The Blues Brothers

Shane's older step-brothers don't have a blog, so I thought I'd write something about them. We got Jake in May 1997 at 8 weeks. He was quite a handful. I just didn't have the energy to play with a puppy all day and night, so we made the decision to get another one. We got Woody in September 1997. Jake and Woody are from the same litter. They are blue merle shelties and brothers, so we had to name them The Blues Brothers. No brainer. They played with each other and gave me a little break.

I started Jake in agility in the fall of 1998. I had a lot of medical problems and had to drop out. After some surgery, we started over in the summer of 1999. Woody was a bit off, so I didn't think he'd be any good at it, and left him at home. In 2000, I started taking Woody to classes and he turned out to be a bullet.

Jake and Woody had a slow start in agility. For some reason, they wouldn't go over the teeter and we couldn't advance out of the beginning class. Imagine four years of waiting in line to go over one obstacle. Jake wouldn't stay in the ring at shows or he would plop down under the A-frame to get out of the sun.

Right before we moved to Florida, I got Woody into a really good class and he started improving dramatically. We didn't start qualifying until after we moved to Florida in 2003, where we had a backyard, a practice field, and really good instructors. Also, the rings were fenced, so Jake couldn't run out. In the two years we lived in Florida, Jake and Woody cleaned up. Jake and Woody have moved cross-country twice. Starting over in a new town with agility is never easy. Getting into classes and adjusting to new venues takes its toll. Now that we are settled in Texas, they have started to slow down. Jake is retired and Woody is in performance. We had a good run and I only dream of what might have been had we started in agility in Texas.
Elwood Blues II (aka Woody)

AKC
Novice Agility (3 JAN-2004)
Novice Agility Jumper (24-OCT-2003)
Novice Agility Jumper Preferred (14-APR-2007)
Novice Agility Preferred (15-APR-2007)
Open Agility (15-FEB-2004)
Open Agility Jumper (25-JAN-2004)
Open Agility Jumper Preferred (13-MAY-2007)
Agility Excellent (4-JUN-2005)
Excellent Agility Jumper (3-APR-2005)
Master Agility Excellent (24-SEP-2006)
Master Excellent Jumper (24-SEP-2006)

USDAA
Starters Standard Agility (07-NOV-2004)
Starters Jumper (02-OCT-2005)
Agility Dog (02-OCT-2005)
Advanced Snooker (05-MAR-2006)
Advanced Jumpers (08-OCT-2006)
Advanced Relay (09-FEB-2007)


Jake Got the Blues

AKC
Novice Agility (24-JAN-2004)
Novice Agility Jumpers (3-JAN-2004)
Novice Agility Perferred (27-JAN-2007)
Novice Agility Jumper Preferred (28-JAN-2007)
Open Agility (2-OCT-2004)
Open Agility Jumper (25-JAN-2004)
Open Agility Preferred (18-MAR-2007)
Agility Excellent (3-APR-2005)
Excellent Agility Jumper (2-APR-2005)

USDAA
Performance Standard I (06-NOV-2004)
Performance Snooker I (01-OCT-2005)
Performance Jumpers I (11-DEC-2005)
Performance Dog I (09-APR-2006)
Performance Snooker II (05-MAR-2006)
Performance Jumpers II (09-APR-2006)


Special thanks to all the great trainers we've had over the years.
Chris Hill
http://phoenixflyers.tripod.com/index.htm
John and Gayle York
http://www.bowwowvideo.com/index.html
Rachel Flatley
http://www.pawsitivelyfundogtraining.com/index.htm
Karen Holik and Joan Meyers (2 fabulous weekends)
Tailwagger's Learning Center
http://www.tailwaggers.org/
Travis Agility Group
http://www.austintag.org/
Hearts and Paws
http://www.heartsandpaws.com/
Gerry Brown at DePaw Agility (our final stop on this journey)