Tuesday was match night and I decided to take Ria. Am not taking Elton for the foreseeable future because he was so amazing last time (apart from the fact he won Best in Match - he just showed so well) that I want to remember that and not ruin it! It was Ria's first match as a "proper" (6-12mths) puppy - and she won Best Puppy! Very pleased with her, she's on a roll at the moment :-D Long may it continue!

Wednesday was her second foundation agility class. She coped much better than the previous week, wasn't nearly as jumpy and reactive. We did some circle work, walking along one part if the dog walk on the floor, and sending them to a cone - the latter everyone was amazed at, cos of course I've already taught Ria! So she was going to it at great distance - though I did have to refresh her memory cos it was a new venue with a very different cone. I really love this club, it's so depressing it's so difficult to get to :-( I like the people, from what I've seen so far I like the methods, and the trainer talks a heck of a lot of sense! My kind of person.

Common sense prevailed and I didn't book agility for Solei this month - I had a Friday show this week, and next week I have a Wednesday one after which I'm hoping to come home via Ria's class!

I need to get back to obedience, I have done nothing with Ria for around two months (been concentrating on other things!) and I gave up on the classes because it was doing neither of us any good - too many dogs in too small a space. As it gets colder and the nights draw in people tend to give up and start staying at home, so I'm hoping to get back to it soon when it'll be more constructive.

So now I'm typing this in the car on the way home from South Wales Kennel Association Championship Show. Elton had 3rds in both stakes and breed - in the breed he decided to jump over all the cracks in the floor :-P which meant half his movement was not good as everytime he did it it then took a couple of paces to get back into his stride - and it wasn't the largest of rings. Ah well, didn't expect much today. Ria won Junior Bitch & Best Puppy, so we had the absolutely terrifying experience of going into a championship show (puppy) group! The ringside was absolutely packed. The puppies had been pre-judged and then made to wait in the collecting ring for ages whilst they finished the group, so although she went well then (already knew she didn't stand a chance, he was too disinterested in going over her!) she was tired by the time we all went in to the main ring. Still, apart from the fact she kept trying to get her head down to start with, once I got her going she went well - fingers crossed she looked good!

I also had a 2nd showing a dog for S & T - who nearly won the class, judge came back and asked me and the dog he placed 1st to move again - so not a bad day all round, really.