I think it's time for the farmer to cut the grass.....
Wet Harry...
Spot the dog.....
New rubber coated dogwalk....
Think this is the last post.
Eventually I will start a new blog, when I'm ready as it's been a pleasure to do and keep my friends and family up to speed in what's been happening here at "The Pit", but it's time to move on..... seems we have had quite a following and your not all family! Great having you pop in and comment... I wont delete this blog... just let it stay..... Thanks for all your support.. see you around the "agility circuit".....
Come and meet Red, Buzz, Harry, Mindy and Sennen in real life....
Here's Harry video from the weekend, I get in his way a lot too, must sort that out, all those silly front crosses, anyway I left plenty of places where he could have been beaten.... But no one stepped up today, so Handsome Harry came home with the winning spot.. he's my soul dog... whether he does agility or not, such a special dog too... he leaves a trail of broken hearts where ever he goes........
Well here's Mindy at her first show back on full height, as you can see I'm rather rusty at working her, places I would have got with Harry, even after her accident I cant get with Mindy, I really must do more work with her training, so we are 11 months on from her accident, a dog that was paralysed on three legs, who had to learn to walk again, go to the loo standing up, eat a bone again, to learn how to trot and run free with her friends... she is one very special little dog who against all the odds proved everyone wrong... I know some people would not have spent the hours of physio we did, the hours of searching through the net to find exercises that could help strength this and that part of her body, to finding people that weren't too far away to help, from the vets who operated on her at Exeter, to our own vet, who taught me so much on how to care for her at home, so she didn't have to stay in the vets, to the water tread mill, to ttouch, to herbal this and that to add to her food, to chiropractic, to all sorts of hands on healing things, to canine remedial massage, all of which I have come to learn about and some of the people that we have met have become very good friends along the way, Mindy and I cant thank you all personally but you can be sure you all have played a part in her recovery, especially our friends.
Mindy has changed to a very loving young dog that can cope with being touched and takes most things in her stride. So a big THANK YOU to one and all xxx
This blog has been such a part of my life and my way of talking about how I feel, with how things are going on with them all etc. I think I would have lost the plot without..... and maybe one day, I'll write that book I have always dreamed of doing!
Well Sennen has done 4 kc shows now and I hadn't got any videos of her runs, she's had a 1st, 2nd and 6th - at Worcester in a jumping class with a blip!! so she is fast enough to compete against the collies, that's one thing I have no feeling of how fast or slow she is, she just "Is" if you know what I mean. Any way a friend managed to film this one of her jumping class from Sunday, poor girl hits the tunnel hard and takes the tunnel straps of the tunnel which unfortunately is not corrected by ring party before she goes back in for the second attempt and she got caught between the bungee and rubber strap and the force brings her out on her side... apart from that I just drop my drive arm for the tight turn and then she tells me off! I didn't run her in the steeple chase as her leg was soar from the twang of the bungee still, but we ran the agility at the end of the day and I so wish I had that on video, it was our first "Zone" run and was amazing, she got the weave entry and I crossed behind but really close against the weaves and that phased her and she came out, but boy was that a good run.....
The photos are all arse about face! so it's the cycle ride first and the last photo first! Meet Ned, well that's what he told me his name was... Now Ned and I hit it off straight away... haven't stroked a pony for ages... we shared my banana, well really I've not stroked a horse/pony since I sold mine when I was 16/17 before I started to go out to work, think it was about then. Actually that's not quite right as I worked a further 3/4 years with horse, from race horses, to brood mares, to hunters, to trekking in Portugal and trekking at Abbotsbury, Dorset... so I must have been about 19/20 when I last rode and mucked out etc... But Ned is special, not sure why he just is, hopefully I will meet him again on my next ride around....
These ponies are used to control the ground - moorland on Goss moor, one of the many walks around here.. except I cycled the route, it's only 7 miles, but I cycled from home to the start of it at Screech Owl Sanctuary, so maybe it was 8/9. I took a packed lunch and left Ian back home working with a friend.. Ned's second in command...
The Heard..
My Bike propped up next to a bit of bog!
A Bog! the wild life was amazing the butterfly are out, lots of different colours, I really should take a book next time and look them up...
First thing Sunday morning, I walked the dogs, in my favourite place in the world a wood, always loved woods and want one day to live in one, with a bit open so I can fit the agility equipment in of course!
Have you ever tried walking some of the runs that the animals have walked, just close your eyes and walk slowly with your feet and feel the twigs, grass either side of your feet, something I used to do as a kid but had forgotten until recently.... you really get to feel the ground ... sigh
Mindy would have made a great "Gun dog" Here she is doing the pose after hearing a pheasant in the distance.... whilst standing on a log!
the only shot of all of them in front of me, mooching along...
Megan and George and Jules (all the way from Australia) with "Lara's" Magners, although I don't have any pics from today's training session of Jules with Magners, but I think Lara has some video clips, which may get up on the WAO facebook page!... they both were introduced to Cornish Mizzle and the Cornish Pasty... Guess which one they liked the most?
See George can wait! Although much faster if he doesn't.....
On your marks.....
Walking the course, Megan came with courses she wanted to try, so we did quite a few course changes and then I added a twist to them all... nasty weave entries and through gaps and around the backs off jumps or tunnels to different things...
So I think we covered lots of different angles.. different style lead outs which suited which dog etc...
and amazingly both dogs stayed focused, although I did take all 5 of mine to wind them up and do some of the courses and Lara had a spare two too....
I personally think it is really brave running someone else's dog that you've not run before, to gain a bond with them and actually work as a team but by the end of today, both girls had their boys sorted... Well I think so, so just to add a big "wish them luck and fun for the next few days competing..." and hopefully someone will be able to keep us posted on the facebook page...
well just a few running A frame, still not the two strides I have trained but consistency is getting better, nice and deep on the contact area in all bar one, so judges can see...!
Well here she is.. back on full height, I'm trying not to watch her but work her, it's so hard... anyway sent this clip to Nikki Mindy's Massage hero at www.canineremedialmassage.co.uk to see how she's doing and anything else I can do for her.... we had done a warm up routein before she starts this, fig of 8's and circles and she had done her own off lead warm up of, chase the dog that's walking along the footpath outside the fence, you can still hear that dog barking as she goes into the weaves, she really wants to chase that dog and do the weaves!
Oh and you get a glimpse of my new hair cut, as I forgot to tie it back out the way, so I keep fiddling with it!
Not much else to say, getting nearer to Mindy full height show, exciting and nervous all at once, I just got to handler her right and it will all come together. Sennen worked well at the show on Monday with gun shots, thunder and heavy rain for most of her runs, no clears but really nice e's, I like e's... she is getting faster and now is looking for her toy when she has finished.
I really Love this photo of Mindy and I, Mindy had a great weekend, getting her first placing in anysize against the big dogs, 55 dogs in the agility (A frame lowered twice) she came 3rd! and 9th in the jumping against 75, she is just so happy at the moment and that makes me very, very happy Sennen had her first Kc shows this weekend and came home with her first trophy a 2nd!!!!! in g3 agility, 145 in the class but I am sure they weren't all there as the weather wasn't the best! It was a beautiful run but I did have a plan that I would let her take the corners on her own, as I really have no idea how fast/slow she is compared to other dogs and I am so glad I did as she was less than a second behind the winner, she has cracking weaves and can turn on a 6pence when I get my timing right along with her running A frame, her first run should have be given 5r but judge was feeling nice, the jumps where so close together Sennen could hardly get out of a trot.. but hey she waited on the start line, kept all the poles up and did her first push through, haven't taught her that either!
Harry's such a fun happy dog too, I loved this run although I don't think Lisa Hughes the judge did as, that's Harry best mate and he will as proved that day do anything to say hello! he launched off the down plank of the dog walk, it was funny he suddenly slowed down across the top and I looked back to see him air sniffing and off he ran to say hello, came back and did a stonking round after that, as you can see by mine and his face, it didn't matter, agility is meant to be FUN!
I think it's time for the farmer to cut the grass.....
Wet Harry...
Spot the dog.....
New rubber coated dogwalk....
