HATS

This was a fab show again - good fun and nice to see several people and dogs enjoying the magic of their first ever show.

Some brill results from "our gang" - specially Jules and Jette getting a well-deserved 5th in 1-2 agility!!!!! & Helen & Skip 1st in jumping and 4th in agility - yay!!!!! Maisie & I managed 3 E's - ooops! But also got 8th in the jumping, good Mouse :o) & Tim got to play in the pre-comp classes, thanks to them kindly taking a late entry on the day. The boy done good. The jumping was a good learning thing for both of us, though a bit weird having not walked the course!! Then in the agility our first run was a bit chaotic but we settled by the second one and had a super run - unfortunately some muppet had dropped something near the startline so he bogged off to sniff after the first jump and before the last, but then again it just shows he's not yet quite obsessed enough with focusing on working, though he was pretty keen! Apart from the start and finish, the rest of the round felt wonderful - what a buzz!!

It's a new experience running two dogs - and such different ones at that.

Things to remember when running Tim:

1) Don't try to race him - I won't win!! 2) Use my inside arm to push him out and on, especially on long straight bits - keeps my shoulders pointing the right way too 3) Breathing during the run might come in handy too.

Things to remember when running Maisie:

1) She's cleverer than me and sometimes gets things right when I try to go wrong LOL! 2) She doesn't pick up on such subtle body cues as Tim and I have to be clearer for her - when she engages mousey turbo boost I have to watch her and make sure I signal clearly so she turns when I do. I let her down twice on her agility runs - didn't matter though coz she had an ace time and great to see her running on confidently. 3) I do have to race her, and from her POV it's better if I cover at least twice the ground that she does and do plenty of foolish pirouetting (AKA front crosses).

And I just have to mention Jules' sloe gin/vodka ... heehee, 'nuff said!!!