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?!!