Agility Update

Well I have been to a lot of shows since my last post - Dundee, Kingdom of Fife, Woodside, Fair City and SKC.

It has been a mixed bag with both Barney and Pebbles but that is what I expected given that we did no training from August through to January and then since then it has been very limited. I have started back training fortnightly with Kenny but training at home doing my 'homework' has not really been possible. I think the main problem this causes is a reduced level of understanding between handler and dog. I am not running each dog as well as I used to and they are not as sure about what I mean. Still at least we are still able to enjoy the shows and hopefully as Mia gets older I will be able to do more training in the garden - or maybe not!!!

As I cannot remember any runs in detail I will summarise each show. Dundee was very much getting back into it. The main struggle here was my lack of fitness and my inability to run! And then I managed to tweak my calf muscle in the last run on Saturday so I only did 2 runs on the Sunday. Still there were a few solid runs and a few disasters! I was quite happy though and we enjoyed a great weekend weather wise and family wise.

Then it was onto Kingdom of Fife which was a great show, I really liked the new venue in St Andrews despite the baltic weather conditions. This show was much better in terms of handling and flow. I was able to run a bit better and Pebbles really seemed to be tuned in. Barney was his usual erratic self but I love running him because in many ways he is easier to run than Pebbles because at least he will run ahead. All I can remember from this show is that Barney placed in agility on Saturday and Pebbles got a 3rd in agility and a 2nd in agility so really pleased.

Next up was Woodside and the first champ show of the year. Again we enjoyed baltic weather conditions! Barney did not qualify for the champ final which is no surprise! But Pebbles did with 2 clear rounds so I was really pleased. We managed to get 5 faults in the final so finished 5th and last!! It was a good course she just didn't push out round the wing of a jump but stopped and barked at me as soon as I stopped - nothing new!! This is probably Pebbles' biggest fault. She will not move if I stop but we are working on it!! Again I cannot remember much detail but think Pebbles placed in agility on Sunday.

Then onto one of our favourite shows of the year - Fair City. It is such an amazing location and the weather was a bit kinder than last year's torrential rain! I really can't remember much from this show (one of the side effects of having a baby seems to be memory failure!!). I think it was pretty mixed with Pebbles winning an agility (really good round) and placing in a jumping and agility. Barney got placed in a jumping but managed to get eliminated in all rounds on Sunday. And this is when he started to run past all cloth tunnels. Who knows why - Barney has some very funny quirks. And since then he has run past every cloth tunnel!

Yes, he ran past every cloth tunnel at SKC so not a good day for Barney! Pebbles managed to qualify for the Champ final again with 2 clear rounds - the jumping round was very messy but clear which is the main thing! We ran 3rd of 11 in the final on what was a really good course with a few testers to make you think. I decided that since we were 5 seconds off the pace in the agility qualifying that we had to go for it and for the first time in a champ final I just went for it to see what would happen, normally I am too nervous and end up handling really tight. This back-fired though and because I am starting to be able to run a lot better as I get fitter again I sent Pebbles over a jump then turned to run back to the dog walk but I was too quick and went too far away from her so she came round the wrong side of me and forced me to go down the wrong side of the dog walk - not good! I managed to rescue it at the other end but it was very messy and then as Pebbles cam out of the first tunnel I positioned myself towards the next tunnel but must have been too far away from her and she went into the weave at the wrong end. She then cruised round the rest of the course beautifully which I really enjoyed. So I have learnt from this show that I need to stay closer to Pebbles until she has committed to each obstacle. That is, let her work in front, not behind - yes, as Kenny has told me hundreds of times in training!! I just need to do it in the competition ring!

That brings us to the week before Avon show which is the annual outing with Gran! It is going to be the girls on tour - Mia, Gran and myself! I think Malcolm is really looking forward to a break and some 'me' time not to mention time on the golf course and his snazzy new road bike.

Mia is 7 Months already!

I can't believe how quickly time has gone. It has been ages since I have posted a blog because I just don't seem to have time these days! My days are filled with bottles, feeding, dog walking, baby activities and agility. All great fun but as a result time just seems to pass in a blur.


Mia is 7 months old already! She has developed so much recently, especially over the last month. She can now sit for short spells on her own, eat solid food, roll over, giggle a lot, and she is getting her first 2 teeth! She is an absolute joy at the moment. She wakes every morning with a huge grin looking forward to every day. She then goes through each day with a smile and lots of giggles. She is just so adorable. Long may it last!! Here are some recent photos:

The last photo is Mia in her jumperoo. This is probably her favourite place at the moment. She loves it and spends a couple of times a day leaping about, giggling and screeching!! It is great since it tires her out at a stage when she can't walk or crawl yet.

She has been away in the caravan a few times now and has settled in well. She has been to a few dog shows so far but because of the cold weather she hasn't really been out and about much yet. Hopefully now the weather has improved she will get to see a lot more.


She gets out and about during the week too with various activities - Sing and Sign class which she loves, swimming which she loves and mothers and toddlers where she sees all her friends :-)


The next stage will see her getting mobile - not sure if I am looking forward to that or not!!

Feb 2010 Update

Mia is now 3.5 months old and time just seems to fly past. She is growing like a mushroom and changes all the time. She has started smiling which is brilliant, she is so cute when she smiles. She has also found her voice and 'tells us stories' all the time. It is an exciting time as she learns new things all the time. I am looking forward to the next stage since she will be more alert and interactive than in the first three months.

Mmmmm, I wonder???!!

Happy!

Go Scotland!!

My days have pretty much settled into a routine now. Up in the morning for a feed, dress Mia, breakfast, prepare bottles, do washing, empty bins, cross trainer, shower and dressed. Small play session with Mia before another feed. Then get ready and load up the car for an afternoon walk with the dogs while Mia snoozes. The afternoon is Mia waking for the next feed before playing in the afternoon before bath, supper and then bed. She is absolutely brilliant at sleeping in the night and loves to sleep. She goes to sleep at around 8-8.30pm and sleep through to 8am which is great - we were not very keen on the sleepless nights!!

The next task is going to be weaning when she starts showing signs she has had enough of milk and wants to eat something more interesting. I think this will happen in the next month or so. That will be fun as well as very messy no doubt!! I am going to try and be a really good mum and make everything and try and provide a wide range of food to test her taste buds. Hopefully I will stick to my good intentions!

I have managed to start back with agility training every second Thursday and even managed my first show in 6 months in January. It was interesting to say the least. Both dogs and handler were very rusty. I made some really basic handling mistakes and got a bit lost with my footing in places. The dogs generally were great given their lack of practice. Barney did well and did his contacts well if not a bit slowly. Pebbles was as keen as ever but has regressed a bit to sticking to me too much and yipping her way round each course!! We had a great time though and it was great to spend a day out of the house with my lovely doggies :-)

I have been very dedicated at using our cross trainer every day for the last 10 weeks and it has not made any difference at all!! Drastic measures are needed and I am going to a boxercise class tonight. I love boxercise but hate the first few weeks when I am not sure what I am doing and when I am not fit! It better work though as I have to go out in public in my swimming costume in a few weeks when we take Mia swimming for the first time....

That is going to be interesting since Mia is not sure of new things and likes to tells us as much in a loud voice. Yes, I can see us trying to hide and/or disown our screaming baby. Fingers crossed we are wrong and she does us proud and loves to swim. She certainly loves bath time!!