Nessa at 5 months

Nessa at 4 months

Here are some pictures of Nessa at the age of 4 months. She is 13 7/8 inches tall and 14 lbs.

Nessa growing up

Nessa has grown quite a bit since I first got her. Nessa and Taari are about the same size now and Nessa is only 17 weeks. Nessa and Taari have become best buddies. They love to play with each other and occasionally Nessa will cuddle up with Taari when she is sleeping. I am conscious of the fact that I do not want Nessa to bond more closely with Taari than with me but it great to see them having so much fun together.

Happy Holidays

Taari posing nicely with the reindeer and Santa.

Spice with Santa.

Nessa with some wrapping paper.

Another photo of Nessa.

Introducing Nessa

I am happy to announce a new addition to the family - Nessa. Her registered name will be Plail's Nessa at Alhena. I picked her up from her breeder, Nina Plail, on Tuesday in Florida. Her father is the very handsome Maverick and her mother is the beautiful Yin. Both parents are fabulous athletes with agility and herding titles. Yin's friendliness reminds me much of my Angel (Taari's mom).




Nessa chose me in a way. When the puppies were let outside for me to see them, all the other puppies were playing with each other except for Nessa, she was saying hello to me with her tail wagging.


It was heart breaking when we drove away from her breeder's place as she cried. But she adjusted well and here is a photo of her snuggling up to me while taking a nap at the hotel a couple hours later.



She is very flashy in her markings.




She has such a pretty face.



At first Taari wasn't thrilled with the puppy (perhaps an understatement) but within an hour the puppy was sleeping on me and Taari was curled up next to me. They are getting along much better than I had expected. I was hopeful that Taari would come around eventually but she has surprised me by how quickly it is happening. Taari was trying to play tug with Nessa today (with me holding the tug in the middle). I just need to figure out how to get Taari to be more gentle.



Here is a video of Nessa and Taari playing with the stuffed sheltie.

My Agility Jacket

I love my new agility jacket. It was made by Discovery Trekking Outfitters (DTO) in Campbell River, B.C. The fabric is Polartec Power Shield. Usually DTO makes them out of Polartec Wind Pro but given the cold winters of Ontario and that I would be training in an unheated facility it was decided that Power Shield would be warmer. It is definitely wind resistant as I tested it out at the Thanksgiving trial at Spot On and I was quite warm in my upper body (I just needed matching pants). I have yet to test out how water repellent it is in heavy rain though I expect it will be okay as the water beaded in a light rain. I chose the colour black which is hard to photograph but looks really sharp in person. The fabric stretches so I can move easily. Check out our run below.



I have been layering the jacket for added warmth though I have been noticing that I don't need as many layers as other people do.

One of the things that I was looking for in a jacket was the ability to wear it out shopping after training in a sandy and dusty place and still look relatively presentable. I often pick up Taari so am likely to get hair on me as well. The jacket has done a great job of staying clean.

I customized my agility jacket by asking for a hood, reflective piping, and a back pocket for toys. DTO did a great job and was very helpful. I was amazed at how well the hood fit. I could have easily worn it during the Thanksgiving trial when running with Taari but since I haven't worn a hood at a trial before I decided I should probably practice first with Taari. The back pocket for toys is very handy. I even stored my gloves in it.






The jacket looks great and I have had complements from neighbours and friends. I am even wearing it to work. No one has stopped me to ask me about the back pocket yet, though I tell the people I know what it is for before they get a chance to ask.

Maintenance needed

Last weekend Taari got her 4th jumpers Q for her Masters Jumpers Dog of Canada (MJDC) title at the K9 Klubhouse trial in Pickering. It was a fantastic run. She was 14 seconds under time and the fastest dog in the whole class. The second fastest dog was a BC and was 2.5 seconds slower. I would have liked to have had that run on video. Taari also had a really smooth Steeplechase run and was 18 seconds under time. She ran by a jump though and missed her A-frame contact. On the weekend I discovered that at times I didn't have enough energy to be where I should be for her. I haven't been keeping up with my physical training (cardio and run faster exercises) over the summer because I have been busy.

This weekend at Spot On Taari had a great Advanced Snookers run. I avoided the teeter since she is not quite ready for the teeter as I discovered in earlier runs. We were able to Q with three sets of weaves in the opening (7 point obstacle). She also Qed in Steeplecase and the run can be seen here.



I am wearing my new agility jacket from Discovery Trekking Outfitters. It was really warm especially with the wind on Sunday. More about the agility jacket in another post.

This weekend I noticed that Taari was refusing tunnels - especially when I rear crossed them. This is something that I have been working on but apparently I haven't been keeping up the maintenance that is currently needed.

So as well as making sure I keep in shape I also need to maintain some of Taari's skills.