We finally, after 87 months, went back to the Obedience Club of Chattanooga to work on our Freestyle. We had good news, too. Because I, Chia, had never titled (cause I just started) we could start as a brace at level 2B. Xena: These folks might not know what a brace is, Chia, so I’ll explain. A brace is when there is one person (Mommy) with two dogs (me and Chia). Chia: Well some of them might not know what Freestyle is either. I’ve head Mom explain it to people so many times that I’ve got that down. “clears throat” Freestyle is coordinated dancing between a person and a dog, where the dog has as much say in what happens as the person.” (I really like that last part!) OK, now that we have all our definitions in place, I’ll continue. We were first told that we had to start at level 3.The reason that starting at 2B is a good thing is that we don’t have to do some of the more advanced moves and we can make our routine a whole minute shorter. And that means Mom’s aging brain can actually remember it, BOL! Xena: That wasn’t nice, Chia. Chia: I’m just repeating what I heard Mom say, Xena.
Xena: Ok, ok. What we’ve got to show you today is something fun. Miss Julia, our friend and trainer, presented a little challenge to everyone. She handed each person a slip of paper that had 2 words written on it…words that were opposites. Then the person had help their pup to illustrate those opposites with a short routine and everyone else was to guess what the words were. We were all given 10 minutes to work on it. Ours was fun and easy and made folks smile. See if you can guess what the two opposite words are. You know, like light and dark (not our words, so don’t guess that). The video is only about 14 seconds long, so be sure to watch, OK? And you might want to mute your device. There’s a distracting dog screaming in the background.
Can you guess our two opposite words?
Can you?
OK, you probably guessed. It’s two directions. Do you know which two? Let us know in your comments, and we’ll wag and tell you you’re right!!
Hey, thanks to Comedy Plus for hosting Awww Mondays!
Good morning! Chia’s still asleep so I’m doing our post today. If she wants to keep this birthday month of blogging to herself, she’d better get up earlier! Thanks to Angel Brian for hosting Thankful Thursday as well as Angel Sammy for the fun pictures every week. Here’s his picture and my haiku poem for this week.
There’s scooters for all ages But none for a dog. I don’t want one anyhow.
That’s my first haiku. Whatcha think?
I have to tell y’all about what’s going on in my Freestyle world that I think I’m happy about. Mommy took me and Chia a coupla weeks ago to practice, just the 3 of us. It was supposed to be Chia’s turn to learn a dance routine and go get her first title this November. Mommy wanted Chia to watch and learn from me, since she imitates me a lot. So I got to dance around the floor first with my Mommy, then I had to go in the kennel while Chia went out and tried it. I quickly discovered the kennel door wasn’t latched, so I ran out and joined the fun. Instead of stopping, Mommy kept going with both of us. Sometimes me and Chia danced right next to each other and sometimes we danced with Mommy between us. Mommy was so thrilled with what we did that we went back last Friday and met Miss Julia there so she could watch us and help with suggestions. BTW (that means By The Way), one person dancing with two dogs is called a Brace. Miss Julia videoed it. Mommy says please remember, this is only the second time we’ve done this, and we’re just “piddling around” out on the floor. Chia’s still got a lot to learn.
Xena and Chia trying out a Freestyle Brace with our Mom
I didn’t think I was going to get to do Freestyle again this year, but I don’t mind sharing a performance with the long dog as long as I get to dance, too. Besides, I’m a lot more experienced and confident and can kinda push her around out there teach her things. So that’s my thankful for today. Oops, she’s waking up. I’d better hit “publish” now. Have a great rest of the week and do what you love!
Thanks to Miss Sandee at Comedy Plus for hosting Awww Monday! Have I mentioned me and Mommy are going to a state called Ohio so we can perform our Freestyle dance? We’re leaving on Friday, and I have so much to do:
Pack my food and lots of treats
Get groomed (done)
Rescue my Schnauzie stuffie from Chia and hide her
Practice our “moves”
Go to the chiropractor
Pack my food and lots of treats
In the meantime, I’m practicing my pose for my awards acceptance.
What do you think? Should I try to smile like Lucy. I will wag my tail a lot and probably look at Mommy adoringly, cause, well, that’s what I do on the Freestyle floor! Mommy calls me her tiny dancer.
Me and Mommy are having so much fun going to practice our dancing on Sundays. We’re getting our moves and routines together to go get our Title 4 in Cleveland, Ohio in June. I think Mommy still has a lot of work to do. Here is what we’re going to do at the beginning. First, we walk in and Mommy honors the pretend judges and audience. Then we get set up to start. Then we start our Freestyle dance.
After that we worked on our ending. Yep, it needs more work…
We went to our class again today and changed up some things to look better and fit the timing better. Just wait til you see us dancing at the Titling Event in June!
Many thanks to Comedy Plus for hosting Awww Monday!
Hi everyone! Guess what I’ve been doing on the weekends…Freestyle training! I even got a new kennel to use when I’m at the Obedience Club of Chattanooga (OCC). I think Mommy laid it down on it’s side, he, he, but it still worked. Don’t I look pretty in purple?
Mommy said I get to stay in it for a while every time we are at training – and each time further away from her – so I don’t bark and carry on when we get to the Trial in May. Mmm hmm. sure Mommy, I’ll let you keep thinking that. Then surprise!
In our club there’s just me and Mommy and the little pug mix Nina and her Mom Julia. Julia is officially Mommy’s trainer. When she gets Mommy to do it right, everything works better…even me! This video is from the last time we were there rehearsing and learning better ways to do things. Please remember we are what’s called a work in progress. Heck, even the music is. Mommy edited the music and Daddy hasn’t gotten around to smoothing it out yet, so please don’t judge. I’ll have enough of that up in Cleveland, Ohio in May.
We hope you have a real good weekend with lots of together time.
Hi folks! With everything shut down you may have forgotten that I am a titled Freestylist! Back in November in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (when I won my title!) the man who did the videos was supposed to do whatever you are supposed to do with them to put them on CD’s and mail them to everyone. Problem was, his wife got sick…really sick. Then his own health went down the tubes and he wasn’t even able to go down to his basement where he keeps all his equipment to work on videos.
After 3 or 4 months, Mommy told the Freestyle Federation that my Daddy both could and would do this for them if someone could get ahold of the raw footage and send it to us. I really don’t understand why we had to get a raw foot, but there you go. They did, and then the COVID-19 thingie hit, and Daddy got real busy producing glorified video-enhanced Zoom productions for our church. Mommy hasn’t seen much of him since that. He kept promising to work on the videos and that date would come and go and he was too busy. The last time that happened, Daddy found out just how upset he had made her. He sat there on our new porch with her for a while, with her ignoring him. When he finally said he guessed he would go downstairs and take care of some things until she was done, she just said ok without looking at him and kept on working on her ‘puter.
About an hour and a half later, he came up and asked if she would like to see my video! Of course, we wanted to see my video! I don’t care if he was trying to get out of the doghouse, I sure wasn’t going to let Mommy say not now!
I’m really, really glad she can’t stay upset like that with me! Anyhow, when I watched the video I saw how great I did, even though Mommy kept saying things like, “I didn’t realize she ran off as much as she did,” and “I can’t believe she titled.” I know how I titled… ’cause I’m great and ’cause they loved me!! Just listen to the roar of the applause at the end!!
Xena’s 1st Freestyle Performance1st Freestyle Title
Xena the Titled Schnauzer Warrior Princess
Pee Ess: Mommy just suggested to Daddy that he go downstairs and work on the other Freestyle videos. I wonder if he’ll be back up for supper…
I’m doing Freestyle dancing for the ISO-Lympics! This is intended to delight and amuse you while Sheltering in Place. I happily accept a gold medal for my efforts!
You are looking at one tired and happy, happy puppy…me! Xena! I’ve had so many firsts this weekend, and they’ve all been great.
Let me start at the beginning, ok? Since Mommy started working at the Jewish synagogue, I haven’t been allowed to go to work with her except for that one time when I was getting my allergy testing, almost a year ago. So imagine my surprise when she gave me a bath very early on Friday morning and loaded me into my crate in the car. I shook for about 5 or 10 minutes, then settled down for the rest of the ride to…guess where. Bet you can’t guess! Work! This was 1st number one. I got to go in the synagogue and meet Mr. Billy Joe, who let me follow him around as he cleaned and did other stuff. I met Mr. Lester, too, who let me help him put away important books in the book closet.
When we were done with our work, I laid in Mommy’s office until it was time to go. She said we were only working a half day, ’cause we had a long drive ahead of us. We were going for me to get my first Freestyle title!
We drove about 87 hours from Chattanooga, on the big road through the mountains, winding back and forth and back and forth, until we got to a city called Greensboro in North Carolina. This was 1st number 2. I’ve never been on a trip befoe. We checked into a motel called the Red Roof Inn. Mommy said this is where the Freestylers from out of town were staying. We walked into our room with all our stuff, right into a big puddle of water on the floor by the sink and potty room. Back to the office we went, with all our stuff loaded back in our car, and were given a key card to the next room down. This was 1st number 3. I’ve never stayed in a hotel before.
Nom, nom, nom.
The first thing I did after we got in our new room was eat my dinner. So far, so good. By now it was late, at least 6 o’clock, and we were both tired, so we just hung out in the room listening to Mommy’s new Stephen King audio book. Around 9 o’clock, we were both nodding off and were ready to turn off the lights, when workmen who were staying there gathered outside their room – which was right next to ours – talking loud and coming and going in their loud work trucks. That went on for 87 minutes and they finally went away. Almost as soon as they left, another group of work men, speaking another language, took their place. They were smoking, too, and it was coming in through the air conditioner, making us miserable. Mommy gets really grouchy when she is too tired. She called the office three – yes, three- times. Someone kept coming down telling them to be quiet, and that worked for less than five minutes each time. Finally Mommy opened our door – while she was in her jammies – and told these guys that they were keeping her awake and to please be quiet. They said they were sorry and were quiet until the door shut. Mommy opened the door again – still in her jammies – and told them that she wasn’t going to warn them again, that next time she was calling the police, and slammed the door closed. This was my 1st number 4. I’ve never seen Mommy so teed off and yelling at a bunch of big men before. They finally went inside, where we could hear them throwing dice and hollering and laughing. Next thing we knew, the alarm on their big truck started blasting. At that point, Mommy called the office again and told the guy who answered that she was getting dressed, packing the car, and coming down to get a full refund on both nights. It was now 11:30 at night, so the clerk made Mommy come around to the night window, pushed the printout with the credit card refund through the slot to her and muttered something in another language that we didn’t understand. Mommy thought about sleeping in the car, but it was getting pretty cold. There was a Motel 6 right next door, so in she went. They liked dogs there, and room access was from an inside hallway, so we decided to stay there.
I wish you could calm down, Mommy, so we could both get some sleep.
Mommy was so over-exhausted and so worked up that she couldn’t fall asleep for a long time. Six-thirty o’clock came way too soon the next morning, but a shower (for Mommy) and a breakfast (for me) got us going. Back into the car and another 30 minute drive took us to a city called Winston-Salem, North Carolina. That’s where the Freestyle event was. I thought I would go in, do our routine, get paid, and leave. Boy, was I wrong.
Isn’t it my turn yet?
Oh, and this was 1st number 5. I’ve never competed in a Freestyle event before. When the trial finally started, they had to get through all the beginner dogs who were doing something new called “Phrases,” plus Level 1, and wait for the judges to be done with each one. It was finally my turn and I was super, over-the-moon excited! We started our dance routine just like we practiced, then I hopped and bounced and ran out of the ring to say high to the judges, and then right back to Mommy, and we finished our dance routine just like we had practiced. She was sure I had “blown it,” and we were going to get disqualified foe leaving the ring, but guess what. They loved me! I only got one point taken off my score for running outside of the ring. And guess what else. When we went up front with all the other levels to find out who got ribbons and prizes and titles, me and Mommy each got a blue first place ribbon for our class (II B). Blue ribbons, 1st number 6. And guess what else.
I got my Freestyle Level II (2) B Title! 1st number 7. Mommy was so surprised that she couldn’t stop grinning. She says she is super proud of me, and we are still going back on Sunday to do it all over again. I can’t get more ribbons or titles tomorrow, but weMommy we want to try to do the dance routine that we had practiced so hard and maybe get an even higher score. I’ll let you know how that works out and share the video with you as soon as we get it.
Love, hops and wiggles, Xena Schnauzer Dancing Warrior Princess
We went to the Obedience Club of Chattanooga (OCC) on Sunday and practiced with my little friend Meg (on left) and her Mom and her 13-year-old brother, a mini-pin named Titus. Titus and Angel Lexi used to do Freestyle together.
Miss Fay was having trouble playing my music and recording my routine all at the same time, so it took several tries. By the fourth try, I was tired and getting a bit uninterested in the whole thing. And Mommy lost count at the end of my our routine and messed up the ending. At least it was just practice, and not a “trial.” It’s still pretty good, so if you want to see it, just hit the button to make it start.
That last part where we swirl around each other? I made that part up and Mommy liked it so much she named it the Viennese Waltz and kept it in our routine.
I'm Dalton, a Rat terrier mix and I came here in Sept, 2017, I was rescued from Hurricane Harvey. My birthday is 8-20-2016. My Gotcha Day is 8-27-2017. And I am Benji, a terrier mix of unknown origin. MY Birthday is June 6, 2018, and my Gotcha Day is Dec 28, 2018. I also was a rescue from a different part of Texas. We also have Angel MrJackFreckles, (2-5-2018); and also we have Angel Minko, (6-18-2017); and Angel Pipo, (11-3-2020);There are also Angels Groucho, Simba, Suki, & Toki. We meezers used to be known as WeBeesSiameezers. We'e all from Michigan, Dalton and Benji both came here from Texas, as rescues..
Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess with Lucy and Chia 