Happy Easter

One day left at work and then im off for the Easter break, in fact tomorrow will be my last day in my current job, it will be a nice feeling to hand over all the paperwork, Yippee !!!

Thursday im taking the mob up to Dog Vegas for the agility show, it will be Pudsey's first show so im quite excited, mum is coming up for the first few days so im hoping she will have an opportunity to film him in action. Zippy will have to remain as the mascot as he is STILL to young.

Kevin (caravan) is half packed, it is our first trip in him since we got him, if you see me pulling my hair out at the show it will probably be because I cant work it, I think im going to take the instruction book with me just in case.

Anyway, Happy Easter everyone, if your competing good luck, if not, then have a good Easter, I will update the blog when im back next Monday.

Winter training is finished

That's it, winter training is complete, today was the last session at club before it starts on a week night, Zippy, Keisha and Ronny were all in action and apart from the odd silly moment by Ronny we had a really good end to the training. I was particulay pleased with Zippy as his confidence has massively improved on the see-saw.

This afternoon was also my last weekend training session at the field, to complete my training plan I just had to teach the flat tunnel to Pudsey, it turned out to be no problem at all, Ronny was on hand to lead Pudsey through on the first couple of go's and after that it was always going to be a fun, so that's it, we are all ready to go go go .............

Jackie and Speedy were also in action today but at the BSDA breed show, great news that Speedy won his class so big well done to them, Cello (Speedy's grandad) won Best of Breed so a very successful day for our family tree today.

Water Day

Today the dogs and me got soaking wet but it has been so much fun. It has been ages since we last went on the castle walk and to be honest the dogs fitness isn't as good as it was.

However, seems as the dogs love water so much I have decided to buy them a swimming pool for the garden, im hoping it will arrive next week and I will be putting it up after the Easter weekend. Ten minutes of swimming each day will soon get their fitness back up to scratch, it will also help the dogs get over any injuries quicker (hopefully we wont need it for that).

One down lots to go

So the first one is out the way and always a good indicator on how the training has gone over winter, well it would be if you didn't have Malinois !!!

As expected Ronny was mega hyper so his day wasn't that great, some really frustrating moments like him jumping his dog walk contact to dash into the tunnel, coming out of his last two weaves rushing to get to the next obstacle (something he hasn't done for a long time) or him doing self taught running contacts instead of waiting to be released, on the plus side we had a wait at the start of every class. I'm putting his day down to just being excited at working again.

Keisha was a strange one, not really at her best, im guessing she might need a few weeks to re-adjust to her new improved back after visiting the chiropractor, she did gain a 6th in her jumping so we are still holding our own, I must say she had great weaves, I left her in them and ran two jumps in front and she stayed in until the end so I think we have mastered weaves at a distance.

Kody was the star for me yesterday, he really showed me that training has paid off, doing a really nice confident agility round to finish 7th and an equally good jumping round finishing 9th, his confidence is growing all the time and a few people commented on it at the weekend which was really nice.

Reno, Ronny and Zippy had a quick meet and greet on the exercise area at the end of the day, I think they were all quite exhausted after being around the show all day, Speedy was also there but had left before we could get a picture of him.

Congratulations to Ellen and Hamish for their 2nd in agility it wont be long until you win out, well done to Emma and Maisy, I know she had that dam pole but if she hadnt you would have won it by miles, keep plodding on it WILL happen.

New Job

Two weeks until I start my new job and today I found out what I will be doing. Thankfully its good news and I have got the job I wanted. I will be working as part of a team and will be looking after the prolific adult and youth offenders, there is about 75% less paperwork which means more time out on the streets and less time glued to the desk !!!

The added bonus is ive been moved to a station much closer to home and I am remaining on days with weekends off (maybe the odd saturday to cover but nothing to drastic).

The plan for tomorrow morning is agility training for Pudsey and Zippy, we will probably just do a quick jumping session and I want to get the tyre out for Pudsey as we have only done it on once before. In the afternoon mum wants to get the caravan sorted, its not long until the Easter weekend and to be honest neither of us can remember what all the buttons are for, maybe we will have a quick camping moment on the drive. Sunday is Border Collie Show and I cant wait.

Back better

So the season is about to start and after the injuries Ronny and Keisha have had this year I decided to get them checked by the chiropractor, Ronny's pelvis had dropped on the right side which has now been rectified so nothing to major, Keisha's pelvis was also out of line but her back was incredibly tight and needed some work done on it, definitely caused by that knock with Zippy earlier in the year. Well at least they are both fighting fit again and will just need a couple of days rest for their bodies to repair nicely.

Sunday we are off to the Border Collie show in Newark, Ronny, Keisha and Kody are all in action and it's going to be a very busy morning as im having to walk courses in all six rings as all of my dogs are first on, I guess the good thing is I will be finished early !!!

Crufts Update

Pudsey started our Crufts off in style by winning Best Dog in the Laekenois, he was such a well behaved boy and considering this was only his third show I was well chuffed.
Ronny and Keisha both did well in their class both gaining 2nd place, so overall a very very good day.

Friday was Discover Dogs and I took Keisha, Zippy and Pudsey, they really enjoyed their day and Pudsey was in his element, completely loving all the attention. The amount of people that asked me if Zippy was for sale was unreal - I can assure you he is NOT.

Today was YKC flyball but sadly the luck wasn't on the team's side, they were drawn against Nuneaton in the first round, they are such a strong team and it was always going to be a hard challenge, still the dogs had fun and thats the main thing.

So our Crufts is over this year, tomorrow morning im taking Zippy to agility club and then in the afternoon I plan to sit down !!!

Well done to Amy and Summer for getting 4th in their handling class and to Kathryn and Jess for getting 6th in their agility class.

Good Luck Everyone

So im just about organised, the dogs are all brushed and will be ready for a final once over before they enter the ring tomorrow, we are not due on until about lunch time so at least there wont be a mad dash first thing.

The Malinois and Laekenois are in different rings but both showing second, I just hope they don't clash otherwise im going to have to make the decision of which one to show, lets just hope luck is on our side.

Good Luck to everyone competing at Crufts this week.

We have qualified for the World Champs

Keisha and I will be going to Germany in May as we have qualified for the BSD World Champs, both in the individual and team event. We have had the best day ever and Keisha didn't let me down, after the two selection days I believe we ended up in third place, the top eight qualify so I am proper chuffed.

At the start of the day Keisha and I also got awarded with The Grade 4 WBSDS 2009 league winner, we have got the most beautiful trophy with Keisha's Kennel Club name engraved on it, it has already been given its place in the trophy cabinet and it looks fab. What a fantastic start to the year, yippee !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Training for the YKC crufts flyball went really well yesterday, considering the dogs haven't done anything since last July they didn't put a paw wrong, Ronny has been teamed up with Ben, considering they only met yesterday they appear to be good partners in crime, im hoping I will get chance to film the racing next saturday so I can post it on the blog.

So Crufts is fast approaching and I must start making the effort, thursday is Breed show, friday we are doing Discover dogs and saturday Ronny is flyball-ing, sunday im taking the day off.

It's getting closer

One day left before the weekend, this week has flown by and I've done nothing to prepare the dogs for Crufts, im going to have to pull my socks up and get the dogs looking posh !!!

This weekend however is planned around agility, saturday morning is training for the boys, I cant decide whether to get the contacts out or the flat tunnel and tyre, or both, or maybe I should just wait until the day and see how strong I feel.

On sunday it's selection day 2 for the world champs, it has taken ages to arrive and to be honest I will be glad to get it done, not that im stressing or anything !!!
The dogs and me have had a our fair share of injury and illness this year so Keisha is currently wrapped in bubble wrap and will probably stay like that until sunday, then after that I've promised her a walk in the park with the rest of the gang so they can all play like loonies again.

Where will I end up

Ive been on a first aid course refresher for the last few days, if your unlucky enough to meet me in the street and your injured, your be pleased to know that I passed so I will be able to save your life, apparently !!!

I think Ronny and Zippy will be pleased that its all over as im sure they are fed up of being bandage practice.

Sadly its back to work tomorrow and no doubt I will have a pile of paperwork to catch up on. Five weeks today im supposed to start my new job, I have no idea what I will be doing or in fact where I will be stationed, as part of this money saving thing the force are re-structuring and we are aligning with the local constituencies which means some stations are being closed, sadly our station is one of those. I'm hoping I will remain on days with weekends off but instead of working with youths im hoping for naughty adults instead, as much as I love kids im ready for a change !!!

Saturday Ronny has training for the Crufts flyball with his buddy Maisy, they are both competing in the YKC team next saturday, it will be a very special but sad moment as after Ronny's final run next week I have decided to hang up all my dogs harnesses and just concentrate on agility, Ronny is truly a flyball dog right to the centre of his heart, he gained some great achievements and was well known for his speed, but there comes a time when you have to take everything in consideration and I think this is the right time to call it a day.

Still ....... agility is now going to play a massive part in our lives and even if it kills me im determined to get my rocket to Grade 6.