Show ground was actually surprisingly good :-) Ria looked good - raw, but good! However, this involved attempting to clean her up at 10pm and then her managing to add a couple of grass stains to her previously clean coat 5 minutes before she went in the ring! Yay. Oh, and her noticing a friend before I did which involved rather a lot of blood (mine).

She was a little sod in the ring - found a piece of food that someone had dropped and then obviously there had to be tons more everywhere :-P I had such difficulty getting her head off the floor and her concentrating. But she was ok, I forget she's still only seven months old. 2nd in Junior Dog/Bitch, beaten by a dog so we got to go into the challenge for Best Bitch - nada, still far too raw - but she did get Best Puppy in Breed :-)

Hadn't entered any stakes or anything today, and there were no puppy groups.

Took Ria to obedience on Monday, but the class ended up being abandoned in favour of a walk haha. She ran around like a maniac so I had to keep enforcing breaks, as she's still only young...and I have discovered a hole in my socialization - around other dogs in close proximity off lead. I will make sure to give her as much exposure as I can now, and hopefully that'll soon be overcome.

Went to ringcraft for the first time in I can't remember how long on Tuesday! She went well, and the hall even emptied to the point I snuck in a bit of obedience at the end :-P

Took her out for a walk on Wednesday, combing it with a training session....the hole in my dogs is always that I don't do enough away from home - it's physically so difficult for me to get out, which is so frustrating. They can be superb at home and then it all falls apart (to a degree) when we get out and about. I know exactly why and what I need to do about it, just wish it was that easy! We've been doing sending to a blanket at home recently, which she's been doing beautifully - would she do it out? No, she had to lie NEXT to the blanket! So I've made it bigger for outdoors and we'll have to do some more practise ;-)

Took Solei to agility last night and left Ria at home, much to her disgust! Solei was great :-) Little sod with his start lines, but to be honest I find it hard to be firm about that - he's so sensitive, and it's great that he's enjoying himself that much! Though I will sort it before it becomes a habit ;-) He did the seesaw (not properly yet) without flattening himself to it! Which is a first :-) and did a sequence of 3 jumps, tunnel, 3 more jumps all that full height....hope for him yet :-D

Hmmm! Champ show with Ria on Sunday, mum was only just okish to drive so only just got there. I was hopeful, as we'd finally got away from the other older litter so it was Ria versus her sister.

She managed to lose to her sister - on maturity! Had to laugh really :-P Yes my baby is raw, but she's 7 months old...she's allowed to be! Or so you'd think - apparently not! Her sister wouldn't even let the judge go over her, they had to clear the steward's table so she could be put up there.

However, all was forgiven when she went in the ProPlan Pup of the Year Puppy Bitch Stakes (64 entered) and came 3rd and I am now £7 and a 3kg bag of food richer!

Ria was jumpier than I've seen her, but apparently it wasn't obvious to anyone except me and she recovered every time - it was the things she's always been sensitive to, like dogs barking in a more "menacing" way, or crates crashing.

Went to obedience for the first time in a few weeks on Monday. I now have no use for the Beginner class (the one Ria was in, now she has her Bronze at the level she is at it has nothing really to offer) and most of the next class up are taking their Silver on Saturday, which I can't do - so I didn't see the point of going to that, given they would be doing a last practise! So given the top class is outside and I much prefer the polo field to the hall, I decided to take both Solei and Elton up there. I did a bit with both of them, playing to their strengths as at the moment they both just need confidence building! You all know about my Solei Saga (and he hasn't been to club for over a year) and Elton has barely been ever, and never been to a class on the field. So all this meant they did one retrieve each (Elton didn't....Solei forgot what he was meant to be doing and then did :-P), Elton did some heelwork (bit unsettled, it was the first thing) and distant control (nice, though struggling with one transition - can't remember which), Solei did some send aways (nice) and stop the dog (he didn't!).

Afterwards I was going to let Ria off for a run, but they ended up all getting to join in! Before long I couldn't really see them lol (too dark) so decided that was the time to call it a night! If I've got the energy to go next week, I am so taking Ria - she is probably already more capable than either of the boys haha

This has been an interesting weekend - another championship show, only an hour from my mother's aunt and uncle (Chichester) whom we haven't seen for a long time, so we took the opportunity to combine! Which meant leaving early Friday morning, going to the show and showing Elton, going to Chichester afterwards (which ended up being later than intended as the judging took a long time! Think we arrived about 6pm.) Spending Saturday with them, then leaving on Sunday morning to go back to the show for Ria! Then home. I missed agility on Thursday cos of the preparation :-(

Friday was interesting - we got 10 minutes from home and mum thought she'd forgotten something, so that was a delay! Then we ended up in the wrong place, at which point I realised I'd put the wrong postcode in my directions (oops!) and it was just one thing after another. It was rather muddy, but the main part of the ground seemed to have more or less escaped. Ria and Solei stayed at Solei & Elton's breeders motorhome with mum, whilst I went into the show with Elton. Judging was interesting, and I think I may have said before that Limit Dog is really not the place you want to be at the moment...though today was smaller than it has been; "only" 12 entered. Elton had a 5th, which was perfectly respectable.

When we arrived at Chichester chaos ensued! Eventually we got organised and the three dogs had the most wonderful time charging round the garden. Ria enjoyed a pigs ear whilst we ate which was rather a talking point....I wasn't quite sure what to say when they asked what it was! I even managed a short training session for Ria's tea ;-)

Friday night was restless - for us rather than the dogs! Though Elton did ask to go out in the night; his tummy is very easily upset. On Saturday morning there was more of the same, charging round the garden! The ground was soaking, so I ended up with two very wet dogs, and a very wet muddy one that's meant to be showing the next day! Oh puppies :-)

I'm lying here typing this on Saturday evening. Ria is lying beside me fast asleep, and the boys are both asleep in their crates. They've all been for a walk, and just before lunch we had an incident in the garden which means I now have a puppy who is wet, muddy and covered in chicken fat! Yeah :-P Dogs were all out running around, sniffing and in the boys case peeing up stuff....when I noticed I'd "lost" Solei. He was standing in one part of the garden growling at anyone who dared to come near! My great aunt had cooked a roast dinner, and it turned out that without thinking, she had poured the chicken fat on to the garden. It must have gone on the plants too, which of course they had brushed past...and Ria (probably being bigger) of course had more on her than any of them! Not what you need the day before a show, given I'd bathed her before we came because I knew I wouldn't have the facilities (mud tends to dry and then just brush out) and of course grease is a pain to remove.

So, shortly I need to try and get Ria in show condition, and then hope for a better nights sleep! I dread to think what condition the ground will be in tomorrow, as it's now had two days and some more water to get churned up!

Very proud of my dogs :-) Took them all to a companion show with obedience on Sunday. Ria did the pedigree AV Puppy class amd there were only three obedience classes; all 3 did the easier class and Elton did the harder one too.

Ria had a 3rd in AV Puppy, and the obedience was very productive :-) The easier class was just heel on lead, recall and 30 second sit and down stays. Ria had an absolutely shocking about turn during her heelwork! Which was rather costly, but other than that was nice for a baby. I need to work on her presents, she does tend to throw herself at me then goes into a crooked sit.....

Solei I was thrilled with :-) He seemed to enjoy it and worked well! Including coming first time on both recalls (had a run off). Although he should've been more than capable of the second class, I didn't want to do any "damage" so just left it at that - end well in his comfort zone having done well.

And Elton...<3 his first (easier) class his turns were a little loose, and I had the foot plates on my chair at the wrong height so he came in slightly crooked, but apart from that he was lovely :-) However, by the second class he was warmed up! His heelwork was stunning, he is fab for such a little dog - he doesn't watch me, which is a bit disconcerting but he is well aware of where I am and it means he maintains a much better position because he can come closer and stay there better. The rest of the round was nice too, he did his stays and he didn't sit up when I went back to him at the end of the down stay! (Which is a new problem I haven't had time to work on yet) The only very frustrating bit was the retrieve - he ran out after his dumbbell, then came back without it.....got a little confused (we have done very little with retrieve over the last few months because it was one of the things he went off completely when all our problems started, and I don't want to push it) but then went back out for it and did the most beautiful retrieve he's ever done :-D

In the first class Solei, Elton and a third dog tied for 2nd which was quite entertaining (not the first time I've had a run off with my own dogs!), so we had to do a run off - which, as mentioned, was another recall. Elton was faultless :-) and I thought Solei had mucked it up cos he came in crooked, but apparently that was better than the third dog - so Elton was 2nd and Solei 3rd! Ria also had a run off, for 5th/6th - having lost just ¼ mark more than the boys. Puppy exuberance meant she lost that (the same throwing herself at me then crooked sit problem!), and unfortunately they were only placing to 5th - but there we go, it was a large class so I was still happy with that!

Then Elton was 2nd in the second class! Courtesy of the retrieve or he'd have won it :-( but I was still delighted with him, he's young and inexperienced - I've had him in the ring less than 6 months, and hardly done anything "serious" with him, mostly sticking to the very basic or fun classes.

Gutted that on Monday that I'd entered an obedience show where I would almost certainly have qualified one of the boys for Crufts, and I had no transport to get there :-(

Agility started back yesterday, so I've lost my equipment :-( Shame, it was good having it - but I can go back to working on other things now, and it's nice to have the classes back! Solei went very well, he even did a sequence of jump, dog walk, tunnel, jump, jump, jump at full height and didn't go under any of them!