the sun has got his hat on!...

Finally after what seems like an eternity of mud & relentless rain, we have sunshine!!!
and now typically its 29 degrees while I'm typing this, so now its just too hot! I can't win can I!!??

So after having been forced to take a training break, due to the ground being dangerous to train on, my dogs and I are back hard at it! I'm not sure how much others train, but I plan to try and do at least 10 Min's every other day with each dog, meaning I'll do 3 one day 4 the next, although, Harvey only plays around stuff and goes through the tunnels nowadays at almost 12! Depending on what we work on, the weather, time scale etc, we can more if we can :)
Today is meant to be a peak of the heat, and as my house gets very hot when we cant leave the doors open, I have got the dogs here at work with me in the van, granted they are cooler than I am, but I'm sure people must think its bizarre that I bring them in! Right this second, they are all snoozing, no panting or fast breathing, so i can gauge from that that they seem happy and cool enough, granted they are parked in the shade, with every door open, windscreen covered  plus still damp from the walk earlier, AND they have their cage fans on with huge bowls of water.  So, this makes me think about people who don't think about dogs in the heat, general pet people pounding the pavements in blazing sunshine, dogs that look so exhausted from the heat that they don't know what to do with themselves :( it makes me sad, and really quite annoyed, people don't think how hot those pavements can get, and as for those who 'pop' into tesco etc, but "its OK as the window is open a little and I'm only popping in" they just don't realise how fast damage can happen :(

Last night I had a choice of where to walk, we chose to go for a paddle when the tide was low, it was great, damp muddy sand where the tide was still going out, and a nice calm clear patch for them to splash and play, harry too!

Harry & Loki are coming along well, they have been going for weekly lessons out with Morag & Sue over at Just Dogs, its easier for harry to learn from someone who isn't 'naggy mum' and he has now started her on full height ( small full height of course lol)  she is still hit and miss with weaves, as the has to take 2 large leaps between poles, its quite a challenge, but harry is working really hard and I'm really proud of his progress so far :) She is entered at South Devon show this weekend, so we can see how she gets on!! Fingers crossed now she trains in a class, she wont find dogs around the ring so exciting!

Chase, Daizy and Terra are all coming along well, they are all jumping better and more consistently now, even daizy, I think the muscle memory had a big part, as using the barn at honiton we only train on low height, which really hadn't helped her so moving outside and slowly moving the height has really helped. Chase is a naturally talented dog I have worked out. Jumps well, turns wide still but as he is getting more confident he is getting much better! I'm looking forward to seeing how he runs when in the ring this weekend, as it will be his second time so we shall see!  This week, the weaves have clicked, and he is just now working on straight poles with the 1st and last ever so slightly open.

Due to the heat, I will be training late in the eves this week, when its cooled down a LOT!

well well well!

Who'd a thunk it?!

Starting a blog with a well done from a show!!! that doesn't happen often now does it!

We went to SandS show in Taunton this weekend, and had so much wind we decided against putting up the trade stand! Meg and I came 2nd in the morning, and Meg and Lydia came 4th overall in the OJAC junior qualifier, meaning they get to go to Clevedon in December for the finals! Meg hasn't ever qualified for anything, so I am really please she could do this :)

Training of the guys is coming along well, the weather has meant its only been short sessions on and off,  loki is still way off of being ring ready, as is daizy, but chase is almost there for jumping classes at least!

All 3 are starting to show they show lots of promise, and all 3 are beginning to weave, its a long process, weaving isnt something that comes easily so i'm taking it at their own pace.

Chase is almost on complete uprights

and to finish, Daizy & Loki having a funny five minutes :)

stuck for a title!!

Doesn't happen often that i draw a blank!!  Ah well, i can cope with it as a one off ;-)

Not a lot has really been happening, Tail-spin classes are going really well, the next one is being booked now, and the vets in Exmouth are being fantastic with recommendations at the moment, i have a nice steady flow of people contacting me :) The next puppy class is full, I've added an 8pm Silver & Gold class, and Bronze will be at 7pm, so progressive through the evening :) I enjoy teaching pet classes but i do find some aspects frustrating at times! :-o I don't feel as confident teaching obedience compared to teaching agility, it may be i find it all very repetitive and worry the students are getting bored, so i try and do some different things to other classes, IE a normal routine for my classes include foundation agility stuff to keep it interesting :) by the end of the 6 week block I'm very proud of my students as they do work hard :) they come with very little knowledge, but by the end they understand shaping and how to teach things to their dog, they can do basic positions; Sit, down, stand, basic recall and all start working on waits & stays, and we hold one week specifically on tricks,body awareness and balance work ( using boxes, balls, wobble board etc) they can all hand touch, and all dogs can do a trick of the owners choice :) this applies for all of the levels! once all of this is done, for the higher levels we work more towards the good citizens scheme, walking through doorways, longer duration stays, heel work, emergency stops, and send aways. You would think i would get more confidence with every group i take, but i really don't! I'm not sure why?! 

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Back to agility, i took my first guest trainer day for Canine Capers the other week, it seemed to go well! We worked mostly on contacts and weaves, some hadn't seen channel weaves before and had some very good results using them at slight angles to get some speed and consistency added to what they had already, the more confident dogs worked on hard angles and rewarding ahead, same went with the contacts, rewarding the position then rewarding the going ahead, all were fantastic and i hoped you enjoyed it!!

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My guys are coming along nicely, Ive had a session with Laura on the channels with chase, his drive to a dead toy still needs work, he does, I notice, lose concentration with a toy, as his arousal gets TOO high for the toy and he gets silly!!He gets ott and starts herding and trying to snap at the toy, or the hand holding it!! in my own field I tried using food and had a much better result on the first session, so I'm going to try phasing out the food and moving onto just a toy and see how we get on!! the channels have helped him get a wiggle

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 Loki is coming on in leaps and bounds, she does however not like any surface other than grass, so my plan is to get her working confidently before trying some training sessions at other venues to try and over come this :) its not that she doesn't like it, she doesn't focus, she wont play or eat, she just sniffs!!  Harry has been training her a fair bit, and is coming along slowly but nicely, she isn't very driven for most toys, but we have found she now like the mini rugby ball shaped hollee rollee balls :)

Here they both are learning a new exercise on a rather warm day - hence the lack of oompf!!

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Daizy is coming along slowly but surely, we have gone from one extreme to the other, 

from wont play with toys, to ball herding excess!!!

Her jumping is much better, her muscle tone has improved massively, her jump style is MUCH better, she extends most of the time now, unless she isn't sure about something. 

I'm looking forward to doing some steeplechase and games classes with her at this weekends UKA show.

She & I still have a long way to go, she isn't as easy as alot of dogs can be, chase in comparison is a a dream on jump work as he give is 100%, daizy however can take it or leave it!

We have decided to put Dai to Lenny again on her next season, due early July. The last litter are amazing and i would love to repeat it! This time will hopefully be much easier now they both know  what to do!! lol!

To finish, here is a usual lunch time scene,
although this day was rather warm so they are panting more than usual!!!
Now i have a field to use, i like to spend as much time there as possible!

Seasons change...

Well my jumps are settled into their new home! we have been really busy getting these sorted, the dog walk is moving up once this horrid weather passes us by! 

I know the gardens need it, but my field has had plenty now!!! 

The ground here is taking a real beating, its only been about a week of rain, 

but wow it seems a lot! 

Loki is having another season, not as obvious as the last one, and a bit early too! 

So that has taken us by surprise!

Dogs in need schedule is out today, i find out what im judging too!! 

Looks like smalls and mediums, lower levels, so thats nice classes usually :) 

Now to get working on some courses! 

May sees me doing a local show in wellington, and a training day for canine capers too, 

plus working on the list of training things to get done, 

AND making an a-frame too!

New addition :)

sadly not the 4 legged fluffy variety! ( for now!!) 

We have found a caravan that suited us!! finally!

4 berth, end bath room (will actual shower!)

& HEATING!

Really looking forward to some camping shows now!!!

It is bigger than our previous caravans so i will have to learn how to use this one!

A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new ~ Albert Einstein

We hired Fi's field again last week as i was off for most of the week during the factory shutdown time, it gave us the opportunity to run a full course, break it down and train the harder parts :)

Daizy is jumping full height!! She is working on nice open courses, before we put things closer together, however this week i have managed to work on front crosses (a la laura chudleigh ;-) with her which were really good!

Chase is running all of his training now at full height, unless its a longer session when we drop down to medium :) He is learning things quicker now we are training more! We had a short break from his 2x2 sessions as i couldnt committ to daily sessions with it, but we have now re started, and are onto 4 poles, he is very keen, but can get carried away, and if he is too excited will wing wrap the poles! So i am careful to keep things less exciting if that makes sense by using food/food related rewards, as toys can make him really silly! Just to be clear, when i say silly, chases has issues not knowing where his nose finishes, so when we play with toys, he gets OTT and will try and grab toys while in your hand, more often than not, he misses, and it hurts SO much! He is very strong, very full on, and gets very frustrated if he cant get to a toy, so food toys and food rewards help him keep calmer without getting over the top and frustrating himself, so thats what i mean by keeping things low key!!


Terra, as you can see is working on little bits, we have decided to see how she goes...she can run with lydia or harry in grade one, so courses should be simple. She hasnt shown any signs of stiffness while building her back up :)


Loki Loki Loki, after an awful attempt in the ring at kernow, harry has seen that he has to train much much more!! She has resorted to sniffing an awful lot, so we have gone back to old style, putting her on a decent length lead, using toy or food and keeping it exciting, and keeping sessions short! so far so good! With weaves, she doesn't like our swivel bases, so we are trying something slightly different with her, if it works, i'll post how!!lol!

Zig messed around an awful lot at kernow, i think dropping her to veterans may be the best move now!!

Meg has been doing some nice training, we still have wait, and first pole issues!! weaves are improving, we have slightly opened some channels for her and zig, they are both working well using them :)


Harv has had a few play sessions, doing some low jumps and tunnels, he loves it, especially with lydia running him :)

We went to a training in the ring session at canine capers, it was really good, i ran chase mainly, but did have a couple of runs with meg and with daizy too, lydia did some with Daizy & Terra too :) at the end, harv and loki also had a little play, nice for her in a different environment, but she was VERY sniffy on the horsey floor!!!

All is looking good, i have a few training sessions planned and booked, and im holding a few aswell!!

we will get there in the end :)

One day when I'm rich enough (lol) i will have time to spend, training, walking and just general spending time with my dogs, all day every day :) id love that, but wouldn't we all! So we make do with what we have, time and money wise :) for me things are slowly coming together, still no caravan or puppy or nice new van, but hey ho, i suppose i shall cope!
Training wise, the guys are doing good! I'm doing SO much more i feel really good at the mo, my aches and pains are a lot less, yes they still happen if i over do it, but not nearly as bad as previous!!

Daizy was definitely sent to challenge me, she proves this to me every session we do, her focus is much more 'in the zone' but still, the slightest thing you wouldn't expect can make her lose focus just like that! it can be frustrating, but with a dog like her, there is just no rushing! everything is done is short bursts, IE if i take all 5 to train, she comes out 2nd, then goes away after 5-10 mins, and after all the others have had a turn, she will come out for a few more minutes if she is still up for some more. she is grasping the idea of stopping on contacts, like her sister quest, she naturally sits on the bottom, not ideal as id like a stand of course, but if it means she will be reliable, so be it for now!! Her grid work is really nice, she has a nice bounce, however full height large is still a few weeks away i think, at the moment she can do approx half a course of mixed height, so we are gradually building her muscle memory to taking more of the course, she is very dependant on the handler, whether myself or Lydia, so we shall see how some new environments get handled before we decide if anything is changing or if we are happy as she is and let her build up more confidence and FOCUS!! Her channels are coming along, she is a little 'wafty' if the weaves aren't obvious, so each session we start with them further open than we finish, having not fully trained on channels before this is a learning curve for us both! my own weaves are now adjusted to the new widths so they are coming out to the field tonight, and the barn for a contact and weave session on weds that i am holding!

Chase, has been doing a grand job, he is a natural learner, and a natural agility dog, he is working short courses now and jumping full height nicely, albeit not all the time as i like to reward him as often as possible, and at the moment, he looks down if a toy is placed no matter how far away that may be! He does lose is head a little if its a really fun toy, so i have to choose carefully and surprise him at the end! He powers ahead to tunnels, and is looking for his 2x2 weaves too, so progress on those are coming along. His contacts are on lead mostly, stopping, looking ahead and releasing, he isn't ready for off lead yet, so the show i stupidly entered this weekend may be forfeit!



Loki.... where to start!! harry has been a little slack, since going to the big school he now has piles of homework each week if he wants to stay in good groups at school, so he hasn't done as much as i would like him to do!! She doesn't like the channels in the garden, the base is too big, she does like the 2x2 base but it involves thinking!! jump wise, we are up to wonky poles, one side at small height the other on the feet of the jump, so about 2" lower on one side. She doesn't train at the barn well on the flooring, she is much better out on grass! Tunnels are her favourite, now she understands them, and the dog walk up until last week was terrifying! we have done lots on low planks, but she went to pieces when it was raised, so had to go back down low again, however last weekend, after having some playing on it ( some may say its not helpful but it worked for her!) she decided she COULD run over it after all!

Meg and zig did a little contact and jump work, weave are back out now so that will be mostly this week, they are both physically fit and well, however zigs feet seem to have dropped a little which may mean the end of agility at full height for her, I'm sure she wont mind having some fun in any size classes for a while before retiring. I shall keep an eye on her progress and see what she is like before deciding 100%