As you may know, I am retired now for the past year in a half. With the passing of Baby Jake – it is just Courageous Kaiden and I. I will eventually get another puppy… although with the missing of Kaiden’s sister’s split heat cycle – I am not sure when. I believe in time it will happen.

Kaiden is now almost five years – five months old. He’s a great pup… calm off the course – driven when on it. He’s shy around people – unless of course – you put your hand in your pocket indicating a treat/cookie for him. He’s all over you then!

Kaiden is a “soft” dog. He is a worrier if he thinks he has made a mistake. If he thinks something is wrong – he slows tremendously – even in the weaves (his most favorite obstacle). He so wants to be “right!”

When he is on the course – he is full on! I like that about him. He reads me well – even when I am late with commands. He loves to work distance. I think he would love it if I would just show him the map and let him go with it!! But ya know… it’s the running TOGETHER as a team which is the most exciting for me (and I hope Kaiden!). It’s a feeling like nothing else… to know you are in sync with another in thought… and in movement. It is what keeps one coming back.

Kaiden and I (mostly me as Kaiden doesn’t really care) have a goal of getting to the AKC Invitational for December 2023. To qualify, you must be in the top five of your breed in all of AKC from July through June. Some breeds don’t need a lot of “points” to qualify… others like the Shelties, Borders, and Aussies – you need a ton!! Last year’s top Aussie had over 3500 points. Last year, Kaiden and I were 15th with nearly 1700 points (We did both AKC and CPE last year. This year we are devoting our time to AKC EXCEPT for CPE Nationals in May.).

This is the goal for this July through June. I really like running with him. I like looking “good” with him. He’s a handsome one running. His weakness is that he does not like to “collect.” He loves to jump big… and thus we lose some time. I have learned though to use that when planning crosses. You see, I really never focused him on collecting… Lukas did it naturally – could turn on a dime! Kaiden runs fast and BIG!!

This is an example of our jumpers run.

Like I said… I truly enjoy running with my little boy! We train at class on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. We run every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at a trial. We typically just hang out on Wednesdays. It’s a great life with my little one – my Courageous Kaiden!