I want to really get in touch with my photography more this year. Take more photographs. Cherish the green around me. Improve my skills and pair more images with my adventures. I want this blog to visually pop out. To … Continue reading
Off to Birmingham? Yes Birmingham!
Last weekend Ash and I went to help Cheshire Canine Services at Bark in the Park, a fundraising event in aid of Retired West Midlands Police Dogs, held in Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham.
It all started when Mike asked me if I knew anyone who would run Have a Go Agility… “Why don’t you do it.” I said… famous last words!
We were all set to leave on Saturday morning, however on Friday I had noticed Guinness’ paw was all red and sore and on Saturday morning it was worse. I couldn’t leave it until Monday! So instead of being on my M6 at 9am, we were at the vets.
Luckily there was nothing stuck and it turned out that Guinness had licked and chewed it to death, probably from the stress and pain from his other leg. I dropped him off at home with a wash, some more painkillers and a sock on and we eventually set off.
We rocked up in Birmingham at 10.30am, just as the event was starting. No worries!
Cannon Hill Park is HUGE! 120 acres! The Bark in the Park event was on a lovely section alongside the boating lake, near to the tennis courts and crazy golf. Dog agility next to tennis courts… genius.
There were displays in the main ring throughout the day, starting with Sarah Hanson of Wiggly Dogs talking about training methods and then Paws for Thought Display Team did a very entertaining display with flyball, agility, tricks and fire!
Next up it was the turn of Cheshire Canine Services. I slipped into the ring to take some photographs of Mike’s display. He started off with Bob his young springer puppy and talked about foundations, before moving on to show Bill his working springer and Emma came in with her rescue Labrador, Monty. The real highlight was when Mike demonstrated how to work two dogs, using Bill and Alf. He left the two dogs in a sit and turned and walked away. Bill bum shuffled forward. Alf took a step forward. Bill snuck forward. Alf crept forward. Sending shifty glances at each other the whole time. Mike turned around and they sat bolt upright, stark still. The crowd was roaring! You could not have planned it.
As the day finished we started to discuss hotels and evening plans. Mike and Emma were driving home, Ash and I had booked into the Travellers Inn nearby and Owain and Katie had grabbed a last minute room in the Birmingham Hotel… the reviews were not great!
After a moderately quiet day with a bit of rain, Ash and I went to do 18 holes of the 32 hole crazy golf, before heading off to the hotel. There was a fair and square pub just up the road so we wandered off to grab some tea. “We need to go straight on at the round-a-bout and then it’s just on the right”. Round-a-bout… more like a spaghetti junction! After dodging across 12 lanes of traffic we made it!
Sunday morning arrived and the first question on everyone’s lips was how Owain and Katie’s hotel was! “We walked in and walked back out”. It turns out they got a refund and stayed at a nearby Holiday Inn, and then their bathroom ceiling leaked so they got a full refund from there! Not bad!
The sun was out and Sunday was already feeling a lot busier. The agility was almost none stop and a lot of police puppy walkers had come for the day so they all had a go. Perfect socialisation for them, walking through a tunnel and across planks on the floor.
The Police rocked up to give a very entertaining demo, showing off their detection dogs and some bite work with the up and coming pups, before getting the big boys out. Mr. Angry is obviously quite a well known character in these displays and he has a great entertainment factor during the bite work. The last capture was a dog running out and grabbing him and then dragging him back to the police officers who were hiding behind a shelter. Then when Mr. Angry fought off the officers and tried to escape the dog nailed him. I love watching “attack” dog displays, they are always so entertaining.
Rookie mistake alert, I had left my spare memory card in the car! Mike was straight in with his display so I didn’t have chance to photograph it. Instead I sat back and watched. A slightly different display to yesterday, this time Mike used Alfie a little more. As he set Alf up for a blind retrieve he said “Now I don’t know if it’s because he’s ginger… but… he doesn’t have a very good memory”. Just for you Ash! I reckon the two gingers are quite content with their “colour disadvantage”.
Emma joined the display and they set Alf and Monty up on retrieve races! Monty grabbed his dummy but then ran over to Mike, bouncing around next to Alf looking very pleased with himself! Poor Emma had to go and fetch her dog from the “head trainer”.
As the displays had a break all of a sudden everyone had come to the agility! I had a queue of dogs and people crowding around to watch, cheering on each dog as they bravely made it through the tunnel and over the jumps, quickly followed by their owners. A great success.
It was brilliant to meet some twitter people and I finally came face to face with Mark Doggett (@MarkyDoggett) and Dave Hibbert, the event organiser and voice behind @WMP_dog. Plus I also met a fellow Andy Biggar Photography student, Joanna! (@joeynoble).
I sat down to grab a quick lunch and heard Dave announce “and the winner of the waggiest tail is definitely Monty!”. I looked up and it was Emma! Way to go Monty.
The afternoon was getting hotter and hotter and Ash and Mike both released their legs. Much to Mike’s dismay it was concluded that crocks and socks are not cool!
The final demo of the day, Mike and Dave did some bite work with Morgan and Kai. Dave donned the jacket and was adamant that he could do the commentary and take the bites… there were quite a few lines of “So I’m going to try to get away and Kai is….”. We were all impressed with Dave, for a slim bloke he can take quite a pounding from these dogs!
Time to go home, Ash and I went back for our second round of Crazy Golf. As Mike drove past he shouted “Whose winning?”. “I am!!” Ash and I said at the said time! It turns out Ash won… twice!
A really fun weekend, it was great to meet new people, put faces to twitter profiles and spend a day with friends and dogs!
I sit here, at 8.30pm, waiting for Ash to arrive back from Belgium. As the ferry has only just landed in Dover, it’s going to be a long night!
Today was TAG at Uttoxeter Racecourse. 40 minute journey away? Luxury!
Out of the house late (a bad habit I must get out of) but we still arrived on time. Entry numbers looked low and there were 5 rings, but as I pulled through the gates the view that greeted me was amazing! Floods of caravans as far as I could see. Surely there could not be this many people entered?! I later found out that they were here for another event. We had great fun trying to identify all of the different countries flags on display!
First up, Grade 1-2 Agility. It was simple enough with front cross/rear cross opportunities, but then towards the end, tunnel – long jump – 12 weaves. A mere four to five paces from the long jump to the weaves. Crap. Yes he should get it surely, but it certainly wasn’t “easy” for newbies.
As I headed to fetch Guinness, walking towards me were two lovely friends from Dig It, Gwynneth and Diane! They haven’t been to a show for a long time and it was lovely to see them. We spent most of the day together.
I’d opted for a new tactic today, keep calm, feed in the queue for stillness, and go into the ring off lead. The start line nicely reached outside of the ring so I was able to get Guinness into position and treat. Technically not breaking rules (I hope). My plan is to fade out the need for treats. Into a calm wait I stepped a few paces away, looked at Guinness, and released. We went well, rear crossing the aframe and the tunnel. I tried my best to show him the weaves but he blasted out of the tunnel and over the long jump and was halfway past the weaves before he noticed. Three failed attempts and we never completed them.
Our next runs weren’t until after lunch and I enjoyed the morning watching agility and chatting with friends. The exercise arena was huge, following the curve of the racecourse, and we had a lovely group walk with four dogs between three of us.
As lunch came to a close I found myself with three courses to walk! Collie mania, all rings were on large!
We ran G1-3 Agility first. A nice course with some little bits of gentle handling. I decided to rear cross the weaves, we can do it and sometimes it actually helps Guinness to push on through them. He didn’t see the weaves and instead headed for the seesaw and then we were too close. I brought him back and sent him in. Nailed it! Only 5R. A lovely run! A little relaxed on my behalf, but we felt calm and smooth and connected! This is what we need! Speed and difficulty can come later. Plus it’s not like he’s a slug.
As we came out of the ring, Combined 1-4 Jumping was calling to the end so we ran up there, back into the same ring as this mornings Agility. Just as I was getting Guinness on the line the lady scriming said “Ruth will you please please please try to get the weaves, we’re so bored of watching dogs fail”. “Remember what Grade this is!” I chuckled back. The comment hadn’t offended me at all, but I wouldn’t wish it on a nervous competitor about to do their first run of their first show. We nailed our weave entry but popped out at about 9 and Guinness was over a jump and into the tunnel before I had even said “whoopsie”. We tried again, no good. “That’s your fault” I shouted at the scrimer jokingly. As I told my friends and heard their reaction I realised how thoughtless the comment had been, plus the fact that the G1-2 Agility from this morning had produced a grand total of zero clear runs.
Last up, Combined 1-3 Jumping. The start line had loads of room and again I was able to set Guinness up and treat outside of the ring and then shuffle him off lead into the ring. I felt cool, relaxed and confident and slowly walked out right up to Jump 3. Lets rock n roll. What a wait!! Plus a fantastic front cross. Then it all ended at the weaves. A straight entry with room but Guinness went in at pole 2. I took him right back, wrong entry again. Back again and into a down. 2nd pole again. Last attempt, a tight wrap around my leg, wrong entry. What is going on Guinness?! My thoughts raced from potential injuries to eyesight issues to discomfort to lack of entry training. Hmmmmm.
But what a wait! Woo I’ll take that over weaves (for now). “You were so cool and confident” I was told. I do seem to be walking with Swag on the video haha. Love it. Now that is the wait I have dreamt of! Today I started to make it a reality.
I hung around for a little while after the G1-3 Agility had finished, wanting to check if there was any chance of placement despite faults. After almost an hour it was time to go home.
I’m feeling much more positive! A little concerned about our weaves, we definitely need to go and look at that. But what great waits! Yes they are something that we should have had from the beginning and something we should have never lost. But by gum the joy from working through a problem and making progress is far more satisfying than having them from the start.
Onto Adams next Saturday and Sunday. That’s gonna be a busy show!
10.30pm now, only 4 more hours or so to go!
While the majority of the agility world are at the Kennel Club International Festival (I’m obviously not jealous at all!) I went to Adams today! Back to Catton Park, but only 4 rings this time, and I flew past the entrance for day parking (despite the signs) as it was on a completely different field to the last time I was there!
After being woken up at 4am and again near to 5am by Ash, who left for a week in Belgium this morning, I set off a little late and my satnav ETA was worrying, Judging starts at 8.30am! I was determined to get there in time to walk the course and I was parked and out of my car at 8.27am and pleased to see plenty of people still on the course, phew.
First run of the day, in the kerfuffle of trying to get my ticket (why do they put the ticket person next to the start line) I stood on Guinness’ paw in my metal stud football boots! Oh god! He certainly let me know about it, by trying to bite my foot and anyone or dog in the immediate vicinity to him. After much walking around, rubbing and stretching, I decided he was okay. Guinness will always tell me if he’s hurt, normally by my hand suddenly being in his mouth!
We went for our run, it was a tricky start of 3 zigzaggy jumps to a slightly offset seesaw. I ran start and straight away Guinness couldn’t find the second jump, then he didn’t even think about stopping on the seesaw. Onto the aframe he stopped then self released and then he didn’t try to stop on the dogwalk. I missed the rest of the course and just got out over two jumps and rewarded.
We sat around the rings for a little, had a bacon barm (or a butty/bap to my local friends), went for a good walk and then had a break. There was quite a long time before our next run and I finished off Agility Voice and decided to take some photographs. I’d thrown my camera in as an afterthought, expecting rain all day, but was genuinely surprised at the sunshine we had for most of the day!
Combined 1-3 Adams Jumping Cup was ready. It was a stunning steeplechase course style. Really suited us and so nice to see, especially in a combined class. As I watched a lot of people were coming out with clear runs, this was going to be a real race of speed! I love it!!
The start line was nice and far out and I got Guinness into a down while out of the ring, and then shuffled him forward in between my legs (not as weird as it sounds) and asked for a wait. I got to jump 2 and released without looking. I wish someone had been with me to film as he’s been standing up without me noticing, but I will just have to hope he stayed down. We went off with great speed and directions, onto the second pinwheel and I was turning left but he went off to find another jump to the right! So unexpected!! Ahhh Guinness. The rest was perfect, even fast 6 weaves. Could have been a winner.
Time for lunch and the whole show went quiet. I’d seen no one I knew and was starting to feel a little lonely and bored of my own company. Plus knackered and therefore slightly grumpy from my 4am wakeup.
After a yummy jacket potato I sat down at Ring 4 to get some long jump photographs when suddenly it was announced that “the helicopter is just coming in to land in the exercise arena!”. The lady about to run asked if she could wait and the judge let her. A guy on the ring said “I parked my helicopter over there, where did you park yours?!”. Haha. It was an interesting turn of events, I suppose I’m still very new to competing, does this happen at shows a lot?!
As I wandered to fetch Guinness there was the chopper sat in the exercise ring and I enjoyed watching it take off again. Something different and very enjoyable to see. Plus, except for an increase in barking, none of the dogs seemed to mind too much.
Onto G1-4 Jumping and I asked Guinness for a wait and unclipped his lead. He jumped up and I caught him (much to his annoyance) and asked again. He waited as I stepped to the side and paused and off we went. A nice turn and wing wrap, although I hung back and gave him too much room for my liking, and then we turned left and had an unlucky pole down. Weaves, turns, the rest was beautiful! So gutting yet again.
Last class of the day, G1-2 Agility was ready. Only 17 dogs in the class and there were quite a few faults and eliminations, expected from newbie dogs I suppose. The course started jump to weaves with a tunnel nearby but with its back to us. I’ve done a lot of collar-holding to weaves in training with Guinness, and the weaves were quite soon from the jump, so I went for a run start to allow him to drive into them. He cut across and went past towards the tunnel. We retried and he got in at the 2nd poles, third attempt, still in at the 2nd pole. Just another metre from the jump and a bit more distance from the tunnel would have been so much nicer, but he should have got in them really. The rest of the course was straightforward and I took the opportunity to make sure he got his contacts. I didn’t test them but paused at the bottom with him and praised. He cleared the tyre and the spread just fine.
What a frustrating day. But weaves and waits and general handling were better, I think. But I’m not sure. Why is it so hard?! If I actually think about it, I recon we are improving with every show. TAG next Saturday and then back at Adams for the Saturday & Sunday of Bank Holiday, I’m really looking forward to the next few weeks.
I’d got the wrong head on today. From walking the course, to warming Guinness up, to running, I don’t have the right attitude at Dig It Shows. I have great fun. But not the correct attitude for our competitions.
The day started with Intermediate Jumping. Lydia had set out a nice course, mostly “easy” with little tweaky sections and an around-the-back from a tunnel. Ash walked Guinness while I was ring managing and then met me in the queue. Guinness was tugging nicely and continued off lead, went into a down, released the toy, and came into his start position. We raced off and I sprinted for the push round. As he came out of the tunnel I was stood at the jump leading him around in no-mans-land. It was a very “demotivating” manoeuvre. 12 weaves fabulous!! Brilliant achievement. The next jump was off to the right so it was a real tricky weave exit, especially for the dog that likes doing 11 weaves! From a wide wing wrap it was a tricky angle to the long jump and Guinness took it sideways.
Second run and Guinness wouldn’t tug. I knew this wasn’t going to go well. Into a wait, and he bogged off. Circled the first jump and came quite quickly back into position. Off we went again, this time I was supposed to be attempting to serpentine the push round, still didn’t get there or make it. However 12 weaves again! Yes! But 2/2 eliminations so far.
Onto Agility. Lou was judging and as always it was a lovely course. Plus it was nice for her to see me run after we trained on Thursday. I wasn’t sure which way round a jump to go, I’m sure I walked it one way and then ended up running it the other way. I don’t know what happened. First run and again Guinness was tugging off lead, into a down and then came into position and kept his wait. Contacts were much better than they have ever been. He still stops quite upright but then ducks into a bow and nose touch. Tunnel, jump and quickly into 6 weaves and he missed the entry. On Thursday Lou had mentioned about “Weaveweweweweweweave” fairly voice. As I ran her course off I went “weweweweweave”.
Second run and he wasn’t tugging. Uho I thought. Into a down, lead off, bye bye Guinness. It took a little longer but I stood my ground and he came back around. Better handling this time but again, two failed weaves from the tunnel, still with fairy voice. I looked at Lou, “Weave!”, nailed it, but not from the tunnel and jump.
Straight on from the weaves was a tunnel they had to avoid and instead take a jump to the left. I though that me being on the left and moving across would be enough to draw him from it, but this is tunnel-addict Guinness we are talking about! On the first run I called him late and with a paw inside he pulled off it. The second time, straight in the tunnel. Commands are needed woman! Turn left!
Disappointing. I said that I’d being doing at least one of each runs NFC today. I didn’t. I left this morning thinking I could get 5 out of 5 rosettes. There were low entries. I wanted to win. Instead I made a mess of my training opportunity. I’m pleased with our waits (50% anyway) and out contacts and weaves also.
Steeplechase was last and again, Ash took Guinness for a walk and then I met him at the ring. He tugged and then we got into a good wait. Nice handling up until a turn and then I chose to push across a diagonal, but I didn’t commit or get ahead enough. Guinness found the jump but wasn’t sure where to go and ended up re-taking the jump.
I’ve not had any AWFUL runs today but they certainly haven’t been that productive. 12 weaves successfully twice and much better contacts is something good I suppose. Plus 3/5 off lead tugging into waits. Not bad.
Time to get my head straight at Dig It Shows. They are fun and relaxed shows that I’m always helping at or photographing. I don’t think I will ever treat them with a competitive mental attitude, and therefore I should be running NFC. We haven’t got the skills up rock to a run and win it, so I shouldn’t act like I can. Also as I’m doing more Kennel Club Shows I think I am becoming accustomed to the ups and downs of Grade 1, and perhaps the Intermediates are trickier than I thought.
As I said I’ve had a really good, fun day, but not the runs and results I hoped for.
So much fun at hydrotherapy. First trip there with the Go Pro!
Wowie!! Well let’s cut to the chase… we won! We won Grade 1 Agility! Which puts us in Grade 2!
ARRRRGHHHHHHHHH!
Well, don’t get too excited, 3/4 runs were fantastic eliminations are usual!
Oswestry. A showground I have been to be before. I was surprised to see only 4 rings as last time the Shrewsbury/Oswestry Show had 6 rings jam packed in. 4 was amazing! So spread out with a great big area to sit and relax on while watching some agility.
The weather was an odd mixture of glorious sunshine and cool clouds with bitter winds. I spent half of the day in a vest top and half of it in my hoody!
First course of the day was Grade 1-3 Agility. It was a nice course when walking and I had two options, hang back and rear cross a serpentine or run and push to get ahead for a stronger serp. I went for the run! Well the first thing I found out was that running in football boots on rock hard ground is like running in high heels! At least the faster I ran the more they dug in so I didn’t end up A over T somehow. I’d left my agility trainers at home so it was studs or nothing all day.
We went for a very nervous wait and I managed to step over Guinness and then released. It felt cautious and steady and then I pushed on and serped (technical term) the middle of the three jumps nicely then rear crossed for a nice line into the tunnel. 12 weaves and I paced along with him and we got them! Run run, catch up, a pivot and then dog walk, finish, ahh!! I was sure we must have done something wrong. I was convinced we weren’t clear. I couldn’t believe. I asked Ash and he said he thought so, the judge clapped. I let myself celebrate!
For the rest of the morning we were waiting and waiting for the results at lunch time. I was hopeful. The odds were in our favour. But I couldn’t celebrate early. I didn’t want to set myself up for disappointment. I walked the Combined 1-3 Agility and Combined 1-3 Jumping and had some time to sit and look through them. Onto Agility and Gill Vann with her Shepherd was in front of me so I had quite a nice relaxing queue, giving her lots of space. With nothing to lose (hopefully) I pushed our wait and Guinness jumped up and went over the first jump. I called him back, thanked the judge and off we went. What a messy run. Not bad but not great. He only did 11 weaves on both attempts and then missed a jump later on. I had taken up enough of the judge’s time so we just went on and got out, but he did stay on his Aframe contact well while I caught up.
Combined 1-3 Jumping was another lovely course. Another serpentine, good job we’ve been practising them, and I went on the attack. Guinness broke his wait after I hesitantly left him but didn’t take the first jump and I popped him back and then ran off with confidence. I must get my start line head in gear! Off we went at speed and I pushed our serp and didn’t connect with him enough over the middle jump, nor give very clear arms, so he missed it. Never mind, the rest was good with a nice distance into the tunnel, 6 weaves into nothing and finish. “A good elimination” as Lou described it!
Lunch time finally and as the presentations started to be handed out the Judge from G1-3 Agility, of course, was to be the last to present. We did some shopping (picked up a reflective windscreen shield and a new Frisbee), had some chips and a coffee and were ready and waiting! Grade 1 Agility… 2nd place was announced… it wasn’t me… 1st place… IT WAS ME!
Judge Sharon Chapman grinned as I ran over and said “Lovely run”! I was so exciting I don’t think I really thanked her properly or told her how much I enjoyed the course. Luckily I saw her on facebook afterwards. Thanks Sharon!
Final class of the day G1-2 Jumping and I was on cloud nine. Another choice of pushing it and running or hanging back, let’s push it! (Even in my high heel football boots). Another broken wait from Guinness and he circled the first jump and went off barking. “It’s okay” said the Judge, Doc Docherty. I got him back and we started with a wait. I could tell Guinness was in one of those moods and he turned off the weaves barking at me (video footage shows I didn’t send him in very strongly either). Only 11 weaves again but we’d taken enough time so we ran on. Pushing for the outside line and sprinting we made it with only 1 knocked pole (better than expected). Pin wheel and two rear crosses and not a bad run at all. The Judge clapped and shouted “Some cracking stuff there!”
What a great guy! I also saw him lifting up the cloth tunnel for a previous competitor whose dog had been nervous to go through. G1-2s are handlers and/or dogs that potentially have never competed before. This could have been their first ever show and that is exactly the experience they need! I cannot credit Doc enough for how he was with us!
Day finished! We were off to a BBQ in Whitchurch that evening and with some time to kill we stopped in Ellesmere to have a walk alongside the mere.
Amazing amazing day!! Finished off with good food and company.
Success. The topic of this Dog Agility Blogger Action Day. Success is broad, it covers so much. Success that your dog is fit and healthy. Success that your dog managed to queue without being upset by another dog. Success that your dog came out of that run safely, free from injury. Success that you remembered the course!
The first thing I think about when I think of success, is taking a success from every run. Whenever I write blogs about our shows, (especially when I write about our many Eliminations), I always try to find a positive from every run. Something that we did well. Something that was an improvement. That is my success. It was a success to complete 12 weaves poles. It was a success to get a good stop dog walk contact. It was a success that Guinness waited on the start line. It was a success that we did a nice tight wing wrap. It was a success that we queued calmly.
But success proceeds much further than each individual run. Each show. Each result. Success comes in training. What is your success rate?! How many times was that behaviour completed correctly? It’s an important tool for dog training programs. Did your dog sit when asked 9/10 times. A success rate of 90%!
Dog agility is a human-selfish sport. If we never did agility again and instead allowed our dogs a good run through the woods twice a day, would they miss the agility? I reckon not. Although agility gives us the drive to train our dogs and the means to physically and mentally stimulate them, that can be done without agility. Therefore the biggest success for me is that my dog is fit, healthy and happy. Every time we do a training session, every show we visit and every run we do, I have succeeded if Guinness is happy.
However winning is definitely a very favourable success as well!
Read about what other agility bloggers consider Success as they upload their posts throughout the day: http://dogagilityblogevents.wordpress.com/success/
This weekend I sacrificed a day at Sutton Weaves UKA to work on my APDT assignments, a good decision as it needs to be done soon, plus I had Dig It’s Club Competition on Friday night and Can You Dig It today.
I offered to Judge as they were struggling to find people and got off lightly, only needing to do Intermediate and Advanced Agility, which ran the same course.
I was judging in the afternoon so we started the morning straight away with Intermediate Jumping. I had plenty of time to get Guinness warmed up and we were the first to the ring, Guinness tugging nicely. It turned out there were only three of us entered in Large Intermediate so I had no worries with queuing. Into the ring with some great tugging and I unclipped his lead and he kept tugging.
We’re struggling with letting go of the toy once he is tugging at the moment, which makes a change! I love Guinness, when we “solve” one “problem” he always throws something else at me. Never a dull moment!
He went into a down and release the toy and then I moved into the start position I wanted and called him to in between my feet. My perfect start line! (Although a quicker drop of the toy would be better). It was a nice simple Jumping course with only 8 jumps and some tight handling as well as blasty sections. The first 3 jumps to the tunnel were a tricky spacing and angle and Guinness bombed over number 3 and knocked the wing and jump flying. Unfortunately we had to go back over that jump twice more so I just aimed Guinness at the pole and he found his way in between the wings. What I should have done is popped Guinness in a down, stood the jump back up and then carried on quickly towards the finish, rather than aiming him at a skew-whiff wing and pole just for the sake of continuing the course. Onto the weaves and Guinness missed him entry a few times and then popped out at number 11. He is turning and looking towards me at 11 and not finding the final gap! Ahh, more training needed on 14+ poles! We had some nice distance pivot work and a tight front cross on a 180 though. And let’s not forget about our fabulous wait!
Our second run went in a similar fashion, same weave issue.
At this point the sun was really beating down and I was very pleased that I had recently bought a second hand cool coat, it was a life safer today.
We jumped into Beginners Agility for a couple of NFC runs. The queue was fairly small again and Guinness was happily tugging once we were inside the ring and then I unclipped his lead and he continued tugging. For one run I held his collar, revved him up and then asked for a down as I let go. Nailed it! This is our back up for when he wont tug or choose to come around my legs to a down.
He had a fast run, avoiding contacts with some wing wraps and straight line blasts.
(I’ve stepped away from contacts completely while we work more on our foundation behaviours at home such as nose touch and back foot target).
Time for brunch and to get ready for judging.
I loved my course on paper and it set out in real life quite nicely, taking a little bit of small tweaking before I was finally happy. We got cracking and quickly moved through the heights. With low entries there were only a handful of clears, the biggest problem being 17-18, avoiding the dog walk. However I received some nice comments and I think the course was suitable for the level.
I was due to follow on with Steeplechase for Medium-Small dogs, and I was looking forward to laying out a fun steeplechase course, however as we were heading for an early finish and a lot of people had gone home we decided to do all heights in Ring 2. Hurrah I was finished!
I grabbed Guinness and ran him around my agility course (very naughty as we did the contacts) and met the same issue at the weaves. We managed all 12 on a third attempt and the course ran smoothly. We struggled a little with the flick flack and I hung back at 14, sending him from behind and over the wing and then the rest ran well.
Into Steeplechase and Guinness wasn’t quite right, I think he was hot and still feeling a little rushed. I should have taken him for a walk and a real warm up before running him around my agility course. He ran off at the start line and I eventually got him back. I don’t think the Judge marked a refusal and I left him for a nice long wait. We set off fast around a speedy steeplechase course, knocked a pole or two and then were caught out, Guinness went off over a jump to the side instead of heading to the tunnel. A bit of deja vu from Anglesey again, this time Guinness peeling off to the side away from me rather than coming across me to turn.
Eliminations galore! Oh well, what a fun show. What great waits!! Argh. Why can’t we have that confidence and attitude at other shows. I feel like we are taking a step in the right direction however. I’ve been doing lot of games with Guinness from Absolute Dogs training and it is helping, plus the work we’ve been doing with collar grabs is also making the whole start line experience much better.
Next show is Oswestry in a few weeks! Eek!
The first of the Dig It Summer Shows is finally here! Time to start earning some points!
As it turned out this was one of those shows where we had so much fun the results did not matter at all, although it was still a slightly disappointing day.
Bright and early Ash and I rocked up just past 8am. Straight away we got set to work helping, pegging weaves and putting up the shelter, and before I knew it I’d walked the course and they were calling for the first dogs. I was straight in and with only 10 dogs in the class I gave Guinness a quick warm up and we rushed into the ring. Into a down, lead off and he broke his wait. I put him back and we set off for a messy run. One of those typical first runs of the day. Never mind.
Off into the exercise field across the lane and he had a poo. I knew it, I’d rushed him in. Scooping the poop, I looked up and he had gone. Vanished! Sh*t! (Quite literally). It was a huge field but I couldn’t see him anywhere, calling and whistling, I rushed back to the Dig It field, looking up and down the lane, and breathed a huge sigh of relief to see Ash putting him into the car. Phew. What a numpty. Luckily the little lane is quiet and he’d just run straight off to find Ash.
Time to chill out and have some breakfast.
I left Ash in charge of my camera which resulted in some rare (and extremely unattractive) photos of me! Doing what I do best and stuffing my face.
Quickly onto Jumping and it begun jump to 6 weaves. C’mon Guinness, we can do 6 poles easy, we have them set up in the garden. I ran start him to really drive him into the weaves “Go weave weave weave”…. he Go’d too much and entered at the 2nd gap. D’oh, come back, get in the weaves, lovely, off we go. It was quite a tight, tricky course with some knocked poles here and there but some pleasing rear crosses. Another Elimination picked up along the way.
While taking photos and watching the course later on I realised I had completely missed out a jump! I hadn’t even noticed it when I walked it. Oops! Not like me at all.
A bit of a break before steeplechase and Ash had long since abandoned me for Nick, pleased to finally have someone else at shows who was interested in something other than dogs!
Onto Steeplechase and me and Gaz set a good example of how to walk a course… stand on the edge of the ring with arms crossed. Everyone was starting to get a little silly and carrot cake for lunch was certainly boosting up my happiness scale.
A nice but tricky steeplechase course, I decided to test my wait and ran off three jumps ahead. Guinness jumped up and then stopped just short of the first jump but set the timer off with him nose. I released him and he ducked under. The rest of the course was so smooth and clear! Absolutely gutted!!
Power & Speed came next, my first ever games class. A great opportunity to test our contacts plus it started with a spread jump. I ran start again to help him over and he cleared it nicely. A-frame quickly to weaves was going to be tricky so I held his stop A-frame then sent him in. Yes! Nailed the entrance but popped out around pole 9. Second attempt, fail, time to get out of the ring and try to get 12 weaves out at training more often.
Second Steeplechase, another nice course with some different handling options but some tight turns. I was really pleased with my choices and Lydia and Audra both decided to handle the same way. We hadn’t even passed each other while walking the course so I was mega chuffed with myself. Onto the course and 1 pole flew, followed by another, then 3 more, a terrible rear cross and over the line.
What a shamble. However he did manage to keep up three poles in a row of tricky spacing, with a bounce in the middle. If you listen closely he lets of a “huff” noise as he bounces which makes me chuckle (amongst all of the barking of course). As I came out Avril and Katie said they’d decided his downfall is that he can’t bark and jump.
5 out of 5 glorious eliminations! The end of the show was spent filming and scribing and generally larking around while we brought the Steeplechase ring to a close.
Still finding victories somewhere, I was so chuffed with how our waits have progressed and I’m starting to feel more confident, plus I’m a lot happier with taking him back to the start if he does break.
Most importantly this show was so fun it really didn’t matter how we did in the ring, the point was that Guinness was having fun and I was having fun!
This video really sums up the atmosphere of Dig It Shows and particularly the Dig It Instructors, some of my best friends.
Today I was at TAG. My first outdoor show of the season.
5.30am we were up and making scrambled egg for me (on toast) and for Guinness’ breakfast. I’ve been pondering a lot about what to do with Guinness’ meal on show mornings, he often has a bad first run and especially if he hasn’t done a poo, but on the other hand they do need some energy food. A recent discussion on facebook brought up the method of feeding high protein food such as scrambled egg and as I love it too I thought it was a jolly good idea. So with breakfast and poo’s done before we left we set off in search of unknown territory, West Midlands Show Ground!
I arrived before 8am (shock horror) and had plenty of time to get my bearings and walk my course. First up, Grade 1-3 Agility, although a long wait until our running order. I walked into the ring and my stomach fell, first hurdle, a tyre! We have not seen a tyre for over 12 months and the last time we did one in training Guinness ran smack into the bottom of the loop and head-butted it to the floor. He then jumped through it afterwards, but still a concern.
We got there towards the end of the class and had a nice short queue which Guinness happily tugged in! I decided to run start him to help him through the tyre (plus I wasn’t confident with our wait anyway) and I revved him up, aimed him in the right direction and hoped for the best! Hurrah we got through and onto the Aframe. Jumps, seesaw then pull off the tunnel for 180 jumps. A lot of people chose to handle it differently to me, pulling the dog back onto themselves, off their natural path, and I was really pleased with my decision. A blind cross while he was in the tunnel and then dog walk, a tight right angle from the contact down three jumps and then another tight 90 degree angle into the weave. No chance we were getting it, refusal. Second entry and good weaves until pole 11! Too late I’d started running on and we’d had a pole down so time to finish. 2 poles knocked on the 270 boxwork and finish.
It felt like such a messy round, but not too bad. Lovely Ella happened to be watching and videoed us. Watching back it looks a lot more successful than it felt! Of course lots of little things to improve but I am generally pleased with our contacts, handling and overall performance.
A huge break until our next runs and I was given a very appreciated seat, coffee and company from Lou and Deb. G1-2 Agility was set up before lunch and I walked it then sat in the sun with Guinness to eat my sandwiches.
G1-2 Agility was a lovely course, all on one side and very fast and flowing. Jump jump seesaw, I went for another running start, tunnel dog walk tunnel and I saw the judge raise him arm to fault us as we left the dog walk for the tunnel. “What?!” I thought. Guinness never gets faulted on contacts, even when he self-releases his 2 on 2 off he has normally gotten into position. Tunnel to weaves is often a challenge but the weaves were a lovely distance away so I could collect Guinness and send him. Yes! He nailed the entry but then popped out about halfway through and then again at number 11. We carried on for a tight 90 degree and then a 180 and as I stopped still in the middle of the 180 he pulled through the gap to me. Douche, my bad really, second attempt and I kept moving and he turned nicely. Aframe and I held his contact. I expected him to run off and I made it very obvious that I was stopping and expected him to do so also and he stopped nicely! A nano-second passed and then I released and we continued across a box to finish.
Pfft there were my dreams of going home Grade 2 gone! I won’t lie and say I wasn’t disappointed, I was. But I was pleased and having a great day! Ring experience. We said it last year and as this is the first competition away from home of the season we haven’t yet got the experience of new environments. But every show helps and Guinness was running lovely.
Speaking to Lou later on and she had seen our run from a distance and said it looked like Guinness took a very long strides off the dog walk and she wasn’t surprised he had missed it. We had been quick releasing all day and with the tunnel in sight I reckon he pulled off a very un-stylish running contact, otherwise known as not even attempted to stop despite his training! We had a great contact training session on Thursday however it is nowhere near the level of proofing that I am aiming for – gotta keep at it!
Final class of the day Combined 1-3 Jumping. We watched as the Judge laid out his course. There was a tricky section in the middle which looked a little strange but okay, then the Judge wasn’t finished and he changed it completely to something far stranger. Gosh. I hate to be one of those people who complain about a course, especially as I know how it feels to be a Judge myself, but I couldn’t help it. It wasn’t good in my opinion. Sections were nice but the tunnel was a very close trap in more than one place, the long jump was set off at an odd angle, directing away from the dogs path and there was a huge space between the long jump and another jump then onto an angled jump at minimum distance, a bounce for large dogs. 180 degree pull off a flat tunnel and then flat tunnel quickly to tyre ending. Plus I wont even bother trying to explain the funny middle section.
I put my positive head on, decided how to handle it and went for the challenge. We had a lovely time in the queue with no barking collies in sight. Guinness queued next to a male husky which I was a little concerned about (because Guinness can be a dick not because the husky was nasty) but we all kept a nice distance and Guinness stayed calm.
With nothing to loose we went into the ring tugging and I popped Guinness into a down, ready for a wait. I unclipped the lead and walked away backwards, then calmly turned away from him, silently expecting him to break. He didn’t move. Time stood still! Feeling more confident I walked a little further and then released. Ahhhh!!! Hurrah!! (I really need to man up and start pushing my dog more. So what if he breaks and we get E’d?!)
Onto the course and a nice 270 avoiding the tunnel and then into the weaves. Guinness wasn’t giving 100% and spun around in front of them but on second attempt he got in and flowed through 12 weaves in great style. Finally! Only taken 3 runs! Off onto the tricky bit and I’d opted to work it from behind, a little more risky, and I couldn’t pull him off a jump in time. Never mind we carried on and over the long jump and then he flew straight past the next jump. The 180 was superb and then he zoomed out of the flat tunnel and quickly ducked under the tyre. I’m just so grateful that he didn’t run into it! Not wanting to leave on a failure I popped him back over, and he ducked under again, then third and final attempt and he jumped through it.
Day finished! Phew. Three disastrous Eliminated but three runs with positives to take away!
A lovely first experience of TAG and West Midlands Show Ground with a stunningly sunny but cool day!
Sh*t Happens and Dicky Bag is here to help us to deal with it!
The dicky bag is a fabric bag/case/pouch/thing with a zip opening that come in an array of sizes. It’s made of lovely neoprene and has a belt loop attachment and a clip on the back. The head of the bag unzips and opens like a mouth (Dicky Bag if you read this, you are missing out on a great design scheme!). Inside of mine I got a sealed air freshener disc (a great addition), some biodegradable poo bags that sport a daring and highly amusing slogan, and a small tub of hand sanitiser. I opted for a rugged camouflage colour instead of the floral pink or baby blue.
The dicky bag is a great idea, instead of carrying your bag of poo you can carry a dicky bag containing your bag of poo. Much better for street cred! It removes the nasty smell coming from that bag in your hand plus you can store it in a rucksack, clip it to your belt or wear around your body with the shoulder strap.
For me it is too big to clip onto my belt as it bounces around annoyingly and I don’t fancy wearing one on a shoulder strap. However its real strength comes into play when you are out on a long walk with your rucksack! The long hikes I do that require a rucksack are normally routes that don’t have many bins. Regardless, I still believe in cleaning up after my dog and will pick up (even if I’m on top of a mountain, who wants to have a mountain hike spoilt by dog muck on your boots?!), but the prospect of stuffing a plastic bag of poo into my rucksack or carrying it in my hand is inconvenient at the least. Now I can clip the dicky bag onto the outside of my rucksack, where it can swing and bounce around all it likes without bothering me, or put it inside my bag. Hurrah! The thick, rugged design of the bag paired with the air freshener removes all smell, although I personally wouldn’t have it snuggling up next to my lunch.
It’s also very useful on bike rides as a solution to dangling a full poo bag off your handlebars! Plus anyone who has travelled 5 minutes with a full poo bag in the car will know that the smell is overpowering! I’m not sure why that is, but wow! The dicky bag completely removes this issue.
This is all great but, confession time; I don’t use my dicky bag for my normal twice daily walks. I like to walk hands free and there is usually a bin within a mile, so I’d prefer to carry my bag of poo for a little while and remain hands free for the rest of the walk than carry the dicky bag for the whole walk.
It’s been over 12 months since I said I would write a review of the Dicky Bag and its due to not having a great deal of use that I haven’t written about it yet. But let’s not end on a downer.
HUGE credit is owed to Dicky Bag! They have not just made a really unique item that has a great purpose but they are also battling the nationwide problem of dog fouling and the campaigning, advertising and input I have seen from them so far is much-needed. They were one of the first (if not the first) to back new company Streetkleen when they stepped out of the blue with a daring “solution” to dog foul and their website offers good, sound dog training advice as well as fun competitions to keep dog owners engaged.
I am sad to see that their online blog has not been updated since June 2013 (which is a particularly good article), and I really hope they continue to push forward in supporting and creating campaigns that can help to reduce the dog fouling issue!
Education is the key right now and the more the better. Overall Three Cheers to Dicky Bag!
“Today’s dogs are clearly not wolves on the outside, but their behaviour is often interpreted as if they were still wolves on the inside. Indeed, now that we know for sure that the wolf is the dog’s only ancestor, it seems impossible to avoid such comparisons. The idea that dogs retain most of the wolf’s essential character is not only out of date, but also reflefts some deep-seated misconceptions about wolf behaviour that science is only now beginning to overturn. Despite these holes in the dog-wolf theory, however, it is still widely used to inform dog training, with unfortunate consequences for the dog and owner alike.”
Taken from In Defense of Dogs by John Bradshaw.
It is vital to understand why we should stop comparing wolves to dogs.
The deep-seated misconception refers to something explained earlier in the book, that the behavioural studies done on wolves, which we use when talking about dog behaviour, was done on Captive Wolves!
Captive wolves that could not and did not display natural behaviours!
An hours drive up the A50 and I arrived on time to walk my first course. What a lovely venue! At Broomfield College Equestrian Centre, the Derby Show is very minimal with a small car park, generous exercise field, indoor equestrian centre big enough for two large rings, a secretary room and heated toilets. No viewing gallery and no cafe.
I was amazed at how quiet the show was. There must have been very low entries and the show was quickly flowing through, finishing at a reasonable time of 5pm. There was at most 20 dogs in a height which gave everyone a good chance.
First up was Agility. I was pleased to see Jump -> Dog Walk, which allowed for a good running start as we are still working on our waits. There were only 2 others queuing in front of me and we set off nicely. Jump into weaves was minimum spacing and Guinness knocked the pole but got the weave entry, and then popped out at about pole 4. It certainly wasn’t a comfortable entry. Never mind, our contacts were good and he didn’t falter on the aluminium.
A few hours break and it was time for beginners Jumping. A nice fast course similar to a Steeplechase (well what else can you give to Beginners). It started off in a big spacious corner away from queuing dogs and I was able to play around with Guinness’ waits a little on the lead while the previous dog cleared the ring. I unclipped his lead, stood up and released. A wait! Hurrah. I have already decided I am going to start to push the waits at Dig It shows now. Off we went on a lovely run and then Guinness went into the less-obvious end of the tunnel and I didn’t front cross very well and he ran past a few jumps. The rest went well and the best(?) option for us at the end was to rear cross the weaves after the tunnel. First attempt he turned back to me away from weaves. Second go and all 12 weaves perfectly while I rear crossed. YES YES YES!
Time for lunch and a long wait for the final class of the day. I didn’t enter the games class, Gamblers, as I didn’t know how it worked. I didn’t know how it worked as I hadn’t tried to learn. Silly reason I know, but I decided to save the money and just do 3 runs.
Watching Gamblers was great and I happily understood it after listening to the judges briefing, talking to people and watching. I must start entering the games classes and having a go! Plus once into Novice you have to gain games points to progress.
Time for Steeplechase. The start fence was backing onto the queue ringside and with 1 crazy Collie and 1 staring male dog either side of us in the queue, Guinness was not happy. We ran start across a box and Guinness veered off and took a side jump. Gutted. Even more so as the rest of the run was amazing! Guinness ran ahead lovely and I front crossed in some fantastic places to take the best line.
That was it! As the sun set it was time to pack up and go home. Everything was muddy from the exercise field and it was just like going home from a Scout camp. A great venue and a great show. It was nice and quiet with lovely big spacious rings. My only slight gripe was that the rings were so big that the start jumps could have been a little further into the ring rather than right on the edge. It’s certainly something that I am going to think about more when Judging. However there was generous space and its all part of agility.
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