3/04/09

Wych has passed her rabies blood test! Yippee!! So we can try out for the FCI worlds, I don't expect her to qualify as she doesn't have much experience as others but it will be good practice for her and as they say "you have to be in it to win it"!

She has had her season, thankfully, she was very happy to see Tag!! Hopefully it will be a good sign that she will get mated ok.

Spice has been scanned and is expecting so Spec is going to be a Dad again and for the last time. FIngers crossed there is a red boy!

Macgiver has been unwell over the last few weeks and I'm very worried about him, he has had his bloods checked and he's ok and his heart sounds good but he is sick every now and then and has a bad belly!

He has lost so much weight he is a bag of bones and had very little energy so can't walk very far. I have started to slowly change his food to try and get some weight on him. I have a bad feeling though he won't be here with us that long now :(

Tag's running a-frame grid work has gone really well, I am starting this weekend to backtrain the behaviour onto a low aframe. As Tag is now 12 months old I felt that this would be a good time, especially as we have done the ground work.

I started Wych on some 2 x 2 weave training, she can weave nad has very good exits and entrances but she is week on one particular side so I thought I would give it a go to see if I can improve them. If she only gets 50% better than that will be fab. So funny when you start shaping behaviour as Wych was trying to nose and foot touch the poles! Bless, only two lessons and she has it sorted. It will give me a feel for them once

I start Tag in a month or two. I like to spread a young dog's training over his young life as I don't like starting lots of new things at the same time. So he has done the dog walk and Jump sequences, this month will be the start of the A-frame and next month the see-saw so will do the weaves in June I think he can also start on standard height jumps.

11/03/09

Well a slight problem with my web site has stopped me from updating over the last week.

Well we firstly went to UKA Hereford on the 1/03/09 and it went really well. Indy and Wych both qualified for the Royal Canin Final in June, which may give us extra points in the IFCS qualification process. I got both my dogs elimiated in exactly the same point in the jumping, right at the end. Typically when put up at training - no problem!!

Mark and Cody got two excellent runs after 8 months rest with only one pole coming down in the Steeplechase. Rags also got two clears in his casual classes with Mark. I also won two classes with my borrowed medium collie, Tiegan, who I ran at Crufts in the Kidderminster Team. Spec then went on his holiday with Sharon and Dave for a week and a great time with Spice!! Not bad for an old boy! So we will be waiting to see if she is pregnant and if so what she has!! As long as they are healthy that's all that matters.

Crufts was a long and tiring four days but very successful! I went on the Thursday and competed in the KC International event, the dogs in the event where from the winners and top representatives of their country in the British Cup final. We won all three of our events, Jumping, slalom knockout and Agility and were crowned overall winner from all three height groups. Friday was the Crufts singles event and the medium team event.

Well I got a good 2nd place in the singles first round with Indy, so just had to go for the final!

Next up was the medium team semi!! Running first Tiegan and I set the standard with an awesome clear round, not bad for a borrowed young dog! The rest of the team were ace, well Stuart had a great dog walk! Well we won the semi! The final didn't go quite as well, with Tiegan coming out of the weaves and missing the entry, but no elimination so that was good. We know what Stuart is going to be training with his dogs on saturday! Contacts and weaves!! Unfortunately the team had an E or two and we came last! Oh well we had gone much further that we ever thought we would. Onto the singles final, we gave it our all and despite a wavy line towards the tunnel we got a clear with a cracking weave entry. Anyway it put is into 1st place and with Wendy Clay the last to go I knew she could beat me if she had a good round, a wide turn to a jump and then a missed contact was enough for us to win. Well done Indy and a deserved rest on the saturday, with Toni Dawkins winning the medium and Dawn Weaver winning the Large it was strange for me to be the tallest winner!!

Saturday and Wych's day, she held off coming into season until today -that was close!! She had a great run in the agility and I made sure she hit all her contacts properly before I released her as I didn't want her to think of big events - run you contacts! Well she won the agility! Bless her - didn't like the camera man at the prize giving though!! The it was a 7 hour wait for our jumping run!!

To say I was exhausted was an understatement and I bet Wych was tired too as it was a new experience for her, but she handled it really well. She screamed round the jumping but unfortunately didn't turn into the tunnel when I moved away, I changed my arm and gave her a directional command but she sailed over the jump in front. A very novice thing really and she was tired as well, but I had noted recently that we needed to do some training with calling off fences - its a weakness I think but one I will train for. She handled the carpet like it was turf and she looked just like her Dad running round there!

Well last day and Championship day, the big one! Thankfully not such a long a day as the saturday. Champ jumping, Indy flew round and with me doing a scary and unusual handling move for me we won it. Agility, didn't like the start and even as I left Indy on the start line I didn't know how I was going to do it! Anyway that bit went ok! Unfortunately Indy ran round the tunnel, one from home I regained control and finished the course now we had to wait and see if we qualified! We did! I didn't like the final course on paper but once I walked it I liked it and it ran like a dream - Indy flew round (well he only has one speed!) and went straight into the lead. Last to go was Dawn Weavers tiny Puzzle, he doesn't half fly round and if he could tip that see-saw a little faster (he is so small) he could have taken the ticket.

But Indy won it for the 2nd year running, a great achievement that I am very proud of but more importantly is how proud I am of Indiana - my little star.

23/02/09

Wych had her 2nd blood test for her rabies jab! Lets hope this time she passes, her leg unfortunately swelled up and as she is only dainty she looked terrible. We went to Newton Heath on saturday and had Wych's first grade 6 class, I did not like the first course she was in and it didn't go brilliantly - although her weave entry was fab! The 2nd run was a lovely course and just one pole came between us and a clear round. Indy looked like he had never done agility before! But he has been resting, so he was as high as a kite! He won his 2nd class, he rams into his 2 on 2 off position on the A frame that I do worry about his toes ramming into the floor. Tag came along to get used to the indoor enviroment, Mark had to work so he came with me, he was a bit noisy! But otherwise pretty good. Dave Alderson and Rocky (Spec's daughter from Spice) won both his grade 4 agility classes, grade 5 here they come. He is one stunning dog. Claire Murray and Cookie (Rocky's sister) got a 3rd in the grade 3. So a good day for my kids. The evening came to great end with Sharon calling to say Spice has come into season at last!! So Spec is off on his holidays next week, he will be happy!! Tag's running A frame is coming along, we have now added jogging to our grid work and he is about 95% accurate. I think we will be doing this for most of March, I anticipate adding the A frame in early April. I still mean to set a blog up! Had a day off yesterday but spent the time walking and training my dogs and then resting! I will get there I promise!

12/2/09

I have now changed my contact details so I should be able to read any emails you may send me. I am also going to set up a blog!! Hoping that it will get done over the weekend. Training last night and Wych looked good!! She is my sweet girl. Indy only ran once due to have a sore leg/toes but he seemed ok and walked him as normal today. His off to the physio today so he can check him over after exercise. I took Tag and he was great loads of focus and drive, his dog walk was excellent. His aframe grid work is coming along really well, still a long way to go though! 3 sessions only and I plan on introducing movement this weekend. I have also planned on getting his TNS done at the beginning of May so will probably book him in to get his hips x-rayed at the same time.

07/02/09

Well I have added photo's to all the galleries and added a page and gallery for Rags. Have a look at the lovely pictures of our dogs.

04/02/09

Well after a bit of nagging from Susan I have updated this website a bit, I might even start a blog! So I have updated all the dogs bio pages and added photo's to Wych's picture gallery. I have also added a gallery for Tag.

Well I started 2009 with a set of achievements, and at my first show I achieved my first two! Indy qualified for the Olympia semi's and Wych won her grade 5 agility and achieved grade 6.

Tag, Marks pup, is coming along nicely. He is just short of 11 months and his training is going well. I will be training his weaves by using Susan Garrett's 2 x 2 weave method - I purchased the DVD and the results are amazing. Might be a bit biased as the 2nd DVD showed Specs girl Feature being amazing! I am attempting to train Tag to do a running A-frame, hopefully, I have started his foundation training. So we will see, he will have a 2 o 2 o on his dog walk and see-saw.

You might be wondering why I am training Mark's dog! Well I like to help out when I can as most of you know that Mark isn't big into training!! I also want to use Tag as my guniea pig for new methods! It will be about two years when Wych hopefully has her pups, I am contemplating who the sire might be, I know I have two years so it gives me plenty of time to decide!! But I would like to have some red pups!!

We will be doing a lot of UKA shows this year as I'm trying out both my guys for the IFCS finals next year. We have Crufts coming up next month, Indy is there on three days for three events. I am running Stuart Miltons dog in the medium team final and Wych has one event. As she is due in season at some point around at time I am hoping she will come in the day after she is at Crufts!! I have had Wych rabies jabbed but unfortunately her blood test came back without enough anti bodies in so we have had to re-start the process. Keep your fingers crossed that this one takes as now we have got her to grade 6 it would be ashame if she cannot try out for the FCI World Champs.