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)