Lincoln

First camping weekend and gosh was it HOT!!!! Arrived to the usual slightly bizarre camping organization but soon got sorted and settled, just in the 'ickle green tent this time as the mousehouse hasn't come out of hibernation yet. Saturday first thing we had an agility run - Maisie seemed to think that she's far too important to do contacts now, teehee!!! To be fair, I pushed her on maybe a bit more than usual and she flew off the dogwalk and skydived the seesaw for a good E! Tim in the same class did really well - had a minor wander (due to my crap handling) but managed to only incur a 5R so again a non-E! :) Didn't run anything else till the aft when it was well hot. Maisie managed a clear but it wasn't exactly a classic though she got boogying on towards the end. Tim did OK - an E but he did perfect 12 weavies again! Think that's all we did Saturday. The evening was full of chinese food, cake and John's staggering tequila and orange sorbet!!!..... amazing stuff!!!! :o) This morning Maisie did an OK agility run but I think she just ducked past the last jump - my fault, bad mummy! Then this aft young Tim only went and got another clear!!! He was off his pace as it  was pretty warm and his braincell was whirring and steaming but, bless him, he tried ever so hard & did 12 weaves again!! & kept his lovely listeny lugs on. Finished 8th anyway which was nice :) Stayed on for last agility run. Maisie did OK considering the heat and whatnot and managed to finish 5th. I ws a bit unsure about running her as the judge was a big bloke with a cowboy hat and a huge walking stick!!... But he (Richard Brain) was such a kind man - came over to the line at the start and said if anyone needed him to lose the stick as it might be frightening to just give him a wave before they started. Took Tim in after but I could tell straight away he'd had enough so I just gave him a cuddle and came out. He's done so well overall, we need to work on his stamina - mental more than physical I think - but very pleased with the little man.

Helen & Belle did a super jumping run and got a good place!! So good to see their confidence and speed blossoming that bit more each time out!

Can't believe how hot it was. My face is red despite lashings of factor 45.
Billy, bizarrely, fell madly in love with Rusty (not that he's not v loveable!!), I bought him - Billy not Rusty - a whole bag of balls, and he even had some of the amazing ice cream! So he was a very happy lad too.

Next weekend it's four whole lovely days at Easter HnH -what a treat, can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.....................

Let Them Eat Cake!!!

 

Not blogged for ages! In the meantime we've had three Hare & Hounds shows! All good days out, Maisie's kept getting 2nds and 3rds, Tim's got a bit better (mostly!) each time but never fully settled indoors.

Then yesterday - sunny Scunny!!!... First outdoor show of the year for us and what a beautiful spring day for it! First up was Tim's Jumping class. We've been really practicing weaves a lot and my aim for yesterday was for him to do some!.. The weaves in that course were just after a tunnel - coz he sends on to tunnels so well I was able to stroll across and pick him up just before the weaves and this helped to steady his stride a bit and I then held my breath whilst he did 6 perfect weaves!! Slightly gobsmacked, we somehow floated round the rest of the course and all of a sudden he was over the last jump and the Judge was clapping - Clear!!!! With weaves!!!! Couldn't believe it!!! & to cut a long wait short I was thrilled to find later he'd actually won the class!!!!! His Agility run went slightly pear-shaped but another postive - he did weaves again, this time 12!! albeit with his paw off the accelerator for once! lol

Meanwhile Maisie ran a nice Agility course which she thoroughly enjoyed and put all her fluffy joy into. Total disbelief then when it turned out that she'd won that class too!!!!!!!!!! It really was a bizarre fairytale of a day :o) & the cake was amazing and plentiful and the sun kept shining and there were smiles all round. Happy happy days!!!!! I couldn't be more chuffed for Maisie that she was the one who won us up to G3 - she totally deserves it as she's been consistently picking up good places but she cleverly waited for the ginger little bro to prove he was ready too before getting that elusive win, she certainly is my Amazing Maisie Mouse.

& next week the camping season begins at Lincoln!.... Would be lovely to try pick a few more warrant points before being lost in the big jungle of G3 - but no doubt we'll be utterly pants after all that over-excitement! Oh well! :)

Clever pups with Team Captain Mr Woof

Happy birthday mate

It's Billy Woof's official 'birthday' this week - 7!!! If that makes him offically middle-aged, no-one told him!! In a way I can't believe it's only four years since he came along, it feels (in a good way) like he's been around forever. I remember meeting him at the RSPCA like it happened in slow-mo - he was led down the prison steps all worried and sad, but as soon as we met he flung himself at me with big snuffley kisses, he was absolutely totally 100% my best mate from that second. Awwww, he's taught me soooooo much and has grown so much himself from a fearful boy who could be sometimes reactive both with other dogs and people, to the most balanced, lovely, easy, fun, intelligent, loyal, kind dog anyone could wish for. We all adore you, handsome woofy one. xxxxx

Back in Action

Landy has been worth its weight in gold on the horrible roads of the past couple of months

We are back from an agilityless wilderness! Hadn't done any shows for weeks or training for even longer!! :-O Then last weekend we made it to Wilmslow at Myerscough. I didn't enter Tim coz I think the noise & bustle there is just too much for him at the moment, so it was just Miss Mouse playing. First run was surprisingly OK, she did very well, even nailing her weaves confidently which surprised me a bit after the break. I just pulled her off the Aframe the second time over it. I handled her like a three-legged dining chair so she did very well considering! Then her second run she really opened up! It was a big open course and we're starting to love running these type of courses together. I never thought she'd have the speed to be placed on these but she's suddenly become a very confident & really quite speedy little mouse!!! She finished 5th and I was well chuffed with that as there was some good competition. Billy & Jette had a lovely walk along the canal and it was a fab day out, even though I had to leave early to go to work, booo!
Then on Friday we actually managed to go to a training session! I was a little worried about how Tim would be as he's had such a break, but actually he was ever so good!!! :o) I don't want to speak too soon but it seems that my little chap may just be started to grow up a tiny bit, he was much more focused and not so clingy with people, and he seems less worried by other dogs nearby, good little man.
Then yesterday we went to Ribble. Had entered only half-intending to go, but fancied a trip out and it's not far so set off late morning (how civilised!!!) for just one run for each dog in the aft. The ring plan worked in our favour as it was in the small arena with just one ring - nice and calm. Again it was a big spread-out course. It was a hard one to walk as not only was I walking it for two such different dogs, also for each there were bits where I thought: if this is happening her I'll do A, but if that is happening then it's plan B. My little brain hurt! First up was again super speedy Miss Mouse!!! Our new startline method caused some giggles: I've started carrying her to the startline and revving her up in the air like a wind-up mouse and she hits the ground running at the first jump, she thinks this is hilarious and it sets her off as supermouse! Unfortunately (doh!) I wasn't clear enough handling for her when there was an either-end tunnel and she scampered past it so we got 5R. In the end though she ended up in 3rd place which was ace - she so deserved a rosette for her zoom! Tim ran the same course and tried hard. He found a 'sniff' on the startline and wouldn't focus so I had to move him from where I wanted him and he set off round jump one and it went a bit wonky. Got him back on course though and he did a respectable (& bloody fast!!!) run, with some lovely send-ons and turns away. He tried so hard to keep his listening ears attached and we thoroughly enjoyed the run. Billy did some nice spectating though caused my heart to nearly stop when he went from docile waggy hanging around to trying a mad leap over down from the gallery into the ring - I only just caught him ... cheeky man! It was a very very soggy afternoon and nice to get home and dry and snuggled in for the evening, full of renewed enthusiasm, agility rocks!!! :o)

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?...