Happy 4th Birthday

Happy Birthday Keisha

Well this week has drawn to a close and we have had some great training sessions, on friday I decided to put the contacts as part of a course, all the dogs did really well and not one contact was missed, it must be the first time ever ive had 100% success rate at that.

Yesterday the boys had jump training, Pudsey and Zippy are finding the full height no problem, I set up some tight sequences to see if they would run under the jumps but they didn't hesitate at all, it has given me great confidence for the season which is only a few weeks away.

Last nights WC training went really really well, Keisha and me were completely in tune and did some fantastic runs, im just hoping we haven't peaked too early !!!

Sadly the weather cancelled club training this morning, I must admit it was quite nice to have a day off, let my aching muscles catch up.

News :- Speedy got 2nd at the breed show, another great result, knowing Jackie he has probably been spoilt again.

Contacts and Waits

Day 2 of contact training and its going to plan, we are now currently working with no targets but still using treats on the ground. The see-saw phobia for Pudsey has well and truly gone, its quite ironic that apart from Ronny he actually runs it the fastest out of all my other dogs.

Apart from the contacts I have also managed WAIT training, Zippy has started to break so im going to nip it in the bud before it gets out of hand, its amazing how only 5mins a day can make a whole lot of difference.

The plan for tomorrow is very similar today, more contacts and wait training.

Tomorrow evening is our clubs AGM which includes a free starter and a carvery for the main, a new committee member needs voting in so im going along to support the right one (in my opinion of course).

News from Jan is that Pudsey is now an uncle, a new bundle of Laekenois puppies has arrived and I believe there are a still a few left needing homes if anyone is interested. I also heard from Tony last night with news that Eva and Zippo are doing well at agility training, they are running at full height and doing most of the equipment, they are currently working on Eva, trying to stop her getting too excited !!!

Training Training Training

Today worked dragged, it always seems to take an eternity when its your last day before annual leave, well thankfully it is now complete and for the next 5 days agility training has been planned for the dogs. Contact training is a must which we will probably concentrate on for the first three days, on saturday morning im hoping all the boys will get some jump training, Keisha will be rested until the evening as we have our last WC training before the qualifier which is next sunday on the 7th March, not sure about anyone else but im starting to get nervous already !!!

This weekend Speedy (Ronny puppy) has been entered into the breed show at Newark, good luck to him and Jackie, im sure you will be brilliant, keep me posted on your results.

Newton Heath Update

No clear rounds today but some really great things to bring away. Keisha had a really nice jumping round but took a pole after I gave her a bad line, her agility was good but we had another pole after I stopped far to short before the jump causing her to put the brakes on over it, so naughty mummy to blame.

Kody had one refusal in both his agility and jumping but apart from that I was chuffed to bits, his weaves were spot on as were his contacts so that was good, I think he lacked a bit of confidence so instead of going out when I sent him he came back to me, something to work on but I think that will improve as his confidence grows in competition environment.

Ronny, OMG, today was a massive break through, I have re-gained that WAIT at the start line and what a difference it makes, his agility was awesome, really fast contacts and waiting on the end to be released, unfortunately he had a pole otherwise he was flying.

Ronny's son Reno was at the show today so it was really nice to catch up, he looks very similar to how Ronny looked at that young age, tall and lean but very very cute. He is a good boy, very sweet and very playful, Pudsey did start to play with him but then took a liking to Kiros instead.

So overall a very good day, the training appears to be working and when I finally get my act in gear we might start getting some clears !!!

Weekend plans

Not much happening this week, the dogs are all on rest in preparation for Newton Heath agility show on saturday. Ronny, Keisha and Kody are all in action and I am really looking forward to it, the last time we competed at an open show was in October last year. Although Pudsey is old enough he is not quite ready yet so I am holding him back until Easter, im sure Pudsey and Zippy wont mind being the mascots on this occasion.

The Crufts entries and tickets arrived on monday which was a bit of a shock, I cant believe its only a few weeks away, it has prompted me to make a start on the three dogs which are showing, Ronny and Keisha aren't to hairy but Pudsey is a complete nightmare, he was looking like a wavy Tervueren but since his brush he now looks more like a wavy Malinois.

Anyway, winter olympics is about to start so im off, catch you all later.

Weekend News

This weekend has been very successful, we have had some really great training sessions, Ronny and Maisy worked hard at Yvonnes yesterday, there were some really tricky sequences but once Emma and me sorted our handling out we actually had some really great runs, I think we both came away with a few things we want to work on.

Keisha's WC training went reasonably well, I felt on this occasion it was my handling that was letting her down, I was either to early or to late with my commands. However, training at club was much better today, we finally seemed to click with each other again and hopefully we have finally broke down that brick wall.

Zippy was a good boy this morning, he is having no trouble with the jumps at full height and did some really clever sequences, he is beaming with confidence and im going to keep it that way.

Other great news :- Speedy had a very good weekend, Jackie had entered him in the breed show on saturday and he won all four classes, including the junior and the open class (sorry I cant remember the other two). Ive been informed he has been spoilt yet again with a new toy !!!

I managed to catch a glimpse of him running in his agility class this morning and he is looking great, he is very much like his daddy, TUNNEL MAD !!! (sorry about that Jackie).

Contact Training

I still had 6 days of annual leave to take before April so I decided to have three days this week and three days in a couple of weeks time. So today and for the next two days we will be down the field practicing contacts. Today was Pudsey's first ever go at the see saw and he wasn't to keen, the movement freaks him out, however with Liver as the bribe he eventually got over his fear and will now at least give it a go. Zippy on the other hand is not bothered at all, I sort of expected it as he is so like his dad, either very confident or just stupid !!!

I'm hoping by thursday they will have the contacts mastered to perfection, well actually im quite happy with them just knowing what to do. Ronny, Keisha and Kody just need polishing but they generally get the idea, today I worked with treats but Ronny wasn't really keen, he much prefers a toy so tomorrow that's what he will get.

This weekend is another busy one, Emma and me are taking Ronny and Maisy to Yvonne's for a lesson on saturday, followed by an evening of WC training with Keisha, im hoping we will be a bit more in tune with each other this time. Then after that a nice relaxing meal at the pub before crawling home to bed. Bright eyed and bushy tailed on sunday morning for Zippy's agility lesson and then as long as the weather is good an afternoon at the field for Pudsey and Kody to finally get their agility lesson. Im knackered just thinking about it !!!

Jump Training

This morning was Zippy's first agility class in the big boys group, considering it was his first time with the jumps at full height I was proper chuffed with him, apart from the odd pole that was dropped at an angle to help him corner he had no problems with the full height.

This afternoon I took the dogs to the field for some more training, this was Zippy and Pudsey's last time at medium jumps as they are more than ready to go to full height. Thanks again to mum who came down to film them training which I have attached underneath. It's been a good help as I can see how my handling is pants sometimes, especially when I'm running Ronny which causes him to knock poles. I MUST GET BETTER !!!