Newton Heath

After getting stuck on some awful icy snow stuff earlier in the week I was quite hesitant about setting off over t'Pennines to Myerscough. The alarm went off and I got up to look out of the window and there was a very hard frost so I snuggled straight back into bed zzzzzzz. Maisie had other ideas though - alarm going off when it's dark means going to a show!!!!!!!!! So she started bouncing around going Yippeeee!!! So I got up to let them out to the loo, see if that would settle her back down. Then, once I was stood on the doorstep in my PJs, freezing bits off, it seemed a) not too bad out after all, and b) now we were up we might as well get on with it, so off we went! And it was a good decision by Miss Mouse as it turned out to be a lovely cold but sunny day.
We only had two runs. Maisie had got spooked going into the arena and she was backing off all the way round the agility run, even having an uncharacteristic pole down, never mind. The jumping course seemed OK when I walked it but I spent ages watching the earlier runs and it was proving tricky to get round. The start was nigh on impossible if you didn't have either a good startline wait (amazing how many dogs don't - at all!) or the ability to send them into weaves and cross behind. After the weaves there was a sharp turn right across a sort of box and I bet about 70% of the class (graded 1-3 so mostly gr3s) went wrong at this point!! Either popping out of the weaves early or failing to make the right turn and being E'd over the jump to the LH side of the box. I decided to work Maisie right past the end of the weaves and make a kink out to turn and thus get a straighter line into the box, and in the event this worked really well - OK not the most totally efficient line, but the safer option. There was also a bit where you really needed to be on the dog's right to work a curve round three jumps to the right, but then somehow cross to the left around the long jump. I'd decided that the only option here was to cross behind her at the long jump which I wasn't at all happy about as I thought it might make her look back and shorten, but then got a good idea from a handler I admire who runs non-collies and decided to just leg it with her past the long jump and then just set off from the corner towards the flat tunnel - so it was sort of a rear cross after the jump. I'd have thought this would be very messy but actually it worked great and kept her driving into and out of the corner. After the tunnel there was then a pull off a line of jumps straight ahead and learning from messing this up last week I tried to suggest the turn before she entered the tunnel, and also hung back a little and then sort of pulled her two-handed round the left as she came out - worked really well!
Gosh isn't it boring when people over-analyze courses ;o) This time it was worthwhile though as we finished in 4th!! Great placing for Maisie for a Jumping class and her time was very respectable; the winner stormed it but Maisie was less than a second behind the 2nd and 3rd placed dogs.
Other news: Tim's weaves are really coming on, and he is learning the art of relaxation - he's such a cutey sometimes, awwww :o)

And Billy's stubbed dewclaw toe is getting better - he's such a brave hero - ummm, not! But he gives the most smashing cuddles.
This morning we've woken up to a white, fluffy winter wonderland - again!

Flyball: Billy Woof is back!

How cool is this! I agonised for ages about pulling Billy from flyball team selection and since I decided to I've still kept feeling a bit bad about it for him. Well, I've just had an email from our team captain asking if we could commit to the Multibreed team! They only race on special days on bank hol Mondays so it's just a commitment to four days this year, and some training, though not necessarily every week. This works so perfectly for us and I am soooo chuffed for the boy!!!!!!! Also, the Multibreed team (Grasshoppers Multi) is really good - last time I looked they were seeded second in the UK in M/B!! So the boy will get some great quality racing without an impossibly difficult commitment in time. Yippeeeee! Isn't it super when unexpectedly fab things like this happen! :o)

Amazing Maisie Mouse AWB

So yesterday at Hare & Hounds (Richmond) Maisie got those last few points for her Agility Warrant (Bronze)!!! If her head gets any bigger she'll not fit through tunnels :o)

It was a hideously early start with classes starting at 8am. I'd only entered Maisie in the two (graded) classes so it felt a bit of a long way to go just for two runs. First run was jumping for a change - lovely course, we got E'd after the first jump, as did Helen & Skip - amazingly we each accomplished this feat in different ways, and what makes it even dafter is that the first four obstacles were jumps in a straight line, haha!! Then we had our agility run - fairly straighforward course apart from a pull-through and a sharp left after the seesaw into the cloth tunnel, which caught a few out. Maisie did a nice workmanlike round and finished 8th. There was a bit of a drama as somehow I'd got the wrong scribe slip - dunno how I didn't notice as I (nearly!) always check! I do think it's an important part of scribing to say "When your ready, Ermintrude" to double-check against this sort of thing. Anyway, after some begging and lip-trembling it was sorted by the lovely Show Manager. I paid penance by stepping in to ring party in the aft, they were quite short of volunteers and for a couple of hours I was doing leads, slips, poles; and even calling in too for some of the time. Now that's an impressive bit of multi-tasking if I say so myself ;o)

There were some other great results too: Helen and Skip 5th in Gr2 agility, Louise & Saffie winning out of Gr3 smalls and other fab results, and Sara & Tilly 3rd in G1 jumping.

I took Billy on the back field on his own with a tuggy this aft and had a lovely time without the two little monsters - sometimes a half-hour doing nothing much can be really special and this was one of those times.

Roll on Easter ...

It's been surprisingly nice so far to have a bit of a winter break from shows every weekend and I'm sure it's done Maisie good too. Today, though, I found myself tidying my sock drawer and brushing fluff from between the radiator fins. So I sat down and did a load of entry forms. :0)

Fab

NAWS Jan: One of those days when the rosettes somehow feel like they under-reflect the dogs' performances ... ;-)

First up was Maisie in her jumping - first run was amazing - sooo zoomy, so much so she scoffed in the face of a bungled front cross and bogged off into the yonder, E'd! Second run she was still pretty fast and did a super clear - someone complimented her perfect efficient line through the flick-flack :) It's a shame she was just off the places as she ran as fast as she possibly could and her turns were super, so that's more than good enough. Often people comment on how fast she ran and she must've got a good place, but I know she can look faster than she is - that 'ickle scampering stride! Wouldn't change a hair on her fluffy body for the world though!!

Then Tim's jumping - oh my gosh, his first run felt wonderful - a couple of very minor errors, but so nearly WOW!!!! Then second run was good too but he went off on a bit of a wiggly-wagger at the scribe, lol!

Maisie's agility runs were also really nice. Pole down in first run and held her contacts for yonks in both runs and gave her a cuddle on the dogwalk contact (she just looked like she needed one!) and she boogied on over both A-frame and dogwalk beautifully both times so that felt like a good investment of her runs.

Tim's agility runs were both respectable too - all long straight lines so not easy for us, but he's sending on more and more as his confidence grows and he is loving his game and rapidly growing up into an Agility Dog.

Exciting times :-D

The fields are green!

Finally got a pretty pic of the girl with her trophy :o)

Thank goodness the snow has almost gone at last this past couple of days. I must be getting grown-up and boring coz I've never wished snow away before, but it has gone on so long and casued so much disruption, not to mention loss of earnings. There are still odd patches in the hollows and by walls and so Maisie is still taking the opportunity to seek them out for a good snowy roll!

I've been working with Tim this week on getting a really good dynamic 'wait' and he will now stop and wait at a good distance whilst I throw his toy the other way and then he'll 'ready' bouncing in anticipation but without breaking till I say 'OK'. That takes a lot of self-control for him and he so tries to please, he's a good boy! I'd like to work on it more on the startline and maybe to be able to throw his toy whilst he's coming down/stopped on his contacts, and then release him to it. Fingers, toes and paws crossed we will get to train this week!..

& Billy's news - well, after much agonising, I've decided to not put him forward for flyball teams this year. It's just been too much trying to commit to both flyball and agility - and train at least weekly for both - so I'm just going to take him to training when we can make it but not every week, though we will be available if cover is needed in a team sometime. He is very easy to fit into a team if needed as he'll run anywhere. I still feel a little guilty but also think there's no need to really as he seems to enjoy the training as much as tournaments - rosettes are really for humans after all! And he's a dog who just knows how to enjoy life 100% anyway, with or without an organised sport. I so love that Billydog :o)

Just made an apple and blackberry pie so off to eat a big hunk of it now - except it turned out to be apple and raspberry when the 'blackberries' thawed ... I'm sure it will be delicious anyway, yummm :o)

HRH MM ...

... is far too important these days to pose with a mere trophy. Here's her response to being asked:

It's a beautiful trophy but hellishly difficult to photograph well. Will try again later ;o)

Amazing Maisie Mouse is a STAR!!!

OK it's only 'ickle but it's Maisie's first ever agility trophy :o) It's for finishing 10th in Grade 1 in the DARLeague with 706 points. Many of the dogs who finished above her have moved up the grades so she's one of the highest to still be in gr1. It qualifies her for the Finals in July. Woooooooooo! Reeeeally looking forward to that!!!......

Here's a duff pic of her rosette collection for the year. She looks disgruntled coz I picked her up from a royal snooze to pose :o)

And then something else super brill happened - she WON the SupaDARL 'Dog of the Year' title!!!!!!!!!!!! This is such an honour - it's for the dog from all the grades who has made most progress in the year from a difficult past, etc. Awwww, so very very very proud of her!! She really is an amazing little fluffy girl :o) Another trophy to follow!... Agility has done her so much good and every single person she's ever come across in agility has been kind and patient with her - from our lovely clubmates and trainers to, for example, lead-movers at shows who I've sometimes asked to not walk up behnd her on the startline - everyone has shown consideration and kindness and helped her confidence blossom. The Mouse sez "ta!!!" x

Was going to take a pic of Billy too with his flyball stuff from the year but he's stomped off upstairs ...

We're still very snowbound. Wilmslow show called off yesterday, boohoo. Here's some more fun in the snow instead: