Update

Dear God I am so rubbish at blogging!! After a promising start I keep forgetting to do it!! Anyway going to do a quick update

Flyball - We have had a fantastic year and gone well beyond what we expected with our top team. The Echoes achieved a seed time of 17.30 and won Div 3 at the British Champs! The team struggled at the end of the year with Jamie being pulled down by a virus that he took ages to recover from but still managed a 17.60 at the last show the year and very nearly a 17.12 with the tiniest early light!! Grrrrrr. Every team did really well this year breaking into the next second barrier. The Extras team got a second at the Champs too. We have had lots of new dogs come into open and new team members join too and I think we are in a really strong position as a team. We have a very strong group of Core handlers who come to every show which allows us the freedom to let people just do the shows they want to do.
We have broken down the training into parts this winter and gone back to basics with Box work. We are varying the training every week and rarely doing full runs at all. We are seeing a big improvement already as we are not competing around it.

Right the dogs.....

Fly - Old age has hit her quite hard this year and her performance has been erratic. She will have a competition where she will hit 4.3's and then another where she will do 4.7's. We have put her as a fifth dog so that she is not relied on. Even so I am very pleased with how she is still running at 11 years old, she helped the team go sub 17 for the first ever time and is generally still amazing :)

Neo - Neo hit his form in the middle of the season and then it tailed off again. he helped the team get their 17.30 but then started to slow down. I don't whether it was his stamina or the same virus as Jamie but his performance went downhill and he was mainly replaced by Echo in the top team when we needed the extra speed. He is definitely past his best at 7 years old but he still tries so hard - bless him.

Jamie - Jamie was absolutely amazing at the beginning of the year, hitting consistant low 4's. He hit a 4.09, then a 4.07 then a 4.00. I thought he was actually going to go sub 4 when he got really ill and that was that. He went a little off colour at the champs and then just got lower and lower until we had to pull him completely from two shows. Strong antibiotics and rest seemed to make him better but he had lost so much condition and weight that he is only getting back onto form now. The fireworks also have set him back massively as he stops eating when they are constantly going off as they have this year. Poor little man.

Fox - Well.... I don't even know where to go with him. At the beginning of the year 4.4 all day and now one 4.4 if I'm lucky then his performance is up and down all day. There is no consistancy. I am going to have him castrated this winter as I think a lot of the problem is that it has become very apparent that Fox also got Barley too (Pip is a little tri colour mini me!!) and now his brain has been replaced by another part of his anatomy!! If this doesn't work I will probably give Fly and Fox a place together as one dog and bring out the strongest dog at the relevant time.

Tia - OMG this little dog has been amazing this year!! Bearing in mind that she only came out into open at the beginning of this year, she has been mainly very consistant. She has got more and more confidence and become very speedy. She hit her peak at Paws in the Park hitting a 4.37 and doing 4.4 all day. Gt Barford was destined to be very exciting for the second team as we had our fastest dogs there for the first time all year. I did two legs with Tia and she didn't seem right so I put her away as I thought she was stiff. China had to be rushed to the vets which left us with four dogs. I got Tia out of the car and went to warm her up and do some stretches with her so she could run when I realised she was totally lame. She was diagnosed with a pulled cruciate ligament! I was devastated!. The killer blow was that we ran the other three dogs and they got 14.05 with Tia running properly the team would have easily got 18.50! Half a second of their seed time. I seriously wanted to cry!! The good news is that after six weeks of cage rest and a slow build up on her exercise, she is looking promising again. She has lost an awful lot of condition and weight due to stress (partly the cage rest and also fireworks) but was looking strong at training today, We managed 6 lots of eight jump runbacks and she was fine - phew!

Barley - I love this little dog, she is so funny. She is so sweet and innocent, so quiet and obedient until she is lining up to do flyball! Then she screams her head off and tries to bite Soph! Little monkey! She is getting better all the time as her and Soph build up a bond. She gone under 5 secs a few times which I'm really pleased with and she was in the Extras team that came second. It was only her second competition and she was part of a four dog team so I was really pleased with her :) Her training is coming on really well and I think she will come out much better next year. She is now single striding really well and her box has improved massively! Looking forward to her next year.

Rocky - Aww little Rockstar! He is a little character. He is totally Soph's dog which is really nice. He is a one person dog and he is Soph's. He will come and say hello to me but he runs straight back to her which is brilliant and what I wanted. He is a very slow maturer and his training is coming on slowly but thats fine. He is doing a nice box (no ball) and his runbacks to a tuggy are coming on really well. He works with other dogs around and isn't phased by them at all, he just isn't interested. He managed to do one proper run with a ball at training today before he was distracted - bless him, he has the attention span of a gold fish!

Millie - Millie?? Who's Millie?? I hear you say!! Millie is the new rather unplanned addition - aren't they always!? Millie is a Beardie x Border pup. She is now 7 months old. I got her at 6 months. I saw this beautiful little face and it was absolute love at first sight. I was feeling a bit low and she is like a little ray of sunshine. She is so funny and sweet - so Beardie! She looks like a mini Jamie. She has only done two training sessions and we have just kept it fun for her as she is so nervy. She is running up to the lane to someone for a treat and then running back to me for a treat. Just to get confidence and so we can make it a positive experience. I will publish some more on her progress as we go on.

Mass Blog

I have totally forgotten to up load my blog! I can't believe especially considering some of the huge things that have happened recentely!! I'm afraid this will be very brief!

Hearing Dogs - This was a fab show. We were up nice and early as always but the site was lovely when we got there. As always with Bandit's shows it was very well run and organised. We had a lot of fun at this show but the weather was really hot and our dogs all flagged badly. On the whole we didn't do too bad and had a lovely time. Below are results and pictures :)

Echoes - 4th - 18.84

Express - 5th - 21.74

Extras - 4th - 23.73

Not too bad really and as you can see we had a whale of a time :)

Just Dogs Live

We only went to this one for the day as Daisy was injured (non flyball related) and Kim couldn't be away for the weekend. Kim persuaded me to bring Fox and try him in the third team warm ups as Daisy (who I usually run) wasn't there and they only had four dogs who wouldn't need the warm ups. Fox had been doing pretty well i training so I decided to stop being a wuss and try him. (I still haven't got over the Barleylands incident and dread a repeat of it!!) He did really well in the warm ups with wings and only ran down the side once or twice when he got really distracted so I was really pleased with him. As we went to walk into the ring for the second race Talisman's back legs went out from underneath him and he fell, hurting his back (the vet thinks he trapped a nerve temporarily) totally putting him out, that made Fox 4th dog GAHHHHHHH! I decided to go for it!! He was by no means perfect but he did really well and got better and better during the day. We worked out that he has to go first as he loves to race the dog in the other lane and we got 2nd!!! I couldn't believe it!! Nothing could have made my day more then that, I was absolutely over the moon. I don't know how we did it though ha ha!!

PROOF!!

I never thought he would do and I am so proud of both of us! Now just those pesky girls!!

Tia is bringing a ball back over two or three jumps now and the big news is that Barley is finally fetching a ball!!! Yeay!!!

On a sad note though Daisy's injury was found to be bone cancer and she subsequently had to have her leg amputated. However at training three weeks later she was milling round while we were setting up and took herself up a lane of full height jumps and brought the ball back over them!! We were all a little gobsmacked to say the least!!! lol

Go Fox Go!!!

Well I think the pictures speak for themselves!! Fox actually did it!!!! He ran in Starters with a dog in the other lane!! Woo Hoo

On the box

Actually looking at the ball and not the dog in the other lane!!

(you can see how tense I was in the background! lol)

(photos courtesy of doggieportraits.co.uk)

We were at our show, Milletts Farm, this weekend and Sam put Fox into the starters team as fifth dog. I wasn't going to run him as I had been focusing him on the box but he was still very easily distracted. I put him in the practice of the first leg and then put him away. I only tend to run him if there are not enough dogs as I always feel I'm letting the team down. He generally just runs up and down the lane, chasing the dog in the other lane and ignoring the ball. The team had four dogs that were pretty reliable so I didn't bother. On the first run Bronwyn, Sam's JRT, decided she didn't want to play so Tasha persuaded me to put him in. I put him in and ran him when I thought the other team had finished on the first two legs but they hadn't finished and were trying to catch their dog that went wrong to run it again so we won the race (it was best of three) We were running all three legs so as we had already won, Fiona and Tasha persuaded me to try and run him when the other team was still running which, I have to say, scared the life out of me as he has a tendency to run across. I let him go and the other team let their dog go. Fox stopped in the lane, the dog in the other lane stopped and they just stared at each other. My heart was in my mouth as the last thing Fox needs is another fight but I shouted 'GO GET YOUR BALLIE!!!' and to my and my teams utter astonishment he turned away from the dog, got his ball out of the box and ran back toward me!! I was so shocked that I forgot to run and then when I finally did I shouted 'FLY!!' LOL! We were in the blue lane first which makes it easier to focus the dog as you have your back to the other team. In the red lane it was a little more tricky as he could see the dogs in the other lane more easily and he turns that way on the box. I had to chase him up the lane the first two times as he was threatening to run back after the dog but he got his ball and ran back to me. I had to run like hell to get out of the lane before he bowled me over. The third time he looked and slowed but then ran to the box. I was so thrilled!!! The thing that helped was that I had an army of Fox catchers down the middle of the runback area to stop him going across. This gave me the courage to run at full pelt to the back of the lane. This meant that on the way back he didn't look at the other dog at all and his focus was excellent. We ended up with a second so I was rather chuffed!! The only really annoying thing was that I had to admit my sister was right!!! Grrrr! She loved that and I know I'll never live it down!!! LOL!!

Bye Bye Barleylands :(

At the weekend we were at our beautiful venue, Barleylands for the last time :(. We have moved our bank holiday show to Oxford due to such a poor turnout at the Essex ground. This is such a shame as it is a pretty much perfect venue.

A few snaps of the venue

We only had racing on Sunday, so as my great team mates had set up the ring on Friday (I was at work) we decided to do a bit of training for our younger dogs on Saturday. As Fox had been doing so well in training I took the rather daring decision to run him with another dog, Holly - a staff, in the other lane....................It didn't go well. He did stay in his own lane which was great but decided to chase Holly and came down his own lane at full pelt determined to chase her at the end. I tried to stop him and he ran me over!!!! I have to point out he is a huge collie who weighs about 25kg. IT HURT!!!! I pulled my back and shoulder and my hand connected with his tooth as I tried to grab his collar. Ouch!! Needless to say Fox and I had words and I put him away. I gave him some time to think about it and brought him out again. I ran him on his own and he ran beautifully. I then put him in his new headcollar and held him near the start gates. The dogs ran past him and everytime he looked like he was too interested I pulled on his lead fairly firmly. Having the headcollar on meant he had to turn to face me, it worked really well and he was soon looking to me when a dog ran past him.

On sunday I was feeling rather sore, actually this is a bit of an understatment! Fox was not in my good books so I decided to give him a chance to redeem himself. We had a starter team withdraw and we already had a starters team in so Fox and Yogi (Tasha's dog) went into our second team. This was the 'numpty team' as we call them (bless). If the dogs just go up and down we are pleased! The other three ran then we would run either Fox or Yogi down when the other team had finished to get them used to going up and down in that type of atmosphere. It was great training and I was very pleased with Fox. At the beginning he was a bit over awed but didn't attempt to chase the dogs running round behind him, he just didn't move at all. By the end of the division he was going up and down well and coming straight back to me without me having to rugby tackle him! I'm getting more hopeful that he will do flyball every day, perhaps even next season (frantically touching wood :)).

The Running 4 Mutts and Mad Muttleys were pretty bad tbh which was down to handler errors. We swapped Jamie and Fly round for this competition and put Fly last dog in the Muttleys. Anchor dog is her favourite position as she is competetive. We did pretty good times but Andy struggled with his changeover onto Lilly and just kept getting lights. In the Running 4 Mutts Jamie really struggled with the box for some reason and had alot of trouble getting the ball out of the box. Neo then cut his stopper pad on the last race of the day. This still has not healed and has meant that we have had to pull the Running 4 Mutts out of Wimbledon at the weekend. All in all not a brilliant weekend for me!

I did get some nice pictures of some of our Terrierist team though

Paige

Baloo

I took these on my new phone so I thought they were pretty good!

A bit of training

Katie came over to me today and we did a bit of training on the babies boxes. We decided to put a board infront of the box to encourage them to jump on and off the box rather then headbutting it as most Staffs tend to do!! We took them all up to the box one by one and got them to step over the jump and put all four feet on the box and jump off. We did this several times until they had it and then gave them a small run up with the ball in the box to get them to use the box properly. Well that was the plan!!!!
Boston was a complete numpty!! I'm sorry Kate but they all have to know!! LOL!! He was going up to the box, leaning over the jump, stealing the ball out and running off in some random direction!!
Stacey was fab in the beginning! I have taken over running her because of Kate's leg. She got the idea very quickly and was doing a beautiful box but then that game got boring and she ran off under Kate's jeep and chewed her ball. Hmmmm
Fox was amazing!!!!! He took a step forward this week. I have never seen him so focused. He even chose the ball over the ragger. I think we were all a bit gobsmaked. Perhaps the incident at Barleylands (and the subsequent training I have been doing) has done the trick (all fingers and toes are crossed now!!)
We also did a tiny bit with Barley and Henry. They are nearly five months old now - can you believe it!!! We just stood them both on the box giving praise and getting them used to the noise and the feel of the box. Henry is great because he is so focused on a ball, I was walking him on the box and rolling the ball away to get him running of it. Barley had to be bribed with food!! She not hugely bothered by a ball and just wants a fuss so I just got her standing on the box and gave her a treat.
I promise I will get some pictures soon. I keep forgetting to take the camera out!!!

Only two days.....

to Barleylands. I went and picked up by caravan today (it lives with friends of mine at the moment as we only have a double drive and three cars - hmmm) and parked it on our drive. I have had to book a day's holiday from work tomorrow as I have felt too unwell with my ear infection to do anything!! So tomorrow will be spent shopping, cleaning and maintenance of caravan, housework and packing. All ready for friday morning argh!!
I took the dogs for a quick walk in a different place to where they normally go. This is a shorter walk but I didn't feel up to the normal hour. It is a bit darker as it is in a slight valley, and Barley was really funny. She would stop and sniff so I kept walking, she would look up, realise I was gone and screech at me until she got back to me! Sooo funny - bless her! It was as though she was shouting 'wait for me!!' She is getting really speedy on the flat now, it helps that the others are so fast so she has to work really hard at keeping up. Someone asked me last year where I keep getting all these super fast dogs from but I suspect a lot of it is that Fly is naturally very fast so if the others want a ball they have to try very hard to get it! Hopefully this will rub off on Barley:)
I have a plan for Fox this year to stop him chasing other dogs, I have never known a dog with such a strong chase instinct! I am going to put him in my car, in a cage, near the admin tent so I can keep an eye on him, very close to the ring so he can watch the racing. I am hoping he will tire himself out barking and will eventually get bored and sleep. I am going to put Neo in the other cage as he is very calm and not interested in the flyball until I am putting his harness on (maybe a calming influence?). I am really hoping this will work as I don't think he will ever do Flyball otherwise and this certainly can't make him any worse, Heres hoping!!

Busy weekend

Phew, I haven't stopped this weekend!!!
On Friday evening Andy gets a text from our friends, Colin and Laura, asking if they were still coming over on Saturday night???? Apparently Andy had a few too many drinks (NOOOOO - not Andy! LOL!!) at Colin's birthday party a few weeks earlier and invited them over! LOL!! We tidied the house, I walked the dogs and we went to bed. What a way to spend a Friday night hey!!! On Saturday morning I got up at six!!!!! to walk the dogs as we were going to visit my sister-in-law, Emma, and her partner, Chris. We met up with Andy's parents and Chris' parents and had a fantastic meal in a wonderful pub near where they live in Buckinghamshire. We went back to Emma and Chris' for a cup of tea and a tour of their new house and came home. On the way home we stopped at Asda to pick up dinner and the all important beer and I started to cook dinner as it was six by the time we got back. We had a lovely evening with our friends, Barley was in heaven with all these people to fuss her and spent the whole evening on one or other of our laps - bless her.
On Sunday morning we had flyball training. I think Fox has reverted back to being a complete little **** and was so naughty!! He kept picking a fight with another dog that he doesn't like and kept running off!! I put him away after about ten minutes as it was obvious that he was not going to concentrate and there is no point forcing the issue with him. Hmmmm I keep telling myself that he is only two and he will get better!! It has become a little mantra! LOL!! Kate and I got the puppies out and they had a lovely hour playing together and trying to get fusses of everyone who came past! They are so good and getting more responsive all the time. I actually think that Barley will be doing Flyball before Fox!
I came home and took the big dogs out for a lovely walk for about two hours all round the farms on the back of where I live. The farmers are very good and keep great paths for the walkers so it is a real pleasure to walk round there. I then came home, got washed and changed and went out for dinner at Andy's parents. Finally getting home at 8.30pm!
Next week will be just as bad. On Saturday we are training the Mad Muttlies as we have Bryn running with them now and we need to check who he can run with and I have to pull out the caravan and get it ready for the following week (Barleylands Show). Then on Sunday it's the flyball AGM. Sooooo busy!!!!

Update

Thought I'd add a quick update as I actually remembered (and managed) to get some pics of Barley.

This is her practising her sheepdog pose waiting for me to throw her ball.


This is her waiting paitently for a treat And this is her in her favourite position in the whole world!!!

As you see she is looking a bit more grown up now.

We had training on Sat and Fox was a bit of a plonker! He went up the jumps beautifully, triggered the box, watched the ball roll down the box, refused to pick up the ball but just stood there on the box, waiting for me to call him back. He was very focused on me even when Kate started walking Stacey (Staffy-Barley's half sister) up and down a bit so I was really pleased at that, we can work on the ball later lol!

On Sat night we went to Kate and Dave's as it was Dave's birthday. It was really nice as Sam, Andy and the girls came down so the whole team was there. Sam brought Fraggle and of course Henry was there so Barley spent the whole evening playing with her brother and sister. Barley is weeny compared to them!!!! They are both about two inches taller and longer then her!!! Bless her! We had a lovely evening. We made plans for our first show in April and decided who was in charge of what. Decided on our calendar for the year. That is most weekends in April, May, June, July, August and September gone! Then we had an amazing Indian, It was great everyone brought a dish and Kate outdid herself with some amazing curries and a superb tiramisu!!! Yummmmmy! Everyone went home about a stone heavier but boy was it gooooood! We are really busy as we have decided to give flyball in the South a real boost this year by hosting 6 shows. Luckily the first one is not full so we are only racing on the Sunday but it means that we can do all the fun stuff on the Sat, singles, pairs, starters and other games. We also have some excellent prizes but that will be revealed at the show!! All in all a great night amazing food and we spent the whole evening talking about flyball till 1am. Sam and I even got onto reminiscing telling Kate and Dave about the early days of the Mutts and the outlandish and weird things we got up to when we had, had a apple juice too many!!!

Fox is a star!!!

We had flyball training today and I just took Fox and Barley. Fox has come on so much in the last few weeks as he loves a ragger. He actually went up to the box, got a ball out of the box and came back over the jumps with other dogs in the vicinity!!!! This is a massive achievement for us. I really didn't think he would ever get the hang of it as he is not a huge ball fan and is very easily distracted but I have spent the week getting him to fetch the ball, and bring it back to me before he can play with the ragger. It has paid off!!! YEAY!!! It has also made him lengthen out over the jumps so we are getting a real idea of how quick he will be. I thought that he may turn out to be too big as he is a very heavy dog but it turns out that he is a bit speedy under that huge frame. I am excited to see how quick he will be.
Barley played with Henry (her brother) both of whom decided to go deaf when we called them back - little monkeys! Henry is so different to Barley. He is much more collie in appearance and is the spit of his dad, he is a really handsome little man. He has a wiry coat while Barley's is very soft (not sure if this is still puppy coat?) and he is much more stubborn then her, lol. They are so similar in basic personality though and are both really gentle little souls who just want their bellies tickled.
I promise to try and take some more pictures soon!!!! It's a bit difficult though when the pup is doing the wall of death around your living room!!

Great week

It has been a very quiet week for me, dog wise, this week, I have focused on work as I have been going for a promotion which I am very pleased to say I have got!! I learned that Jamie got his Flyball Dog Intermediate award and Neo has his Advanced so I am very proud of my two boys!! I also got a blinding deal on my O2 phone, woo hoo!!
My sister and I had a small flyball training session today over our local park, just taking our three young collies and the jumps. Fox has had a few sessions now but is so unfocused that it is taking a while. I have however had him playing with a ragger which he loves and it has completely turned him round. I have so far struggled to get him to go over three jumps as he switches off and either runs round or runs off!! Today however we got him going up to my sister, taking a ball off the ground (I haven't introduced the box yet- too much for his small brain to cope with!!) and coming back over the jumps to get the ragger!!! it only took us about ten mins!!! I'm really pleased with him. I keep saying that he won't run until he is about four but I may be changing my mind a bit, maybe three and a half :).
Tasha's dogs were brilliant. Echo is three and has taken a loooong time to mature. He has also had a problem with other dogs which has knocked my sister's confidence with him. I have taken it upon my self to bully her into bringing him training! :) He did her proud today and went over three jumps in a row. Roo was amazing. She is the most hyper dog I have ever met, you can practically see her little brain going a million miles and hour. After she had calmed down a bit she was coming over four jumps to me for a cuddle then turning around and going over four jumps to Tasha for a cuddle. We don't train with netting at all so this was really good!!
Not a lot to say about Barley but she has been really good and has mastered being walked on the lead. Good little girl

In with the big dogs

Andy and I decided to have a bit of a spring clean of our conservatory and out-buildings today. We wanted to make more room for Barley who is currently residing in our conservatory so we cleared it out and puppy proofed it. As we were outside anyway we decided to put Barley in the run with the others so I could see how they all got on in an enclosed area.

I felt so sorry for Fox! The other three very quickly got on top of the kennels where Barley couldn't reach them and slept all afternoon, Fox on the other hand couldn't fit on the roofs with the others and so had his one on one time with Barley. She harrased him for hours!!!!! That pup has so much energy, and spent 4 hours barking at Fox and hanging from the fur around his head. He was sooooo good and didn't tell her off once bless him.

Look at Fox's face

'Please take it out!!!!'

Even standing on her hind legs she is still a midget compared to him
Barley asleep after her hard afternoon

Barley has now been nicknamed Weeble as I have never known a dog to wee so much!!!!