So here’s the damage…(not to mention my pocket!)
Resting easy at home, with his tennis ball of course!
So…no flyball for Maccy this weekend…boo hoo hoo!
Thursday, 23 October 2008
Poor Macman :(
Well, the big man somehow managed to tear a big hole in his shoulder this morning, god alone knows how; he’s just so ‘gung-ho’ about everything he does I guess I really shouldn’t be that surprised! I only noticed it as I was leaving for work so it was straight down to the vets, which is where he spent the day being sedated, cleaned up and stitched. He did look very dopey when I picked him up on the way home (bless) and he had reportedly spent the entire day at the vets trying to give all the members of staff big bear hugs and kisses while they were trying to do stuff with him, the big soft lump!
So here’s the damage…(not to mention my pocket!)
Resting easy at home, with his tennis ball of course!
So…no flyball for Maccy this weekend…boo hoo hoo!
So here’s the damage…(not to mention my pocket!)
Resting easy at home, with his tennis ball of course!
So…no flyball for Maccy this weekend…boo hoo hoo!
Monday, 20 October 2008
Vids of the pups from the weekend...
Viggo moving out and back in the minor puppy dog class...
Orlaith being gone over and on the move...
(filmed by Gemma)
and here's Vicki with Diesel (Bryning Don't Stop me Now at Ruffs), Orlaith's litter brother. Didn't he move beautifully! :)
(filmed by Simon)
Orlaith being gone over and on the move...
(filmed by Gemma)
and here's Vicki with Diesel (Bryning Don't Stop me Now at Ruffs), Orlaith's litter brother. Didn't he move beautifully! :)
(filmed by Simon)
Another breed show marathon...
God, what an exhausting weekend and we didn't even go anywhere! It was North West Border Collie Club Championship show on Sunday which is held just 20 mins from my house, we had 4 people staying over Saturday night and I spent the entire day on Saturday bathing, drying, brushing and trimming dogs (10 of them in total!) and don't my hamstrings know about it, they're killing me today! I did the 8 I had entered and Eabha and Squirrel too (just because they needed a bath!), thank god for Gemma and Alison on Sunday who were so helpful getting dogs out and ready while I ran back and forth between the two rings. We had one of those 'so nearly' days with both Orlaith and Viggo making their showring debuts and both coming 4th in their minor puppy classes. I was pleased with them both though; both the minor puppy classes were big quality classes and they both behaved themselves and went well. The minor puppy bitch class particularly finished with a really stunning line up taking the cards.
Spark didn't get placed in Junior dog and only got a 5th in the colour class despite going really well. I wasn't best pleased but that's just the way it goes sometimes, this allrounder judge just really didn't like him but he continues to receive lots of nice comments from fellow competitiors around the ring which is nice. He's a lovely dog to handle, he's just very easy going and happy to do whatever you ask of him (bless). Dylan and Faith were a total pair of 'giddy kippers' and behaved appallingly lol She came 5th (VHC) in her novice class while Dylan came 4th in his and 5th in graduate...what a naughty pair!! Good job they're both so good at other things or they'd be in big trouble! *vbg*
Dottie went really well in Post grad bitch but didn't get placed. I love moving this dog she just always stays with you and never breaks her gait she can just keep extending and driving on, she really suits my long legs! I do however appreciate that she is not everyone's 'cup of tea', she has quite a strong muzzle and is not the ultra feminine type that most like but I love her just the way she is. Dazzle also went beauitifully in Limit bitch which was a very strong class, again she wasn't placed but I was very pleased with her. Gemma handled her in the colour class in which she came 4th behind a champion, a ticket winner and her half sister Inca (Locheil Miss Independant at Ruffs) so not too dissapointed. Ethan was in a HUGE Limit dog class which seemed to take forever (my poor aching legs), he made the shortlist of 8 but didn't get placed but again I was pleased with how he went. Finally I had Sea in Open and he placed 5th which I was pleased with. The style of handling/showing on the continent is very different to here so in the last few weeks he has had to learn how to 'free stand' and that he's not allowed to fly his tail on the move (or jump up and grab his lead! lol). As with everything Sea does he is very willing and a quick learner so I was really pleased with how he went.
As is always the case at these shows, it was nice to see everyone but we hardly seemed to have any time to catch up and the day went very quickly although as usual those that were first to arrive (myself, Heather, Anne, Fiona, Julia and Judith) were also the last to leave, how does that always happen? It's like some sort of endurance test! lol I was exhausted when I got home (and I only had a 20 min drive) and couldn't help feeling guilty about those having to make the long journies back up to Scotland and the North East and down to Bristol and beyond!
Flyball and agility next weekend so hopefully a little easier...thank god no more bathing!!
Spark didn't get placed in Junior dog and only got a 5th in the colour class despite going really well. I wasn't best pleased but that's just the way it goes sometimes, this allrounder judge just really didn't like him but he continues to receive lots of nice comments from fellow competitiors around the ring which is nice. He's a lovely dog to handle, he's just very easy going and happy to do whatever you ask of him (bless). Dylan and Faith were a total pair of 'giddy kippers' and behaved appallingly lol She came 5th (VHC) in her novice class while Dylan came 4th in his and 5th in graduate...what a naughty pair!! Good job they're both so good at other things or they'd be in big trouble! *vbg*
Dottie went really well in Post grad bitch but didn't get placed. I love moving this dog she just always stays with you and never breaks her gait she can just keep extending and driving on, she really suits my long legs! I do however appreciate that she is not everyone's 'cup of tea', she has quite a strong muzzle and is not the ultra feminine type that most like but I love her just the way she is. Dazzle also went beauitifully in Limit bitch which was a very strong class, again she wasn't placed but I was very pleased with her. Gemma handled her in the colour class in which she came 4th behind a champion, a ticket winner and her half sister Inca (Locheil Miss Independant at Ruffs) so not too dissapointed. Ethan was in a HUGE Limit dog class which seemed to take forever (my poor aching legs), he made the shortlist of 8 but didn't get placed but again I was pleased with how he went. Finally I had Sea in Open and he placed 5th which I was pleased with. The style of handling/showing on the continent is very different to here so in the last few weeks he has had to learn how to 'free stand' and that he's not allowed to fly his tail on the move (or jump up and grab his lead! lol). As with everything Sea does he is very willing and a quick learner so I was really pleased with how he went.
As is always the case at these shows, it was nice to see everyone but we hardly seemed to have any time to catch up and the day went very quickly although as usual those that were first to arrive (myself, Heather, Anne, Fiona, Julia and Judith) were also the last to leave, how does that always happen? It's like some sort of endurance test! lol I was exhausted when I got home (and I only had a 20 min drive) and couldn't help feeling guilty about those having to make the long journies back up to Scotland and the North East and down to Bristol and beyond!
Flyball and agility next weekend so hopefully a little easier...thank god no more bathing!!
Friday, 17 October 2008
Monday, 13 October 2008
Quiet Weekend...
Saturday I was supposed to be at the Agility Addicts show with Faith but after a week of bad sinuses and migraines I had a feeling I wouldn’t make it and I didn’t. I just didn’t feel up to the 2 hour drive and long day when I woke up on Saturday morning so just let the dogs out and went back to bed. I had quite a lazy day (haven’t had one of those for ages!) and just pottered about and did a few things at home, it wasn’t ‘til about 5pm that the headache finally shifted :(
I really wish we’d been able to go but nevermind, such is life. We spent a bit of time training directional commands instead. I did get a text from Sally though to say she’d been to a local unaffiliated show with Digger and he’d won both the Beginners Jumping and Agility…well done Sally and ‘Digs’! :)
Sunday we went down to the Wirral to meet up with the Dolphins where Tom and Kate were having a ‘mass’ blood drawing session for titre testing all the dogs that had been rabies vaccinated over the last month or so in preparation for getting them all passported for the Europeans in May. I think there were around 80 dogs to be done in total…quite an undertaking in the middle of a field! All went well and they worked so hard to get them all done, they must have been exhausted at the end of it though!
We also took the time to do some training with the ‘Demonz’ and the new dogs we’re bringing on…Sea, Squirrel, Kitten and Haze and Storm had his first runs back following his cruciate repair at the beginning of the year. We didn’t leave the training ground ‘til gone 4 o’clock when we all went to the local pub with Steve, Bridget and the kids for a ‘late lunch’ lol…the food and company was excellent and we didn’t get home ‘til after 8.30pm.
Some short videos from training…
Squirrel…looking very promising doing full runs on a training shoot.
Storm doing his first run back from his cruciate rupture injury…he’s never run on this style of box before so has a little fumble but is looking very promising for a full comeback in the New Year.
Sea doing a runback…his training has started really well.
I really wish we’d been able to go but nevermind, such is life. We spent a bit of time training directional commands instead. I did get a text from Sally though to say she’d been to a local unaffiliated show with Digger and he’d won both the Beginners Jumping and Agility…well done Sally and ‘Digs’! :)
Sunday we went down to the Wirral to meet up with the Dolphins where Tom and Kate were having a ‘mass’ blood drawing session for titre testing all the dogs that had been rabies vaccinated over the last month or so in preparation for getting them all passported for the Europeans in May. I think there were around 80 dogs to be done in total…quite an undertaking in the middle of a field! All went well and they worked so hard to get them all done, they must have been exhausted at the end of it though!
We also took the time to do some training with the ‘Demonz’ and the new dogs we’re bringing on…Sea, Squirrel, Kitten and Haze and Storm had his first runs back following his cruciate repair at the beginning of the year. We didn’t leave the training ground ‘til gone 4 o’clock when we all went to the local pub with Steve, Bridget and the kids for a ‘late lunch’ lol…the food and company was excellent and we didn’t get home ‘til after 8.30pm.
Some short videos from training…
Squirrel…looking very promising doing full runs on a training shoot.
Storm doing his first run back from his cruciate rupture injury…he’s never run on this style of box before so has a little fumble but is looking very promising for a full comeback in the New Year.
Sea doing a runback…his training has started really well.
Thursday, 9 October 2008
An odd sort of training session...
Didn't do much training last night but did sit around nattering a lot! lol We just did some chute work with Pip, Haze, Squirrel and Sea...they were all really good! Now we have them making the sort of turn we want it's all just about repetition to 'program' that movement into their brains! Sea really is picking it all up very quickly and I think he could be pretty quick, he's got bags and bags of drive but he's easy to handle, he's just so willing!! Bless him! (if he carries on like this I won't be wanting him to go home!! lol). I'll try and get some pics/video of him training soon. We're off down to the Wirral this weekend for a big training day and mass blood sampling session, all the dogs that are being passported for the Europeans next year! Sea should be up and running long before then so that will give us an extra dog to take to Belgium too!
It was also Faith's 2nd birthday yesterday (where does the time go??)...I'm so proud of her...she's come on so well in her agility training with minimal input, had a cracking first season in flyball competition and qualified for Crufts in breed again. I just love her to bits and the prospect of Sea-Faith puppies is positively mouth watering...I can't wait!! She didn't have any cake but she did get some pepperoni pizza (in fact, it was much posher than that....'chorizo and sun dried tomato' no less! lol) although I must admit, we did eat most of it during training (along with dough balls and a rather nice Chardonnay!) ;)
It was also Faith's 2nd birthday yesterday (where does the time go??)...I'm so proud of her...she's come on so well in her agility training with minimal input, had a cracking first season in flyball competition and qualified for Crufts in breed again. I just love her to bits and the prospect of Sea-Faith puppies is positively mouth watering...I can't wait!! She didn't have any cake but she did get some pepperoni pizza (in fact, it was much posher than that....'chorizo and sun dried tomato' no less! lol) although I must admit, we did eat most of it during training (along with dough balls and a rather nice Chardonnay!) ;)
Tuesday, 7 October 2008
A sad end to the weekend
What had been a really nice weekend turned out to have a very sad ending when I got a call from my grandparents to say they thought Spangle had died which came as a complete shock, she was only 11...no age for a collie really.
She went to live with them last summer, they had lost their last two cavaliers and were missing having a dog around but didn't want a youngster so Spangle made the 4 mile move from our village to theirs to live with them in Wrea Green. Spangle quickly became my gran's constant shadow and her beautiful looks and sweet nature earned her admirers everywhere they went and she had a little fan club on their regular walks around Wrea Green and Lytham.
They had come home from church on Sunday evening to find her peacefully laid 'asleep' in her bed, the vet thinks she must have had a heart attack in her sleep so would have known nothing about it which is an absolute blessing for her but such a shock for them and they were both totally inconsolable, just all so upsetting. My gran says that it hurts so bad because she just loved her too much and I think that's a feeling we have all felt at some time in our lives, my heart is breaking for them more than Spangle...she had a wonderful life, they had only just returned from 3 weeks away in the caravan up in the Lakes District where she'd been out walking and playing in the woods and rivers every day and her last afternoon had been spent enjoying the sunshine with a nice walk through Wytch Wood in Lytham, a place she really loved to run and explore. We will all miss her dearly, she was such a gentle and sweet dog and an absolute pleasure to have around and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to own such a fantastic dog as her. She will live on through her children and grandchildren; she touched many lives and leaves behind a great legacy. Run free my sweet girl.
Some of my favourite Spang pics from the last couple of years...
She went to live with them last summer, they had lost their last two cavaliers and were missing having a dog around but didn't want a youngster so Spangle made the 4 mile move from our village to theirs to live with them in Wrea Green. Spangle quickly became my gran's constant shadow and her beautiful looks and sweet nature earned her admirers everywhere they went and she had a little fan club on their regular walks around Wrea Green and Lytham.
They had come home from church on Sunday evening to find her peacefully laid 'asleep' in her bed, the vet thinks she must have had a heart attack in her sleep so would have known nothing about it which is an absolute blessing for her but such a shock for them and they were both totally inconsolable, just all so upsetting. My gran says that it hurts so bad because she just loved her too much and I think that's a feeling we have all felt at some time in our lives, my heart is breaking for them more than Spangle...she had a wonderful life, they had only just returned from 3 weeks away in the caravan up in the Lakes District where she'd been out walking and playing in the woods and rivers every day and her last afternoon had been spent enjoying the sunshine with a nice walk through Wytch Wood in Lytham, a place she really loved to run and explore. We will all miss her dearly, she was such a gentle and sweet dog and an absolute pleasure to have around and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to own such a fantastic dog as her. She will live on through her children and grandchildren; she touched many lives and leaves behind a great legacy. Run free my sweet girl.
Some of my favourite Spang pics from the last couple of years...
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