Preston Agility

After an early alarm call (4:30) I set off to collect Clare & Charlie, the journey to Preston went without any hiccups and we arrived in plenty of time to walk the dogs, get a coffee and find the rings. Our first class was Agility, a fairly simple course with no weaves, there wasn't much room outside the rings for cueing which made Maisy even more hyped than usual and I set her up too close to the first jump! Our first run was pretty much a disaster, with maisy being so hyped and my terrible handling!! I came out having been eliminated although was really pleased she had got all her contacts. Nest was another agility class, again elimination, but again all her contacts and I felt my handlig was much better. Clare and I had lunch and discussed the morning so far, it was obvious that if there is something other than a jump in her veiw she will go under the jump to get to it. we have devised a training plan for this so hopefully next time we will be ready. Clare had two agility rounds in the morning, Charlie was really up for it but missed a contact and got a pole down, in the second round he went so fast onto the dog walk he ended up falling heavily onto his side, he seemed fine and was soon up and over it again. after lunch we took the dogs out to stretch their legs and found Charlie to be lame, his fall must have taken its toll in the cold weather, after his walk he seemed fine and we decided to stay for the jumping round, Maisy was in first and went like a dream, I pushed her past one fence so we had 5 faults but the remainder was clear and in a super fast time. Clare and Charlie went clear but were just outside the placings. It was a really long day but we came away super pleased with the dogs. One day Maisy and I will get that clear round!! we have loads of fun and don't take ourselves too seriously just yet, there's plenty of time for all that.

Jo & the Mali's were there too, little Keisha did us all proud, not only with her 2nd place in Jumping but also winning grade 3 agility. We are so proud of you - soon you'll be beating the Ronster!! clever girl.

Preston & Dinner Parties

Our friends Kathryn & Ian invited Amy and I to dinner last night, it was lovely, Ian had cooked a yummie meal and there was plenty of wine flowing!! probably a bit to much wine for a school night... although I have managed to hoist myself out of bed and get to work, luckily working 3 miles from home does have it's advantages. We were well and truly boxered, having there 2 and also baby gloria who came to visit with mum Anne.
Clare and I are off to Preston on Saturday for an agility competition, I am really hoping for an easy course (as I expect everyone is) and hope not to embarras myself too much. keep an eye out for updates.

flyball update

well it was brilliant to be back at a flyball competition with Jo and her parents,all dogs and handlers get along so well no matter how we do we always have a good time. we got off to a rocky start with a close call in the first race followed by a couple of crashes between our dogs, luckily none of them were injured!! then we settled into our stride and ended up in 4th place. We had introduced Smartie into the team yesterday, just a couple of practice runs or so we thought, but he just took it all in and never put a paw wrong so in the final race decided to let him have a go, if we won the race he would stay in and if not he wouldn't, he ran all 3 legs and we won with the fastest time of the day. what a star he was - we must not forget Alice who ran Smartie exactly in the right way, they will both be an asset to our teams.

Bandits at Newark

This Saturday the Brickyard Bandits are racing at Newark which will be our first indoor show this year. This time we will be taking Smartie along to have a go at the "Real" thing. We have no idea how he will react to the noises and other teams but it's a good opportunity to take notes for next time when he can run for real. Summer should also be coming but she won't fully be off her season by then so I think we might leave her at home with Ben! I have been doing some interval training with Dylan and Maisy over the past few weeks to build up their stamina levels, which in turn will hopefully help them to maintain their speed throughout the day, not that we have really noticed any drop in speed in the afternoon but every little helps, especially in the quest for faster times, who knows another PB might be in the wings.

Maisy and I are still really enjoying our agility training, we seem to have lots more control now and I'm finding my own handling skills are really letting our team down, Maisy has plenty of potential and drive I just need to catch up with her - it's all very frustrating, but hopefully with plenty of training over the winter we might come out next season with a chance of a few clear rounds.

Discover Dogs

Well the girls went off to Earls Court bright and early on Sunday morning, Diesel was all spruced in anticipation for her Handling class and Amy was in full "Shopping" mode!! whilst Summer spent the day behind the sofa dreading what Pink accessories she might be adorning on Amy's return. I had a few calls during the day telling me how everyone was in love with Diesel which was hindering their shopping skills!! Imagine being slowed down by adoring fans - How rude!! Kathryns class was at 4pm and her judge was the one and only Phil Paisly. Apparently kathryn looked completely at home in the ring with all the experienced almost professional handlers and as this was only her 2nd competition she did really well and was placed 4th. we are all very proud of her and can't wait for the next one at LKA in December.

Newark & Babies qualify for Crufts 2009

We braved the wind and driving rain at Newark YKC activity weekend, but despite the weather we had a great time. Unfortunately we had to leave Summer and Dylan at home due to Summer being in season so Amy had time to concentrate on having a good time without the pressure of having to perform. Saturday was purely training in any activity you chose, we took Paul and Alice with us and our friend Kathryn came along, she is 22 but still eligible tor training until she is 24, Amy encouraged her to take part in the handling competition with her Boxer Diesel so Kathryn took advantage of the training on offer. in the evening there was a fun and games night organised, so in true YKC style we all took part and had a ball.
During the night the weather took a turn for the worse and several times during the night I had to check the dogs were still safe in the awning, each time i checked they seemed oblivious to the strong winds blowing a gail outside.
Sunday was competition day with crufts qualifiers in handling, obedience and flyball. Amy and Kathryn were in the handling class and although Kathryn did an amazing job for her first time didin't make it in the final line up, and Amy was only in it for moral support!! In the Obedience, Amy was supposed to be taking Summer in, but decided to take Ben and maisy into the advanced class to make numbers up, poor old Ben was dragged out of retirement!! he bounced around playing tuggy up to the ringside and went in with more enthusiasm than we have seen for a long time, nice heelwork, good send away, bit of a hold on the retrieve, and a dodgy scent. but he had a ball, and bless his heart he won the class!! clever boy, just out of qualifying marks which means he can stay at home for Crufts 2009.
Brickyard Babies flyball team had entered the qualifyer the team is Amy, Alice, Paul and Sarah, we also have Ellen and Ali, but they were not able to attend this weekend. they put on a sterling effort and congratulations as they qualified for Crufts. I was a very proud today watching the team and I can honestly say I've got a very good feeling about this team at Crufts next year. A special thanks goes to Jo from Maili- Mania for lending us Ronny & Keisha and for taking the time to drive up to Newark.