Hinckley Show

What a hectic weekend, I must admit im glad our club only holds one competition a year, being on the rings all day is certainly hard work and then to try and run dogs when your completely exhausted is pretty much impossible. Saturday was a mixed bag really, Keisha ran like a little star in her jumping but lazy handling by me allowed her to run wide, she ended up 15th place which wasn't bad at all considering it was a combined 4-5 class. Jackie managed to watch Keisha in her agility and believe it or not she didn't jump the contacts (she made me look like a liar) she did however miss her weaves. Kody also had a brilliant day managing only 10 faults in his agility, one refusal in his jumping and then a great clear in his last jumping of the day which I was really chuffed with.

Ronny wasn't with me yesterday as he was enjoying a day out with Emma and Amy in an attempt to qualify for crufts in the YKC flyball, when I finally managed to get back to the van I had a text waiting saying they had WON !!!! In fact they had won all there 6 races. Congratulations guys I wish I could have been there to see it.

Today wasn't so successful, in fact not a clear round all day, its too much to ask Ronny to run well when he has to sit waiting in the van all day, Keisha was back to jumping those contacts but thankfully Jackie was on hand to see why, she has given me a few tips so im going to work hard on them this week.

Busy weekend coming

This weekends agility show is being hosted by our club (Hinckley) which means im going to be glued to the rings helping out with the rest of the club in order for a smooth running show, the weather looks great so I think I might brave my shorts. Lots to do this weekend, on saturday im packing Ronny off with Emma and Amy for the day as they are competing in the YKC flyball in the hope of qualifying for Crufts next year, the two puppies Pudsey and Zippy are going to mum and dads for the day which leaves me with Keisha and Kody to take to the agility show. On sunday Ronny will be back to join Keisha for agility which is great timing as there is another Novice Olympia qualifier, im not sure if Keisha will get her contacts but Jackie (who owns Speedy) said she will try and watch and see why Ratty (Keisha) is jumping those contacts in shows, she took us for our lesson last night and couldnt fault her on them.

The picture above is Kody in his agility class last weekend, he reminds me of Ronny when he first started (superman-ing off the see-saw) hopefully he will have a bit more respect for it this weekend as we worked hard on it in training along with his weaves. At least he is keen, I cant fault him for that :)
Thanks to Candice for taking the pic

Naughty mummy

Today was all about qualifiers for us, first on was the novice Olympia qualifier, Ronny ran first and unfortunately put us straight out by taking the first pole, on the plus side he had some great contacts and even waited on the see-saw for me to catch up. Keisha ran second and to be honest she was no better, she broke her wait at the start and then took the second pole, definitely not a great start to the day.

Ronny and Keisha then had their jumping class, somehow I missed walking it but thankfully it hadn't changed from running Kody earlier in the morning, I just had to improvise on different lines for Ronny and Keisha during the actual run, sadly Ronny had a pole and then after that it was a very scrappy round. Keisha ran brilliantly but just took a pole right near the end.

The ABC qualifier was this afternoon, lets just say im kicking myself big time as my poor poor handling really let Ronny down, he was proper on form and I think ive done the worst handling for a long time, he even got the dog walk contact before the tunnel.
Keisha went next and started well, she got the A-Frame contact but then completely missed the dog walk one, i must admit im slightly at a loss of what to do next, but I guess that's dogs, cant be good all the time.

Kody had a mixed weekend, he is definitely growing in confidence and he is always keen to work, yesterday he did a great jumping round but just missed his weave entry, today he got his weaves but his jumping was slightly off, I have seen a massive improvement in him so I am feeling more than pleased.

A massive well done to Emma and Maisy for their helter skelter run, it shows great commitment when you can pick your self up and pull a fantastic run out the bag, when that clear round arrives it will be well deserved and probably the best feeling ever (hopefully I will be there to see it).

Finally huge congratulations to Dave and Rusty for winning the Champ ticket, what a great achievement.

Nottingham and Packington Agility

Two lovely days of agility in the sun has been great, admittedly not great for the dogs to run in but definitely good for me :) nothing like a bit of sunbathing between runs. Ronny is obviously saving himself for tomorrow seems as it is forecast to rain, no clear rounds as yet, I think he is reminding me that he doesn't get clear rounds all the time, probably too spoilt last week with two in the same day.

Keisha on the other hand is definitely back to her best, no clears in agility yet as she is back to jumping those dam contacts, her jumping however is great, she got a 6th yesterday in a very technical course and today she finished 4th which was more of a sprinting course, I am kicking myself a bit as near the end of the jumping course I took a wrong line which wasted some valuable time, admittedly probably only a few tenths but usually that's all it takes !

Tomorrow we are back at Packington competing in two qualifiers, novice Olympia qualifier and the ABC qualifier, judging by today I don't think we are in with much of a chance but never say never.

Got him

That's what I call team work !

There is only one way to get a picture of Zippy and today we mastered it, unfortunately I had to take it on my mobile so its not top quality, it was taken by chance after Zippy decided to climb up on dad, just a bit of handling alteration and he was ready for the photo shoot.

Yippee its the weekend, 3 days of agility and I cant wait, tomorrow we are in Nottingham and then on sunday and monday we are at the Packington Show in Birmingham. The weather isn't looking too bad, monday might have a few thundery showers (might be good for Ronny) but hopefully the rest will be full of sunshine.

On monday there is a novice Olympia qualifier and an ABC qualifier, im hoping me and the doggies can get it right and have a good run. Kody is also competing this weekend so we are going to try and get another clear round.

Train leads to training

I arrived at the train station this morning at 7.00am and thought there was a large amount of people walking away from the station, must have been a delayed train coming from the other direction I thought, anyway I carried on walking to my platform when I noticed it was completely empty apart from one man who was staring at the information board, cancelled he said, the signal's have gone down and they have cancelled all trains to Birmingham, I couldn't believe it .....

Then I thought great !!!

Im going to have the day off work and take the doggies out for the day, so off I went (not much persuading needed)

So that's what we have done, a couple of hours down at the castle playing in the water stops, agility training with Kody, even some dreaded house work, all done by lunch time. This afternoon we are gonna have a relaxing hour in the sun before Keisha and Ronny have their agility class this evening.
I managed to take some pictures on the walk today, this is the best one I could get of Zippy, he never stands still long enough, hence why he isn't in the one posted further down the page.

Arbury Flyball

Well the weather wasn't any better today, in fact I think it was a lot worse, pictured right is Emma enjoying her first judging at flyball, she did a great job even though I think it rained the hardest when she was stood out there. Great news from today, out team Brickyard Bandits finished 3rd which was more than we expected seems as we were seeded last. Kody was awesome and his cross overs with Ronny were spot on, we had some great times today, we did achieve a 19.75 with Kody but was sadly told that we couldn't have it as the box judge said Kody had dropped his ball although his light was never put on. We then also got a 19.99 but had a dead heat with the opposing team which meant we had to re-run loosing that time too.

The clip below is Kody, Ronny, Maisy and Dylan



Our fastest recorded time was 20.04 today and considering the weather conditions and Kody being a young dog we were more than happy with our teams performance. The clip below is Ronny, Maisy, Keisha and Dylan, we had to get our cross overs right in this race as they were tough competitors, thankfully we did and the race went to 2 legs each and we won the decider.



Emma's other team Brickyard Boomerangs also ran well today, in the morning session they won two out of three races and looked great, this afternoon the dogs looked tired and i think the ground just zapped their energy, the clip below was recorded this afternoon which was a shame as it's not a true reflection of their great performance today. The running order is Summer, Hamish, Smartie and Ben.

Ronny goes Grade 5

With pouring rain and a fast sprinting agility course I knew Ronny was in for a good chance, there were a few traps which caught alot of the dogs out and the judge was being mean and marking the up contacts too, im pleased to announce that Ronny was brilliant. He always seems to perform well in the rain and by the speed he flew around the course it definitely confirmed it today, his contacts were definitely running ones so i must now hold him on them in the next few competitions.

If that wasn't enough, Keisha also had an amazing agility round and finished 2nd behind Ronny, her A-Frame was awesome so I am over the moon with her. I don't mind her coming second to Ronny :)

Kody was then first in the jumping, he had his first clear round and it was such a brilliant achievement as it had weaves and a tyre in it and as some of you are aware he kept running under it but today he cracked it, in fact he got the tyre in all of his three classes. Keisha went next and did a lovely jumping round to finish 4th, I braved the right hand weaves and she did them, I was so pleased as we have been working hard on them and today it paid off. I cant believe I am writing this but next up was Ronny, lets just say his name Rocket Ronny really suits, I was never gonna keep up so I decided to stay quite central and work him from a distance so I could get to the end where the technical part was, he was such a good boy and really listened to me, another 1st place OH MY GOD !!!


The agility show was hosted at a steam festival today, between the runs I managed to take Zippy and Pudsey around the venue to see what was on, pictured above are some owls that Zippy brought my attention too, he was very confused by them and just kept looking at them, Pudsey was more fascinated by the shire horses that were situated next door.

So that's it, what a great day, tomorrow is flyball so hopefully the weather wont be as bad as today, I will update you tomorrow with the days events.

Flyball training

A great picture for all of you that are currently house training.


Great success tonight, flyball training went extremely well, I wasn't sure how Kody would be but he certainly hasn't forgotten one thing. On his first run down he knocked the last two jumps over (Slightly too excited) but turned on the box and ran straight back, he wasn't put off at all by it, in fact he just jumped over the fallen ones and carried on like nothing had happened.
Kody's and Ronny's cross overs were very tight, me and dad have decided where we will be letting the dogs go in the hope we get it right for sunday. We have decided to change tactics this weekend, I will be running Kody first dog as he needs the help, dad will be running Ronny second, Maisy will follow Ronny as normal and then Dylan will be last dog. Keisha will be running too but will swap with Kody so we have fresh legs for most of the day.

I forgot to mention that Speedy was at agility last night, he absolutely loved his dad (Ronny) and they played really nicely together. He has definitely grown since I last seen him, he is taller than Zippy now and has a lovely colour coat. It wont be long until all the mini Ronny's are up and running, they are nearly 7 months already !!!

Agility Training

We have had a really good training session tonight. Keisha was really keen and is really starting to get back to her best, those contacts were awesome and I really made a big fuss about them in the hope she will hold them on saturday. Keisha did some lovely complex jumping sequences and her right hand weaves are looking great.
Ronny was definitely on form tonight, really good weave entries from difficult angles and great jumping sequences. He also choose the dog walk over the TUNNEL for the first time ever (he was supposed to take the tunnel on this occasion) but I am still completely gob smacked by it. I'm on such a high tonight, I cant wait for the weekend now.

Tomorrow we are hoping to get some flyball training in ready for sunday, Emma our flyball team mate is judging for the first time on sunday in Division two, I know she is feeling nervous but I think she will be great, I will try and get a picture of her in action. Emma's second team Brickyard Boomerangs are also competing on sunday, im hoping I will be able to bribe them in video-ing our team so I can put it on the blog.

Zip Zip Zap

Do you know how hard it is to get a picture of Zippy, he never stays still so this one that has taken me about an hour to get is the best I can do, its just by chance the other three boys are in the background.


This weekend we have a mix of activities, agility on the saturday followed by flyball on the sunday at Arbury Hall in Nuneaton. It is going to be very interesting as we haven't run for sometime and im not sure Kody will fully remember what he is doing. Hopefully on thursday evening if the weather is good, we are planning half an hour of training. It's not a major concern as the regular four dogs Ronny, Masiy, Keisha and Dylan will be competing and to make it even easier this weekend is hosted outside which definitely suits our dogs.

Pictured left is Pudsey bear, he certainly lives up to his name, he really is such a teddy bear. Last weekend we were mobbed by lots of people wanting to stroke him, he never seems to get bored with all the fuss, im guessing Wendy's Bristle is equally as known as they always ask if they are litter brothers, which of course they are.

Finally, Congratulations to Amy and Maisy for qualifying for Crufts 2010 in the handling class and well done to Kathryn and Diesel for coming second, sounds like you both had a really good weekend.

Godmanchester Agility

I cant believe how nice the weather has been this weekend, admittedly it was a bit windy yesterday but today has been sunny all day. This weekend the dogs have run really well, Ronny had a clear in his jumping but the poor handling by myself allowed him to run wide on turns wasting valuable time. Keisha was in the same jumping class and I managed a much better run and we finished 5th. Keisha also had a lovely agility class yesterday but they only placed up to 4th and sadly she finished 5th.

Today she had the most fantastic run in her jumping class, the course was very technical and she just went wide on one turn, we were rewarded with 3rd place, the A-Frame contact came back to haunt us later in the day though, its so frustrating as she only ever seems to blow it in competition, I did put her back on it but I get the impression it never seems to register with her.

Ronny was unlucky in his agility class, the judge marked him on his up contact which I think is really harsh, he is such a big dog and to teach him to break his stride pattern to make sure he gets that contact is ridiculous, if not a bit dangerous, why cant judges just accept that it is their normal stride pattern and as long as they get the down contact then its a fair game.

Kody had a really good weekend, no clear rounds yet but definitely getting there, just got to work on his weaves and im sure it wont be far away.

Jaws strikes again

For the last two days I have been on a course in the centre of Birmingham, today we finished at 1pm so I was able to get home and take the dogs on a very long walk up at kenilworth castle. The dogs darted out of the van and did a massive sprint all around the first field, to my surprise Zippy was not far behind.
It appears the dogs have got all of their silly billy's out now and after a fun couple of hours at the castle playing in the long grass and swimming in the water stops the dogs were more than ready to come home. Unfortunately I forgot to take the camera but I did manage to get a quick video on my mobile phone, the quality is not very good so I apologise for that.



This week we are at Godmanchester agility Show down in Cambridgeshire, Keisha's training has been going really well and the little rat hasn't broke that A-Frame contact once, I think we might be in for a few weeks of training in the ring until she gets it into her head that she must do contacts in competition too. Ronny was a bit manic at training last night, I had to tell him off on a few occasions for knocking poles due to him rushing, on the plus side he did some really hard weave entries and jumping sequences and his contacts were very solid.

Jackie has emailed me in the week to say she is thinking about changing Speedy's name to JAW'S, apparently the little monster has eaten the tv line/ariel and could of only found it by actually searching for it.

Run Ronny Run

Ronny and me have had the best day ever. We arrived at Newbury just after 8.00am this morning and I rushed out of the van to walk Ronny's and Keisha's agility course. I really liked the course and I thought it would suit Ronny down to the ground. Keisha ran first and I must admit I used this as a training run ready for the qualifier later in the day, it was a good job as she jumped that dam A-Frame again, I have no idea what is going through her head. Ronny ran next and it was just such a joy to work with him, he was really fast and listened like a hawk, he planted his paws on every contact and flew around the course with no faults whatsoever. It was going to have to be a very quick collie to beat him but unfortunately that was the case, 2nd place we finished, I couldn't be disappointed at all as Ronny had run the perfect round and I guess on this occasion the smaller dog had the edge to turn the corners slightly faster. On the plus side, Ronny beat the dog that had knocked Keisha to second place in her agility and had also beat the two dogs that beat him in his jumping class on the saturday at Dordale too.

The qualifier was next and Ronny ran first, I feel that the luck was slightly against us today, he had got most of the way round when he approached the weaves and slipped and banged his head on the weave pole, it was then followed by me slipping over and making a right comedy sketch, nothing like providing entertainment for the crowd !!!
Keisha set off well in this class but although she did get all her contacts including that A-Frame they were rather slow, we also wasted a second trying to get the line right for the tunnel, she finished clear but it wasn't good enough to qualify.

Looking back I have had such a successful weekend, im really pleased with how Ronny is running and Keisha is slowly but surely getting back to her best, im looking forward to next week already.

No joy today

No rosettes to show for today but it has still been a successful day. Keisha started well with a lovely jumping round to finish just out of the placings, unfortunately they only placed to 6th and she finished 7th. Ronny's jumping didn't go so well, in fact I think he had about 5 poles down and that was a reminder to me, if he has to wait a couple of hours when we arrive to get a run then he seems to wind himself up in the van and then burst into the ring in manic mode.

Agility was next up, Ronny went first and we just seemed to click, he went most of the way round and did the same thing as yesterday, popped out of the last two weaves, I couldn't believe it as he was going so well. Keisha followed and was running really well until she decided she would jump off that bloody A-Frame again, thankfully the judge let me do it again and this time I made her do it.

We had to wait until the afternoon to run our last agility class, Keisha was first in and looked really good, stupid me pulled her off the jump and we ended up getting a refusal, in fact in some ways it was quite good as she did her best A-Frame contact this year and I was so happy with her I went back and praised her up, obviously this eliminated us but I think it was definitely worth doing.
Ronny followed and yet again he was flying, got all his contacts and right near the end I panicked and timed my left command a little early which pulled him off the jump, my dogs listen far too much !!!

I am really pleased with the doggies today and there were lots of positives to bring away, hopefully tomorrow we can get it together.

Jackie and Speedy were at the show today, he is such a lovely boy with a very gentle character, in fact he reminds me very much of Reno. Speedy has got similar colouring to Zippy but is slightly taller, he absolutely adores his mum which I think wins Jackie over, its a good job as from what I hear he is a very mischievous little man. The picture above is Zippy and Speedy playing together and the one to the right is Speedy chilling out watching his mum.

Final word must go to Anne and Crafty the boxer, they had their first ever clear round today so well done, keep up the good work.

Saturday Success

Well what a great day we have had. Ronny started off this morning with a lovely jumping round, he was knocking the poles slightly but they all managed to stay up, I did shout steady a few times to try and steady him up, which he did, a fantastic 3rd place, Keisha also went well in this class but sadly did knock a pole down, it was a shame as she would have finished 4th behind Ronny.
The next jumping round she did go clear in, it was more of a sprinters course rather than a technical course but she held her own against all the Linford Christies and finished a fantastic 6th. Ronny came out of his last two weaves in this round, he was definitely pushing himself and just missed timed the last but one weave and came out, he was super quick in this but as I said before it was a sprinters course and that Ronny is !!!

So agility was the last class of the day, the course again was a sprinters course but did has some very tricky angles that caught alot of dogs out, one being Ronny. Keisha set off, passed the technical part with no problems and was running incredibly quick, she got the dog walk contact and just had the A-Frame to go ..... She did it, she got that dam contact, she ran her little socks off and finished in 2nd place, yippee.

Kody didn't have any clears today but lots of positives to bring away, he got both of his weave entries and he did master some of the more technical work, he is just looking for confirmation on what to do from me and sometimes misses the jump, as soon as he gets more experience his confidence will grow and it wont be long until we get that first clear.

Zippy and Pudsey had a good day out, its quite hard walking Zippy around the rings, he is already wanting to take part in the classes and my arm can vouch for that, he is definitely keen I will give him that. Reno was there today so both the puppies had chance to play on the exercise area together, they even made a friend with a terrier who was rather adorable. Sadly no Speedy today so hopefully he will be there tomorrow. Anyway I best get off and go and feed the athletes, lets hope tomorrow will be as good as today.

Happy Birthday Pudsey

Pudsey's first birthday today, happy birthday to all his other brothers and sisters, far too many to name !!!

Ive had a very productive day today, all five dogs have had a good grooming session, reminded by my poor back that is now aching. Kody practiced his weaves in the garden ready for the competition at the weekend and Keisha polished up on the A-Frame contact which im feeling very confident about.

Its not too much of an early start tomorrow, we are off to Bromsgrove which is about a 30 minute drive, im picking mum up about 7am.

Jackie and Speedy (Zippy's brother) will be at the show this weekend, I cant wait to see him, in fact I think Natalie and Reno are coming tomorrow too so should be good fun. I will update you tomorrow with the days events.