Well, we came back from holiday last week and I really should get back to training. I sit here and watch Crufts, read blogs and get the warmth in my belly that makes me really want to train my dogs. Or maybe thats the glass of Chenin Blanc doing the warming.... anyway I miss the old me. I miss having the time and focus to really train my dogs. Hoax has had a splattering of training sessions over the winter and Boo has only had one or two :( The end of the day comes and I have no energy left for my poor woofs. I train once a week at MAD and try to dedicate this to Baby Hoaxey. I feel bad in a way as both my dogs have promise but I just havent put the time into them. I know their weaknesses only too well but havent had the time to train them since before I got pregnant- that goes back to winter 2007!!!
My competitive spirit is still running strong but I cannot expect my dogs to perform if I cant put the time in. Am I content to just 'have fun'???
Friday, 6 March 2009
Thursday, 22 January 2009
Starting to work again
Well, at last updating my blog as I am finally working my dogs again! They both had a lot of time off over Xmas what with club closing, Ethan waking lots etc etc.
Hoaxey continues to improve and gain confidence. We have done a few sessions with Toni, Tasha and Dave and each of them have given me something to work on. Last session was with Dave who seemed to 'get' Hoax pretty well. I was chuffed with how she worked, finally she is starting to gain speed and confidence although I still think she has a lot more to give. I won't bore you with specifics but each aspect is better although who knows what is going to happen at shows.
Boo is my angel as always, however with all the work I have put into H our relationship has suffered. We still adore each other, just dont feel quite as 'tuned' in agilitywise, trying to do a little more with him as I am thinking about trying out for the IFCS and we need to be spot on for that :-)
We ran a fun show at MAD in November aswell which was great fun. I let Boo down with some pretty shabby handling but worked H well. I also finally got a chance to compare her times with another medium (Tonis Minx) and we didnt come out too poorly from it. I don't think Toni is going to worry about Hoaxey being hot on Minx' heels right now but I was extremly proud of her nonetheless.
Well sadly (in agilty terms) we are soon off to South Africa for three weeks so our dogs wont be worked. I get back and we have show season starting soon after- excited!
Hoaxey continues to improve and gain confidence. We have done a few sessions with Toni, Tasha and Dave and each of them have given me something to work on. Last session was with Dave who seemed to 'get' Hoax pretty well. I was chuffed with how she worked, finally she is starting to gain speed and confidence although I still think she has a lot more to give. I won't bore you with specifics but each aspect is better although who knows what is going to happen at shows.
Boo is my angel as always, however with all the work I have put into H our relationship has suffered. We still adore each other, just dont feel quite as 'tuned' in agilitywise, trying to do a little more with him as I am thinking about trying out for the IFCS and we need to be spot on for that :-)
We ran a fun show at MAD in November aswell which was great fun. I let Boo down with some pretty shabby handling but worked H well. I also finally got a chance to compare her times with another medium (Tonis Minx) and we didnt come out too poorly from it. I don't think Toni is going to worry about Hoaxey being hot on Minx' heels right now but I was extremly proud of her nonetheless.
Well sadly (in agilty terms) we are soon off to South Africa for three weeks so our dogs wont be worked. I get back and we have show season starting soon after- excited!
Sunday, 2 November 2008
Training Days etc
Well, all has been quite quiet on the agility front. Baby has kinda taken over for now.
I had been feeling quite down with her lately as I just found some of her behaviours difficult to understand. Her agility was going ok, but she was doing some things a lot more slowly then I know she can and I found myself feeling frustrated which I know must have rubbed off on her as she is sensitive.
CONFIDENT! Her weaves are lovely now and she feels quite quick through them, still a lot to work on independance and entries but Boos were PANTS at her age so I can't complain really.
Anyway, I am starting to enjoy her again now, and although we may never set the world alight as I just dont have the time to put into her anymore, we will hopefully enjoy ourselves and maybe pick up a few rossies on the way!
Oh, and I am so xcited- we have a team to run in next year! We are running with SBCC, Me and Hoax, Toni & Minx, Jo & Ginny and Kathy & her merlie! Thats a team of women and merlie collies! What fun!!! :) Only thing is they are al G7 in fact 2 of them are Ag Ch... we will definately be the cr&pest in the team! LOL
BOO
Well of course, he is my angel as always, I LOVE working this dog, he is fluid and quick and VERY enthusiastic. I forget, when I havent run him for a while how much FUN he is! Sadly I know that with Ethan around now we will never make it to the dizzy heights of the World Champs or AG CH status. I probably won't run any Champ classes next year a I don't see the point of spending all that money unless you can win, so unless there are no other runs for him I think we will pull out of them. Still deciding if I will do the IFCS stuff, I am genuinly note sure if we are good enough or if we really have the time needed to commit if you are running for your country, I guess I will see how things are at the beginning of next year and decide then, It's very tough...
Boos puppies continue to do really well, his daughter 'Lottie' got BOB in a 'posh' dog show, his agility puppies are doing great. Missie from his first litter looks amazing and really raised some eyebrows at DD when she swept the Novice board! Torro, Tigger, Bojay, Java, Mac, Chase, Bob, Diesel, Cody, Jig, Bailey, Queeva and Rudhi are all puppies I had a chance to watch this year, they are all honest, quick and biddable which is just what I hoped. I am so proud of how fantastically they have turned out. There are more puppies from Boo & Jasmine and Boo and Meg who will be out and about next season and I can't wait to see them. Also his recent litter to Zeph will be seen around I hope- I know Alison with Tigger has had one (two Boo babies- madness)! So I will hopefully get to meet her lots. I have been so busy that I havent even updated my site with photos of the latest litter but soon I will! They are just scrummy!
Anyway, bye bye for now- I have another training day with Toni next Fri- will try to report back- see ya! xxx
HOAX
I have however managed to do a little with Hoaxey and we have had ups and downs.
I had been feeling quite down with her lately as I just found some of her behaviours difficult to understand. Her agility was going ok, but she was doing some things a lot more slowly then I know she can and I found myself feeling frustrated which I know must have rubbed off on her as she is sensitive.
After one trainer (Ian Smith) mentioned a few things to me it really boosted my confidence. He commented on how willing she was and how much she wanted to get it right for me. I realised that her working something more steady is her way of trying to get it right. Hoaxey tends to do things fast first time, then if she gets it wrong and i take her back, she works steady until she is sure she has got it right then steps up again. I used to always reward, regardless of if she was correct as long as she was fast and I am going back to that again. Also i must remember to be less fussy about things with her, if I want speed on the contacts and I am pushing that then I need to be less pedantic about her FP and reward the speed.
Tuesday evening at MAD she was great, really quick and still neat and most importantly...CONFIDENT! Her weaves are lovely now and she feels quite quick through them, still a lot to work on independance and entries but Boos were PANTS at her age so I can't complain really.
Anyway, I am starting to enjoy her again now, and although we may never set the world alight as I just dont have the time to put into her anymore, we will hopefully enjoy ourselves and maybe pick up a few rossies on the way!
Oh, and I am so xcited- we have a team to run in next year! We are running with SBCC, Me and Hoax, Toni & Minx, Jo & Ginny and Kathy & her merlie! Thats a team of women and merlie collies! What fun!!! :) Only thing is they are al G7 in fact 2 of them are Ag Ch... we will definately be the cr&pest in the team! LOL
BOO
Well of course, he is my angel as always, I LOVE working this dog, he is fluid and quick and VERY enthusiastic. I forget, when I havent run him for a while how much FUN he is! Sadly I know that with Ethan around now we will never make it to the dizzy heights of the World Champs or AG CH status. I probably won't run any Champ classes next year a I don't see the point of spending all that money unless you can win, so unless there are no other runs for him I think we will pull out of them. Still deciding if I will do the IFCS stuff, I am genuinly note sure if we are good enough or if we really have the time needed to commit if you are running for your country, I guess I will see how things are at the beginning of next year and decide then, It's very tough...
Boos puppies continue to do really well, his daughter 'Lottie' got BOB in a 'posh' dog show, his agility puppies are doing great. Missie from his first litter looks amazing and really raised some eyebrows at DD when she swept the Novice board! Torro, Tigger, Bojay, Java, Mac, Chase, Bob, Diesel, Cody, Jig, Bailey, Queeva and Rudhi are all puppies I had a chance to watch this year, they are all honest, quick and biddable which is just what I hoped. I am so proud of how fantastically they have turned out. There are more puppies from Boo & Jasmine and Boo and Meg who will be out and about next season and I can't wait to see them. Also his recent litter to Zeph will be seen around I hope- I know Alison with Tigger has had one (two Boo babies- madness)! So I will hopefully get to meet her lots. I have been so busy that I havent even updated my site with photos of the latest litter but soon I will! They are just scrummy!
Anyway, bye bye for now- I have another training day with Toni next Fri- will try to report back- see ya! xxx
Tuesday, 2 September 2008
Linx' issues
Well, we have finally got organised and contacted the vet. Linx has the signs of HD (Hip Dysplasia), although he was scored as a youngster at 6:4 which was pretty good! It does mean that his agility career will be shortlived, but short term it isn't all doom and gloom. We will start treating Linx with Glucosamine and Chrondrotin. The vet stressed to us that at the moment it is imperative to keep Linx lean and muscled. She doesn't think that his agility career should be stopped now- just kept low impact and not too intensive if possible. We know as he gets older the joint will deteriorate but we want to do our best to support him for now and then.
Friday, 1 August 2008
Broken Linx?
Well Linx went to see Peter the vet today who really is fab. He thinks that the stiffness and jumping issues may be caused by a thickening in Linx' left knee.
We have booked him in for XRays on Tuesday so we can see if there are any bone/ joint issues there or anywhere else and then move on from that.
Not much else to say. hoaxey is still in full flooded season and Boo is at singing point now- constant whining and not eating is tough for poor Boo. Hoax is STILL a huge tart. I think we areon about day 11 now so this is the worst part. I suspect it will all be over in four or five days and hopefully we will have a short return to normality before Toto arrives.
We have booked him in for XRays on Tuesday so we can see if there are any bone/ joint issues there or anywhere else and then move on from that.
Not much else to say. hoaxey is still in full flooded season and Boo is at singing point now- constant whining and not eating is tough for poor Boo. Hoax is STILL a huge tart. I think we areon about day 11 now so this is the worst part. I suspect it will all be over in four or five days and hopefully we will have a short return to normality before Toto arrives.
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