Celebration with PUPS Students on their latest achievements!

Left to Right: Viv n Leo JRT, Nic n Hope(GR Cross), Deb with Spice, Benji n Max, Gil n Sky (border collies)

Each of them have their own unique story to tell about their achievements. It should be in our latest issue of AgilePUPS newsletters soon. ;)

We had a great time BBQing this weekend with PUPS Students. Everyone had an enjoyable time eating and drinking and chatting away during the night. Food was great and so were the peeps. This was a small celebration congratulating all our students for the progresses they have made in their training. Once again Congrats to all!

Looking forward to our 6th USDAA and the future of dog sports in Asia! What's next?

Notes for Upcoming 2009 Cynosport Games

Notes for the Upcoming 2009 Cynosport GamesPosted Date: May 12, 2009
Get a head start in planning for one of the most exciting canine events in the world!

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November seems far away, but if you are thinking about attending the 2009 Cynosport World Games in Scottsdale, Arizona, from November 11 - 15, you might want to plan ahead. Book your hotels and flights early since a NASCAR event will be in town during the same weekend. Airplane tickets will be at their lowest prices between now and the end of June as well.

USDAA will once again live stream from the Games free of charge. Events will be offered "on demand" after the fact for a very nominal charge to cover extra bandwidth costs.

Every year it takes hundreds of volunteers to make the Games run smoothly. Most jobs require only "on the job training" and some can be done by people who have never competed in agility. Games volunteers can work for one-half day, one day, or even every day!

Volunteers describe many benefits from helping out at this amazing event:

"This year will be the fourth year I've been a dedicated volunteer at the
Cynosport World Games. It is an incredible opportunity to have the best seats in the house and watch the best agility competitors in the world walking courses, discussing strategy, memorizing courses, and competing. Oh, did I mention world-class shopping, and plenty of time to do it, as well as to watch other dog events?

I'm one of several members of NOMAD, an agility club in northern Vermont,
who look forward to this as an annual working vacation. I'll have to admit one of the big attractions is the beautiful outdoor site and the weather. It's no sacrifice to trade cold cloudy Vermont for sunny Scottsdale in November. We look forward to seeing other dedicated volunteers from other parts of the country year after year." --Lynne von Trapp

"I have throughly enjoyed working these events for a number of reasons including the opportunity to watch and met some of the top handlers in the world. I have also come away from these events reinvigorated and ready to work hard with my own dogs to hopefully someday reach this level of competition. I am usually assigned to the scorer's table for the week so I also get to refresh my knowledge of scoring and of the USDAA's rules in general. Finally, I feel that by participating in this event I am giving back to a sport that I love and strengthening the friendships that I have made over the years in agility." --Kimberly O'Conner

"This will be my fifth year traveling from Vermont to volunteer at the Cynosport Games in Scottsdale. I volunteer full-time Thursday through Sunday, but that still allows plenty of time to visit the vendors and to watch flyball, disc dog, and dock diving. And there is always time to socialize with my agility pals from around the country.

Why do I go without a dog? First, I don't have a dog who competes at that level. And much as I hate to leave my dogs at home, I suspect I have much more fun in Scottsdale without them. My time in Scottsdale is free of responsibilities and anxieties. It is pure fun in the sun! It's my vacation in the perfect Arizona weather with good friends and the best agility in the country. Late October/early November in Vermont tends to be gray and cold, so in a way this trip extends my summer season.

This is the one event where agility people from around the country gather once a year. I wouldn't want to miss it. The level of handler and dog skill is very high in all the rings, and that makes almost every run fun and inspiring to watch. We get to see the results of new training and handling ideas from around the country.

Karen Gloor is another reason I make the trip every year. She has the volunteers beautifully organized, and she is so appreciative of the Vermont crew. We are all friends, and we have fun together on this trip." --Lisa Barrett

If you are interested in having a front row seat for some of the best agility action in the world, contact Cynosport Games volunteer coordinator Karen Gloor at rysaroni@cox.net, or via telephone at: (480) 539-8333.

OUR COLLECTION OF FLYBALL DEMOS/PRACTICES/TRAINING over the last 4 years!

Singapore's first ever Official PUPS CRAZY K9s FLYBALL TEAM! Consisting of members, Kenneth and Kaiser(BC)(Anchor Dog), Dexter and Max/Benji(BCs), Christine and Micky(BC)(Head Dog), Debra and Mikah(BC)/Keesha(Aussie), Ken and Bozz(BC), Tina and Buddy(BC), Rudy and Bill(BC)(Anchor Dog) and not forgetting their family members that was so supportive of their training and practices some even helped out to be Linesmen and Ball Bearers. Memories started flooding back of the good times we had and the training and demos that we did all for the sake of our dog's love for this sport, FLYBALL!! Many thanks to our sponsor ANF for supporting us all these years! NOW WHO LET THE DOGS OUT!!

My recent Judging trip to Bacolod City, Philippines!

5th National PANAAD Dog Agility Competition was a Negros Occidental Yearly
PANAAD festival event. During the week long festival, Dog Agility was selected
to be staged as a Grand Event at Center Stage. It's was held in the PANAAD
Stadium, on April 22, 2009.

Bacolod City is a very pretty and scenic city in Negros Occidental. Bacolod City
supply more than 51% of the Sugar Cane to the whole of Philippines. On our way
from Bacolod-Silay City International Airport, we drove through the country-side
to the city, it was covered with Sugar Cane plantations.

In the Spanish House with Edward and Anna

At the Ruins! Beautiful Place! Big BIG Gardens!

Dexter, Nikko and Anna (Notice Nikko wearing our Singapore World Team Shirt) Thanks for your support Nikko!
At Tito Donnie's NFFAI. Many Australian Zoos are supporting their cause to save the forest and its animal. Kudos to Tito Donnie and his people!

Before the event, we were treated like tourist and our great host Anna, Edward
and Nikko brought us to understand the history of Bacolod by visiting the
Spanish House and the Ruins. Tito Donnie and Lynette took us to Donnie's Negros
Forest and Agricultural Foundation Inc an environmental rescue zoo that saved
the many wildlife birds and animals from the forest and created a breeding
programme for these animals before they became extinct. At night we were taken
to their clubhouse where we had dinner and met their many supportive members.
Members came from all walks of life from Farmers to Hotel CEOs and Artists to
dog trainers. Dentists and vets and hardware shop owners. We were introduce to
Bacolod's specialty the Chicken Inasal from Chicken Hause. BBQed Chicken Dipped
in vinegar, soy sauce and lime added with white rice. Simple and good! Theses
were great people with very sweet dogs. The Belgium Malinois seem to be the most
popular big breeds there. Very few Border Collies but the Davao people brought
their Beagles, Minpins, Cocker Spaniel and Golden Ret. And these dogs did great
in Agility. First time we see such fast Beagles and Minpins doing Agility!


This Year beside the crowd entreating Dog Agility Competition, they are holding
their first ever Dog Frisbee Competition in Negros! The participants are from
Manila, Davao, Gen. Santos, Zamboanga, Cebu and Negros Occidental. There was a
great variety of dog breeds; Belgian Malinois, Border Collie, Cocker Spaniels,
Shetland Sheepdogs, Jack Russell Terriers, Jack Russell Parsons, Boxer, Bulldog,
Minpins, Beagles, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Belgian Tervurens,
Pit bull etc And the youngest competitor, Kobe is a 12 year old boy from Davao.

Beside their main event of Dog Agility & Frisbee Competition, they too have a go
at various extreme sports. The rule of the game is the winner takes all. The
extreme sports are the High Jump, Wall Scaling, and Super Weaves Challenge(36
poles). The winner of the high jump was a tie between 2 Malinois, Jumping at
1.75 metres. The Super Weaves Challenge won by a Jack Russell Terrier at 6
second. The Wall Scaling was called off due to rain.

The 5th PANAAD National Dog Agility Competition was organized by K9 Obedience
Club, Province of Negros Occidental and Pro Plan. On Tuesday, dated April 21, I
was invited to Judge in the K9 Obedience Club for Starters Jumpers, Starter
Snooker and the Extreme Sports. We have about 24 participants in the Starter
Jumpers Class. The Standard of Agility, the handling skills and their level of
competitiveness, has impressed deeply, especially the teams from Davao, Gen.
Santos and Zamboanga. Their dog's line and their precise handling skills put
them in the pole positions. The competitions are tight, as many good teams put
in strong performances.

Starter Snooker are still new to many in the Philippines. However many teams
have a go at this strategic game. I am fairly surprise that many teams have put
in a strong performances. The winning teams complete the Snooker Class with high
scores.

On the actual day of the 5th PANAAD National Dog Agility Competitions, we have
both the Mini and Maxi Dog Agility Classes. And of course, their first ever Dog
Frisbee Competition. The PANAAD Stadium was filled with people wanting to catch
and be entertained by the best trained dogs in the Philippines. We have about 2
thousands spectators. We kick start the Maxi-Agility Class at about 4pm.

Next is the first ever Dog Frisbee Competitions. We have the single disc event.
Right after the Dog Frisbee event, we have the Mini-Agility Class.

The Standard Agility Course that I've designed provided the following challenges
for the team. The Course opens with a tire jump straight on to the teeter. One
or two teams have fly-off here. Without good performance on teeter, dogs will
over run and go on the Dogwalk that was a off-course trap. Having to perform a
pin-wheel with tunnel, bring the dog onto the dogwalk. At the down contact,
handlers require to push the dogs to the left into another tunnel and a good
entry into the weavepoles. A good number of teams were having difficulty to get
their dogs into the tunnel on the right side. Next is the chute and straight on
to the pause table for 5 seconds count. After the 5 seconds count, the next was
the A-Frame and transit to another pin-wheel this time on the anti-clockwise
direction. This pin-wheel will bring you to another trap obstacle the tunnel,
where handlers need to drive their dogs straight to the broadjump and a last
sprint to a double jump and the end line. The trap tunnel seems to inviting to
some teams, where their dogs was suck into the tunnels and causing them a wrong
course or a standard fault for the Starters Class. All-in-all a very strong
performances by the teams and given the pressure and the overwhelming crowds,
some team couldn't perform, while the others put in a good shows to wow the
immersing crowds.

After a highly competitive competition, we were asked to go back to refresh
ourselves and we were treated to a Prize Presentation & Celebrations Dinner at a
very special bar opened by an expat who also mentioned about his bar at the
Harbourfront in Singapore. We all have a great time interacting, sharing
laughters and disappointments that they had in this event. All winners got their
trophy and prize money and we all have a great time partying to the wee hours.

Its was a very impressionable trip for us, seeing and witnessing ourselves what
Dog Agility Enthusiasts working together to create a strong family bond between
dogs and handlers and above all, having so much great fun with their lovely
trained dogs.

We would like to thank the dog agility people of the Philippines and the great
people we met there in Bacolod! We look forward to your continued enthusiasm for
the dog sport of Agility

We will be happy to go back to Judge if we are invited again by these cool
people from the Philippines.

Exciting New Phases for us in USDAA Singapore!

We are into our new phase in our USDAA Singapore development. Our USDAA Titling and Tournament are gathering traction as we seen 5 International Dog Agility Titled Dogs in Singapore and we have 3 local qualifiers for the USD10K Master Dog Agility Steeplechase World Championships FY09!

And now our USDAA Judges are being invited to Judge in Overseas Assignments.

1. 6th & 7th Agility Trials in Johor, Malaysia on 14th March 2009 - Mr Dexter Sim,

2. 5th PANAAD National Dog Agility Competitions in Philippines on 21 & 22 April 2009 - Mr Dexter Sim, &

3. Pet World Malaysia 2009 in KL - Mr Dexter Sim & Ms Debra Sim judging in Obedience & Dog Agility Trials.


Very exciting year for us as Judges too. And our plan to get continuous exposures in International Judging Exchanges is ongoing.

In this way we can continue to stay ahead with the Dog Agility Standard and our core people in this sport will stay abreast with our Asian counterpart in their progresses and achievements.