Now that we are officially into the year 2013, I have been thinking about what a huge adventure the year 2012 was for Bear and I. We tried some new things, we succeeded at some things, we failed at others. I smiled a lot, I laughed a lot, I cried a little. Below are some of the great adventures we had this year.
1. Bear became a senior: Bear turned 8 (ish) at the end of December so 2012 was his first year as a senior. Aside from some lymph node swelling (NOT Cancer thank god, just a viral infection, we figure) he has been happy, healthy and fit as a fiddle. That doesn’t stop me from worrying about every little thing or dishing out all the prophylactic supplements that I can.
2. We met sheep: Meeting sheep was fantastic – the fact that Bear did not kill a sheep was even more so! Bear’s Herding Instinct Test was probably one of the best ‘dog’ experiences of the year.
3. We went back to Agility: Finally, business at the daycare is steady enough and I have enough of a routine that I could make time to go back to agility. We are behind many dogs Bear’s age but we are still having a great time.
- Think he’s having fun? I do!
4. We entered our first Tracking Dog test: This was not a great time in the conventional sense but I stuck my neck out there, it was a learning experience and I’ll be damned if we go back and fail (as miserably) next year. 
5. Bear recovered from an iliopsoas injury: Not sure what started it but we managed to recover nicely with the help of a great vet, a great canine rehab therapist and a great canine massage therapist.
6. I attended my first online training class: The challenge of teaching classes and owning a dog daycare is finding time to train and someone to train under. The online Scent Work class gave us a great opportunity to work on our own at something completely new!
7. I judged at my first out-of-town Rally Trials: I had the wonderful opportunity to judge 3 times in Regina, SK. and had the opportunity to judge some wonderful dog & Handler Teams.
8. I made the switch to Raw feeding: After much consideration and a period of feeding both raw and kibble, I made the plunge. In hindsight, it’s not as big a deal as some make it out to be and I am happy I have made the switch.
9. I retrained the A frame contact for agility: I used Sylvia Trkman’s running contact method and have been thrilled with results. Since we made the switch we have missed a total on one contact in the trial setting.
- I love A-Frame photos, they always seem to highlight just how powerful a dog’s hind end is.
10. I developed curriculum for 4 new classes at Two Brown Dogs:
- Novice Brain Games – Foundation behaviours for any dog sport
- Advanced Brain Games – Advanced foundation behaviours for any dog sport
- CARO Versatility – An introduction to CARO Versatility Exercises
- CARO Novice Working Level – An Introduction to CARO Novice (now called Rookie) Working Level Exercises
11. Bear and I earned 8 New Titles:
- CARO Versatility MCL
- CARO Excellent Team
- CARO Bronze Championship
- CARO Silver Championship
- CKC Herding Tested
- AHBA Junior Herding Dog (Sheep)
- AAC Agility Dog of Canada
- AAC Starters Games Dog of Canada
12. I accumulated 37 Continuing Education Credits towards my CCPDT recertification: In a little over a year, I have actually completed the number of hours required to recertify in December 2014. I won’t bore you with the complete listing but you can see some of the seminars I attended here.
Ayoka Bubar BA, CPDT-KA 
I’m in awe! Wow – it was a fabulous year for you both! Congrats! (didn’t know you switched to r/c on the wall – I’m using her method too – with variable intermittent success, but we’re not done yet!). Go Team Bear!
Thanks Carolyn!
I think the fact that we have YEARS of target work with feet under our belt helped a lot with the a frame.
That was very helpful – thanks.