TAGGED!!!!!

Ok not sure I get this tagged thing... But here is the pic....



Picture is of Mika. My first Border Collie. She was born 17th Feb 1996, day after my birthday. She was my most nagged after birthday present. Boy did I have to work hard for that one. But she was worth it. We never hit the heights in agility. And from 5 years of age onwards, Mika or moo moo as I used to call her, was never the healthiest of dogs after starting to having epileptic fits. But she was a really loving little dog. She died in September 2005 aged 9. Way way to young :-(

Trouble is that I seem to have been tagged a few times and so do all the others bloggers that I regularly look at. So who the heck to I tag!!!

So "what's going on"

Blog all really. Everyone else seems to be able to type so much on their blogs. I must have a very boring life!

So since December, eh, both dogs are back to full training now. Both are just a little over their ideal weight, no not fat but not optimum. And I wouldn't say either of them are as fit as they should be. Yes I know it's my fault. My but is that I was trying to think the other day when I last trained the dogs properly and consistently. It has got to be back in October or early November. So no wonder we are a bit rusty and not that fit. That includes me of course, the not being fit! lol. I ended up having a break from the gym just before and over Christmas and have only really got back to it for the last two weeks. I feel better already. Just need to keep it going now.

Training day seemed to go well. I did have a fair few e-mails from people saying they enjoy it which is always nice. I spend the few days before hand and most of the day wishing I had never arranged the training. For some weird reason I get really really scared!!

Christmas came and went without much too much excitement. Obviously I enjoyed the break and Christmas day. But it was a nice quiet one, just the way I like it.

Went back to training on 5th Jan, nice and early. Have managed to get some training in with Toni which is great as no one manages to nag me into doing things right, quite like Toni does. And my handling has def. slipped so thanks mate.

Off to Ribble later on today. Yes it's a long way but I really want to do a show now. So I guess I might update the blog after Ribble. I don't normally have a negative attitude about how well I will do at a show (or not) but I am really not expecting anything great this weekend, just purely down to my crap handling at the moment and the dogs not being at peak fitness. But i'm sure we'll have fun trying!

Oops in trouble again!

Well now I am in trouble for not individually naming Leah in my good luck at Olympia message!! So good luck to Leah as well as Toni and Nancy... oh and ANYONE else that is at Olympia that I haven't named individually.

Very interesting!!

Ok maybe not. Sorry false hope there. Why does everyone else seem to have more to write on their blog than me! I must lead a very quiet (read boring if you like) life!

It's been all the usual stuff. Work is well... work! It's not great. All a bit quiet and just a little worrying.

Back.. well this is loads better! So going to Osteo has worked. He did a very good job even if I do feel skint now. I think it was worth it. I have one more session left to go and that's done then. I wouldn't hesitate to go back if ever I need to. Is def. worth looking after yourself properly.

Agility.. managed to train both dogs for an hour each on Monday. First time for ages. Was really good fun. Both dogs worked really well and I feel like I have got my enthusiasm back. So am looking forward to doing lots of training with my dogs over the Christmas break and trying to get us all ready for Ribble.

Teaching.. training day with Toni on 28th is nearly full so that's good. Not too worried if we don't get anymore as we have nice size groups at the moment. Lets just hope it goes well. I have finished teaching my regular Thursday group for this year. There are some brilliant people in there that make it worth going to teach and there are those that make you want to bang your head against a very strong brick wall. But all in all as people they are a great bunch. If only I could get them to understand the importance of training contacts!!

Am judging at WAG on Sunday. Not sure I am looking forward to it (see last post for why) but I have designed my courses and will see how it goes. I have bought a thing called snuggle safe heat pad that you heat in the microwave and stays warm for up to 8 hours. So I will have that to keep me warm.

Next Saturday is Olympia. Bombed out competing wise this year but am going as Toni's groom. Am really looking forward to that.

Toni has her contacts DVD out now. I have seen it and was very impressed. Toni has stunning contacts with Kite and Minx and it shows exactly how they were done. It is a good step by step guide.

Hm what else... off Christmas shopping on Monday. Will be glad when it's all done. But then I have to wrap it all... eek.

I guess it just remains to say good luck to all the bloggers that are at Olympia. Obviously I will be rooting for Toni. I know Nancy has worked hard with Niamh and am so pleased to see Nancy back at a big final.

Not a lot going on!

Well as the title suggests, not a lot going on. Very boring (sorry). Training... well haven't done much of that. My dogs have had a month off each and then I managed to hurt my back, so I haven't been running them. Tried on Monday and was ok but not great. I was going to run both but Twix managed to cut her paw on the Sunday so just ran Jag which was nice but I wasn't running him properly but he was such a good boy.

I guess it isn't long until Christmas so will just potter through and to a little bit of training but i'm sure the extended rest won't dog the dogs (or me) any harm.

No shows to report on either. Well not for my dogs. Last Sunday there was a WAG show which I went to to watch some of the people I train and I also thought I might be able to help out a bit as Leah was judging. We had a good laugh! But I soon learnt that you can't please everyone and some people just can't seem to stand people being to happy, hey ho. I won't need to help as much in future! But I think having a laugh passed the time of day. Poor Leah was stuck judging for over 10 hours and it was flippin freezing. I know most people appreciated Leah's courses and the time she took to judge everyone. Well done Leah. Just a shame there were the odd few people that couldn't see past themselves!

My club enjoyed the show. Between 3 of them, they won all the grade 1/2 classes.

Toni and I are doing a training day on 28th December. So should be enjoyable. Have lots of people already but still some spaces left. Be good to run off all the Christmas pud.

So what next... well a series of going out getting drunk nights! And then the pain of deciding what the heck to buy everyone for Christmas! I always say I dislike Christmas but it's not really Christmas I dislike, its that bit before. To add to it both my parents have Birthdays at Christmas too. One on 19th and one on 27th, so double the presents to think of... ahh!!!!

Well thats about it really. I hope all the other bloggers are fighting fit and looking forward to Christmas.

WAG show 26th october

I usually end up judging most of these each year, well it feels like it. Not that I mind at all. But today I decided to enter one instead. And ok it is a small unaffiliated show but my enthusiasm for agility has kinda been on the decline of late. But I was actually looking forward to today. Nearly didn't enter but then thought what the heck. I think it is because I knew that there would be a good group of club memembers there, that I decided to go along and have a laugh!

Well what a good day! On a persoanl note, both dogs went clear in the agility. I trained my contacts and they were both great, Twix's were even quick. Both had good waits. The helter skelter was a real blast and both of mine went clear, finishing 2nd and 4th. The best result was the jumping where they both again when clear and finished 1st and 2nd. My first double!!! Even more pleaseing was that the time between Jag and Twix in the jumping was 0.9 and in the helter skelter, even closer at 0.4! And they were both big blasty course. Go little legs Twix!!! And it wasn't like Jag was slow on them either as there were another couple of decent grade 7 dogs there that were on similar times.

As for the others from club. Well what a day. I think there were 8 of us there and between us we won 21 rosettes. Now I am well impressed with that. We had a 1&2 in the helter skelter. In one of the jumping classes club memebers were 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th. There was at least one other 1st and two other 2nds. One of those was from my friend Karen. Her dog (like her) is basically mental. Ya know, one of those dogs you would love to get your hands on! But his first clear I think and Karen's first trophy. Might be some more there one day I think.

So well done to all the club members. Kinda makes you feel like maybe, just maybe, they do listen sometimes. Almost as proud of them as I was of my own dogs (almost!).

Oops - how long!!

Just looked back on my blog and last post was 2 months ago!! Eek where did that time go.

Have heard lots of grumps about blogs but never mind. If they bore you and you are reading this then s*d off. Make a choice, don't read it. For the rest that find them interesting for nosey reasons or anything else, please do continue.

So blimey, October. Well what has happened since Agility Club show. No idea really. I went to DIN for a week. Very frustrating week. Twix did qualify for the end of week finals so was very pleased but frustrated that in 3 out of the 4 grade 5 jumpings she did, that we had the fastest time and one pole down. Grrr. Jag was a good boy but seemed to go clear in the agility classes I was training and not in the jumpings. Hey ho. Oh and there was one agility round I refused to do because of the wind at the time. I have never seen an a-frame blown over and across the ring, breaking the weaves as it went! Was I gonna run my dog even though they changed the course.. NO! Too much risk. What is weird is the amount of people that agreed and said it was too dangerous, only to run their dogs!! It makes me really mad! And I could go on all day about it but won't.

Judged at Paws in the park, nice show, enjoyed judging for a change. Class winners did really well. Well apart from the winner of the grade 5 agility and he should have had 5 for kneeing his dogs into the weaves but my error.

Not much else to say agility wise, I have missed out on Olympia this year. I really am not that bothered. Yes if I had qualified I would be more than happy but i'm not kicking myself for not getting there either. I will be there as a groom though! So watch out I will chilled and just enjoying.

Dogs are both fine. Twix has had a cut poor, you'd have thought she had had her leg chopped off the way she limped on it. But that lasted one day!

Now chippenham has been cancelled, I have no more KC shows left this year. I may or may not to Rugby. Not that bothered to be honest. Have booked a room for Ribble next year. Could do with a break really to reiginite my enthusiasm for agility.

On a good note I have had a sneak preview of Toni's new contacts DVD that is due out soon (watch this space!). Very good and hope for Toni's sake that it sells really well. Toni's contacts with her dogs are blinding. And the DVD really is "how she did it".

Oh will be judging a few WAG shows this year. I am busy saving for a caravan. No way I can do another year in a tent. So all money making ideas on a postcard please!!