Bretford Show and Big Changes!!

This blog is a bit late but we have had a bit of a stressful week thanks to Brax coming down with gastroenteritis :( She had a long stay at the vets and has come home on four different types of liquid to be syringed down her throat throughout the day - not easy with such a small wriggly dog!! The vet doesn't know what caused it and all the tests including blood came back clear - we think it maybe something she ate. She can be a scavenger but generally she has cast iron guts!

Brodie on the other hand has been feeling fine and is fit and raring to go at the moment. Good thing too as he has his first champ classes coming up soon - yay!!! I'm really looking forward to trying a really testing course - watch this space :) Brodie did a couple of good runs at Bretford show he came 3rd in the C6-7 jumping and WON the grade 7 agility. I was so proud of him as there were some incredibly good G7 dogs there. Thanks to Paul Bell who shot this video of Brodie - well done to his Beagle Chester who is now Grade 2 due to 3 fab wins at Bretford :)



Other important news is that I have taken the hard decision to become self employed. I have been working at the kennels for seven years and felt it was time for a new challenge. I going to dust off my brain cells and do a diploma in canine massage whilst carrying on with some training (agility and other), behavioural consultations and dog walking. I'm really looking forward to seeing what 2011 brings!

Which brings me on to some more exciting news!! Brodie and Brax will be joined by another small furry after the World Champs, Matthew and I just can't wait!! Matthew is off today doing a puppy visit to see our newest addition while I get to practice my aim with a syringe full of probiotics :-D (Hopefully some photos to follow assuming Matthew can stop playing puppies long enough to take a couple!!) Thanks so much to her breeder Lian Knight for doing such a good job socialising her, also many thanks to Lian for taking some wonderful pics of my two when we went to visit.

Wallingford video and Well Dones!!

This is Brodie's run in the C6-7 agility at Wallingford where he came 4th. I'm really pleased about how he did as it wasn't a course where there was an advantage to having a running contact. The jumps following both the A frame and dog walk were on at least 180 degree turns. I know that Brodie tends to be striding higher on the contact than I would like if there is a turn (obvious in this video!) so that is something I need to work on. I probably turned him a bit tight as I didn't want him to go straight on over the jump after the dog walk! Brodies seesaw was fab though and this is something I've done a lot of work on over the winter. He was a bit slow to the tunnel but the queue was directly behind it and he is never very brave running towards dogs.

We were at Bretford show on Sunday - more about this in another post but some major congrats are in order! Well done to Jane and sheltie Robbie for winning his jumping by an amazing 10 seconds! Also massive well done to Jackie and George who won into Grade 3!

Congrats to Paul and Maria and their lovely Beagle Chester who is destined for great things! After only two KC shows he already has three jumping and an agility win!! Going Grade 2 in style :) One of them was a C1-3 jumping! They have done such a fab job with Chester and are a real pleasure to teach. All their hard work is paying off - Chester is loving his agility to the point that he howls on his contacts!!

Wallingford Show

We went to our first KC show of the year on sunday, Wallingford at Newbury. It couldn't have been better weather and it was a very nice show. We had only entered the dogs in two classes each (C6-7 jumping and agility) which meant we were done by early afternoon! Brax had a good run in her jumping and finished 7th (just out of the placings) and unfortunately was a naughty girly in her agility. She decided that the end of the dog walk looked like a long jump!! More contact homework I think...

Brodie was a wee superstar and came 4th in both the jumping and agility. He has never been as speedy in jumping generally but yesterday I had issues keeping up! His times were decent and considering the jumping course had a couple of straight lines, he was just under 6 seconds behind the amazing Dizzy!! (She won the jumping and agility) I was very proud of how he worked, love him!!

Puppy Hugs and Sheltie Gathering!!

Matthew,me and the shelties had a fab day yesterday! The weather was glorious and more like mid summer than early April :) We went to see Lian, Colin and all their lovely Shelties, including 3 week old puppies, awwwww!!! We were spolit with a lovely breakfast, lots of puppy hugs and a brilliant walk on the common. I think that Brodie would happily have stayed in the water all day, hehe! Lian took some fantastic pics of the seven shelties (see her blog) out walking, including some great action shots.

The puppies are just adorable and we had so much fun watching them. They have so much to explore in their play pen and are getting quite speedy now! Brodie and Brax didn't seem to notice them really. Uncle Saturn is really sweet as he likes to see where they are! Here are a few pics
Matthew, Samber and wee girly


Tired Puppies!


Happy Brodie


Brax combining sunbathing and puppy-sitting!


Asleep after tummy tickles!!


Out on the Common (aren't Brodie and Sizzle similar?! Brodie is closer!)

Team Training & Mothers Day

We went to the last team training session on Saturday before the WAO champs. It was a really productive session and Brax really enjoyed herself. She is definitely solar powered as the hotter it is the happier she is and the faster she goes! Her contacts were good and the one thing she really struggled with was a hard weave entry out of a straight tunnel. (Homework!) The team also got their team kit so here is a sneak preview of Brax in her fab coat!


Sunday and Monday I spent with my Mum and sister Amy up in Aberdeenshire (don't get me started on Easyjet though - grrrr!) I had a great time and was totally spoilt :) Its hard when your family are a long way away but you appreciate time spent with them even more. I saw Amy's new workshop (she is a saddler), ate far too much, had lots of dog walks and we also played some crazy golf in Aberdeen! Here are a few pics
Tresca and her toy

Crazy Golf!

Visit to Tolquhon castle - site of childhood hide and seek!!