glum

Two shows to catch up on.

Last weekend saw us back at windy rainy Bakewell, this time for a Dog Vegas show. Had a nice time really. Both dogs did some good stuff. It was a 3 day show and I was just getting over the potato-leg injury. Saturday it was still quite dodgy so I didn't run Mouse at all, as I do need to sprint with her ... Tim did a run and did pretty well. He has indeed nailed weave entries, hurrah!!!!!! Sunday was an odd day with our mates getting injured this time - Helen and the Finger ... and Nikki and the flying table incident. All v dramatic but thankfully all relatively OK! Tim did some more nice stuff. Had meant to not run Maisie again but to my surprise - as I sometimes think she enjoys her aglity just to be polite :) she was going NUTS every time I got her out, so decided to try a run for a laugh after all, leg well strapped. She was soooo up for it, bouncing and yelping in the queue!!! and amazed me with more independence than she's ever shown before - my god, she even did layering!!! lol. Delighted she ended up with another 8th in G3 Agility! Monday was v soggy. Maisie did another speedy one first thing but just slipped out the side door of the seesaw. Tim was spooked by the cattle market noise in his Agility then we hung on for a Jumping run which was not our finest hour ... Most pleased the leg held up though and even improved over the w/e.

This w/e we ventured even further south to Nottingham. Not the most inspiring showground, camping pitch covered in thistles, ooouch! Saturday, Maisie did a nice run, I made a stupid lurch and got us e'd, but well done her :o) Tim did some more nice stuff. Classes were all 3-5 and really a bit hard for us. He did some more stonking weaves though - once off-course when I was sprinting off in the opposite direction. Think we've nailed the weaves!! The jumpies went a bit awry though and he ran under a fair few which he's not done in ages, confidence I suppose. 

Very, very sadly, our gang lost an oldie girly whilst at the show, making for a painful time for all, and put the ups and downs of agility in perspective. Our dogs are so precious to us and we must remember to treasure every day we're honoured to share with them. xxx

ETA: forgot to mention Maisie's last run to cap off a pretty crap weekend ... Did her last Agility run just before coming home. It was a very spread-out but straightforward course so I knew she'd no chance of a place but she should go clear with a paw tied behind her back and hopefully at least pick up a couple of Warrant points. So off we set - really zoomy start: jump - A-frame - jump - tunnel ....... flew into the tunnel, didn't emerge!!!! I ran to the exit end and called her - no sign! Ten seconds must have passed so I decided it was time to give up, so went back to the entry end - still no Mouse - I was starting to panic that she'd somehow shot off somewhere and I'd not noticed, but the Judge was still looking deadpan. Eventually, whilst I was literally sticking my head in the entry end to look for her, she popped out of the exit, then back in and out again! At this point giggling overtook us and we pootled off straight to the finish line. There MUST have been something yummy or very very sniffy in that tunnel as no way would she normally stop like that when she headed in so speedily, I suspect food - we ran second in the class so maybe something got dropped during course-walking. Hey ho!!!!

High Peak

Well, grade 3 at last!! Wasn't sure what to expect. We've been doing loads of 1-3 and 1-4 classes so thought it probably wouldn't feel much different, but it did ... maybe partly coz we were a bit off our usual patch being as far South as Bakewell added to the feeling I hardly knew anyone in our queues!! teehee. Going back to arriving at the show - it was "interesting" as my (OK, secondhand) camping spot was already gone! Big thanks to Karen & Andrew for squidging us onto a corner of their palatial plot, luckily we were just in the mini-mousehouse this time! 

So to the rings ... first up was a 3-5 jumping for Tim - fairly tricky but not impossible course, we bodged the first bit but he did some lovely bits including a very non-linear last line - the type of thing he's struggled to sequence in the past, and he flew down it, very good boy :) Mouse then had a 1-3 Agility - fairly straightforward course, she was pretty zoomy and ran a nice clear - few seconds off the placings - G3 reality bites!! On that run, on a sprint to the finish, I set off and twanged something in my lower leg ... kinda decided to leave it there for that day but the in the late aft there was this ace course ... was 'only' G3 but it was such an interesting tricky course I couldn't resist running the girlie again, despite the leg and the downpour and the big queue and the fact I had to walk it 973 times to almost remember it!... & blimminy heck, to cut a long soggy story short, she only went & finished 8th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It wasn't a classic run and though we set off well we both ran out of steam a little halfway round and she stomped through the weaves, unimpressed! lol, but 8th!!!!! I suspect this may turn out to be her PB in G3 - and that is fine. The course was not Timtastic so he didn't run - it would've blown his mind. He did a slightly muppety one on the 1-3, bless him!

On Sunday, with the leg strapped up and a bucketful of painkillers, I ran both of them in a 3-5 Agility. This was a really nice course with some slightly more challenging elements without it being too bonkers! There was a wrong-end of the tunnel bit which both dogs ran with aplomb. I was particularly pleased that Tim did a wonky flick-flacky bit very confidently. In fact, his only 'error' on the course was (again! arrrg) entering the weaves at the 2nd pole, otherwise he ran very proficiently indeed, albeit at a rather sensible pace for him! Clever Mousie went clear again!! & she was very zoomy for her!! Think this was quite indicative of how things will be for her in G3 though as we were about 4 secs off the places, even though she ran as fast as she ever can. Was reeeally going home then Paula Z put up a lovely Jumping course for Tim so we stayed and had a run round that. Went in at the 2nd weave - again ... but he did some super sending on and listeny bits and had his supersonic legs on this time too!

I was very proud of the pair of them over the weekend, some slightly harder challenges which they rose to beautifully. G3: it's OK really!

Greyhound Gap had the most superb cake stall, a tent of tempatation and joy!!!

Have really buggered up my leg though, dunno if I'll be able to run this w/e when we're back at Bakewell again, this time for Dog Vegas. If it holds up I might be able to 'run' Tim as he will work away, but Mousey sprints would just be too foolish so it looks like she might be joining Mr Woof on the Management Team for this show. I'll be gutted not to play with her but got to be sensible for once, I think.

What with being one-legged for most of this week and unable to walk them enough really, I've done some extra bits of training with Tim - working on his weaves with me stood/sat still!!... I think we might've partly solved the recent wrong entry problem - famous last words!?!!..........

playing out

Went on a training day outdoors today and had a fab time. I'm very pleased with Tim as he managed to keep his listeny lugs on for the entire long afternoon!! He did some really nice stuff. He's surprisingly good at variations on tunnel under A-frame exercises, good boy. Just been thinking - the group we were with today is pretty much the group we've been with from the start, and for quite a while Tim was, though "delightful", definately the class clown. Well, now I think he's just another one of the group, making good progress, and barely clownish at all!!! lol :o) Actually it was my brain that was fried by the end when I couldn't find my way from jumps 1 to 3, ooops! Good job Tim had no idea how stupid his mummy was as he'd have been proper embarassed. Maisie made a 10-min guest appearance (she doesn't do training!) and was quite a giddy whizzy girl as it was a bit breezy, bless her pretty fluffy bum.

harenhoundseaster

What a view from bed!!!

Well, it was an amazing long weekend in many ways - sunny, stunning venue, fab show, great company, but I made the mistake of over-volunteering to help and that made for a bit of a knackering and kinda stressful time really, you live & learn. The mousehouse performed well and kept us all snug. It was our last show at G2 - eeek! Maisie got a couple of places - one a 2nd - but didn't do many runs and was not on form due to the heat. Her best run was an unplanned early-morning agility when it was a little cooler and she had a lovely bound around - I missed a bit of the course for an E but but couldn't have cared less as she was all smiley. Tim did some fab work and is developing the slightest glimmer of consistency in the ring ... I'm still learning so much with him & his super-sensitive boy ways ... his dogwalk came over a bit uncertain and I made the error of trying to repeat his contact position, but must remember he simply cannot ever have the slightest indication he's not been Perfect! & he gnashed off. Also his weaves which have been improving - on an early run he missed the first pole though did the rest lovely and I stupidly brought him back to try to get the entry - doh, he lost confidence in his weaves again for the rest of the weekend. Really must remember to keep him flowing, no repeats, praise to the skies the good bits and cheerfully carry on however the rest goes. When I remembered that in subsequent runs he did some ace stuff, good listeny lugs and confident driving on/out/through bits, v pleasing, especially the fact that he's going into each run really up for it & supersonic and not going flat like he was a bit before.

Thank you Jules & Helen, yummmm! :o)

The most memorable happening from this show though has to be Jules and Jette - not only WINNING out of G1 - sooooooooo long overdue!!!! But backing up their readiness for doing so with a whole gang of other fab results. Couldn't be more chuffed and proud of them!!!! Also tonnes of other great fun & results all round :)

& BW had a super walk down through the woods and to the river with a gang of doggy pals one evening, he even almost got his feet wet. Really hope we get to play out at this venue again sometime, it was truly stunning and I'd love to explore a bit more round about. There was a bit of bird scarer noise but HRH MM coped pretty well, considering and otherwise it was just idyllic. Tim was admired by another Welsh Sheepdog person and again his services were enquired after as a stud!!! LOL! Even if he had the required equipment, the world's not ready for a litter of Tiny Tims, though it's a v cute/chaotic thought nonetheless :o)
 

 

Two weekends off before our next show (High Peak) and then the camping season really gets on a crazy continuous roll!!!...