I have found agility very frustrating as its not easy training a dog with issues and i have more than one! i find other people can be so thoughtless and just because their dog can walk through a gap an inch wide with lots of dogs barking at them doesn't mean every ones can. Please next time you are maybe blocking an entry into the ring at a show or the entry into a venue think about how someone Else's dog may struggle with the pressure of passing yours as such close range.
Flyball has been great and its been horrible! I've really enjoyed training and developing all the dogs at Power Paws regardless of their speed and all the handlers are lovely people who i enjoy spending time with. We have been unlucky and not really managed to have stable teams this year so our times have been a bit up and down but i am very excited for the future as we now have 3 open teams who all seem keen to get out there and compete in 2011. We have grown a lot during 2010 and I'm not sure we will be able to take on many more dogs which is a shame. The British Champs was a bit of a disappointment as none of the 3 teams my dogs are in did very well but there is always next year. I'm looking forward to Crufts in March and feel we have improved so much this year that we really have a chance of doing well but that all depends on the draw so I'm keeping my fingers crossed we get a good one in the first round.
Saying that Campbell, Cai and Chico have all done better than i ever hoped. Chico ran at the British Champs and gained his first every flyball points. OK hes not going to set the world on fire with his 6 second times but at least hes giving it a go.
Campbell's flyball times have really improved this year and he very close to those magic 4 second times but im struggling with his focus as he has started crossing and chasing the dog in the other lane if i run him from more than 5 foot back from the start. I'm not sure this is ever something ill correct as he has such strong eye. The few agility shows he has done have been good. He won the Jumping at Eastbourne agility show and moved into Senior at UKA. Nearly every placing hes had this year has been top 5 so hopefully we can fit a bit more agility in next year.
Cai has turned a corner this year and is now out and competing in agility with no sign that i ever had a problem once he is working (although actually getting into the ring is still a challenge!) He has been placed top 5 every time he has gone clear which I'm so pleased with. Hes been an amazing flyball dog as always and pulled off some 3.8 second times over 11" and ran under 17 seconds with the Dream Team. I have also signed him up for a training day with Kelly Robbins-Walt & Aaron Robbins from Rocket Relay in Canada to see what they think we can improve on.
Roxy and Rayne have had an easy year just being pups... well OK Roxy is quite an old pup but as i already have 3 dogs competing i don't feel the need to push her to quickly! Roxy has now started flyball training and is showing promise and Rayne is now working lovely with the clicker and offering all sorts of cute and odd behaviours! She is so different from the collies and I'm enjoying the challenge.
