...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....