2010 AKC NATIONALS - Tulsa, OK

AKC Nationals were held last weekend in Tulsa, OK. Tulsa is a lovely site, with plenty of room for parking and crating! That’s always a HUGE PLUS! The only down side to the crating area is that it was COLD! Inside the trial area was a little better, but it was coated conditions for those that were not running a dog.

The set up was three large rings in one building and one large ring in an adjacent building. Shopping was also available in a separate area. The shopping wasn’t bad! I only purchased one item however, other than Zukes Dog Treats. Seeker got a new red squeaky ball! He LOVES IT! Bill and I are still undecided. At least when he’s outside I’ll now ALWAYS know where he’s at! It has a VERY loud squeaky! Guess what YOU’LL all be getting for Christmas!!!

The nice thing about Nationals is you get to see some of the fastest dogs in the country. Amazingly enough, many of those are from the Midwest! GO US!!! I spent the majority of my time watching and filming the 61 dogs in the 26” class. They were impressive, with Course Times right with the 20” jump height! Yes, I know, those darn Border Collies! There were a few other breeds competing as well; several Poodles, a couple of Goldens, a couple of Aussies, and singles of the Terv, Dobe, Mal and yes, even an Afghan Hound!

Bill and Kruz did very well over all. They didn’t have any ‘clean runs’, but a lot of very close ones! This was Kruz’s last weekend at the 20” jump height and Bill’s first National running a dog. I think they both had a good time. Kruz didn’t knock one bar all weekend! Bill however, took one off the jump with his index finger!! Nice job SAL!!!

The 20” class is known as the “Class that NEVER ends”! No matter where you go, it’s HUGE! Probably due to the fact that so many dogs fall into that height – 18-22”. The class had 270 dogs and Kruz ended up close to the middle at 156. Not bad!

Carrie and Addie also made a nice showing with 2 clean runs. They continue to battle that dog walk contact, but I’ll sure they’ll find a solution. Carrie got to walk a couple courses with Greg, so I’m sure she’ll share THAT with Rilda!

The 12” class had 168 participants and Addie ended up at a respectable 90th place. Nice job for their First National Event!

Seeker was pretty bored all weekend. He did get to play with the practice jumps early in the morning. The 30 Minute General Walk-through started at 6 AM on Saturday and Sunday! If you were there at 6:30, you were too late and had to accept your 8 minute Group Walk-through.

I debated on putting a video together, and then decided to show one agility run. It’s something we could ALL envision happening to us. Well, maybe not, as this dog really was following his handler well! Not only that, he’s the most interestingly marked Border Collie I think I’ve ever seen. He’s a Black Tri, with a split face and minimal white everywhere else. He has a close encounter of the “BUTT” kind. You’ll have to watch, you can’t miss it! I think it’s on the way to jump #3. ENJOY!
He really is a nice working dog, it's too bad this 'freak' thing had to happen.



The rumor for next year is Perry, GA. It would be nice of the ‘Preferred’ entry was larger next year. There were only 75 total entries in the First Time Offered – Preferred Nationals.