Mid Downs

Don't think I've ever been to Ardingly on such a warm and pleasant day, well at least most of the day was warm and pleasant but it did start to rain in the afternoon but luckily all my runs were indoors.

The Grade 3-4 Agility was a really nice, flowing course but with enough handling to make it interesting but with no naggy bits which in my mind is what they should all be like but that's an arguement for another day and another place. I ran Suzi first and she was brilliant, really up for it but not over the top and she actually listened to me and got all her contacts, we had to do a pipe tunnel then straight in the weaves and out she zoomed and straight in getting a lovely clear in 27.31 seconds and was in the lead for a while but eventually ended up in 3rd place. The dog that came 2nd did it in 27.30 seconds so just shows how close the finishes can be. Thomas was also very good and was only slighly distracted but this caused us to miss the A frame completely so I carried on and he did the rest of the course lovely and managed the tunnel to weave entry with no problems but did pop out of the last one, I decided not to put him back in as I don't think it would have achieved anything.

The grade 3-7 jumping was a very fast blast and once again Suzi was great and got a really nice clear although quite a way off the pace but still pretty nippy. Thomas on the other hand just put his nose down and that was it. I think that the end where this ring was it the one they use as the collecting ring when they do showjumping and it was really stinky so I can't really blame him but it was quite embarrasing as I couldn't catch him and he wouldn't come to me.

Dudley's grade 5-7 agility was really naggy and I thought I was going to end up disappearing up my own backside at one point and although Dudley wasn't too bad it was not the sort of course that suits us as there were lots of potential ankle biting bits.

I'm hoping that Thomas outside will be easier than Thomas inside and that I will be able to chill out a bit and let him enjoy himself, I had a long talk with someone on Saturday afternoon and realised that for Suzi's first season she just had fun and if she went wrong it didn't matter and I just laughed which I've really got to do with Tom or neither of us are going to have much fun. This is going to be easier said than done as I know he can do it so well, the red mist comes down as soon as I'm on the start line and I don't know how to stop it even though I tell myself that I've not had him a year yet and he's only been training for about 6 months. I think it's the sniffing that gets to me as if he was off taking the wrong course and stuff but still doing the equipment I think I could probably laugh it off as this is what Suzi used to do but once he puts his head down I can't get him to even look at me let alone come back. Think I really might have to go for a large dog next time so my ankles and the ground are further away and less of a distraction :)

Enough of me feeling sorry for myself my little white one is going to be the star this year, I have the Rescue League final to look forward to and I'm going to try and qualify her for the UKA Royal Canin final and would love her to win into grade 5 by the end of the season.

A thought and a question.....

How come Dudley who was a perfect angel at Crufts, never put a foot wrong, didn't eat any other dog including a whole row of collies on Saturday, wagged his tail all weekend, played with hundreds of children, didn't wander off when let off the lead around the stand, no one who met him will ever believe another word against him.....how come I can't get round an agility course at a show without feeling those terrier teeth attached to my ankles :)

I pondered on this all the way home on Sunday while he slept like a little baby looking as cute if not slightly cuter than Tom and could come up with nothing sensible other than perhaps I should trade him in for a sheltie or better still swap him for an Obay when the owner's least expect it, think I may have been a bit over tired at that point as the fact that he hasn't got a pointed nose may have got this manoeuvre noticed before I'd managed to run more than a couple of cars away.

Think I may try the shouting 'OW' and running out of the ring technique on Saturday see if it makes a difference, if not at least it'll give the judge something to laugh at.

Tom and Suzi are fun and great to have around, most of the time anyway, but Dudley is my little soul mate and if him having fun means my ankles feel the brunt of it I'd rather that than they way he was at the end of last season when he walked round most of the courses and seemed to be really hating it so perhaps the Obay owners wont need to watch their dogs quite so closely when I walk past.

Crufts

Tom stayed with Dad while Dudley and I went to Crufts on Saturday and Sunday as he had been asked to be on the Border Terrier Discover Dogs stand.

Dudley was really good and spent the whole two days being touched, stroked and cuddled with his tail wagging all the time. Johnny Vaughan from Capital Radio came to the stand and made a real fuss of him and was rewarded with lots of kisses and wiggling.

We were both shattered by the end of the weekend and Duds spent all day yesterday fast asleep.

I managed to get to the arena to watch the Novice Cup on Saturday and saw Nancy's run with Niamh who wasn't naughty at all. My friend Tania had qualified with her small BT Tally and came 2nd, it was her first time at Crufts and I don't think she stopped smiling from start to finish.

Crufts

Good Luck to everyone going over the weekend especially Mac Card with Spud in the champ class on Sunday.

I'll be there both days as Dudley has ben asked to be on the Border Terrier Discover Dogs stand so if you're there come and see us.

Well we hade a practically sniff free session last night, the school had been raked over the weekend so don't know if that had something to do with it but he even went straight past the horse poo!

The first half was mainly straight ups and downs with us working on sending our dogs ahead into the tunnel and over the A frame which meant I was able to just run which I think really helped as he didn't get the chance to catch a whiff of anything. He worked so well and I was able to run wide of both the tunnel and the A frame.

We had weaves and dog walk in the second half and he worked equally as well with just a quick detour when I said left too quickly. We did collapsy tunnel to weaves with no problems either.

All in all it was a very good and positive session which we both enjoyed. I'm not expecting miracles as I know that Friday he'll probably be back to sniffing but hopefully if we get a few lessons like last night he'll get the message it's much more fun to actually do agility with me than me chasing him round trying to catch him or walking away completely.

C Side - 2nd March 2008

How lovely to go to Golden Cross and the weather be sunny and dry, the show was great as usual and the courses were nicely thought out and put together.

1-3 agility was first judged by Wendy Fassam who drew up a course that was lovely and flowing but with enough handling to make it interesting. I thought Tom might go and see her as he knows her but no problems there I don't think he even saw her. Due to some handler errors at the start he kept going round the first jump until I just did a running start. He got all his contacts and some really good bits but was still sniffy and not responsive to me calling him or catching him. On to the jumping which was also a lovely course but the rot had set in and he just ran past the start, after a really good wait, then proceeded to very much do his own thing although he did go into the weaves ahead of me and stayed in which made the whole thing worth it.

Suzi did a fantastic clear round in the 1-7 jumping even with some untidy handling but the timer didn't stop so we had to run again for time and she decided that she knew the course better and did some big loops and wrong jumps so we got a very slow time but she got a nice clear in the agility even managing to get her dogwalk contact which she usually decides needs jumping over.

Dudley enjoyed himself immensely which was nice but he jumped off the side of the dogwalk to bite my ankles and in the weaves got me just above the heel which must have looked worse as the judge asked me if I was all right. Not sure whether I'm pleased he's enjoying agility again or peed off that he's biting me.

Blimey it's been nearly a week since updated Tom's blog, I'll be getting in trouble soon.

After my lesson last Sunday I've been working hard in trying to stay neutral and calm when Tom goes off sniffing at training or wont be caught when we are out. Wednesday night was not a great success, I kept very calm but the little bugger kept running off when I went to pick him up, I walked out of the school thinking he may follow me but he couldn't have cared less but was caught when he ran straight into the arms of Becky who scooped him up - he was not impressed:)

Friday we went to a training day with Toni Dawkins and to be honest I wasn't looking forward to it and even thought about taking Suzi in case Tom's nose went into overdrive as I love Toni's teaching BUT he was fantastic and even though he did have a few sniffing sessions he quickly came back and did some really good stuff. I was really pleased with his dog walk as he went right to the bottom every time. Toni had us recalling them over the dog walk and sending them over while we stopped at the first set of legs.

I couldn't fault him at all apart digging a big hole in the sand while I was watching the other dogs, he even jumped a medium jump which we forgot to put down.

Friday night I took him training as usual and was just going to do a couple of things but he didn't seem tired at all after the morning and although he couldn't resist the interesting smells in some places he was much, much better and we had great fun.

I think he'll always find it hard to resist the smells at Fordcombe but hopefully as he get's more mature and experienced things will improve.

We're off to C Side tomorrow and I'm hoping there are no piles of horse poo to distract him. Watch this space.............................