Good grief, what a couple of weeks. Bit behind, so some details will be rather patchy! Did obedience on the 18th with Ria, can't remember it so it must've been fairly uneventful! Then the following day I had a phone call from S+T who were away with the caravan...they'd left a bitch with someone and she had vomiting/diarrhoea with blood and could I pick her up? It just got better from there! When I brought her home Solei threw himself on her, and before I could stop him stuck his nose underneath and licked...I shall leave it to your imagination what he licked :-P Anyway, he contracted it from that. Couple that with Elton having an upset tummy the previous couple of days cos of eating too much chicken at the show, and I ended up with sick dogs for a week and a half....which felt like ever such a lot longer!

So on that Wednesday I took Elton and Ria out into the garden for a bit of obedience practise (show in 10 days, Ria not been on grass, practise needed!) and then I took my life in my hands (after the last time when I vowed never again...) and took Elton to agility that evening! I was actually really pleased with him, he was nothing like the previous time and seemed to enjoy it :-) Put it this way - I'd try it again! The only hiccup was after we'd been doing the tunnel for a bit and I swapped to sending him in the other end, he tried to come out so someone stood in front of it...and not sure if they stood on him, but he cried out and then wouldn't have anything more to do with it. But that could also have been cos he wasn't sure what I wanted.

Bathed my visitng dog on Thursday cos she was covered :-( and had the two youngsters out in the garden again. I've actually had at least Ria out for some practise pretty much every day.

Had a weekend off - luckily it was planned anyway, as it was enforced due to poorly dogs!

Run through for Ria's Bronze Good Citizen Award on Monday, then in the bath on Tuesday (her 6 month birthday, what a present!) for her show debut on Wednesday!

More about that next time...

Ria still needs to build confidence with other dogs...although she's unrecognisable from the dog I first took to ringcraft at 9? weeks she still has issues with certain dogs - esp those that are black (or have a black head) or are large - or both!

At ringcraft last Tuesday an afghan turned up, now when she was little it came into the hall and...how do I describe young Afghans? Once met, never forgotten! They jump around all over the place and they're just very bouncy. This dog scared Ria, and she hasn't forgotten - she was a little better on Tuesday until she was doing a triangle and ended up a couple of metres away from the Afghan - that was that!

She also decided to bark at a black Lab in the distance - who she'd been playing with 10 minutes before! Never the less, on the whole she is coming along.

Solei was introduced to the see-saw for the first time since he last did agility a couple of years ago on Thursday...he still doesn't like it! I think it's going to take more work to get him over it than is worth putting in, but I'll see how he goes. He is, however, sequencing nicely - including jumps, tunnels (but not the chute! He still hasn't worked out he can push through the cloth and it won't hurt :-P), dog walk and a-frame.

Ria was much the same, though I was much "tougher" about her having to be on a loose lead to get anywhere...maybe eventually (though we did manage it most of the time)

Then this weekend...what can I say!

On Saturday we went to a local companion show. I only took Ria & Vale, Vale had nothing in veteran and a 4th in waggiest tail.

Buuuttt.....Ria won the Any Variety Puppy class and had Best Puppy in Show :-D :-D Sooo chuffed with her - especially as she's still not quite 6 months.

Yesterday I'd entered both boys in an open show - Solei doing his first veteran class, having celebrated his seventh birthday on Saturday! I was not impressed.

I got Elton into the ring, and he was good, showing quite well. Judge couldn't take her eyes off him...I got that feeling when you know the judge is looking hard and even as we started going round she just kept looking at him, I could "feel" it and she was looking everytime I looked up....but Elton was on the end behind this bitch...which apparently must have been in season. It was ok when we were standing, but as soon as we started going round he picked up the scent...he was "ok" but pulling forward rather, trying to jam his nose up her bum.

And it went downhill from there!

He wouldn't stand on the table because he wouldn't take her eyes off her....so I tried standing him the other way and he almost fell off trying to lean forward! He wouldn't move properly down the mat because he couldn't see her...and he wouldn't move properly back up the mat cos he was trying to get to her!

He wouldn't stand at the end because if I was between them he was trying to peer round me, if I let him face her he was trying to pull to get to her. He wouldn't eat anything, so bribery was out of the question.

And to add insult to injury, I think the judge really liked him! Even at the end after all that she still kept coming back to look. He got a 3rd (out of 5) in the end - which was pretty good given he must have been fairly unassessable!

In other slightly better news Solei went well, for Solei (he's never gonna be Elton :-P) and that dog still moves so well. He got a 2nd, which wasn't bad for his veteran debut!

Then they were doing a companion show after the open show which I didn't know about until we arrived. I would've just put Ria in and called her 6 months, but seeing as she was in the catalogue for the open show (not for competition) with her date of birth I thought I'd better check...so asked the man and he said "you didn't tell me that!" - so Ria did the companion show! She got a 4th out of 10+ puppies, all of whom were obviously older than her and had come from the open show - so very pleased with her, and she won a carrot toy!

I wasn't sure whether to put her in or not as it had been quite a long day and she'd had a couple of jumpy moments, but I decided it would be a fantastic experience to show in a "proper" show environment - especially as given the time of year - except for Exeter 3 weeks ago - so far all her show experiences have been outdoors. She handled it well - didn't like the Pointer (solid black head!) standing outside the ring, and had a couple of "oo er" moments at noises and a screaming Shiba, but apparently nothing that even showed from ringside :-) and I got her focused on me offering behaviours which worked a treat! She resisted showing her teeth (usually she doesn't bat an eyelid) but other than that she stood well to be gone over and moved fantastically.

We have a weekend at home next weekend, so that was her last show before the "real" thing! Arrrghhh! :-)

Mmm, interesting times!

Took Ria for a trip to a feed store on Wednesday to pick up some more dog food - which they didn't have! So will have to go elsewhere...but it was another new experience for her. I did a little obedience in the aisles, all good practise! Got to make the most of every opportunity haha :-)

Solei went back to agility on Thursday! After having the whole of June off, I was interested to see what he would do. Ria was very happy to see her friend (a young Bearded Collie) again, and apparently ate enough horse poo to give herself explosive diarrhoea and keep me up half the night. Yay puppy.

Solei...wow, bottle it kplzthx! He was actually interested in a toy as well as food so I was able to throw it for him and interchange them throughout the class which was awesome. His first sequence he was enjoying himself so much he ran past half the jumps, then came back and did them at lightning speed and then had to run a few circles XD He was completely out of control, but oh boy was he enjoying himself! After that he settled and was going really well. We'll see if it's worn off for next week, but this week we both had an awful lot of fun. Might be life in the old dog yet :-) But this is exactly what makes it so difficult to know what to do (or not) with him.

Spent the weekend at two companion shows - Saturday was really good, if Ria shows that well when it comes to the bigger shows I'll be happy :-) I thought she may have won but she was very much the baby (especially as they're meant to be 6 months and she isn't actually yet lol) and was beaten by a "mini adult" Border Terrier - still, 2nd to the BPIS we won't complain at!

Vale had 1st in Best Companion Dog, and there was also an obstacle course (which was actually a combination of rally and agility) which I did with Solei and Ria (adapting it to be age appropriate, obviously).

Ria decided the tire was really scary, and the yellow/white and red/white jumps were going to get her...but the blue/white ones weren't so bad :-P We had the honour of the slowest time on the course whilst I worked through her...umm..."issues"!

Solei on the other hand went really well :-) and completed the course with no penalties and in the 5th fastest time.

Sunday was rather a disaster - we got hopelessly lost to start with, and arrived late - the puppy class was already in the ring. I was actually surprised we hadn't missed it, but I got Ria into it by the skin of my teeth! She didn't show as well as Sunday, but the ground wasn't as good either - it has an even bigger impact on her that it does on the Paps, because I can't go as fast (the chair puts power into dealing with the bumps, so is physically unable to go as fast!) so we'll have to hope for a relatively smooth surface when she's showing outside! She had a 3rd, so still not bad.

Vale was 2nd in Golden Oldies (9+), Vale + Elton were actually binned in the Irish (most different) Brace - yeah, I mean a large yellow Labrador and a small black & white Phalene...I can see how you'd think they're too similar. They're even opposite ages (born 1999 & 2009) and genders! Solei & Elton faired slightly better in the regular brace, getting 3rd - I must get a proper brace lead for them.

Elton did some superb obedience in the car park on Saturday, and outside the ring on Sunday....then when I got him in the ring in the Irish Brace he locked on to a smell and I lost him again :-( I was just getting excited! But it's still progress, so as long as we get there in the end - before too long - I'll be happy.

I meant to try some lemon juice under his nose as two people have suggested it now, but forgot! So will have to try and remember to try that before his next important show. Don't want to try it for something important incase it distracts him.

Yesterday we got through another obedience class with no drama! Ria was fantastic, very proud of her...and Elton was very good too :-) He even held a 3 minute down stay! Then sat up as I went back :-P

Ringcraft tonight - and match night. I ummed and ahhed about Elton all day (he is such a little so and so at present) and eventually decided to take him.

Ria went quite well, we're getting there...judge liked her and said she moved well but she didn't know enough about them to want to put her up (this was after I'd told her what she was, not actually sure if she knew what she was when judging her....)

Elton...wow, I'm so glad I took him. He absolutely showed his socks off....he was the Elton I fell in love with that I haven't seen for at least six months (and the last time he showed this well was last year, no exaggeration). He was amazing :-) He's reduced me to tears so many times over the last few months, I've completely lost him in a sea of adolescence and hormones....I can't tell you what it meant to see the dog I fell in love with back :-D Hopefully it'll be onwards and upwards now and it wasn't just a one off.

So I was over the moon enough just with how he showed - but he went on to win through to the end (knock out system) and then went Best in Match :-D

Very tired, very happy and off to bed now!

Urgh, not a good day at Windsor Champ Show. We left early with all three dogs, as S+T were once again motorhoming. When we arrived I took Ria for a walk around the caravan site, then left her in a pen at the motorhome with mum (Solei had to be crated, as unless he's preoccupied (usually by a bitch!) he thinks pens are for jumping out of...) whilst I went off to the show with Elton.

Elton was in a very competitive Limit Dog class of 14, with all the big names :-( He was ok - fairly typical of the Elton that I have these days. He moved quite well when we all went around together, but his triangle/up & down wasn't as good. We got chucked :-( Again!

I had also entered him in the Stakes, which were in a ring right at the other end of the show ground (we were ring 22, they were ring 2!) with no time (great!) but after three breeds, so I kept going backwards and forwards to the ring to see what was happening. When I went down the last time they were on the bitches of the third breed, which only had 10-15 entered - so I asked the steward if they were going straight on with stakes afterwards (thinking they may be stopping for 10 minutes or so) and he said they were stopping for lunch and stakes wouldn't be before two. I checked with him three times to make absolutely sure, he confirmed 2pm.

Later that day I went to the secretary to find out what was happening as there was no-one in the ring, only to be told they'd done them at 12:50pm!! I was not happy, especially after Elton's breed class....so I went back to the motorhome, grabbed Ria and took her for a walk along by the Thames to clear my head!
It's so lovely down there, we had a lovely walk and met a gorgeous Corgi pup that was Sandringham-bred! Ria had a great time running around and her recall was superb. The only incident was when a couple came along with 5 Alaskan Malamutes (all on lead) and I called Ria back and was holding on to her collar feeding her (thought we may be ok as she's used to Malamutes from ringcraft, but wanted to make sure!) - she was ok, but one of the Malamutes started barking at her - which then set her off :-( She used to be awful with barking dogs - they'd really scare her - and although she's much better now she still really doesn't like it....so that undid a lot of my work with other dogs. Aragh - other people's dogs.

Obedience rolled around again yesterday and for once we actually managed to get through the evening with no major incidents! Although the GSD barked a couple of times it wasn't whilst Ria was doing anything, she didn't manage to pull any chairs over(!) and it was generally relatively uneventful :-D She behaved really well as well - she was starting to lose concentration by the end of the class, but it's a long time for a baby brain to concentrate for. She is actually one of  the better ones in the class at the moment, I'm so proud of my baby dog <3

Decided not to take Elton as the class looked quite big and I wasn't really in the right mood....did a bit with him outside before we left and he was fantastic - not sure if it was the surface, but when I did Distant Control he was kicking up from a down to a stand with his back legs so he didn't move forwards :-D which is great. His heelwork was lousy, but that's ok - I'm sacrificing accuracy for enthusiasm at the moment!

Last Saturday was Ria's first "proper" show experience....she's been to a few companion shows and one open show before, but it was part of an agricultural show (Bath & West) and so a completely different atmosphere.

I was actually very pleased with her. She was a bit nervous of some of the other dogs - especially large and/or black ones. Including a black Pekingese! - but on the whole I was very pleased with her, and she coped much better than I thought she might. I was actually very lucky because it was a beautiful day and a lot of the breeds were being judged outside and people had set up out there, so the building was a lot quieter and emptier than usual - but still busy enough. Perfect for a young pup at her first show :-)

She was admired by many and I even took her around the ring which was all good experience! I can't believe as I'm writing this it's less than four weeks until her first "real" show in which she's showing .

Took her to obedience on Monday, which of course couldn't be without drama! We were doing individual recalls and I was really pleased with her...she sat and waited whilst I walked across the room, I turned round and called her upon which she started towards me. Just as she arrived a dog behind her growled/barked which she jumped at but would've been ok - unfortunately that started a German Shepherd off! Poor Ria leapt out of her skin and ended up on the other side of the room. She came back to me when I called and we did eventually manage to repeat it successfully, but she was not happy for the rest of the class then. Had her ears pinned back and was very jumpy.

Then there was Elton! He was as last week outside the hall, so I took him in for the class - and although it wasn't the best selection of exercises (we spent half the class practising a "road walk" for the silver good citizen award) he was definitely more like the old Elton I love so much :-) So that was positive!

Ringcraft on Tuesday, outside again....what can I say except more practise needed lol. Badly needed, as her first shows will be on grass and we just haven't got it together yet. Too many interesting smells, anything that looks vaguely different to grass (a leaf..etc) has to be thoroughly investigated cos it may be edible :-P and I need to work on the angle she stands on to me, cos at the moment it's funny more often than not.

We went walking on Wednesday....I took her to a park that she's never been to before. Recall wasn't quite as good as usual but not bad, it wasn't helped by the fact there were some teenagers near by that were making me decidedly nervous!

Walking again on Thursday - I took her down the road to the vets and got her weighed (she's put on nearly 4lbs in a month!) and then walked home through the back so she could have a bit of a run. She took exception to a cut down tree! I have no idea why, but what was left of it (a very substantial trunk) was apparently very scary :-P

And walking yet again yesterday! Took her to a new area for both of us, so kept her on lead for safety as I didn't know what was ahead...we didn't go far, only about 15 minutes, she was not good! Too exciting, controlled walking was not particularly controlled.