Sunday, he again placed third in Jumpers.  Kofi scored 100 in each event.


Red Star From Ginny Muth & Minnow (Border Collie mix), NJC:

Photo Tien Tran
Minnow got her Novice Jumpers title at the NADAC UDAC trial on 11-16-17-2002!
 
We're on our way!


Blue Star From Ginny Muth & Augie (retired):

My Australian Cattle Dog, Augie, started training with Sandy when she was 6 years old and attended her first trial 4 months after starting her training!  During her career, Augie earned a Performance Dog 1 title with USDAA, a Novice AKC Agility title, and NADAC Veteran Novice Standard, Jumpers, and Gamblers, Veteran Open Standard, Jumpers and Gamblers and Veteran Elite Standard.  She retired at the age of 11 in May 2002.


Blue Star From Brian Hall with Maggie & Harpo (Shelties):

We did the UDSAA trial in Chula Vista on June 2nd, 2002 (one day).  Here are our results!
Harpo ¯ 1st place Novice Standard, USDAA place Novice Snooker, 4th place Novice Jumpers
Maggie ¯ 1st place Performance 1 Standard, 2nd place Performance 1 Snooker, 2nd place Performance 1 Jumpers.
 
We had a great Sunday!


Red Star From Bobby Jo Cook and Hanna (Border Collie):

Hanna
I wanted to share my exciting success at the NADAC agility trial, October 9th and 10th.   Trainer, Sandy Crook.   I have a 1 1/2 year old Border Collie named Hanna, which has been in training with Sandy for 11 months now, beginning at age 8 months, in private lessons.   We took the private lessons to learn the basics in agility and to get the individual attention it takes to succeed.  By the way, I was in training too!!!   I didn't know the first thing about agility.   We were able to go right into the advanced classes and fit right in.   This past weekend, now that Hanna is old enough, we ran in the NADAC trial in Poway.   We ran all novice classes available the 2 days and took home 5 blue and 2 red ribbons.  All of her first places were clean runs with time to spare.   We earned 2 titles and now must show in all open classes in the future.   I feel the program Sandy offers is excellent and that taking the private lessons gave me a good background in this sport.  I still have a lot to learn and certainly lots of practice is needed and I intend to continue taking group classes, but because I used the tools taught me we had a great run!


Blue Star From Patricia Terry:

Brio When our Saluki, Brio, came home from Sandy's class last night, she galloped all over the house, insisting that Kala, our Tibetan Terrier, play with her, and throwing a huge (forbidden) pillow off our bed.  I felt exactly as she did.  For the past three classes she has been running the courses faster and faster, and enjoying herself more and more.  Last night there was absolutely nothing she didn't do with energy and joy.  Of course I hope she will carry this attitude into competition!  Meanwhile, I want to give thanks where they are due.
 
For the first two or three series of classes, all Brio wanted to do was go home.  As soon as she was off leash, she would run to the gate and stand there pathetically.  No chance of cheering her up with treats, since away from home she refused everything from liver to roast chicken.  It wasn't so much the equipment that troubled her as the presence of other dogs, non-Salukis!  Most teachers would have advised me to try another breed.  Even when Brio began to participate a little more, she was depressingly slow.  One of the world's fastest dogs was only creeping around the course - Sandy once said it was as if the collapsed tunnel were giving birth!  This is definitely not fun.
 
And all the time Sandy was fighting my attempts to make things easier for Brio by babying her, wanting her excused from having to lie on the hard table, etc.  This is a most difficult form of teaching, because the student is so sure she understands her dog better than anyone else.  I thought Brio couldn't possibly be asked to do gambles, for example, but when she and I were forced into it, I found that, although slow and awkward, she did them much better than I had expected.  Last night a Masters Gamble was scarcely a challenge!
 
It's hard to say just what has caused the change, apart from time and patience.  Sandy and I both attended Rachel Sanders's motivation workshop, and that added an emphasis on play which helped for a while.  In classes we began selecting a few obstacles in a line and simply trying to get Brio to run, any sign of speed being rewarded with play.  But at this point Brio is scarcely interested in toys - she seems to love the sport for itself, and the best part of it is that, for her, the sport and I are the same thing.  For me, it's Brio and I, and Sandy.


Red Star Boston Terrier Club Certificates of Achievement!

Janie
 
#1 Boston Terrier in Agility: 1998, 1999, and 2000 was MACH Brandy's Ace High Kid, CD, MX, MXJ, bred by Bruce and Sandy Crook and owned, trained and handled by Ann Croft.
 
Chance just retired after earning his MACH2!
 
#6 Boston Terrier in Agility in 2001: Brandy's Calamity Jane, MX, MXJ, bred by, owned, trained and handled by Sandy Crook.  (Pictured at left)
 
#7 Boston Terrier in Agility in 1999: Ch. Brandy's Doc Holliday, AX, AXJ, owned, trained and handled by Sandy Crook.


Blue Star From Kathy & Bonnie:

Bonnie and Friends Bonnie, my Border Collie, and I have been training with Sandy for over two years now.  We've had many "hurdles" to overcome and Sandy's patience and strong guidance has helped us every step of the way.  As other Border Collie handler's know, trying to keep up with a fast dog and improve accuracy can be quite a challenge.  She successfully qualified for the USDAA Grand Prix of Dog Agility World Championship Nationals in September at Del Mar.  Agility has given both of us the confidence to compete in front of a group and to not give up on our goals.  Thank you Sandy for having the faith and believing in us!


Red Star August 18, 2000 From Pat Terry and Kala (Tibetan Terrier):

What impressed me most at the recent AKC trial at Huntington Beach was the inherent difficulty of the sport, which means that at any instant there can be a mistake, as when Kala (my ever-eager Tibetan Terrier) got off the see-saw a fraction of a second too soon.  Thus the number of clean runs was relatively few.  At the higher levels, this seems to me appropriate; dog and person have to be in increasingly perfect focus.  What is less perfect, however, is the built-in difficulty created by course designers.  Thus a Novice JWW was a challenge even for pros!  Unless Agility is meant to have a static population of teams who are already highly trained, discouraging beginners seems a poor idea.  As for Kala, I was immensely pleased with his performances, win or lose.  He seems, at last, to have truly realized that it is a team sport!  The result was two red ribbons, in Open and JWW, the latter finishing a title.  Many thanks to Sandy, as always!