All things beginning with “M” - video

Mosquito, Marmite and Madness!
If you ever want to move to Cornwall, don’t say I never warned you!
.......The Mosquitoes are huge, they must be at least an inch long, they remind me of when I stayed in Sweden for a long holiday (4 weeks), near the lakes. In the evenings the Mosquito would appear and bite us! Unless you where well prepared for them. Any way we aren’t in Sweden! But they are just as big; we certainly didn’t get them this big in Bristol or out in the country where my Mum lives – Dorset. You can hear them a mile off, don’t sit outside in the cool of an evening without long sleeves and trousers, unless you have a bonfire going!

Marmite – Do you like it?? Well I have just seen a jar of champagne Marmite, so of course I had to try some ummmmm I can safely say for all those Marmite lovers out there, don’t bother, it left a horrid taste in my mouth, yuck! The jar went promptly out for recycling.

Madness! When the sun comes out in Cornwall, the roads get very quiet – everyone has a sicky and goes down the beach, honest! Work gets done but around the tide times! Out come the shorts and flip-flops, sunglasses and surfboards - All the lads and lasses go blonde and quickly gain that nice tan! I’m sure all their shorts get shorter and bikinis get minimal. Even my butcher’s boys, (where I get my dog bones) suddenly start working in their shorts and wellies! Summer is here at last.

Wolf whistling! – We have, a wild young male blackbird that must have been a rescue as he sings along with his usual chorus, he adds a wolf whistle to it! Which when we first heard it, at the beginning of the year, made us chuckle and took us ages to work out who and what it was.

Harry is getting back into swimming in his hot tub! Hopefully before the end of the season he will be jumping in on his own after his toy! Red becomes rather wide legged as I lift her up and into it, she won’t walk up the steps yet! And as for Buzz, well Ian has to help me with him! He hasn’t realised he can touch the bottom yet, he tucks all his legs up under himself and swims as if is life depends on it, even if I’m in there with him, he has stopped the splashing now and swims with his front legs under the water, rather than on top! Last week I spent some money on Buzz, as he really suffers with the heat, he already has a cool mat which he lies on in the Bongo, as people where raving about it on the agility forum I thought I would buy and try the K9cool coat, yes it was expensive nearly £40! As he had to have the large one, so we had a dummy run with it over the weekend, I had to do a bit of minor adjustments with the size, so it would stay on, It worked and after two days is still cool, will have to get it ready for the show at the weekend and report back.

Today I took the dogs for a walk in the woods and here's a short video!

Power Fab! - video

After far too many weeks and being let down by a certain person, who shall remain nameless for the time being ***** we where getting brave, having bought a LandRover on eBay over a year ago. Anyway we had wanted a digger to help around the place: foundations to dig for the sheds and extension, landscaping the garden etc. Too much like hard work with a shovel! – well we are getting older!!!!! Anyway we located one that wasn’t too far away, I say not too far away Ian wouldn’t have gone that far for a dog show! But for a digger well that is a different story! So he returned Friday night after 8 hours of driving! (4 each way) with this rusty orange and green thing! It was green from having being sat under a tree somewhere on a farm, it works and after a wash it is no longer looks green, it needs a silencer or ear plugs and away you go, Ian says I can have a go on it tomorrow, after the tractor seat has dried off hummmm.

This week I have spent lots of time in the garden, as Elaine says, the garden will take as much as you want to throw at it! She’s right. The vegetable patch is coming on, the beans and spinach are in, I have put the corn on the cob down behind one of the wooden sheds along with some of the sun flowers! I love sunflowers they are such happy flowers and the birds like the seeds. It looks like most of Anna plants that she kindly donated are happy and starting to pick up. Note to myself - Must get some tomatoes.

Agility wise – Harry did a somersault on Friday galloping around a corner, so he is now soar. Red has been lame on and off since last September, she has seem the chiropractor on various occasions and she seems to be great for a few days after and then goes backwards again, some days you cant tell which leg it is, once she has warmed up, she is fine. I think the time has come to get her ex-rayed and see if there is anything going on, or whether it is just old age setting in, she has never been a dog to go easy at anything, everything always gets done at 100 miles an hour, she has never looked after her body, collided with a number of tyres and jumps! Bless her. Buzz is sound thou!

Sunday, we went for a long walk at Hawkers Cove, it was misty/foggy but warm and calm, the dogs loved it, hopefully the video will show that – if I can download it!

Red Bull gives you wings!

True or false?

Well having just got back from my first long distance show for ages, on my own. Having run just two dogs over 2 courses, not much compared to most people, but I was up early helping set up rings etc. anyway after an hour of driving home in the heat! I was beginning to get tired so I tried this drink Red Bull – having never tried this before, well within ten minutes of me sipping it whilst driving, I was grinning like a Cheshire cat and singing along with the songs on the radio, so it worked for me!

I’m so lucky in one way in having most of Cornwall shows within 15 - 35 mins away – totally spoilt, although the small/medium classes are virtually 1-7 combined as they are so small!

I got really excited to see a show near to where we used to live and to meet up with all my buddies, although I would have to leave my top dog at home (Red), all Harry’s classes where graded, so I was hoping for more flowy courses, which is what we got, well spread out, Harry loved them and flew round, but he kept thinking we where finished at each end and ended up leaving the rings to roll around on the grass with kids and dogs …Hummmm, yes great entertainment for the crowds but I’m hoping one day that I’ll become more exciting for him than them! …. I keep forgetting he is 7 months behind training, due to his injury and this is only 3/4th show I’m expecting him to be as good as the rest! … I think now I will start to set up courses rather than exercises at home and finish somewhere in the middle so he doesn’t always expect to finish on the end of a line of jumps, just have to see whether that helps.
Harry’s Pairs partner Nellie noonooo came 2nd in the jumping class, so whether they will want to stay pairs with us – we will see!
As for Buzz he did what Buzz does best – knock poles and herds. He coped really well with the clay shooting, glad Red wasn’t with us as she would have been a wreck, anyway I needed her empty cage as it was filled with plants for our garden from Anna’s lovely garden, that she kindly donated! I managed to plant most of them around the place last night with Ian’s help, I cant remember what they are, or where they where meant to go! Sorry Anna, lets hope they like the Cornish climate, and my gardening hands!!!!!!!

The grass in the paddock part of the garden is really growing now, I could do with rolling it, but don’t have one, Ian suggested using the landrover-boys any excuse to go off road! Oh Landrover passed its MOT thankfully, so this weekend is the Bongos turn (for those that don’t know what a bongo is, it is a Mazda, it is the same as a Ford Freda comes in 2 and 4 wheel drive usually with a roof that goes up so you can sleep in it!) for some maintance, well I say that, Ian started before I went to Bristol, he changed the glow plugs (which is a regular thing to go on Bongos) and unfortunately one snapped off in the block, so this weekend he has to weld a nut to it and hopefully get it out that way or the engine head will have to come off, which is I’m told, a right pain in the ****.

We really need to get a digger sorted so that we can start rebuilding the sheds before winter, but that will all depend on how this glow plug comes out.

Gotta go and give blood now! I really hate doing this, but it does help save lives so I'm told, nearly reached my gold badge, 55 pints - I hate the needles and I seem to take ages before I'm able to run around with the dogs! But I'm going to carry on untill I reach my goal! "Gold Badge"

OMG - I've got a job! - video

.....It's all been happening here, well sort off. I've gone back to cleaning, ugh but it is money! Cleaning caravans down on the beach. Not much else you can say about it really, cleaning is cleaning, but with the money, well I can go to a couple of extra away shows - so I have entered the Agility Club show in July, whether I can get Ian to come with me - we will see. So my cleaning days are on a Monday and Friday, I can take the dogs with me so I do and then I do a couple more caravans before I've had enough, I don't stop for coffee or lunch so I can be home early afternoon and have time to walk/train my doggies.

We had a weekend show, well it was actually two shows back to back down at the Wadebridge Showground, Saturday - it rained/drizzled most of the day, I really don't enjoy agility in the rain, but I really needed to get back on track with my merry bunch, Harry doesn't seem to mind doing it in the rain, he acts as if he has just come out of a bath and does a few laps of honour, he really is a crowd pleaser and when we get it together I think he will live up to his name "Heads up its Harry" He got a 3rd in a jumping class on the Saturday, it was only my handling that let him down. Bad Boy Buzzy, was just Buzzy, we added a few jumps in most classes and contacts (what contacts!) Red, had clears but no places. ....It was great seeing everyone from Clifton AC and a few friends that we hadn't seen since September last year. Happy New Year to you all!

Thank you, Charlotte for videoing my lot, it is so nice to have these videos, Ian says he doesn't enjoy videoing as he can't see what happens! So now I have to work out again how to, add the videos to the blog in the right size, I do struggle with this sort of thing and running three dogs, especially if there is more than two rings! I'm told it get easier, luckily I have friends saying "have you walked this ring yet" I nearly missed walking one of Harry's. Hey Ho, here goes with the videoing.

I think this will be the last video for a while as Ian will be too busy to come to any of the shows over the next few weeks - we have a mains water leak - we need a digger!!!!!!!

Anyway Here is Buzzy Bears Agility


and Here is Didderly Do, Mrs Woo or Red! Agility.


..and last but not least here is the Puff! Harry Agility.

...I know I let him run his contacts, but if you had seen him the day before when he stood at the top of the "A" frame had a look around then came down slat by slat, and he walked up the dog walk, you would understand!? we are back to 2o2o this week! but I agree I didnt leave him waiting long at the start, so I will have to remember that one!

The Sun has got his HAT on!

…...Not much has happened this week; the weather has been great so agility took a back seat! The garden is growing which means the brambles are too! I hate Brambles.
I have managed a few training sessions with the dogs, I don’t train for long; each dog gets about 10 mins! Yes that is all, Red still wants to come out and do her bit. Buzz struggled this week so after an awful session at the beginning of the week I put his harness and double lead on and off we went down the garden and just did ground work with him, walking nicely and slowly along a ladder and around a labyrinth of poles on the floor, he had a last go at walking across an old door from the house which I placed on uneven ground and added a rock underneath it (before it got burnt!) acting like a wobble board, for Buzz just doing this sort of work for just 10mins is like an hour in the woods - he is shattered….I know I hear you say “Poor Buzz it is such a long way from his brain to his feet” and yes I have to agree with you “it is!” …...You wont be able to say I haven’t tried.

Here's Buzz as 7 week pup - he was small once!

I’m re-reading a book called “on talking terms with dogs:calming signals”. By Turid Rugaas
If you get chance to get this book get it and read it, I had read it about 5/6 years ago and forgotten about it, until I was having a sort out the other day, I have started using a lot of these signals for Buzz mainly, but the others are cottoning on too and life has been a lot easier with his temperament/mood swings.

A Friend came down for the day with lovely Cuba pup, (should have taken an up to date photo of him) she showed me how to do some more ground work exercises with Buzz, well actually she had me walking along the lane with her German Shepherd – Jazzy pants as I call her, teaching me how to stop her pulling, using the ttouch method. So I have lots to practise with the big boy.

Another friend (aren’t I lucky in having so many friends?) has been sending me some agility exercises to do with the dogs and we have progressed from her starter exercises all the way up to her senior ones now, even Harry.

Harry’s training on Saturday was fun he get tired/bored quickly so didn’t make the whole hour so he shared it with Buzz, Harry did his first lot of contacts for 7 months, which was a little scary, he trotted down the dogwalk, not helped by me trotting along beside him wondering whether he would get blown off in this Cornish wind, he stopped at the bottom 2o2o, he ran up the “A” frame, had a look around ran back down the other side 2o2o and then we had lift off on the seesaw, I wasn’t quick enough to see him run fast up the seesaw which didn’t move, he landed on all four legs and seemed okay so we went back and did it again (the seesaw) this time a little more controlled! …. Not sure whether he is ready for contacts this weekend, so we will just have to see what the weather and course is like to see if I will let him run.

We have been buying a few things of eBay Plants mainly and am really pleased with what has arrived, so they have been planted.

We tried to buy a mini digger too, but that’s a whole other story!!!!! Unless of course any of you out there has a real mini digger for sale or one that wants to go to Cornwall for a long holiday! Email me PLEASE

Harry's first show - video

What an exciting weekend, we’ve had, Saturday I got to train Harry at Club for the first time in 7 months apart from the week before where Lisa stood at the end of a line of 4 jumps and we sent him up and down that a couple of times! He was having fun and I was puffing like an old train! He doesn’t look like he has forgotten anything all thou his turns are rather wide to say the least! Lisa set a little course for us to do at the end, which if he hadn’t tried jumping a full height fence which just happened to be in his line, he would have got round!

Sunday at Carn Brea Show. We left home in the morning having walked the dog in Snow! We had that much on top of the hill where we live that it was crunching under our feet! It was the first time that Harry had seen snow and he was charging around and rolling in it (with a coat on) we got to the show 40 mins later to sunshine and no snow! This is Cornwall and has always had weird weather from one village to the next! Harry’s class was second in the ring after the medium, it was a 1-7 combined, it wasn’t easy for a first time course, hopefully I will suss out this video lark and be able to load it on later, we managed to get around, with some scary bad handling moments! and rather wide turns, but we where clear and came 6th! his steeple chase was a lovely course and just right, but I made the mistake of letting Harry play with the dogs in the queue, I set him up, he did jumps one and two and then turned round to go play with the dogs! My mistake, so when we eventually got back together he did a fab round. Ian videoed for me as it was Harry’s first show, so I will have something to remember it by - Ian doesn’t come to many of the shows now – car racing on the TV, land rover to weld up and normal stuff like that, so it was great to have his company. Club members did well this weekend too, Spot and Amy got round with just 10 faults, Horris and Petal had 4 clear rounds and places, Harry’s all time girlfriend Jem got a clear in any size (cant wait to see her doing big jumps) and lovely Shannon and naughty Diesel had fun also in the anysize not that Shannon thought so!!! Aly did some nice work with Sweep, Oh and Lisa and Toddy got a 2nd and 3rd, So it was worth getting out of a warm bed to go too after all!

.....and here he is doing the steeplechase, which we both loved as he was able to open up - speed wise!!!

Puppy Party

- Paddy

Lola -

Harry showing how you "do it" to Paddy!

Harry had friends over for a puppy party at the weekend!
He showed them around the house and the garden – not that they needed encouraging to explore the big wide world ! They are bigger than him now at just over 10 weeks.
and can be seen on my links Nicky's site "Hawksflight"