Winter catch-up

I've been a rubbish blogger lately so just thought I'd try catch up in brief ...
Been to a couple of shows in between things - HnH end of Nov - dogs ran well, Mouse specially so. I let her down on 2 good runs - one where she worked a tricky tight handling bit beautifully then I forgot how hard I need to work her across a box when it's near to the start/finish end of the ring ... and one where I got lost on a simple course and she said: oh well, whilst you're pondering I'll just do this nice jumpy then ;o) Good girl. We did manage a place - 3rd I think in the jumping - least good run of the day but hey ho! No recollection of how Tim did at that show, ooops, perhaps best forgotten?! Then a couple of weekends ago we ventured down to Agiity Nuts near Newark. Worth going as it was a quieter, less crowded kind of indoor show for Tim and he ran well - just ran wide on one in the Agility and I back-jumped him over it for an 'E' but otherwise really nice, then his Jumping run he did some great bits too. Her Royal Hairiness ran well too - strangely faulted on the A-frame, then numpty me got us lost again on the Jumping (after a long year of me fairly well not getting lost, oh dear!!!!). Most pleasingly though we did manage a pull straight across a box close to the finish - she did think about flicking me a 'V' and veering off grinning but responded well and was delighted with a big whoop when we pulled of that bit for once :o) Both of these shows though were spoilt a bit by very icy roads near to the venues. I shall approach winter show-going in a much more cautious/conservative way in future, I do not like driving my precious gang on unsafe roads - agility is not worth more than their safely - ever.
Life in general has been pretty hectic - decided I needed to get a part-time Job (eeek!) for the winter and so not need to rely on outdoor work - & somehow ended up with three ... plus keeping business ticking over, plus family stuff, plus - of course - keeping hairys entertained, plus fitting in some tinkering with the Landy (got some bargain parts - it's amazing how much more economical it is with a new fuel tank without a ****ing big hole in it!!!). So all in all been a bit busy. When I have found time to nip on t'internet the laptop/internet connection has flounced off and said: how can you expect us to have a relationship when we hardly talk any more!!... ;o)
Doglets have been soooo great. We've done a lot of getting up early, going for walks in the near-dark and on rushing home at lunch/between jobs, etc. etc. and they just wag and bound on happily. We've had TONNES of snow. The toilet drain froze up for quite a while ... Billy & Tim's relationship seems to have shifted a bit. A couple of times Constable B. Woof of the Fun Police arrested Tim for petty toy/girl-sharing crimes and duffed him over lightly but soon released him without injury. This morning a really bizarre moment occured - Billy actually nuzzled Tim's neck in a friendly fashion!!?! Maisie is as delightful as ever and is just faintly amused at the boys' bickering.
Starting to waffle on now when I'd so like to spend some rare quaity time with my bed quite soon. So g'night! xxx

Bonfire weekend

This is always going to be our dreaded weekend of the year with Billy & Maisie's extreme noise fears. We got through it though with the usual multi-angle approach of every therapy known along with a large dose of avoidance. Think we drove the equivalent of Land's End to John o'Groats over a couple of nights as rolling up and down the motorways with loud dance music is the way to go! Hey ho, could be worse - at least they don't make me listen to classical music :o) When Maisie did have moments of panic, Tim was the sweetest little bro ever and he literally took her under his wing, at one point falling asleep with his paw and chin over her back whilst she was trembling. Ah bless! I think Billy did a little better but still had moments.
Anyway, knowing all this was going to be happening I'd not entered a show but then we did somehow end up going to HATS show on Sunday. It worked out well as we didn't need to be there first thing, and it turned out a cold but sunny day. Maisie doesn't tend to do as well placings-wise with the two-run per class format and also the jumps are a little over KC height which she does notice - she's only an 'ickle mouse. Anyway, yesterday she ended up placed in both classes (6th & 7th, lovely rosies!) and in both cases not clear on first run, so this time it was good to have 2 runs :) First agility run was just a pole down and first jumping run - well, I had a comedy moment and tripped and booted jump 2 right out from under Maisie as she was in mid-flight!!! LOL! So we retired in a heap of giggles and did her 2nd run instead! Tim did OK. Agility was a bit bonkers but then I felt a bit rushed and my head wasn't in the right place so I'll take the blame for crap handling. He did do some nice bits though and in the Jumping he worked pretty well. He just gnashed off slightly in the Agility as you came off the seesaw straight towards the scribe, then again so did Maisie!!!! Both runs!!! Haha. Her time would've been better but for that but no way was the lady for turning!........ It's a real victory that Tim is pretty reliably staying with me now and he's not snogged a polepicker/judge for weeks now (famous last words?!)
Lots of our pals did super well too and it was a good fun day out all round.

We are very tired today zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Spookily good weekend

It had been a month since our last show when we went to Hare N Hounds halloween show (woooooo!) this weekend. Bit of a strange one really as it was a two-day show but I ended up driving there and back both days to near Richmond, wasn't too bad though as it was the w/e the clocks went back so an extra hour in bed. On Saturday we had our first agility run early. I thought Maisie might be a bit bonkers with having done no agility at all in a month - I was right, she was!! It was all a bit chaotic to be honest, haha - very E'd but ace fun! Then it was Tim. After Myerscough the other week I was unsure how he'd be indoors again but I needn't have worried coz he was rather ace!! Just fluffed the weave entry and I didn't turn him quickly enough on a diagonal towards the end, but pretty good focus. He wasn't as fast as he can be - slightly hesitant, but v v pleasing, good boy! Our second agility class - and only other class entered that day - went up late morning and Tim was first - again he did some lovely work and only a couple of minor mistakes. Was looking forward to running it with Maisie and went to get her - loitered for a couple of minutes on the way back to the ring but not long but was then gutted to find that the class had already closed!!! It was such a Mousey course too, BOOHOO. Sara and Tilly did the same thing too - also gutted. Oh well.
Ended up staying a bit longer into the aft anyway and sooooooooo glad I did coz though I blinked and actually missed their run - arrrg! - Jules (following the earlier victory of actually getting to the show!.. teehee) and super Jette won the G1 Jumping!!!!!!!!! ACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! & Sara & Tilly came 3rd!!!!!!! So it turned out to be a SUPER-FAB day after all :o) & Billy met his doppelganger in the shape of a lovely boy called Harvey. Billy even liked him!! Till Harvey liked Billy so much he tried to hop on and have sex so then Billy didn't like him so much any more ;o)

Lookeee, I got a rosie all of my very own!!
& I arranged my beard specially for this pic :)

Back up on Sunday to do it all again. Maisie was entered in 3 classes this time, Tim just 2. First up was Maisie's Jumping - nice course, she was a little spooked (wooooo) but ran well considering, specially as she coped with a big man judge (Doc) and a big man polepicker in a big hat - both stood on the outside of the 12 weaves. Clever brave Mouse, and she finished 3rd!! Then it was their agility class. It was a nice course for Tim so we went for it! Second obstacle was the dogwalk though and just outside the ring at the bottom end was a photographer plus a WITCH in a big tall hat!!! Tim wasn't the only dog who stopped in their tracks! So he spent several horrified seconds at the top of the down plank. He then carried on though and worked really well round the rest of the course, picking up the speed he's capable of when he's happeeee. Couple more slightly hairy moments - one with a turn away from the edge of the ring where the ring party included some of his best human pals! & then another turn that I just handled too late but he responded ace when I did pull him round. In a blurry waggy ginger heap we landed at the finish - CLEAR!!!!! Bearing in mind it was the first time we've not been E'd at a KC show it felt pretty damn fab!!! :o) Still in a state of shock it was time to run the Mouse - and she didn't half go for it too!!... I know Tim lost a few seconds on the dogwalk but otherwise he was v fast, but the little fluffy one actually beat him on time, bless her!!! In the end she finished 2nd and Tim 3rd!!!! His first KC rosette was appropriately ginger (pumpkin?) & black :o) My mum had baked ginger biccies which seemed an apt celebration :) The afternoon is all a bit blurry but I remember smiling lots!!!! & watching Helen & Belle also do a really super round with just an unlucky pole down, they are doing sooo well too!!!! & then late aft we had another Agility class. Tim's brain exploded slightly and he charged under a couple of jumps and orbited off the seesaw, but he still did some nice bits and stayed with me and carried on even when it started to go a bit pear-shaped. Then Maisie came out and pretty much stormed round again, v speedy considering it was her last run of the day, and she finished 3rd again!!! So clocking up lots of lovely points and prizes and still cleverly staying in G2!!! Ahhhhhh happy happy days :o)

Seasons

Last week it was summer, this week it is winter. Anyone seen autumn anywhere?...

Vaccinations

Oh yes, that dreaded annual event for Billy & Maisie. The bad bit is the kennel cough vaccine up the nose. I debate with myself about them having this vaccine every time, it really is a horrid thing to endure. What I decided this time was to have Billy done but not Maisie - two reasons: one is that though Billy is also very upset by it, he gets over things more easily than Maisie does; secondly, when Tim had his earlier in the year, Maisie developed a minor sniffle which suggests that she picked up some of the live vaccine shed from Tim's nose - harldy surprising as those two do live in each other's faces! Also, now Billy's been done there is a fair chance of him also shedding some of the vaccine to the other two and so they share the immunity around. Anyway, it'll have to do.
Today we saw the vet who originally dealt with Billy's heart issues and I was interested to hear what he thought of his heart now, whether there had been any deterioration - well, no!!! & not only that but it has improved again to the point that in every way it is within the "normal" range!! YippEEEEEE! He said that if he'd never met Billy before he wouldn't say that he was a dog who'd ever had a heart problem at all!!! Big smiles :-D I do so love that big soft dog.

Sulking

So then it was Maisie's turn. Went out to get her from the Landy. As she jumped out, on lead, she realised where she was going and she shot off. OMG, her lead slipped through my hand and she was away. I was soooo scared as it's near a road - can't believe I didn't doubly secure her, not like me at all as I'm completely paranoid about her safety especially. Of course I immediately leapt after her and dived to rugby tackle. My head nutting the wing of the car parked next to us made such a bang it actually startled her into stopping dead and I grabbed the lead as I landed, so she only actually got a couple of feet away. Ouch (again!! lol). So I gathered us together and staggered in, trying not to look like a total loon, but as I was sat there with her I could feel blood oozing through my trouser legs. I've got two badly grazed knees and an elbow - look like a 7-year-old after a bad playground tumble! and an egg on my head! Anyway, back to Maisie ... she did very well and also has a clean bill of health. Checked both their weights and they are both a little leaner than last year - Maisie about 14.8kg and Billy 17.9kg. I think Billy's slightly on the lean side myself but the vet was v pleased with him at that. I think their body shapes have changed for the better since they've been having more raw food.

Told you there's a whippet-slim doglet inside this Polar Bear suit, nurrr!

Also got a bucketful of their firework meds and we're as prepared as we can be for that horror to come.
So hopefully they will avoid the v.e.t. until next year ... Tim's due at a different time but he is soooo easy to do compared to the wibbly jelly pair.
Called to get them big bones as a treat on the way home but there were none, so they've got a big disgusting pile of tripe instead. Me, I need a stiff drink!!!!!!

big dogs small bed (cont.)

You use all that effort to get your second pair of legs in and then
 the first pair pops out. Ohhh my brain cell's too tired, zzzzzzzzzzzzz

darkening nights

This week started off wondrously when Tm stuck his toenail in my eye! Not his fault really - he was pestering Maisie to play with him and she kept saying "No, Tim, go away", and Tim being Tim kept prodding her more till she said "SOD OFF TIM!!!" and Billy joined in: "YEAH, SOD OFF TIM!!" So he sodded off ... over my shoulder ... via my eyelid. Result was some handsome bleeding, swelling and afterwards a black scabby eye. Dogs!!!! Course it was my good eye and the other one is so duff I was a little stuffed till the swelling went down as I couldn't actually see much - like: the road (so no driving), computer screen, phone display, telly, mirror!!! - so at least I couldn't really see how awful it looked, haha! 
Anyway, wounds heal. 
Whilst pottering round in a partially sighted state I came across an old puppy bed of Maisie's so gave it a wash (just to keep it fresh, there is no patter of tiny paws!!) Left it out on the landing to air and it started all sorts of fun!... Both Billy & Tim have come over all Goldilocks and have to keep trying it for size & comfort. Honestly, it's only about 18" across, they are Too Big!! But they're both constantly in and out of it - & when one of them's in, the other lays beside it looking mournful and waiting for his turn! Maisie thinks they are nuts and reclines in luxury in the big bed in the other room.

Billy's good squidging technique

Tim tries the reversing in method ...

Ummm nearly ...

Duh, look, just can't quite get that last ear in!



Boys are buffoons

 Training
No shows for 3 weeks (arrrrg!) but we had a training day on Saturday. I am soooooooooo chuffed with how Tim has started working the past few weeks. No bogging off, fab focus. We've kept everything pretty simple for him all along, to build his confidence, and now it's really starting to pay off and it feels like we've turned a definate corner. When I get the handling right he can do lots of the harder stuff already and he's so keen & speedy. Sort of by accident we ended up playing with the higher grades group and I wouldn't have thought he would cope but he did really, really well. Oooo exciting boy!!!!! Just need to keep working on transferring that focus to shows now ... Still not decided whether to do the indoor shows with him; much more looking forward to the spring anyway though. Maisie bounced off the subs bench & did the last bit of the training session and ran at medium and she was a very happy girly too and quite giddy!

This morning loads of crazy people ran up our road. The dogs wuffed for a while but soon got bored. It was the Bradford City Run. Well done crazy people.

Weather has really turned this week and it's quite chilly at night. Not lit a fire yet but it's stacked up ready to go. Brrrrrrrrrr.

Male Bonding

OK, I know this is not a remarkable sight in most doggy households but my Billydog is not a snuggler - well he luurves human snuggling but not dogs really. He does quietly adore Maisie and always has, and will let her lay with him sometimes, and recently in the back of the car he's even let her lay her chin on his flank! Tim is a huge snuggler and sidles up to Maisie a lot and rests his chin adoringly on her, which she sometimes consents to - yeah, she is the princess! But the boys ... snuggling together ... nah, never!... Tim sometimes brushes past Billy and Billy goes "ARRGG, GEROFF ME, MUM, HE TOUCHED ME, HELP!!!" (Think Christopher Biggins' "IT WAS ON ME!!!" moment with the rat in the jungle.)

This state of affairs held till just the last few days ... when suddenly snuggling broke out!!!!!!!! OK, it's only bum snuggling so far but ahhhhh just look at my sweet snuggley boyz!!! heehee :o) xxxx

Random pics

 Just coz the camera was gathering dust.

May the light of the universe shine bounteously upon his golden pate

Tim having a kip 

The beastie slumbers yet maintains a watchful eye

Billy having a kip

'Tis the season of the Swamp Monster

Maisie's daily bath

Lune @ Myerscough

We got a sunny day - sandwiched between the two very soggy days of Friday and today. Maisie, true to form, got swampy within about 30 seconds. She's really getting her winter Polar Bear coat on now so she looked a right state, lol! First up was the 1-2 Agility. Tim was in first and I got him there right at the start so he didn't have to queue for long, but the poor lad didn't cope well with the noisy big arena. He set off and ducked under the first jump, onto the dogwalk, which he almost crept over - normally his dogwalk is excellently rapid!.. & it didn't get any better. He was just freaked and I felt sad for him so brought him out and cuddled him. Maisie went in shortly after. The course should've been great for her - it was a bit weird! - sharp turns off both the A-frame and seesaw - she can do stuff like that, but she, also, was really not happy. She got uncomfortable on the startline - barky dogs, tannoy, no space - and she wasn't right. I hate hate hate how they corral the queue between barriers. She missed an easy weave entry even though I was close to support her, and then pulled in past a jump, so I just brought her out and gave her a big cuddle too. All this by about 8.45 - not the best start :o( Took them all out for a bit of a relaxing run. Then Maisie had her 1-4 gr Agility - luckily, this time it was in the far end of the smaller arena - it feels different again in there, though it's still busy, the acoustics are much softer. There was a queue a mile long (terrible calling in!) so I sat with her in the gallery for a while in the hope that it might go down - it didn't, so once she seemed a bit more settled anyway I took her ticket and joined the queue for a while, then asked the person behind us (with a stunning Flattie) to hold our place and I took her outside for a few mins before popping back in near the front of the queue. She ran OK, not outstanding but business-like. She did do a beautiful send on to a tunnel which took me by surprise! Anyway, she finished 3rd in the class which was lovely :) Then we had another course to walk - 1-4 gr Jumping. It was a twisty-turny one with v tight spacing in bits - a very Mousey course! She set off a bit distracted and the first pull-through bit was clonky, but then we got it together a bit more. On the tight bit at the far end I did about 17 front crosses (OK, maybe not quite 17, haha) and she liked that. Unfortunately, between us we had a pole down ... I'm not sure but I think it was a pole that's I'd half backed into going a bit deep into the box so I may well had dislodged it with my bum before Maisie rolled it?!!... Oh well, we are a team, we'll take joint responsibility ;o) Shame really coz the last bit of the course was ace - I did a sudden sprint past the cloth tunnel to a blind pick-up - love doing those, I think it's the danger!!! hehe. In the end she got 5th anyway on 5F - her time something like 0.05 behind the winner - and she did stutter a fraction after the pole rolled, so if it hadn't ...... Oh well, it would've been a fluke win anyway, we weren't that fast but could've just got ridiculously lucky :) So that was Maisie done! Debated whether to stay for Tim's 1-2 Jumping class much later in the aft but had to wait for results/presentations anyway so did. 
Helen & I took our big lad passengers Jock & Billy ' the pathfinder' Woof for a really pleasant walk - partly along a canal and stream. Never ventured much forther than the exercise field there before so it was a great find and lovely for the boys to have their special bit of day too. During the aft I took Tim into the arena to try to chill him out a bit. It's not an easy place to work with them though coz you can't really find a space to sit out of the way. Eventually our course went up and it was a nice, simple flowing one - very Tim really, and it was in the smaller arena. He was much better than in the morning though still quite distracted. One bit of it went well - sent him out over 3 jumps to a tunnel and then out straight on to another jump then weaves with me wide on his left - he made a fair attempt at the weaves though unusually entered on the wrong side.
I really don't know what to do about future indoor shows with him. He clearly took a step backwards yesterday from how well he's started to do at the outdoor shows. I don't want to stress him too much when he's been coming so good and am half thinking of just giving him a rest from shows over the winter and focusing on more training. It's so much about confidence with that boy - he is a very delicate little flower. He did wander round there a lot last winter and through the day yesterday and became quite relaxed outside the ring, but once you get in there and ask them to work it is different? Also I saw several loose dogs run into rings - two with bovver on their minds and I think a dog that was running was actually hurt. If something like that happened to Tim it really would upset him lots - well it would any dog :o( On that last run when it went awry I brought him into me and gave him a quick stroke and then carried on and calmly did a little sequence and praised him. so he did come out of the ring on a positive. I'm quite scared of being told off for blatantly "training in the ring" but sometimes it's what's needed. Will see how he does at the next one and then decide what to do.
We called in at my parents' on the way home and were stroked and fed, respectively, so that was a nice finish to our long day out.

Fallen Hero

He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog
You are his life, his love, his leader
He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart
You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion
Author Unknown

I love the above poem and always think it could've been written for my superheroBillydog.

Well, I did ...

Yesterday I was working in a garden and best mate, Billy Woof, was happily helping as usual. I was walking along a flagstone path on my way to pick up a rake when something shot in front of me like a bouncing bomb - it scudded right underfoot and suddenly the world turned sideways and I landed in a messy heap. As I lay there gently flexing and probing for snapped bits of body my faithful boy came nuzzling and wagging, all concerned, to check I was OK. My hero. Very 'Lassie Come Home'. Or so I thought ... As I uncurled he pounced in and retrieved the windfall apple he'd decided was a great ball!!! Applications for a new best mate are now being taken. ;o)

Twice the bridesmaid

Hare & Hounds up near Barnard Castle again this weekend. I felt a bit late and rushed setting off on Thursday eve, having just had a towbar fitted on 'the blue car' in the afternoon - wasn't sure how it would tow but in fact it pulled the mousehouse beautifully, good. Drove through a huge downpour on the A1 but arrived in the dry and calm, though dark, late evening. Our home went up without problems - managed it on my own with no swearing. Norrrty Tim stole and scoffed an entire loaf of bread, thankfully with no bad effects later. After a nice cup of tea and a bit of faffing it was bedtime. Snuggled into the luxury of the proper bed, read for a bit and then went to sleep. Half an hour later it sounded like all hell was breaking loose!!!!.. A strong wind had suddenly got up and the mousehouse was not coping well! I won't go though all the ups and down of the night - the trip outdoors in shorts and bare feet with bits of string in a force nine gale at 4am, the lying in bed worrying about whether the dogs would be safer in the car, the gusts so strong that the mousehouse felt like it was flapping its wings preparing for flight ... Think I managed less than an hour's sleep all night. Finally got things into better shape and drifted off about 5.30am, then at 6am other people started getting up and hammering down their surroundings too! Oh well, no sleep. Hindsight is great and I now know how to make it all secure - I sort of did anyway but the evening had been so still and calm when setting up I hadn't thought about how things might change in the wee small hours.
Anyway, I was working on a ring all day so had to be up and about and bright and breezy. The weather was really bloody awful! Cold, wet, windy, dismal. The cheerful spirit of those shows though is incredible and there were smiling - though somewhat blue and dripping! - faces all day. Maisie & Tim were entered in 2 classes each. Fisrt up was a 1-4 gr agility - decided it was too tricky for Tim so didn't run him, but perfect for the Mouse - she came second!!! Later ran them both in a 1-4 Jumping class - Maisie went clear and fastish, though it was too fast a course for her to be placed, but this time it was perfect for young Tim who did a really lovely run - going forward but also listening well. He just ducked under 2 jumps on a turn before the weaves - probably coz I was stressing slightly about the weaves - thanks to Suzanne for noticing that :) Really super pleased with him though. We managed to get our ring finished quite early so I took all three dogs for a long walk and ball session over the fields. It really is a nice venue. Steaming casserole for dinner, couple of beers with Billy (& some humans! haha) in the real ale marquee, and in bed for 9pm - big ZZZZZZZZZZZZs all night, ah bliss.
Saturday morning dawned cold but sunny. sadly Jules and the gang couldn't make it and we so missed them :(
First class was an Agility - ran Tim first and - Oh no! He'd gone into lala land!! Did some OK bits though and he did stay in the ring with me which is about the best I can say! Maisie ran clear and came third!! Had no more runs then till late aft so after getting everyone walked and fed we chilled in the mousehouse - I drank several gallons of coffee and did some reading, really nice to just kick back for once. Maisie had another Agility run in the aft - she wasn't very up for it (dunno why!). Almost got round but there was a bit where you had to do a sharp left after the weaves so I crossed to her left and she missed the entry - really need to do some work on that, though she can weave both sides really! lol. Typical - I popped her back through the weaves now on my left and she pushed out beautifully to make the turn after. Oh well! Another hour or so till Tim's Jumping class. It was a fab course for him but I was a bit unsure about running him after the morning's wayward run. After sitting in the sun and being inspired by G6-7 Jumping and supping vino with Louise & wannabee-collie-Saff ;o) I did run him and he did ever so well - just fluffing the weave entry and then I think I pulled him past one jump. Not sure if I was slightly pissed or it was the low sun, but on leaving the ring I thanked the Photographer rather than the Judge, lol!!! Saturday evening brought more beer (cannot get over the perfectness of agility and superb real ale in one location!!) and we had v funny chocolate quiz confusion!!... And so to bed.
Sunday was cold but sunny again. Worked on a ring again. Maisie came second again!! Can't even remember running the course but I'm sure it was lovely?! Tim did two runs again - first one was a bit iffy - he lost his focus a bit, but then late in the day he ran in another Jumping class and worked soooo well - at a stage in the w/e when his brain has normally exploded. He even got a fast weave entry and did some totally amazing distance work, I'm in awe of my little ginger man at times. Got a couple of ace encouraging comments about him too :o) Best run of the w/e was then Maisie in another Jumping class - screeched up to the ring at the last minute (had been busy on our ring), bowled her over the first jump and she knocked the pole on number 4 so I called it a day - no time for 5 faults!! lol! BUT it was the best run coz of the bonkers way she set off - in fact knocking the pole as she bombed round the outside of a box toooo fast!!
The friendly feel of these shows is brill. This one had six rings so really quite big, but still easily maintained that fluffy feeling. As ring party spirits were flagging mid-aft Chris tannoyed for everyone to get themselves a hot choc from the caterers - not just any hot choc but huuuuge frothy ones with cream and a flake.
Ah what a great show :) And v v pleased with Maisie cleverly managing to just about stay in G2 - but two 2nds and a 3rd - a bit too close for comfort, little Mouse! x

Wrong side of bed

The alarm went off at dark o'clock this morning to get us up for Ribble show. Unused to such an early disturbance, young Tim leapt up on the bed and instantly fell back fast asleep tightly snuggled in my arms, snoring like an angel - do angels snore?? Getting up (once 'snooze' had happened a couple of times) was then a struggle! In fact, I stumbled out of the wrong side of bed ... Perhaps this was a sign/omen/portent ...
Set off - cold and drizzly out, steamy in the car. Arrived, got out of the car into a big puddle, and splomped (cross between splooshing and stomping?) into the arena to walk our first course. Over an hour later the judge arrived, having got lost/delayed en route - not her fault, I'm sure, these things happen, but the upshot was we had 3 courses to walk one after the other, then to run at the same time - two dogs, small classes, all got a bit stressful TBH.
The reason I decided to enter this show actually was coz there was a helter-skelter class and I thought Tim would love it! Sadly a) the course was very, very tight in bits (in fact there were v few clears, which I don't think is what normally happens in HSs?) and b) it was in "that ring" the one near the overlooking spectator gallery where Maisie frrrrreaked at the same show last year! Tim, bless him, was similarly utterly horrified that people were hanging over looking down on him!!! We then dashed to the safer far end of the arena for the graded agility - again the course was tight and we struggled with bits, though he settled more and did do some good bits. Then on to the combined 1-3 agility - loved this course for him - though the space was still small, it was a much more baby-friendly course and he did very well indeed :)
Then the graded agility was closing so I had to dash and get Maisie (who had to have a hasty wee en route - what with waiting for the judge I'd not even had chance to take them out for a proper stretch.) The tight course was OK for her and she ran really well - just I rushed her dogwalk a little and as there was a jump v close after it, she just about popped her contact - good run though. And it was won by Sue & little Rosie anyway, so that was nice :) Didn't then have time to think about whether to run her in the comb 1-3 agility - v unusual for me to enter her actually - anyway it was there, the queue was short, so we did it. In that she ran a clear - the tannoy went off overhead(!) when she was in the middle of the weaves, so she stopped and looked up, but carried on for a tidy enough clear - just missed the places, they weren't generous. Then waited at least 4 hours for our only remaining run in the graded jumping. She set off surprisingly swiftly for a third run late in the day (hooray for the minced venison brunch!!) and did the hard bits - beautiful wrong end of a tunnel, then sent on round a loop and I front crossed before the weaves to be on the right side to try avoid her being spooked as Tim had been by the gallery - she never looked! lol! But that left me needing to do a rear cross at the next jump. Note to self: unless Maisie has decided to bog off in front and force me into an unplanned rear cross, then planned manouvres must not be made until she is actually in the air over the jump ... I cut across just as she gathered to take off but, being the clever little mouse she is, she heroically pulled off and came with me!! So then we came come.
The clear round rosettes were worth mentioning for their crapness!...
Oh but good results did happen: Sue & Rosie, Lou & Radlleeeeee, Steph & Lucy all won out of their grades, well done all of them!!! & Billy bummed bits of sandwich, pie, crisps, cheese and god knows what else, so he had fun :)
Home now - bathed, had shepherd's pie and a glass of wine - still feeling knackered, damp, cold and shoulda/coulda maybe stayed in the right side of bed this morning?.....
THERE!!! To the person who said I'm always positive - what a moaning git, eh!!!! ;o)
Oh and ... on the way home there was a young man wandering on the motorway - thankfully, the police had stopped to escort him safely across though. And then we got stopped at roadworks for ages, then at the level crossing for ages. And then the sun mockingly came out but as soon as I pulled the car up at home and opened the door, it joyfully pee'd it down again!!!! OK, enough already ;o)

Glorious Mud - Wigan

This weekend we went to Wigan show - which is actually near Preston. Friday was a mucky horrible day but we set off undeterred with our new home on wheels, 'The Mouse House', in tow. The Landy had a jolly old chug over the Pennines, barely noticing its new burden. We arrived about teatime and set up straight away - with a little kind help from Helen it was up and moved into within about 20 mins! Still not quite got the method by which you can put it up with the roof in place, but will keep fiddling! (Trying to put it away to facilitate this for next time resulted in a bumped head and some bad words!!! lol) The showground is in a nice location, unfortunately it's also a very very VERY badly drained location! There was a fair bit of rain but outside in the real world it was still quite normal. There, though, it was a quagmire!!! Saturday dawned wet and muddy ... The show squelshed on though. Maisie had an early running order in her first (Jumping) class - thankfully coz it was in the worst ring! She did an OK run - going well up till the tunnel where there was a very interesting sniff, and then eventually out of the tunnel into the weaves sloooowly coz she wanted to go back to investigate further! :) Still somehow managed to end up 5th though!! Luckily her Agility run was also in not too bad conditions and she did a tidy enough run to finish 4th - doing some of those lovely tight turns she can do if she has her listening ears on, haha. I ummed and ahhed about running Tim coz of safety, but decided he should be OK as it was fairly straightforward and I could make sure he was straight and steadyish for the contacts. He did a really super run actually - just nipped under one jump before the seesaw and popped out of the 12 weaves. He worked so nicely though and he had his listening ears on too! He was very funny at the start where the ground had got awful - normally he does a 'down'- or 'bow'-wait but No Way was he putting his tum in that mud so we improvised a stand-wait - which actually worked! He almost did a Jumping run too but was frrrrrrreaked by a walkie-talkie (my big brave boy!) and so I pulled him out before we started. The chap with the WT was very apologetic (not his fault) and when I took Tim straight over to seek his monster, he gave him a lovely cuddle with the WT in hand and all was well in the ginger world again. And that was the end of the Agility. It rained more overnight and then this morning we wallowed round the courses but the day was cancelled before it started - sad but totally sensible decision.

It wasn't all mud-wrestling - Helen & I had yummy hot choc with Baileys in and ginger bics. It was heaven to not be crawling in and out of the small tent in the soupy mud - amazing timing for the Mouse House to turn up in our world and it's earned its cost already, I reckon.

Terribly impractical venue, cancelled day, MUD MUD MUD, oh and more MUD. Would we go again? You betcha! :o)

AMAZING Maisie Mouse!!!

Not blogged for a while due to a wonky dongle(!) so looooads to catch up on! Here goes ...

Last weekend we went to Dog Vegas. The main reason for going to this show was to support Helen & Skip, and Sara & Tilly in the First Contact Finals!! I wasn't sure I'd be able to get there on the Friday so just entered each dog in one class on the off-chance - this just so happened to be the FC qualifier and Maisie only went and came 3rd and so qualified!!! Hadn't even walked the course! :-O Oh! And not only that, that result also gave her the last few points she needed for her Agility Warrant (Silver)!!! Crikey! :-O
Through the night on Friday both Maisie and Tim were quite restless and had slightly runny bums - the after-effect of bones I should've taken off them sooner on Thursday, bad mummy. Billy retriever guts was fine :) Maisie did one run on Saturday morning but didn't feel right so I pulled both of them from their runs that day, to give their tums chance to recover. The Finals were on the Sunday evening. I decided not to do any runs with Maisie through the day anyway to save her energy for her big moment - this proved to be a good decision. Did a couple of runs with Tim though and he did really very well, I was so pleased with him. He also had a lovely little mad gallop with sweetie-pie Pickle! The day was reaaaaaaaaaally windy! There was a flying marquee incident and all classes in the aft were run without dogwalks, for safety. Sadly Jules and Jette had to retire injured from the day, we did miss them :(

The evening came and our course was built!...... Still no dogwalk (yippee - it's our 'dodgiest' obstacle!) - instead we had 2 A-frames, one after the other - very unusual but great fun! There was supposed to be a wall for the last obstacle but bricks were flying in the 'breeze' so it was replaced by a spread jump. There was, though, a wishing well, very exciting!! I felt quite confident Maisie would jump it OK and she did - no hesistation at all! It was a bit scarey watching the audience gather with chairs and beers, eeek! Helen & Skip were first to go - Helen was amazing as she'd  had months to worry about it but just got on and did it - unfortunately big Skip just missed one of his A-frame contacts -well, 2 in a row is a lot to ask for! :) Good run though! Then next up were Sara and Tilly. Unfortunately Tilly was very spooked by the wishing well and was having none of it! Think she might've had a fault by then anyway though? Still very well done though! We were to run nearly at the end of the class. Maisie and I went for a wander and just got to the ring at the last minute. I heard there had been quite a few fast clears so decided we had absolutely nothing to lose and might as well just go for it!! As we got on the startline, ready and raring, the timing broke!! They had one of those big display timers. Whilst they were trying to fix it the commentator had the crowd doing Mexican waves, lol! Then we were off!..... Oh it was F.U.N.! Maisie soooo rose to the occasion and ran as fast as her little fluffy legs could take her! Had a couple of hairy moments - one at a top corner when she spotted a surprising number of people sat by the ringropes and actually almost stopped to grin! Then there was a seesaw which was directly followed by the back of the start jump - I so knew she'd want to jump that rather than the left turn we needed, and despite all efforts I very nearly lost her there! The crowd ooohed! Rest of it went quite smoothly - though we fumbled the approach to the weaves as she was going far faster than planned and I was totally in the wrong place! lol! The Judge's hand stayed down though! The 12 weaves were in a corner running into space - towards people - so I had to work her closely through those, and then you turned in for the home straight which was jump-spread-jump-spread - running like hell togther down that line was such a buzz!!! Loved it, loved it, loved it!!!!!!!! And to cap it all she got a lovely 9th place rosette - really super-duper excellent as there were some very fast dogs in there. That little fluffy girly dog never ceases to amaze me and I'm very, very, very proud of her. Dream come true. :D
And I accidentally bought a trailer tent! Was helped with it by such kindness from mates - towing, storing, packing, paying, mechanic-ing. Very blessed indeed with lovely mates, made me go all fluffy! :)
And then Billy flyballed at Drax on the Monday - he was as fab as ever, the team didn't do owt as little Dylan kept, uncharacteristically, running out. Very good day though, enjoyed it.
During the week the Landy got its tailgate guard made & fitted by our lovely mechanic friend Martin - it's all proper posh!!
I put up the trailer tent and it took about an hour - lol! That was with crap non-diagramatic instructions and no clue what went where though, so maybe not too bad. I think I could do it much faster already and it packed down in 5 mins flat. Mum helped with giving it a good clean - though it has been kept beautifully for its age (old!) - and she's made it some pretty new curtains, cushions, etc. Cool!
Tim & I went on a training day on Saturday - he was such a good lad. Really looking forward to next year with him, think he's starting to grow up a little - slooowly, as blokes do :)
It's feeling definately autumnal out and not in a good way - drizzley and darkening. Got to look forward though - to roaring fires and sloe gin! And to look back on a really wonderful agility season :o)

West Lakes

Not Wet Lakes this year - well, it did rain a lot but all at night, how kind! 
This may be the most amazing show location - the exercise area is the beach! And a perfect doggy beach it is too. The facilities are excellent too - great club house, great toilets, great beer, great coffee, just great!
Maisie Mouse did pretty well - 3rd, 6th and 7th place rosies! Not bad from 4 runs :) Actually the run she didn't get placed on was her best in a way as she was most speedy, though she broke her wait (& I didn't put her back - Bad Human) instead taking a weird detour round the outside of the dogwalk where the (surprised!) judge dodged out of the way, lol! In all the hilarity of this she missed the contact and then later took out a pole with a flying leap - not E'd though. So from 7/8 Es last week to none this week, haha!
Tim kept up the E quota though. He was much less focused this time and downright hard work at times. I was really encouraged by how he ran last weekend but it's two forward and one back sometimes ... Dogs are such great levellers! Anyway, the one run he set off superbly on I stoooopidly twitched a shoulder and pulled him off a tunnel, arrrg! (Bad Human again) He had fun though and did do some nice bits. He also had a super walk on the beach with a big gang of dogs - which he's not really done before - and he behaved v nicely and had a whale of a time.
Billy had several walks on the beach and one into the village. He was a bit confused by beautiful big bouncing baby Flynn but just did a bit of slightly nonplussed gentle woofing, lol :o)
It is a great show but in future I'd defo try to make at least a long weekend out of it as it felt like too far to go for just two days - v v tired driving home last night.

Big Ta to Louise McGovern and Laura Sivell for pics of Miss Mouse and The Ginger One respectively :)

Hare n Hounds

(Zebra Danio - not my pic)

Our first 4-day show - and what a superb one! The HnH shows are so brilliantly run - nothing too much bother, lots of smiling faces all the time, sweeties, real ale - lots of fantastic real ale - agility heaven!!!!!!!! Oh, & some agility :)
Friday was an awful day weather-wise but both Maisie & Tim did their best runs EVER! Tim did a paw-perfect agility run, apart from when we came round to the weaves near the end & he had to briefly gnash off to tell Auntie Karen on the startline how Clever he was being :) But he did come right back and carry on nicely, bless him! Someone said he just got embarassed coz I said "weeeaveees" in the silly high-pitched voice Maisie loves, so may try to be a little more cool & blokey for him next time, lol. I was really pleased with how he did all weekend - just did that one run on Friday then two each on Sat & Sun, and he didn't completely lose the plot as he has before a bit over multi-day shows. His focus really is getting better and he did lots of nice bits, only going under the very odd jump. His contacts were just ace, as were his startline waits - only went under one first jump, so hopefully that's almost fixed. He's tending to miss weave entries but I think it's pure excitement and him feeling a bit anxious about the change of pace required? He so can weave! Took him up on the fields last night and tried to replicate the speed he gets up in the ring by racing him into the weaves from a flat-out gallop halfway across the field - both sides, all angles, and he can soooo do them, so we shall now work harder on that happening in the ring :)
Mad Maisie Mouse ... In the cold, wet, windy weather on Friday she was Amazing. I'd walked the course with the wrong dog in mind (doh!) so wasn't sure how to run it, but I needn't have worried coz she was supersonic (for her) - specially driving through the weaves like a collie!! I had to put in unexpected rear crosses all over the place! Knew it was a v competitive run and the dogwalk was second last obstacle - I had a rush of blood to the head and just screeched her over it a bit hard and she must've just missed the contact. In the event she finished 5th anyway with a pretty rosie and fortunately she'd have not won it anyway if she'd gone clear - though I don't want her to win out anyway!.. OK so that was the good bit ................... I ddn't even realise this till we got home but over the rest of the weekend we got nothing but Es!!! SEVEN of them to be precise!! Mix of her being surprisingly speedy and going lalalala with paws in lugs whilst dashing off in random directions, and me doing some spectacularly crap handling - on one run I actually got lost between jumps 1 and 2. Oh dear!!!!!!!! No matter though, it was fab and v positive :D
Jules & Jette breezed in on Sunday and then limped home with a fantastic 3rd in g1 agility, sooooo well done!!!! & many other good runs from - well everyone but me & the mouse, hehe.
I had a ridiculous nearly v serious accident with an exploding duck egg on Tues. Now that would've been one for the Darwin Awards ...
Got some pretty new tropical fish yesterday. Not had a tank set up for ages so that's fun. Maisie has been watching them in a that's-dinner kind of way, but they are safe :)
Hopefully Mr Woof is flyball training tonight. He had an ace w/e at HnH - cheesy chips, pub dogging and tent-warming. He'll be happy to play on the beach at West Lakes this w/e too, happy doggy days.

Culture, innit!

I did manage a little culture today in a visit to our local gallery. South Square is just down in the village (Thornton) and it's an ace little place. The current exhibition is of some local images - the project focusing on the "snickets" - tiny paths between houses, fields, lanes, etc. that we have loads of round here - and where they do/don't/might lead to.
http://www.southsquarecentre.co.uk/index.php?/gallery/about-us/
As well as regular exhibitions, there are artists' "spaces", weekly art workshops for kids and grown-ups (always meant to have a go ...) and other, well ... arty things - a picture framer, good quality crafts - cool jewellery, etc. and the wonderful cafe where I had a fab cuppa and cake this aft. :o) On Fridays evenings about once a month they have an opening night for the latest exhibition: you can get a stonking 3-course meal for about a tenner, and can even take along your own wine. It's really chilled and friendly, not at all arty-farty-snotty; you could rock up in scruffy doggy clothes and no-one would bat an eyelid. Must get back into going more often.

Domestic Goddessry

No shows this weekend!!! So I decided to try to have a 'normal' weekend, like 'normal' people have? ;o)



(No dogs were harmed in this domesticity, we still had a lovely long walk and playtimes!) but I also:

Cleaned the house – not just the normal flick round so it looks not too embarrassing on the surface, but real proper cleaning that involves moving heavy items of furniture and evicting civilisations of fuzz-bunnies


Washed curtains & rugs, beat heavy rugs


Caught up with a (non-doggy!!!) friend and had the loveliest hour drinking coffee and laughing :D


Bagged up all the change in the ‘copper’ jar - £27+


Re-plumbed the kitchen sink so it drains in a more logical manner - ie. mostly downwards


Re-potted and fed houseplants


Tidied the cellar and found, amongst other things: a dusty bottle of wine – vintage chateau neuf du co-op, a (very) dead mouse, my favourite lump hammer, a bottle of rust-killer – slightly irksome after buying a new bottle yesterday, a teapot I’ve never ever met before, some fab turquoise paint – still can’t find anything to paint it on to but it’s such a pretty colour anyway :)


Cooked a huge pan of Aloo Gobi


Here’s a recipe(ish)


Aloo Gobi


Smallish cauliflower – roughly broken into florets
About 2lb potatoes – medium chunks
Handful of frozen peas
Small red onion – chopped small
Bunch of fresh coriander
1 fresh red chilli – finely chopped
4 big cloves of garlic – mediumly chopped
Half a sq. inch of fresh ginger – finely chopped
Spices – teaspoon each of powdered: coriander, cumin, garam masala, turmeric
Salt to taste
About 4 tbsp veg oil


Use a large pan – I use the largest Le Creusset casserole pan


Heat oil then add chilli, onion, ginger then garlic


Add potatoes and stir well, add powdered spices and salt, then add about half a mug of water and stir again


Turn heat down (electric mk 2-3ish) and keep stirring, cover and leave about 20 mins, keeping stirring and adding a little water to cover the bottom of the pan. (The potatoes cook by sort of a combination of frying and steaming – there is probably a proper name for this process.)


Add in the cauliflower and frozen peas and cook for about a further 30 mins until all veg are cooked through

When finished the dish should be quite dry


Leave to stand uncovered for about 5 mins


Check and add salt to taste


Stir through and garnish with chopped fresh coriander


Serve with rice &/or chapattis, mint raita (natural yoghurt and chopped fresh mint) and pickles – I used garlic pickle – and nice cold lager. Yummmm.


So what do the 'normal' folk do next?? I might try watching a film - curled up with a pile of hairy doggies of course :o)


Tomorrow I might try do some "Culture" ?!?!...

Bright Spark

This morning I electrocuted myself three times before leaving the house.
Then I got in the Landy to find the battery was as flat as a ... flat thing. Left the lights on last night & never thought to check when I went out to turn them off. Luckily I've got a plug-in charger.
This aft I walked up to the field with a couple of jumps and weaves and two willing participants - got them all set up and then the heavens opened and it thundered - electrical activity in the sky :-O So we came home again, untrained. Of course by then it was sunny.
Oh & this is not strictly an electrical phenomenon but Maisie had rolled head-to-toe in pea-green slurry and so she's had the full shampoo-bath treatment. Now she's drying she looks like she's stuck a paw in a socket!!! Her fluff is all puffed up and she looks like a pretty cloud :D

Weardale ... Planet Ginger Dog!

Just got back from Weardale. Yesterday there was much ginger dog action:

Ginger 1: Tim did a couple of good runs – he just gets that bit better each time :) On one he sent from the startline down a line of 4 bounce-stride jumps then on to another jump further on and then right at the top over a further two jumps – not ducking under any(!!) Meanwhile I was still somewhere behind jump two gathering my thoughts and feeling like I was moving in slow-mo! On his other nice run (& this was defo his best yet) he did the whole course perfectly apart from ducking under the start jump and a jump before the cloth tunnel. The best bit was that he stopped on the A-frame - which was followed by the weaves - and even when I walked forward to the weaves, pointed and said “weave” he would not release himself till I said “OK!” Either his release is proofed better than I thought or he’d slipped into a brief trance, lol. Anyway, he then did the weaves beautifully too. Good boy! Of course today he was cr*p and back in lala-loony-land but never mind eh!! Two steps forward, one back is still moving on.

Ginger 2: Karen & lovely Mac finally got their passport to bog off from the G1&2 queues by getting that agility win that they’ve been threatening! Very, very well done to them both, well deserved.

Ginger 3: Katie (who is well up there on Tim’s most-snoggable-humans-in-the-universe list) & amazing 3-year-old ginger boy Copper won the Large Champ class!!! Soooo exciting, seriously amazing runs, an agility fairytale!! It was really thrilling to watch all of the Champ competitors – WOWEEE!!!

& the Mouse … well the great news there is that she found her weaves!!! Not sure where they’ve been off to, but never mind! We didn’t get chance to practice at all during the week so I wasn’t expecting an improvement. One of the (many) fab things about Maisie is that the reward she works best for is praise, so I can reward her in the ring without needing treats/toys, and so her confidence soon came back once they started to happen. On her agility run this morning she missed a contact (my bad) & rolled a pole so I then sent her quite fast into the weaves from right behind and she did them v happily. She did get a clear round each day – both in Jumping classes, but not fast enough for the places. She’s been placed on less good runs before but that’s just the way it goes and she was most chuffed with herself anyway.

Billy had a fun walk along the riverbank with Skip this morning, and Tim had a romp with baby Belle who was playing for the first time in big classes - she did sooo well. Skip also got some clears and maybe a G3 place – good big lad!

Tim had a naughty-comedy moment … I let him out of the car and his Auntie Helen made a tactical error in the war on ginger chaos – bending right down and giving him a lovely big tummy tickle – he was so overwhelmed with luuuurve he got a little over excited and projectile wee’d right in her face!!!! Oh how we chortled :) :) (Tim sez sooooooo sorry Auntie Helen, but your complexion really did look extra beautiful afterwards, honest!!!)

Otley

Oh what a fab one!! Busy, strange weather, but fab. It's amazing how well the human body can survive on beer, coffee, sweeties, and about 8 hours sleep spread over 3 nights :)
I'd more or less decided not to run Tim at all with being busy, I didn't think it was fair if I couldn't give him enough focus, but then found time to do one run each day after all. And soooo glad I did! It is something of a journey with Tim - specially getting him up to full height jumps - not sure why it's been such a long process but so be it. Anyway, on his run on Saturday he only ducked under the first jump (my fault!) and his run on Sunday he didn't run under any!!!! Yippee!! His contacts were really, really good - I actually sprinted past him on the A-frame and he stopped perfectly! So now it's really just tweaking the steering. The difficulty therein is that sometimes he responds to the slightest twitch of an eyebrow, and other times something else attracts his attention and then it's like trying to turn a supertanker with a thread ... One really good bit of progress is that I've started giving him food rewards rather than a thrown toy/tuggy at the finish, and this is defo helping him focus on me more - on his run on Sunday he even came screeching into a sit at the finish for his treat. His forward drive was really good and he also did some really nice focused tight work on a double-pinwheel-y bit. Both judges he ran under are great handlers and it was v encouraging that they each made a nice positive little comment about him :)
I don't know what happened at Lune/Barrow a couple of weeks ago but somehow Maisie's weaves got broken  :( Specifically, she is getting the entry but then tending to miss the second gap but then carry on after a fashion, though she's clearly not happy with them at all. Her weaves have never been stunningly fast or independent, but they have been at least fairly reliable for quite a while. I can only think that something spooked or maybe hurt her - toe on a peg perhaps?? And this happens at a time when I'm finally feeling really happy with her contact performances!! Arrrrrg! LOL. Anyway, she had a couple of runs each day - two of which we aborted coz the weaves didn't happen (real big shame on one coz she set off like sh*t off a shovel!!) and the other two I practically poked my fingers up her nostrils and (gently!) towed her through the 6 weaves - not ideal but ... the other bits of her runs were pretty good and it was a relief she was more "normal" after being so under par at the Finals last week; she finished with a 6th in a 1-2 comb Agility, and 3rd on a huge gallopy Jumping course - that was a super surprise, especially as I'd woken her from a pleasant afternoon snooze and plonked her blinking in the ring at the final call, ooops! I'm so lucky to have her and, gosh, has she taught me a lot!
So our project for the week, for Weardale next w/e is Operation Mousey Weaves ............
It was fab to spend time with so many friends this w/e and share beers, biccies, sweeties and laughs, great stuff :)

Our Little Champion

Well, we went to the DARL Finals :) On Saturday morning I saw 4am from the wrong side, setting off to the East of England Showground near Peterborough – as it turned out the journey wasn’t that and only took just over 2h.
On arrival I found a nice shady spot behind a big hedge, but was soon moved by an officious carpark bod - into the only shaft of sunlight. Some people really shouldn’t be allowed a high-viz jacket & badge … Anyway, we moved back into the shade PDQ. Found the Finals ring which was in front of a big grandstand! The whole show (Just Dogs Live) was quite huge with streets of trade stands, display rings, a champ posing show, and RVA agility show. I’d been asked to liaise with the gundog display team and the police to check if/when they would be using gunshot in their displays … thankfully they had been asked not to after all, big Pheeew.
In the morning we had a “warm-up” Jumping run – same course for all G1-7, then the main event was the Agility Finals in the aft. The day was soooooo hot – hottest day of a hot summer … and unfortunately Maisie never really settled, what with the extreme heat, along with lots of background noises, she was distracted and our runs weren’t great. I was a bit disappointed for (not with) her coz she’s been running so very well & joyfully lately and on a different day would’ve right enjoyed both courses. Nonetheless it was an amazing day and an honour to take part. There was a super atmosphere with everyone supporting one another. The standard across the grades was fantastic and I believe there was almost full attendance across the grades – quite something with it being a national league. There was one dog & handler who’d qualified in our grade but the poor dog had suffered a sudden spinal paralysis a few months ago. His owner bravely told his ongoing recovery story and then presented our rosettes – very tear-jerky but fab. All of those dogs there had been unwanted/unloved/abused/thrown away at some point in their lives, and no doubt many had/have "issues", and yet you couldn’t see a happier, more adored bunch of dogs and their humans.

Everyone got a lovely rosette for taking part, "winners" on the day or not, and I think we all came home feeling we’d been part of something very special.

The previous couple of weeks had been difficult for our family, with Dad being poorly. Thankfully he came home from hospital and got a whole lot better last week. At one point I wasn’t sure we’d make the Finals at all so to be able to go, knowing he was so much better was extra wonderful. He always calls Maisie ‘Our Little Champion’ and he’s right, she so is :)

Huuuge thanks to Jules for coming to support us and share the day and taking some fab jumpy pics and having a good day agility-ing into the bargain! :D

Came home via Sheffield, picking up a dog guard for the Landy I’d bought on Ebay. Got chatting with the sellers and met their two huge snarly GSDs – they mentioned they’re planning on breeding from their bitch, not because they even want a puppy but “because she needs her temperament calming down” and they weren’t going to have any health checks “coz they’re too expensive.” How deeply depressing.

Barrow

So we got to Barrow after all :o) Went back up Friday morning, arriving about 10.30am, just in time to walk two courses, run them and be done for 11.30! I felt a bit rushed and didn't run Tim (have to be in the right frame of mind, lol!) but that was maybe a blessing as later in the day I took him in the practice ring and he was ACE!!! In the morning's classes Maisie got a 5th in her agility classs - dunno how as it was a dire run - she'd got very spooked en route by some RAF jets so was on go-slow - however, that flukey result made up for the disappointment of a lovely jumping run (on a course with pushy-outy bits that she should've hated!) at the end of which the last pole slowly toppled ...
Maisie did nice runs all weekend actually - just odd poles & whatnot, She's such an angel.
& Tim was much better! He got half a clear round!!!!!! ;o) Going lovely and I was getting a bit shocked when he was still clear by obstacle number 10 - his super weaves have re-appeared, yay! and he was jumping beautifully! But then he spotted his tug on the finish line ... oh well, he came back and finished OK and went on to do some other respectable runs. One day he will be Fabulous!!......
I got the cartoon above of them done - kept meaning to last year but never got round to it. The bloke who does them is fab and such a nice person. I think Maisie looks a bit evil, Billy's pretty cool, but I think he's captured Tim to a T! Can't look at it without chortling :o)
Maisie's Rescue Finals next Saturday ... if I don't explode with excitement first! :-O

Maisie arrives in grade 2 ...

... at Lune with a load of E's!!! heehee. But today she pulled one off on an Agility run and got a 4th!! So maybe G2 isn't such a bad place after all :o) She also did her only Jumping run of the w/e today and did a really nice one, shame she just tipped the first pole but she attacked the course really well, especially considering it was hot and at the end of a long weekend.
Tim ... oh Tim!! Some nice bits again, a minor snog with a polepicker, some crap bits, lots of ginger grins. Love that baby dog!
On Saturday I had the pleasure of meeting Ruger pup - oh he's lovely!  http://agilityshepherds.blogspot.com/
The show at Lune was a lot different to last year due to some roads being laid through the showground. The (nine) rings were much more spread out and quite a long trek from camping; also it didn't seem to have quite the same atmosphere. Still nice though and the walk along the canal is ace. I was a reluctant bingo virgin at Saturday night's entertainment but then won £25 so bingo rocks!!! Had hoped to stay up for the week but sometimes life gets in the way of agiity. Hoping to get back up later in the week anyway for Barrow show.

Good vs evil!

Maisie Mouse with her prizes from last week:

Ahhh, look at me, what a clever and cute 'ickle girly I am!

GEROFF MY TROPHY GINGERPIG!!!

 & back to angelic pwetty pwincess mode :) 

Weekend off this week! Vicarious victory though as Jules and Jette got a 5th at Newton Heath yesterday, yippee! ETA: & then a 2nd on Sunday!!! Coooool! :o)

We're all ready(ish) for the great Lune/Barrow expedition next week :-)