Grade 7

After 11 x 2nd places in G6 agility classes Keisha finally got that win we have been waiting for, I now have a Grade 7 dog, yippee !!!

This weekend we have been at Dog Vegas, we have had some amazing highs and some horrible lows but overall we have had a great weekend.

Friday kicked off with a bang when Ronny won the jumping class knocking Zippy down to 2nd place, they both ran the round fantastic and they were split by only a few tenths, very exciting times !!! Keisha had a 2nd in the other jumping class so all placed on the first day.

Saturday, the first class was the Dog Vegas Qualifier with the final being held in the evening, none of my dogs had qualified so it was all to play for, Ronny ran first with a really messy round but finished clear, Keisha ran second with a lovely run, slightly slower than Ronny but still another clear, Zippy ran last and did a lovely run to beat both Ronny and Keisha, finishing 4th, 5th and 6th, all qualified for the final, how nerve racking !!!

Then the low hit, Ronny ran a super agility round but the horrid judge marked his up contact, he would have won the round by two seconds, what made it worse was the judge was so inconsistent and other dogs were missing both ups and downs but weren't getting marked for it, I guess we just don't get any luck !!!

Anyway, on to the final, Zippy was first dog to run, his first ever final very exciting, he ran brilliantly but stupid me shouted a command whilst he was right on a jump and made him crash it, naughty mummy !!! Ronny ran 6th, a bit of a quick turn around but we made it ok, we were out by the 5th obstacle as it was DW into the tunnel (the wrong end) Ronny got his self taught running contact but not the correct end of the tunnel, a big fat E, he was a good boy though. Keisha ran near the end and put in a lovely round, she finished 2nd in the final so I was really chuffed.

Then today, OMG Keisha started with another 2nd in the agility class, I was thinking we were under the curse of 2nd place again, so pleased but so down at the same time, was it ever going to happen, just one agility run needed and we just couldn't get it. Then the next agility round came, more of a sprinters course but quite trappy, well we did it, we finally got that first place, what made it even better it was the Vegas money class so we won £15 too. Ice creams courtesy of Keisha today, thanks for being the most perfect little consistent dog and putting up with me Ratty xxx

Keisha then went on to win the jumping class today and gained 5th in the other jumping class, Ronny had another clear (which is one everyday this weekend) in his jumping class finishing 4th just in front of Keisha, Zippy ran the best time beating both Ronny and Keisha by a second, sadly he just knocked a pole, bummer !!! Zippy also ran a fantastic agility round this morning too but this time took the last pole, bummer again !!!

I am so looking forward to next week, if the dogs are half as good I will be a very proud mummy.

Over the past two weeks

Ive been slacking again with my blog, updates from the following three shows, Rugby, Adams and Empingham.

Well there has been some very good runs between the dogs, infact ive been really chuffed with all of them, Keisha is finally back on form after a hard couple of months with her being hormonal, I thought getting her spayed over three years ago would stop this but obviously not !!!

Anyway ....... Rugby show, the weather wasn't so great, on the saturday morning it didn't stop raining, I had left by 1100hrs and went home, the dogs ran well but Ronny and Zippy were slipping everywhere so I decided to call it a day. On the sunday Ronny ran really well in his agility but knocked a pole, Zippy was brilliant but poor handling by me kept making him jump wide we still managed to finish 10th so I was really pleased with that, Keisha had a great jumping round to finish 2nd.

Last saturday we were at Adams, not a great day for the boys infact Ronny was a complete monster, in one of his rounds we didn't even get to run, he refused to wait at the start line and after three attempts we left the ring, very frustrating !!! Keisha was brilliant and managed a 1st in jumping, 2nd in agility and 7th in the C6-7 jumping.

On sunday we were at Empingham for the ABC qualifier, I just needed Keisha to qualify so she could join the boys in September at the semi, she ran really well and finished 2nd so all the doggies get to go. Keisha then went on to get 5th in agility and 8th in the C4-7 jumping. The star of this show was Ronny, after being such a monster the day before I was dreading running him in the first class which happened to be the agility, well he ran amazingly well and won the class, only one more win to go grade 7, im starting to think this might really happen !!!

Yesterday we went back to Adams, any excuse to avoid going to work, another good day, Keisha had another 2nd in agility followed by a 3rd in jumping, Ronny had no clears but only one knocked pole in each jumping round, in the G6 jumping it was the last pole and he would have won, annoying !!!, Zippy and me finally got our act together, albeit we are still not running smoothly and getting really wide turns but some really promising work, 2nd in Jumping just in front of Keisha and 3rd in agility just behind Keisha, so much to work on but so much to look forward too.

Today im off to work so the dogs can have a nice day of rest then tomorrow we are back at Adams, I cant wait.

Just want to say huge congratulations to Ann and Gloria for all their amazing wins over the weekend, I think 3 x 1st in G1 jumping and that G1 agility win too, I don't expect you will be in grade 2 that long !!!

Thanks to Helen and Andy Brown for taking the picture of Keisha at the WC, I cant believe she kept the pole up.

Happy 7th Birthday Ronny

Happy 7th Birthday to Ronny and Rusty, where has the time gone ???

Bretford and Chipping Norton

Before I update you with the weekend I just want to say massive congratulations to Amy Sadler and Summer for winning Grade 1 agility taking them into Grade 2, they also went on to win the jumping so certainly a good day for them.
Good company, good weather, good dogs and an ok-ish handler. This weekend has been quite successful for placings, Keisha is finally showing signs of getting back to her normal self, out of the 6 classes she managed 5 clears, on saturday she won the G6 jumping, today she finished 3rd in G6 jumping and 4th in G6 agility, she looks alot more bouncy and is actually interested in playing rather than sniffing the ground.

Zippy only had one clear this weekend, still timing issues between us, he is not reading my body language very well or im not offering it correctly so subsequently we are not turning in the right direction, I guess it's just practice and we need to train much harder on this. However ........ check out his start line wait, sooooooooo much better now !!!

Ronny ........ the hardest dog in the world to run, yesterday he started the weekend of well with a super run to get 2nd in G6 agility, his jumping rounds were also great but just a knocked pole in each, today his jumping rounds were pants, they are on the video below, pole after pole after pole, very frustrating. Then out of nowhere he goes and runs a mad and messy agility round to finish 2nd again, one day I will get that win im so desperate for, not that im ungrateful but im am so fed up of 2nd place.



Just want to say well done to super duper Rupert and Emma for their runs this weekend, they ran an amazing agility round today but unfortunately he just took the last pole, what was more amazing is that he won have won it by miles, considering this was only his second show it's leading to very exciting times.

Bad Blogger

I'm sorry to all those that have told me off for not updating my blog, I guess ive been slacking the last couple of weeks, trying to find the time to sit down and write a post is quite difficult at the minute, im not sure why as I am doing nothing more than usual.

Anyway ....... last couple of weeks, Lansdown was first, not a great show for us, a few issues with the dogs and me, Keisha is completely off the game at the minute, im not really sure why, possibly due to hormones, maybe an undiscovered injury or just a lack of enthusiasm, she is still running but generally quite slow, not showing much motivation at times and then in other classes I get a glimpse of her coming back to form, 2 clears at Lansdown but no places.

Since Zippy has gone up another gear we seem to be having timing issues, he doesn't seem to be able to read my body language and at times either turns the opposite direction or jumps long when he should be jumping short etc etc, you get the picture, a complete weekend of E's at Lansdown.

Ronny is still as mad, probably running as my best dog at the minute, not many E's but still rushing making pole knocking or missed weave entries quite common.

Then this weekend we were at Tuffley, Keisha had her worst round yet on friday, just completely refusing a jump and running round it, eerrrmmm not sure what the problem is, Emma and me discussed it on friday night and decided if she wasn't on form on satuday then I was going to not run her over the weekend, then on saturday she did a nice jumping round to finish 3rd, not at her complete best but not a bad effort at all, especially at Tuffley where there is alot of good dogs competing, she also had a good clear in the agility to finish 14th, so im confused. Then on sunday she had 3 out of 3 clears, signs of her coming back to form, 7th in jumping and 11th in agility, im thinking its hormones, lets see how she does this weekend.

Zippy and me had a much better weekend, we have started to get our start line wait back so im really pleased with that, he had a lovely clear in the C1-7 jumping on friday, albeit we had a few wide turns but we are getting back to running like a proper team, saturday we had a lovely agility run to finish 10th, I panicked right near the end of the class and made him steady far too early on the DW contact which wasted valuable time. Sunday we had another 10th in agility, a clear each day means we are working as a team again, im more than happy with that, his enthusiasm is brilliant and when we get it right we will hopefully be fighting for a better place.

No clears for Ronny this weekend but he is still running well, people keep telling me he will steady and mature with age but he is nearly 7 and there is no sign yet !!!