Updates

It's been ages sine I updated our blog and have so many things to report. We had an amazing time at the Newark YKC weekend with Amy qualifying in all three of the events she entered, I managed to hold my nerves just long enough to qualify for the finals of the Special Pre-beginners stakes and Amy finally got the letter saying her and Summer had qualified for the senior agility! So from not having qualified for anything at the beginning of October we have now stacked up 3 days of competitions and a very busy Crufts 2012.
Christmas is only a matter of hours away but after that we really have to get down to some serious training, it will have to be a balance of Agility and obedience for all I think, looking at some of the 4-5 agility courses I have a feeling 2012 will be a year of experience building for both Rupert and I, Maisy will go into 2012 with 1 more jumping win needed for grade 4, she's hardly knocking any poles at the moment so fingers crossed we can get that over with earlier in the season, and Summer and Amy have had an amazing agility year and have really had some fun especially when Summers tail goes up, we just know thats going to be a cheeky round!
Merry Christmas everyone and a lucky 2012 XX

Crufts 2012

Amy and I had discussed the posibility of a quiet Crufts in 2012, where we could just go as spectators and enjoy the show, however our dogs seem to have other ideas! Newark YKC activity weekend is always a bit of fun and the last chance to have a good catch up with old friends before the winter sets in. Amy had decided to enter Rupert into Dogstable this time as Summer has won it at Crufts for the last 2 years, and he didn't dissapoint, although not quite as sharp as Summer he had a lovely clear and has qualified.

Amy took Maisy into the handling training on Saturday morning and she was a complete Nutter, Barking and leaping about all over the place, so the handling class in the afternoon was going to be very interesting indeed! but she seemd to calm down a lot and get on with the job in hand, a couple of over the top moments made sure Amy had to prove her handling ability, especially when Maisy decided the motorised wheelchair might need chasing! but they won the class meaning Amy can now take any dog in the ring at Crufts.

Then the obedience, both Summer and Rupert were entered into Graduate all stays were at 10am and then we had been told it would be about 20 minutes before Graduate would start, so decided to wait in the hall, unfortunately the wait was considerably longer than that and Rupert was getting rather bored, eventually they called her into the ring and he seemed to spring back to life, putting in a brilliant round with just a little blip when the steward nearly sent them into the wall! but Amy came out really pleased with him so it didn't matter if he was placed or not, Summer was to run right at the end, she was getting a bit spooked by the wind blowing and the echoing of the indoor venue so Amy decided to train her round and was really pleased with a fantastic recall and retrieve. then the scores where in and to our suprise Rupert had won so another qualifier for Crufts.

What clever puppies.. I've just sent Amy's agility book off the the YKC to see if she will qualify for the senior agility with Summer and I still have my Semi finals in 10 DAYS so it could be an extremely busy 4 days.

Winter training

Well for now Rupert and I are concentrating on Obedience, Obedience, Obedience!! we have qualified for the KCGC Special Pre beginner stakes semi finals which are held at Discover Dogs at Earls court on Saturday 12th November. Training is going very well at the moment, I've been taking him up to the local retail park after work to work him with the distractions of different lights, sounds and people using the shop windows as mirrors. I do get the odd funny look, but Hey ho!

Amy and Summer are still enjoying their agility training with the Chipping Norton club, and we hope to really get stuck into running contact training over the winter, we have just taken delivery of our Plastic A Frame with Rubber contacts so we are set to go and I've been using Dawn Weavers interactive online training which is brilliant, She emails you the links to short training video's and you email her back video's of your progress for her to comment on which are available from her website www.dawnweaveragility.com . We've also had to have our weaves altered to the new 2ft spacing so we can get plenty of practice at those over the coming months.

So much to do, I really cant wait to get stuck in.

So much to report

Well the first two most important things are that Amy and Summer won into Grade 2 at the Chipping Norton Show, not only coming 2nd in jumping on Saturday but winning both Jumping and Agility on Sunday, so doing very well indeed. Then this last weekend Rupert and I managed to have a lovely clear in the grade 3 agility winning by over 2 seconds, following that on Sunday he went on to win the combined grade 3-4 agility, so he was a really clever little man who I am very proud of. There is plenty to update about, but I'll leave it there for the moment, now that i seem to have sorted the Gremlins out!!

Gremlin

So much to say

Not been updating lately as we have had a gremlin in the works, but I think we are back on track now so I'll soend some time making updates over the next few days.

Happy Birthday

Health check your dogs!!!

Warning - Rant Alert!!!

What is it with people who breed from their PET dogs without any thought to taking the very least precautions against passing on potential health problems to not only the poor dogs themselves but the cost involved to the new owners not only financially but emotionally too!

When we get a rescue or a "farm Collie" we take a risk, just because the parents seem healthy doesn't mean they are not carriers of dreadful conditions, Our old dog Ben is 9 years old, he can hardly stand and is almost completely blind because of hereditary conditions we could never have known about, when this was diagnosed Amy was heartbroken. I'm not saying all pedigree dogs who's parents have been health tested will be complaint free, but you rule out many of the breed specific conditions, giving them every chance for a long, healthy and active life.

In our chosen sport of agility your dog does not have to be a pedigree but this should not stop you from having the same health checks - you should be responsible for all puppies you bring into this world, if you can't afford to do this then simply you shouldn't do it!

Well Chuffed

I wasn't too hopeful for Leamington show, and when we arrived and walked the courses my mood didn't improve! the grade 1-3 jumping was more like a trappy Helta Skelta, not at all encouraging for any new handlers or dogs that might have been there, and the ground in the rings was appaling, Still Matin's 1-3 agility looked nice, set with a couple of tricky bits to test us which is just how I like it, and the 1-6 jumping was interesting, but the ground was really bad in that ring, but to be honest, my dogs are more than capeable of running on uneven ground, at the end of the day they have been bred to work all day on all sorts of ground so it was me I was more worried about.
Amy and Summer had an elimination in both jumping rounds, but worked a lovely clear in the Agility finishing 4th, Amy was really pleased with her weaves which are getting faster and faster every competition, and her contacts were spot on. Maisy and I had an expected E in the first jumping class, there was no way I would be anywhere close enough to her to call her off the first trappy tunnel and I was right. Then in the Agility she ran a lovely round, getting 1 pole and an expected 5 on the A frame, but she got a lovely controlled dog walk and see saw and ran it very smoothly appart from when I got in her way in front of the dog walk, but she would have still managed a win if she had been clear so I was thrilled. In the 1-6 jumping after a very sticky moment getting her into the first tunnel she ran brilliantly getting her first clear of the season, not good enough to be placed but I was very happy indeed. Well donr to Ellen and Hamish for their 2nd in Agility, His run was lovely.

This weeks training

Well as I said before I really needed to spend more time with Maisy which is what I'm now working on - It's really difficult to give two competition dogs enough time each, especially when you enjoy training one much more than the other! that sounds awful, but I have such a different training style now that really suits Rupert so the progression is much more obvious, with Maisy she has started to be a real little star at home, she just loves her one to one time with me but in the competition environment she just doesn't have the ability to recognise it's the same thing at all, we get moments of brilliance but mostly either I let her down or she hoons off doing her own thing which is becomming very frustrating, I suppose once Rupert comes out in July the pressure will be off her and who knows what could happen. But for now at home she has been awesome.

Rupert was good again at Deena's on Tuesday night, I've had to now put a wait command on the seesaw which has slowed it down, but I'm hoping to go back to the running once he has a better understanding of waiting for the noise before running forward. I have also been working on his long jump, even though I have one at home we haven't done too much over it so he sometimes runs past it not giving it any respect as an obstacle at all. on the posotive, he is really showing respect for the weaves, and has learn't to give himself a steady just before entering them, this is because we are no longer using the swivel bases which he was able to push his way through, he still isn't up to his full speed through them but with a bit more confidence that will come.

I've also decided that I'm going back into the obedience ring! not really in a competetive mode, just as a bit of something different from time to time, I have entered a couple so watch this space for updates!

Wet Weekend

I know we needed some Rain but at Ruperts first show we got totally drenched! Still Rupert didn't seem to mind too much. as we arrived it was Raining heavily and the judge had decided to take out the dog walk in favour of a 2nd tunnel! I didn't think it was windy at all and all I'll say is that the judge has obviously never been to Scunthorpe! so what started out as a lovely agility round turned into a very fast helta Skelta with an A frame thrown in (which I actually thought was more dangerous considering the speed your dog was likely to hit it) I set Rupert up on the start line which was very close to the Scrimer so I thought he might be a little spooked and break, but as I turned to check he was rock solid waiting to be released (PHEW) so off we went, so worried about the A frame was I that even though I saw him steady himself I still managed to put a Steady command in which threw him and he came back down it towards me, after that he went brilliantly, he had a great sendaway into a tunnel and finished with a fabby go on to the end, so i was very pleased indeed. then to my suprise I heard we had been awarded a clear round, I expect it was because in Nursery they only mark poles and contacts as everything else is using up your own time, so we came away with a lovely clear round rosette. Maisy on the other hand had a really mad head on her so I ended up taking her out of the ring! I know it's because I haven't really given her as much time and attention as I should have and this is just her way of reminding me she needs so extra care and consideration, which she will obviously be getting from now on.Yesterday it was the 3rd Darian day, I was a little worried about how Rupert would react with all those dogs around, but I needn't have bothered, because from the minute he came out of the van he was extremely well behaved, playing with his brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles etc etc etc. we had a great afternoon and the sun even came out for us, it was lovely to see everyone having so much fun.

On a lighter note

Rupert was a star last night at training - short video of his last run of the night!

Dordale

Not really a good show for us, we were supposed to be camping but didn't end up going at all on Saturday and only managed half a day on Sunday, maybe neither of us were really in the mood and that affected our dogs performances. Maisy has no respect for contacts nor me it seems on that part of the course, even when I put her back she still hooned off so its back to the drawing board AGAIN!! Summer was either having a slow clear or being nosey and taking poles or coming out of the weaves because she was too busy looking around her to se who was watching! so fingers crossed for a better show next time.
Rupert had an obedience training day yesterday which we both enjoyed, it was something different which made a lovely change. he has his first little UKA show on Saturday, he's first in the ring so we should be home early ready for Darian Day on Sunday.

Happy 18th birthday to Ellen, we hope you had a fabby time and we love the picture of Hamish XX And HUGE congrats to Jo with both Ronny and Zippy for qualifying for the ABC Semi's what litte Mali stars XX

Bretford ups and Downs

I'm absolutely exhausted today after the Easter weekend. We arrived early Friday afternoon and set up camp, and enjoyed a very relaxing afternoon and evening in the April sun. Saturday was ups and downs, Amy and Summer only had 1 clear round gaining them a lovely 4th in Jumping, and although still no clear rounds for Maisy and I we did have some great rounds just taking a pole or missing a contact! so I was very pleased. Sunday was the same really Amy gained a 3rd in Jumping and again Maisy was a good girl listening well. but yesterday was a disaster, I think both Amy and I and our dogs were just too tired, Maisy had lazy legs resulting in lots of poles and Summer had her wandering head on! so no clears and a few dissapointing rounds.
Rupert had a great weekend, and I managed wuite a bit of heelwork training, I even had his running order in the post for his first UKA show when I got home so I'm really excited about that.

Ellen & Hamish won Grade 3 Agility on Saturday taking him straight into grade 4, What a brilliant pair they are and Anne and Gloria had some good placings too even Crafty managed a lovey clear round so Well done guy's. Also more congratulations to Jo and the Mali's who had another fantastic weekend with Zippy winning another Agility proving he really is more than ready to be in Grade 6 and Ronny winning 2 jumping classes taking him halfway to grade 7! I think we need to take bets on which one will get there first? I'll put my money on Zippy!

We're off to Dordale this weekend, we were supposed to be camping but have decided not to hopefully letting the dogs sleep in their own beds might make them ready for clear rounds on Sunday! fingers crossed.

Wallingford Update

I had arrived and set up the caravan, awning and garden all before Amy arrived on Friday evening and although it was hard work it was really nice to be able to relax with the dogs in the evening sunshine before the hecticness of the show starting on Saturday morning. Amy and Summer had a brilliant weekend, their first round was a little manic but after that she only had clear rounds gaining a 14th and 13th in jumping, and another 14th in the combinded agility. Amy has put it down to Summers new pink fleece harness! I just think they are both really enjoying themselves, all very pleasing to watch. Maisy and I didn't get any clears, however we aren't getting any of those mad rounds we did last season, obviously the courses are alittle harder now and without a proper startline wait they are almost impossible. however she has solid dogwalk and see saw contact and is hardly pole knocking, her weave entrances have been great all weekend and she is really listening to me and looking out for my body language so I am really chuffed. Rupert was also a star this weekend, after the shock to his system last weekend I have now ditched the headcollar and have really been working hard on his attention, we had a lovely walk around the rings both during a quiet time and during full competition mode and he was brilliant, we still have some way to go but I am really pleased with him thus far. Anne and the boxers come on Sunday and Gloria is really going well, more clears and and a placing and even Crafty is enjoying Anne's handling skills as she too was brilliant. Jo and the Mali's were at a different show this weekend and Little Zips has zoomed into grade 6 winning his agility and coming 2nd in his jumping, I remember last year in one of his first shows where he won into grade 4 Jo saying she had wanted to keep him in grade 3 for a bit longer, she also said it at the first show of this season where she won into grade 5 and if i'm not mistaked has said it again on her blog now he's in grade 6! Guess what Jo - Zippy says he is ready, can't wait for our next show together I think a little celebration is in order.

Shuttleworth 2011

I've been a bit nervous about this first show of the 2011 season, mainly because I've enjoyed my winter training so much it has become my comfort blanket, but the proof is in the pudding! Maisy and I had a brilliant day on Saturday, there were some tricky courses which had elements of our winter training in so I really enjoyed the challenge of them, although no clears Maisy got all her contacts and just took the occasional pole of a slight handling error pushed her in the wrong direction. Sunday started of well followed by 2 terrible rounds all due to me being lazy and Maisy showing signs of tired legs, but the last jumping run of the day was again brilliant with just the last 2 poles down. So I came away very happy indeed with how we had gone. Summer and Amy just had the best agility weekend yet. Summer came out on Saturday morning bright and bubbly, giving Amy a bit of work to do to get full control but by their 3rd run they were flying getting 2 clears in their agility classes and gaining a very good 5th place. We thought on Sunday Summer would be a bit tired as it was their first night sleeping in the awning this year, but this was not the case, she was rareing to go, gaining 3 out of 4 clears and a 6th place in agility, so what a brilliant start for them. Rupert was a bit overwhelmed by everything at the show, so lots of walking around the rings and just sitting quietly at ringside watching for him over the next few months, I think the winter came at the wrong time for an adolescent pup, so hopefully we can get over it quickly and make the show circuit a happy place for the future. Lastly a huge congratulations to Jo at the weekend winning just about everything on offer!! she had been waiting all day for a presentation that had already taken place only to find out she had won another 2 trophies for Best BSD of the show! Fantastic WELL DONE Ratty X

Not long now

At last the first running orders of the season have come through the post!, yesterday I spent the afternoon making sure the caravan was ready for action, and I've made a final training plan for Maisy for this final week. Amy and I and Maisy, Summer & Rupert will leave home at about 3pm heading towards Biggleswade for the Spring at Shuttleworth show, we always enjoy this one, appart from the walking back up the hill to the caravan after the runs! hopefully it will be a nice relaxing start to the season ahead. good luck to everyone attending X

Rupert Agility

4 Way Match

Yesterday Ellen & I attended our clubs 4 way match, this was our first 3-5 course so on the way we had been imagining all sorts of trappy things, but actually the courses were really nice. Rupert had also been allowed to take part NFC and on medium so this would be a really good test of where we are in terms of competition work. First was the agility, and the first problem I had was that I was walking the course with Rupert in mind and was finding it difficult to get the course in my mind for running Maisy! this is something I'm going to have to work on. Ellen captured Ruperts round on video for me and I was really pleased with him, only taking a pole down on a tight turn and running past the long jump, but as we haven't done a lot of work on that I didn't mind at all, all his contacts were fabby. both Ellen and I managed to get ourselves E'd in this round, I think Hamish took the Tunnel and Maisy came out of the weaves because I ran the wrong side and she anticipated the next obstacle it all went to pot a bit after that BUT she got all 3 contacts really well so I was thrilled with her performance. Then we had a nice lunch break and walked the jumping course. I really tried to walk it for both dogs and I think I was a bit better, however I was E'd early on for not helping Maisy on a pull in making her back jump and again not giving her a chance to get the weave entry so she went in the 2nd but after that she worked the tricky bit with ease so again a really posotive round, and Hamish just couldnt get into the first weave giving him 5 faults but he got a place rosette and all important points for the team. Rupert was a little star again, I helped him with his pull in but not the weaves - Naughty Mummy! but he ran very well just getting a little confused at a tricky bit were I took my eye off the ball! and then finished with a lovely go on at the end. All in all we had a good day, and I think I am now looking forward to the season ahead!

Season Nearly here

The weather has really picked up this week so lots more training to get on with before the season really starts in a couple of weeks. Amy has now started to re-train Summers weaves and contacts, this is something that's difficult to do in a club environment as it takes time, and I must say little Summer is really enjoying playing the stop games on the contacts and being allowed to race as fast as she can through the swivel weaves, so hopefully she will bring the Cheekyness to the shows and show us what she can do.
Rupert has really started to blossom, I am so pleased with his progress, he's a real tryer. On Saturday afternoon we had another 2 hour group session with Toni Dawkins, this time we had been put in the 1-4 class and he really excelled, and yesterday we had our final training session with Jo, she was putting up some really tricky stuff, and again he didn't find any of it too difficult especially when I ran him like I run Maisy, but all of us including Jo where exhausted at the end!
Maisy has been brilliant recently, I know it's mainly down to my handling skills as Jo keeps telling me I'm getting much better, But Maisy is such an honest little dog and tries so hard to get it right but there is so little room for error on my part, this week because we were doing pretty much the same with both dogs it did dawn on me again just how fast she is, and Rupert isn't slow by any stretch of the imagination!
We have plenty of homework to be getting on with before Shuttleworth in 2 weeks, I have already entered Ruperts first shows in July which at the moment seems a long way off, but thats a good thing, it will give me a chance to run some of these grade 3-5 courses and set them up at home to try Rupert on before his debut!! HOW EXCITING.
I've attached a short video of Ruperts weaves, he has picked them up quickly and is quite fixated by them! a little more confidence work is needed, but on the whole for a 15 month old I think he is in just the right place with them.

Batgirl!

Crufts 2011

We are back after another exhausting 4 days, we always forget how tiring it really is taking dogs to Crufts.

Friday was Rupert's debut in the breed ring, as expected he didn't make the final cut, but I was so pleased with the way he handled so that was great. One of his problems is that he doesn't extend when trottin, this is mainly due to him never really having been asked to do it, so I may work on that for any future events I take him to. Amy was going to take Summer in the handling, but as the day went on the YKC ring was getting further and further behind, in the end they were running 2 hours late for Amy's class which went in at 5:15pm, after being in halls since 7am Summer was fast asleep so Amy decided to take in Rupert after all, and although his inexperience was apparant, he actually gave another great performance and it was lovely to watch him working so nicely for Amy.

Sunday was Maisy's turn in the YKC flyball, she and the rest of the team were brilliant, the kids did a fantastic job and came a very close 4th - Well done Warwickshire Whizkidz. in the afternoon it was Summers turn in the Dogstable course, this is a mix of obedience and agility, meaning the fast agility dogs have to calm down quickly for the obedience elements of the course. Amy was near the last to go and as she heelworked Summer into the ring we could tell she was on form, they both worked their socks off right till the end which was a very simple down command to finish, as Amy gave Summer the command Summer obviously got a scent of someone she knew and was doing her meerkat impression for what seemed like ages, then she finally went down resluting in Amy giving her a very big kiss in relief. the results where up and she had won the over 18 age group. Brilliant.

A few well dones - Gloria getting VHC in her breed class, I know Anne is very proud.

Jo & Keisha getting a brilliant 2nd in ABC jumping.

Deena for her brilliant scoreing in the main ring

Sandra & Jaffa for winning C for the midlands obedience team

Huge congratulations to all of you.

Loving this weather

It's lovely walking the dogs on a bright sunny morning, I needed my Sunnies this morning it was so bright! it makes a nice change from the dreary weather we have been having, it finally feels like spring is on the way.

It's a really busy week for us in preparation for Crufts this weekend, Amy & Summer are training hard for the Dogstable and Handling classes, and it's all looking really good so far. Steve has been booked to do our dog swap on Sunday afternoon, bringing Summer and taking Maisy, this will be like an Army manouver as Summer is not allowed to see either Maisy or me before she goes in the ring!! Rupert has been trimmed ready for his Crufts Debut so all he needs is a bath and a final going over by Hils & Sheila on the day. Maisy and Amy had their final flyball training session yesterday, but I think Maisy is always ready to play the flyball game! but this will be her last ever time, I said the same last year, but I really mean it this time, her flyball days are over as I want to save her legs for agility.

Steve has been busy in the garden as we have decided that we are going to cover the whole back garden with artificial grass, so I will have a 12m x 11m obedince ring!! or as steve says Putting green!! either way it means no more MUD, we are hoping to have it all finished for Amy's 21st party at the end of May, I'll get pictures when it's finished.

working hard

Last weekend Amy & I took Rupert and Summer to act as stooge dogs at the MBCC Breed assesment day, originally Amy was going to handle Rupert but he had other ideas and it worked out much better once I took the lead! he has turned into a real Mummy's boy, not that I'm complaining, after all it's me I want him to have eye's for in competition not Amy. So it's now transpired that I'll be treading the green carpet at Crufts in the breed ring! not something I cherish if I'm honest, I've never needed anyone elses opinion on how perfectly put together my dogs are, in my eye's they are perfect!
Summer will now be going in the junior handling class with Amy, and she's never looked so good, she's put on weight and her coat is very shiney so all we need now is a quick visit to Darian HQ tomorrow afternoon for a trim and we're ready for the off.
On the training front, Rupert now does upright weaves, still with the help of the guides on the first and last 2 poles, and after last week when he was beginning to show signs that his confidence has growm, this week he has been back on good form. Maisy has been brilliant too, last week although she was still very excited after waiting an hour in the car for her turn, managed some great jumping sequences and Summer seems to have started working for the whole class even if she is a little noisy to start with, so all in all we seem to be in a good place, we just need the season to start now. We are back with Jo on Sunday and I can't wait to show her how we have been getting on, I hope she's impressed :-)

Temporary Loss of Control

Yesterday Amy and I had a fun show at Cheltenham Racecourse, neither of us really had the energy to go but I'm glad we made the effort, even if we only stayed for 2 classes. Maisy had a great agility round only missing the A frame contact which was the 2nd obstacle, but after that put in a very nice controlled clear, and followed it by getting eliminated in a simple Helta Skelta, I didn't give her the correct signal to go out over a jump and she ran straight past it! she followed that by taking a few poles off a corner where the striding pattern changed as did many of the other dogs. Summer ran a lovely agility round but unfortunately Ben was cheering loudly from the sidelines which just put her off towards the end! and she took 2 poles in the Helta Skelta, which shows she was in full "Monkey" mode and having great fun.
Before we headed home we took the opportunity to take Summer and Rupert for a run, I really should have given it a bit more thought as lately I walk Maisy and Rupert together, leaving Amy to walk Ben & Summer. As we took off their leads the two of them hooned off into the distance without a glance back at us! and then they just kept going!! OH DEAR! I gave a quick call hoping one of them would turn tail and head back but not even an ear flick! and I knew it was time to take control when Amy said if I called Rupert Summer would come! and there was me thinking Rupert was the baby dog and that if only Amy would call Summer Rupert would follow. Anyway after a couple of good loud "COME HERE" commands they of course turned and headed in our direction without a care in the world... so the moral to the story - Always walk Summer and Rupert with a responsible adult dog - now where am I going to find one of those?

On a lighter note

Thankfully the pack seem to have settled down after the loss of Dylan, it was quite a suprise to me as I had anticipated Ben being the worse affected, however he seems to be brighter than ever, probably because he doesn't feel the need to look out for his shaddow anymore, but Maisy who I'd never had thought would have batted an eyelid seemed very depressed for a few days, but seems to be back to her old self again now so hopefully we can look forward to the future.
Rupert's hip scores came back yesterday and are a very respectable 3:3, he has also started on full height this week, so far so good, only knocking the odd pole down on turns, and His weaves are almost there. I've been working hard on Maisy's weave entrances which seem to be great at home but for some reason go to pot at training, unfortunately both Jo and I have commitments for the next few weeks so our training sessions have stopped, she has reasured me that its all going well but I'm not so sure. Amy and Summer are really coming on, they have now started at Chippy at the same time as maisy and I but in a different class, This is proving to be very hard work for Amy, but by the end of each session she is seeing improvement in Summers concentration! she is such a monkey as she can focus 100% at a show. We have a fun show this Sunday so it will be nice to get the dogs into the competition environment without the pressure.

Dylan 17.08.03 - 09.02.11

Yesterday we said goodbye to our little lad "Dylan" It was one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make. Run Free my angel.

They say memories are golden, well maybe that is true.

I never wanted memories I only wanted you.

A million times I needed you, a million times I cried.

If love alone could have saved you, you never would have died.

In life I loved you dearly, In death I love you still.

In my heart you hold a place no one could ever fill.

If tears could build a stairway, and heartache make a lane,

I'd walk the path to heaven and bring you back again.

A little bit of sunshine

For the past couple of weeks I've been concentrating on Pull ins with Rupert and getting Maisy to remain in the weaves so I can run on to the next jump etc! With Rupert the pull in's have been comming on very nicely if I work him on my left but for some reason I can't get it right with him on the right! I keep ending up facing him and not the direction I'm going in!!! it just feels like writing with the wrong hand. So that is obviously my homework for this week. Maisy is getting better all the time, if nothing else her weaves have got so much faster which hardle gives me any time to get anywhere ahead of her.

We had two training sessions away from home, Thursday night at Chippy which was good, both dogs worked well, even though Maisy after having to wait for an hour in the truck came out in a mental state, but soon settled down and gave me 100% and Rupert is just a good boy, he gets very excited waiting his turn but as soon as he is on the line I get his full attention even with other dogs running in the next ring. Then yesterday afternoon at Jo's, it was great even the sun shone for us, Both dogs really worked well, I can see such a difference in both of them since the end of last season, and I'm really looking forward to the new season starting especially as we have already started to fill the show diary, April is full - Bring it on.

MBCC Agility show

What an exhausting weekend!, as Amy and I are committee members of the MBCC we were tasked with the job of helping to organise and run their first agility show! the Midlands Border Collie Club are not a training club, but a club to promote the breed, at which they do a sterling job, they already run Championship Obedience, Breed and working trials shows and are hoping to in the future extend that to agility. We arrived at the venue at 5pm on Saturday afternoon to set out the rings, prepare ring boxes and generally make sure everything was set up ready for the competitiors arrival early Sunday morning. We had decided to take our caravan to stay overnight so that we were on site bright and early. It really shocks me the time some people arrive at an event, the show started at 8:30 but by 7am people had already started to turn up!! maybe I'm missing something, we usually rock up half an hour before judging starts, walk the courses, then the dogs, etc etc Im not sure what everyone else does!
We were very lucky to have enlisted the help of a fabulous ring party, all of whom did a brilliant job making sure our ring ran smoothly, so I'd like to say a huge thank you to:
Ellen & Louise, Anne & Sara, Sara & Amy, and especially James & Fay who helped set up on Saturday as well as getting up early to put all the signage out. all your help was greatly appreciated.
Amy and I did manage to run our dogs, Summer ran brilliantly, Amy was a little Lazy on some of her contacts and Summer was a little naughty on others! but she ran a lovely clear in the combined 1-3 jumping gaining a 20th place, and she had her Zoomy feet on again, so Amy's going to have to get some new running shoes to keep up with her! Although I didn't have any clears with Maisy I was really pleased with how she ran, I wasn't able to really give her the attention she deserved before each run but again there were some lovely moments She even managed a really great A frame contact (after I had put her back on the dog walk!) in one of her agility rounds so we are at least moving forward albeit very slowly.
Lastly a HUGE congratulations to Jo and Zippy for winning into grade 5, I know it's come sooner than she really wanted, it is testement to her commitment, she has re-trained his A frame to a running contact and boy did he get it right on Sunday, it really does knock seconds of the time.

Hip Hip Hooray

Rupert had is hip X-ray yesterday which will now be sent of to the BVA for assesment, when the vet looked at it he was quite pleased and thought it would come back nice an low, he did mention it could be 2:2 so i'll be very please with that. however anything under 13 will be great.

So Much Training!

I seem to have become a little addicted to training! Thursday night was club night and Ruperts 1st puppy agility class. He was, as always a very good boy, although the first class was just to see at what level everyone was working so a little basic for us. Maisy started off a bit over excited but by the end of the class was working very well and made some difficult weave entrances look easy.
On Saturday Rupert and I had a foundation training session with Toni Dawkins, this was the first time I had met Toni and found her to have a really lovely vibe about her, she explained what we were doing thoroughly and we got some excellent tips, again Rupert behaved well and didn't let me down at all.
Yesterday we were at Jo's for our weekly workout! she really does give us a work out too! we continued the weave enrty theme and Maisy really suprised me by getting them nearly every time, our confidence as a team is working to our benefit, and our homework this week is to get those 9 strides from the weaves to the push round!! thats a blooming long way!! Rupert was great, we have started to put together little courses, which he proves again and again how versitile he is, he did have a couple of naughty A frame contacts but he has only just learnt this and with the acute angle at which we are asking him to stop, until he learns to steady at the top I actually think the running contact is the safer option.. (more on his own blog)
Amy and Summer had another great training session at Joy's, I'm hoping one day I might actually get to see the two of them in action!
This weekend its our Agility show at Solihull, we have a busy week in preparation, and a hectic day planned as both Amy and I are planning to run a ring and run our dogs!! so it might not be the best runs of our career but it will be fun!

Training Videos

Well training is really starting to come on now, I have been taking both Maisy and Rupert to the paddock alternately each morning on their walk so that they get a very quick refresher every other day (Fridays off) and I have to say this is really helping both them and me, each session probably only lasts a few minutes, but I've always found little and often works the best.
We went to Jo's yesterday for the first time since the dreaded Snow, I was really pleased with both dogs progress, Rupert is shaping up to be a little speed merchant, but when Jo had Ronny out at the same time he went into hyper-drive! I think he was even faster than Maisy.....
We did a little work on Rupert's See Saw, my original plan had been to muffle the sound but the more I thought about it the more it seemed sensible just to release him onto another obstacle and praise him a bit further away, I can't think of any occasions when the see saw would be the last obstacle! this seemed to work and although he is a little unsure about the tip he always manages the 2o 2o position so positive progress and something to work on.
Maisy and I were practicing a new technique of facing away from the dog in a turn, it was very strange but I'm going to practice it over the next few weeks to see how it goes. I have plenty of homework to be getting on with, just the way I like it.
Amy and Summer had a lesson with Joy again this week, Amy is really enjoying it, and Summer is absolutely full of beans, for such a little dog she is really making her presence known, I think Amy may have to re-visit her obedience skills!!!
Finally I want to say HUGE congratulations to Anne and Gloria her young boxer for gaining a 2nd place in a combined 1-2 agility class on Saturday, they managed a lovely 3rd at the end of last season, and this is testament to Anne's handling skills which have really started to shape up nicely, giving so much confidence to Gloria and the results speak for themselves.

Rupert agility

New Year

Amy and I had a great time at the Cool Agility show, no clear rounds but Maisy and I managed 5 out of 5 start line waits and had some brilliant moments and Summer was a little pocket rocket, just taking the odd pole down in her enthusiasm, lots more training to do but so far its all going to plan.
Now that the snow has finally melted away I've been able to start training again, it seem like ages since we've been able to make it to the paddock! Rupert seems to have enjoyed the break and has come back really up for it, he is now jumping medium with no problem at all even on tight corners so this weekend I have put the jumps up another notch and again he seems to be coping really well. I began 2x2 weave training but have come up against a slight hitch so I'll talk through it with Jo on Sunday before I go any further, thats the problem with letting Rupert set the pace at which we train, sometimes he just goes too fast for me! although I have to say his contacts are really coming on very well indeed, at home he is doing the dog walk and the A frame brilliantly and although he got 100% at a different venue on Sunday he was occasionally doing a running contact instead of 2 on 2 off which I think is just a confidence issue which he will get better with as he starts training at Chipping Norton over the comming weeks. I have now also introduced him to the see saw, he seems fine with the tip, although I have one hand in his collar and am slowly tipping it for him, he will then go into his contact position but when I release him he gets a little spooked by the noise it makes banging on the ground, so more work is needed there, I know he will get it soon and will put something under it to muffle the sound for a week or so. Before Christmas he wasn't happy to do the dog walk on full height bt the first training session this week he just did it without batting an eyelid, so I know he will get it in his own time, and time is something I still have plenty of, He was 1 year old on 30th December.