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 !!!