Just Mini's Agility Show

Our last show if the season so i wanted to make it a good one! Only one run for Campbell in grade 1 - 3 agility. He did a lovely smooth round but didnt feel as fast as he has been recently so i was very surprised to find he was in 2nd place, only 0.01 seconds behind first, there were still lots of dogs to go but he stayed 2nd so im really happy! Chico was up next and did a nice round just deciding to miss out a few weave poles along the way... although he was sellective about the ones he chose to miss! I wasn't really bothered as im just glad he is having fun.



Cai had grade 1 - 3 steeplechase first. He managed to wait at the start for about half a second which was better than nothing. The course was lovely, testing with some tunnel traps but ran nicely. He managed a nice clear but was quite slow for him and had huge wide turns. He finished 2 seconds behind the winning dog to come 9th. Not bad for a mad grade 1 dog at only his 3rd agility show. He had grade 1 - 3 agility last. This course was nice and i thought it would suit him well but he didnt manage a few of the turns so ran past a few jumps. He got the weave entry though for the first in compertition. He ended up E'd but there would good bits and lots to work on in 2010.

Test Night

Well it was test night again at Eastbourne agility club. Im one of those sad people that actually really enjoys them and looks forward to them for the other 9 weeks of training! I really like to see how my dogs are doing and how they compare to the other dogsin the club as many of them are a higher grade than us. Also i like to compare them to each other. I know Chico is faster over the jumps but slower everywhere else where as Campbell can turn very very tight. Also Cai got to do his first test night as he has been training at eastbourne for about 6 weeks now. First up was the jumping.

I ran Campbell first in the jumping and he did a lovely fast round but i stupidly called him on a turn and he had a pole. I then did his agility which was a perfect Campbell course but between the two of us we totally messed it up and ended up E'd many times! Next up was Chico in the jumping he worked lovely, i really think the break has done him some good to finish 3rd. He did a cracking round in the agility to finish clear but the scribe forgot to write his time so they assumed he had been E'd during marking and he didnt get a place. I was gutted as he has been working much better than he has for a long time. Later on i ran him again just to get a time but the round wasnt so good although we only ended up 1 second beihind Cai's time.

I ran Cai last in the jumping and he was great, very fast and bounced most of the jumps although his turns were wide at times. He didnt worry too much about the other dogs and stayed with me. Unfortunatly he had one pole down on a turn or would probably have won. Finally he had agility and he was lovely to run. A bit mad and felt almost out of control but held it together to go clear but with lots of time wasted on turns. I was very surprised and pleased to find he had won! His first test night and he gets a first. Well done Cai :-)

Pheonix 5 Agility Show

The club i train with (Eastbourne DTC) decided not to hold a 2nd kennel club show this year but have an unaffiliated one instead. I would have liked one last KC show before the end of the year but was happy to make do with an unafiiliated one! The day started off horrable. It was raining very hard and windy which caused a lot of noise in the riding school we use. It didnt seem to bother the dogs though thankfully. I had all THREE entered, yes Cai finally gets a go. I have been training him at Eastbourne club now for 5 or 6 weeks and he has been really really good. Ok who has stolen my dog and replaced it with one i can trust?!

All of them had two classes first up Campbell had grade 1 - 2 agility. It was a nice course, not too easy but flowing. Although it did have right hand weaves which always worry me. He did a storming round but had one pole down when i turned him (need to remember to keep my mouth shut with him!)I checked his time and he wold have come 2nd 2 seconds faster than the 3rd place dog. He is so close now to getting some good places but one thing always seems to go wrong to hold us back. He still ended up 13th though. Next up i ran Chico. He was really keen but got a bit carried away and headed for the wrong jump then couldnt make the weave entry. Im pleased he enjoyed himself though. Last up i ran Cai. it was quite stressfull getting him into the school as people just dont seem to think about anyone else and stand with their dogs on long leads blocking the entries. He was very excited by this point and just wouldn't wait so i really had to leg it after him. He didn't make the weave entry and made a few other small mistakes but had fantastic contacts and listened so im very happy.

In the afternoon Campbell had grade 1 - 2 steeplechase. I dont normally enter him in these anymore as i just dont think he is fast enough for this type of course and we have enough clear round rosettes to wallpaper the house now. Well he tried and managed a good time and stayed in the top 3 most of the way but ended up 8th. Chico was up next, now he could be great at these types of course as he really covers the ground but just doesn't put the effort in, he still pulled off an ok time though and finished 13th. Last up i had Cai. There were a few tight turns i didnt think he would manage but he really tried hard and just had one pole down but had a fantastic time so a really great start to his agility. I was told when he was 12 months to give up as he has no intrest in agility and is out of control and agressive. I NEVER gave up and believed in him all this time and 3 1/2 years later we are getting somewhere.

Oh and tell me why does my dog have his mouth wide open in every photo?!!

Ball Busters Flyball Tournament

The Ball Busters held another one of their very successful indoor tournaments at Maidstone today which is thankfully just under an hours drive away from me as i have a stinking cold and really didn't want to get up! We had to arrive for start of racing (8.15am!) as we were doing ring party in Div 7. We then had a long wait for Div 2 to start. We only had the Dream Team Mad Dogz entered today.

We were seeded bottom on a declared time of 19.00 seconds our current seed time is actually 19.77 but the Dream Team have had some new dogs join them so we knew we could run faster. We have only had one very wet training session together so really didn't know how the dogs would run. Well what a fantastic day! Kerina ran Magic in his first open and he was fantastic pulling off some great times and he didn't mess around once, She should be very proud of herself and her lovely boy. Cai ran first as usual and wow he was flying. I really thought he would be slower indoors but i couldn't have been more wrong he ran 4.02, 4.05, 4.04 & 4.04 in the first race including his start time (three were perfects). We ended up winning every race and only dropped two legs overall due to inexperience with the new dogs.

Annoyingly though he started turning right again in the last race. I really think he was just being nosey as he likes to race the dog on the other side but it really messes up his turn and he always fumbles the first leg he does it. We do have sore paws tonight though as he burnt through his boots in the first 3 legs so i had to vet wrap him which he also burnt through very quickly! Heavy duty boots needed for next time me thinks! We ran a best time of 18.22 which im sure we can improve on so roll on January.

Wimbledon Wizzers Flyball Tournament

We had 1 team entered into the starters at Wimbledon today. Only 5 teams were entered so we had 4 races in total. Brea came with Poppy who is always such a consistent dog. You can really trust her to get on with it. Brea went on the lights and did a great job getting quite a few 0.01 second starts. This was there first show with us this year and although Poppy is getting on now she is still a great little flyball dog. Shelly also with Poppy has been training with us for 7 weeks now and Poppy is proving to be a good flyball dog. She is already running under 5 seconds and was really well behaved all day. Definitely a star of the future and one i cant wait to get into open. Then we had Kila with Barney who are getting back their confidence now and running really well. Penny with Skye. And Sam with Onyx who is going to be a great height dog when she gets a bit more confident as she can drop the ball at the moment when she gets distracted. I put Campbell down as reserve as he is Mr plod but reliable.

Most of the team got lost on the way and turned up just as we were due to go into the ring for our first race so i decided to run Poppy (with Brea) Skye, Campbell and Barney first so the other two could warm their dogs up and watch one race without being throw in at the deep end. We won the first race 3-0 so a pleasing start.

The next race in i pulled Campbell and we either ran Skye or Onyx with new Poppy going last. Again we won only dropping one leg due to a dropped ball. We then had a break and i went to check the two teams we were still to race. The next team had posted some good times so we really needed our fastest dogs to beat them so i ran Poppy, Campbell, Barney and new Poppy. We won 3-0 again with our best time of the day 22.33 seconds. I think this is our best ever starters time as we normally run 24-26 seconds in starters.

The last race of the day was against a team who had posted very slow times so to make it fair i let Skye and Onyx run. Unfortunately Onyx dropped her ball on the first leg and then went looking for it on the second leg so i had to pull her and put Campbell in. We then won the next three legs so came 1st overall. A great day overall and some fun racing. I'm really pleased with our times as we ran under 25 seconds all day (when we didn't have a light) and had three 22 second times. And Campbell actually seemed to be enjoying himself!! shock horror!


Poppy handled by Brea (above) Poppy handled by Shelly (below)

Introducing Roxy!

Well sometimes its just meant to be.... i happened to come across a photo of Cai's mum with two pups on the Internet. One of them a blue merle bitch and the other a sable bitch. I know she is getting on a bit now so this would probably be her last litter and as my next dog was going to be a bitch it got me thinking. So after chatting to Caroline (Cai's breeder) i drove all the way to Wales to pick up my new blue merle puppy.

Only i didnt come home with the blue but somehow ended up with the sable! She's nutty, fast and bossy and love her to bits already. She is super clever and very fast to learn and can already do sit, down, paw, speak, spin right, spin left, put head on floor and touch a target with her nose. Im having so much fun with her and she has been such an easy pup... so far! Hopefully she is my little flyball star of the future.

Stour Valley Agility Show

This was a lovely show last year and had a good selection of classes this year so i was really looking forward to it. Both Chico and Campbell were entered both days but something came up on Saturday so i only made it over on the Sunday.

Campbell only had 2 classes today as i didn't want to waste my money on the combined 1 - 4 border collie helterskelter as he wouldn't be fast enough to make the placings if he had gone clear and i really don't need another clear round rosette! First up he had graded 1 - 3 Agility. This was a nice testing course which i was really looking forward to. He missed his weave entry though and them he got confused when i called him back and back jumped the jump before. I was gutted as he flew round the rest of the course and really felt like he was giving it his all. This is just the kind of course he will win out on, but today was not the day. Next up he had graded 1 - 4 jumping. Again a testing course which i couldn't wait to do. Campbell always does so much better on the harder courses as he turns so tight and saves seconds. He did a fantastic round that really felt like one of his best and we got some lovely compliments when we left the ring. Unfortunately we had 1pole down. Stupidly i went to check my time to find out where we would have come to find out we would have won the class :-( He is so close now to winning out but we just keep missing out for one reason or another!

Chico had three runs today. Combined 1 - 4 helterskelter was first. I got lost but Chico went well! Next up was graded 1 - 3 agility. Annoyingly Chico had the first pole down as he was getting stressed and kept looking at the dog queueing behind him so didn't take off properly. After that he did a perfect round if a little slow in places. Last up he had graded 1 - 4 jumping. It was not really a Chico course as it required too many turns and her hates turning and always goes very wide when i make him. I was determined to get at least one clear this weekend though so just took it slowly and didn't rush him and he did a nice steady clear 4.5 seconds slower than Campbell but still finished 7th. I really don't know how he does it, all his placings to date have been top 10 but he really has some rubbish times!

Ive decided that this will be Chico's last show for a year or so though (other than the odd class) as i find it really hard having both him and Campbell entered as they are so different to handle that i end up messing up my runs. Also Campbell is just about to turn 4 and i feel he will probably only be at his best for another year or two so really want to concentrate on him while he is doing well. Hopefully with a bit more focus he will win me out early next year. Most of his placing in the latter part of the year have been top 10 with many top 5 so i know he has it in him now. I was going to put him up on points but think ill wait a few more months now to see what happens! Also i think Chico could do with a year to mature a bit and will hopefully come back more confident.

Prestbury Park Agility show

A lovely show and our first time camping this year! I'm not entering Chico in all the classes he is able to do anymore as he switches off so quickly so two classes is enough per day.

Saturday

First up Campbell had Grade 1 & 2 agility and he did a cracking round in a very fast time.... with 5 faults on the dog walk! so annoying as he would have had a very high placing with that. Next up Chico had Grade 1 - 4 collie jumping. Now when i entered this a few months ago he was enjoying jumping courses much more than agility. Now that's not the case and this was a very interesting course that i would have loved to run with Campbell but knew Chico would hate. He tried but had one pole down but didn't enjoy all the nagging i had to do to get him round.

Last up they both had Grade 1 agility. Chico went first and did a nice round with just one pole down. Campbell is really on top form right now and did a fantastic round although i did slow him on the dog walk to make sure we got the dreaded contact. I went to check his time to find we were in 1st! we stayed there most of the class but ended up 2nd which I'm really pleased with although i now realise how close he is to winning out!



Sunday

Campbell had Grade 1 & 2 agility. It was a very testing course that not many people were getting round and i wasn't surprised when we ended up with and E! Next he had graded 1 - 3 agility. This was basically the course from the morning but in reverse so again quite testing. We managed to get round this time with 5 on the dog walk and 5 for a missed weave entry. Chico was a bit switched of and did a very slow steady round but went clear in a painfully slow time of 41 seconds. We ended up 10th which surprised me! Last up they both had grade 1 jumping. Campbell got 5 for a missed weave entry and Chico got E'd for jumping the tape round the ring although he did come straight back in and complete the course without any faults in a nice fast time.

Prestbury Park Crufts Flyball Qualifier

Well what an odd day. We went along to give the Crufts qualifier ago. We have not done one before so really just went to see how they do things as all the rules are a bit different and there is not usually much run back room. 8 Teams were entered and there was only one we didnt really want to be drawn against in the first round and that was Wimbledon. Well it was not our lucky day and we were drawn against them! We went into the ring already a bit confused. The judge had said he would allow 2 minutes to warm the dogs up the first time we go into the ring and nothing after that. I sent Cai and the next thing i know a dog from the other side crosses over and crashes into him. Now anyone who knows Cai knows this is not good news for the other dog! Well Cai was such a good boy. He just started hunting for his ball as it had be knocked out of his mouth. He then found it and returned back over the jumps with the other dog chasing him but he didnt touch it.

Crufts flyball is best of 3 and if you win the first 2 you only race 2 legs. We then ran our first leg and Wimbledon's 4th dog crossed the line first. Then in the second leg it looked like our dog crossed the line first but everyone started leaving the ring so i assumed they had been awarded that leg too. It was all very messy and confusing not like BFA at all! When we got out of the ring Wimbledon didn't look very pleased and someone said well done to us and we realise we had actually won as they crossed too early in the first leg so we won both legs outright.



After more confusion in the second round we were awarded the win there too and had qualified for Crufts 2010! The final was against a fast BFA team the Kiddy Monsters who really pushed us and although it was close they took the first two legs so we came 2nd overall which is great for our first Crufts qualifier. For a made up team that never train together we did really well and still cant believe we qualified at our first show. The dogs in the team were Cai, Loki handled by Steph (from the Swifts) Flash and Breeze with Michelle (from The Dream Team) and Magic with Kerina as reserve. Now we just have to wait till March next year and see what happens.

Shooting Stars Flyball Tournament

I always like to enter the Shooting stars tournaments as it was all thanks to them we got going as a team so even though we weren't really ready we headed off down to Kent with 2 brand new dogs, Barney, Angel, Maddie and Campbell. First race in was a bit of a mess, Onyx wouldn't go down and get her ball so we had to run Maddie. She is not running well at the moment as she is really slowing down on the way back from the box since being attacked. She did better this week than last week but still no where near as good as she should be. Thankfully Onyx decided flyball is actually fun and ran fantastic from the second race onwards. Harvey who is Maddie's brother got quite distracted by the dogs in the other lane. When he was running well he was great and when he wasn't.... well he was a pain in the bum! i can really see he has a stubborn streak too like Maddie but also shows so much promise.

Barney was good again this week but has really lost his confidence on the way back. He used to be much faster coming back than going out but that has all changed now. Hopefully with more practice he will get his confidence back. As Maddie was running so slow we had to call in the reserve reserve Campbell. I dont like to run him much as he gets tired quickly and then switches off and isn't really into flyball. He just does it because i ask him nicely! Well apart from dropping the ball once he was actually quite good today. He did some nice starts and also ran in 2nd and 3rd position fine. Hopefully he is starting to enjoy his flyball more and will have more drive and speed as he does more shows.



I really wanted to give Cai a run today as he hates missing out so entered him and Angel into the Mini/Maxi pair just for a bit of fun. I wasn't really bothered about getting a good time as Angel had already run 17 legs in starters and she is not used to crossing tight with Cai. Well we did our three legs in what felt like an ok time and i went and put Cai back in the car. Suddenly after about 10 mins they are calling us back in as we were through to the next round. I hadn't realised it was a knockout so was not ready at all. I managed to grab Cai quickly and leg it back to the ring and couldn't believe it when we went and won again 3-0. This put us through to the finals against Janice and Roger from the Shooting Stars who had two very experienced dogs. The racing was very close but we lost the first two legs and then won the third. As it was best of 3 we came second overall with a best time of 10.34 seconds. I couldn't believe our two managed to pull it off so well. Angel really was best dog of the show this week.

Hailsham Lions Agility Show

Well i didnt think i was going to make it this year as i had planned to do flyball this weekend but the team i was running Cai with had to pull out so i managed to squeeze a last minute entry in. All three got to have a run today as the rings were netted although i am feeling more positive about Cai by the minute as he is really focused and just loves to work and i feel he will be ready to run out of netting by spring 2010.

First up Campbell had grade 1-3 agility. It was a nice flowing course without any weaves and he did a cracking round to finish 5th. Chico was up next, he didnt put that much effort in but got round without any sniffing with just 5 faults on the dog walk. Last up was Cai. Well what can i say! hes a little star and he managed to pull a clear out of the bag... yes it was messy but he has only had 1 proper training session this year and one other agility show to date. I was very pleased to find out he had come 3rd! not a bad start to agility shows for him.

Last up was grade 1-3 jumping. Campbell did a messy clear to finish 6th, my fault not his! Chico should have been eliminated (as he jumped an extra jump) but the judge wasn't looking so just gave us 5 for a refusal! And Cai was just a bit mad! i tried to get him going like i know he can and went a bit far as he was totally mental and i didnt have much control so really need to keep him a bit calmer until he is more responsive in the ring.

Four Paws Flyball Tournament

We took one starters team today made up on Skye, Barney who has had to go back to starters after his big crash in Kent, Maddie, Chico and Campbell as reserve. Skye was a star and didn't make one mistake although slowed towards the end. Barney just ran out once but that was probably the handlers fault and my 3 well they were just naughty! Maddie did her usual thing of going to the box and lying down, Chico started well but got bored quite quickly and Campbell was like a rocket for a few legs then kept slowing down to have a nose in the other lane! Its very frustrating having 3 dogs who are very very hard work and then Cai who is a star and lives for flyball. We did well though with the dogs we had available and finished 2nd with a very slow time of 27. something seconds! Not our usual standard but we all had fun and cant wait for next weekend.

Cai did the singles and was back on top form today. I had to run him from 53 feet as anything closer and he got a false start. He did 3 runs over 7" getting 3.955, 3.971 & 3.976 to finish 1st. I then asked to run him over 14" to see how much the higher jumps slowed him down and he did 4.247, 4.143 & 4.144 so not a huge difference. These times would have also put him in 1st even with all the other dogs running over 7" so im very proud of my boy today.

Dundee Flyball

Well i must have been mad. Michelle offered me a lift to Dundee in thier van for the two tournamnts this year and i said yes! 550 miles EACH way and a total of 12 hours driving... but it was worth it. First up on Saturday was the Clatto Clangers tournament. It was our first time camping this year and ive really missed it. It makes such a difference to just get up and roll out of bed and you are there! It was a really lovely venue and all the other teams were friendly and it was great to see another southern team the Wimbledon Wizzers make the journey. Cai was on the lights again and he is getting better each time out. He was running very slow for him(around 4.5 seconds) but didnt put a foot wrong. We lost one race on speed to finish 2nd.

Maddie got to have a go in starters pairs and actually did it! i really didnt think she would because she can be quite spooky and stubbon at times. We only made it through to the second round but it was nice to know she is ready for starters now.



Sunday saw us travel a few miles up the road to Caird Park for the Tayside Roadrunners tournament. Wow what a lovely big park with huge trees dotted about, it was great for dog walking. All the dogs were tired from the day before but ran really well and i was pleased as Cai's average was about the same. We had sorted out our crosses more as a team and ended up winning all our races to finish 1st.

MAADH Agility Show

Well today was a first for Cai he actually got to have a go at an agility show! Ive not trusted him up till now as i dont think he will stay in the ring if there is something more exciting going on in a ring next door but today was only a small local show with one ring and netting all round.

First up Campbell had 1-3 agility he did a nice round but has got really naughty with his contacts in the ring and missed the A frame and didnt get the dog walk and see-saw as well as i know he can. I have forgiven him though as the a frame had been set at the old height so was very steep making it hard for him to go to the bottom. Next was Chico again he did a nice round just missing the dog walk contact which was naughty as he hasn't missed one before now! Finally Cai got a go. I waited till very late on in the class so that there were not too many dogs around but shouldn't have worried as he worked lovely and didnt look at anyone in or outside the ring (apart from at the start when he ran over to say hi to Angela who was judging!) Ok he was very slow and hesitant and had a few poles BUT he stayed with me and didnt bark non stop which is his usual style. Also i need to remember he has never had a proper agility lesson other than one with Leah last Thursday and i only do bits with him maybe once a month. He could be really good with more work and experience. Im hoping to enter him at some of the winter shows indoors as most of them have netting between the rings and then hopefully start him outdoors without netting next season.



Second up Campbell had 1 - 3 jumping it was a lovely flowing course but not just straight up and down. Val Clarke was judging and i always like her courses as they are usually very sensible for the grade but not just up and down. Campbell worked well but didnt feel that fast but i was surprised to find we had come 2nd! Chico was being a monkey and somehow managed to find a tunnel to go in that wasn't even facing towards him so got us E'd. Cai was really good again, he missed the weave entry but got it second time and ran past one jump but the rest felt really good so a promising start.

Aces High Flyball Tournament

Well today was fantastic, some how we ended up being put into division 1 (seeded 7th) on a declared time of 19 seconds! We had one dog in the team who has never run in open, Barney who has done one open tournament then Cai, Flash and Breeze. I though everything would go smoothly but how wrong could i be! Barney got interfered with in the very first leg of the very first race and refused to run after that. Bizzy was in a world of him own and pretended he had had no flyball training so he was out too that left us with 3 dogs.

Luckily we had put one of Michelle's veteran dogs as reserve 'just in case' well they ended up running every leg but at around 6.5 seconds. Cai ran start dog for the first time and was amazing. It took me about half the day to get the lights sorted but by the end of the day i was only 0.1 sec late. They were showing the dogs individual times and Cai ran quite a few 3.8 - 3.9's so im very very pleased. His turn was fantastic all day too and he didn't let the other dogs bother him. We ended up 7th but i was not surprised as we really shouldn't have been racing in Div 1 with a 19 second time. Cant wait for Dundee and the British Champs now!

Cai gets his 'Flyball Dog' award!!!

Well the BFA website has been updated and Cai now has his flyball dog award :-) Anyone who has known me for a while will know how many problems i have had to overcome with Cai. He was asked to leave agility after his second class and obedience didnt go much better as nothing they tried managed to focus him so they eventually told me i had to be more tough on him and dragged him into the middle of the room and shook him by the collar till he stopped barking. We didn't go back.... I didnt want to give up on him though so thought i'd give flyball ago.

I rung a lovely lady Called Janice Aird who is the area rep for the BFA and asked if there was a local club. Well it turned out the nearest club was hers 'The Shooting Stars' but they were over 60 miles away. I talked with her for quite a while and they were happy for me to bring Cai along. Well that was the best thing i have every done for him. He loved it from the start and was obviously going to be something special if i managed to finally sort out his issues.

3 1/2 years later with a lot of hard work we have finally done it, Cai has been awarded his 'Flyball Dog' Award.

Thank you to Janice and Roger Aird from the Shooting Stars for not giving up on us. Sam Bawden from the Mad Mutts for kicking my Butt and making me trust him. Michelle and Roland from the Dream Team whos frendship and advice has been appreciated. And all my team mates from The Power Paws flyball team. Its been a long hard slog but it was worth it!

Billingshurst Agility Show

3 runs for Campbell today and 2 for Chico as i have decided to pick and choose which classes i enter Chico in from now on as he does better with only 1 or 2 runs and he still makes baby mistakes and I'm finding it hard to keep him interested as he just doesn't have the drive Campbell has.

First up Campbell had grade 1 - 2 agility he missed his weave entry then i put him back on his contacts as he wouldn't stop so we ended up E'd. Next up he had grade 1 agility. He was really bitching in the queue and wouldn't listen to me and was constantly looking for a dog to hump so our run didn't go to well. Not sure what we ended up with fault wise as i didn't bother to check! Last up he had grade 1 - 2 jumping. I made a big effort to wind him up and focus him on me and it worked. He did a nice round to finish 12th.

Chico had grade 1 - 2 jumping first. He worked nicely through the box at the start but just missed the weave entry as he was looking at the number. Thats the second time he has done this recently too! he also ran wide past a jump but didn't sniff and kept working nicely so i was pleased. Then he had grade 1 agility. He did a lovely round getting all his contacts and not turning too wide but didn't feel that fast. I was really surprised to find out we had come 4th!

He must have heard me last week as i had said i was going to stop agility with him for a year to see if he would come back to it with more drive and excitement and i want to get him castrated!

Surrey DTS Agility Show

Not the best of days today. I woke up and nearly didnt go as i felt really tired and wasn't very keen. Managed to get it together though and arrived with lots of time to walk my first course. There were three runs for each of them today. 2 agility which was nice and one jumping.

First up Campbell had Grade 1 Jumping. It was a fairly straight forward course and he did a lovely round to finish 7th. Chico did a good round too but was quite a bit slower as he wasn't really paying attention today so just got a clear round.

Next up Campbell had grade 1 agility. Again another easy course but he had the 2nd pole down then didn't stop on his A frame contact so i put him back on and the judge asked us to leave the ring! ha ha naughty me. Chico did a nice but slow round i thought he had gone clear but it turns out the judge gave us 5 for a refusal at the tunnel which he did first time with no spins so god knows what she saw?!? Even the scribe said 'that was a bit harsh' when i went to check what the refusal had been for, annoying but it happens i guess!

Last up they had grade 1 - 2 agility Chico did an ok round but just ran wide past a jump so finished with 5 faults. Campbell had another pole down early on so i really pushed him to see what i could get away with and we ended up with an E!

Campbell at UK Agility

These are two of my favorite runs with Campbell this year. Both times he is really keen and listening to me so pulled off some lovely tight turns when needed. I really should believe in him more as he tries so hard for me and what he lacks in speed he makes up for in accuracy and effort.

Dave Munnings Training Day

Had our 3rd and last training day with Dave today. It was boiling hot again so not ideal as all the dogs really felt the heat and were not keen to work. I decided to take Chico again and leave Campbell at home as i am really pleased with how Campbell is going at the moment but feel i need help with Chico as he is hard to motivate and turns VERY VERY wide and sometimes just switches off.

Its started very well we worked on tight turns and crossing in front and behind and Chico put in some of the best turns he has ever done. Suddenly after about an hour though he just stopped jumping and refused to work anymore. He wasn't even that hot but he was having one of his switch off moments. Both Dave and i tried to get him going again but he was having none of it so i ended up putting him in the car for a break.

I decided to get Cai out for the rest of the session just to see how he behaved as he has been so good recently and loves his agility. I didn't plan to run him but he seemed very calm i asked Dave if it would be ok. He was fine with it so i did a few sequences with Cai and he was AMAZING! i love Cai so much he really is my one dog in a million. He did all the turns quite wide but went like a rocket and didn't bugger off after any of the other dogs. Im getting to the stage now where i think he will be able to compete regularly this time next year. I plan to do all the unaffiliated outdoor shows with netting this summer and then the indoor shows over the winter and fingers crossed he will make his outdoor KC debut about this time next year.

Keston Agility Show

Three runs today for each of the boys. First up Campbell had graded 1 & 2 agility. Stupidly i have wrecked our contacts in the last few weeks so we ended up with 5 on the A frame. I really need to re think how we train contacts and work the contacts in the ring as i hate to ruin a good run by holding him in the 2 on 2 off position. Next up was Chico im still trying to get the excitment & enjoyment back with him so am not putting him in a wait at the beginning and have started running his contacts as he has got very creepy and slow recently. This has been working well but now that he has got his speed back he has started to miss them so i am going to have a go a training him to do running contacts. He missed his dog walk then flew the see saw so i put him back over getting us E'd.

Next up Campbell had combined grade 1 - 3 jumping. He did a nice round to finish clear with one wide turn which cost us a few seconds and a place. Chico also finished clear but was very slow through the weaves and had quite a few wide turns but was only 3 seconds slower than Campbell so he is much quicker over the jumps.

Last up they had grade 1 jumping. I wanted a nice fast up and down course for Chico and got one! i did a running start with him and he got a nice entry into the weaves but i rushed him too much and he ended up comming out early then had a pole. Campbell was amazing. Id got some Pow Wow energy drink to see if it helped him get through the day as he can get very tired and his first run is often his best. Well either it worked or he was very keen as he did a lovely fast round to finish 8th. There was only 1 second between all the top 10 dogs so im very pleased.

Axstane Agility show - Day 2

Three classes for each of them today, two agility an one jumping which made a nice change. First up Chico had combined grade 1 & 2 agility. A nice flowing course but with quite a few areas you could go wrong if you didnt pay attention the whole way round. We did a running start, he tried hard and did some nice tight turns trough the tricky bits then went wide and ran past a jump 3 from the end. Next he had combined grade 1 - 3 agility. A nice course with not too many tricky bits. I did a running start with him as he has been much more keen this weekend and i really want to keep that enthuiusam. He did a nice round and listened to what i was asking but went wide on one turn and found himself on the bottom of the A frame before he could turn onto the see-saw which is what he was ment to be doing! Last up he had graded 1 & 2 jumping. We did a running start again then a nice round but ran wide past one jump. I then got a bit flustred and handled the final sequence wrong and he put a spin in infront of a jump. All baby mistakes though which we can hopefully sort out with more training. I ran all his contacts today and he didnt miss one so maybe thats the way to go with him?

Campbell had combined 1 & 2 agility first. He did a speedy round which really felt like he was going as fast as he could. He ran all his contacts even though he knows he shouldn't but it was going so well i let him get away with it which im sure i will regret at next weeks show! I was really surprided when i went to check my time to find i was 0.5 sec behind the current winner. He ended up 5th which im very pleased with. This is his best agility placing to date and now gives him 66 agility warrant points. Next up was the jumping where he took a pole. Then we waited 5 hours to do his last class as he was in part 2 of the 1 - 3 agility. Shouldn't have bothered as i managed to get us E'd by over handling him and pulling him off a jump.

Axstane Agility Show - Day 1

First up today Campbell had grade 1 - 3 jumping. He really tried hard and felt like he was going as fast as he could with some very tight turns. We waisted a few seconds where he nearly took the wrong jump after the tunnel but called off nicely to finish 18th. I then decided to take him into the practice ring for a minute to work on his contacts as im still not happy with them in the ring. He must be picking up on something i do as he stopped on them all perfectly in the training ring even though i acted like it was for real not just training. Then he had graded 1 & 2 agility. He must have been more tired than i realised as he felt very slow and didnt have as much drive through the weaves as i would have liked but it was a nice clear. I was really surprised to find we had finished 10th!

Next up Chico had grade 1 - 3 jumping he felt much better to run today and didnt stop to sniff or have a look around. I didnt make him wait as im trying to get him excited about agility again and a running start really makes a difference. He did a lovely round with perfect (but painfully slow) weaves but just put in a spin in front of a jump due to bad handling by me so finished with 5 faults. Next up was his graded 1 & 2 agility again i went for a running start and decided to run his contacts as he has always come down quite low on the contact area and not really ever been a jumper. He did a lovely round just running past the see saw due to me not giving him enough help again, sometimes i forget he is not like Campbell. He finished with 5 faults but i was happy as he had put the effort in and felt nice to run. Im now going to start retraining his contacts into running contacts as he is not a dog that likes to break his flow as it makes him start to worry too much. Also his stride naturally takes him low so hopefully he will be able to make the transition without too much problems.

After a long wait Chico had grade 1 - 2 jumping. I really needed to leave him in a wait as the start would not have been easy without one. He was a good boy again and worked nice with a few wide turns, although much much better than he has been recently. He finished clear but with quite a slow time as he is really crawling through the weaves. We were in 27th place until the last dog ran who knocked us out! never mind a clear is good progress so im pleased. Last up Campbell had grade 1 - 2 jumping. It was a nice course that had a few tricky bits which i always like as Campbell is best at tricky courses that require some handling as he is not really a speed dog. He did a nice round but i pushed him to hard into the weaves and he missed the entry.... oh and i hadn't walked the course as i had been chatting!

Cant wait for tomorrow now! Abbie Campbell's girlfriend will be there so im sure there will be a bit of competition between the two of them.

Bluebells

Well i haven't posted any photos for a while so here are some i took in the local bluebell wood earlier this year.

HH Show UKA

Campbell had 4 runs today. We haven't had the best start to the year competition wise so im not expecting too much from him at the moment. Well he surprised me! first up we had Novice Snooker and he did a great round that went exactly how i had planned and we finished the whole course before the time was up with a score of 51 finishing 2nd. Then we had Novice Jumping which was a very very testing course that i didn't think we had a hope of getting round! Well i should have more faith as he worked amazingly and was one of only a few to even get round to finish 2nd. Im really pleased with this as there are some very good fast dogs in Novice at the moment.

He then had pairs with my friends boxer Abbie. I had to do the contacts part of the course and she did the tunnels part. They were both little stars going clear and we finished 1st. Last he had Novice Agility, by now i was really hot and tired and had walked the course hours before and stupidly sent him the wrong way!


Chico just had two runs, first up was Casual Jumping which was not and easy course but he tried hard and finished on 5 faults only getting distracted when they blew a whistle in the other ring. His Casual Agility was right at the end of the day so i dont think either of us were really up for it. He missed the weaves but did the rest quite nicely.

UKA Quad Paws

I decided only to come for the last two days not the whole week as Chico isn't ready for a week of shows yet and Campbell gets tired.

On Thursday Campbell had Novice Jumping and Novice Agility. He did two nice rounds but didn't get a place in either. Chico had Beginners Jumping and Beginners Steeplechase he was not up for either and spent most of the time sniffing and ignoring me. He really isn't enjoying his agility at the moment so i need to work on getting him to enjoy it again like he used too.

On Friday Campbell had Novice Gamblers which went ok but i managed to mess up right at the end so we didnt get a place! Then Novice Jumping and Agility, we had faults in both but he tried hard and it was very hot so i couldn't have asked for more.

I decided to run Chico in the Casual classes today so that he could just have a blast on a simple flowing course and hopefully do it from a running start so that he didnt switch off when i asked him to wait. He had Casual Jumping first which was a nice course with no weaves and he did a lovely fast round with no sniffing to finished 2nd. Casual Agility was the last class of the day so he was a bit switched off but i did a running start again and he did a nice round just running past the weaves to finsh 2nd.

Test Night

Well it was test night again tonight. I really enjoy these nights as it gives me a chance to see how both Campbell and Chico are progressing. First up i had jumping with Campbell. He did a lovely round and felt quite speedy to put us in 1st place. Chico was next up, he was quite tense and ended up having one refusal but did try hard. Campbell then had contacts, ive really been working on these this year and he is pretty solid now but could still find a bit more speed. He got them all perfectly to finish 3rd. Chico was a good boy too and got all his contacts as well although could have been faster and finished up 6th.

Eastbourne Agility Show

Three classes for each of them today. First up was Campbell in the grade 1 – 4 helterskelter. There was a tricky start and then the rest was flowing, he did a lovely round getting a nice entry into the weaves clear but didn’t make it into the placings. Chico was up next and also did a nice round but popped out of the weaves early which was annoying as he did the rest very nicely although very slowly for him so he obviously wasn’t relaxed. Next was Chico in the grade 1 & 2 jumping. He did a nice start but went back over the start instead of 5! He then missed the weaves completely and stoped to have a look at a dog outside the ring…. It just got worse after that so we ended up E’d. Campbell had the jumping next and did a nice round but slipped on the wet grass and had a pole down but got the weaves perfectly.

Campbell had grade 1 & 2 agility next and again did a lovely round although it did feel very slow. He ended up 14th so not too bad really. He stopped on all his contacts and I held him there for a second as he has been flying off them recently so I was pleased with him today. We seem to have got it together again after a bad patch and im trusting him to find the weaves entries by himself. If we carry on like this he should get some nice placings this year. Last up was Chico in the agility. I didn’t expect much after his jumping performance thankfully as it was a disaster. He really wasn’t paying attention and didn’t want to work with me today and spent most of the time with his nose on the floor sniffing of barking at me! He better try harder next time or ill pull him out of competition until we seem to be working well together again. Hopefully its just an off day and I did ring party all day so didn’t get to spend much time with them so that probably didn’t help.

Tunbridge Wells Agility Show

All my runs ended up being at the same time today so everything was a bit of a rush! First up Campbell had Grade 1 agility. He did a lovely round and got a lovely weave entry even though I was no where near to end up 14th. I really tried to stay calm and relaxed today and remember ive done loads of work on the weaves and I just need to trust my dog to find them and stay in. If i worry about it I only mess things up. Then I had to run and grab Chico who had Grade 1 Jumping. He did a great round with a few VERY wide turns but got his weaves perfectly to finish with one pole down. Then I had to run Campbell straight away in Grade 1 jumping. I was still out of breath and tried to over handle him and messed it up completely! Chico had Grade 1agility last and did a lovely round stopping nicely on his contacts and getting his weaves but unfortunately he fell off the dog walk so ended up E’d he would have been clear if it wasn’t for that.

Lewis Agility Show

3 Runs for each of them today. Campbell had Graded 1 & 2 jumping first. A lovely easy course with one tricky bit. He did a good run and I couldn’t believe it when I went to check our time and we were lying in 1st we didn’t stay there though but ended up 4th which I am still very very pleased with as that’s his best place to date. It was a very fast course so I am surprised we managed a top 10 placing. Next he had Graded 1 & 2 Agility. It looked fairly easy and there were no weaves so I was looking forward to it…. But we got E’d that was after he went to say hi to Angela the judge who he knows! Last was Grade 1 – 7 Power and Speed. I didn’t expect a place in this as it was a very easy course which the higher grades would fly round. I wasn’t wrong we managed a clear but were 4 seconds behind 1st place.

This was Chico’s first Kennel Club show so I didn’t expect much as he still gets very wound up in crowded spaces. He had Graded 1 & 2 jumping first. He did a lovely clear round and got the weaves without a problem and finished only 0.2 seconds behind Campbell. He is still quite slow through tunnels and the weaves so will be much faster than Campbell when he is a bit more relaxed. His second run was Grade 1 – 7 Helterskelter. It was a very tough course with lots of jumps close together and we didn’t manage to get round but im not surprised! Last he had Graded 1 & 2 Agility he did a lovely start and then decided just like Campbell to go say hi to the judge getting us E’d. Never mind it was a great day and I cant wait for our next one.

Patenden (UKA)

Campbell had 4 runs today, Novice agility was a nice course which I thought we would get round but the bloody weaves caught us out again so we ended up with 5 faults. Novice jumping was again a nice course but Campbell really decided to be naughty and missed the weave entry then when I put him back in he came out early so I put him in again and he got it right! Other than that no problems so we finished on 15 Faults. Novice Snooker was a fairly simple course with the 2 tunnels as the 7 point obstacle again so everyone just did them 3 times. Campbell did a lovely round gaining 38 points to finish 1st. We only need a few more points now to move up to Senior. I don’t really want to yet so may not enter the Agility classes anymore until I think we are ready. Beginners Steeplechase was last and he did a lovely clear but didn’t get placed.

Chico had 2 runs today. Casual Agility was first we ended up with an E but he got his weaves perfectly so im happy. Casual Jumping was next and he did a lovely round but the weaves we on the right and I didn’t feel confident and he missed them and got confused when I tried to put him in again. He got them on the fourth go but by then we were E’d. He did try hard and has got quite speedy and really seems to be enjoying himself now!

Prested Hall (UKA)

Not the best weekend, Chico had 3 classes, Beginners Jumping, Agility and Steeplechase. He has sped up the last week or so and I wasn’t prepared so lost control a few times! Agility was nice we just missed our weave entry.

Campbell Had Novice Agility, Jumping and Time, Fault & Out. We missed the weave entry in agility and jumping but managed to get it in the time fault and out first time round but ran out of time so didn’t have to do it twice (thank god!) we ended up 4th so could have done better!

Match Night

Had ring craft club match night tonight with Alfie. I only ever go to give him more experience of being in the show ring with other breeds as Staffies don't do well against other more flashy breeds and i didn't expect to get anywhere. When i arrived i was warned by another handler that the judge doesn't like bull breeds and wont even look at there teeth! Well he was right she wouldn't go near his mouth and she asked me to show her his teeth. Hes not really used to me doing this but was very well behaved, he really has come on lots this year. She surprised me though by picking us out first in yearling, we then went on to win reserve best in match. I'm very pleased and surprised! Cant wait for the championship shows now the first one should be Southern Counties in June.

Maple leafs Multibreed Flyball

We were all mad to enter a Multibreed tournament so soon. Two of the dogs had there first ever tournament in the starters on Friday and both have only been training for a few months. Cai is very experienced but i wasn't sure if he had the will power to stay in his own lane and Frazzle is reliable but you never know what they will do the first time competing without netting! Also we were having problems with Zeus returning over the jumps at full height so had to borrow a Staffie as height dog from the Mad Mutts which turned out to be a fantastic move as he was great and got the lights spot on.

We didn't need to worry either as all the dogs put in a great performance and Cai was just amazing. He ran nearly every leg, we only pulled him so Zeus could run last as he doesn't like doesn't like dogs crossing too tight on his return. We put in some great times and didn't break out which a lot of the other teams did, we also stayed consistent and actually got slightly faster as the day went on. We finished 4th overall (out of 7) which we are all very pleased with as we didn't go to win today just see if our dogs were ready for open. It was a fantastic start to open tournaments for us and we cant wait to do more now we know we can trust our dogs!

Cai also raced in the singles competition. I did his 3 runs right at the end of the day after a full days racing in the divisions and i didn't expect great times but wow he really found some power from somewhere and put in 3 fantastic times his best being 4.09 seconds. This was good enough to win it so im very pleased. If only id run him early in the day... i think he would have managed sub 4 seconds then. He really is a dog in a million and i wont ever have another like him.

Easter Celebration Agility Show

Well a mixed weekend for Campbell. Only two runs on Saturday. Grade 1 - 3 Agility was first and he managed a nice clear but felt very slow and didn't make the placings. Then grade 1 - 3 Jumping which had and odd angle into the weaves which i was worried about and Campbell missed it but flew round the rest to end up with 5 faults.

Today didn't go much better. We had grade 1 - 2 jumping first which again had a slightly odd angle weave which i was worrying about and Campbell missed the weaves totally even with the circle he finished on a decent time so i was a bit gutted to have 5 faults. Next was the grade 1 - 2 helter skelter which was a super fast circular course that i didn't think would be a problem but guessed we would be quite slow. Well Campbell took off faster than i expected and even go us out if trouble when i went to pull him off the right jump! we finished clear to end up 19th (out of 221 dogs) so I'm very pleased as he is not a fast dog to even get a place on a course like this is a miracle. Last we had grade 1 jumping which was tire weave to start. Having missed quite a few weaves now i really was getting stressed and i wasn't surprised when we didn't get the weaves... i was surprised though when Campbell just went flying past heading for the long jump. I get the feeling he knew they were there but has decided weaves are not much fun anymore! The rest was nice so we just finished on 5 faults.

Maple leafs Flyball

It seems ages since our last flyball tournament which was back in freezing cold January. We had two teams entered today, the Power Paws Flyers were seeded 5th and had some very tough races against teams who were doing much faster times than they declared so didn't really stand a chance. We also had to borrow 2 dogs from another team and although they did fantastic its hard to get it all together when you have never raced together before. They ended up 6th out of 7 but put in some good runs.


The Power Paws were also short of dogs but thankfully all managed to keep it together. Zeus and Lolly were racing for the first time and did really well and didn't really slow as the day went on. Cai was a star and is really starting to focus on his job... now i just need to trust him a bit more! We were seeded 2nd so were hoping to do ok but were very surprised when we won every leg to finish 1st with a best time of 21.8 seconds. We had declared a time of 22 seconds and never went more than 1 second either way so managed to keep consistent too. We won a lovely framed photo which was a nice surprise. Now we just have our first multibreed on Monday to enjoy/panic about! Im not expecting much but it would be nice to get a few points.

Scrambles Sunday

First up Chico had Nursery Agility it was a very tricky course which would not have been out of place in a grade 3 course so i was not expecting to get round but my little boy surprised me and went clear. He was the only Maxi dog to get round so not bad for a baby. He went clear in all his Nursery classes this weekend so i am very pleased. He then had Beginners Steeplechase which again was not the easiest of courses but he did a lovely run clear with one huge wide turn which wasted 3 or 4 seconds to finish 2 seconds behind Campbells time.



Campbell had Novice Jumping first he missed the weave entry which was annoying as it was not a hard one then took a pole down but was very responsive so i was please with how he went. Next he had Beginners Steeplechase which he went clear in 2 seconds faster than Chico but didn't make the placings. Power & Speed was next, he usually does well in this as he is very accurate. He did a lovely power section but my handling was very messy on the speed section so although he went clear it was not as tidy as it could have been! Last he had Novice Agility which was not really the kind of course i like as i always worry doing snakes and i worry even more if there is a right hand weave... we didnt get round but i think Campbell had had enough by then anyway as he wasn't really listening anymore.

Scrambles UKA Friday & Saturday.

Well Friday turned out well. Campbell has moved up to novice and proved he can do it with a 3rd in Novice Agility. It was a good run but we seem to have lost the stop on his contacts so i will have to train them for at least one run this weekend as we have worked so hard to get them i don't want to loose them now! He went clear in Beginners Steeplechase and was the fastest clear outside the placings.

Chico just had Nursery Agility and he did a lovely round clear and in the fastest time although they dont award placings for this class.

Saturday was a busy day for us. I ring managed all day and had loads of runs with the Pairs and Laps Knockout so things were a bit hectic. First up was the Novice Royal Canine Agility. It was a tricky course but i wasn't too worried. Campbell had a great start but missed a weave out as they were on very uneven ground and all out of line. He wasn't the only one to do this. I used the rest of the round to train our contacts. He stopped lovely on the dog walk and see-saw but not his A frame so i put him back on. Then we had the pairs with Chudley. I was to run the Agility part of the course and they were going to run the jumping part. Campbell started off well but then got confused and decided to do his own thing. Chudley got an E too so i didn't feel so bad!

Next was Novice Jumping. Quite a tricky course and Campbell had a few poles down. Beginners Steeplechase was next and we managed to get a pole down again but he did a lovely run apart from that. The Laps Circular Knockout was last and Campbell was great, really flowing and felt lovely to run. We got through the first round but not the second. The dog that beat us went on to win.

Chico had Beginners Steeplechase first and he felt great and was really moving but took about 4 poles down so i think i was rushing him too much. Nursery was last and he was a little star again going clear, stopping on all his contacts perfectly. I cant wait for him to turn 18 months he is going to be so much fun to run and doesn't stick to me like glue like Campbell does.

Waverunners Day 2

I wasn't really looking forward to today after our rubbish day yesterday but my boys surprised me and pulled some good runs out of the bag.

Chico was first up in Nursery Agility on a very tricky course which was far too technical really. He surprised me though and did a lovely clear round (one of only two)and got the best time so would have won the class but as they only give out clear round rosettes we had to make do with that. I was so pleased with him i then decided to enter him in both the Steeplechase classes. Steeplechase II was first and he took the first pole down as he wasn't looking where he was going. After that he did a lovely round with no other mistakes in a faster time than Campbell! Steeplechase I was after that and he did well but got confused at a tunnel that we had to go through twice one after the other as i didnt handle it very well. Overall im very pleased with him though as this is his first proper show and he hasn't jumped outside on grass before.

Campbell had Steeplechase II first and was doing great then ran past a jump coming out of a tunnel as i had crossed behind him so we ended up with 5 faults. Beginners jumping was next. It was a very easy up and down course that he flew round clear, he did clip the last pole but thank god it stayed up! He then had Beginners Agility which i really wanted to go well as were only 4 point off moving up to Novice. When i walked the course and saw it was almost the same as Chico's agility i was worried as it was quite a tricky course. He didnt let me down though and did a lovely clear although he didnt stop on his A frame so ill be training his round next week to make sure i dont loose his contacts. I did hold him on he see-saw and dog walk today but we still finished 2nd with less than a second between us and 1st so had i pushed him we could have won. Never mind im pleased with his 8 points as that now moves us up to Novice from next week.

UKA Waverunners

Hmm... 3 runs with Campbell today and 3 E's! 2 were my fault and one was him just not paying attention. Ive really got a problem remembering courses at the moment and keep running the wrong course getting E'd in the process. The more i worry about it the worse I seem to get!! The annoying thing is i only needed 4 more points in Agility to move up to Novice which should have been easy but it was not to be today.

Chico had Nursery Agility first and did a lovely run and just ran past the last jump AGAIN. It wasn't just straight up and down so i was pleased but really feel i need to do more work getting him to run on ahead in a straight line as he tends to drift towards me. As he is so much faster than Campbell he usually gets ahead of me so i cant push him over. I then decided to enter Steeplechase as he had done so well in the Agility and was managing to stay pretty relaxed. He did a lovely run over full height and only had one confused moment due to my bad handeling as i ran him as if he was Campbell where he needs a bit more guidance. We did end up E'd but thats because i ran the wrong course... can you see a theme here? Maybe tomorrow will be better?