Another show, another week, another win!

Today we were all at another obedience show . This one is only an hours drive away and one of the closest shows we have to us. This is actually the 3rd time we’ve competed at this venue, this is where Kez did her very first ever obedience show. However, this is also the only venue she has ever broken stays at! In fact, both times she’s competed her she hasn’t held her stays. So it was to be an interesting day to see if she would finally break that streak. The other 2 came along as well, and it was Ernie’s 2nd time at the venue and Indi’s first time . The weather was kind to us too, considering at the beginning of the week we had been forecast heavy rain. Thankfully it stayed away, and it ended up being a lovely sunny day .

The drive over was actually more stressful than last weeks. I’d given Indi a quick run beforehand to try and stop the whining… that had turned out to be a nightmare as he’d ended up almost dragging me after a cat and then bombing it in the direction of the road when in the field. And, it didnt stop the whining . Poor Ernie was not happy about being stuck in the back with him, so decided that after trying to get out the doors (obviously impossible) to jump on the seat in the front with Kez! I’d forgotten to strap Ernie in without realising, or he’d never have been able to do that. No idea how I forgot, as Im usually paranoid about it so I do wonder if he’d somehow unclipped himself. Anyway, so I ended up getting all stressy and decided to take a pit stop at services. Got both Indi and Ernie out for a pitstop… and they both toiletted again despite toiletting before leaving. Oh dear! We were only about 20 minutes from the showground at this point anyway, so got back onto the motorway (which turned out to be super busy, everyone had suddenly decided to drive up it while I was in services) and made it to the venue safe and sound. However, my car did start making funny noises causing more stress… more on that later!

So we arrived, parked up and took a deep breath. We were in the running order again, this time drawn to work 4th in novice. It wasn’t long before we were back in the ring. First up we had the retrieve. She performed this perfectly, couldn’t have asked for anymore from her . Then a bit of heelwork. I thought she did really well, she was focused and trotting along so I, again, couldnt have asked for anymore. However, the judge said that I had been walking too slow for her and that we hadn’t set off together (as in I’d started and she hadn’t straight away). He also said that she had been doing some surging forward… thats certainly a first for Kez! Looking back, I think I know what went wrong. I actually hadn’t memorised the sequence which meant I had no idea where I was going. This meant I walked slower, and so she was maybe going forwards a bit as shes used to me going faster. Lesson learnt . I do know that her set offs need some work, she doesn’t set off in a set pattern with her feet which makes it look messy… we’ve got a bit of homework there .

In the recall, Kez once again was not watching me at all when I went to call her. She was focused entirely on the dog heeling in the ring next to her. She wasn’t watching me at all, so when I went to call her I had to really shout to make sure she heard. She was slow off the mark, and I did wonder if she’d respond at all! So I need to do some work on her focus when in waits, more homework . Her other bit of heelwork was just a diagonal line, about turn and back again. Super easy, and she actually lost very few marks on this bit. The judge commented on how I’d been walking faster and so her heelwork was much much better. So, all in all, I was pleased. We lost 7 1/4 which earnt us a 10th place .

Next up, I had Ernie’s round to do. Yep, I’d entered him in beginners. First up for him was some heelwork. I tried to get him doing tricks and a touch while walking up to the starting point, but he was just not interested. However, once we got going he was hugely better than when we competed in August last year. He had moments of being focused and in the game. He also had moments where he just lost the plot and was staring straight ahead though, lol! But, considering he rarely competes I was happy to just get some attention from him . We then had recall to do. He performed this perfectly . He did a perfect wait, was entirely focused on me and then came into a perfect present. His finishes need some work, but I was happy. His retrieve wasn’t too bad either. In August he’d been quite nervous about going out and picking up the dumbell, but today he was totally confident and knew his job. Good boy . His 2nd bit of heelwork was actually a lot better. He was much more focused and happy for longer, and although he was very wide from position and did lose focus a few times, I was pleased that I didn’t have to turn it into a training round . All in all, we lost 10 and a bit (cant remember what exactly). Not bad at all! There were dogs that did a lot worse than him, so I was very pleased . The fact he was doing obedience and actually having confidence, its more than we’ve ever got before . He’s not quite ready for novice yet, but maybe in the future… who knows?

So I was umming and ahhing whether it was worth it or not to do stays with him. He’s never done group stays in a stay ring at a show before, so I had no idea what would happen. In the end, I thought we might as well go for it as the placings were up to 10th so we could get a spot… if he held . He held his sit stay perfectly actually, not bad at all for his first ever try in a stay ring . He did break the down stay though, he started scratching and ended up sitting up. That’s not actually too bad, my biggest fear was of him wandering off, rolling or disturbing other dogs. So the fact he did stay there, I was pleased.

After that, I had Kez’s beginner stays to do. Even though were now out of the class, we can still compete in the classes we’ve got left to do. I was umming and ahhing as to whether to train beginners or to compete, because if we win we’re taking away the win of someone else. In the end, I decided we might as well compete. We’re not going to be in beginners ever again, so might as well go for it. She held a perfect sit stay, despite dogs all over the place breaking to lay down because of the heat. Good girlie . Then we had down stay… where my worse nightmare was fulfilled. A Belgian Shepherd broke the down stay… and then started wandering round the ring. She ended up going right behind Kez, and being very very close. Kez was clearly nervous, but she held firm. Not bad at all for my reactive dog. This Belgian Shepherd then ended up going through the bushes… where a busy road lay on the other side. Suddenly everyone in the ring was talking at once, but luckily the dog came back and all was fine. This is why if I even thought my dog would start wandering off in stays I wouldn’t do them. It’s just not fair on other dogs and can be dangerous. I’m so proud of Kez for holding her stays though, that is a huge distraction and she was just perfect. She even had the German Shepherd next to her break and go to her owner during this, so with all these big shepherds moving around her she still held. I think she should have won just on that .

We did our beginner round straight after stays. It was quite hot by this point, so Kez was puffing quite a bit. First up we had heelwork. She did well, but was lagging a bit and clearly not as bouncy as she could be. That was just the heat though. She still kept position and I couldnt have asked for anymore . Next up was recall. She was perfect in this too, focused entirely on me. It’s quieter round the rings at this point, so less distractions. Just need to make sure she’s focused at all times. I did notice her finishes were a little slow though, so need to do a bit of work on them. Her retrieve was also perfect, she did bring it in a bit crooked but nothing major . We finished on more heelwork, this was a little laggy but still good. All in all, we got a good score of 2 and a bit (forgotten again). We ended up winning the class . I do feel a bit guilty about taking the win despite winning out of beginners last week, but then I think, we’ll be out of beginners after our next show and will never compete in it again! Plus, I think this show needs remembering for her holding stays with such a huge distraction . Good girlie!

So last up we had our novice stays. I wasn’t actually going to do these as they were quite late and I was almost certain we didn’t have a place. Then we had a huge gap of doing nothing before finding out the results for beginner, so I decided to do them as they were timed in this. She held a 2nd set of perfect stays . I was especially happy about this after the nightmare that was beginner stays, which means it hasnt effected her confidence at all . Yay! I’m glad we did stays too, as we ended up in 10th place. Not bad at all, especially as it was a very large class.

All in all, another great day out . Indi was much better at this show, I got him out on the long line and let him have a good wander (couldnt do this last weekend as they had been playing football on the venue). He was much better with the other dogs too, only reacting when they walked directly past the car and when we had a Rottweiler almost come bombing straight into us! The owner had accidently thrown the toy right at me and Indi… and this huge Rottweiler followed it. Poor Indi was not impressed! Other than that, he did well and was turning away well from all the other dogs. Good Spaniel .

Kez did well too, the only dogs she had a bit of a bark at was when a very young (but big) German Shepherd lunged at her in play and when about 3 collies all came rushing over to greet Kez at once. I actually tensed up and it was only when I tensed up that Kez barked, which I thought very interesting. Would she have barked if I’d remained calm? Earlier in the day she’d been off-lead when 2 collies appeared while she was sniffing. She started screeching, but then her ears went back and she went into zoomies… it was a very odd response! She was obviously suprised by the dogs, but twigged straight away they werent a threat and so had no idea how to respond. Bless her! She made friends with another collie as well, one she hasnt met before . Thats always good!

So, we had another beginner win and it was time for the drive home. It was actually a fairly easy drive home, the motorway was very quiet which made me happy. However, as we were nearing the end of the motorway (which basically goes straight into dual carriageway which leads basically straight home) my car suddenly went very strange indeed. It made a very loud strange noise, and I could feel the steering jerking slightly… it was very scary! It felt like something had got stuck somewhere. I was getting ready to pull onto the hard shoulder, when it suddenly stopped and normality had resumed. Very weird! Scary though, a heart stopping moment! Particuarly when your on a motorway. Anyway, so I ended up going all the way along the dual carriageway with no problems… it was when we had to slow down to the roundabouts that I realised something wasn’t quite right. There was definitely something loose on the left hand side of my car, and it was making a very loud noise as I drove. So I quickly turned off and parked up to investigate… we were only 15 minutes from home at this point . Turned out the plastic bit above the wheel (mudflaps?) had come loose and been dangling in front of the wheel. Going at speed along the motorway and rubbing against wheel, this had obviously caused half of it to break off… there was still a very large bit hanging down and I couldn’t tuck it anywhere or pull it off. In the end, I drove the rest of the way home and my dad cut it off as soon as I pulled up at my house. Still, a very scary experience! I generally thought my car was going to die on me when we were only half hour away from home. I’m so glad I was in left hand lane and not overtaking at time, that would have been worse. But, we all got home safe and sound .

It was a lovely day out, it certainly was fantastic to be at 2 obedience shows 2 weeks running! I only did 3 through the whole of last year… done 2 already this year . I do love my new freedom! I’ve certainly been given lots to think about and work on with Kez, and we’ve got a few weeks before our next show to practice . This is something I’ve never been able to do before as the shows have been so far apart and so few that I haven’t been able to properly learn things and then put them to test at the next show. Eeeek, its so exciting .

First obedience show of the season

So today we were back in Surrey for our first obedience show of the season. It was in the same place as the one where we won our first beginners in June last year. Its a lovely venue, tonnes of space which is important for my dogs. This is the first show I’ve ever driven myself to as well! I was so nervous, its a 1.5 hour journey and was my first time on motorways on my own and driving so far. The roads were lovely and quiet on the way there, until you got to the M25. That had loads of roadworks, so everyone was driving about 50-60mph which helped me a lot in dealing with the busier traffic. The weather was nice too, which helped . I finally got there, and was so pleased when I did! I was a little early so parked up just outside the showground and phoned everyone. Then, when people started to arrive, I drove in, parked up and we had arrived at the show! I had all 3 dogs with me too, it was Indi and Ernie’s first time at this venue and Indi’s first time ever coming to an obedience show. It was a day of many firsts!

I entered beginner and novice. We need only one more win in beginner to be out of it, and novice is the next class up from that. It was Kez’s first time competing in novice, which is where all the experienced handlers start out after they’ve won out of beginners. We were drawn to work 3rd in the running order for novice, which meant we had to be ready to get going as soon as judging started. Before we knew it, we were competing in open obedience at an open obedience show for the first time since August! Ah it was nice to be back . Kez did brilliantly considering that running order time is the busiest time around the rings. She was clearly not as good as she could have been, her heelwork was a bit nervous in places and she definitely can work better. In fact, the photographer took a photo of her heelwork and she was very clearly not as confident as usual. In the recall she was looking about a lot, not looking at me at all when I went to call her. I did wonder if she would even respond! She did, but she then looked over at the judge and was clearly worried by her so sort of diverged on her way to me. That’s very unusual for Kez, but then it is her first time since August competing outside. She did the retrieve well though . In fact, she only lost 2.25 marks which is great for her first time in novice! She also hasn’t worked in a running order since her very first shows in 2011, which meant it was a lot busier than she’s used to. All in all, I was so pleased! A great start .

We then had 2 sets of stays to do. Both 1 minute sit and 2 minute down… just with different dogs in the ring with her. The first stays were novice stays. She was in between a German Shepherd and a Border Collie. German Shepherds are big dogs, so I was a little worried about her being next to it in case it broke and spooked her, or she felt worried by it and broke to defend herself. Neither happened . The German Shepherd did break the sit stay to lie down, but she held firmly and was a super dog! In fact, there was a German Shepherd elsewhere in the ring barking, just to make it more difficult. I was very stressed by this and I thought I caught Kez looking, but she still held . Thats a huge distraction, and one shes never faced before. Then we had stays number 2 shortly after. This time she was in between 2 collies, and as she’d already held her novice stays I felt pretty confident. There were loads of dogs in the ring for this one due to the fact there  were around 55 dogs competing in this class! Thats a huge number. But she held perfectly, she knew exactily what she was doing . One of the dogs next to her in this set lay down in the sit stay too. What a super dog! Thats the hardest part of obedience for her, holding stays in a ring with all those dogs when she used to run away on sight of another dog.

After that we only had our beginner round to work. Due to the number of dogs, we were waiting absolutely ages! It was getting colder and colder, and everyone was getting more and more fed up. I’m so glad I had the freedom to drive myself, that way I wasnt making anyone wait for me. . Just one of the many benefits of driving myself . Before we even got to work our beginner round, the novice class finished and it turned out we were in the run offs. This is another 1st, never been in a run off before! We were competing for 4th, 5th and 6th place. We did the heelwork sequence again and Kez was so much better. She was barking beforehand with enthusiasm, and super confident the whole time. Much better than her first round. Good girlie!

Then, finally, we did our beginner round. This had a very strange heelwork pattern with 2 half circles drawn on the ground and we had to do little bits of following them as well as the normal twists and turns. It was certainly different, and Kez nailed it . I couldnt have asked for anymore from her. She still needs to gain a bit of confidence in the ring as she still loses it a bit the longer amount of heelwork we do. But, I was pleased . She was much more confident in the recall, didn’t look over to the judge at all this time and was much faster coming to me. Everything was just great! She lost very few marks (can’t remember how many exactily) but the judge said she was gobsmacked by Kez. Definitely worth the wait .

So… we ended up winning our 2nd beginner and coming 4th in novice! What a fabulous girlie . This means we are out of beginners now and into novice. Every next dog I compete with will now also start in novice. This means we are up against very good dogs now, and handlers. This class is where handlers with dogs at championship level are competing with there younger dogs. So I’m over the moon we came 4th in our first try at it, particuarly as some of the rounds I saw were absolutely spectacular! I’m in no rush to win out of novice to be honest, the next class up is A which means out of sight stays. In sight stays have been stressful enough! Your also not allowed any extra commands while doing heelwork, and the recall is an A recall which means you call the dog to heelwork rather than just sitting in front. Oh and you have scent, which will be a completely new exercise in competition for her! So, yeah we’ll enjoy novice . No rush! She can do all that stuff, but doing it in competition is another matter entirely and she’s certainly not ready for scent or out of sight stays yet.

Behaviour-wise, she was very good actually. She had a bark a few times when dogs got a bit close. One dog ran out of the ring in her direction, she was quite freaked by that. Then a German Shepherd ran right at her as we walked past, she hated that! But, generally she did very well. She was greeting lots of collies and made friends with a gorgeous blue and white Border Collie competing in our class. She’d never met it before and they were friends instantly . She definitely is improving, she can handle dogs closer and closer to her. The only time she freaks out is when they go a bit out of control and can sense me tense up or if they try and greet her. She can sniff absolutely any dogs back end as long as they dont turn round . She certainly has come a long way.

I also had the other 2 there, of course. Ernie had a great day exploring the new place and meeting lots of dogs. No obedience for him today . I’ve entered him in a couple of shows though, so he will get his chance! He’s in beginner, so it actually doesnt matter what we do as we can’t win out, we’ve already done it! Indi was another matter. Its the first show he’s been to in over a year, so it was all very new for him. He’s also never been to a show in any other vehicle than my nans van… so my little car was very different. He whined a huge chunk of the way there, obviously very confused as to where we were going. He reacted at a few dogs when we got there, they were just a bit close and it was hard to work out his threshold as he hasnt been in the show environment for so long. He also showed some very good responses too, turning away on his own. However, when trying to play with him and get him jumping about he suddenly shut down and acted like he’d hurt himself. He only had a poop once the whole day… very rare for him so I wonder if out of stress and confusion he was holding it in. I couldn’t let him off-lead either as where I would have there was a football tournament going on! He’s never done that at a show before so I put it down to confusion about what on earth was going on, he hasnt been to a show in over a year after all. I’ll take him to all the shows I go to, obviously if he shows this again I’ll have to stop, but he has been going to shows since he was a puppy and never done this before. He’s such a sensitive boy, reacts to  even the slightest bit of change strongly . He was happy for the most part, it was just when jumping about he acted the way he did when he had blocked anal glands. Thats why I think he was holding it in (which he does do, had a huge problem with him a few years back because he was holding his pee and poop in, still no clue exactly what caused it). Ah well, just have to see how he does at the next few. He did do a bit of obedience work, and actually could have passed for an obedience dog! I even got asked if I compete with him. Maybe one day, I’ll never rule it out! I managed it with one reactive dog after all .

It was a late ending to the day due to waiting for beginners to finish. Usually we finish around 3pm… didn’t leave until 4.30pm! It was raining when we left too . So had the long drive home in the rain, just to add to it all! I felt much more relaxed though, I’d got here after all . The dogs were all fast asleep, we had 2 lovely rosettes and one trophy coming home with us… I can do this! Well, it started off okay (other than going quite slow and annoying drivers behind me due to not knowing the area)… until my satnav took me a completely different way home! Yep, I got lost. My satnav was telling me first exit at a roundabout… well there were 2 roundabouts in succession, a mini one and then a big one. I took the first exit at the mini one… and ended up in a train station lol! Quick turn around and ended up on the right roundabout eventually… my satnav had taken me an entirely different route to the way we’d come though! I had managed to avoid the evil hill I’d come up on… and almost didnt get up as it was like a mountain lol! Glad I didnt have to go back down that. So, finally ended up on the slip road to join the M25… was accelerating away and then realised I was joining a car park! I had to slow right down and quickly slip in front of a lorry that slowed down to let me out. Well, at least I was back on the motorway! No more roundabouts til back home . Didn’t get above 60mph on the M25, it was super busy! Good experience for me though, it wasnt scary just very boring. As soon as we were on M26/M20 it was much more flowing. There were a lot more cars than when I drove there, so I did a lot more overtaking, but I made no mistakes and handled everything perfectly (I thought so anyway). I even had a lorry pull out as I went to overtake, and handled that well too . When I got back down to familiar roads I was whooping! I was so happy I’d done it!! Honestly, I still can’t believe I did it! I’m so proud of myself. I found it quite enjoyable to.

So, all in all, a pretty amazing day! I did my first ever journey driving on motorways all by myself. I even tackled the M25 all on my own! It was also the longest journey I’ve done to date. It was so nice to have my freedom, I can’t even say. I would not have been able to get there if I hadn’t been driving. But we got there and Kez made all the nerves worth it by winning out of beginners and coming 4th in novice . I had all my dogs with me so no rushing home to walk them all either. What a fabulous day, with so many 1sts! I had been umming and ahhing whether or not to enter it, so glad I did. Sometimes you just have to go for it! I’ve waited too long for freedom .

Now, onto the next ones! I’m so excited to see what this season and year holds for us . I have waited way too long for freedom to go to any show I like. After doing so few shows last year and barely getting anywhere, I cannot wait to go to as many as possible this year . And have the freedom to do everything my way!

(Photo taken at the beach, enjoying some of the Spring sunshine… were getting some just not a lot!)

Practice agility show

Today me, Kez and Ernie were at a practice agility show. It was basically a normal show but it wasnt for competition. This meant you could just train it if you wanted to, or just use it for experience. It was a half hour drive away, so fairly close but far enough away for me to get some experience in driving in new places and following SatNav. It was all dual carriageway with a lot of roundabouts so one step down from the motorway driving ill be doing for the proper shows. I have been on a motorway now, and I found it really easy. Im very nervous about the first few proper shows, particuarly as the first show will mean going on that evil M25. I’ll feel a lot happier once ive done a few and got used to motorway driving, plus negotiating the massive roundabouts and following SatNav. But, todays show was a great starter for me . I only took Kez and Ernie as I knew nothing about the venue so if there was nowhere to let the dogs off, Indi would be stuck in the car all day. Im very glad I made that decision, as there was nowhere to let the dogs off! The ring was set up in an equestrian centre, so was indoors and the whole area around was just a farm with horse paddocks. But, it was a nice venue and great for practicing in a show environment.

Kez had 2 agility runs to do and 1 jumping run while I only entered Ernie in the jumping. So first up was Kez’s first agility run. The course was nice and simple, with some challenging bits. She did everything well, but she was very slow completing the contacts and going all the way to the end. But, she didn’t jump off any of them, and did all of them well . Well, I say that, she did fly off the end of the see-saw! So I just got her to do it again and she did it perfectly. There were 12 weaves where she had to enter from the opposite side, and she performed them perfectly. Not bad for her first run at an agility show in 11 months! Yep, her last show was in May 2012 :O.

We then had our 2nd agility run. Its a real shame it wasnt a proper show as Kez only went and got her first ever clear round in agility! Ah well, hopefully she can repeat it when we do start the proper shows. It was a lovely easy course, basically up and down. Her contacts were very slow again, but she completed them all and didnt jump off the end of the see-saw . Her weaves were perfect again, in fact they looked fantastic! She wasnt looking at me at all and knew her job perfectly. What a good girlie .

But, then we had her jumping round. This was a much more challenging course with 2 reverse turns and a snake. The executed the first half perfectly with the 2 reverse turns and a tight turn round a jump. However, she got to the snake and lost the plot a bit . In all fairness, we havent done much snake work at all! She did get the snake perfect on only the 2nd try though, so not bad at all. But then we had the weaves… and she forgot how to weave! She was entering from the wrong side, then the 2nd pole in… finally got it on the 3rd try. She was barking like a crazy thing in this run, something she’s never done at a show before, so I think she was a bit over-excited. Never mind, that was the point of the show, to practice and train.

Her behaviour wasn’t as good. She found it very stressful in the equestrian centre, the dogs were all very close together and she was snapping at quite a few of them . She was sniffing there bums when they were turned round, but as soon as any went to greet her it was all barking and snapping. She hasn’t been in an equestrian centre since February 2012, so I guess that was expected. She was also attacking Ernie as he got out the car, that was my biggest peeve. She does this in my nans van, and used to do it when she lived with her but rarely does it to Ernie on his own in my car. But, then again it was our first agility show in 11 months, our first show since August 2012 (excluding crufts) and also the first ever show where I was driving and had my own car. It’ll take a little training to teach her that she CANNOT do that. She also did it when I walked all 3 of them this evening. Usually I can put her in a down and as long as I keep telling her she will stay down while I get the other 2 out the car. Well she flew at Indi twice and then flew at Ernie. Very frustrating indeed, and really stressful to start the walk that way. So, got some work to do on that!

All in all, it was just great to be back in the show environment and playing with my dogs. I love shows as its just somewhere I can go and forget about daily life and spend time with my dogs. I cannot wait for the show season to get underway, which it does in 2 weeks! Im excited, nervous about the driving but cant wait to have the freedom to take all 3 dogs and just do things my way. I can pick and choose what shows I go to, what time I leave, if I take them for a walk somewhere before going home…. I cant wait. First of all though I need to sort Kez out with her getting out of the car issue.

Oh and you may have noticed, I am now walking all my dogs together pretty reguarly. At the moment its just once or twice a week, mainly at the weekend. Im just shoving them in the car and taking them down the beach. Kez is much more focused on sniffing and looking for food (she loves eating seaweed and hunting down dead fish) so is not worrying about Indi so much. She also loves chasing stones, and will just completely ignore Indi while doing so. So although getting the dogs out the car is a nightmare at the moment, once there all walking together it is actually fine. She just needs to learn to relax around Indi and not get so stressy. Indi just avoids Kez, he is very wary of her having been chased quite a few times in the past and Ernie just spends the time alternating between running with Kez or running with Indi . We’ve only been doing it about 4 weeks, so hopefully with more walks Kez will learn to just relax and not stress so much. She used to get very stressed with Ernie and be chasing him constantly, she doesnt do it anymore so it is possible!

My dogs really dont make life easy for me, do they?!

Maximus – 3 years

So, it was 3 years on the 19th April that I lost Max, my very special Labrador. I have told his story on each yearly anniversary on this blog, so I won’t again.

He was such a special dog, and I still think of him often. I wasn’t as close to him as I am to my current 3 dogs as he was mainly my parents dog, but he taught me so much. He suffered from having hip displacia but never let it stop him, and always lived life to the full. His antics make for great storytelling, and when I see the crops starting to rise about this time of year I always think back to watching him bounding around on his last ever walk. Life is so unfair sometimes, he so loved his walks and he just couldn’t handle being walked for hours everyday because it was painful for him. But, he sure taught me one thing; no matter what life throws at us we only get one life and we must live it to the fullest. Somedays I do struggle to remember that, and every year on this anniversary I am reminded of it.

He just had the most amazing temprament ive ever seen on a dog. He was so soft, so loving and so gentle. Hearing him growl was a rare occurence, in fact I think I only heard him growl twice in his whole life. Despite everything going against him, he never ever stopped smiling or being positive. As much as I love my 3 dogs, its something they all lack. He would do anything for anyone and never ask for anything in return. I taught him to wait in my early days of training just with the reward of praise.

3 years have gone and I still miss him so much as if it was yesterday. I hope he is running free now, free of those evil hips that controlled so much of his life. Thinking of him makes me feel guilty for all the times ive got frustrated with my dogs and not handled a situation the best way. He was so patient with me, and with everyone. He would let Ernie bark at him and not bat an eyelid. He would let Indi steal all his toys, with not even a fuss. I just hope I can give my dogs, and all my future dogs, the best lives they can possibly have.

RIP Max, I still think of you so much and wish I could have another cuddle. I hope you are running your heart out now, and playing fetch with no pain and no limping. I look forward to the day I can hug you, throw your ball for you and go for a long walk with you again.

Some Crufts photos…

Taken by the wonderful @5r4n (flickr page here http://www.flickr.com/photos/84962708@N07/) here are some photo’s of Kez competing at Crufts .

My favourites are the stay ones. It gives you a real idea of how close those dogs are, and considering Kez used to not be able to see a dog without running in the opposite direction… its amazing how far she has come.

Excuse my weird face in the first pic, I chose that one because I love how Kez is watching me . In fact, just ignore me in all of them as none of them are me looking my best . After all, its Kez who is the star!

Enjoy .

Crufts 2013

So on Thursday 7th March 2012 Kez and I were back at Crufts for the 2nd time . We were competing in YKC Elementary obedience this year, one class up from what we were in last year. And my superstar of a dog only went and won it again! She performed everything absolutely perfectly and showed everyone what she can do. Considering she hasn’t competed in anything since her qualifier in August, and has only been to 2 training classes since July (which were both in the last 2 weeks) it is absolutely amazing.

We had a bit of umming and ahhing if I was even able to get there for a few weeks. Its a 3.5 hour car journey, train wouldnt get me there in time and coaches don’t take dogs. Both parents were due to be working so our plans were a bit up in the air for a while! Then it turned out my mum was off, but she really didnt want to do the 3.5 hour drive as she doesnt do long distance driving very often at all. The only times she has driven further than the edges of Kent were to Leicester and Hampshire, both times she had my nan in the car who is very experienced in motorway driving due to the fact she is always going to flyball shows. This was the furthest she had ever driven, and also with only me in the car. She did it though, and Im so grateful to her for doing it. We were a good team, me doing all the navigating (with help of Sat Nav) and also being an extra pair of eyes for lane changes, cars doing stupid things etc. It was good practice for me actually, as I was doing all the observation and navigation without the driving part! It also gave me a good perception of what driving on the motorway is really like, as its the first time ive been on it since passing my test. Unfortunately, the weather was rubbish with a lot of rain and fog about. It was especially horrible with all the lorries, and the spray they kick up . But, we got there and back safely, and my mum did amazing for her first time driving so far .

So, we left at 3.30am, we could have left a little later as I wasnt competing til 10am but we wanted to miss out on all the traffic. It was a fairly quiet drive up there, gradually getting busier the further north we went, and also the closer to 7am we got. We arrived at about 7am, which was good going seeing as we stopped twice . Kez was a bit confused when we arrived as it was her first show in about 7 months lol! She had a bark at some of the other dogs we saw in the carpark, but it wasnt her reactive bark, more her ‘unsure, but curious’ bark. The one she does when she sees a dog she knows, and is unsure if she knows it or not. It was a very wet and long walk over to the NEC, and then finding a way to get in, but we were very happy when we got to our bench and was able to relax! We weren’t competing til 10am, which meant no rushing around, unlike last year.

We were meeting family up there, but they werent arriving til later so we had some time to spare . I did a bit of practice with Kez, ate and just relaxed. That was one thing that was different to last year, I was so much more relaxed. I was still nervous, but last year I was so afraid of letting my parents down and of Kez freaking out with the atmosphere that I didn’t have a chance to just relax and enjoy it. This year, I did . I went to watch the Starters class (the class we competed in last year) and just watching them made me nervous for me, but also for them! Then watching stays, and seeing a couple of the dogs break, my heart went out to them. Those evil stays! Although, they had it easier than I did as no dogs ran round the ring, unlike when I was in that class. While there, I had the lovely @randiSJohnsen come and watch with me, and it was so nice to have a proper chat rather than last year when I was running around like a loony .

There was a bit of showing in the ring after that, before it was my turn. So we went back to the bench and chilled. My Auntie, Grandad, cousin and another cousin (2nd/3rd/4th, ive no idea lol) all showed up. But then, it was my turn in the ring . I had an earlier running order of 6, so much less waiting around than last year. It was also nice, as the girl who we’d sat next to on the benches last year and became friends with, she was before me. This was great as she was also next to me in stays, and I know her dog can hold stays as she came 3rd last year .

It was nice to not have so long to wait as I didnt have so much time to get nervous . I did a bit of practice with Kez, chatted to some of the other competitors and by that point it was time to go in. I wasn’t as nervous as last year, but it was still very nerve-wracking to walk out in front of so many people watching! I don’t think that is something that will ever get any easier . First up in our round, heel on lead. Kez was very focused, and ready to go. So off we went… and Kez was bouncing along like a crazy thing! She eased up after a few steps, but after watching the video clip she was actually bouncing the whole time. Thats certainly not her usual style, I think I may have been walking a bit fast for her due to nerves. But hey, she was having fun! We had a few right turns, an about turn and even a left turn. It was quite an advanced round compared to our 2 circles last year . We then had heel free, which was basically diagonal and back. Lovely and easy . Then recall. I was so relaxed when leaving her in the wait, I just felt so confident she was going to hold it. There was a part of me thinking ‘oh god, what if I turn round and she’s stood up or followed me’ but deep down I had the confidence in her that she would stay there… and she did. She was very happy and relaxed. So I called her, and she was a bit slow off the mark! I thought for a split second she wasn’t going to come at all . But she did, and she did a perfect present and then a perfect finish. What a super little girl!

So then we had quite a while to wait for stays while everyone else worked. Watching the other dogs, some of them were very good! Particuarly a couple of the collies. Some dogs however, just get overwhelmed by the noise and the atmosphere and so cant work. I’m so lucky to have a dog who, although frightened by almost everything, she isnt noise sensitive in the slightest. One dog completely went mad and was bombing round the ring like a loony. Great entertainment, but the poor handler must have been so embarassed. Another dog peed, which is another challenge posed by being indoors all day and the entrances are a bit of a walk away so if you dont take your dog to the toilet well before, then you’ve missed your chance.

Anyway, we then had stays. I was panicking a bit after that dog had been bombing round the ring as it was a very large dog (like a greyhound type dog, but bulkier) and if it did that in stays, that would be it for Kez. She would freak out and possibly chase it, in fact, even Ernie would! It would have caused absolute chaos. But, it didn’t . It did break stays, so I did watch it just in case (and I saw a few others glance at it too) but it did stay there. Kez held a perfect 1 min sit and 2 min down. She did turn to look across in the dogs direction, which panicked me a bit, but she held. Afterwards, my mum actually said my Auntie had said Kez’s name by accident and Kez had turned to look, so she wasnt looking at the dog both times at least. In fact, I think they said it was the sit, and this was the one where she was really focused in that direction and didnt turn back to me until I started walking back towards her. In the down, she again focused in that direction (the dog was further forward in this one and the only dog sitting up) so I think she was definantly looking at the dog, but to my relief she did turn back towards me. I smiled and moved my eyes to let her know I was pleased with that .

So, then we had all day to enjoy Crufts! I certainly did enjoy it more, I was less stressed and just more relaxed. Kez was too, she only snapped at one dog all day, unlike last year where by the end of the day she was snapping at everyone. The only dog she snapped at was a Whippet that took us both by surprise by going up her bum. She was even sniffing non-collies bums as we walked past, which is great for her! She is actually fine, its just when its face-to-face greetings Kez can’t cope. But, she did greet a few collies and was perfect. She had non-collies really close to her too, a few times, and even had a Dalmatian snap at her. She was just so good . She was very greedy too though, while walking round her nose was on the ground eating every dropped crumb! Then she had people giving her treats, and at one point we were walking past a fish treats stall, and she was dragging me, I was pulling her away… and then one of the stall people ruined me trying to get her away as they gave her a square of sea jerky -_-. Lol! I also had the annoying thing of people going ‘oh does your dog want a drink from our special bottle’ and I knew how to handle it this year . I just said no! They only want me to buy one, and I dont need one, so leave me alone! I didn’t actually buy much at all, just a lovely new lead for Kez . We actually lost her little purple lead after I switched them over, which was a bit annoying . But, at least she now has a lovely new lead for obedience .

My favourite bit of the day was Discover Dogs. I finally got to meet some Basenji’s, they are just the cutest dogs ever! I also met a Portuguese Water dog, which have the coolest hairdo’s ever. I saw my favourite breed ever, the Pyrenean Shepherd dog. Very rare, but absolutely the sweetest little things. Reason I love them is not for looks, but because they are the most energetic dogs ever in a nice small size. They would fit into my lifestyle perfectly . One day! However, there was a downside. My mum used to breed Boxers and grew up with them, so we headed over to the Boxer bit. One of the Boxers looked awful. It had a really bad skin condition on its face, and was unbelievably skinny. Crufts is meant to be promoting healthy dogs, and this was on show to promote the Boxer breed? I was in shock, and my mum was really upset as the breed is very special to her. It was a one off, it was the only unhealthy dog I saw there, but even so. Why was it there?

Anyway, at 3.45pm we had our results. They did the starters, elementary and advanced obedience results altogther. There are actually 5 classes altogether, the other 2 are on the Friday . So, they started doing the results for my competition, elementary, first. They started at 6th place, went up to 2nd place… and then stopped. They’d done it wrong, and were meant to be doing starters first. I hadn’t got anything from 6th to 2nd… so I had either won or come nowhere. To say the least, I was nervous! They then sent everyone back, and did all the results for Starters. Jeez, how evil can you be?! So then, they went all the way through again, starting at 6th place! And… it turned out we had won again . It was just unbelievable, to have only competed at Crufts twice and win both times, wow! Kez really has a talent for obedience, what with not having been to training classes in 7 months, not being in a show environment in 7 months and then handling everything so perfectly. Shes a superstar!

So, my little Kez who used to run on sight of another dog, run from me, chase and nip my other dogs and generally just not trust me has now won at Crufts twice in obedience, which in my opinion is the hardest sport of them all. She held them stays in a ring with 15 other dogs, hundreds of people walking around, people talking over tannoys, dogs walking everywhere and in an enclosed building. She really is just incredible. It gets a lot harder now, as were moving up the classes and going against much better and more experienced dogs and handlers, but even if we never win at Crufts again or even get there, I honestly couldnt care less. Its one thing winning once, another entirely winning twice at the biggest dog show there is.

February walks

So, now I can drive, I can take my dogs to more places. I’m still sticking farely close to home, but slowly going further and further afield. It’s great being able to finally explore places i’ve always wanted to, but never been able to. It also means I can spend more time at the place with the dogs off-lead, rather than worrying about how long it will take to walk home. The dogs have adjusted well to being driven around more, and by me! I have special seat belts for them that clip onto the harness, and they quite happily sit on the back seats. I get a few whines when on the way, but other than that I don’t even know they’re there.

So the first place we explored was a little country park near us. We’ve walked there before, but it really wasn’t worth it as it just took so long and we spent more time getting there and back, rather than enjoying the park. It’s a really easy 10 minute drive, so the 2nd day I was driving I took Kez and Ernie there. Unfortunately, there was still snow on the ground and it seemed twice as much at the country park than when back at home! Despite there being next to no snow on the ground at home, the car park was covered in ice and the park itself had a good few centimetres. Very bizarre! It was a bit of stressful walk as everytime any snowflakes fell from the sky I instantly started panicking. But, it was good as we didn’t see one other person there at all!

Just over a week later I then decided to take Indi. Indi had never been there before as it can get very busy and walking there would just be too risky. All dogs also have to be on the lead, and what with Indi’s issues this can be both positive and negative. It means we don’t have to worry about dogs with no recall running over to us (if people actually stick to the rules) but we do have Indi’s lead walking issues to contend with! He also hates the long line. But, we went there anyway as there is a beautiful blue lake there and Indi sure loves water .

It was a lovely walk, he did have a few moments where he freaked out as the long line got tangled. He’s also been having anal gland problems, and I don’t know if they were still uncomfortable for him… but he was fine when I took the long line off him for a bit -_-. He does stress me out! It was quite busy, but we managed to avoid most of the dogs. The only time we had an issue was when we had to get back to the car and a dog was tied up outside the childrens play area. Indi was a bit worried by this dog, and pulled towards it but we had to pass a little closer than I would have liked.

Despite that, he had a lovely swim in the lake and had great fun bounding about in the long grass . Hopefully, once he gets a bit more used to the long line we can go there more often, as having the all dogs on lead rule is very handy for training a reactive dog .

So, here are a few photo’s .

So then I decided to go a bit further afield to another country park. This one id never been to before as its completely inaccessable by public transport (for me with dogs anyway) and is a good 25 minute drive away. I knew the route only because its on the way to the nearest shopping centre to us and we’ve stopped in there a couple of times for toilets etc. I’d never driven them roads before though, so I made a few mistakes. I ended up in wrong lane coming up to roundabout and probably annoyed the van driver trying to overtake me. All experience though as thats a route ill do quite often to get to the nearest cinema/shopping centre.

Anyway, so got there and it was a lovely sunny day. The landscape at this country park is absolutely stunning, its right where a river enters the sea and where the land sort of suddenly juts out. It makes for some stunning landscape shots! The whole area is a huge nature reserve, with the country park part of it. There are cliffs, a lovely sandy beach, a marshy area, sand dunes and lots of green. It was very busy, there were camera people (me being one of them) at every turn and lots of dogs. We had one German Pointer come bounding over and freak poor Kez out, no lead rule here. So, its not a place ill go often, but definantly a place to go on those rainy days when everyone else stays indoors. There were so many different birds and we even saw some highland cows along with some very sweet little ponies. It was a lovely walk exploring somewhere none of us had ever been . And somewhere I can only get to now I can drive! Its great .

So, here are some photos from that walk .

Enjoy .