The Fairweathers

Agility Update

2010-05-26T07:02:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-05-26T06:40:00.000-07:00

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

2010-02-10T01:58:00.000-08:00

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!!

Mia's first Christmas!

2009-12-24T03:45:00.000-08:00

Well, how amazing! Mia is already enjoying her first christmas and look it is very, very white!

The first picture is of the front garden and view and the second picture is the back garden. A lot of snow! It is so deep that Pebbles disappears and has to resort to leaping to get through it! Still they have enjoyed many a snowy walk with their dad trying to find their balls in the snow.

It was Mia's first christmas so we felt we needed to mark the occasion with a special christmas outfit to wear on christmas eve and christmas morning. I think she likes it and definitely looked very, very cute!

Mia had her own pile of presents to open on christmas morning but as you can imagine she had no idea what they were or what the presents inside were either!! Still it is the principal I guess and she will be able to play with the toys before next christmas.

Posing with Mum

Posing with Dad

Are all these for me???!!!!

Yippee!!

It was great to have Mia this christmas and can hardly believe she will probably be toddling about this time next year - yikes!

We didn't forget the dogs though and here they are opening their presents which they always seem to be able to sniff out from all the other presents! They both enjoyed a christmas bone although Barney seems to prefer hiding his rather than eating it. On taking some rubbish out to the bins later that morning I noticed a small pile of snow up against the garage wall and lo and behold lurking underneath, hidden from greedy Pebbles, was Barney's precious bone. Even funnier was having realised that Mum must have found the precious bone he later came back and re-located it under another pile of snow up against the bins!! I am not sure of the whereabouts of this bone anymore........and I am not even sure Barney can remember either :-)

Christmas outfits!

We enjoyed christmas lunch at my brother's house with his partner Hazel and my lovely nieces Mhairi and Edie. As usual the lunch was excellent and we were utterly full when finished. We also enjoyed opening our presents to each other.

The girls! (Hazel, Gran, Mhairi)

Mia with Auntie Hazel

Mia with her fab cousins

Mac totally exhausted from the day's efforts

So that is christmas over for another year. It will be our turn to host it once the nieces decide they do not need to be where their presents are and once Mia gets old enough to want to stay at her house. It will be good fun when she is that age but I have a lot to live up to after many years of excellent hosting by my brother and Hazel!! Thanks guys.

Mia is here!

2009-11-01T05:19:00.000-08:00

Well, we are now officially parents to baby Mia who was born on 25th October 2009 at 2.22pm, weighing 7lbs and 3oz.

After a short stay in hospital Mum and Mia got home on Wednesday 28th October. Since then Mum and Dad have been settling into the new routines and trying to get our heads round the fact we are now parents! Last week there was no Mia, this week she is here and she is real and we are responsible for her - yikes!

To say that she is gorgeous is an understatement. In our eyes she is absolutely perfect. She is so cute and so very, very small.

Proud Dad - 1 Hour after Birth

Baby Mia - 1 Hour after Birth

Mia - 4 Days

Mia - with her Cousins

Mia with cousin Edie

Mia with Uncle Graham

Life has been pretty hectic since her arrival and we are trying to get our heads round feeding and sleeping patterns. It is all very new and a very steep learning curve! We do wonder if we will ever be able to leave the house again or how you are supposed to look after a baby when there is not 2 of you!!

I am sure it will all get easier and we will get into our own little routine. It is all so amazing, exciting, daunting, and so, so worth it! One look at her cute little face is enough to make us smile and remember how lucky we are to have her.

BF in 3D

2009-07-30T08:49:00.000-07:00

Wow what about this picture - BF in 3D at 27 weeks!!

So amazing!!! You can see her face and she looks so contented.

Malcolm and I decided that we could not stand the uncertainty of not knowing for sure if BF is a girl so off I went for a sexing scan today to get a better idea given that I am now 27 weeks and it should be more obvious. And it was confirmed that BF is a girl :-) Phew is all I can say given the amount of pink things already purchased!!

During the scan we also got a 3D picture as above. It took a while to get since BF had decided to put both hands and legs in front of her face and the scanner could not get a clear picture until the very end. It was well worth waiting for the shot though since she looks adorable. Yes, I am biased!!!!

East Lothian Show

2009-07-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

I will start this post with the Champ class that Pebbles took part in since it was first up on the Saturday.

In the jumping class Pebbles went clear, not the tidiest clear and certainly not the smoothest but a good clear which is what was needed. In the agility round, not long after, she also did a clear round, again not one of her best rounds but solid. And I have to say that as a combination it was probably the best 2 qualifying rounds we have done in a Champ class this year so I was pretty pleased. This was shown by the fact that she qualified for the final and we were 4th last to go which was a really good position to be in.

The course for the final was really good - a few little twists and turns and a really tricky weave entry which really made me think hard about how to handle it. In the end I went with the entry that kept Pebbles on the left hand side but meant she had to go straight past a tunnel entry without going in. As usual I was pretty nervous but have to say that I am definitely getting better at handling the Champ classes and we started off really well. Pebbles negotiated the hard turns brilliantly tight and, I have to say, did the whole of the first half of the course really well. She was focused, smooth and doing really tight turns. Fantastic! Then came the hard weave entry and once again Pebbles did not disappoint as I pulled her away from the tunnel entry and then pushed her back for the weave entry she followed me exactly and did a great entry and weave. At the end of the weave I pulled her back towards the cloth tunnel and then disaster - I forgot the course!!!!! Instead of letting her take the jump straight after the tunnel which poor little Pebbles was all set to do I had a brain melt down and pulled her left and onto the see saw one obstacle too soon. It was then that the crowd groaned and as we finished I wondered what had gone wrong. Yes, I didn't even realise I had missed the jump until someone told me as we crossed the last jump. To say I was gutted would be an understatement - it is the first time ever that I have forgotten a course and can't believe I did it. There have been a number of sleepless nights since I can tell you. It is one of those things that keeps playing over and over in your head!

What disappoints the most it that when I think back it was a great round for Pebbles and immediately afterwards I reckoned would have put her behind Tash (who did a lovely clear round) and finished 2nd, outwith the course time. However, the worst thing about it is I think she might have been faster, possibly even won it, but I will never ever know. And it is this not knowing that is the worst. And I really feel that I let Pebbles down, she had put everything into the round and my mistake ruined any chance we might have had.

So I have made 2 Champ finals this year which I am really, really pleased about but have to say both finals could have been better! I can only say now though that it can't possibly get any worse and I need to just get on with it and try to beat the nerves so that next time I give Pebbles every chance of at least getting a clear round.

The rest of the rounds that day passed pretty much in a blur since all Pebbles rounds seemed to happen at once. She did manage a 2nd in agility and Barney also managed a 2nd in agility despite me really working his contacts which lost a lot of time. His contacts all day were really good, especially his A frame which is definitely getting faster and more consistent.

Onto Sunday and I was lucky enough to have Malcolm there doing some videoing so for a change I have videos of some of our runs. I will start with Barney:

In the jumping round it was a nice flowing course but with plenty to think about. Again Barney did well with the tight turns at the start, not normally his strong point. The turns at the jumps nearest the camera were a bit wide but all in all he did well and listened to my commands really well. He finished with a good clear and placed 1st Grade 6. Well done Barney :-)

Next Barney does an agility round where my main focus all weekend was to get his contacts. As you can see he did a really nice weave entry and did really well on the tight turns in the box after the weave. His dog walk was OK, he got the contact but it was a bit slow. Definitely better than earlier on in the year so I am really happy with the progress. The A frame again was slow but he really got the contact position which again is getting more consistent. Unfotunately there was a bit of a mix up at the cloth tunnel at the finish and he stuck his nose in before deciding that he had seen me run past so popped back out again!!

Pebbles started with a clear in agility which she did really well again despite the nightmare handling. I forgot where I was going after the weave and we nearly missed the jump until I did a mad push out, then after the A frame and jump I forgot where I was going again! Then if you look closely you will notice that naughty, horrible Mum manages to give Pebbles a kick in the face, enough to knock her sideways, as she comes out of the cloth tunnel. It completely floors her and she stands stock still looking dazed until I go back and get her to take the final jump! The poor wee soul and she still managed 2nd despite all this.

Then she went onto an elimination in the jumping round. She backed jumped. This seems to be a common thing when I send her over a jump and then move back to the next jump, rather than go round the jump wing she looks at me going back away from the jump and follows me over the jump. The good thing about this is that she is going over the jump even as I stop ready to turn back, previously she would have stopped as soon as I stopped. And rather than go right up to the jump wing and bring her round I have been trying to stand back and let her go forward on her own. This has not quite worked yet!! Pebbles still watches my every move and won't work too far away from me like Barney. Still the rest of the round was pretty solid.

She went clear in the final jumping round with a steady round and although I have no idea if she placed I doubt if she was fast enough. It is hilarious to watch my handling of Pebbles. I must stand up straighter and try not to stoop to her level! Something to work on I think!

I have to confess though that I was finding it really difficult to remember the courses all weekend. I think on the Saturday it was a mixture of nerves as well as what I am going to call 'pregancy brain'!!! Yes, I think the hormones were having fun with my memory as I struggled to remember where I was going some of Saturday and most of Sunday. Lets hope it doesn't get any worse for the Fife show!!!

From this show, my favourite show of the year, we went straight to Yellowcraigs caravan site, a mere 15 minutes down the road, for a weeks holiday which I was sorely needing. It was great to get a rest and simply enjoy walks on the beach and a few meals out. The weather was unbelievable as well with shorts and tee shirts worn every day until the Friday. It was like camping in France. I even got a tan!!

The 'bump' is now 26 weeks old - yes, nearly 6 months down and only 3 to go. I am really starting to notice the bulk of the 'bump' in everyday life. It is heavy and thus makes normal activities more tiring. Still amazing to think that in 14ish weeks there will be another human being in the Fairweather family. I can't wait!

BF (Part 2)

2009-06-16T12:04:00.000-07:00

So what news of BF? Last week Malcolm and I went to the PRI for the 20 week scan. We were very excited and looking forward to seeing BF again and to hear its heart and see it move.

It was amazing. BF has developed so much even since the 12 week scan. We could see fingers, toes, spine, heart, brain and lots of movement. Everything was fine and all the necessary bits and pieces were there in the right place and were the right size!! We had decided we wanted to know the sex of the baby before going into the scan.

It turns out that there is a high chance BF is a girl :-) Wow, we were all convinced it was a boy! It is not definite and it could still be a boy but for now it is a girl. We are both really thrilled although were advised by the doctor not to decorate the nursery pink and to keep all receipts just in case it is wrong!!

So here are a couple of pictures of BF at 20 weeks - the first of her feet and the second of her side on:

I have started to notice a 'bump' now at 21 weeks which is really strange. I have even had to go and buy some maternity tops! It is getting really real now!

Other than that life has been pretty normal with no agility shows for a few weeks. It has been good to get a chance to get things in the house sorted. We have managed to clear out the nursery and the wardrobe - no mean feat I can tell you given the junk that was in it! It is looking great now though.

The other main task for me has been shopping - my favourite hobby! I have been on a few trips out with my Mum and we have managed to buy a few baby essentials as well as a few little outfits which are so cute :-) I have also spent time ordering stuff from the internet. The next shopping trip will be to Mothercare to get the rest of the essentials on the list. This won't be until mid-August now though since we have agility shows and our next holiday to fit in before hand.

So from the weekend after next things get very busy and before I know it the agility season will be over for me (am stopping at the beginning of August) and I will have BF to concentrate on. And of course it won't be long after that that I am on maternity leave - yippee!!

Will try and update soon.

Avon Show

2009-06-03T08:04:00.000-07:00

Well I am just recovering from the sun burn from a really, really hot weekend in Lanark. The good news is that Mum managed to join me in the caravan for the weekend to keep me and the dogs company. She was a great help and it was great to see her back in action again after all her trails and tribulations and operations :-)

On the Saturday we started with the small and medium Olympia qualifier. This was the event that Pebbles won last year to qualify for the semi-finals completely out of the blue and where Barney finished 4th to also qualify completely by surprise.

This year Pebbles finished 3rd which was a brilliant result again although did not qualify and Barney finished 6th again not qualifying . I am glad they both did brilliantly but also glad they did not qualify because I would not have gone to the semi-finals anyway because they are too late in the year for me to manage the ‘bump’! I don’t know what it is but Pebbles seems to like this event because she did a brilliant round, really smooth and fast. What a star. Barney also did a really smooth round and did really good contacts so I was really pleased.

The rest of the weekend was a mixed bag with Barney managing 2 Grade 6 jumping wins to take him only 1 Grade 6 agility win away from Grade 7 – yippee! My aim this season was for Barney to get to Grade 7 so I am thrilled he is doing so well. I just hope he can get the last agility win before the end of the season.

Pebbles did some really good rounds including a great agility round over Joanne Dall’s really, really long course. I couldn’t even get the commands out by the end of the round it was so long and I was so out of breath!! And I was not the only one! Still she managed a great round to finish 2nd – well done Pebbles. She does so well for such a tiny wee thing.

The main issue that arose over the weekend was both Barney and Pebbles popped out of the same weave 2 poles early with Barney doing it twice. The format of the weave was as below:

My theory is that in almost all occasions the dogs go from the weave forward to another obstacle so keep driving forward where as in this example it was a sharp turn with nothing out in front. I was not sure how to deal with it either – should I stay level with them, lag behind or go ahead? This is definitely something I am going to work on over the next few weeks. Instead of weave entries I am going to have to think about weave exits! I will have to try and vary the position of the first obstacle after the weave and see if I can handle it differently as well i.e. do some next to the dog, some behind the dog, some ahead of the dog and some away from the dog. I think I need Kenny’s help with this one though!

I would like to say on a really positive note I sent both dogs into the weave on my left and crossed behind to go down the left side of the weave. Brilliant! It is great to be able to cross behind it means all the training is paying off. I will have to keep doing this in competition when possible to keep it working.

So that is all the shows for us for a while now. We are not going to Prestwick next weekend because we are going to Darren Dods’s wedding on Saturday and then there are no shows for the next 2 weekends. So the next trip will be Clyde Valley show at Irvine at the end of June. That will give us some weekends at home to get the nursery organised J

SKC Show

2009-06-03T08:03:00.000-07:00

Once again I have been lax at writing on my blog – there just never seems to be enough time!

It has been a while since I did the SKC show and so I am sorry but I am only going to be able to write about Pebbles in the Champ class because I cannot remember any of the other classes in detail! Although I do remember that we did not get any great results in other classes despite some really good clear rounds. Just not fast enough! Barney, in particular, is coming on really well and is really starting to listen to me which is great.

So back to the Champ class. It started with a jumping round which suffice to say was interesting. Out of the 26 or so dogs that were entered only 5 actually got round without being eliminated! Fortunately Pebbles managed a clear round. I cannot claim it to be the best round ever in fact, it was very messy, un-smooth, and not the best handling in the world but I knew from watching others (we were near the end of the running order) that all I needed was a clear round or a round with faults, basically do not get eliminated. So we did that – phew!

Then it was on to the agility round which was a really nice flowing course with not too much handling to worry about. Pebbles managed a clear round, again not the smoothest due to my nervous handling – I knew I only had to get round without being eliminated to get to the final! Once again Pebbles did me proud and got a clear round so we were through to the final – yippee. It was my aim this year to get to one Champ final with Pebbles so I was really chuffed to have achieved that J

The final was very nerve wracking especially since there were only 5 dogs who had qualified and we were running 4th so had qualified 2nd best! Yikes! The 3 dogs before me all got faults so I knew that I only needed to go clear to get a place. Mmmm, and that’s where our luck ran out. For some reason Pebbles popped out of the last pole of the weaves, so not like her. In fact I cannot remember the last time she did this, if at all! I am not sure if it was my handling or another theory is that there was no obstacle directly in front of the weave so nothing to drive forward to. This theory is backed up by the fact that at this weekend’s Avon show both Barney and Pebbles popped out of the weaves early when there was no obstacle at the end of the weave but was off to an angle – mmmm, cause for thought and training! So that was that no place and eliminated for the first time that day. Poor wee Pebbles and she tries so hard and gives her all. I was so proud of her and think she is brilliant no matter what the result. She is my little star!

Agility Update

2009-05-07T07:30:00.000-07:00

So what have we been up to on the agility front?

I went to the Kingdom of Fife 1 day show in early April accompanied by my Mum and my nieces. It turned out to be a nice day with the sun shining on us for the afternoon. We also managed to enjoy some bacon or egg rolls and some chips to keep us going!!

Pebbles did really well with only 1 elimination in the agility round. I sent her onto the dog walk on my right and went to cross behind her to the right side but as soon as I stopped to cross over she stopped and I had to jump over her!! But she had already touched the up touch marker so was eliminated by coming off and going back on again to go over the dog walk. I am not totally surprised she did this since I have not done a lot of crosses behind at either dog walks or a-frames but given our work on getting her to work ahead I kind of hoped she would keep working forward and ignore my stop. Alas, no, it is not that simple obviously!!

Funnily enough Barney did exactly the same on the same bit of the course which did surprise me. He went onto the dog walk and jumped off the side as I appeared on his right. Mmmm, not sure about this one, not like Barney to worry what I am doing behind him.

Other than that Pebbles and Barney had some lovely rounds over jumping courses but were just not quick enough to be placed. The good news was that Pebbles did not yip as much as she had on the Sunday at Dundee after her see-saw incident. She did yip sometimes and was not as flowing as she was on the Saturday at Dundee but it was definitely an improvement.

On the Sunday we packed up the caravan and headed off to Yellowcraigs camp site at Dirleton (our favourite!). We stayed there from the Sunday to the Friday before we set off to Woodside show at Biggar. We had a great time with plenty of rest and sleep which is what I needed. And of course, there was time to enjoy the home made chocolate cake at the local tea shop J The dogs had a great time with 2 walks a day on the beach and Pebbles getting to chase the ball endlessly and until she was exhausted every evening. Her idea of heaven!!

On the Friday we headed off to Biggar camp site since we did not get onto the show site this year. It was not the nicest site and although close to the agility site it was still not the same as being camped next to the rings. However, on going to the agility site to walk the dogs and to visit Liz and Rodger on the Friday evening Malcolm decided to ask at the camping check in point if there was any chance of a spare camping pitch. And there was!!! So we hastily moved the van down to a great pitch just by the rings on the Saturday morning. Yes, a hassle but well worth it. Thanks so much to Rodger for all his help getting us moved and for his lovely Land Rover which saved the day!

The Saturday saw Pebbles in the Champ show, our first ever one! Gulp! I was very nervous! She did really, really well. With 5 faults in the jumping from a refusal at the wall (not a shock given she has never been keen on walls) and then a clear in the jumping. However, she was not fast enough overall to qualify for the final. Still a good solid performance which I was happy with. I have to say though that I was not phased by the courses which I had expected to be and thought they were pretty easy for a Champ class. Good in one way to not scare me but bad in that Pebbles often excels at the harder, tighter courses. I am sure this won’t be my complaint at the next Champ show though!

Barney did a brilliant clear on jumping for the last run of the day and finished a brilliant second in combined 5-7. He was definitely on form the whole day and was moving much faster than he has been known to do! Malcolm and I think a week on holiday on the beach chasing the ball always seems to help Barney who comes away a bit fitter. He can be lazy when he wants to be!

At the end of the day we took Pebbles to see the Chiropractor because I just felt that since Dundee she has not been quite right. And this was confirmed by the fact that all day she had been very hesitant going up the a-frame (noticed by a few observers in the morning). It turned out she had a sore back which was manipulated back into shape. Poor wee soul she must have been in pain and going up the a-frame must have been sore. Hopefully, she feels much better now!

On the Sunday we started with 2 jumping rounds early in the morning. Pebbles went clear in both and was definitely back on form – no yipping and flying along. She must feel much better without the back pain! She did not make the prizes though. Barney went clear in one round and was eliminated in the other. No prizes for the clear round – too many fast Grade 7 dogs!
To finish they both did a really tricky combined 5-7 agility. Barney did a brilliant round and despite a few traps and tight turns he performed brilliantly and went clear. Only 4 dogs in the whole class went clear! He finished 2nd which was a brilliant result.

Pebbles then did an amazing clear round and flew round even flying over the a-frame and dog walk. Yippee!! She is back and working ahead of me again like she did at Dundee before the see-saw bashing. The training is working! And what amazing weave entries all weekend! She finished 1st which was a brilliant result and only her 2nd ever win in a Grade 7 class. What a great way to finish the weekend.

BIG NEWS!

2009-05-07T07:18:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have posted on my blog but there has been good reason!! Our big news is that we are expecting a small Fairweather at the end of October – WOW!!!

We have had the first scan and saw ‘BF’ (Baby Fairweather) on the screen, with a little heart beat and moving. It was amazing – here is a picture of BF as seen at the 12 week scan:

How cool is that!!

We are very, very excited although can’t quite believe it is real yet. We have the 20 week scan at the beginning of June so think it will sink in a bit more then when we can see a lot more detail and my ‘bump’ is bigger!!

So far I have felt pretty good apart from feeling very, very tired and nauseous from week 6 – week 12. Thankfully, the worst of the nausea seems to have passed and although I am not able to eat large meals at least I can look forward to my meals now!!

Anyone who knows me will not be surprised to learn that one thing I am looking forward to is the shopping! Of course, this goes hand in hand with copious amounts of research before committing to any purchase to ensure that we have bought the right piece of equipment for the job, at the best price! And it goes without saying I have already started a folder for the whole process – nothing changes J

Mum and I have already spent a couple of days looking round all possible prams/buggies/travel systems and backed up by my internet research we have chosen a travel system that looks brilliant and does everything we need. It has a carrycot (apparently a must for babies up to 6 months???!!), car seat and buggy all of which can be interchanged easily and the main frame folded quickly.

Here is a picture of the snazzy travel system:

As for the other items needed I am a bit more daunted by this. I mean who knows what steriliser to buy?, what cot mattress?, what clothes?, what bath?, etc, etc These will have to be bought after the 20 week scan! More research required me thinks!!

We are going to make bedroom 4 the nursery. At the moment this is a single room with the exercise equipment in it so this will have to be moved. The plan is to clear out the large set of drawers that are currently in the room which seems to have accumulated a lot of paper and rubbish since we moved in. This will be Malcolm’s job J These drawers will then be taken to the skip as they have seen better days.

Next job will be to clear out the wardrobe in bedroom 3 before moving the contents of bedroom 4 wardrobe into the newly emptied one. Finally, the gym equipment will be moved to bedroom 3 leaving the nursery with only a single bed and an empty wardrobe. Phew!! Then it is time to get the cot from Mum and Dad’s (kindly passed on from my brother) and put it up. I have already decided what drawers to order for the room and also what décor and bedding to get so this will then be ordered too. Now I think once this is done it will seem very real!!

I am going to keep doing agility for as long as I can without being silly and I am thinking, having spoken to a few people who have already done it, that this will mean I can keep going until I am 6 months (i.e. end of July). I will just take it as it comes though but am not having any problems at the moment.

So it is life as normal for now until the 20 week scan and then it will be all go to get ready for the big event. I mean who can believe there will be another Fairweather in our house for Xmas this year! Yikes!

Dundee Agility Show

2009-04-07T10:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I have just managed to recover from the first show of the year at Dundee! I was exhausted yesterday. It is a shock to the system doing 2 full days in a row and setting up and dismantling the caravan. It is always the same first trip though!

So what of the agility? Well Saturday was a great day for both Barney and Pebbles with signs that the training done over the winter was paying off.

First up Barney went clear in all 3 rounds of the day which was great. He opened with a combined 6-7 agility which was to be the first test of his contacts. He did a great A-Frame, really fast with a great 'stop' at the bottom - really great! His dog walk was ok and he did get his finish position but he did take a while to get there! More work required in competition there I think! But still really pleased he is getting the idea that he has to stop in his 'finish' position.

He then placed 2nd in the combined 5-7 jumping which was a great result for him and one of his best in a combined class. His round was nice and clear on what was quite a tricky course with a lot of twists and turns. He then placed 2nd in his final grade 6 jumping which was good. Again a nice clear but he can still work on his speed! Barney definitely likes to go at his own pace and can be quite lazy sometimes!!

Pebbles opened with a lovely clear in the combined 6-7 agility, placing 6th which I was really pleased with. I thought she really took on board the working ahead of me and certainly drove to the tunnel and weave entries really well.

She finished 3rd in the combined 5-7 jumping in what I think was one of her best ever rounds to date. She flowed beautifully on a really twisty course and drove forward and ahead. Lovely!

She finished with a another clear in the grade 7 jumping but wasn't fast enough to place. Again I was happy with the way she was working forwards. Malcolm said he saw a big improvement.

Then came Sunday.........!! Not such a good day at all. We started with a combined 5-7 agility for both Barney and Pebbles and the see saw in this course caused all the problems of the day. The see saw was positioned on a slope so it seemed to 'bounce' on touching the ground which was fine for the bigger dogs but for Pebbles this meant it 'bounced' just as she jumped off the end and it hit her in the chest. I did not notice it at the time but Malcolm saw it clearly and said it was quite a big jolt and gave her a real shock. As a result she started yipping at me round the whole course from the see saw onwards and stopped working ahead. She stopped as soon as I stopped at any jump and ended up stopping and yipping at me at a few jumps she would normally have driven forwards over. Not having realised about the see saw incident I was struggling to handle her since it was so different to the way she was working the day before. It was very frustrating although made perfect sense once Malcolm explained what had happened.

The dreaded see saw also seemed to claim another victim with Claire's Islay squealing just before the jump that followed the see saw. First we thought it must have been her hips or a sore leg but afterwards on reflection it makes more sense the 'bounce' might have jolted her too and caused her hip pain. It certainly seems too much of a coincidence that it happened straight after the see saw.

This was only confirmed after Barney ran the same course. Everything went well until the dog walk which came further into the course than the dreaded see saw. On going up the first plank as normal immediately on reaching the start of the middle plank he started doing a very slow see saw type crawl, as if he was waiting for it to tip and was bracing himself. He did this all the way along the middle and last plank before leaping over the bottom as if in fright. Aaaaaaarrrrggghhh, just as we were making progress. It leads me to think he got a 'bounce' on the see saw and didn't like it either and didn't want the same to happen on the similar looking dog walk plank! I am so annoyed and so hope this does not affect his dog walk in future after all the work we have put in it would be so disheartening. I just hope I can get a few sessions in on the full size dog walk and see saw at training before the next show.

Pebbles did another 2 jumping rounds. Both of these she yipped her way round and again refused jumps. I was so disappointed that our progress had been affected by something out of our control. I will just have to work her in the garden and at training again to try and move past this setback.

Barney finished with a clear in his last jumping and placed 2nd in grade 6 jumping. A really good result and a good note to finish on.

It had been a long weekend with the last round on Sunday not until 6pm!!!

Lots more training now before the Kingdom of Fife show in 3 weeks.

Agility Training Update

2009-03-07T09:31:00.001-08:00

It has been a while since I have written about agility but that is because there has been little to report. No competitions, just training in the run up to the summer season.

So what have been working on in training all this time?! I have spent the winter really trying to get Pebbles to work away from me for 2 main reasons. First, to try and get her to go faster, I always felt she was just going at my pace and not running forward as fast as she could. Second, to try and get her to run in front of me to allow me to cross behind and not necessarily have to be at each obstacle for her to do it.

I feel that things have gone really well although whether anything will transfer to competitions remains to be seen! Although for me to just be able to cross behind and send her in front will make a huge difference. It will give me much more flexibility around the course. I have put together a little video clip of Pebbles for you to watch. As you can see she is definitely working in front of me which she has never done before. There are still some bits that don't always flow when she looks round to see where I am or looks at me when she is not sure what to do. In the last run I send her over a jump on my right and I cross behind her before sending her into the tunnel. As you can see she does it but she is still not totally moving forward by herself. However, I think all this will come as the season goes on and we put it into practice week in week out. To even be able to do it at all is amazing for her.

As for Barney we have spent all winter working on his dog walk. This has been our failing for the last few years where I have had no confidence that he will get the contact and it is a hit or miss. I have been using the method of getting him to go flat at the bottom of the contact and rewarding him like mad when he is in this position so that he thinks it is a great place to be. It certainly works in the garden and on the lead he does it brilliantly at speed. Off the lead he is still a bit slower but that is coming on too, especially if I put a fast combination before it. Now all I need to do is a couple of training sessions over the full size dog walk and one on the A-Frame which uses the same principle. Here is a short video clip of a few runs on and off the lead.

I really hope it transfers to competition, although much of that is up to me to be patient as he is learning and to hold him on the contacts. It would be so good to be able to go into agility runs confident that he will get the majority of his contacts. That would be good progress for one year, the speed aspect can come later.

I must say thanks to Kenny, my agility trainer, who I have really enjoyed working with over the winter and who has really pushed me on and provided all the great ideas for training.

So that is where we are with a month until the season starts :-) I am so looking forward to getting the caravan out in 2 weeks and getting it packed up for the first trip. Fingers crossed it doesn't snow at Dundee like it did last year!

Yummy New Car!

2009-02-28T10:45:00.000-08:00

Well today was a very exciting day with lots to report. First, we went to Edinburgh Airport to meet a couple from Weymouth who had flown up from Bournemouth to buy my Honda CRV that they had bought through EBay. The car had been advertised on Auto Trader for a week with no interest and within 2 hours of putting it on EBay we had 3 potential buyers!

Bye bye lovely Honda!

This couple were really nice and wanted the CRV to tow their new caravan. It was a great car and I absolutely loved driving it for the 3.5 years I owned it. I was sorry to see it go and will miss it :-(. It was a perfect car with great space for the dogs, caravan gear and was very reliable.

However, Malcolm and I decided that it was right on the boundaries for safe towing of our caravan. The kerb weight was really not high enough unless we really limited how much we put in the van when towing. And the actual towing limit of the CRV was 1,500kg which was the same as the MPTPLM of our caravan, so it was a close match. After much reading on the matter we decided we needed to upgrade our towing vehicle to make it safer. Considering all we do in the summer is tow a caravan to agility shows or on holiday, for now and the forseeable future we thought it was sensible.

So that began the days and weeks of research into the best towcar for us, weight wise, size wise, cost wise and running cost wise. In the end we kept coming back to the Freelander 2 which gets rave reviews as a car and a towcar.

We got a great deal on one from Taggerts in Motherwell and went to pick it up today after selling the CRV first thing. We have kitted it out with a boot liner and dog guard to keep those pesky mutts in the boot. All we need to organise now is the tow bar which I will do next week at the place near my work.

It was fantastic to drive home, quite a bit bigger than the CRV and much smoother. We love it!

Hello yummy Freelander!

Cross Trainer

2009-02-19T07:08:00.001-08:00

This year I have decided to try and get fit for my general health and for agility this summer. Other previous attempts at exercise have failed - badminton due to injury, boxercise to due class being so far away, and running because I have done enough of that to last me a life time!!

I decided that the only way I would stick at something would be if it was exercise that was effective that I could do at home that would not require too much of a time committment. So the result is we have bought a cross trainer and put it in one of our spare bedrooms. After much indecision and a lot of research we bought a Tunturi machine (see below) which has a 19" stride length. Apparently the longer the stride length the better, especially for my long legs!!

It has a lovely colour monitor which lets you know your heart rate (through a heart rate belt that you wear), your power output and calories burned. There are also numerous programs that you can follow which I will try once I get a bit fitter!!

Anyway, we have now had it for about 3 weeks and it is absolutely brilliant. I do 3 sessions on it a week which only take me 20 minutes each. Malcolm also loves it since it a great form of exercise that he can do with his dodgy knee. In fact, it has even strengthened his knee considerably which is great.

So now all I have to do is keep my 3 session a week up and I should be in good shape for the summer :-)

Avon Indoor Agility Show

2009-02-02T10:09:00.000-08:00

Well the show was mixed. Not great in terms of clear rounds (Barney only got 1 clear and Pebbles 2 out of 4) but was good in terms of seeing some of the training we have been doing come to fruition.

Firstly, Pebbles who as a velcro dog has been doing lots os work on trying to work away from me and in front of me more. Although not huge changes in her runs for those watching they were huge for me. On saying "Go tunnel" previously I would have had to go right up to the tunnel entrance with her, yesterday she shot off in front on her own. Fantastic! Also she did 2 rear crosses, 1 on each side. I worked hard on trying to stay behind her and let her go over the jump before I stopped. It worked in that she did the jump but each time she did a spin before turning the right way.

Her runs in summary were:
1. Clear in graded agility. This one I was very tentative and really trying to get her to work in front of me. As a result it was a bit slower than normal so not fast enough for a Grade 7 place.
2. Eliminated in combined 1-7 agility. She knocked the first pole down then preceded to go round the back of a jump instead of taking it from the front. However, fron then on the round was great. Again I was trying to get her to stay out in front and work away from me more. She did this really well and it was a lot faster than the first round.
3. Eliminated in Graded jumping. This was handler error in that I pulled her through between 2 jumps but must have pushed her back too soon and she went back through the jumps and back jumped. Again from this point on she was really starting to work well and really going forward on the gos.
4. Clear in combined 1-7 jumping. This was a nice open course, good for practising her working out on her own. She did this really well. 9th place - yippee!

In summary I was really pleased with her progress although there is still a lot of work to be done and more still to come. And we definitely need work on slaloms and pull/push throughs!!

For Barney it was his contacts. I didn't know what to expect here since we are only part of the way through the dog walk training and we only did a last minute session on the A frame last weekend. Here's how his runs went:

1. Eliminated graded agility. He went right over a jump instead of straight into the tunnel. I have to say this is one of Barney's biggest failures and he did a lot of this last year. Although this time it was pointed out by a friend that had my right arm out and sent him over the jump. As for the contacts he did both but they were very, very slow. I did my 2 "go" commands and treid to work him on the down plank but he was looking to stop.
2. Eliminated combined 1-7 agility by doing the same mistake as above (this part of the course was the same). This time I did not put my arm out! However, all was well with the world because he did something amazing in this round. His dog walk was much better than the first round, still got the contact but went faster on the down plank. And as for his A frame it was amazing. The first time ever he has done a 'proper' a frame. He went up quickly, down quickly and stopped dead at the bottom with 2 feet off and looked at me for the release command. He shot off once I said "go". I was so excited and thrilled. I think with more work and starting to blend the training elements together things will really turn around on the contacts next year :-)
3. 5 faults graded jumping. I pushed him round a jump instead of pushing him out then pulling him over the jump.
4. Clear in combined 1-7 jumping. He did a lovely round apart from my rubbish handling which slowed us down.

In summary, so pleased with his progress on the contacts but again more work to be done. Sames as Pebbles I need to do some work with him on slaloms and pull throughs. One of the most noticeable things was that he didn't really listen to me when the course involved tighter turns. He liked to carry on a do what he thought was the right thing. I think this has a lot to do with us working on getting him to run on more open courses and the concentrating on the dog walk and not much on jump combinations.

So that's it now until Dundee show at the beginning of April. I am really looking forward to the outdoor season and getting the caravan out again.

Current Events

2009-01-28T10:34:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been a while since I have posted. There has not been a lot going on apart from the normal work, eat and sleep with the usual daily dog walks in between.

Malcolm and I have spent most weekends clearing out the house which had got really cluttered. We have successfully cleared out the garage and two spare bedrooms. This weekend we started on our latest project - creating a room for the gym equipment! We cleared out the wardrobe in our fourth bedroom and put all of the caravan junk (duvets, pillows, throws, rugs, etc) into the empty wardrobe. This cleared out most of the bedroom just leaving the stuff from Malcolm's Auntie June's house. We are going to invite Malcolm's sisters round in a few weeks to see what they want to keep. We will then put the rest in the skip and we will be left with a clear room - yippee!!

We are then going to put Malcolm's exercise bike, currently in the sun lounge, on one side of the bed and, the about to be delivered, cross trainer on the other side. Our plan is to have a stereo and TV set up in the room to provide some entertainment while we exercise. My aim is to to do 3 x 20 minute sessions per week in an attempt to get fit for the agility season ahead. I don't think Malcolm would be too impressed if the cross trainer went unused so I better get on with it!

I have been going to Kenny for agility training fortnightly as usual and have really enjoyed the sessions. For Barney the main focus has been to get fast, consistant contacts, especially on the dog walk. To achieve this we have been getting him to run over the dog walk as fast as possible, without stopping at the end. This aim of this is to get him going over with speed.

Separately I have been working on a new command of 'flat' to get him to lie down flat with 2 front paws off the end of the contact. This has been done by rewarding him like mad in this position, moving away and going back to give more reward before releasing him to another reward on a tub situated away from the end of the contact.

This way he is still working on speed over the dog walk and not worrying about stopping. The 'flat' command has not been used with him going the full length of the dog walk yet so that will come later. I started developing this technique on the A Frame during the last session which went well. The key to this weekends competition is make sure he goes over the dog walk and A Frame quickly. The 'flat' and hitting the contact will come later for the start of the outdoor season.

For Pebbles the key has been to try and get her to work ahead of me going into and through the weave and over jumps. This has been to try and get her to go quicker and to try and get her to work independently of me. This should mean I can send her over jumps and cross behind.

It has been a long process and sometimes she gets it and others times it is like she can't remember from one session to the next! Still a long way to go yet although I have managed to do some rear crosses at the weave and at jumps. The main problem is that having used the ball to reward her for going over jumps ahead of me she is now looking for the ball all the time when we run a course. This means stopping, spinning and barking at me after every jump!! I am going to stick with it though because as Kenny says she has been working the other way with me for 2 years now and it will take a lot of work to change her way of thinking. I just hope she can show a little bit of what we have worked on this weekend. Then it will be back to more hard work with the ball.

This weekend is the last indoor competition of the year. I am just hoping I see a little something from all the training over the last few months. And of course we will go to have lots of fun if nothing else :-)

Better late then never!

2009-01-17T04:31:00.001-08:00

At last, with my Dad's expert help, I have managed to download the video of Pebbles doing her Olympia Semi-Final agility round that she did in September last year.

If you know Pebbles and have seen her run you will see that although she does a lovely clear round she is not firing on all cylinders. She is hesitant going onto the A-Frame and not going as fast as she normally does over the course in general. You can see this by the fact that I am only jogging and still ahead of her.

I have thought about what the cause of this might be and have come up with the following:

1. In August she competed in the KC Agility Festival and half way up the A-Frame she fell backwards down to the bottom. For the rest of her rounds that day she refused to go up the A-Frame until the last attempt when it took 3 attempts to get her to go up very slowly. Since then she has been getting more confident but she still remembers the fall and hesitates.

2. Again at the KC Agility Festival Pebbles was doing an agility round in the main ring with a crowd and a man on a tannoy commentating on the round. During this round she jumped a spread jump and landed right on top of it rolling to the ground. This gave her a real scare and she went to the side of the ring and didn't want to continue. After trying to coax her to keep going I had to eventually carry her out of the ring. Again this shook her confidence - all in the same day! Afterwards in the car on the way home she just slept on my Mum's lap for about 4 hours - I think she was in shock as well as exhausted. But she had given her all. I think what happened at the Olympia Semis was that on hearing the man on the tannoy it reminded her of her fall and she immediately became hesitant about the whole thing. So despite trying her best and doing a lovely clear round she was just not fast enough on the day.

I am still so proud of her for even getting as far as the semi-finals and to go and do a clear round was brilliant. It is all good experience for the future if she should ever qualify again. She managed to finish 13th out of 30 dogs which is amazing for her first full year of agility. What a star!

The first 10 dogs qualified for Olympia in December. However, one woman had 2 dogs in the top 10 and she is only allowed to compete with one so this meant that 11th place qualified too. Then in November tragically the lovely, talented tri-colour Obay sheltie, Zen, who had qualified in the top 10 died from mushroom poisoning. And so this meant 12th place was called in to run. So all in all Pebbles was only 1 place away from running at Olympia!!!

So here is the video for viewing:

Last holiday walk!

2009-01-04T10:18:00.000-08:00

Today Malcolm and I met up with my brother and two nieces for our last walk of the Xmas holidays. We took the chance of some good weather to go a bit further afield to a walk that has great scenery and very few people. I even remembered to take my camera to get some photos. Here are some good ones of the surrounding scenery. It was a lovely clear day so we could see for miles.

The dogs all had a great time running around chasing each other and the ball! We did manage to lose one ball in the heather tho!

Here is a good shot of everyone (except me of course since I am taking the photo!). Amazingly it only took 2 attempts to get everyone looking towards the camera, even all 3 dogs!

Mac has really grown over the last few months and has filled out. He has got a lot hairier too. He quite likes getting his photo taken and gives a good pose :-)

We were out walking for about and hour and half so the dogs had a good run. We did all manage to end up going home stinking of fox poo. One of Mac's favourite hobbies is rolling in it! Then Mhairi and Edie managed to get it on their gloves and Malcolm some on his jeans. My goodness did our car stink on the way home! I can only imagine what the other car with Mac in it smelt like!!

So that was the last day of our holidays and we are not glad to be going back to work tomorrow. It has been a great holiday with plenty of relaxation, tidying and seeing friends. I am not looking forward to the next spell at work which is 4 months long until our next holiday in April. Rubbish!

Then it is the start of the agility season and we can start going away in the 'van' - yippee :-)

Christmas Day!

2008-12-26T10:57:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day starts as it always starts with the present opening - yippee! This involves a pile of presents for everyone in our house - Malcolm, Emma and the dogs. It always makes us laugh when Barney runs straight over to their pile of presents and immediately starts sniffing away. He loves Christmas! As you can see from the photo below they both got the idea of opening their presents!

And to honour the occasion Pebbles always wears her Christmas outfit - so cute!

And then took some time to enjoy one of her treats!

Santa was good to both of us with lots of undies and socks to go round! Malcolm was also really happy with some great walking boots and a great new, no effort involved, coffee machine. I was lucky to get lots too - a CD, a ring, pyjamas and best of all a voucher for the sales! Yippee, shops here I come!

After a good long walk it is time for us to leave for my brothers for Christmas lunch. It is always great to have all the family together to celebrate Christmas and Graham (my brother) and Hazel (his partner) always do an amazing job with the food and entertainment (mostly provided by my 2 nieces!!!).

This years award for the most apt Christmas present goes to my Mum for giving my Dad this hat!

This year was also very special because the last few years have seen the 'Grannies' having a few serious health problems that they have battled hard to overcome. It was great to see them both looking so well.

This Christmas was Mac's first Christmas and he was very well behaved after the initial mad moment when everyone arrived. He soon settled down to enjoy his very, very large chew bone. This kept him amused for ages!

Like mother, like daughter!

Malcolm modelling the Santa hat!

After lunch we headed home where Malcolm slept off the Christmas lunch and we watched some rubbish Christmas TV. Another great Christmas.........until next year!

Glow in the Dark!

2008-12-14T13:45:00.000-08:00

I hate this time of year with the short days and having to rush home from work to walk the dogs before it gets dark. Most days I can get home in time to walk them by 3.30pm when it is still light but occasionally we have to venture out in the dark. Not too bad because I go to the golf course and they get to run about on the course and we rarely meet anyone so they have a ball.

Last Friday, however, I ended up walking them in the dark. Given the colour of Barney and Pebbles (black!) it is very hard to see them in the dark! Therefore, I have had to invest in glowing collars and little lights that hang from their collars, so that I can see them! They are prone to running into the woods, always coming back, but it gives me peace of mind knowing where they are as I see the little lights bob back and forwards in the distance. I thought I would take a picture on this walk to show you what I mean!!!!

Barney and Pebbles in the Dark!

Of course, it is not only the 2 dogs that are lit up like Christmas trees! I wear my head torch so I can see where I am going!

Me in the Dark!

While on this walk I was going to let Barney and Pebbles play their weekly fetch game with the ball but alas I could not see the ball. For Pebbles who brings the ball back faithfully this would not be a problem. Barney, however, likes you to chase him when he has the ball or he might decide to randomly drop the ball whenever he gets a good sniff, maybe in the trees, or last week it was dropped in the small stream! Not so easy to know where the ball is!!! Therefore, I decided to buy some glow in the dark balls!!

Now these are hilarious and I hope to get some pictures of them in action next week. There is one red ball and one blue ball. They are brilliant! It is so funny to see the balls hover around in the dark and together with the blue and red lights on the dogs collars we must look like a mini light show!! It made me laugh that is for sure!

Woodside Show

2008-12-07T08:23:00.000-08:00

Today I was at Woodside winter agility show with Barney and Pebbles. It was great because the venue was in Broxburn which was only a 30 minute drive from home so it was not too early a start - only 6.45am!!

First up was Barney in Combined 5-7 Agility. He did his usual jump off the bottom of the dog walk and then was eliminated at the last jump when he went straight on instead of going right over the last jump. Otherwise I was really please with his run and he was running quickly and flowing well. Then it was Pebbles over the same course for smalls. She did a lovely round and was working away from me well but knocked the pole down on the second to last jump! Looking at the times she would have finished 5th if she had not got 5 faults! I am happy with that though since time wise she is back in the mix, at the last show she was a few seconds off the pace so progress there.

Then it was a jumping course for Barney Combined 5-7. It was a really tough course with lots of twists and traps. Barney did really well and only made one small mistake pausing at one jump to give him 5 faults. Pebbles did the same course. I knew that the best and quickest way to do it was for me to do a cross behind and for her to turn right - a move she is not good at but needs to learn. So I did not take the easy option and try and cross in front but made her do it. As predicted she protested and stopped and barked at me! I made her go over the jump and I crossed behind but this got us 5 faults. Not that it mattered since she got eliminated later on! On exiting the tunnel I pushed her out then raised my hand too early and this sent her back through the tunnel!!

Then it was onto Barney's last run - Combined 4-7 Jumping. Again it was a really tough course but he managed to go clear - clever Barney :-) And he finished 5th. It was a good round and he did really well to avoid the traps. He was working well and really listening. He is still a bit off the pace of the higher grade 7 dogs but it was not his kind of course.

Finally Pebbles did a Combined 4-7 Agility and it was the craziest course I have ever seen. Put it this way 30 or so dogs all Grade 5 and above and only 3 dogs went clear!! Pebbles protested at the wall (4th jump) by running past it and it went downhill from there! I think she was eliminated about 3 times! Not my type of course at all - lots of changes of direction and no flow at all.

So all in all not a very successful day results wise but I was happy with the way they were working. I don't think they really like indoor shows - no caravan, stuck in car between runs and they don't work well on the indoor surface. They seem much happier outdoors on grass when they are in the caravan.

That's all the shows now until February which I am quite glad about - it will be a nice break and give us a chance to get some training in.

Mobile Phone Photos

2008-11-30T07:43:00.000-08:00

Thought I would post a few photos that I have taken on my mobile phone recently since they are of the dogs and are really cute. Please excuse the quality but I only have a 2mp camera on my phone - I am thinking of getting a better camera on my next mobile phone so I can take better photos for the blog without having to remember the digital camera!

Pebbles in the van in her favourite spot on the table!

Pebbles looking amazingly cute sleeping on the van! Aawwww!

Barney resting on Dad's foot!!

Barney cuddling his favourite toy - Duck! Cute or what?!!

Today we went for a walk with the dogs as usual but it was not a normal day. It was absolutely FREEZING!!!! The temperature did not get above freezing all day and was probably no higher than -3 degrees for most of the day. It was unbelievably cold. So cold that the frost was thick everywhere you looked - trees, fences, and cars. It was quite pretty to look at even if it was cold to be out in it. Here are some photos from to give you an idea of exactly how cold it was!

I was very glad to get home to a warm house and stay inside for the rest of the day. I think even the dogs were happy to be out of the cold!

Sunday Walk

2008-11-30T06:43:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday we went for a walk with my brother and my nieces and their puppy Mac. Mac is a Border Trrier who is now almost 7 months old. He is a lovely, friendly dog and loves to run and play. Here he is below playing in the snow! Yes, we had snow last week in November!

Barney and Mac have their odd moments. Mac tries to play with Barney who is not interested so Barney spends a few moments growling at Mac. Mac soon gets the message and goes running after Pebbles.

Mac and Pebbles love to play and they love to run and run. Mac can sometimes get a bit over excited to have someone to play with and sometimes can spin Pebbles round and round on the ground. Pebbles is getting used it to it now and gives as good as she gets! The good thing is they manage to tire each other out :-)

Here are some great shots of Mac on his walk:

It is great to see Mac change over the months - we even got to witness one monumental stage in his development during this walk - he lifted his leg for the first time!!! Apparently he is a dab hand at this now and is leaving his 'scent' all over the place now!!

Here are some close up shots of Mac at home with the girls:

We all love our weekend walks, it is a great chance for a chat and to let the dogs have some fun.

Agility Training

2008-11-22T09:44:00.001-08:00

Today I went to training with Kenny and had a great session. I really enjoyed it and thought it worked well on the points that needed work.

We started with the channel weave for Pebbles. This is like a weave but every second pole is pulled outwards so she can run straight through the middle. This means she can go fast and will work independently of me. Up until now she would not weave unless I am right beside her. This exercise aims to work on this and allow me to cross behind her. By next season we hope to have some great angled weave entries and the ability to cross behind and move away from the weave. She was starting to do some really good angles and was running ahead of me which was great. I can see this hard work all paying off by next year.

Barney started by working on the dog walk. Kenny started him on a new technique to try and get him fast and confident on the down plank. This involved a set of sticks with a rope tied between them sitting at the bottom of the down plank. This meant Barney had to go under this. We then put a bit of chicken onto a tub about 7m away from the bottom of the dog walk for Barney to run towards at speed (this technique had been used previously). We started by putting Barney half way down the plank and getting him to go under the barrier. He did this a few times and soon was going the full length of the dog walk and running under the barrier to the food. I was really pleased with this and loved the fact that Barney was getting to run flat out and not getting scared of being stopped. This was the cause of him crawling down the down plank. He still has many sessions of this to keep building the speed but I can see how it will work in the long run and I am so determined to achieve consistent dog walks with Barney!

Then we did some work on straight line speed over jumps working in front of me. Barney did this so well and even did 2 jumps at each end at an angle. All independently of me and at speed. Very Happy. Pebbles was not so good at this one still looking behind to find me between jumps and not going without me. Work to be done here me thinks.

Finally we finished by putting these sequences together with a couple of blast courses. Barney was amazing he sped off without me and did most of the course with me shouting commands remotely. The course finished with the dog walk with the barrier running onto the tub with food. He did this really well.

Pebbles did well too and was really good with the weave allowing me to cross behind and ran well down the jumps.

It was one of my favourite training sessions for a long time and I really, really loved it. More of the same please!

Barney is a Grade 6!

2008-11-22T09:30:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday saw us at the first indoor agility show of the year. It was held at Ingliston indoor horse arena which is a great venue.

First up was Pebbles in combined 5-7 agility. This was an elimination with Pebbles stumbling slightly coming over a jump and on getting up I think I pushed her the wrong way by moving towards her (mother's instinct to move towards them when they fall!) and so she back jumped. Still the rest of the round was good and she is starting to work away from me quite well and I am getting more confident about not having to be glues to her side all of the time.

Next up was Barney over the same course. Again we got eliminated! Not a great start to the day! This time Barney jumped the wrong jump in the box (one of his favourite moves!). Again the rest of the round was good although he could still do with going a bit faster.

Then it was the first of the jumping courses for Pebbles. Again she got eliminated (definitely a bad day!). I pulled her through two jumps and must have moved my shoulder a fraction too early and it pushed her back throught the same jumps and she jumped the jump the wrong way! Mmmm, my fault I think. Pebbles is just so responsive to any slight movement I make which is great sometimes but not so great others.

Barney was next up over the same jumping course (Barney loves jumping). He did a lovely clear round which meant he won Grade 5. This was his 3rd jumping win at Grade 5 which meant he qualified for Grade 6. Yippee! Only disappointment is that he did not win Grade 5 agility. This will have to change now though since he cannot progress to Grade 7 without winning 2 Grade 6 agility courses.

Over the final agility Pebbles did a lovely clear but was not fast enough to place. It has to be said though that all the good small dogs were out at this one so I was not surprised. Barney did his usual 5 faults on the dog walk. He still won Grade 5 though which was great. Back to the drawing board with this I think. He just does not get it. Must do more training!

On the final jumping course Pebbles went clear but again was not fast enough to place. Barney was eliminated by my handling again! He was supposed to go round the back of the the jump but I did not push him out enough and he jumped it the wrong way.

Overall I am happy with the way the show went. Things to work on are Barney's dog walk and Pebbles's speed. But really please with the progress Pebbles has made with working away from me.

Barney and Pebbles Go Swimming!

2008-11-09T14:42:00.000-08:00

This winter, in between agility seasons, I thought I would take Barney and Pebbles swimming for a bit of fitness. Given that neither of them like to go beyond paddling in water it should prove an interesting project!

There is a canine hydrotherapy pool not far from us in Glenrothes which I thought we would try. On arrival I was asked various questions about Barney and Pebbles and their general levels of fitness to allow the staff to guage how much swimming to give them on their first visit.

At this point both were a bit unsure of their surroundings and tried to hide when getting their life jackets on! They did look very cute in their little red jackets though!

We then went through to the swimming pool where it was decided to get Barney in the pool first given that he seemed more scared than Pebbles. He did so well and although he was very wary and not too keen he just got on with it and did so well. Here is a little video of Barney in action:

We then moved onto Pebbles as Barney watched from the side. I have to say Barney did look mighty pleased with himself at this point!!

Pebbles did really well as well. She didn't look particularly happy throughout but got on with it too. Here she is in action:

All in all I think it was a successful visit. The staff at the pool said it was virtually unheard of for a dog to actually enjoy their first swim and that Barney and Pebbles managed to swim for a lot longer than the majority of dogs. Oh what a proud Mum I was!

What I found really amazing was the fact that both dogs were unsure of what was happening and were not altogether thrilled about swimming but both just looked at me and trusted the fact that I was there and asking them to do this. What amazing faith and love they have.

We are going to go swimming again in 2 weeks, then 3 weeks and then every 4 weeks until next spring. I think it will be a great way to keep them fit and I hope they will start to enjoy it before long!

Mhairi's 11th Birthday Party

2008-11-09T06:20:00.000-08:00

On Friday 7th November Macolm and I went to Mhairi's birthday party. It is always good fun to share these events and to see all the family together. This year it was especially nice to see Edma and Charlotte there given they have both had their troubles with illness over the last while.

I can't believe that Mhairi, the birthday girl is 11 already - it seems only a short while ago that she was at our wedding as a baby!! Oh, how she has grown :-) Although not quite as tall as me - yet!!

We enjoyed some lovely food followed by the 'chocolate fountain' which was very exciting and very, very yummy!

It was eaten with various lovely options including strawberries (my favourite!), marshmallows, and fudge. Yummy!

Of course there was no way we were giong to have all that chocolate around and not have Edie all covered in it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mhairi - hope you enjoyed it xx

Dougal

2008-11-02T12:23:00.001-08:00

26.06.95 - 29.11.08

I am so very sad to be writing this post to my Mum and Dad about Dougal their lovely, sweet dog, that had to be put to sleep last week.

Dougal went to live with you at just 8 weeks old and you gave him a long and very happy life. He was one in a million and I know you will miss him so much but he will live forever in your hearts. Remember the good times and the fun you had. Remember the games of ball every night, the 4 legs in the air in the mornings, the games of chase around the sofa, the cuddles and, of course, the shared meals!

Dougal was the most amazing dog, so gentle, so loving, so loyal, so faithful and so loved by all who had the pleasure of meeting him. I hope you will find comfort in the fact that your lovely little dog touched so many people.

Dougal loved his walks with you Mum and enjoyed many, many miles of walking together over the years. He even came to enjoy his walks with his mad nephew and niece, Barney and Pebbles, right up to a few weeks before he passed away. He was so well behaved and I am sure was there to guide my two and show them the way. No more so when it came to the order that the treats were handed out, Dougal, then Barney then Pebbles!

Dougal lived a long, happy and healthy life right up to the end and was very lucky to have found his forever home with you both. You were the perfect match. And he was never happier than when he was with his Mum and Dad.

We will all miss you sweet Dougal. Sleep well lovely, gentle boy xxxxxxx

Pebbles

2008-10-26T09:01:00.000-07:00

Well, where to start with writing about Pebbles, our smallest and youngest sheltie! We got Pebbles just over a year after we got Barney since we thought it would be nice to have two dogs and for them to have each other. We thought long and hard about whether this would be too much for us to cope with but decided to go for it. And lets just say that we have never regretted our decision and we love the fact the two dogs have each other for company and to play with.

Pebbles came from Wales and arrived with us in September 2004. We thought Barney had been small when we first got him but Pebbles was absolutely tiny. But that did not stop her. From day one she was confident and fiesty with a huge charatcter.

I love these pictures below because it shows you how small Pebbles was when she first arrived - so cute!!

And this picture is one of my favourites showing the difference in size between Barney and Pebbles as they are both flat out on the sofa sleeping.

And so we then looked forward to the next few months of puppyhood where Pebbles would grow long legs as Barney had but alas that never happened and we now have got one very, very small, fluffy, cute sheltie that at 3 years old still looks like a puppy! In fact we still often get people asking how old our puppy is!!!

Pebbles favourite things in the world are grub, running, playing ball, chasing anything that moves and agility. She would run and chase her ball all day every day if given the chance and her favourite place is the beach where she gets to do both of these things for hours.

She is definitely a character and being small has never stopped her from being larger than life. Everything has to run to her timetable or you get stared at and barked at until you do what she is expecting. It is unbelievable how accurate her internal clock is in terms of telling us what time she should be getting walked, fed and her final supper at night. She constantly makes us laugh because she is so cheeky.

And as for agility what can I say but she is amazing. She started off a bit unsure of things but as soon as she got going there was no stopping her. In just over a year of competing she went from Grade 3 to the top Grade 7. She qualified for the Olympia semi-finals the first time she entered the qualifying event and finished 13th just outside the top 10 who went through to the final. She is one of the best, most consistent small dogs in Scotland. I love working with her because she is so enthusiastic and loves to train and compete. Here are some of my favourite action shots:

In summary Pebbles is an amazing dog and we could not have asked for anything better. She is fun, mad, so very cute and one in a million.

So that is my brief summary of Barney and Pebbles so far. I will try and post as many of their antics as I can in future!! And I will try harder to get more videos of them in action I promise!

Barney

2008-10-11T05:58:00.000-07:00

Given that our two dogs - Barney and Pebbles - are a pretty major part of our lives I thought it might be a good idea to write a post about each one to introduce them. Barney is our first ever dog and is a bi-black Shetland Sheepdog (Sheltie). This is a very rare colour for a Sheltie and we get a lot of comments at agility shows about how unusual he is.

We picked Barney up as an 8 week old puppy from the north of England and to say he won our hearts over as soon as we saw him would be an understatement. It was love at first sight and that has never changed in the 4 years he has been with us.

He was the runt of the litter and very small when we got him but he grew pretty quickly and it was not long before the puppy was gone and the long legs and long tail emerged as he grew. An how can forget those ears. They were folded down like a Sheltie's ears should be and then one day they sprung up and have been like fox ears ever since!

We still laugh now that at the time we thought he was the most gorgeous dog to look at and very handsome. But as we look back at the photos we now think he looked like an alien! Long legs, long tail and bat ears!!

He has, however, grown into a very handsome dog. We get a lot of people who stop to say what a good looking dog he is. And as proud parents who are we to argue!

Since he was small he has always been the most loving dog, constantly wanting to be by your side. He is quite a worrier and likes to make sure you are always nearby. But he has always been very bright and active. He loves his walks and loves agility and just loves being with you.

In the winter months Barney enjoys his walks and agility training and the odd indoor agility show. In the summer months from April to September he loves to spend his weekends away in the caravan at agility shows. Barney is pretty successful at agility and has not failed to come home without winning many rosettes at each show. This will get harder now as he moves up the grades. He is now a grade 5, out of 7.

It was not long until we got the bug for Sheltie's and after a year of just Barney along came his little sister Pebbles and life was never to be the same again! I will post a blog about her later!!

North Berwick Oct 08

2008-10-11T05:39:00.000-07:00

Well last weekend was the last weekend away in the caravan this year - boo hiss! We absolutely love going away in the caravan with the dogs and it will now go into storage over the winter for about 6 months. Nightmare!

Still we spent our last weekend away at our favourite camp site at Dirleton, just by North Berwick. It is a great site because it is a 5 minute walk to the most amazing beach that the dogs love. The great bit is that the beach is open to dogs all year round, which is why this trip was our third to this site this year!

The dogs absolutely love going to the beach - I am sure Pebbles has a grin on her face the whole time. And even better she gets to play with the ball which is her favourite pastime of all time. She would chase the ball all day if she got the chance.

The weather was mixed with it being wet and windy on the Saturday but the Sunday and Monday were lovely. Cold but with blue sky and sunshine.

We were also trying out our new porch awning. We thought we would take it to try and put it up when there was time restrictions like at an agility show and when we could take our time to work out how to do it! It was actually really easy to put up although I did make a mistake on the first step which only came to light at the end so we had to dismantle it and start again - yes, Malcolm was not best pleased!! However, we got there in the end and we were really pleased with the result. It looks great and is much bigger than our last one.

The site was really quiet at this time of year too so we did not have anyone to either side of us and managed to get the windbreaks up to form a little garden for the dogs. This always makes a huge difference when letting them out first and last thing.

It is now back home to the worst months of the year with dark mornings struggling to get up and dark evenings trying to walk the dogs before you cannot see anything. Never mond we have enjoyed a great season in the caravan and enjoyed a great agility season. Here's to another successful year next year.

Walk on the Beach

2008-09-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

Well this blogging lark is new to me and this is my first post ever!

Today we (Malcolm and I) went to the beach to walk our two dogs, Barney and Pebbles (more about them later!), with my brother, Graham, and his daughters (my nieces), Mhairi and Edie. They also have a dog, 5 month old Mac.

It was a great day which started with a snack lunch before heading to Tentsmuir Forest walk near Leuchars in Fife. The weather was fantastic with the sun out. It was a great walk which started be going through the forest and finished with a walk along the beach. The beach is the favourite place for my two dogs, they just love the space and especially chasing the ball on the sand. We managed an hour and a half before heading home via the local home made ice cream shop of course. Hopefully the dogs will sleep well tonight :-)