BSD World Champs

This week its the BSD World Champs, we set off on wednesday morning to arrive for the opening ceremony in the evening, training day on thursday followed by two competition days and then the final is on sunday if we are lucky enough to make it. I'm really looking forward to competing and I have my fingers crossed for all our team to do well, good luck to each and everyone of you.

If you want to keep up to date with our progress follow this link
http://www.facebook.com/pages/BSD-World-Championships-Team-GB/103309969760157

Back from Dog Vegas 3 day show

Just got back from the three day show at Dog Vegas, the weather has been horrible with rain and gale force winds, im not going to moan too much as it's nothing new for our country.

Anyway, lots of positives and negatives this weekend. The negatives are I have lost Zippy's start line wait well and truly now, im so cross with my self at letting this happen, I already know that if there is no control at the start then there will be no control in the course, ive just spent the last few years battling with Ronny over it. What makes it worse is Zippy has gone up another gear and I just cant get places to help him out which means we ended up with alot of E's this weekend. This week im going to work hard on our waits and the battle returns with making sure we get them in competition. On the plus side when we did have good classes we had some amazing runs, Zippy got 6th in G6 agility, 3rd in C6-7 Jumping which im thrilled with and he won the Helter Skelter today.

Ronny has had some good and bad moments too, he is testing me with his start line waits, its not as bad as Zippy but it will definitely be perfect next week. I think we have had another record this weekend, a clear round every day, yippee !!! He got 4th in Jumping then 5th in Agility and today 2nd in Jumping, I have to check I have the right dog when he goes clear, it's not normal that he gets them !!!

Keisha as always has been brilliant, 2 x 2nds, 2 x 3rds, 4th and 6th, thankfully her start line waits are good but there will be no harm in confirming them this week.

Just a final note to say Congratulations to The Kronik Kidz in their Team Dash, they finished 3rd which was amazing, well done Reno, Zippy, Speedy and Megan and of course the humans !!!

High Peak Show

The weather has not been so great this weekend, wind and rain yesterday and today cold and cloudy, I guess we have been a bit spoilt with all the sunshine and now the Great British weather is back !!!

We have been in Bakewell this weekend, I do like this show ground but I think this was the furthest camping pitch away from the rings we have been given, I guess on a positive note I have done lots of walking to and from so its all good fitness training.

On the agility front Saturday was a bit of a disaster, I think we managed more E's than anything else, Im blaming my handling, it was a bit pants. Today we didn't get our first run until 3pm and then all three classes came up at the same time, typical !!! By this time Ronny had lost the plot and was just in manic mode, he tried really hard but I knew we were going to be rubbish. Keisha ran really well, she got 2nd in agility and 2nd in jumping, she seemed alot more driven today so im really chuffed with that. Zippy is being a very naughty boy with his start line waits, im going to have to get a grip, for his first Grade 6 show he did really well, he is so keen and eager to please, we only had one clear and that was today in his jumping class, he finished 3rd behind Keisha by 0.04 of a second, what a clever boy !!!

Saturday was the Team Dash, the Kronik Kids were all in action, its on the clip below, running order ..... Reno, Zippy, Speedy and Megan, they were very well behaved and we had so much fun, we get to do it all again next week as we are running as a team in the Dog Vegas Show.

What a FINAL way to finish Grade 5

This weekend has been very relaxing, yesterday I did lots of shopping and eating and then chilled in the garden with the doggies enjoying the sun, it's not very often I get to do nothing !!!

Today we have been at Beacon Agility Show, we have been lucky with the weather today as it stayed nice and dry. This was Zippy's last Grade 5 show and out of the three classes there were two qualifiers up for grabs. The first run this morning was the CSJ qualifier, I know Zippy has started to be cheeky on the start line and self release so I had already made up my mind before going in that when he broke I would put him back, well he didn't ...... when I turned around to take him back he was still sat there (what a good boy) so that was it we were off ...... he ran a super course, at one point I think he thought he had finished and went off to collect his toy, thankfully I spotted it so managed to call him off, a wide turn but nothing too major, he finished 4th and picked up a qualifying spot so now we are off to the CSJ Final in September. His jumping was next, a bit of a battle at the start as he was definitely going to break on this one, i stood my ground and managed to get him settled, another cracking run to finish in 2nd place. The last run of the day was the Dog Vegas qualifier, a really lovely course that just suited Zippy and me, he ran fantastically well, another toy moment in the middle of the course causing a wide turn but again we managed to save it, he finished in 3rd place so we have qualified for the final in August, how exciting !!!

Today was all about training for Keisha, im trying to prepare for the BSD WC and give us the best opportunity when we are over there, I really don't want her to miss a contact in the team event, it's the worst feeling ever knowing you have let your team down, anyway ...... I think training was definitely a good plan, she broke her wait twice today so I had to put her back, although she got all her contacts she self released on the DW so she got put back on that too, it wasn't all bad, she ran a lovely jumping round to finish 3rd and there were a couple of really hard sequences that she flew through so ive come away happy.

Ronny...... he always keeps my feet on the ground, such a hard dog to run, this morning was a disaster, he had a moment of the naughty Mali doing his own course and actually not even looking at me for direction, I decided to take him straight out on this course in the hope he would see im not playing that game anymore, well I think it worked, his next agility round was ace, we got most of the way round when naughty mummy sent him to the wrong side of the jump, he was so on the ball and his contact were solid and not a single pole down. His jumping was also brilliant, weave issues on this round but due to them moving as the ground was so hard it wasn't holding the pegs in, im pleased with him today, let's hope naughty Mali has gone for ever.

Huge congratulations to Jackie and the clever Speedy for gaining 3rd in their jumping class today, it was such a lovely run and his weaves were brilliant. Cant wait for next weekend when all the Kronik Kids are in action in the team dash !!!

Vyne Agility Show

So today was our third and last day of our agility weekend, Newbury was very very windy but the sun still managed to shine. Today was the ABC qualifier, I was hoping I would qualify one of my dogs, when I walked the course this morning it was set more towards a grade 1 class, so very fast and flowing, more suited to Zippy than Keisha.

Anyway, to cut the story short both Ronny and Zippy have qualified for the semi's, Ronny ran fantastically well to finish 2nd and Zippy ran just a second slower to clinch the 4th qualifying spot, I think my picture sums up how I am feeling. Keisha also ran clear but just wasn't fast enough on this course, she finished in 10th place.

Shrewsbury Success

Another lovely weekend of agility in the sun, we have been at Shrewsbury for the past few days, I love this show, great memories as this was where Ronny won out of Grade 1 back in 2007, how time fly's !!!

We have had some fantastic runs this weekend, not many clears but some really encouraging runs, Ronny is still being amazing, when we get it right my god it feels good, his agility has been brilliant again, he ran a super round today just gaining 5F he also had some great jumping classes but my handling was pants and sadly let him down, im just so thrilled with how he is running.

Zippy just makes me smile, he tries so hard, he did a very challenging G5-7 Jumping yesterday and we got most of the way round until my handling let him down, he also ran an amazing agility class but I ran so hard past the DW to test his contact that I actually pulled him off, it's good to proof these contacts as if it was a championship class (sadly not solid in that department yet) but def a good training area to work on. Today he won his jumping class and he is looking so confident.

Keisha has been ace this weekend, an odd pole here and there but some lovely sequences, we held our contacts in the ring which was great, something that we have never really been able to do before as either she would ping them or I would rush her. Today she won the C6-7 jumping class to get her 3rd win to G7, she only needs an agility win so fingers crossed we will get that before the end of the season. She then went on to win the G6 jumping so I know we are working well as a team at the moment.

The dogs have all be spoilt this weekend, I was in debt to Ronny and Zippy for their previous wins and with Keisha winning today it was only fair we had a trip to the ice cream man, I think Mr Whippy went down a treat with my doggies.

Tomorrow we are off to Vyne, it's great having a third day at agility, yippee !!!