Carolina K9’s of the Upstate, Inc.

02/03/2025

After a trial I usually need a few days to unwind before I can put my thoughts down.
After a very messy, rainy open field day we had fantastic weather for trial day, maybe even a little winter sunburn. ☀️🕶️
Let me start by thanking Patriot K9 for being such gracious hosts and providing a great field for the trial. You guys did a great job! Many thanks as always to our judge Trace Sims. You always put up with my 20 questions…a day… and provide great critiques to help folks get on the right track to a better score. 😉 There would be no trial without our wonderful decoys, Seth Sutton and Howard Johnson. You guys did a great job working these dogs. Thanks for being willing to come all that way. We heard nothing but compliments about your work. Seth had quite a few leg dogs to keep him on his toes.
Thanks to Creedence M. Futrell for taking photos/videos for the competitors. Can’t wait to view your work.
Congratulations to everyone who stepped on the field! We awarded 16 titles. Special recognition goes to the following:

🏆 High FO went to Devon Wagner & her beautiful Doberman, Felix. What a great team they make!! You’d never know this was their first competition. They also went on to get their P1 title.

🏆 High Obedience went to Courtney Robbins & appropriately named, Bang 🔥with a 92.5

🏆 High Protection went to Mirelly Armendariz & Aria with a score of 92.5!!

🏆 High in Trial also went to Mirelly and Aria with a total score of 183.5!! 🔥🔥 This crew came all the way from Texas to trial with us. I’d say it was worth the trip 😉 We are so glad you guys made the trip and congratulations to you and your spicy girl Aria!! We wish you guys were closer.

We enjoyed the weekend and getting to know some new dog friends. Great job everybody. See you at the next one!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

11/05/2024

It’s time for a Regional trial recap! What a great weekend we had with perfect weather, a fantastic facility and lots of amazing dogs and routines.
We owe some big “thank yous” to some friends and neighbors first off. If you haven’t ever hosted a trial then you may not understand just how much work is involved. We could never do it without our friends and honorary club members, Christy Wallace Hubbard and Lorraine Archer Your help was tremendous! Thank you ladies so much. We are forever grateful for your help but mostly your friendship. Thank you to McCalls Produce and Three Girls design for the decorations for our stage area. And a special thanks to Christy and David for the use of your beautiful stage.
A special thanks to Ballard Utilities for sponsoring the High Obedience trophy and to our good friend and fellow WDA competitor, Moriah and Von Dara Rottweilers for sponsoring the High Protection trophy. We want to thank Justin Sims Photography in
for his spectacular photos and to Mic Mccoy for videography that I’m sure you all will enjoy.
Many thanks to our judges, Tom Cawood, Barry Vradenburgh and Trace Sims for the exceptional judging and constant guidance throughout the trial. Trace Sims, thank you especially for answering our million and one questions, for explaining the rules and for being willing to play the part of Field manager so well…except for that once 😜Lol, just kidding, we appreciate you! 😉
A special thanks to the guys who make it all possible, our decoys Chris Menger, Seth Sutton and Caleb Edie. You guys rocked it this weekend!! 💪🏼
We enjoyed getting to meet everyone and we hope you’ll trial with us again. Who knows, maybe we will see some of you on the trial field next year.
There were 16 titles awarded yesterday, all of which are now qualified for Nationals in June 2025 in Colorado.
Awards:
🏆 1st place PD3: Kris Hammond & Red Bull
🏆 1st place PD2: Rocky Caughron & Indy (Honors)
🥈2nd place PD2: Seth Sutton & Fang
🏆 1st place PD1: Krista Smith & Letty
🥈 2nd place PD1: Krista Smith & Jaeger
🏆 1st place PS3: Kris Hammond & Lag (Honors)
🥈 2nd place PS3: Tammie Anglin & Fritz
🏆 1st place PS1: Kari Ross & Nero (Honors)
🏆 1st place P1: Amanda Rybasack & Calli
🥈 2nd place P1: Jennifer Zalar & Gump
🥉 3rd place P1: Carolyn Woodward & Nitro (Honors)

We added some special recognitions with the following awards:
🔥 High in Trial - Amanda Rybasack & Calli (highest overall combined score)
🔥 High Protection Amanda Rybasack & Calli
🔥 High Obedience - Kris Hammond & Red Bull This one is huge y’all! The PD3 is such an advanced level title that truly challenges the dog and handler. To score a 93 at this level deserves a hand. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
🔥 Decoys choice award - Krista Larrabee Smith & Jaeger

Lastly, we want to thank the Working Dogs of America, Corp. board for trusting us to host Regionals this year. We certainly gave it all we had to make it a nice event.

11/04/2024

We will do a trial recap soon once we have a chance to catch our breath. 😮‍💨
We sincerely hope that everyone enjoyed the trial. We hope that what you saw was a group of ladies who love the working K9 and the Working Dogs of America, Corp. sport. A regional event is a big deal. All the time and work that goes into preparing for that event deserves being recognized in a special way. We hope you felt that when you came. ❤️
WDA Eastern Regional Trial hosted by Carolina K9’s

10/31/2024

💯

PSA: Just because your dog doesn't growl or bite when your child handles them roughly, it doesn't mean they should have to tolerate it.

The onus is on the parent to teach children age-appropriate ways to interact with dogs.

The responsibility of safety is NOT 100% on the dog.

Teach the kids, not just the dogs.