Sunday 31 August 2008

Letchworth Agility Show

This weekend we were down at Huntingdon Racecourse.

Nige didn't attend on this occasion as he was working but I was not on my own as my mum came with me and camped for the first time.
At one point i was going to be updating the blog with no great news, Neither Ronny or Keisha had been clear in any classes on both Friday or Saturday, I was beginning to think mum was a bit of a jinks.

Typical !!!!!! the time mum comes to see the dogs run, neither of them can manage a clear, infact most of our rounds we got eliminated, the only sign of hope was when Keisha was running a fantastic agility round but then through my bad handling couldn't make the last jump as the angle I had set her on was just impossible, unfortunately she just ran under the jump!!!!!

But today my brilliant boy and girl didn't let me down, they only managed one clear each out of the whole weekend, Keisha did a lovely jumping round but just missed out on the placings.

Ronny did a fantastic helter skelter jumping class and finished in 1st place. Thankfully mum did see their proper talent after all.

Monday 25 August 2008

Home at last !!!!!!!!!!!

Hi everyone, sorry for the delay but we have only just got back tonight after 10 days away from home.

We have got loads of news, pictures and results to update you with so I apologise in advanced this is going to be one hell of a long blog!!!!!!!

The first and most fantastic news is Ronny has won out and is now in Grade 4 at agility!!!!!!!!!!

He was just fantastic, I only had one clear round with Ronny during our time away but what a fantastic agility round it was, he won it by over 2 seconds in a class of 269 dogs. He was just superb, didn't put a foot wrong, infact I cant even remember him clipping any poles. Ronny ran near the start of the class so it was incredibly stressful waiting for the class to close and finally being told he had won it. It was such a relief as he has been beaten into 2nd place on several occasions this year. If that wasn't great enough news, Keisha had also gone clear in the same round and finished in 7th place.

During the first show at Dashin Dogs Keisha had managed 7 clear rounds, all but one round placed in the top 15 which was a great achievement as the classes had in excess of 250 dogs in each. After Dashin Dogs we then moved to the Dog Vegas show near Scunthorpe. It is such a lovely show and is set in a pleasant venue. The show started on Friday and was opened with a bang. Keisha had a fantastic run in her jumping class and she placed 3rd, her first ever trophy!

Keisha then went on to get a 10th in her agility and several other placings over the weekend. I must admit, I secretly have high hopes of Keisha, she has just transformed into such a wonderful little dog, I think she might have her chance of glory next year.

Ronny had also qualified for the Dog Vegas final which was held on Saturday. We were drawn 30th out of 36 dogs to run, he was one of only 3 non-collies in the final. It was always going to be difficult to get a clear as they had put a tunnel at the end of the dog walk and Ronny is tunnel mad so a stop on the contact is like a miracle happening. Well he certainly lived up to my expectations he did miss the dog walk contact and also knocked a pole, but my god he ran like a super star and wow-ed the crowd with his weaves. He made us look good and the amount of people that came up after and said how impressed they were with him made me feel incredibly proud and honoured to own him. Lets hope he can qualify for the final next year.

If that wasn't enough news for you, Chamonix has come in season and has been mated with Ronny. It won't be long and we will soon be collecting our mini Ronny.


Pudsey has settled in well, quite an eye catcher at the shows, infact I can't ever remember being approached by so many people asking all about him. He's a true live wire, absolutely adores Ronny and is toy mad, a quick little man too, I think he is going to turn out to be a woolly Ronny!!!!!!!




Friday 15 August 2008

British Flyball Championships

Today was the day of British flyball Championships. It was a lovely venue and the weather was just glorious. Ronny and Maisy were entered in the multi breed pairs as Ronny is obviously not a collie, we were against some tuff competition so had it all to play for.

We decided Ronny would run first dog and Maisy second as that is the order they have been running in the team.

The dogs were allowed one warm up run and then 3 races to record their fastest time.

Ronny and Maisy ran fantastic and nailed there first and second cross over, there 3rd race we were a bit eager and unfortunately Maisy had a light. There fastest time recorded was 8.89 seconds. We then had to sit it out until the end of the day to see where they had placed. I then went up to check the results and could see Ronny and Maisy had won. What a fantastic result, I guess with them running together for the last year or so made them have a good racing relationship and grew trust in each other on the crossovers.










Ronny was also entered in the ABC singles event. I knew Ronny had a good chance going in it as he is definitely one of the quickest ABC (anything but collie) dogs I have ever seen.

Ronny had a great run, wasn't running full power though, I think he was missing the encouragement he usually gets from Maisy in the ring. Still I checked the results and noticed Ronny had won!!!!

What a fantastic day, 2 x 1st places, who could have asked for anymore. Well done Ronny.

Wednesday 13 August 2008

British Flyball Championships

This weekend is the British Flyball Championships. It is held over three days Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The newer younger teams race on Friday and the faster teams race on the last day. Unfortunately we could only attend on Friday as we are away competing in agility for the weekend. Our new team was supposed to race on Saturday so we had to scratch us from racing.

However, Ronny and Maisy are competing in pairs on Friday and Ronny will also be running in the singles. Fingers crossed as Ronny and Maisy are in for a good chance.

Friday night we go off up to the Dashin Dogs agility show where we will compete for the week, we will then go from there on to Jans for the Dog Vegas Show, Ronny has made the final for that show so hopefully we will be on form.

Chamonix is also in season and is due to be mated during the Dog Vegas show, maybe Ronny won't be on form for that final after all, he will probably have other things on his mind!!!!!

As we have got a busy few weeks our dogs are having a well deserved rest week, including Pudsey, he doesn't know it yet but he is going to meet alot of new friends.

Tuesday 12 August 2008

Pudsey's second day with us and as you can see he has settled in just fine. I'm not sure if its the calm before the storm but he has slept through both nights and been spotless in the morning.
Tonight me and Nige took both Kody and Pudsey to obedience class. Kody is in the bronze Good citizen class and Pudsey is in the puppy class.
Pudsey has mastered his sit's and down's and is already retrieving balls, no problem for flyball there then.

Sunday 10 August 2008

Scunthorpe and KC Int Festival Agility Comp

Sorry about the delay in updating but we have been away competing at agility and also visiting our breeder Jan.
We have had such a lovely time and we have had some great results and on top of all that we have got some really great but not planned news!

So......

Scunthorpe was a great show Keisha started off with a 14th in her jumping class and then gained a fantastic 10th in her agility. Ronny only had one clear over the weekend but it was one definitely worth waiting for, 2nd place in his jumping class!!!!

We then went on to Jan's for a few days to chill out and let the dogs have a nice relaxing break. We took them to the beach just outside Mablethorpe so they could meet up with their Friends and have a good play in the sand. Ronny inherited a temporary pack which involved Brizo and her Laekenois puppies, Vogue, Teasel and Pudsey. It was a great day and the dogs had an amazing time and were thoroughly tired and ready for bed.



This weekend we were at the Kennel Club International Festival. A brilliant show that had everything. There were handlers there from all over the world, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Australia etc etc. There were also qualifiers for Crufts ranging from the Starters cup right up to the British Open Cup.
Ronny was in the qualifiers for the Novice Cup, they have to compete in an agility round and a jumping round and the points are then added together and the top 30 dogs with the most points go through to the final. Ronny had a fantastic round in his agility and managed to gain an 8th place, unfortunately he had 10 faults in his jumping round so didn't get enough points to go through to the final.

Saturday Ronny was in the main ring for his agility class, I always get nervous when we do classes in front of large crowds, Ronny is one of those all or nothing dogs and usually it goes horribly wrong in classes like that. Well this time it didn't and he was just amazing, he had a cracking entry into the weave poles, we then had to master the wrong end of the tunnel to what the dogs can see, he has never managed to do in competition before so I did stand there slightly too long in amazement only to realise I was then in the wrong position for the next obstacle, then to my total amazement Ronny saved me for the first time ever in competition and ignored the long jump that was facing him and listened to me screaming see-saw at him. We then got it together and ran the rest of the course beautifully. 2nd place and it was just such a fantastic feeling. Ronny knew he had done well and was full of beans at the end.

Keisha also had a fantastic day and gained a terrific 13th in her jumping class, she is looking so good and I really think she will be challenging for top three placings next year.

Today the dogs were just exhausted so we didn't have quite a successful day, both Keisha and Ronny were pole knocking so I'm glad it was time to come home. Jan, Lisa, Steve and Gerry popped down to see us at the show with their mob today, Jan brought Brizo and her puppies including Pudsey who was the last puppy needing to be sold.

Well that's our unplanned but brilliant news. Pudsey has now been adopted by us and the gang and is spending his first night with us. Ronny loves puppies so of course loves him already, Keisha doesn't seem at all bothered but Kody is staying clear until he can work out why he has got curls!

Our first Laekenois so it's going to be a new experience for us with mastering how to brush him when he gets his curly coat. He's a lively little character so I think he is going to fit in just fine.