# Team No F.E.A.R. a dominant force at Irondog Nationals



## committed2excellence (May 2, 2011)

This weekend my team traveled to Navasota, Texas for the Irondog Nationals. Needless to say, if an award or an honor wasn't nailed down, we took it home. I am especially proud of my 14 month old. He is the 2011 Irondog National Pentahalon Runner Up and also the 2011 Irondog National Esquieve Champion. All the dogs that participated were a year or more older than he. In some events, I had not even trained certain things yet and we winged it. Below is a recap of what my team took home and I have included some pictures. I apologize if they are large. I am working on this. I do know that my signature pic is now substantially smaller. To give you a little background about the Irondog events,which are all breed and altered friendly; there were various obedience and protection competitions that were held over the 2 day competition and conformation and weight pull event. There is also the National triathlon (ID3) which consists of a sprint race, a weight pull and a hardest hitting contest. The big prize is the National Pentathalon (ID5)which adds a tug of war between dogs and a hangtime contest. The winner of Irondog Nationals is crowned after this event. 
Here is a breakdown of all the awards and titles earned: FYI, OB=obedience, WP=weight pull, DHT=defense of handler title, ID=Irondog


Punisher earned his DHT, IDWP3, and IDOB1 Titles took 2nd Place in 60-80lb weight pull, 1st Place ID5 and 1st Place Novice Protection

Boogieman Earned his DHT, IDWP3, IDOB1, ID3, and ID5 titles, took 1st place in 50-60lb weight pull, 1st Place in Esquieve and 2nd Place in ID5 

Coco earned her IDOB1, IDOB2, and IDOB3 titles and took 1st Place in ID3 and 1st Place in Open Protection

Zizi took 3rd Place in the ID3
Enjoy the pictures:









Boogieman earning his DHT









Getting ready to start obedience routine










Going to collect my boy after he won the Esquieve competition. Nice bite!









Starting tug of war









Winning first place. Both dogs that he beat outweighed him by 20









14 month old earning his weight pull 3 title pulling 40X his body weight








Punisher pulled 5600#, around 75X his bodyweight








Boogieman doing the hangtime event








Some of my teammates








The Team No F.E.A.R. extended family, support system and coach

I have some better ones coming to me if these are well received.


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## maplewood (Apr 14, 2011)

AWESOME! Congrats on the titles. Thanks for sharing  I want to get into weight pulling so bad, but haven't been able to even find any events within a reasonable driving distance of us!


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## monkeys23 (Dec 8, 2010)

Congrats, looks like you guys cleaned up! Great pics! :smile:


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

What an accomplishment!!! Wow. Congrats!


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

Fantastic! great pictures as well, congratulations on your accomplishments!!! :smile:


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## GoingPostal (Sep 5, 2011)

Congrats! Sounds like everyone did an awesome job.


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

Congrats! I just love your boy, he's awesome.


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## Hadley (Jan 6, 2011)

Congrats! That sounds like a super fun event. Wish we had stuff like that around here! The dogs look great...especially Boogieman! Gorgeous dog.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Your dogs are ripped! They look great and I love seeing dogs doing something they clearly love to do! Congrats on the titles and awards!!


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

You guys all did awesomely. I too love seeing the dogs doing something they absolutely adore, they are some very satisfied, happy, well adjusted pups you all have there. Congratulations to you, all your team and all your pups.


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## stajbs (Jun 5, 2010)

Nice!!! Congrats to you and the dogs!! Did the Irondog stuff start in Connecticut? We pulled with our sibes back in the 90's with IWPA and a bit in 2001 and 2002 but the dogs got older and now we spend time caring for two retired senior sled dogs and weight pullers!!


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## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

Wow, those are great pics! The dogs look amazing!! I like that there is not only strength but also the obedience part. Congrats on the winnings!!


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## committed2excellence (May 2, 2011)

I started in Chicago I believe.



stajbs said:


> Nice!!! Congrats to you and the dogs!! Did the Irondog stuff start in Connecticut? We pulled with our sibes back in the 90's with IWPA and a bit in 2001 and 2002 but the dogs got older and now we spend time caring for two retired senior sled dogs and weight pullers!!


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## committed2excellence (May 2, 2011)

Thanks for the good words everyone


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## NewYorkDogue (Sep 27, 2011)

I love, love, love seeing dogs doing what they were bred to do (or even making the most of their potential and abilities). 

Beautiful and inspiring photos- the dogs look great!


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## stajbs (Jun 5, 2010)

I have to second the statement about enjoying seeing dogs do what they love to do. I've had two hard pulling siberians, my one boy way my "stump puller", took best body percentage several times in his career. I put him in a harness and his head went down, he leaned into the harness and whatever was in his way needed to get out of his way. lol I'll never have another sibe like him. He loved running and weight pulling. I do regret never getting to see what he could do on rails though. At 49 pounds, and for a "fuzzy dog" he was my little rescue miracle in the 60 lb. class.

I think you should share some more pics!! Puhlease.....


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## NewYorkDogue (Sep 27, 2011)

Along the same lines...

My last dog, Luke, was an English bred Labrador who, while not the most graceful on land, was literally built for the water (picture a seal with legs.) Sweet and mellow in general, something clicked in his brain when he was around water, and would literally water retrieve until he could barely move- this was his "job" and he LOVED it more than anything else in the world. Not only was he adept in lakes and calm waters, but also rough seas and rivers-- a beautiful and smooth swimmer.

In addition, he learned quickly to watch me from shore for hand-signals to direct him if he lost sight of the retrieve. I also taught him to retrieve lost floating toys that other dogs had abandoned in the water (for which other owners were grateful!)

Really, this wasn't just "fun" for him; it was his work, his passion. He did not return back to shore unless or until he had the retrieved object in his mouth, regardless of how far it had drifted, or even sunk... or how long it took him. Such a worker...

To see a dog doing what they absolutely love to do--- what they were genetically hard-wired to do--- is one of the best experiences of living with dogs!


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