Clever Clogs

Today has been the most successful show ever. Today it was pretty much the Bandits flyball team in action, Ronny, Keisha, Kody and Maisy but obviously over an agility course. The day started great with Keisha winning the Novice jumping steeplechase and then following up with another win in the agility.

Maisy and Emma ran next with a lovely run in the Introductory power and speed, so close to that clear, Maisy looked great but just missed her stride taking one pole out.

Ronny and Kody were both competing in Primary today and both having 5 faults in their agility and the power and speed class. I ran Keisha in her power and speed and she did a lovely round to finish 4th.

Kody then did a really brilliant jumping round to finish 4th, it's really starting to come together now and it's so nice to see his confidence growing, sadly I didn't get it on camera but I can certainly remember the run in my head :)

Then that was it, the last class of the day and Ronny and me got it right, Emma managed to video it so take a look at the clip below, 1st place.



This is Keisha's last jumping round of the day, she finished in 2nd place, 4 out of 4 clears so im really chuffed.



The highlight of the day came when Emma and Maisy had their first clear round ever, it's about time but it was definitely worth the wait, it was a great moment and im so glad I managed to catch it on camera, if that wasn't enough they became greedy and managed a second clear in their jumping later in the day, well done guys definitely well deserved, take a look at the clip below, excuse our silly cheering at the end !!!



So that's it, all of our dogs managed at least a clear round each. To top the day off I entered Ronny in the clever dogs and he had 3 clear runs which is a miracle in it's self, ive checked the current seed times and I think he might be lying in first place, I will have to wait until it officially comes out later in the week, I will keep you all posted.

Daventry Delight

It's days like this when you just don't want it to end. The Bandits have had a really successful day, we finished 3rd in our division and ran the best time of 20.05, admittedly we could never quite get it right today, there was always one of us that was late or early with our cross overs but even with the hindrance of that we still managed to achieve a good time. We managed to get our act together for the pairs and singles though, ive added a clip for each of our runs, unfortunately we didn't get a team race clip so hopefully these will make up for it !!!

The first is Kody and Ronny in the ABC pairs, they did a great run and finished in 2nd place. Well done boys you looked great.



This one is Ronny in the ABC singles, he was in great form today and he finished a fantastic 1st place



Here is the fantastic duo of Ronny and Maisy, considering they ran in the collie heats they did an awesome run to finish 2nd.



And here it is, I believe this is the first Laekenois in the UK to do flyball, admittedly not as fast as Ronny yet but definitely lots of promise, the loud screaming in the background is Emma, he certainly had a fan club present, come on Pudsey .........



Then when it was finally time to pack up for the day I heard the box move and looked around to find Zippy climbing on it, not to be out done by his daddy we let him have a quick go before we set off for home.

Full strength team

Kody has been for his check up and passed with flying colours, I must admitt he looked back to his normal self when I returned home from work tonight but I decided I would take him for peace of mind anyway. The vet gave him a full MOT and everything is in good working order, his Knat bite thing actually turned out to be a insect bite which is now healing, maybe I should be a vet :) so he will be running with the Bandits tomorrow, yippee.

This is a clip of the last competition focusing on the box, running order is Kody, Ronny, Maisy and Dylan, hopefully someone will be able to video the racing tomorrow.

Sprinkler fun

Well Zippy was certainly entertained tonight, dad decided to get the sprinkler out so the dogs could cool down, Kody and Pudsey weren't too impressed but Ronny, Keisha and Zippy wouldn't leave it alone !!!





Kody looks a bit under the weather today, he is not giving many signs other than he is not his normal bouncy self, I found what looks like a knat bite or something similar just behind his front leg that has scabbed over and has been knocked by something, im not sure what it is but ive booked him into the vets tomorrow for him to have a good health check.

One day left at work before the weekend starts, yippee, flyball is saturday and im really looking forward to it, hopefully Kody will be fighting fit to join in the fun with Ronny and Keisha, it looks like they are holding a singles and a pairs competition so hopefully we will have time to enter that too.

Sunday is EMDAC agility, if I remember correctly last year they had their Dash and retrieve pool on site, im guessing if its there Ronny will want to make an appearance in that and the toy retrieve and the frisbee challenge and clever dogs and .............

Ronny would do it all if he could !!!

Weekend Update

I cant believe the weekend has come and gone already. I managed to fill up on pain killers and brave the weekend and I must admit it was worth every moment screaming directions to the dogs with a sore throat. Saturday wasn't a great success but I did get Keisha around the combined 4-7 agility with a lovely clear, I was really chuffed as we worked her contacts and she wasn't far out of the placings at all.

Sunday was a great day, Keisha did a lovely technical combined 4-5 agility round to finish 10th, im slightly kicking myself as I really held her dog walk and see-saw so we wasted a lot of valuable time, mind its sods law if I hadn't she wouldn't of gone clear !!!
Ronny also ran incredibly well but just took two poles, he would of won the class and considering it was quite twisty I have come away a really happy mummy.
Keisha then had a fantastic run in her jumping to finish 6th and just took one pole in her ABC otherwise that was a great round too, Ronny also took one pole in the ABC and he was flying !!!

Kody is looking great, he nearly had a clear in his agility but just took the last pole, in his other agility class he just messed the weaves up half way through otherwise that was a great round too, but he finally got what he deserved in the ABC jumping with a lovely clear, I keep blagging Ronny and Keisha that Kody is better but they just stare at me, if they were human and could understand me they probably think I shouldn't be let loose on my own :)

On sunday we also had the team dash, Charlie, Ronny, Maisy and Dylan were the dogs in action and it was such a great round, Charlie started and went clear, followed by Ronny, Maisy and Dylan all gaining only 5 faults each, it was such a great buzz and I cant wait to do it again.

This weekend is going to be great, we are at Daventry on saturday for flyball with our normal team back together and sunday we are off to the EMDAC agility show which is going to be a nice non pressured show for a change. Lets hope the weather will be nice (especially as we are near the end of June).

Lurgie Strikes

Pictured right is Megan, a baby Ronny daughter.

This week has been a nightmare, ive been off work sick since yesterday with a bad back, neck and a really sore throat, I haven't felt this bad for a long time. It's times like this when having dogs is really hard work as they don't understand what rest means. I decided to drug myself up to the eye balls on Nurofen and brave agility training with Keisha and Ronny last night, what a big mistake, Keisha wasn't too bad but my lack of enthusiasm really showed in my handling and I think it just put her off.

You know the saying "the good the bad and the ugly" well Ronny was the bad and ugly all rolled into one, it was always going to be hard work as he is just so bloody keen, but last night in training we were working on contacts into tunnel, well we all know Ronny is tunnel mad and for him to stop on contacts was just never gonna happen !!!

Thankfully it started to rain so I thought that was a good enough sign telling me to finish training early, which I did. Today ive been on pure rest and done nothing but mince about in my pj's watching tele, the dogs are outside in the garden laying in the sun eating goodies.

This weekend we are in Worcester at the Golden Valley Show, im hoping I will be back on form as it's Ronny's first Grade 5 show and I really don't want to miss it due to illness.

Good luck to all the ABC semi-finalists this weekend, especially to Grace and Kiah and Natalie and Kiros, keep me posted with all the news !!!

Ronny would like to wish his sister Rusty the best of luck in her Champ class this weekend, if she gets the ticket then it will be the third, which will make her a champion, good luck sis x

Must run in the family

Im a bit behind from reading other people's blogs with the results from the weekend and just read some fantastic news, Rusty has gained her second Champ ticket so massive congratulations to her, I have also just had an email from Jackie with news that Speedy (pictured left) has won his first red rosette in a companion breed show, it appears the Ronny/Rusty family have all had a great weekend, for those that are not aware Ronny and Rusty are litter mates, lets hope the baby Ronny's will take after their Auntie Rust !!!

Adams Derby

Just over two hours drive to get to the venue today, a really lovely place and they even sold cream tea and cakes from the farm house which would of been rude not to take part in :)

To put the icing on the cake, Ronny did a fantastic run in the Adams Derby qualifier to finish fourth which means we have qualified for the final in July.

Lots of great results today, Keisha had a great Adams Derby run too and finished 12th, she gained 6th place in the ABC qualifier, two placings outside the qualifying spots so just missing out on that, unfortunately Ronny had a pole near the end in that qualifier otherwise he was looking in good form.

Kody had four runs today and every one was brilliant, just gaining 5 faults in each, 2 of them for missing the weave entry, one for a knocked pole and then he got all the way around in the ABC qualifier and just had to jump through the tyre for the last obstacle, the silly plank just ran past it !!!

I have had a great day out with my dogs, all of them have been on form and it's days like this when you know all your hard work in training is paying off.

Special well done to Amy who had her first clear round in agility with Summer and massive congratulations to Natalie for qualifying Kiros in the ABC agility earlier today.

Thankyou

Pictured left is Zippy, thankfully a bird stopped on the roof for a few seconds so I was able to get a shot on my mobile.

Just a quick thank you for all of you that got in touch in relation to "moving your dog up on points"

I have been overwhelmed by so many responses, it was very interesting reading your comments and I am very pleased that you were in support of my views. The general consensus was people only move their dog up for good reason, it tends to stop at Grade 4 and then people fight it out for their own right to move up, someone pointed out that people who move their dog up for (lets say personal reasons) gain no respect from their colleagues and tend not to get many placings so they only shoot them selves in the foot.

Thanks again for your comments, it has been a fun discussion.

Midweek Report

After a long grooming session yesterday the dogs no longer look like this picture.

This week I have managed to get lots of agility training in between the three dogs, on monday I took Ronny to Banbury and met up with Emma and Cathryn, who worked their dogs Maisy and Gemma. We had a really good session and managed to do lots of jumping sequences concentrating on our own body language, especially our arms.

Tuesday Kody had his agility class and we had a great session, it was quite clearly pointed out to me that I need to start running Kody like I do with Ronny and Keisha, I think I have been to cautious with him but its time to move up a gear, which I did and it was actually amazing to see that he took it all in his stride. My aim for sunday will be WORK HIM.

Tonight Keisha was brilliant, she did some really nice bounce work between jumps and got all her weave entries, her contacts were obviously brilliant as they always are in training, my aim for sunday with her is to get them in competition !

Ronny had a good session too, the odd pole went down but much better than last week, we did manage the tricky jumping sequences and some great contacts too, we had our first go on the table tonight, he initially had too much speed and jumped on and ran off as he couldn't stop, but once he worked it out he was spot on.

This weekend we are just competing on sunday at the Otley agility show, we are going up north for a change which is quite unusual as we usually compete in the midlands area or down south. The weather is looking iffy but i am hoping the weather man has got it wrong.

Weekend update

The weather was just horrible this weekend, considering the constant rain we have actually had some successful results. Yesterday was flyball and the Boomerangs won all their races in the division which was a really nice result. I completed my first judging competition and I must admit it was a nightmare division to judge, dogs running across and interfering, lots of false starts and even dogs pooing in the ring, I suppose it will only be easier next time now I have had it all this time, it was good fun though and I will definitely do it again.

Today the weather started bad and in fact finished a lot worse and the show had to be cancelled in the afternoon, I manged to do the agility runs before hand, Keisha missed the A-Frame in the first class but got all the contacts in the next, unfortunately she had a pole so no clears today, Ronny ran well today, he just knocked one pole too otherwise he looked in great form.

As most of you know im quite a laid back person and I usually keep my opinions to myself but on this occasion this subject has been bugging me for sometime and I think it is only fair to share it with you and get your opinion. I must stress that this is my opinion only and I know not everyone will agree.

Its to do with agility and moving your dog up to the next grade on points. In my mind its quite straight forward, if your dog is ready for the next grade then it will win out into it, the courses get harder and the better dogs are able to complete them with speed and they challenge the dogs that are generally at the same standard. Its the best feeling ever when you get that win that takes you to the next grade and you know you have achieved something great and its a well deserved moment. It has taken me sometime to get Ronny up to Grade 5 and probably even more time to get him to 6, but we will only go if done on our own merits, Keisha is the same, I know she is a very technical dog and could cope with the Grade 6 courses but I refuse to move her up on points, if she is not good enough to get out of 4 then that is where she will stay.

My point is this and im afraid its quite harsh, im fed up with people moving their dogs up on points and its usually done for the wrong reasons (I will let you guess them) Im not a dinosaur, I can see peoples good and possibly right intentions when they choose to move their dog from 1 into 3 possibly even up to 4 to get more technical course as there dog is just simply not fast enough for the blast course that usually occur in these grades, but I stop seeing sense when people continue to do it from Grade 4 and above. I want to go to the line and be challenged by dogs that have earned their place in that grade. Surely its about having fun with your dog and achieving goals and working towards the next grade, not moving up due to an image thing. Whats wrong with the grade your in ???

Why im on the subject of moaning and agility, do the league tables get checked? How do we know that people are honest in their submissions, I know some leagues are automatically done but the ones where you have to submit your own points, who confirms they are actually gained by the person?

So thats me done, no more moaning this week i promise !!!

Trainig training training

Full week of agility training so far, monday I did some training with Emma, her dog Maisy is very similar to Ronny so it was good to be able to pass some useful skills on that I have been taught with my Rocket, we had a really good session so hopefully it will pay off soon.

Tuesday Kody had a good session, he is coming on leaps and bounds and it is really starting to come together nicely. Last night it was Keisha's and Ronny's night, Keisha worked really well and surprise surprise didn't miss a contact, I ran in several ways past the contacts in the hope of identifying something I was doing that makes her jump, unfortunately it didn't work and I couldn't fault her once !!!
Ronny on the other hand was a bit manic and in his pole knocking mood, someone told me that he would calm down when he was older but he is nearly 5 and there is no sign of it yet !!! With me saying that, I wouldn't change him for the world.

This weekend we are in Oxford for flyball, our team was too fast to race on saturday so we have enterd a slower team and mixed dogs about. Kody and Ronny will stay together in one team so we can keep practicing our cross overs, dad is also going to be running Kody so I get Ronny back :) Keisha, Maisy and Dylan will be in the other team but probably wont all run in the same race together. If that wasn't enough excitement im also judging a division for the first time too, hopefully I wont make too many mistakes.

On sunday we then fly over to Derby for an agility show, the weather isn't looking great, I would normally say that's a good thing for Ronny but as he was knocking poles last night I think i will pin my hopes on Keisha doing well, (I best put some magnets on her feet and the contacts)