Blogging with a smile :-)

We went to the Border Collie Club show today, I guess it may become the midland equivalent of mid-downs in the south to kick off the season, and we got through the day pretty damm good, Raz was happy to be with us for walks and checking ring duty. This is a very important duty and keeps ours guys that don't compete actively involved in our day, the other is collecting rosettes duties. So it is a busy day for all the guys.

Well me and the Rivioli, what can I say, she is going up a gear and showing more keeness and determination, I wanna run her again and again. So looking forward to Easter and having several days of competition and getting back into the groove. The Zev makes me feel the same, managing to gain a 2nd and a 3rd in combined classes. I was so chuffed at the improvement and know that there is more to come. I did get told that Shelties just run the speed they do at agility and you can't change it, well Zev is a sheltie and his speed is increasing. I just thanked the person for the info and smiled :-) perhaps me and Zev are unique. I do not know? But I would have thought with the right training and appropriate value reward, improvement in performance would be possible, sport is about improving and enhancing unless there was a physical, emotional or psychological reason why that would not have an impact...sure is food for thought.

Good weather, good company and great dogs. Met a young dog that was beautiful and so like Nuts, I was wow, wow and wow. Enough to put a smile on anyone's face, Summerwick is right 'Happy Days'... the gloom is lifted :-)

p.s Zev is now two, and it fab that Bernadette photos them so young, you can see Zev has gone from cutest puppy to most handsome sheltie :-) how lucky am I - loads...how bias am I...totally....

The Champ is Gone....

Crappy Monday...today I learnt the Champ has had to leave us. I can’t believe that she is gone, just 3 weeks shy of 16. She was the champ both in agility and as a dog to live with. She started Lesley's association with the renown Waggerland line of Mike Snows and are the foundation to Lesley's own Nedlo breeding. So Loobie, who to me she was simply the Champ and that is what I called her. When I started out in agility watching Lesley and Loobie work was amazing, she was the first large UK Agility Champion and Peter Lewis sums it up

News dated December 01 - AGILITY HEADLINES - IT'S LESLEY AGAIN!
Lesley Olden does it again by winning the Pedigree Agility Stakes with her Working Sheepdog Waggerland Whoosh of Nedlo just prior to Christmas at the Olympia Horse Show. This is Lesley's fourth win at this famous and prestigious final and the second for her bitch she calls Loobie.

Well I could not write that any better than Peter, Lesley and Loobie won so much and in style. I am fortunate that I got to know the Champ away from the agility arena too, and she was just so sorted, so nice to have around and fun to play with and in her twilight years I would take her for a bimble around the farm. Visiting these last few times has been extraordinarily hard, as we never knew if it was going to be the last time we would see her. I think at this point it is all I can write, but I just wanted to pay tribute to one of the most fantastic dogs I have been privileged to meet. And who without a doubt should be remembered as an Agility Legend.

Loobie your the Champ, and we will miss you beautiful girl.

Oh no…rusty-i-tis creeps in.....

Dammit, went to Rugby Christmas show and having not done a show for 2½ months meant rusty-i-tis was surely showing with me. As my focus on jobs and house stuff, meant I felt like the tin man from the Wizard of Oz, where is the oil when you need it? Just the split second timing of ‘outs’ and ‘change of direction’ signals… hmmm I did train the guys to be responsive. Which is of course the upside to all this :-) Rivi does stuff that just sends me into ‘floating on a cloud’ land even on a course that I ‘glitched’, and I’m really excited about competing with them both next year.

I vowed to Marc, we are not having such a break in future. Which was a bit dramatic, as we have always had time off and pretty much have most of the winter off; I liked the balance. However, the way I was I don’t think that I am going to be able to if I want to raise my game. Zev, bless him it was like doing his first show all over again, he came 7th in a combined class of 81 dogs which was not bad at all. I confess in this posting I am being picky, and don’t get me wrong Zev and Rivi had a fabulous time, and were none the wiser about their handler’s glitches. Interestingly even with just two runs each they found it mentally a very tiring day out. Which is another element of the dreaded rusty-i-tis affliction – out of practice with the hanging around and mega loads of stimuli going on.

So I am now on a mission to banish the rusty-i-tis, it will be erased until a memory no more; my movements will be perfected, my signals clear and timely, shows have been entered – well one a month. Just to keep me and my guys ticking over and ensure the banishment works ;-)

Hmmm, but Christmas is a coming, might still have the time off, after all…..

Agility Season 2009 - Draws to an end - Part 1

Season 2009 draws to an end, and did it finish real good. Rivi won into grade 6, and she did a Superoli performance all weekend. Of 6 rounds we had a 1st x 3, a 2nd and a 5th. Someone said does she ever go wrong? My reply, was her co-pilot is only human ha ha ha. Yeah, it was just one of those weekends to savour - our sheer enjoyment of doing agility together. When I look at videos and see the progression over the past few months in our understanding of each other. The investment in the sheer amount of care and effort I have taken to convince her, that she is the most brilliant dog on this planet over the season. And I have been rewarded. Next year will see us in grade 6 which is exciting and scary as we move out of the ‘baby’ grades. But if we have the same enjoyment, then we will have a great time. If only the Dog Vegas Diamonds were real!!!!

Bromsgrove 2009 - hiccups and finding grooves

A real hiccup of a weekend, some great stuff, and then some less so!? Then I found my groove and me and Rivi won the combined 3-5 jumping. I was dead chuffed as this was our first weekend at grade 5. Rivi did a great agility but my second rear cross was far too late (pesky jump was in my way, the cheek of it!) so I made sure that she did not know it had gone wrong. The Perfectoli has well gone up a gear, people noticed this and how her confidence was improving. So again I was dead chuffed. It’s a funny expression why say ‘dead’ before chuffed, can someone please explain the origin of this expression?

Zev, is a whole different ball game, he is opinionated, questioning, wonderful and at the moment absolutely exhausting to run. I have tried to work out how he best wants to prep with me to the start line, so that we can find our groove. I think he needs the lead off early, so that he can shout. Good for him to get it out of his system, then heeling along side me and then I say “we doing agility” and cue him with a hand signal for the side he is on. By the end of the weekend we were getting the hang of the start line set up. Zev is doing well, however I was so glad Marc videoed as I was going into careful mode, which is not good as it gives the dogs different vibes and cues to that in training, an example was I slowed down and walked along side the a-f rather than running hard, I stayed with him in the poles!!!! Silly me, I thought it was exhausting, Zev was probably thinking “what the heck is up with her, she has gone all weird?” Despite this he got 6th place in a combined 1-7 jumping, a clear round. Woohoo and a good lesson learnt by me early and quickly in our agility career.

It was great that a practice ring was put on to raise money for charity, Rivi and Zev, really enjoyed being rewarded with their toy in the ring, so thank you Bromsgrove much appreciated and all for a good cause.

The Lumix vids are not compatible picasa for making videos so no pretty ‘dressing’ of the vid.

Gillingham - Part 3 - Rivi and bits...

Rivi, was on a ‘freebie’ weekend, as we missed the date for progression to Grade 5 by one day. Needless to say I was thrilled with her, she is getting into the whole thing, and even did not spook at flies nearly as much :-) On the Saturday she won the jumping, and I was well stoked. And we got a beautiful glass wine glass, thank you Gillingham. I have wanted one all season so that I can drink a toast to the Rivioli with her own special glass. One course I tried a different handling manoeuvre a ‘push thru’ rather than a ‘pull thru’ and me and Rivi got in a pickle but recovered well enough to come 4th. If I had pulled it off, it would have been snazzy, coz I did not it was like ‘’well that cost you a win”. But in the great scheme of things I need flexibility in how I handle, and whilst on freebies, it makes sense to me to try things out.

It was great to run two dogs, and I really like that Zev and Rivi will not be competing against each other as they are different heights. That is a real bonus. I would not like to run dogs, where you end up competing against your self as well as the agility courses I don’t think? I have not got my head around that one.

Then Mr Big was allowed to do recalls to Marc whilst course building was occurring, so that he has the opportunity to learn to really focus on Marc and doing training whilst there is lots of people and dogs around. Bigs was very good and did the most perfect recalls. Now he is over a year old, he can start agility training proper and progression with the weaves is looking really promising.

So that was it, another great show, with our guys and friends. Hard to believe there is only another couple of weeks left and then the agility season will be over.

As the Vid Rec has started playing up, we used the camera. But whilst the quality is good, actually the sound capture is far too effective! The way it records is not compatible with Picasa or other programmes. Which is rather irritating, as I can’t string vids together and all the other stuff. AARRRHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So life goes on....

Grief is a weird thing, and I agree that those who offer the profound wisdom. Which is that it lets us know we have loved. And we Wynne's are lucky for knowing much love. And yes life's relentless march forward continues on. No power to put the world on hold for a while.

So we look to the future and our hopes for journeys yet to be taken. One such adventure is having a pairs partner for Rivi. Can't be Marc, as he already has a pairs partner! This photo, introduces my friend's lovely youngster Envy out of the last Nedlo litter (Dot x Will) who is going to be Rivi's pairs partner.