Branston 7 months and Sparkle turns 9!

 In the last two weeks Branston Pickle has been a busy boy! He did a Hoopers puppy workshop, agility foundation workshop and rally class 😁 It is nice to get him into some groups so that he learns to take turns and watch the others quietly on his bed...something that Sparkle never managed! 

Here is a video from his puppy Hoopers workshop ❤

And a recent video of what we have been getting up to! Agility wise so far we have done a straight tunnel, a jump bump grid, just started curvy tunnels with no speed and he has done a couple of wing wraps 

In the last week Sparkle has turned 9 years old! 💜 I can't believe it as she is still my little puppy really! She certainly doesn't act her age and many people still think she is a puppy as she is so dinky and cute! We have had the most wonderful dry weather recently so Sparkle got a birthday run round in the field. We haven't trained our dog walk exits recently so I was very pleased with these! Hopefully she will have this year doing some champs with Bru before starting to wind down agility wise a bit next year.

Here are some recent photos of the birthday girly! 

And some other photos of the gang! Bru and Brooke both passed their Level 3 Hooperstars award! Look how gorgeous the rosettes are!  

Finally a photo of all four shelties looking the same way and actually looking the correct sizes! Branston is now about 39cm so taller than Toad and a couple of cm shorter than Sparkle. I think he is pretty much finished growing now so will be a nice sized medium. 

This photo makes me smile! She is learning to tolerate him and he is learning to avoid her!

Gorgeous trio! 

ESSC AGM and snow stops play (again!)

Last weekend we went to the ESSC Working Section AGM. As trophy secretary I have to give out the annual awards. There are trophies for agility, obedience, working trials, junior handler, rally and veteran dog and some of them are sooooo old! I'm giving up this year as have been doing it for 7 years but wanted a pic of all the trophies together.

The league rosettes are presented there too. Brodie won the L4 Rally league and came 4th in G7 agility and Brooke bean came 2nd in L2 Rally league and 6th in G7 agility. I'm biased but what talented doglets!

 Its been so cold here, this was the start of the week when we were doing pyjama walkies with a sprinkling of snow

And this was a few days later! A thick covering of snow again, we have had so much this year! 

Not that Spark is complaining as she looooves the snow!

Brax isn't so impressed by it! We cleared her a little path to get to the garden :-)

Bru thought it was amazing fun!

These two are snow monsters as well, Brooke likes to do zoomies in it and Brodie uses his nose as a snow plough!

As a result the snow we were supposed to be at this weekend has been cancelled which although its a shame is so sensible! Hopefully we will get some nicer weather again soon, I hate not being able to work!

My best boy is 10 this week!!

This dog is truly my dog in a million! He melts my heart and is my little shadow, my first 'proper' agility dog who has taken me from Grade 1 up to Grade 7 and on some amazing adventures along the way! He can turn his paw to anything and has won in the show ring, at obedience, rally (when his daft Mum can get it right!) and of course at agility. At the bottom of this post is a video of him having fun this week, still loving his agility going into double figures :-) Love my Mr Toad to bits!! Happy Birthday for Friday handsome boy xx

Bracken is very put out that the weather has got colder again. She is spending lots of time wearing what is known as 'her old lady jumper'! 

Brooke Bean is having a very exciting week! She got to play at Grandma Lians wonderful indoor agility barn (see video below) and then shared a Dan lesson on Tuesday.

She also went to our local ESSC meeting at the weekend with Brodie and loved doing some rally work and balance games. Here is Matthew and Brooke playing wobble cushions!

This munchkin had fun at Lians on Monday and we got to practice our stopped dog walk in a new place. I tried to run the course with a running contact but failed (I'm crap at running on sand!) so then tried the stop. Video below shows the run first and then the stop. Spark was a bit offish and has started her season so is now on her agility holidays for a month. We will keep going with lots of fitness work in the meantime!

All three dogs having fun! Toad ran the whole course and the others just did bits :-) Here are the highlights!

Last outdoor show of the year and Spark goes Grade 7!!!

Autumn feels like it is here properly now although at the moment the weather is being kind! The trees are turning and the sunrises have been beautiful... its lovely out on the fields in the mornings.

The dogs coats have been used for the first time this week as they played in the field. The purple thing by Sparks foot is a popped balloon that she found in the field and thought was the BEST toy!

Shelties are such natural posers! Having some of their brekkie in my pocket helped! 

Bean did Rally on Monday night as she is now Level 3 which means she needs to learn the harder L3/L4 exercises and work off lead. She was a bit chilly as she has blown her coat but liked lying on the step! She still has to learn the food bowls and jump exercise...I feel the food bowls will be harder than the jump!!

J9 doglets did well at Dog Vegas! Brodie and Brookes pup Squidge won two G3 jumpings, his house mate Rommy won a couple of G7 jumpings and Bailey Lab went Grade two in style winning four classes! Brodie won a jumping and Sparkly won agility making her Grade 7 :-D So much to work on over winter but will have great fun getting ready to tackle some champs next year!

What a weekend...!

What an amazing three days!! Friday I took Brodie and Dolly to Kelluki UKA show to support some clients (some at their first show) I did a bit of a headless chicken impression making sure I could watch everyone run and help walk courses were necessary. They all did me proud! Dolly won her steeplechase class and Brodie came 2nd in Jumping so they got to pose too! Apollo missed out on the pic but also won two steeplechase classes and although Squidge didn't do anything competitively he did weaves and dog walks beautifully in the practice ring :-D

I went back on Saturday with just Brodie as Kate and I went together and it was Dixies first time competing at UKA. She did a couple of steeplechases really well, not clear but confident. Toad was a superstar!! He came 2nd in the Masters jumping and won the Masters agility meaning that he won the Masters Overall and has qualified for the Grand Finals again!

On Sunday I took Brooke and Brodie to a Rally competition. Brodie came across food bowls and a jump for the first time in the ring in his Level 3. I stuffed up the food bowls and went the wrong way round them but we still managed a very credible 4th place out of 26 dogs! He is so happy doing stuff with me whether its Rally or agility he is such a dude!

Brooke had her first competition since her operations and all of her rehab. She worked so beautifully and enjoyed it so much that when the judge said it was a stunning round I just burst into tears in the ring! Turns out that she had won it which meant more happy tears! She is now Level 2 :-) This is the comment that the judge made on her score sheet...

Brooke and Brodie posing with their friend Ollie who got his last Level 2 qualifying score!

Sparkle has finished her season and Brax continues to put weight on so they will be back in action as well next weekend!

A big wide world...

Brooke had her first proper off lead walk across the fields last week! I took her by herself in case she went mad but she just trotted along behind me and occasionally stop for a sniff. She was very good and a little overwhelmed by it!

Brooke had Brodies space at Rally class this week as we have a competition at the weekend! Very excited and a bit nervous as not sure how much attention I will get from Brooke bean :-)

Brodie wasn't talking to me after letting his wife steal his space at class...and I took spaniels to his agility lesson. Hope he forgives me once he gets to do two days of agility and a day of Rally at the weekend!

Spark has pretty much finished her season so is back on proper off lead walks again...she is very happy about it :-) We did have some sun this week...

and quite a lot of rain!

Thanks to everyone who has asked about little Brax. She is getting better slowly, eating much better and no sickness or bad tummy in the last couple of weeks. Hoping now to get some weight on her and get her fitter again. I love this pic of Matt and his ginger girls!

Bluebells and Cheese!

 Matt has been practising with his camera, we had some beautiful bluebells in the garden and he got these shots of the doglets

I know there are two of Toad but he is so handsome and I couldn't decide! :-D Sadly little Brax hasn't been very well again. The antibiotics don't seem to be helping so need to go back to the vets :-(

Bailey collie came to stay over the past week and he is such a lovely house guest. My dogs all love him and he is so sweet. This pic cracks me up! He wouldn't drop his ball and my shelties were very uncooperative!

On Saturday we went to Hatton Agility Festival. Toad did Rally (his second Level 3) and was amazing...I however was not...I walked straight past a sign so got NQ'd! Brodie was non the wiser and thought it was great fun but was confused about where the jumps were! He did get to do agility later and was very very excited, one messy clear and a wild E in the agility!

Spark worked really nicely and won the C4-7 helter skelter :-) She won CHEESE! I am a huge cheese fan and her prize had a slate cheese board and crackers too. Unfortunately it was very hot and my car battery was flat so it took a while to come home so not sure what state my cheese will be in! 

Spark did her first competitive agilities in the ring and her contacts were lovely (particularly considering wooden contacts in one ring and aluminium in the other!) We got E'd in both for failing to go round a jump and both times I cued it badly! She had the fastest time in the 5-7 jumping but just a pole down. Love this pic that one of my Instagram friends took of Spark concentrating on her seesaw!!

A mixed bag!

So far the start of April has been a bit up and down. We had the ESSC Rally training day on the 2nd April and I took Toad and Brooke bean. Brooke thought it was an amazing day out seeing all the shelties especially her friend Rommy and son Squidge! She managed quite a lot of the exercises in the morning including some lovely trot work. Here is a short video of her doing some heelwork :-D

Toad as usual was a superstar! He worked on some of the harder Level 5 exercises including a retrieve and a angled recall over a jump (that apparently doesn't look like a jump as Toad struggled with this!) We are looking forward to doing some more Level 3 competitions this year. This was him in his crate at the workshop...Toad in the hole!! 

Brax and Spark missed out on the workshop so they had a nice fields walk instead.

The weather has been improving so I have been able to do more teaching. The dogs love joining me in the field and we can usually fit in some balance work which they love!  

I had Brodie and Brooke booked in to see our lovely physio on Friday for a routine check over. Luckily Brodie only had one tight spot and the great news is that Brooke is now allowed to do 30 mins walk three times a day! And...in a couple of weeks time she is allowed to go off her lead and do a couple of recalls Exciting but very scary!! *gulp*

 Spark had her usual Dan lesson on Tuesday and I wasn't 100% happy with how she was working. She had a couple of poles and some unusually wide turns and when I watched the video back in slow motion I could see she was dropping a hind leg a bit over her jumps. Nothing hideous but just not right...glad I am a paranoid owner as when the physio checked her over she found a wonky pelvis, sore back and torn hamstring. I felt like such a bad mummy :-( Spark loves to work bless her and doesn't give much away when she is sore. She is on lead walks, bio-mag therapy twice a day and stretches.

So at the weekend the only dog that could play agility in the field was Brax!! She took full advantage of being an only dog and even stole Sparkles toy to play with :-D

 I love this pic of Mr and Mrs! Toad had been snuffling in long grass!