What can I say.......... Dylan's first proper clear round in the jumping today i.e no spinning - would have been pleased with just that but he won by 2 seconds. A lovely red rosette and a trophy!!!!! What a little star. I am soooooooooo pleased with him.
Taz is continuing with weave training and I intended to train all 4 of his rounds today but he is favouring one of his back legs so we had to pull out. Will rest him for a while and hope he improves quickly.

Oh naughty me I haven't posted anything for such a long time so a bit of catching up to do......

Taz's weaves have got worse again and on one hand I am beginning to think we will never crack it but on the other he is making me more determind to sort it out. It is such a shame because it is really holding him back but we will continue to keep at it and hopefully soon it will all come together and next season we can move up a grade or 2 (oh wouldn't that be lovely)

Dylan is progressing slowly but surely, his go-ons are getting much better and can sometimes go about 3 or 4 jumps ahead of me but we do still have a bit of spinning and barking. He had a reasonably good round at a limit show last weekend and came 6th!!! Just imagine what that would have been if we hadn't had 2 episodes of spins and barks on the course. Still it is all coming together for him and I am pleased with his progress!!

Poor Emily has had to let Hendrix go. Unfortunately his problems have proved to be too great to contend with. He had a couple of goes at her over his last few days and this; on top of all the other issues he has, was the last straw. Emily and Paul have young Ryan to think of, who is only 4. It is unthinkable what Hendrix could do to him!! Emily made a very brave, difficult but correct decision and Hendrix was put to sleep. Emily is heartbroken.
There is some happier news now..........It is a few weeks since Hendrix left and Emily & Paul felt they were now ready to have another dog. After searching the internet ads a suitable litter of Border Collies was found (in Cornwall - why is there never anything nearer when you are actively seeking?) so off we went. Cairo is his name, he was 7 weeks old when he came home and he is a beautiful red & white pup who is confident and bright. Emily and Paul are smitten!! Mind you, he is rather adorable!! It is so good to see her smiling again.

We Did It Again!!!!

We Won!!!! Taz did it again. A beautiful round and a first win at Nov Steeplechase. The weaves were much better as well - there is light at the end of the tunnel; it's a very long tunnel but there is definately a glimmer at the end of it.
Dylan did some very nice work for me as well. He used to do lots of rubbish with a few really good bits thrown in now it's the other way round. Still having trouble with straight lines though.
We are competing again at the weekend - infact we are staying in a friends camper tent so that will be a new experience for both me and the dogs. Will report back later.

Still Trying

We have been practising hard this week to try to help Taz to weave. He seemed unable to weave at all now - couldn't even do it in training. He used to have a lovely one step action but now his legs are all over the place - he really is having a crisis at the moment. So we have gone right back to the beginning and got the channel weaves out for him - we are now back to being able to do it in training but it remains to see if he can do it in the competition ring. We will find out on Saturday; as this is when our next comp is. Still doing the straight lines with Dyl - he can do them beautifully if I am not moving but as soon as I run - he herds me!!

We Did It!!!!!!

Well what a few days we have had. Thursday, Friday & Saturday was The Devon County Show and we had been asked to take part in Lauren's Devon Dog Agility display on Thurs & Fri. This is a wonderful opportunity for the dogs to work in front of lots of people, with loads of noise and things going on around them. Taz & Dylan were stars - not for their performance but for the fact that they were not bothered at all by the occasion. I was very proud of them both.

We were unable to go on Saturday as we had already entered an agility competition and what a day it turned out to be for us.

Dylan tried hard, he is doing very well but has a long way to go. Taz was his usual self - very enthusiastic but unable to do his weaves in the jumping (our 1st run). As agility came next I thought I would train his run - his contacts were very good and he ran past the weaves as expected just as they called time. So I left the ring with my nose in the air hoping that Taz thought he was leaving because he hadn't done the weaves as asked.

Then came the steeplchase which turns out to be a qualifier for the Dog Games Final at a big show in August. I watched the people go in front of me and they all handled it different to how I had planned - you question yourself then and think about changing but I decided to stick to my original plan. Boy am I glad I did. WE WON!!!!!!




Here is Taz with his 'red' rosette and goblet for winning the 'Dog Games' qualifer.



What a dog!!

My Mate Mary!!

Mary Ray has been and gone and once again it was a very sucessful event.

As you can see, she used Taz as a demo dog. She is pictured here proofing Taz's stay. I am glad to say that he remained rooted to the spot! I was so pleased because when I walked in with him she remembered his name; I suppose it helps that one of her dogs is called Taz as well but I will cling to the belief that it's because he is sooooo lovely.

Dylan really strutted his stuff for me........ it really helps if you have a food motivated dog and Dylan will sell his soul for a titbit. Mary told me that I should be entering obedience competitions with him but I don't know about that; perhaps one day.

Good Boy!

Taz gets a well deserved pat from Mary.

Here is Emily with her dog Hendrix. Can you tell from the picture he is a devil dog? Seriously though she is working very hard with him and doing well. Hendrix is a rescue dog and like most rescues he comes with some baggage but Emily is slowly unpacking his case and revealing the very lovely dog underneath.

Planet Zarg!!!!

Well what a terrible weekend. I don't know what planet I was on but it wasn't earth! We did manage to have some good bits at Blackdown agility show but there was some pretty awful stuff as well. Taz, as usual couldn't do his weaves; and this put me off my stride completely. I totally lost my flow, didn't know where I was on the course and made a complete pig's ear of things. Hey ho - I'll blame the dog!! His contacts though were to die for!!! Good boy!

Dylan is still showing improvement although still a long way to go. Those darn straight lines, when will judges learn not to put them in their courses!! I was really pleased with his steeplechase; there was one little bit that he struggled with but it was a difficult part, the rest of it he found a breeze and it wasn't an easy course.

You must always come away with something postive so......Taz's contacts were fantastic and we will continue to work on his weaves. Dylan is really starting to work away from me and we will continue with his straight line work. I do love this agility lark!!!

Practice makes perfect

Mary Ray is coming in 2 weeks time and as always I am really quite excited. It is a really good event and fills me with enthusiasm, the poor dogs usually wonder what has hit them for a while after Mary has been.

My new field - I have discovered that you have to be very disciplined with yourself and practice things that you find hard rather than the things that you enjoy. This week we have been concentrating on 'out'; taking the back of the jump rather than coming in the gap; after a fashion we have had some success at this -and will continue with the same next week. In addition Sally; we are of course still doing straight lines with Dylan; the perpetual herder:-)

Dirty monkey

and here's what a dog looks like that has rolled in slurry. I prefer the photos (and smell) of your boys!

Such handsome men

with or without their bits :-) Dylan certainly has stopped his persistant psssssing. All we need now is to convince him that Bobbie isn't a sheep and that he doesn't need to herd her if she moves. Perhaps if she stoped wearing fluffy white clothes and moving on all fours that would help? Baaaaaaa!

My Boys

I love this photo of Taz and the previous one of Dyl. Had to share them with you. Hope you like them as much as as I do.

My Boys

After much wringing of hands and butterflies in stomach, I finally plucked up courage to knock on some doors and ask if there any fields out there that I could use to practice in. Guess what? the 6th door was a yes!!!! So I have no excuses now for future poor performances - except that I don't have much equipment at the moment, however I am sure that I will think of one when the need arises.

We have had a month off, because Dylan has had his bits off. There has been an almost immediate improvement in his behaviour; I expect he is wondering what his Mum will have removed from about his person next if he doesn't behave!