Yearly round up

Well what an amazing year 2010 turned out to be. I never thought I would be approaching 2011 in grade 3 nor did I know this time last year I'd have another puppy!
Maisy, Summer and Rupert have had a brilliant 12 months, we have seen Summer mature into a lovely all round dog and Amy has really started to enjoy the partnership she and Summer have developed on the agility front, especially now she has found a trainer that really suits them, if only this snow would clear up so that they could continue with it. Summer was the star of the show at her first ever Crufts winning the Dogstable title and followed that up by taking the title again at Discover dogs, once again qualifying them for the YKC ring at DFS Crufts in 2011. throughout the year their agility confidence has grown and Summer now works confidently away from Amy and you can even see a cheeky twinkle in her eye when Amy isn't quite quick enough or seems a bit flakey with her commands, it makes for a great spectator sport!
Maisy of course has just been the most brilliant girl this year, we got off to a really slow start while I honed my handling skills, but once we got going their were some fantastic rounds which obviously gave us those all important wins, again finding a good supportive club towards the end of the season has really helped and over the past few months training with Jo has really started to make a difference and I actually feel confident to run Maisy from behind and try things I would never have even thought of before. I can't wait for next season, I know we are still going to have some wait and contact issues but hopefully we can remember to enjoy the fantastic moments from each round which so many people forget about.
And Finally Rupert - When he arrived I remember saying that as I hadn't expected him I had no aspirations for him! I must admit I never thought he would turn out like he has, for some reason I thought he would be a steady dog who would learn speed with confidence, but it seems thats not the case, practically from day one he has insisted I run him from a distance, again without Jo's help and advice I'm not sure where we would be, she had really devoted a great deal of time and energy into starting us on the right track and I cant thank her enough, hopefully we will repay her later next year by not showing her up too badly in the ring. I must also mention he has qualified for Breed at Crufts 2011 - I'm not sure the Judge on the day will like his colour but he will go for the experience and he will also be in the YKC handling if Amy ever does any training with him LOL.

Aspirations for 2011 - I guess I really want to improve as a handler and step away from being a one handed beginner to a multi tasking think on your feet type of handler. I already feel much calmer and in control in the ring, and at times I even seem to have time to watch Maisy instead of chasing her around praying she takes the right course!. I would like to continue with Rupert in exaclty the same way we are going at the moment, training with a plan in mind and taking the time to evaluate where we are and how he is coping with what we are doing at regular intervals, letting Rupert set the speed at which we progress, it seems to be working at the moment so I can't see a reason to change. And for Amy and Summer, enjoy Crufts with nothing to prove to anyone, and hopefully manage to attend a few more agility shows if time permits, I know she will be attending Mary Rays week again this year so watch out for more funny costumes and dance routines. Now that I have a few days off work till next year I'll try to take some good pictures of the dogs to post.

Although 2011 is set to be another hectic season seemingly living in the caravan for most of the Summer, I plan to take a bit more time out this year spending some time away with Steve.

Lastly I just want to say a huge THANK YOU to Jo Hyslop, your friendship and help over the past 12 months has been fantastic, I'm really looking forward to pairs next year Zippy & Rupert are going to be hilarious.

Good Luck to everyone for the 2011 season & MERRY CHRISTMAS

Rupert the Star (no really he was a Star)

So Last night was the Chipping Norton DTC Christmas party, I had decided to take Rupert along instead of Maisy to see how he managed concentrating with the distractions of other dogs and people. He went dressed as a Star! and a very handsome star he made. The club had set out two courses, a scurry which was 6 jumps and a tunnel and a twisty jumping course. We waited till the jumps were on Medium and had a go at the Scurry, He had a nice wait but on his first attempt I sent him into the far side of the tunnel clocking up the seconds so on the 2nd attempt I opted to run on the outside of the jumps and he took the better entrance and flew down to the finish without hesitation. Next we did the jumping, again just jumps and a tunnel, there were 2 cross behinds and a pull in - Rupert ran it brilliantly just taking a pole right at the end when I panicked a bit but apart from that I was so chuffed with him, and it was really lovely to hear some nice comments from the other members. It was a brilliant evening all round.

Expecting too much can leave you dissapointed!

Yesterday Jo and I took our naughty children Zippy and Maisy to a start line wait training day, I had been really looking forward to this seminar and I think I was hoping for a miracle cure! unfortunately I was disappointed, not necessarily with the training itself because there were some useful bits, my problem was that when I had called and described my problems I was told how the trainer had experienced the exact same issues and that now her very reactive dog was brilliant! unfortunately she told a different story at the beginning of the session saying that she was only able to leave her dog for 1.5 jumps before he broke! at our worst last year I couldn't take my finger out of Maisy's collar before she was off! so we were off to a bad start, also the trainer had her own dog in most of the training sessions, who insisted on barking and demanding her attention making it very difficult to hear anything she was saying and she was saying quite a lot! however on the plus side, I can see that with perseverance the method she used would have it's benefits and is definitely something I will work on with both Maisy and Rupert, even though Rupert has a lovely wait I will use the techniques around the rings so maybe the benefits of this course will be slow developing. I'll keep you posted.
I'm really enjoying Agility training with both dogs at the moment and have decided next season to work on my handling in the hope that when Rupert finally comes out in July I'll be giving clear confident commands so he can just enjoy the experience.

Maisy

Maisy training

Rupert agility training 2

Rupert agility training

Minus 11!!!!

Friday night was Harry Potter night, Lucy and I had a lovely meal followed by the Film, it was really nice to have a night out. When we came out of the cinema we were greeted by heavy snow! driving home was quite worrying, no sooner had the car in front made a track in the snow it was covered over again! Amy was babysitting in the next village which you get to via a single track road with a steep incline so we waited for a stranded phone call, however it didn't come, she managed to drive safely home on her own. Saturday morning I was expecting to wake to a good covering of snow, but not at all, it must have warmed up during the night making way to a slushy mess!





It's been so hard to find the right time to do any training over the past few weeks, But luckily I managed to get over to Jo's on Sunday and the ground was actually quite good! We started training Rupert front and rear crosses, he is very sharp so it took a few attempts to get my body language just right but once we did he was a dream.





We worked on no vocal commands with Maisy, which means she has to be more aware of where I am, again this seemed to work really well, she hardly took a pole and really tightened up her turns, it also helps me out as I don't have to even think about what is left or right just clear body language, so all in all Sunday was a brilliant training day.



Videos posted lower down, as I'm having trouble posting vids at the mo!

GETTING FIT!

It has become apparent that if I've got any chance of running two dogs next season I'm going to have to get fit! this week I have really had some breakthroughs on the training front, it's a shame the dark nights are here as I could really do with a few more training hours in the week.
I'll start with Rupert - I introduced the dog walk to him at quite an early age, let him trot over it on low height and shaped the end, then I left it for a few months but when I went back to it he had obviously grown so much in confidence that he just raced over it (reminding me of Maisy AAARRRGGGHHHH) so I took him back to the beginning, I really wanted him to think of the dog walk only as the end position, I don't want to have to give him a command to stop, but be confident when I look back at him he will be two on two off. so over the past few sessions i have just played around with the end position, then on Saturday morning I let him run the whole thing, at first I would look back and he would be standing with all four feet on the contact so I just waited and he corrected himself to get his click. After only a couple of attempts he was racing into the correct position without any help at all, so far I have only run straight past him, but next week I'm going to move out to the side and add some a jump and a tunnel at the end, this should really test his position.
At Jo's yesterday we put the jumps up a little bit, at first he ran under them, but with a little bit of tweaking he was soon jumping them nicely and ended up doing a sequence of 15.
Maisy - Thursday night was contacts at Chippy, and I have to say Maisy and I seemed to start off really well, but we lost it right at the end, I think we were both just a bit tired, yesterday at Jo's she was brilliant, after her initial mad moment, she settled down and I felt we really made some progress.
Summer - Amy and Summer had their 2nd lesson with Joy on Saturday afternoon, and again Amy was really pleased with how it's going. It's really lovely to hear Amy getting so excited about training and next season, but with a cracking little dog like Summer it's not really surprising at all.

Discover Dogs 2010

This year we took 3 Darians with us! so having booked parking under Earls Court in advance we arrived on site at about 9:30. all three dogs walked into the halls totally unphased by their surroundings, Rupert decided that he was going to bagsy the bench and promptly settled himself in. We had originally planned a days shopping in anticipation of my sister's new arrival! as Ruperts little half brothers and sisters have finally arrived and Sara is an expectant Darian mummy! but unfortunately the day turned out to be non stop, Alice and Smartie gained a very respectable 5th in the Dogstable with Amy being 3rd in her catagory and both girls did a sterling job in their handling classes. Unfortunately as is sometimes the case the handling judge was obviously a breed judge and didn't really understand the complexities of a handling class, meaning that some very obvious handling errors were missed and all castrated dogs were dismissed! a bit dissapointing considering this was a Kennel club event which resulted in a crufts qualifier for the lucky child. Still you win some, you lose some! Amy was thrilled with Ruperts performance in the ring, he hardly flew his tail at all and actually looked like an old pro.
The top 3 from each dogstable age group went into the main ring for a final, and as Sara and I had been a bit naughty sitting right by the ring making Summer lose concentration and coming to say hello! in her first round we managed to stay out of the way for the main event, Summer and Amy worked much better together and to our suprise won the final.
All owners and dogs were very tired at the end of the day, the traffic getting out of the venue was as normal a bit of a nightmare but once we were back on the main A4 we were soon back home. Thankfully Steve had decided to make a lovely beef stew which was ready as soon as we walked through the door, so after feeding the pack we were able to settle down on the sofa with a lovely dinner and a bit of reality TV - Can it be true the Wagner is still somehow in X Factor!?

More Training & Fireworks

It's amazing how depressing the winter becomes once the clocks go back! I can't even rush to the paddock after work. I have thought about trying to make it before work but that really isn't possible so I will have to make do with Thursday nights at Chipping Norton with Maisy and weekends with Rupert, which to be fair is probably just enough to keep us ticking over. Maisy had a brilliant session last Thursday, the week before had been a bit of a shock to both of us as we now have a new trainer, but this week it seemed to come together again and I could see plenty of positives.
On Saturday I took Maisy to a training Day with Lee Gibson, I love Lee's training, he puts so much energy into it and makes things so clear you can't help but come away motivated that you are heading in the right direction, and unlike so many trainers he doesn't charge the earth, which just goes to prove he is passionate about what he does and not just in it to make money! we started off with some obstacle discrimination where he had placed the see saw next to the dog walk, and with just a tweak to our handling styles all the dogs managed easily, we then moved onto some tricky jumping sequences and contact training, Maisy was good with the jumping but extremely naughty with her contacts, probably the worst she has been outside competition! but it did give Lee a great opportunity to give me some great advice which I will be following to the T for the next few months. Finally we ran a course which had the weaves set in between two tunnels! and again once we had remembered the techniques we had learnt throughout the day our dogs found the weaves easily, just proving that our dogs are far more capable than we give them credit for.
Unfortunately I haven't managed to get to Jo's for a couple of weeks, but she has kindly given me some homework for Rupert to be going on with, so now he is able to do both left and right handed stars into a straight line and is more than happy to take the line of jumps so long as his toy is at the end! as far as contacts go, we are still on the very lowest height and reinforcing the two on two off position, I want him to think that the end position is what that piece of equipment is all about and that getting there is incidental, I think he is on the right path as he doest seem to be thinking about anything else and just happily races to the position, so fingers are well and truly crossed.
Amy and Summer have been accepted by Joy Costello for training and start next Saturday, Amy is all fired up to get started as it has become impossible for her to train at our paddock due to the close proximity of the ponies, Summer just hates them and sits by the car waiting to be let back in, this just puts the wrong slant on training so we won't force her to do it, its all about fun and I know she will have a ball away from home.
For the past 3 nights all the dogs have slept indoors, Rupert was not happy but due to the amount of Fireworks about I didn't feel it fair to leave them outside, but thankfully tonight they will be back in their routine, Summer even has new PJ's so they will all be snuggly and Rupert can stop looking at me with his grumpy face at bedtime.

Crufts Qualifier

I had forgotten that on Saturday afternoon Amy had a Handling qualifier at Newark YKC weekend! so after shuffling my classes around I managed to be finished by 12:30 in time to travel up to Newark with her, I somehow managed to end up driving too! anyway the weather was kind and as we sat watching the other classes had decided this may have been a wasted journey as we watched the opposition getting ready to enter the ring! I know this sounds like we were pot hunting but to qualify you have to win the class and Newark is a fair distance to go for 20 minutes in the ring! so I sat by the ring with Rupert and Watched as Amy and Maisy went in. Maisy is not a natural handling dog, she is an excitable border collie who has 2 speeds, 100 mph and stop! luckily she was in a listening mood and gave a great performance ably steered around the ring by Amy. and to my surprise they had won the class so this means Amy will now take Rupert into the YKC ring at Crufts and I must say after watching them practicing in the ring on Saturday I think they may do a good job.

The picture above is of Rupert and the place card - he is not a fan of rosettes but he had better get used to it!!

Time Out

So yesterday Steve and I got home from a few days away in the caravan with Maisy and Rupert. We had booked a site at the foot of the Malvern hills so that we had plenty of walking opportunities. Saturday took us on a fairly strenuous walk across the top of the hills from little Malvern to Great Malvern, we didn't quite manage the full distance but enjoyed the excellent views and were more than ready for afternoon tea when we arrived back at the caravan whilst the dogs enjoyed a well deserved nap. The weather remained cold but dry even reaching -4 on Sunday night, but the dogs were wrapped up well in the awning, and emerged from their crate all warm and snuggly. So this week we are back in training mode. Amy and I have been accepted as agility measurer's subject to training in December which is great news, we are both really looking forward to getting stuck into that in 2011.

V V Vroom

Last weekend Amy & Summer attended a training fun day with Alistair Bray, Amy text me several times during the day to ask what had I done to her dog!?! I really have to run now to keep up with her... This just goes to prove that Summer is feeling fit and well and enjoying her life to the full. Amy will have to learn to watch her dog run the course from behind rather than along side her all the time, this will be an alien experience for them both after all the obedience training they have done, but it looks like Summer may have cracked it first!!
Maisy and I were at Chipping Norton last night, for some reason Maisy had her mad head on so together with my slow reactions it didn't turn out to be the best session I have had! but thats not to say i didn't enjoy it, it was just more difficult than before, however by the end of the hour she was back to very nice contacts!! PHEW.
This afternoon Steve and I are taking Maisy & Rupert away in the caravan for the weekend, we are heading off to Great Malvern so there will be plenty of crisp autmnal walks followed by plenty of alcohol to ward off any winter germs, unfortunately this does mean I'll miss training with Jo on Sunday but we have a great programme in place so I'm sure we can quickly catch up.

More Training

So now we have had 2 training sessions with Chipping Norton and 2 with Jo. At Chipping Norton Deena had set a jumping course up with some tricky pull in's and a very trappy Tunnel, I found it alot more difficult than the previous week as my mind doesn't work fast enough for Maisy's speed! Ellen & Hamish seemed to be taking it all in their stride and were looking fab so it was almost a relief at the end when they made a couple of mistakes! probably down to tiredness rather than ability! as he was flying all night. Maisy and I seemed to get better as the night went on and I came away really pleased with the progress, Yesterday was more hard work as Rupert & Maisy endured 2 hours of training with Jo, again concentrating on jumping sequences with Maisy really handling from a distance, and using some techniques I've never used before, Maisy was again excellent and I was suprised at how easy she finds it while I struggle. Rupert moved on to straight lines followed by a star, he is another dog who prefers me to work him from a distance and we realised he is much better going right than left! so thats what we will be practicing before our next lesson! I was a bit worried by one of Jo's comments " he's just like Maisy and Ronny" OMG what have I let myself in for?? well really I should be thrilled, if he turns out to have half their drive and enthusiasm I should be very pleased indeed. I have next weekend off from training with Jo so fingers crossed we haven't forgotten it all before the next time.

So Winter Training Begins

Last night was the first inside winter training session with Chipping Norton DTS, Ellen and I have both moved up to the grade 3-7 class and were a bit nervous how we would cope. I have to say Deena the trainer was great and I am pleased to say both Maisy and Hamish held their own, and I felt didn't look at all out of place. We are now really excited about the winter ahead. Maisy Rupert and I start training with Jo on Sunday which is something I've really been looking forward to, her baby Zippy has been a bit off colour recently so hopefully he is feeling well enough for a little game with Rupert after training.

winning video

Three Wishes

Above is a video of Gloria teaching Rupert how to play Boxer style! they had a brilliant weekend playing in the sunshine together.

Now for the results - Anne, Lucy and I had 3 wshes over the weekend, Lucy wanted a clear round in agility, and on her first run of the weekend Milly gave her what she wanted, just from watching it I could tell it was a great round and not only did she go clear but she won the grade 1 making her Grade 2 in her first season. My wish was obviously to get my final jumping win and after a slight shoe issue Maisy did me proud running an amazing combined jumping class and winning with over 2 secondes to spare. But I have to say the third wish was my favourite, Ann and Gloria had, had a brilliant day on Saturday, Gloria was running into her weaves every time and belting around the jumping sequences, at our Saturday night celebrations Ann declared she would love to get a trophy and Gloria didn't let her down, on Sunday morning in the combined 1-2 Agility she had an amazing clear round finishing in 3rd place and getting that trophy.

We had an amazing weekend, not only because we all took home a trophy but because we all had an absolute ball, thanks girls for such a lovely last show.

I am so pleased to be ending the season in grade 3 and can't wait now to start our winter training with Maisy and Rupert. I know Lucy managed to capture Maisy's clear round so I'll publish it as soon as I can.

Last Open Show of the year

Tomorrow Steve and I head off to Oswestry for Dashing dogs, this will be our last open show of the season, normally we head up north over the winter but I think this year we are just going to concentrate on winter training.
Maisy and I managed some training last night in the paddock, she really seems on form with her jumping sequences, and is back to fantastic contacts on our equipment, so the plan for this weekend is to try to get back some controll on the start and really mean my contact command in the ring, we only have one agility class on Saturday so at least I wont have contacts hanging over me all weekend.
I'm only taking Maisy & Rupert and I'm hoping to fine tune Ruperts Retrieve training as Amy has entered an obedience competition with him in November! I wouldn't say having to hold his dumbell without mouthing and come into a present is his favourite activity

Bromsgrove update

I nearly didn't go this weekend, but I'm glad to say it was worth the effort. I had decided to take Summer and run her in the combined classes on Saturday as she was already entered and it really made a difference running a dog with nice contacts! Maisy didn't have any clears but I was really pleased as she had some brilliant jumping sequences and a few times where my handling let her down! but on the bright side I have 5 out of 6 jumping classes at Dashing Dogs next weekend so hopefully I'll get my act together for that.

Summer was a little star all weekend, she managed a lovely clear in her combined 1-2 agility class finishing 7th and if I had trusted her to take her weave entry she would have been alot higher in the placings, then yesterday she had two lovely clears with Amy but most importantly she was super keen and is really getting to be a cheeky monkey.

And finally some congratulations - firstly to Ellen and Hamish who got their final jumping win taking them to grade 3, and nearly won the agility too so they look to be on great form for their grade 3 classes next year. And to Lucy and Millie, WOW what a brilliant weekend you had, you have gone from complete novice to a lovely partnership in such a short space of time, Millie's jumping is smooth and driven and you match her ability with your handling skills, this was all rewarded with some fantastic rounds and a brilliant 4th in Jumping which could have easily been a win on a different day.

All in all we had a lovely relaxing weekend with good agility and good company.

Le Hoop

Well over the past few shows Maisy's contacts have been getting worse and worse, last weekend I saw her leaping from the top section of the dogwalk in her eagerness to get to the next obstacle! so obviously this cannot continue, not only is it very embarrassing for me but it can't be good for her either... So having read over and over again sections in Dawn Weavers book I asked Steve to make me a device which we now call Le Hoop, it's actually a very smart piece of kit which we used in training last night, first of all we got all the dogs running through Le hoop on it's own getting them to run on independently either using a treat or a toy and then we tried it at the end of the see saw, the results were instant, we have one young dog who really hasn't gained her confidence on the see saw but after training with Le hoop suddenly seems to have found her mojo, so I can't wait to start Maisy training it, hopefully it will enable her to do running contacts so she doesn't find the hotspots too distracting. Rupert had a great training session last night too, there's more on his blog re this.

Weekend Update

Maisy had her back done last week, and what a difference it has made, she has always been a fast dog but watching her playing with Rupert and sprinting away effortlessly leaving him in her dust has been lovely to watch so would she now get her weaves? Well I had booked into Prestpury Park show for the weekend but decided only to go yesterday as we had pairs booked with Jo. We came away with 3 x E's!! 2 in agility because I put her back on the contacts and one in the jumping for taking the wrong jump, but I was really pleased with her as she was listening well and yes she flew into her weaves and seemed to be faster than ever through them. Summer and Amy had a good day too, they just had a pole in the agility and then a lovely clear jumping round in the rain to come 13th, she wasn't her usual speedy self but we have put that down to the wet ground, as Summer is a Princess after all.. then in the Pairs Maisy & Ronny had a ball, Maisy being eliminated for not taking the jump Ronny had already knocked down , and Summer and Zippy just getting 5 faults between them. we still have a few shows booked for this season but Maisy has now started jumping off contacts from near the top of the plank so I'm not sure if we will bother going to all of them, re-training is urgently needed before she really does herself an injury! but I have a few ideas and hopefully Steve will make me a couple of training aids so watch this space for more info.
On a different note Jo & Keisha have qualified for Olympia in the ABC finals in December, We are very pleased and can't wait to be on the support team on the day CONGRATULATIONS from Sadler-dogs XXXXX

Dashing Dogs

We have just got back from a great but exhausting week at the Dashing Dogs show, all the dogs had a brilliant time, Summer worked really nicely and came away with a 4th and a 5th place and Maisy managed another clear to gain her 2nd jumping win, so only one more to go till we are in grade 3! Amy took Summer & Rupert to the Welsh Kennel Club breed show, I got great news that Rupert qualified for Crufts 2011 and Summer just missed out on qualifying by comming 4th, but her sister and Ruperts Mum came 2nd so also gained a qualifier. Monday came and was a rest day for all competitors and dogs, so Jo, Amy and I took 9 dogs to the beach, it was a brilliant time for the dogs to run off a bit of steam and relax, even if we did get a bit wet in the process!

KCI Festival

I was really lucky this weekend, Steve and Amy had arrived and set up the caravan in advance so all I had to do was turn up on Thursday afternoon and enjoy. We had the most awful weather over the weekend with really heavy rain and thunderstorms, this made walking to and from the rings quite a chore at times, but luckily yesterday decided to at least be dry while we packed up.
Friday was the qualifiers for the Starters cup, and both Ellen & I managed to qualify for the finals on Saturday! I was really nervous on the start and managed to almost send Maisy into the wrong end of the tunnel, but after what seemed like an age she took the correct entrance, she worked all her contacts and then as I released her from the A frame I sent her over the wrong Jump !!!! Ellen and Hamish came out with 5 faults so neither of us managed to qualify for Discover dogs! never mind.. Amy had taken Rupert and Summer to the companion show which was being held on the same site, she had booked Rupert into the any variety puppy class which had over 20 entries and what a clever puppy he took 5th place even though he was thick mud from the waist down (ssshhhh don't tell Sheila) Maisy had a brilliant jumping round and won the class, so thats the first win towards grade 3!! OMG. Yesterday Maisy felt a bit tired and had a couple of poles down in a very fast jumping course and didn't steady enough before the weaves taking the 2nd pole entry but I was still very pleased with her attempts so a great Festival for us.
Over the weekend we couldn't believe how many dogs were getting loose, it amazes me why anyone would leave a dog loose in their netting garden and leave them while they either run another dog or just go walk about! and I had a jolly good moan to this effect on Saturday evening, then on Sunday morning Amy was scribing in the furthest ring away from our caravan, I had left Rupert in the metal crate and Summer zipped into the fabric crate while I ran Maisy, the next thing I know is Summer has unzipped her crate from the inside and run all the way down to find Amy through 17 rings and hundreds of people! I suppose at least she ran to find Amy and not just off on a jolly!! so I am a little bit more understanding now when I hear that tannoy announcement that there is a black and white collies in the secretaries tent!
I can't wait for Thursday to come so we can set off for Dashing dogs, good luck to anyone who's going, hopefully the weather might improve slightly, but I'll pack my waterproofs just in case ;-)

First Grade 2 show Aaarrrgghh

So I've just read Jo's blog and have reminded myself that it's our first grade 2 show on Friday - we have entered the starters cup but I'm not too hopeful because we still haven't managed to sort out our contacts in competition so I've decided to just keep going as the agility part of it is our first competition of the weekend and I don't want to put her off for the Jumping part of it whic follows straight after. Maisy's jumping seems to be on form and I've been practicing her directional commands which are going really well.
Amy could do well if she can gain 2 clears - it isn't unobtainable so long as they both work the round instead of just having a jolly around the ring so fingers crossed for some exciting news on Monday.
Good luck to everyone competing this weekend - I can't wait

Busy times

At last our month off is coming to an end! and I can't wait to get back to some shows, hoping to have a final push before the end of the season. Maisy was quite naughty at training on Tuesday leaping off all her contacts, but at least it showed Sarah what she is like in competition! however her last run of the evening went really well and she felt on great form so fingers crossed I can keep this going for the KC festival and Dashing dogs. Summer has been putting weight on nicely in preparation for her Breed shows and hasn't really done much agility training as she's decided that she HATES horses and as there are 2 in the paddock next to the training field can sometimes be a bit too distracting. but she is only competeing on friday at the KC show so hopefully that will serve as a reminder to set her in good stead for DD. Little Rupert is a star as always, he now knows left and right without any arm signals and somehow manages to execute very tight wing wraps without demoloshing the wings, he is getting more like Smartie all the time and when he gets really excited becomes quite vocal, but whereas lots of dogs become vocal when we don't give clear signals he seems to become louder the more he understands just with the pure excitement of executing something he knows really well and just wants to let everyone know! so this will be something we work on over the winter with Jo.

Bill (the caravan) is going to be tested to the full over the next couple of weeks and Amy and I can't wait to test the new awning and TV.

Mid Season Time Off

I'm not sure if this Mid season month off has come at the right time?! just when Maisy & I seem to have got our act together I find myself with a month off. For the past 2 weeks we haven't done any agility at all, I've been a bit off colour and Maisy has been having a very well earned rest. Yesterday Amy took her for a flyball practice before the YKC qualifier on Wednesday, I'm not sure why I agreed to letting her do it again, but she really does enjoy it and should they qualify it will be the first time Amy had run her at Crufts, But it will deffinitely be the last time and she won't be doing any hard training in preparation, hopefully she can just go as a reserve for the big day. Summer and Amy also have been having some time off, Summer has really turned into a cheeky monkey, at home and in the agility ring, I'm really looking forward to watching her at the week long Dashing dogs show, we just want to fine tune her offside weaves and who knows what results she might come home with?!?
Summer and Rupert are getting ready for the show ring, actually all Summer needs to do is put on some weight, and I think I've now cracked it with a new food and a new feeding regime, but Rupert is in dire need of some Ring craft training!!!! I'm quite glad I won't be there for his debut as I'm sure he will be a little over the top!! poor Amy I think perhaps she might need to get in some cramming before Bournemouth, however his other training is coming on really well, he had about a week off training while I was poorly but this morning I started to tighten up his heelwork, working on his close position, taking a side step and clicking his effort to remain in position, after only a couple of goes he is already thinking its a great game to push on in anticipation of the click! I was looking at some pictures of ticket handlers during heelwork and think Ruperts natural position will be quite a high head as opposed to the wrap around style, I will be happy with either and haven't really pushed him towards either but I am sure once we really start to motor forward he will have to adjust his head carriage accordingly so I suppost a high head at this stage is better - Just to reiterate, training sessions are only a few minutes at a time, their is plenty of time for stamina training, he is just coming up to 7 months and I don't anticipate him being in the obedience ring before next season, so he is set to have a very busy winter what with his agility training with Jo and Obedience training, I'm not sure where all the time is coming from!?

Maisy does the Double

Well, finally I have some good news for Maisy and I - On Saturday we went to Bretford and after an appalling Agility round we somehow managed to pull a clear round out of the bag in the jumping, we had one wide turn but appart from that it was faultless giving us the last grade 1 jumping win we needed by a good couple of seconds. Summer also had a lovely clear round finishing in 6th place, and if it hadn't have been for a naughtly pole in the Agility may also have been celebrating Grade 2 success. Yesterday we found ourselves at different shows, I had booked to go to Chipping Norton and Amy was again at Bretford, Maisy was again extremely naughty in the Agility round and just shoots off without any thought to a contact just trying to get to the next obstacle as quickly as possible, to be honest I'm getting a bit fed up with having to constantly put her back on them! from an onlookers point of view it must look like I have never trained them but at home and in training she is very good, so much more work is needed, however then we had the graded jumping which was being judged by Sue Frazier a good friend and I really wanted to try hard to look as good as possible in front of her, I was first on the line and there were plenty of draws ahead of us, but appart from a slightly sticky moment we managed another clear! not only that but Ellen and Hamish also went clear, at the end of the class it turned out I had won the grade 1 and Ellen had won Grade 2, brilliant, Sue told me I had won by over 3 seconds and it had been a brilliant run so I was elated.
Jo and all the Mali's were at Diamond show this weekend and now has 3 dogs in Grade 6!!! Kody just won't be left behind - Clever boy. So congratulations all round.
Amy and Summer had some brilliant moments over the weekend Summer has suddenly found her bionic feet which is on occasion taking Amy by suprise, they are lovely to watch and the transformation just seems to be happening right in front of us with each competition giving them a little more confidence, we are both really looking forward to our "Holiday" at Dashing dogs now, we have no pressure so can really enjoy the week.

Rupert learning contacts

So I have begun to start training Rupert's Contacts, after the few weeks I have had with Maisy there is one thing for sure Rupert will never get away with breaking his wait on the start and he will never know what a naughty contact feels like (well thats the plan). After only a few times of showing him the contact using the clicker he got the hang of it, he isn't quite stopping in the 2 on 2 off position yet but I think thats down to my timing rather than his understanding but I will work on that in the next couple of sessions along with his send away into the tunnel. I am really pleased with him so far and have attached a short video so any comments are welcome.

Maisy has had a rest for most of this week, as I am hoping that some last minute cramming on Friday evening will stick in her mind for the weekend ahead, it's going to be really nice as on Saturday we are only at Daventry so my parents can come to watch, the best bit is Mum will bring the camping stove and keep us topped up with goodies throughout the day whilst Dad pretends to watch from his chair while all the time he is actually fast asleep!! mind you at the moment that's probably the best way to watch Maisy and I in action.. Amy and Summer are with us on Saturday but we have somehow managed to be at two different shows within about 2 miles of each other on Sunday, Amy is on the hunt for more points so that hopefully she and Summer will qualify for the YKC agility finals in 2011. I'll hopefully get a few videos to post this weekend.

Another bit of news is that we have a new addition to the family, his name is Bill, he is a Bailey Olympus 624, Steve and I decided that if we were going to have more weekend breaks in the caravan we wanted a bit more luxury, so along came Bill, he has a fixed bed and a lovely end bathroom with plenty of room for unexpected visitors if necessary. He is a fair bit bigger than the last one, and I took him to Oswestry last weekend and had no problems towing or setting up so it's all good, appart from the dogs are not allowed inside so that will take them (and us) a bit of time to get used to although Maisy & Rupert didn't seem to mind last weekend they even stayed outside when I had the door open so it look like it might be OK.

Dashing Dogs

On Thursday evening we collected our new Caravan (Bill) this one has a lovely fixed bed so no more making up the bed after a long agility day, however it is a fair bit longer than our old one so I was a bit dubios about towing it all the way to Oswestry on Friday evening during rush hour! I shouldn't have worried, the trip was easy and the traffic on the motorways was very kind, so I was set up in no time, we had a brilliant pitch right at the front with a great view of all the rings. Our first class of the weekend was the knockout pairs, Jo and Zippy went first with a lovely clear and maisy took a pole and missed her weave entry but as time is added not faults we won and were in the 2nd round, we then took a double clear but just missed out by a whisker to the oposing team, it was brilliant and we can't wait till the next one. after that the weekend was amixed bag, there were some brilliant moments and some mad moments but the worst of it was waiting 6 hours on Sunday for the grade 1 jumping, it was the last class of the day and to be honest a very unfair course (IMO) to cut a long story short we were E'd on the 6th fence so a really crap day turned out even worse! I got home at 9pm and the drive was just long enough for me to re-visit the posotives from the weekend, I'm beginning to think we will never get our act together!
Luckily it wasn't all doom and gloom, Amy was at Wellingborough with Summer, thankfully Amy is finally feeling a bit better and they managed to come away with a 5th in jumping and another couple of clears so some more points for their record book. Summer seems to have really blossomed in her agility this year, it must be all the fun she's having, I'm really looking forward to watching her next weekend at Bretford.
Jo had a fantastic weekend, all her dogs appart from Ronny who like Maisy is keeping her feet on the ground!! Zippy is amazing he is destined to be a star in the future and Kody won practically everything he was in! I'm not sure how she managed to get home with the weight of all those trophies!!

Holiday?!?!

Last week Steve and I were officially on holday, we had packed the caravan and booked into a lovely caravan site in the Golden Valley for a few days away together, we had decided to take Rupert & Maisy as Amy was also away with her YKC mates in Newquay so leaving Claire with Ben, Dylan & Summer. When we arrived we realised there was no mobile reception within 7 miles so I called the girls and told them to leave us messages which we would pick up at intervals throughout the holiday. The weather was glorious and the dogs were having great fun splashing around in the river keeping themselves cool. On Saturday we had decided to walk the dogs around a 3 mile route I had found on the internet, it was supposed to be and easy walk with spectacular views! well I'm not sure who published this so called easy walk but it was far from it! I don't think they believe in maintaining their footpaths in the Golden Valley! however the views from the ridge were amazing and both the dogs had great fun exploring the hedgerows, then suddenly my phone beeped at me, this was a good excuse for a rest so I decided to call Amy to make sure she had arrived in Newquay safely - Poor Amy had been trying to contact us for the past 24 hours, she hadn't been feeling very well so much so that her friends had taken her to A&E on Friday night where she had been diagnosed with THE MUMPS!!! so on the hottest day of the year we ended up spending 6 hours in the car Luckily the air conditioning was working and the dogs had had a long walk so were quite happy to have a big snooze. unfortunately we ended up cutting our holiday short but at least Amy is now on the mend and not quite as Hamster looking as she was.
all was not lost though as I have a little treat waiting for me on Thursday - all will be revealed.......

Weekend Updates

We had a very plesant weekend at Top Barn, Amy managed a clear each with both Summer and Dylan which resulted in a placing, the pairs was executed like a military manouver as we didn't Summer to see Maisy before the start although I managed to get us eliminated!! and Maisy managed all her contacts after I managed to get a wait on the start, so from now on it will be waits all the way even if it means throwing every class. Jo had another good weekend in her final grade 5 Keisha managed another jumping win so all those points are really stacking up now. and Ellen and Hamish took first place in their first grade 2 jumping, it won't be long and they'll be in grade 3. Also Anne & Gloria had yet another brilliant clear round, the relationship between them just gets stronger and stronger and they are a delight to watch.
Amy is at the Mary Ray training camp in Daventry this week and has decided to concentrate on Summer for the agility and Rupert for the obedience!! so I am without my baby until Thursday morning!!! Steve and I are off for a well deserved break from Thursday to Monday and thankfully both Maisy & Rupert are comming too so he can be thoroughly spoilt without any distractions.

Golden Valley

This afternoon Amy and I with all the dogs are heading off to the Golden Valley agility show, I really like this venue as it is where Maisy and I first won, I have packed my lucky red trousers!! so hopefully between us we can come away with a few nice runs. All the gang will be there including Clare even though she can't run Charlie due to his ongoing injury but it will be lovely to spend some time catching up with everyone, and I'm sure a few glasses of vino will be consumed so with the weather set to be fine it could be a very pleasant weekend. Updates on Monday!!

North Derbyshire

I must admit to not really looking forward to this weekend, not only was it a long drive on a Friday afternoon, but I was also going up on my own, and even though I was meeting up with Jo and Kathryn I really hadn't got very excited about it at all. Luckily we arrived in the sunshine and Karthryn and Ian had already set up camp so at least there were some friendly faces on arrival. Saturdays weather remained warm and dry and Maisy had some lovely rounds still just taking the odd pole or missing the contacts, but I had started to get at least a bit of a wait on the start so some progress was being made. In the afternoon we even managed to all sit by the grade 7 ring to watch some really lovely dogs and their handlers make it all look far too easy.

We woke up to heavy rain on Sunday morning which made the ground very slippy, maisy started the day off with an agility round where her naughty contacts remained but she made a very tight weave entrance look easy and took the jumping sequences in her stride so I was quite pleased, it was followed by a tricky 1-4 jumping where all the jumps were in the middle and I just think Maisy got confused and started to take her own line in a panic so I took her out of the ring. then finally we had a lovely 1-3 jumping class, Maisy ran it beautifully just knocking 2 poles which were both my fault, so I am really looking forward to next weekend at Golden Valley.

Jo had another brilliant weekend with so many rosettes to name them all but she had an amazing jumping win with Ronny and came 2nd in the same class with Keisha, not to be outdone Keisha followed that by winning another 2 jumping classes and Kody taking another grade 4 win taking him to grade 5, I think she might need an extension soon to house all those trophies!!

Anne & Gloria had a brilliant clear round in the Jumping it was the best I have ever seen Anne run in total control so very well done and Sara with her lab Jess had another clear in the agility gaining 4th place so it turned out to be a brilliant weekend all round

Quiet weekend

last Thursday we took Summer to the vets to be spayed, we had originally wanted to have a litter from her but with the unexpected arrival of Rupert then decided it wasn't necessary to put her and us through it all (especially the bit where you have to let your babies go!) the operation went very smoothly, and she seems to be recovering extremely well, even keeping her quiet hasn't been as much of a problem as I anticipated, so fingers crossed next Saturday John our vet will give her the all clear in time for Golden Valley on the 19th/20th June.

This weekend we hadn't got any shows booked so I arranged to take Rupert to a HTM workshop run by Richard Curtis in the neighbouring village, he was brilliantly behaved and although it was a long day for him we have come away with lots of ideas to play with over the comming months (more on his own blog).

Maisy and I are entered at North Derbyshire next weekend, so I'll be camping with her & Rupert, as you could probably tell from previous posts I have been a bit down about our 5 faultitis over the past few weeks, we were on such a roll at the end of last season I seem to have lost my MOJO!! so hopefully this weekend we can focus enough to get through it, Jo is camping next to me so I'm hoping one of her motivational chats will do the trick. I am at a real loss how to get the same contacts in competition as we do everywhere else! I will get myslef videoed both at training and in competition to see if we can spot anything!! failing that it's going to be velcro on her pads!!

Packington Update

On Sunday Amy and I were at Packington agility show, I had grade 1 jumping first as I was drawn 2nd, Maisy was good as usual but took a couple of poles, I don't know why, probably because of me! Ellen had a good clear to finish 3rd, we also had another jumping and an agility Maisy was taken out of the agility at the 2nd obstacle (the A Frame) for jumping the contact, and I have decided as soon as she stops listening I'm going to take her out, really for my own benefit as this only results in her ignoring me more and more around the course and as a result I get cross which is not good for either of us, and she took another pole or two in the last jumping. Summer had a lovely clear round in the 1-3 jumping and had a brilliant day getting all her weave entrances independently of Amy which is great progress. On Monday Amy took both the girls on her own and had a brilliant day gaining a 6th in jumping and an 8th in Agility just proving how many seconds she is saving by taking the weaves on her own WELL DONE, Amy also ran Maisy really well as you can see form the video's below, kindly captured by Ellen. Rupert now has his own blog because I seem to have so much to write about him (little monkey) the link can be found below.

Just a couple of Well dones....
Jo with Ronny & Keisha both going grade 6 WOW fantastic
Also to Jo with the other mali's I'm sure people will soon get bored of you taking home all the trophies and rosettes!!! Way to go X
and Sara and Jess the labrador getting a lovely clear round at Packington on Sunday taking her into 15th place - it only gets better.

Weekend Update

Amy and her friends had a brilliant weekend albeit most of it was spent drinking Pims in the sunshine! her Disney themed night out went well and looked like great fun from the photo's. Maisy and I attended BATS agility show on Saturday, the first class was Agility I was lucky enough to be 3rd in the queue so not much time for Maisy to get over excited by it all, unfortunately it didn't go to plan and Maisy flew all her contact points ending up with me leaving the ring before the end of the course, I didn't see any point in continuing, the round felt like we had gone 4 steps backwards!! to say I was disappointed would have been an understatement, Maisy on the other hand was oblivious to any wrong doing and happily played with her lead!! I decided to go straight into the 1-4 NBC jumping class, it was the same judge as last week so the course was set at the higher end which normally would not be an issue! again although Maisy was listening she took a pole and then entered the weaves at the 2nd pole! so all that was left was the grade 1 jumping. The sun was shining with not a cloud to be seen I was drawn 65th and the judge had said the first 30 dogs before lunch so I decided to watch those 30 dogs to get a feel for where they made mistakes, then I noticed there were no dogs on the line so managed to get Maisy in early, I'm not sure what happened I probably rushed her from the car to the line too quickly although I had made sure she had a quick stretch and the toilet! still we arrived at the line and the start went well then she took the pole before the weaves and again entered the 2nd weave! she continued the remainder of the round well and I even managed to get my Pre-curve in before the last line of jumps to the finish. Another day with no clears! I will admit I came home very despondent, no matter how well I seem to do in training I just cant get it together at shows, I do feel I let my dog down although in reality Maisy couldn't care less, we have a great relationship and yesterday afternoon proved that as I managed an hour sunbathing in the garden while the dogs were playing in the water, all the time Maisy was sleeping by my side in the shade of my chair, so next weekend we do it all again, this time Amy will be with me to keep things in perspective and I will try to remember I do this for fun, no pressure.

This week has been fairly busy again, on Monday I got Ruperts optigen results back showing him clear for CEA, although I knew he would never contract the disease it was important to know if he was clear or a carrier for potential matings, and I am thrilled with the result, this means if he should prove to be a good enough example of the breed and his hip score is acceptable he will be able to stand at stud to approved bitches (approved by Sheila that is).

My eldest daughter Claire has finally finished her degree, it has been a hard 3 years for her and over the past few weeks she has been revising solidly, so it was really nice for her to get the exams over and done with, she can now enjoy the summer ready to begin her teaching course next year, starting with Amy's birthday party this weekend! she has organised a Disney themed night out, and has decided to go as Mini Mouse, I'm hoping it won't get too messy! but then again you are only 20 once.. so long as they tidy up after themselves!?!

Maisy and I are off on our own to BATS agility show on Saturday, we're still chasing that illusive jumping win, Maisy is on such good form at the moment and had a brilliant training session on Tuesday holding fabby contacts and really listening to my commands! fingers crossed I don't let her down again, not that she cares she thinks I'm brilliant just taking her to the show and letting her loose on the equipment is all the fun she needs.

May Sunshine

Despite the weather forecasters telling us to watch out for rain and more rain we had a lovely weekend of sunshine, albeit a little chilly in the shade. On Saturday Amy and I took the girls to Leamington's Agility show, where we met up with the usual agility crowd. Amy and Summer had a brilliant day gaining 2 clear rounds in the Jumping classes, her weave training has proved successful with Summer sighting the entrance perfectly saving her a good few seconds, with a bit more confidence she will start to speed up through to the end, but this advantage took her into 2nd place behind an elated Ellen and Hamish which finally takes them into Grade 2, and I must say it was one of the nicest rounds I have watched with Ellen really starting to trust her boy and taking the risks she needs to gain those all important milliseconds - well done. Maisy and I also had a great day, no clears but a silly mistake by me in the jumping taking me into the completely wrong position! and a trip by Maisy in the Agility making her fall into a jump, and a silly pole in the 1-7 jumping but she was on form, listening and really working her socks off so I'm not complaining. Anne had a lovely clear round in the 1-7 jumping her handling has come on leaps and bounds both Crafty & Gloria were looking Fab.

Jo & Keisha are off to the world Champs today, we all have everything crossed for you and look forward to getting the updates.

More Training

Last night I decided to take Maisy to the paddock instead of going to class, I had set quite a difficult course out with contacts into tunnels and a fast line of jumps into the weaves, all of which she took in her stride, she was really trying to get it right which let me see clearly where my handling errors were, she waited for her release command on all the contacts which was really nice as we have been stuggling with that one! so fingers crossed for the weekend and hopefully no naughty poles will be there. When I got home I decided to take Rupert out for a walk in the evening sun, I have been training lead work as it's something I haven't been very vigilant with, with the others, he had a little run accross the corn field and then was put on his lead, he was a little star and not once did he take up the slack, we enjoyed a pull free walk with plenty of time to watch the bunnies nibbling the sping grass before they realised Rupert was in fact a dog staring at them and not a lamb! This morning I found an old photo of Ben, he must be about 2 years old, he looks so fit and healthy and you can see by his eyes how focused he was, it's a bit sad to see him now, a young dog in an old body, at only 8 years old when he should be at his best, hopefully this year Amy will manage to get him fit enough to have a go at a few allsorts classes, it's a shame to leave him in the caravan garden when the thing he loves to do the most is a few yards away, the trouble is even though he is very obedient as soon as he sees Agility he turns into a pulling machine! so it takes two of us just to get him to the ring!! Bless him..

So Many Darians!

On Saturday Amy & Kathryn went off to Stafford for the Dogstable qualifier, they had a great result with Amy winning and Kathryn coming a close 2nd, so a great result for the girls, yesterday Amy was back for the handling where she came 2nd to a very experienced handler, no qualifier this time, she'll have to try again later in the year. Then is was down to the Main event DARIAN DAY - we are really lucky that the breeder of Summer and Rupert holds an annual Darian Day, where all the owners of Darians are invited to a picnic, The sun shone all day and all the dogs young and old had a really lovely time, nearly all of Ruperts brothers and sisters were there and it was a real treat to watch them all playing together whilst their older aunts and uncles kept a watchful eye on them and of course great, great granny Abi overseeing the proceedings from a safe distance. Rupert was exhausted by the time we got home and slept soundly for a couple of hours and then in true Rupert style suddenly woke up ready to start all over again!
Lots of training this week as we are back on the agility circuit starting this Saturday with Leamington, hopefully we will stay on form keeping the improvement up, but only time will tell, Amy & Summer had a great training day with Alistair Bray last week so hopefully we will see a bit more confidence from them in the ring.

May Bank Holiday

On Saturday Amy and I attended the Border Collie Breed council open day, Rupert was having his blood taken for DNA testing hopefully we will get the results in a few weeks, and we took the others along to take part in the companion dog show, I was asked to steward for the obedience while Amy showed the dogs, the results for the day are as follows:
Maisy - Best Rescue -6th
Maisy - Scurry - 1st
Maisy & Summer - 3rd best brace
Ben - Advanced obedience - 2nd
on Sunday I had a day off, well I say that, but it was only a day off from the dogs! I had plenty of housework to catch up on and Amy attended Rugby obedience show, where she was really pleased with her training rounds, Summer and Amy seem to have lost a bit of confidence in the obedience ring so it was nice for her to come home pleased with a very happy Summer. and. Yestersay Amy attended a weave training morning with Alistair Bray, which they both really enjoyed and seemed to get a lot out of, I'm looking forward to her showing me what she learnt.
Well done to those who attended Dordale especially to Jo & Keisha who have finally got that last win taking them into Grade 5 and to Ellen & Hamish 2 more secondes to add to your collection!!!! and even more importantly to Ann & Crafty who got their first place in grade one a 7th we are absolutely over the moon, you must have kept yourself calm and in control - well done X

weekly training

This week I have started taking Maisy to Chipping Norton agility club for some more practice in a more exciting enviroment, it was only a small class and I thought Maisy worked quite well, the instructor Sarah made the lesson clear and fun and she noticed that when I train Maisy on a contact I give her a release comand but when I run a course I don't!! she was right so I'm giving Maisy mixed messages, the last run of the evening I made sure I got the release "OK" in and she ran much better so this is something to practice before next weeks lesson.

Rupert has started his agility training! - I can actually hear the gasps of "He's too young" but all I have been doing is the same controll exercise I do with his toy through wings with poles on the floor just to get him used to the wings, he was also playing at wing wraps left and right again chasing his toy and only 2 times each way - I have found with Rupert (and I think its a boy thing) if I keep all his training in the format of a game he just picks things up really quickly, I know he is a Darian and from experience they are very quick intelligent dogs, but I didn't think he would have the same stamina for knowledge that Summer had, I was wrong, he is exactly the same just in a slightly different way. I am really enjoying the time he and I spend together it's a real learning experience for both of us.

WBSDS

Amy & I took a leisurely drive to Newbury on Friday afternoon, the weather was glorious and we took our time to set everything up before enjoying a nice quiet cup of tea sitting in the sunshine with all the dogs. Saturday we woke up to another hard frost but the big awning was warm enough for the dogs especially as they all had their snuggly coats on, then the Sun came out and with a nice breeze it turned out to be a good agility day, all the dogs had some nice runs, Maisy is still only knocking the odd pole or just faulting on the weaves if she hits them too fast so we haven't gone backwards, and Summer managed 2 clears and Dylan 1 - Maisy also had a clear but due to me having a senior moment halfway round the course resulting in me standing still for about 5 seconds! was just outside the placings!!! Sunday we had Rain! but again the dogs seemed to be working consitently, Maisy was mental in her agility, but I think I go in with the attitude because it's agility it's going to go wrong!! although I did hear myself shouting at her on the contacts on Saturday and decided I wasn't going to do that again so it's more training for me thats required! but her jumping rounds were fantastic again only the odd pole or weave (not both) and a couple of handling errors so I was pleased with our progress. Summer was a little star and again managed 2 clears but this time resulting in her getting her very first places coming home with 2 x 13th places, considering only 12 months ago Amy didn't really even want to do agility the transformation in them both is brilliant and can only get better & better. Amy also managed a 12th place with Dylan so we managed to come home with 7 rosettes.

Rupert was again a little star, and his fans turned out in their hundreds again... I managed some obedience training by the rings, and he was thrilled to see his buddy Stig for a roll in the dust and at lunchtime spent 20 minutes in Jo's garden being mobbed by Mali's or was it the Mali's were being mobbed by Rupert!?! still he got home looking a bit beshevelled!

Rupert Training Part 2

I've learnt a lesson this week! I've been having to adjust my treats to get the best work but have learnt that a treat can be so good that is actually has the opposite effect, I was being lazy as this morning I wanted to train in the house as opposed to the run, all my treats etc are in the shed so I looked in the fridge for inspiration and found some Pate - Rupert was so into the treat he couldn't focus on anything else! I'm not suprised really, poor child. His day to day training is shaping up really nicely and he is getting more and more eager to please as the time goes on, at shows he walks around with little distraction and is happy to play tuggy through the crowds, and will practice nose touch happily, in fact he is a very happy chap alround. I'm still working on the off side heelwork and want to start him trotting through wings in the next few weeks so hopefully now spring has finally sprung we might have a chance to get down to the paddock which has a whole different set of distractions to cope with.

Wallingford Weekend

Good show this weekend only made better by the glorious weather, although we did have a hard frost on Friday night so decided that Rupert had better sleep in the caravan on Saturday! Maisy was running really nicely on Saturday anly getting 5 faults in each of her classes, a pole in one and just marginly missing the see saw contact in the agility, she and Ronny had a cracking pairs round taking 3 poles between them and Summer was really happy and motivated so everyone was happy. We started Sunday with the Team Dash which we had to go NFC as we only had 3 team members, again it wasn't the easiest course and all 3 dogs ran it nicely Summer even went clear. Maisy had a bit of a wait then for her agility round which didn't really go to plan! she was a bit hyped and didn't manage the dog walk contact and even took 3 attempts at the weaves!! so I was a bit dissapointed as I thought we were past all that! still she redeemed herself in the jumping only getting 5 faults for my silly handling. Summer was a little star and went clear in Agility leaving her in the placings right up until the last minute! but she came away with a lovely big clear round rosette for her hard work and only just popped out of her last weave in the jumping so a little bit of training this week and I'm sure she will be in contention.
Rupert has had a great weekend (again) I have started taking him to the ring when I walk the course and just tie him to the ring post, he waits very patiently for me even though he does keep getting interupted by another one of his fans coming to speak to him, I have to keep a close eye on him in case he is pupknapped! he also spent a lot of time playing with all the Mali's and now has another new best friend "Zippy" He was soooooo pleased last night when he saw Claire and jumped all over her squeaking with delight to which she was moaning to him to get off her laptop as she was trying to finish so Uni work, but the next time I looked he was upside down fast asleep on her lap and she had a big smile on her face, I can't wait to see what he says when Steve gets back from Belfast tonight, he hasn't seen him for 4 days!

Training Rupert Part 1

When I first realised I was actually getting Rupert I had decided that I really wanted to clicker train him because I feel that letting the dog work out the actions required would lead to a much deeper seated understanding of the command in the long run, I never set it in stone and have just let the training evolve into what suits us both, I was finding Rupert (maybe because he is a boy) soon got bored of having to work things out for himself resulting in a sort of role reversal making me work out how to keep his concentration throughout the training process, at his level I am talking about a few minutes at a time. I have started a routine whereby he is looking forward to his 1-1 time with me knowing that when I put the other dogs away and get the treat pot the fun will begin. I am slowly building his repetoir of skills by using games, key commands which are repeated throughout the session and making sure I keep things moving, so that he is not allowed to get bored and switch off. Today I began his stay training, he already knows sit and down and is quite happy to remain in the position while I madly run around throwing toys and will remain in his position until I say "Ready, Steady, GO" albeit about 10% of the time he might get over excited and jump up, but in those instances I just run back to him saying not yet and put him back into position and start again - after all he is only 15 weeks old! but today I decided there is no better training aid than an older dog who already has the skill, so Ben came out to help, I placed them both in the sit and walked around them, resting about 4 paces in front of Rupert sideways on, he probably sat for no more than 20 seconds, I then returned to them and released and then repeated this all over again in the down, making sure Rupert had rolled his hip to one side, the result was a confident stay in both positions, over the next few weeks I will slowly increase the time they are left and the distractions. below is a quick video of his recall thus far, plenty more work to do.

Shuttleworth Update

It was a good show and all the dogs really enjoy their weekend breaks, as soon as I hitch the caravan up they are all waiting by the door so we don't forget any of them! Saturday was a good start although no clear rounds neither were there any eliminations, Maisy held most of her contacts and even managed a couple of start line stays! with only poles in her jumping classes and some amazing weave entrances I went to bed really pleased with both of us. Summer was steady on Saturday and Amy just took her eye of the ball on the dogwalk contact (tut tut) and again a couple of poles here and there. Sunday was a different matter, Maisy started of a bit wild although still in control but was flying off all her contacts, I put her back on the see saw 3 times in one class and she still released herself so we will be concentrating on that this week in training. she did manage an amazing jumping round taking 2 poles, the first because I gave her the weave command and the second I think because I moved too far to the left but I'm not sure there is a video which I'll post later so if anyone can tell me I'd appreciate it. Summer was much better on Sunday and her speed came back, Amy used a different method on her dog walk which worked a treat and got a brilliant clear round in her jumping, not fast enough for the placings but a nice red clear round rosette to add to her collection.

Jo had a good result with Ronny this week winning grade 5 jumping, he and Maisy are in the pairs on Saturday so fingers crossed! Ellen had a dissapointing weekend quite a few naughty poles but she did get a lovely agility round to finish on, I looked at the jumping results before we left the show and saw they had got 5 faults in a very quick time which would have put them right in contention, I think the winning time was 20.2 secs and Hamish had 5 in about the same ( I can't remember the decimal place!) but then I saw Maisy got 10 faults in a time of 18.25 - blimey!

Rupert had a brilliant time meeting all his fans, I'm sure he thinks everyone has turned up just to see him! he's totally unfased by anything, he met some very large dogs and as we were at the home of the shuttleworth collection of planes he also saw some very low flying planes which he didn't even take a second glance at. He has some BEST friends who he gets very excited these include Clare's young GSD Hardy, Kathryn's BC pup Stig and his very bestest friend is Ronny the Mali, he just squeaks with delight whenever he sees him. Whilst we were away Steve and Lee put the fencing up around the run, we still have to make the gates but it's looking really good, the girls & Rupert have been sleeping in the kennels since Sunday without a peep all night.
Rupert's Obedience training is really starting to take shape, he has really suprised me with how keen he is, at first I thought he was going to take some persuading but he can't wait for his training sessions, all I'm doing is a few minutes twice a day, just recapping on what we have already gone over and then adding something new, I'll try to capture a few bits on video over the next few days if i get time.

Easter Weekend

WOW what an exhausting weekend, Amy & I took all the dogs to the Ashby showground on Good Friday, we weren't competing or helping so it gave us plenty of time to work out how our new awning went up! it was quite windy but we managed to errect the awning and the fence system in about an hour and a half just before the heavens opened! it was Ruperts first camping experience and he took to it like a proper little boy scout, I was in two minds wether to leave him in the awning overnight but I needn't have worried as on Saturday morning the awning was actually warmer than the caravan! and he had wriggled out of his coat.We ran the MBCC Utility day on Saturday, with lots of help from the committee and some of our friends, it seemed to go really well with the rain holding off, Rupert was in his element watching all the activities and getting lots of cuddles from his fans.

Sunday we were helping at the MBCC Open obedience show, we started early helping park the cars and Amy Stewarded for the Pre-beginner judge, one of Summers little brothers Body and his dad Bob won the class in style so a very well done to the two of you especially as we later found out they also came 3rd in beginner. then it was time to pack up the caravan ready for heading home, this didn't take long but it was nice to be back home and in our own beds.

Yesterday I took Maisy to Bretford agility show, I only did 2 rounds one agility and one jumping, Maisy worked really well, we are so much better than we have been for a long time, no clears but only the odd pole here and there, her confidence has grown so much and she is working really well away from me taking directional comands and watching my body language, and suddenly I am able to see how fast she really is - Dawn Weaver is right when she says that once your dog begins to understand what you are asking the speed follows, not that Maisy hasn't always run at Warp speed, but somehow she seems to be even faster now or is it that I have time to see it instead of just blindly trying to get from A to B?

A few notes of congratulations:

Jo & Kody - what a brilliant weekend you two have had, winning into grade 4 in style well done (perhaps he can stay a bit longer ;-))

Ellen & Hamish - 2nd & 3rd how frustrating I think it's time to let go of the apron strings and give those front crosses a try!

Sandy & Jess - what a little star she is, we were very pleased for you both.

Nest week we are at Spring at Shuttleworth agility show all weekend, Maisy and Summer have 14 classes between them so there'll be plenty to write about!

Kennels and stuff

Well the indoor kennels are now finished and I've ordered my fencing so hopefully in the next 2 weeks the outdoor run will be finished too. Now all I have to do is build up the courage to actually put the dogs outside at night!!! but I have decided that from Sunday night onwards Maisy, Rupert & Summer will be sleeping in the Kennel.Rupert is nearly 13 weeks old now and his training is up and down, he is nowhere near as quick to learn as Summer was but once he has it he seems to have it good. I'm doing plenty of target training which I am hoping to use for the 4 off contact method when he's big enough for agility, I have used a version of Dawn Weavers 321 go wait commands by using ready, steady go, so I throw his toy and then say "Ready, Steady Go" and he is allowed to race to get it on the "G" of Go and today I also used this for his recall but saying "Ready, Steady, Come" instead, this really worked well as he gets so excited he races in and ends up in a lovely close present looking up for his click and bit of cheese. I've had to progress to cheese as he was getting bored with his own food for treats and kept telling me he had had enough and sitting by the door!!! obviously I played another training game before I let him finish but oddly enough he hasn't done it once since the reward has been upped to a suitable level.

This week I have made an effort to start jogging with Maisy!! it's nearly killing me, but I have a training schedule to follow so with any luck I should be up to running 3 miles in the next 6 weeks! or I might just still be walking - Who knows but at least we are still having our 1-2-1 time even if i am to puffed out to talk to her!

Amy and I have a really busy weekend ahead of us, infact we have a really busy April ahead, Friday we are off to Leicestershire Amy has an obedience show on Friday followed by the Midland Border Collie Clubs Utility day on Saturday and their Obedience show on Sunday, this will be the first time we will have put up the new awning I'll try to take some photo's if we manage to errect it before nightfall! then on Monday we are at Solihull riding club for a day of agility followed by an Easter Egg hunt at my parents house! if that isn't enough this is all followed by weekend camping shows throughout April - Fun times ahead!

Start of the season

This weekend was officially the start of our agility season, Saturday we were at the Peterborough show ground for the team and pairs challenge, it was a miserable day and our results reflected this, all of the dogs were E'd at one point or another all down to bad handling! but it was a good practice for yesterday which was BCCofGB show at Newark, we had decided to take Rupert along for a bit of socialisation and he was indeed a showstopper. Amy ran both Summer and Dylan in all 3 classes and was very pleased with the results getting 1 clear with each and only a couple of silly faults in both of the other classes, Maisy did great contacts appart from flying the see saw in both classes, the trouble is I didn't steady her before she approached which meant she had little choice at the speed she took it I think her brakes just failed her. and she has started to pop out of the last two weaves in her rush to continue the course so a little more practice required for bothe of those issues, appart from that she had a great jumping round only taking 1 pole, if it wasn't for that she would have easily won the class and taken us into grade 2! Ellen also had a near miss getting a 2nd in the agility with less than .5 of a second, his little twist cost them dearly but it does go to prove it's only a matter of time for both of us.

Congratulations must go to Lucy and Milly, who had a great first show, no clears but they certainly didn't look out of place and Milly was very well behaved, looking forward to seeing you at many more in the future, and also to Jo and Kody who had 2 top 10 places in grade 3, looks like Kody is shaping up to be a confident mali just like the others.

April is set to be a busy agility month so bring it on!..

Wonder Woman

Our good friends Jo & Craig managed to capture Amy's winning round on video - woop woop thanks it's great.

Crufts 2010

What an exhausting 4 days!

Thursday - Breed & Handling - It all got a bit complicated as Amy, Summer & Amy's friend Lucinder went by car to the NEC and I followed by train so I didn't distract Summer in the ring! well it seemed to work as the Handling class entered the arena Summer was blissfully unaware I was at the show and therefore wasn't looking out for me in the crowd, It was a strong class with some top handlers in but Amy showed Summer off brilliantly and made the final cut, Sheila and I were very excited but managed to keep fairly quiet whilst the Judge made up her mind and placed them in order, Amy came 4th and we were all over the moon. following this Amy took her to the breed ring and as we thought was not the Judges type!! but we stuck around to watch Ruperts Daddy Teds who I am proud to say won his class, Rupert was obviously over the moon.Saturday - Flyball

We arrived at the NEC nice and early as the flyball started at 9am! all the dogs and handlers were excited and we were drawn against our friends Nuneaton, we knew this would be a really hard race and we weren't wrong. we lost the first leg so decided to unleash our secret weapon "Ronny" this year Ben was handling him he was first dog and stood on the line, the Judge asked if he was ready and she blew the whislte - Sadly Ben had forgotton to take his lead of which was wrapped around his hand resulting in another loss and us being knocked out of the competition! we all took it in good spirit and everyone enjoyed the experience, although I think Ronny was a bit confused to have travelled to a show and only get 1 race!! still i don't think Ben will ever live it down!

Sunday - Dogstable & Best In ShowAgain I arrived seperately for this event and made my way to the ringside, the Dogstable is a combination of agility and obedience meaning the agility dogs had to calm quickly for the obedience parts of the course, both Kathryn and Amy had qualified at Discover Dogs in November and both did lovely clear rounds and the placings came in with Kathryn 6th and Amy winning, we were over the moon, Summer was a real star and has done us proud at her first Crufts.