A year ago today, a certain little Kooiker puppy was born - and life was never the same again!

I picked her up on 18th March, having absolutely no idea what was in store! I had a choice of 2 puppies, still not sure if I chose the right one lol


The past year has been full of highs and lows....challenges and achievements, struggles that seemed never ending and other things that just seemed to fall into place! But I am so glad I waited for the breed I really wanted, and didn't give up and go elsewhere.

In her first year of life, she has competed at 5 obedience shows - 4 at 6 months and the 5th at 7 months 2 days - and achieved a 1st, a 4th, two 6ths, qualification for Crufts 2012 and qualification for the ABC Obedience Finals.

In conformation, at matches she's had 2 Best Puppy, 3 Reserve Best Puppy & 1 Best Baby Puppy (under 6m), 3 Best Puppy in Breed at champ shows and 9 Best Puppy AVNSC, 2 Best Puppy in Breed, 2 Best AVNSC, 1 Reserve Best AVNSC, 1 Best of Breed and a Puppy Group 2 at open shows. She's slower maturing, which hasn't helped her any. As regular readers will know, we've had so many judges say she needs to mature, and at her last show the judge placed her behind her sister, made some comment about Ria being younger and then couldn't believe it when we said they were sisters lol But she'll get there eventually :-)

I am really excited about seeing what she can do in agility. She's been coming on in leaps and bounds over the last few weeks, showing great promise. I was going to enter her for her first show today (not for 4 months) but when I went to register her it was major fail in that whilst she could be an "Arctic Fox Cross", "Brooklyn Carchaser" or "Terrier Thing" she could not be a Kooikerhondje! So I'm waiting for a reply back about that, hopefully they can sort it - or else she is going to be a Brooklyn Carchaser :-P

8 weeks

6 months

12 months (yes, we had a very muddy walk this morning!)

Can't believe she was ever that small and fluffy! And it wasn't that long ago.

Happy 1st Birthday Ria! Here's to the future :-)

Had another successful agility class with Ria on Wednesday. Long may this change continue :-)

On Sunday I had entered a champ show which was coupled with a grooming and obedience competition. I've never sone grooming before, but thought I'd give it a go as I was there anyway - after all, I groom my own dogs all the time. I'd entered all 3 dogs in the obedience.

I was slightly aprehensive - I have done nothing with the boys for 5 months, and when I did a bit of stay practise with Elton in the week leading up to it he was not good at holding his sit stay - and then I realised he has only ever done the length he was going to be asked to do (1 min sit, 2 min down) about 3 times in competition - and broke twice. Ria I had no idea, as she'd never done anything quite like that before (she's competed 5 times (1 without stays) and I don't think she's ever done that length stay in competion), Solei I wasn't particularly worried about - Solei is Solei!

I was also concerned about managing 3 dogs in stays - I was hoping I wouldn't have to take them all in, but stays ended up being first thing before any dogs had worked so I had no choice. However, I was pleasantly surprised :-) Setting them up felt a lot more fluid than the two occasions I've done it previously and I didn't feel I kept anyone waiting. Icing on the cake - all 3 dogs had clear stays! Though Ria caused chaos at the end of each one...which was actually good if it had to happen, because now I know to be careful when I release her. It was embarrassing enough there - but they were understanding, anywhere else would've been 1000x worse - and to make things even worse, had it not happened there it wouldn't happened at Crufts. omg. Don't even want to think about that.

Ria lost the plot when I tried to work her - had been lovely outside the ring (judge said to me after he'd been watching and admiring!) but completely lost concentration, focus and everything else in there (all on carpet which didn't help - her nose was almost glued to the floor the majority of the time). Baby brain. he said he could see the potential in the brief snippets when she did decided to concentrate! So I turned her round into a training round as it'd already gone rather wrong (her recall was good though)

Solei I was really pleased with, though I overcompensated slightly - when he's on a solid surface he always gets a bit enthusiastic cos he doesn't need to worry about scaring chair bumping so I need to do a fair amount to settle him, and I think I overdid it slightly cos he was a bit tired & laggy by heel free

and Elton was Elton! I need to do some more work with him, he's coming along well but I know he's capable of more if I actually put the work in :-X been distracted by puppy...and he got a 4th.

I also won my grooming class with Morse, Elton's younger brother :-)

In breed Ria got he got 2nd to her sister again - and the judge uttered the immortal words about maturity! Again. Then she had forgotten how old she was and said at the end she's younger isn't she, don't think she could believe it when we said they were sisters.

However, I also had her entered in rare breeds which is open to all the breeds here that can't become champions, so as it happened she was in Puppy Bitch with Braccos and Tollers - and she got 2nd behind a Bracco that went on to win Best Bitch & Best Puppy :-)

She rarely does badly when she's not against other Kooikers (or maybe it's just her sister - she hasn't really ever been up against much else!) - but when she is the maturity seems to be a big issue. And I didn't think she was looking too bad now! That was her last puppy class - her first birthday is tomorrow!

It was an insane day - Kooikers ended up being in the ring at 5:30pm, and I'd got there at 7am because the obedience stays were scheduled for 9:30 and I wanted to have time to settle everyone and get them out..etc - and the show was over 3 hours away.

I have had one of those weeks, where it suddenly feels as if things are slotting into place. A light bulb week for Ria, perhaps. It feels like she's really changed in the last week.....maturing I guess? I feel like I have more of the dog I've tried to mould - the way she relates to me, training, playing....life?

Ok the match on Tuesday was not good in terms of her reactivity, but beyond that - as I posted last week, she was awesome at agility.

I then took her to obedience on Friday because she has a competition coming up and also Crufts round the corner, and she REALLY needs the stay practise - her stays in themselves are fine, but she has done almost none with other dogs (it's the one thing I can't do on my own!) and I know she worries if a dog near her breaks, or makes a noise.

Considering it's a relatively advanced class, I haven't taken her for months and it was also a venue she'd never been to before, I was suitably proud <3 She was a little reactive, but not too bad - and didn't kick off at any of the dogs in her class :-) even the very large GSD!

She was the only one to do a nice retrieve, and it was almost perfect - waited whilst I threw, went out and picked up cleanly, brought it back with no mouthing, waited with no mouthing til I was told to take it, let me take it without moving and then did a nice finish when told.

She did the most fantastic send away, and she was the only one that did that without needing multiple commands or help.

I've been having problems with her recall cos she'd throw herself at my legs and then go into the most awful crooked sit, practically 90 degrees out. She now no longer jumps up when she comes back, which in turn is improving her sit and she's only very slightly crooked now.

Someone actually came up to me afterwards and asked why/how my dogs are always so obedient :-X

I mean she's not perfect by any means - her heelwork needs a lot of work - her about turns are crap more often than not, and she is prone to forward working (and then turning her head in thus her bum out), but that's because I have been able to do almost no work to the correct chair...so I really need to fix that.

We did one down stay which was fine, but I did throw in some extra commands to make sure it was fine (esp as another dog broke)

Went to a show on Saturday, and she was fantastic...for the first time in weeks she didn't move a muscle as the judge went over her, though she's moved better - typical, she decided she had an itch but didn't quite want to stop and scratch it! So we ended up with a few paces, try and scratch, few more paces :-P She still won't stand nicely for any length of time at the beginning/end of a class, but even there she was improved. Actually, I've never quite seen her as she was in the ring - she was sooo excited, so happy and enjoying herself SO much :-) Not that she doesn't always enjoy herself, but she was particularly happy. Plus, we got into and out of the ring without any drama, and the whole (large) class she only barked once - and that was when a Malamute in the next ring ran up behind her. She had a 5th which is actually her worst result to date, but c'est la vie - she beat dogs and wasn't unplaced! Not sure if it's true or not, but for the first time since I've had her I got the feeling that the judge was totally disinterested in these "little not proper gundogs". Meh, results aren't everything. I was delighted with her :-)

Elton had another typical Elton open show getting a 3rd out of 3, but then - under a different judge - followed it up with a 5th in a massive (20+ dogs) stakes class and some lovely comments from the judge.

Yesterday I took Elton & Ria and I think I had the best walk I've ever had - albeit literally 5 doors from home it had to spoil what had been an absolutely perfect walk when we met another dog on the pavement without room to divert and I had Elton on my lap so he decided to bark which didn't help matters :-P

I took them to the park, to get there we did some pavement walking but there is a grass area where I let them both off lead. We encountered two other dogs there, and Ria saw them but was really good.

When we got to the park I walked in and right near the entrance was a massive dog...I went "oh sh*t.....oh wait, I know that dog"! It was the Leonberger belonging to one of the trainers at the obedience club, and on lead - so that was really good for Ria. We chatted for a bit and she ran around and then got brave and came up to say hello (my two were both off lead) and it was a really positive experience for her, at her pace.

We had a lovely walk round the park, including one point where there was a man with a big black lab (big black dogs are one of Ria's worst), as we got closer he apparently had a chuck it and the dog ran off after a ball, so I legged it past as fast as I could :-P The dog had got most of the way back when we passed, and she didn't react <3 we then saw other dogs and she didn't run up to them or over react, so it was all really positive.

Also, not quite the play I am aiming for yet, but at both the classes I've been able to "turn on" play to some extent and reward in different ways than just food....and it's getting there. I also love the increased stamina and intensity she has compared to the boys.

I feel more positive about everything, and hopefully the future is bright :-)

Ria played me up in the ring on Sunday, and she doesn't show as well as I would like - she's usually lovely on the move, but standing she keeps coming too close, jumping up, putting her back legs in the wrong place cos she's waiting for the next move! And as she's about to come out of puppy it really needs work.

So I decided she ought to go to ringcraft on Tuesday. Pulled into the car park and thought it was busy, went into the hall and discovered it was match night! I was completely unprepared - hadn't touched Ria with a brush since the show on Sunday and I didn't have any grooming equipment on me, though fortunately I decided not to take her for her usual run before ringcraft because I was too tired - thankfully, or she certainly wouldn't have been in any condition for a match! So she could've done with a tidy up round the edges (especially ears!), but other than that was pretty much still in "show condition".

There were lots of puppies there, and she only went and won Best Puppy <3


Then yesterday was her first agility session back after Christmas. I've been so looking forward to it, it's been a long 3 weeks off! Annnnddd.....she was AWESOME <3 Everyone commented on it, her focus was SO much better -and I actually didn't lose her once. I don't just mean in the running in large circles kinda way she didn't even wander off sniffing - we had a couple of moments where she lost concentration slightly in favour of the floor, but she came back when I called and didn't trot off nose glued to the floor on her own agenda.

Her contacts were fab, and once it's on command I think she is going to be good at working away from me (crucial, as I can't come even close to keeping up)...she's certainly happy enough about going on ahead. And being independent - we were doing a two jump sequence and once she realised what was expected she decided she'd just go and do it without me XD Bit of work needed there....

I'm very excited about her, I think it's all there to come...as long as she can deal with the atmosphere (and we can get it together)

Here's to 2012 :-)

Took Ria to ringcraft on Tuesday cos I wanted to make sure she was ok with her mouth, and I am still somewhat unsettled by that show in Dec! She was fine, so that was good. Ringcraft 3rd Jan

Friday I took Elton to check out the new hall for obedience - they had to move back in Nov/Dec and I hadn't yet seen it. I wanted to go without a dog to see if it was suitable for Ria or not, but Elton decided he ought to come and check it out too :-P I'm not sure - I think the actual working space is slightly bigger, but they've fenced off a tiny area at the top of it where you come in, which is going to be terrible for Ria if there are dogs waiting there. So I sat and watched for a bit, and although it was more chaotic earlier in the evening, by the time class #3 went in it was ok - and #4 is the last class, so there won't be anyone arriving. I have decided to give #3 a try next week as I have a show on Saturday and really don't want to be out as late as class 4 would entail, and see what happens - maybe try her in that class the following week depending on what happens. I wouldn't be so bothered, but with Crufts coming up, and she hasn't done any stay practice with other dogs - and that is a weak spot, because she can worry. So we'll give it a go and see what happens.

Then yesterday I went to another show! I really wasn't optimistic, and it started badly - we got lost, which meant we arrived later than intended. The venue was the worst venue for space I'd ever been to, and we couldn't find a parking space. Then we couldn't find anywhere to go in the hall, at which point if we hadn't travelled 75 miles I'd have just gone sod it and gone home :-P Instead, Ria and I went for a walk!

The venue was right next to a huge sports field on both sides of the hall, but there was no fencing and a fairly busy road on two of the sides - so I daren't risk it, especially as it was very likely Ria'd see another dog and then she is very likely to just bark and run with no concept of where she's going. So I wandered down the road and reached the end to discover a lovely grass area, road at one side but not nearly as busy and other than that fairly safe - another road on one side, but one that only went to houses, so no traffic. There was a man with two Labradors off lead so I figured it was probably a fairly popular dog walking spot, and waited for him to disappear before I let her off. She had a lovely time charging around as Ria does, there was a path which looked as if it went into nice dog walking territory, but I knew time was going and I ought to get back so decided to head for the path....at which point I got stuck in the mud :-X

Had to wait for someone to come and rescue me! Luckily, after trying to flag someone down who spoke no English - always helpful :-P - I was very close to houses and someone eventually came out and then someone else joined them and they got me out! Oh, and did I mention my puppy who had yet to go in the ring was now covered in mud...?

I decided to walk back to the show a different way (taking Ria through some nice wet grass on the way!), and of course I got lost didn't I. Asked someone the way and it turned out I wasn't far wrong, but they told me to "go down this road and turn right"...unfortunately they should've said left!! So I ended up back at the same grass area I started at. Oops.

Though at least that meant I knew where I was?! It also gave time for the mud to dry and some of it to fall off :-P

So there I am back at the show with about 15 dogs left to be judged before she goes in the ring, trying to remove the rest of the mud with a brush, comb, wet wipes, self rinse shampoo and baby powder! I was actually pleasantly surprised at how well it came off, and although she wasn't quite as white as usual she wasn't actually muddy - if that makes sense!

Anyway, must've been lucky mud cos she won AVNSC Junior and Best Puppy :-D Nothing in the puppy group; she almost got puppy group 4 but after the judge went between her and the Irish Setter a few times and studied them from all angles she gave it to the Irish Setter (and yes, there were more than 5 dogs in the ring :-P)
Elton was lucky to get a 4th, judge never even looked at him.

A new year, new resolutions. Except mine aren't resolutions so much as goals and ambitions, some more in my control than others!

Solei
Achieve his P-Beg-Ex title in obedience. At the very least get a few more points towards it!
Overcome the scary cavern that is the chute
Learn to weave
Get a Best Veteran Dog and/or a Best Veteran in Show

Elton
Start the journey to his P-Beg-Ex title and have achieved at least a couple of points by the end of the year.
Start agility classes
Be competent at every piece of equipment by the end of this year
The retrieve. :-P
Achieve his ShCM title this year (ok this is unlikely, but I'd like at least 5 more points towards it please!)

Ria
Start her obedience show career properly, and for her to enjoy it
Hold at least a 1 minute stay in competition by the end of the season (not tried this yet so not sure, but think she may worry depending on what happens around her, so will be taking it very slowly)
To not run out of the ring when she starts competing in agility later this year
Dramatically improve her reactivity to other dogs
Improve toy drive
Be generally awesome at everything she does <3

For me, I would like to continue to grow and improve as a trainer. To stop being a bad lumper (already much improved from 2010!). To try and take Elton and Ria for a run at least 3 times a week (Solei doesn't get off lead, he can't be trusted :-P). I would also like to qualify at least one of the dogs for the YKC obedience at Crufts in 2013.

Other than that things have been ticking along much the same. No classes atm, so just walks and training at home. We did have our first show of the year on New Years Day (how else do you spend it?!) where Ria was unfortunate enough to have a judge who was shaking so much they couldn't get her mouth open to see her bite. Fumbled around for a while and eventually kinda managed it, bless her she was SUCH a good girl...I was just glad she has always been good about people looking in her mouth, had she been nervous or at her first show that would not have been good at all. Anyhow, she got a 3rd in AVNSC Graduate with 8 dogs present - so was very pleased with that, especially as many were older :-) though unfortunately she was beaten by another puppy! Elton was misunderstood, as usual. He really isn't an open show dog.