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