...saying goodbye to 2010...

...'twas the night....

....'twas the night before Christmas and, all through the house,
nothing was stirring, not even a mouse.
The dogs were asleep, Santa's secrets to keep,
but if he comes down that chimney he'll have a bloomin' hot a***e!!!!
Merry Mid-winter holidays everyone, 2 girlies and a bloke xxxx

ahhh Jette you're peeping!!!!

...training, toilets and festivities...

Mum: gosh what a couple of weeks!! We managed to get to the John Kelly training day in Sheffield, I was a bit concerned how it would go but I needn't have been, it was a good day, set right at our level and Jette enjoyed herself hugely. as the snow was still quite deep, we just did the jumping for safety and john set some nice exercises for us, building up the level of difficulty from a Grade 0 to a Grade 3 so Jette was in her element when the flick-flack appeared. Hard to run on snow though so my timing with the footwork was poor but we had such a laugh!
We've had so much snow and ice it's been a bit of a struggle to get anywhere so work has taken priority sadly and we've missed lots of training, still hoping to pick up again after the festivities, Merry Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year!!!
Picked up a radiator and ordered a bath this weekend...who knows the secret bathroom Santa might come and fit it? xxxx

...a tale of 2 toilets...

No agility due to adverse weather conditions and heavy work load SO here's what's been going on at home ha ha!!

You know when a woollen jumper has a stray thread and you pull on it till the arm falls off the jumper and becomes completely unravelled?

Well, it all started with one very old but perfectly servicable loo that suddenly after over 70 years, wouldn't flush properly, so a mate of Grahams from the pub, came and kindly looked at it for us... filled it with hot water to clean it out and promptly broke it with a huuuuuge crack across the cystern. So now, superglued together with silicone it is now in need of an urgent replacement. At least it matches the superglued bath that the builders mixed their plaster in when we first moved here (shows how long this job has needed doing) ha ha!!

After all these years, they just don't make them like this anymore so, of course, the entire bathroom now needs to be replaced...and a whole team of helpers from the pub have chipped in. A mate from Graham's work has donated a quality new white loo and wash basin, another mate some lovely floor tiles. The loo has been fitted and today the floor was levelled as it was 2" out!! Sacks and sacks of rubble have been removed and new screed laid.

Tomorrow we get to (oh joy) go and look at baths and radiators, could Sundays get any better? But we are getting a new bathroom...of a sort ha ha!!

All because of a stray thread...

Jette has a special day....

Happy Birthday darlin' hip, hip, hooray, 7 years old today :-)

Wilmslow and back...norty, norty car!!!

Mum: Saturday I took Jette with Flynn to Wilmslow. we've been to the venue before and I thought it would be good for Flynn to walk around, lots going on, farriers, motor sports with skid turns, plus the arenas to get used to. He was a very good boy all day and had a lovely fling around the exercise area, carefully play-bowing to invite other dogs to play with him showing a lot of respect to the other dogs, well done Flynny-bobs :-)
No-one to walk the course with and have a giggle, Kirsty is having a corporate weekend induction for work and the other chums were walking different rings, really missed having a laugh!!
Jette wouldn't settle all day, the arenas are very noisy and Jette just had her ears back, looking stressed. The runs weren't great, 1st agility I was late with a command and she sailed onto the next jump, 2nd agility was Mike Brook judging so I was nervous as he used to train us. Jette got her contacts but we had a non-weaving day and she missed the entrance first time on all the runs, she normally loves her weavies...Mike said he'd seen us do much better...
Then we had a 5.5hr wait until the jumping, spent the time walking round and keeping dogs warm but it was a very long wait all the same. Thought Jette would enjoy her jumping, she let me do a rear cross yeah!! Again the weaves were a problem and she ran by on the wrong side, so unlike her. Never mind hopes she enjoys her next runs, that's what matters.
On the way home the newly mended car with re-built gearbox really came into it's own and started to make the most horrendous noise so limped home more than a bit deflated. Power steering box now lies in tatters in the garden so will miss the Lucy Osborne training session on Tuesday....gutted!! I've been so looking forward to it!!!
Come on Jette girlie, you love your jumpie-jumps, come and have a cuddle :)

...freedom...!!!!!

Flynn: well thank goodness I saw sense and went to the vet at the weekend and got rid of those pesky stitches!! I realised that in order for them to stop annoying me and get rid of the buster collar, I needed to be a very good boy for my mum and not mind going through the smelly door...across the scary floor and let Kim-vet-nurse ever so gently take my stitches out. I was ever so brave I'll tell you, I didn't bark or anything :)
Mum was really pleased and gave me some goats ribs to chomp on for a huuuuge treat.
All done now, ready for freedom but feeling a little bit lightheaded I have ever so cunningly designed my own buster DIY collar, it works just as well and makes mum double up laughing....

Jette: Saturday we went to a new Agility Club called Pingy in Sheffield to train with Alistair Bray. Kate kindly said mum could come even though we aren't members. First I had to do a start wait...I hate start waits but thought, you know, new club and all that, better behave, so I did that, then some lovely fiddly jumping ending with ace weaves. Alistair said I was a good dog, whoop, whoop!! So then we had to do rear crosses, I hate rear crosses so said 'no thanks' and got sent to practice by ourselves doing one jump exercises till I got the hang of it. Contacts were extremely pingy ha ha, the best I could possibly ping!!! Then we played Power and Speed which I loved and just to show it I let my mum do some rear crosses...hope we go again, it's ace!!!

Willow: I got to snuggle up all weekend and got my own special walk in the park today, this involves me jumping on my mums back and getting a biscuit...I've trained my mum ever so well ha ha!!!!

...and what a time of it!!

mum: well what a great time we've been having! Flynn possibly wouldn't agree after losing his wobbliness but he enjoyed last week as I was home to look after him and he loved the extra company, was a very different dog to the one who normally pogos at me when I get home. Got lovely Flynn cuddles too :-) down side was I painted 3 ceilings....
Jette has been on fine form of late, she's really loving her jumping and positively dragging me to the rings (then dragging me back to the car after for pigs ear!!)
After her jumping win at H&H we managed 2nd in Combined 1/2 Agility at HATS on Sunday which was another super-fab result, just a shame I had to shout so much to get her contacts, not a handling style I'm particularly proud of, nor one I like to see in others either...so gobby was I people could hear me the other end of the arena ha ha!!
This weekend we're trying the Alistair Bray training day at Pingy Agility in Sheffield so I'm hoping I can pick up some tips for the contacts, don't want to be shouting....
I hear Alistair uses an Aframe stride regulator so will be very interested to see if we can get Jette adjusting her down stride.
...watch this space!!

It's been so nice to have some good company at shows as well and others are having equally fab results!! Tim managed 3rd in Agility at H&H!!!!! Whoop, whoop!!!!
HRH Maisie came away with her usual clutch of placed rosies too and both dogs did well at HATS.
Sara and Tilly got 2nd in Jumping, Helen S got 3rd and 4th plus a jumping place and Helen J's new girl 'Legs' Belle won the Jumping at Delinquent Dogz so everyone seems to be finishing the year with some fantastic results (despite bonfire night and the dreaded fireworks). So well done to everyone :-) In the higher grades Wendy and Brenda have had some good runs as well and Suzanne must need a trophy cabinet now for Millie's anysize wins this year ha ha!!! Need to look out for shows for Claire with Bella as they've only got NAWS down for the winter.

Flynn can start relaxing, his stitches are coming out on Friday paws all crossed, it's been a long 10 days of lead walks for him but will take him somewhere nice for a hoolie :-)

Pic courtesy of Action Replay Photography

...Flynn's wibbly-wobbleness....

Flynn: well I've heard it said many times but I knew when I had no food in my bowl this morning that something was a foot, or a wobble....
Jette came with me and mum put some yukky smelly stuff on my nose so I couldn't smell I was going to the vet, as if she thinks that will work HA!!! This nice lady called Kim who was strangely dressed all in green came and took me for a walk from the car and then led me gently inside another door. Hope I won't be in here long, want mum to come and get me soon coz they can't give me any treats and I'm hungry. I'm a big boy, can't do without my food....
Think I'll be coming home without my wibbly-wobbles....

...and I was right :(

...just to fool my mum...

Jette: "I won the jumpies at H&H! Clever me :-)"

...a weekend in 3 parts

Wow! The 21 KC day rule is finally over and we're free, really free!!!
So Friday we went to hydro for a real play-out, Willow stayed at home for this one coz it's been a bit cold this week and her toe hurts but Flynn and Jette really had a great time and Wills got a special walk all to herself for being a 'ickle darling :-)
Saturday was the Gundog show, there were no ifs and buts with this one, we were going and we did!!!
We got there, had four runs and we got home, massive achievement! Jette was just mega-giddy to be back out and was sooo fast, sending onto tunnels and letting me get ahead so I just went with her and let her work it herself. The A-frame nemesis reared it's head (twice) and she was so giddy she couldn't make her weave entrance and went sailing over the last jump all by herself (although it was the wrong jump) if I could have captured her smile as she can running back saying 'look mum I did it myself' it would have been just great, you couldn't help but laugh. Nice to be back to it with my giddy black girl!
Others got fab results, Bella-super-speedy-lab got well placed in both the agility and the jumping, my goodness that girl can jump!!! Well done to them :-)
Today we had a dog-day-out at Cannon Hall, I love going there, you meet all sorts of dogs and owners, fascinating to talk to them as everyone chats, the weather was just beautifully Autumnal and the dogs played ball and had a real blast, they sooooo needed it. Flynn got to practice his social skills with mini-people and then took him to meet my sister at her house to try and help him become less scared. The clicker is working well, keep up the good work mate :-)
All dogs curled up at home while tea cooks, what an ace weekend!!

...out and about in scary places....

Flynn:
Well mum seems to think I've become scared of stuff over the last month or so, so today (finally let out after KC) we went to the Sculpture Park to see some arty-stuff for a change.
I saw a huuuuuge rabbit (they don't look like that in the field) and lots of things that looked like alien pooh, plus the scariest men with white faces you have ever seen. I was having none of it and despite mum clicking with an handful of sausages, I barked and barked and barked! Nasty, nasty men!! Plus what i want to know is how come they get to keep their wibblie-wobbleness when I have to lose mine.... :(
Then there was this tunnel thing you walked through that made a noise when your foot went down on the floor and this little human person with a yellow hat was jumping up and down making tunes... I thought he was VERY scary...
So I'm very tired now after all that culture, I saw some very famous Henry Moore things with holes in and some big black volcanic looking lumps by David Nash...all too much for me, I've gone to sleep....ahhhhh!

PS would like to say special mega thanks to super curly-girlie Pickle for my lurve pressie, makes the world a little less scary ;-)

...how long?...

...and we're grounded...

Mum:
Sad to say we're out of action with a mild dose of Kennel Cough until 22nd October, but the main thing is Willow-old-but-wise-one has stopped coughing after only two days, and doesn't seem to have had any of the ill effects that accompanied last years' bout. She woke me up Wednesday/Thursday early hours with her cough and it was THAT cough. For those of you whose dogs have been unlucky enough to had kennel cough, you know the one, your heart just sinks for your dog! Have just treated it with Manuka Honey and she's done really well thank goodness.
Jette and I are both gutted as Jette's been working so well with her jumpies and really enjoying her training. Flynn has decided that last week's dogwalk was a fluke and he's not doing it anymore with all four legs as he can manage perfectly well thank you very much with just two!!!
Flynn and Jette seem to be fine, no coughing at all and I don't think Willow's been anywhere to infect other dogs so that's a huge relief. We'll just have to find some indoor activities until we're let back out again :-)

...chillin' weekend....

Mum:
well instead of going up to Hare 'n Hounds we stopped at home and had a chillin' weekend, car is playing up (again) and there are loads of shows to go to and no way to get there.
Never mind, it's sloe pickin' time!
Jette is a bit miffed, she heard the alarm clock go off at 4am Saturday and I didn't get up...the show bag was packed and she knew she should be going jumpies but we stayed in bed instead. Sorry Jetty girl, make up for it by extra-long training on Weds. By the sounds of it we missed a good day with lots of fab results coming in, but made up for it by going to the park as Flynny-wobbles has developed an aversion to men and small dogs, we need to get this behaviour nipped in the bud!
Someone has been pickin' my sloes, still I've a very secret patch not disturbed yet so they'll save until next week!
I'm wondering whether to actually enter more shows as we seem to not go to more than we do lol!!
Flynn missed snoggin' Miss Pickle though....

PS I'm amazed I missed this first time...Flynn did the dogwalk and see-saw at training...straight up 'n over no problem!!! How good is that!!!!
(sorry Flynny-wobbles) :-)

...discussing my wibble-wobbles...

Flynn:
We had an ace weekend, got to go to Dilly Dogz and play out with a lovely chocolate lab called Winston who knew all the lab play moves other dogs just don't get, the 'bouncing in-the-face' move or the 'run-and-knock-over-opponent' move nor the 'jump-up-and-break-nose' move nor the 'get-them-behind-the-legs-and-floor-them' speciality, you have to practice that one to time it just right so the knees are nice and relaxed! Winston understood all this so we got on just fine. Willow got to show her unlimpiness and Jette got to do a couple of agility runs and got nice clears for mum. She said she was worried about running on her leg so just ran very slowly and it was OK and also that Jette was a very good girlie. That's ace news as it means we get to go to Hare N Hounds at the weekend, yeah!!!!
I've been hearing the 'removal of my wibble-wobbles conversation' a few times now and I'm worried I won't be able to do my extra wiggly blokey walk if I don't have them anymore so tonight, when we went to the vet, I tried to hide behind mum so he couldn't look at me...I think I heard them say it's not going to be yet so I can wiggle some more... phew!! Willow-old-but-wise-one was pronounced very fit by the vet who's really ever-so-pleased with her, good girlie Willow!!!
I managed to do 45mins at training too as Jake and Jaz weren't there and I could concentrate...hope I don't have to work so hard next week, I had to go home and have a snooze... so did mum!

Jette's pic courtesy of Dilly Dogz

...trying not to panic.....and failing!

oooooh what a weird week, don't like weeks like these :(
It was a Flynn week really:
I started off being very full of myself at training last Monday, I soooo wanted to play with the other dogs and my best mate was there but mum said no I had to sit still and behave, I think she meant it as she very nearly had to sit on me to make me stay 'down'. I could tell her voice was getting higher and higher but then she said I would have to go home if I didn't play nicely, so I tried very hard for 5 minutes just to show I could.
Then the vet lady rang on Weds and told my mum my left elbow xray had come back showing a possible problem, mum was positively apoplectic and I knew to stay out of the way whilst furrowed brows were going on....still it all got sorted on Friday after a long chat with the specialist vet and it seems I can carry on with the agility, just not too much too soon and if I start to limp I have to pull back and have a holiday for a while, sounds good to me, no idea why mum was so anxious...anyway we all got a meaty bone each after hydro and Jette's not competing till next weekend so can have bone in her diet without her filling up...
Apparently I've got ace hips though and it's training tonight so I get to see my best mate Jake ;-)
Kirsty got all muddy at Wigan but Maisie's a clever Mouse and got 4th and 5th and big lad Skip got a place too, well done mateys!!!

'ickle Willow's week....

Willow:
Well I've had a great week, went with other two to training and got to lounge on the back seat of the car, sooo comfy and I got sausages too. Mum only took Flynn in for an hour and when she came back, said he'd been really good and tried very hard to get on the see-saw but he was a little scared when he got to the top...he liked the Aframe better as he could see his toy down the other side and wanted to play with it :-)
Jette didn't get a go, mum's wondering whether to still take her or not, she probably will when Jette stops doing the Aframe pingy thing ha ha!!
Friday I got to go to work with mum, I love going to work with her, I can curl up on the floor under the desk and hope no-one knows I'm there so I can come every day, had to go and bark at the loud printer-machiney thing outside the door though so they knew their print-outs were coming out. Everyone made a fuss of me and I got more sausages and felt very important...then just me and mum went to hydro and had a swim, I tried to cheat and do small circles but Carol and mum caught me and I did some big swims then. It feels nice when my leg is stretched out and I don't limp so much.
We're having a weekend at home, should be at UKA in Cheshire but mum says her calf muscle might not be mended yet so we'll all just chill out and do some walks :-)

...celebrations and reminiscences...

Flynn:
Well I can't believe I've lived in this mad house for exactly a year, it's been fun and mum says I can come out to play more when my hip/elbow scores come in:-) So far we've managed training and camping and I think I'm getting the hang of some bits more than others ha ha!!
I've stopped biting and chewing so much but mum says I've got to stop bonking Willow's head or she's taking me to see Mr Vet, I've been before when I ate something I shouldn't have and he's a very nice man (even if he did stick something sharp in me, not that I felt it really cos he had a nice biscuit for me, which is a good job as he stuck something somewhere else too and I'm blushing at the thought of it!) so can't quite see what the problem is with that...
She says her Dad died a year ago last Friday in the morning, she says he'd have just loved me as he loved all the dogs and used to talk to them all the time. He brought them 8oz of best roast beef every weekend and a beautiful marrow bone when he came for tea. My mate Willow (who is a distant cousin and really cool for an old 'un) used to tell him all about her week and he used to laugh at her antics while Beazer (now passed away) and Jette tried to get along the sofa and curl up next to him.
Mum says my proper posh name (Mardas Reminiscence) is very apt this time of year, both lovely and sad at the same time xx

...more than a little bit peeved....

Well things just never go according to plan, (says Jette) here we are getting up at some ungodly hour, getting packed up in the car, driving 78 miles then getting soaking wet just for one run then going all the way home....what's that all about then? I thought I'd keep mum on her toes and miss the weave entry, I got them all last weekend if she kept on the left so knew she'd be off her guard ha ha!!
Then she says her calf muscle went again but I know it's cos she didn't put that white elasticy stretchy thing on she wore last week so it's her own fault!! Shame I missed my other runs though as it's my very favourite venue for comedy runs...maybe that's why we went home? Hmmm hadn't thought of that!
Anyway me and the guys still got lovely things to chew when we got home, while mum listened for news of the finals with Kirsty, Sarah and Helen. Wow, awesome, they got a wishing well!! Princess Tilly wasn't amused and Skip did his Aframe thing (well done mate) but HRH Maisie did a stonkin' run and got 9th so yah boo sucks!! Shame she doesn't play out with us at training anymore cos we never get to share cake, but well done that lovely bundle of white fluffiness and her mum for telling her where to go :-)
Should have been to DD today but mum took us for walks instead so she could stretch her muscles gently she said, we still got sausage treats left over from yesterday's abandoned runs so I'm chuffed but wish she wouldn't put this bloomin' nose wrap on me cos I bark at people...maybe if I don't bark she'll take it off?

Pic courtesy of Action Replay

west lakes and beer....

Well after Flynny-bobs hip and elbow score plus 2 new tyres(!) we managed to get off to West lakes show for the weekend. Pitched up in the rain (thanks to Helen J) and it was ll looking pretty miserable weather wise till Kirsty arrived, the sun shone, sloe vodka was to be drunk and the sun came out, yeah!!!
Decided to run 2 classes Saturday while we helped in Brenda's ring, then all 4 classes on the Sunday and it proved a good plan, leg muscle improved over the weekend so felt much more confident to run on the Sunday. We had a couple of 'if only' runs on the Saturday, managed a rosie on 5 faults then pretty much the same on the Sunday when we missed just the dogwalk contact on a lovely agility run....bummer! Still got a place but in the 1-3 Combined Agility we got 19th!!! Yeah clever girl, she loved it, Doc's courses are always fun to run but getting a place was just fab for Jette! Apparently I was very noisy jumping up and down (says Louise) but I don't care, we never win trophies so everything's good to us :-)
Shame it wasn't graded, in real danger of making Grade 2....
Got a lovely good-e in Andrew Garrat's Combined 1-3 Jumping on the second to last fence, shame but soooo much fun to run it!! Louise and Suzanne got trophies, Kirsty/Maisie and Helen/Skip got rosies and Willow loved the beach (and fell in love with Tyler big boy) plus Flynn fell in love with Pickle and Belle so all-in-all a fab weekend, roll on Dog Vegas and Dilly Dogz :-)
Plus we got beer, brill!!!

PS thanks to Kirsty Horne for pic

Hare N Hounds

Yeah we managed to make it up there for the day after being bogged down with a lurgy :)
So nice to see everyone, happy smiling faces with their lovely dogs and we got sunshine in bucket'loads!!
Maisie even seemed pleased to see me ahhhh!!
Was really quite apprehensive about running Jette after last weeks' comedy run but, my goodness she worked her socks off, head down, powered through the weaves, no problems with the contacts, she was ace and got 3rd wow!!!! Well done that girlie!!
Of course it all went downhill after that, ha ha, the comedy act returned in the Combined 1/2 agility, I think she just said, 'now look, I've done it your way once, now it's my turn'! You wouldn't believe it was the same dog, honestly, tee hee!!
Managed to damage calf muscle so came home early but so glad we finally made it up there and met the lovely secretary Chris Hare who is just ace, no problem too much trouble, what a lovely lady.
Tim did some very nice stuff for Kirsty, he's still very young so his brain gets a bit tired but my goodness will they be a pair!
Well it's West Lakes this weekend, ring party for Brenda so hope leg is better for then :) Plus Flynn is finally having his hip scored on Weds in Preston so a busy week.

...the Scunthorpe cake show

This is going be be brief...reading on you'll understand perfectly why.
Just took Jette for the day for this show as I don't trust the car much yet and a suspicious squeaky noise keeps emerging...
Anyway managed to get there very early...walked Doc's lovely agility course which we had a good run but had a pole down in, next was the unusual jumping course which we ran really well but faults on that too. Noticed Jette seemed to be running faster and faster and was so up for it, fair dragging me to the rings which was nice. Doc's jumping again we just had 5 faults and then came Enid Buckland-Evers agility...
Didn't the fun just start.
Jette stood on the start line, went "bugger that jump the Aframe is over there...did four jumps, tunnel, who put those sticky-uppy things there I'm only doing 10", then back round to 8, pop out and do another 2, then diagonal jump straight off the see-saw over the long jump onto Aframe, jump over tunnel onto dogwalk and finish ha ha!!!! She said,"look mum I've done it myself and got my contacts", shame she doesn't read the numbers lol!!

When I'd stopped laughing and apologised to the judge on the way round, Jette said "where's my pig's ear?"

Thanks goodness for cake...it was coffee walnut, yum-yum!

Helen and Skip got 10th!!! Yeah go you two, brilliant.
Claire and the lovely black lab Bella got 2nd in the jumping, well done you two!!!

agility training....

Well he is sooo enthusiastic...again, lovely channel weaves now so close they touch his body and he just dives straight through in a lovely line, well done Flynn-munster. The lad also managed some great 'stars' 'go rounds' and the beginnings of a wing wrap but I can see a possible problem I'm going to have to sort with his toy. In some exercises he works to the toy, in others it is acting as a lure and he's not actually learning the obstacle so 'jump, left jump, left again and a couple of straight jumps into tunnel' sounds good but he's just following his toy with no notion at all of what he's actually learning.
Maybe it doesn't matter at such an early stage and the rest follows but I'm concerned enough to want to sort a clear criteria now for him. Bless him, he's such a lovely lad!
Jette was brill in her part of the training, really driving forward and enjoying herself. She managed the really sharp turn onto the dogwalk really well and fair flew the jumping sequence with 2 pull ins, clever girlie Jette!!
Her mum's such a numptie though and can still only manage an hour with her after Flynn...lightweight, must try harder :)

great weekend!

We had a lovely weekend playing out at Delinquent Dogz, I just took Jette as the car was still an unknown in terms of being mended and I didn't want to break down with all three dogs and have them unceremoniously towed by the AA!
So I judged the jumping and the finals and it was all really good fun yeah! Very relaxed :) Well done Chelle and Eileen!
Jette flew her Aframe again....cos she could, then went and got a 2nd in the jumping which was fab! There were some lovely end of year trophies and rosies and it did make me feel a bit sad not to have Willow with me as she won the Gundog Trophy a couple of years ago and was runner-up in the Golden Oldies last year. Still the best decision not to run her any more while her arthritis is still not stable...missed you girlie!!
Flynn returned to big-boy social obedience training last night after 2 weeks off and boy did he miss it!! I need extra muscles to hold him he is just sooooooo enthusiastic and loves everyone....Flynn, what's a stay? ha ha, you big boy you! Flynn stay...I said stay....I said....

last weekend....

Well it's taken a whole week to post this...but last weekend was pretty much a disaster...
Set of to go to the Hare N Hounds fun day at the horse festival, got up in good time, packed me and Jette up, sun shining, all going well, until the car started to make a really funny noise about 75 miles in to the trip....turned back at Newcastle and limped home thinking the front wheel bearing had gone. Garage says no, it was the two new rear wheel bearings that had both come loose...and it might have damaged the stub axle....ooops!
So a week without my own car, no Flynny-bobs training, no Jetty-kins training but going to risk it to judge the jumping at Dilly Dogs tomorrow....just hope it gets there, cars eh? Ace when they work, total pain when they don't!
One really nice thing to happen, Chris from Hare N Hounds sent me a card and a pressie for Jette as we'd missed out on the fun, how lovely is that!

Flynn and agility training....

Well I can't say the lad is unenthusiastic....he so wants to come out and play agility. Flynn really follows body language so his shapes are great and he loves tunnels too so, after only 2 weeks he can do simple sequences following a toy such as, jump, jump, tunnel, jump. He's great, what a fellow!! Obviously the jump poles will be on the floor for a long time yet but I've found we can rest them on the jump feet to one side, so he's knows he's doing something other that just run through the wings. He even got a wiggle-woggle on in the channel weaves which he just lurves!!
Only problem of a sort is that I'm too bloomin' knackered to train Jette for longer than an hour in the next session, Flynn is soooo strong and bouncy it takes a lot of brain power too. Need to eat lots of Mars bars for next week as we're doing contacts and Jette so needs to practice her contacts seeing as the 'Flying Aframe' has put in an appearance again ha ha!
Anyway good luck to everyone this weekend, no matter where you go or what you do, look forward to hearing all about it on Monday. Us? We're off to a horse festival 'up North...we may be some time, it's a long way :)

Other people's blogs

OK so I realise these blogs are sort of like diaries...some I've read like the Raw Meaty Bones one is sooo funny I even read the archives and I love reading about the adventures of Maisie, Tim and Billy-Woof on Kirsty's BUT would people just think BEFORE they write? Something I've just read was directed towards someone I know and I don't think a blog is a place to air such things, if you've anything to say to someone...say it face to face please...rant over! :)

Flynn is one, happy birthday matey-boy!

My lovely big chap Flynn is one this week, many happy returns big man :)
He's started his puppy agility class...it may be quite sometime till he makes his first appearance anywhere but he really loves to work. will have to wait for his hip score next month to see if the big man can come out to play and jump....

Anyway here he is, handsome hunk!!

What a great weekend...!

Well what an ace time we had at Otley, managed to grab us a last minute camping spot so we could sample the Black Sheep real ale and, my goodness, wasn't it real!!!
Jette was just fab and got herself a 4th, 5th, 7th and a clear, gosh what a clever girlie :)
Sooo nice to see Helen who had a birthday so we had to have cakes of course, plus the red kites were flying over the venue and are so elegant, can watch them all day.....
Lots of lovely people there we knew, Kirsty and Maisie bagged themselves an ace 3rd in Grade 2, won't be long till Grade 3, Tish and TJ won into Grade 2 so loads of ace results.

Who we are...!

OK so I'd better add who we are lol!
I'm Jules, owned by the black monsters, Willow (aged 10 going on 3) Jette (aged 6) and Flynn (nearly 1) all labs and all squirmy, bouncy and lovely.
Willow is retired from agility as she has a dodgy elbow and now spends her time mugging children for ice-cream and still playing tuggy and football, Jette competes in Grade 1 agility and provides huge amounts of entertainment for any crowd as she bounces up and down and on occasion gives me a split lip! :) Her best place to date was Newton Heath the other weekend where she got 5th in Agility and 2nd in the Jumping, so proud of her :)
Then there's Flynn poooopieee who is just packed with testosterone and a huuuuuge big bouncy boy. He's got his Good Citizen Bronze but won't stay still long enough for the Silver and is starting his puppy agility class next week so I guess this blog will follow him through the training.
Good luck to Kirsty and Maisie Mouse in the rescue agility finals next Saturday, we're going to go and cheer her on :)

Ok so Kirsty says I've nothing showing on this blog....so here's a trial just for her! :)
Well it's oh so quiet this weekend, nos hows to go to as I thought I'd be looking at a van, but the guy went and sold it from under me so not best pleased :(
Loads of gardening, ace home made fish pie for supper, dogs are happy with big smiley faces, managed to get Jette to 'drop' a mole on command before either it bit her or vice versa. Plus my first crop of strawberries, there were more but of course the Flynn Munster managed to get the first ones lol!!
Looking forward to next weekend, one day watching Maisie Mouse strut her stuff at the Rescue Finals 2010 and another looking at this new agility field to see if it's any good for us to rent.