Double six's

So my mob have been very very greedy this weekend and have come away with a whole bunch of placings, best of all, both Ronny and Keisha have gone Grade 6 so im over the moon, infact I think my cloud 9 will continue for the next few days !!!

So looking back at the weekend the results are as follows:

Ronny had only one clear but got that final jumping win in the G5-7 Jumping to finish 6 seconds ahead of the next dog, he was pretty amazing and it's probably one of the best runs ive ever seen him do, I think the next village could hear my cheers after he cleared that last pole !!!

Keisha has been amazing all weekend, winning the G5-7 agility on the first day and then followed it up by another 2 agility wins and 2 x 2nd in the jumping. She also won the top prize in the Vegas Class winning us lots of pennies.

Kody has been a very good boy this weekend gaining 2 x jumping wins, 2nd and 3rd in agility and also qualifying for the CSJ final, out of all my dogs Kody has the best contacts and proved it by not missing a single one, good boy Kody !!!

Not to be out done Zippy has definitely kept with the rest of the gang, 2 x 6th, 1 x 7th, 2x 8th and 11th place. He has made massive progress and is really starting to zoom along, infact only a tenth off Kody in one of the jumping classes and just missing out on first place by less than a second in a couple of classes, I think once he masters the single footed action in his weaves then we will definitely find that second.

So thats us, wow what a good weekend, I bet we wont do that again !!!

Just one more day

How knackered am I being back at work this week, it feels like I haven't slept for 2 weeks.



Anyway thankfully its the last day tomorrow and then its the bank holiday weekend, yippee !!!

This weekend we are at Dog Vegas, it's Keisha's first Grade 5 show so im very excited, it seems like it has taken us forever to get here but at least it has finally arrived. Also in action is Ronny, Kody and Zippy so ive got a busy weekend ahead, ive decided im going to start running Zippy like my other dogs and take the apron strings off.

I took Zippy and Ronny to club last night, Zippy is looking good but is starting to get a bit eager on his contacts, especially before the tunnel, something I must keep an eye on, im not quite ready for running contacts from him. As expected Ronny was a rocket just let loose, after an initial naughty run of turning his contacts into running ones he was swiftly brought back and made to do them properly, im guessing its my punishment for leaving him behind whilst Keisha and me went on holiday to Germany !!!

The picture above is some of the team in our base camp next to the arena, and yes they did cage us aswell as the dogs !!!

BSD World Champs Update

Wow what a great experience, ive had the best time ever and if I can qualify next year im definitely going to do it all again. I will try and keep this short but ive got so much to talk about.

Firstly thanks to the team for such a brilliant and enjoyable week away, it was such a nice atmosphere and thanks for looking after me on my first WC experience.

So we arrived late on tuesday evening after a long long drive to the venue, most of the dogs travelled well including Keisha but I think we were all glad to arrive at the hotel and finally get some proper sleep.

Wednesday was the opening ceremony, we all looked the part in our team colours including the dogs wearing the all important flag !!!

Thursday was training day, we arrived to find out that we would be competing on astroturf, I was slightly worried as we have never run on that surface and I wasn't sure if it would suit Keisha, however she didn't seem too bothered and apart from the odd slip she seemed to cope very well.
We did however have a moment of panic when Keisha decided she didnt like the colour of the A-Frame contact, BRIGHT ORANGE, so she kept leaping the whole of the up contact to avoid it, thankfully after a few attempts on the lead she finally decided it wasn't so bad after all.

Friday, competition Day 1
It didn't start so well, Keisha took the first pole and then got eliminated at the first tunnel after taking the wrong end and straight after that missed her weave entry, I decided to hold all her contacts after that and just get around the course enjoying it. I think she was slightly stressed about the whole situation.

The second round was jumping, thankfully Keisha was back on form and did a lovely round to finish clear, sadly not fast enough to qualify.

Then on to the first round of the Team event, jumping was first and Keisha ran as first dog, she ran really well and got home clear as did the next two dogs which meant the team were clear laying in 9th place going into the second day.

Saturday, competition Day 2
Again didn't start so well, naughty ME arrived at the long jump to early making me static and out of position to get to the next obstacle, Keisha turned the correct way but I couldn't get their to save it and we ended up getting eliminated, unfortunately I think this was the course that gave us the best chance for us to qualify so I was really gutted that I let her down.

Agility was the last run and Keisha went really well and finished clear, unfortunately we weren't fast enough so we didn't make it to the final on sunday.

So the last round of the team event was agility, Keisha decided to have a naughty moment in this class and pinged her A-Frame contact, I was a bit annoyed as she hadn't missed a contact up until that point and I really didn't want it to happen in the team event, looking back I think I worked it to hard and maybe forced the error after desperately wanting her to get the clear round, one of the other team dogs got eliminated which meant we carried through 5 clears and 1 x 5f. The team ended 6th out of 21 teams so not a bad result in the end.

So what have I learnt ................. I really need to work hard on Keisha's contacts, especially her A-Frame, they can be so slow at times which really eats into those vital seconds. Ive also decided im going to take more risks, don't get me wrong a clear round is important but a FAST clear round makes all the difference and if I want to compete with the best ive got to get to their standard. So watch this space ...........

Well done to the rest of the GB Team, I hope we can do it all again next year !!!



More pictures to follow.

Dog Vegas Results

So another great weekend for my mob and a real high to finish on for Keisha before we set off for the BSD World Champs. Out of the 6 runs Keisha managed 5 clears, 1st, 2 x 2nd, 3rd and a 4th including in that, we won money in the Vegas class and also qualified for the Dog Vegas final.

Kody also ran well running 5 clears out of 6 classes, he gained a 4th in jumping and he is really starting to drive through his weaves again which im really chuffed with.

Ronny had a good couple of days, a lovely run in his agility but the nasty judge marked his up contact on the dog walk otherwise he was clear, a couple of good jumping rounds but either a pole of a silly mistake threw us out of the race.

Zippy is becoming more consistent, an 11th in his jumping yesterday and then a really good run in his jumping today to finish 4th, a pole in each of his agility and I think maybe an up contact was marked on his dog walk too (just wants to be like his dad).

Well done to Ellen and Hamish for winning into Grade 2, well deserved and im sure it wont be long until we see you in Grade 3. Congratulations to Amy and Summer for their 2nd in jumping, another one to watch out for !!!

So thats it, ive got to go and pack for Keisha and me, I will update my blog on return from the World Champs.

Weekend is nearly here

This weekend we are at Dog Vegas, its my last show before Keisha and me set off for the World Champs on tuesday so I will be doing nothing but TRAIN TRAIN TRAIN.

Zippy is entered in two classes a day, at the time I thought that would be enough for him but he has progressed so quickly I now wished I had entered that third, still im sure he wont mind a game of fetch on the exercise area instead.

Good luck to Emma and Ellen this weekend, hopefully you will both get that last win !!!

Weekend Update

So it turned out to be a successful weekend for us again. Keisha had a 2nd in agility yesterday and then won the combined 4-5 agility today, after 9 x 2nd places in the agility classes it was a nice feeling to finally get that win !!!

Ronny had some great runs, the odd pole or a silly mistake from me gave way to our chances of getting a clear, still its nice to have a consistent Ronny and we still have those solid waits at the start so lots of positives to come away with.

Kody is now back on form with his weaves, he had a lovely jumping round to finish 3rd today and he is really starting to become more independent in the ring, he still has the odd inexperienced moment shall we say but overall we are getting there.

Zippy is coming on leaps and bounds, he had an excellent jumping run yesterday and would have finished 5th but sadly slipped in the rain and took a pole, today his agility was great but naughty mummy gave him a proper dodgy line and again he took a pole. The picture above is Zippy in action.

Go go go

Another fantastic picture taken by Alan Score this one is of my rocket boy (Ronny) in action, thank you once again.

Sorry this blog is a bit of a dash thing tonight as ive only just got home and im up first thing in the morning followed by a weekend away. This weekend we are at Godmanchester Show, only two runs a day for the dogs but at least it will be a relaxing one for me, I will update you on the results when im back. Have a good weekend everyone.

Vyne update

The weather has been horrible today, really cold with rain and hail stone showers, I guess asking for sun all the time is a bit much !!!

The dogs have had another good day, Ronny had a lovely agility round but just got marked on his dog walk UP contact which was a shame, he had a nice jumping round too but took the pole rushing to get to the tunnel.

Keisha took a pole in her agility otherwise that was a really nice round, she did manage a 6th and an 8th in her jumping classes which were a complete sprint so that was good too.

Kody had a good day, a good clear in his jumping, a pole in his ABC qualifier which was a shame and a naughty missed weave entry in his agility class, still he has now got his mojo back in the weaves so thats always a bonus.

Zippy has ran well again, a clear in his jumping followed by a fantastic 18th in C3-5 jumping less than 2 seconds behind Keisha so I was mega chuffed with that. I do enjoy running Zippy he is going to be a mini Ronny with a Keisha brain !!!

Dordale day 2

Lots of very nearly's today, Keisha knocked a pole in each her agility and jumping but ran extremely well, Ronny had tunnel issues, not keeping him out of them but actually getting him in, on his jumping run they had pegged the middle of the tunnel and Ronny crashed inside and after a tumble came out the entrance again, I was quite worried at the time because it usually only takes a split second for him to exit and he was in there for a while. His agility was nice but didn't sight the tunnel so got a refusal, other than that he was a very good boy.

Kody had a good day, gaining a 4th in jumping and only a few tenths behind the winner so not bad considering it was his first Grade 4 show, he got all his weaves which was fantastic and unfortunately just had a pole in his agility otherwise that would have been a great run too.

Zippy is just brilliant, he gained 11th in agility today and nearly got round a really hard Grade 3 agility class, just getting confused by the tunnel and dog walk entrance being quite close and subsequently getting eliminated, however he managed to wrap his neck around pole 2 of the weaves today at speed so he is already starting to adjust himself.

Tomorrow we are off to Newbury for the Vyne Show, for some reason I have only entered Kody in the ABC qualifier (what was I thinking) at least Ive got one attempt at qualifying.

Good luck to anyone else who is competing !!!

Keisha go's Grade 5

Keisha has finally made it to Grade 5 winning her last jumping round today, I was starting to think 2nd place was a complete curse for us, however we have finally done it and what a great boost with the World Champs coming up.

Ronny has had another great day, a single pole in each jumping round and not a bad agility round either, shame about the handler !!!

Kody has got his weaves back, a blip in the last round but I think I rushed him, hopefully tomorrow will confirm the weave issue is disappearing.

Zippy has been such a good boy, no clear rounds but not bad attempts at all, he is now getting so much faster and is finding it hard to get in the weaves, he makes the entry but cant get his neck round for pole 2, I think that will come with experience.

Speedy ran well for Jackie, he is another baby that is progressing nicely, mum managed to film a couple of Zippy's and Speedy's rounds which I have posted below.

Well done to Ellen and Hamish for getting 2 x 2nds today, that win is just around the corner, maybe tomorrow !!!