Flyball & enjoying some winter sun

Well today the sun was out again, flyball was on so we spent the morning at flyball and then afterwards we went for a walk down the beach to try and get rid of some of the mud before we got home. We were out for about 5 hours, and we are now all completely worn out=). Ernie did absolutely fantastic at flyball, and did his first ever full run without me running alongside him. I was so proud of my little Ernie:). Whats more, he was having great fun as well and at the same time increasing his confidence even more!

Indi was not as good, but it was definantly an improvement from yesterday. He was let off with all the other dogs at the end again with a muzzle on and only barked at a few and was completely friendly with some. We still have so much work to do, but I think next time I might click and reward with something everytime he is friendly, speed up the process a bit. He is improving though, that much is obvious.

With both dogs I did some work with weaving for agility as there is a sort of fence that replicates weave poles really well. The only difference is the poles are a bit bigger and the gaps are larger. Indi got the idea amazingly quick, I was so impressed! He was very speedy as well, hopefully with a few more practices he will have a fantastic weave. Of course, competing is impossible at the moment, so any agility foundation work we do and any agility obstacle work we do is just for fun and for building confidence and trust. He absolutely loved doing the weaving, and we also do jump practice every now and then which he loves so maybe one day... but for now its all just fun and confidence building.

With Ernie agility is also just for fun, but sometimes if theres a little obstacle or agility course set out at a flyball comp/demo we of course have a go. We have done quite a bit of weave pole training before, minus weave poles and so he knows the basic principle. He has just never been very speedy. Today, he was fantastic! After a few goes he was actually going ahead without me guiding him. Agility for him is just for fun and for confidence building as well, but I would love to compete one day with him because he would be perfect. For now were just building his confidence with flyball and getting him more confident in working in unusual environments. He is fantastic at working with distractions, and is always very focused no matter whats going on around him but is just very unconfident at working on his own in new environments with distractions which he has to do in flyball and agility. However, he did do great when we competed in the summer, so he is getting better and better.

Overall, I am pleased with both my dogs progress. We still have a lot of work to do, but of course Im always up for a bit of extra training. So at the moment everything is about confidence building and trust building. So for now some pics from our fantastic day today :).

Winter fun

Well we've had a few weeks of no snow now, until we woke up this morning to a very thin layer of snow (more typical of what we usually get). I havent been able to take the dogs out very much as Ive just been so busy these past few weeks. It is starting to get darker later now so we are able to have more time in the evenings now and hopefully go for more walks after school =). We still go out as much as we can, and today I took both Indi and Ernie for a long walk. I took Ernie for 2 hours and then Indi for 4 hours. We had a lot of problems with Indi, he went mad at almost every dog we saw and his lead walking was really bad. Hopefully flyball will be on tomorrow so we can do some training there.

On a different note, Max will be 9 tomorrow. We are all so amazed as the vets told us his maximum life expectancy would be 7 or 8, and he sure has proved them wrong. I am making a new video for it, and will hopefully upload it later tonight or tomorrow. I also have another tricks video in the making. Ernie has some new tricks such as making the bed and going in a first aid box and getting the things inside it by name.

But for now here are some pics from our walks today. Indi is a nightmare, but I love him all the more for it as he is just teaching me so much... and who can resist that dopey, crazy smile of his =)

RIP Jasper & more snow:)

Today was a very strange day. Recently Jasper, our chinese water dragon, has been ill. He hadnt opened his eyes for days, he constantly had his mouth open and wasnt eating. We knew something was wrong, so every morning I've been checking on him. Today I went to check on him, picked him up and he was dead. It was horrible, and its really sad as he wasnt even a year old. We think he must have had some strange disease but we dont know. I think we'll stick with dogs, cats and cockatiels from now on as they dont contract strange diseases that we know nothing about. At least he had a good life, even if it was cut short.

On a brighter note, today I took all the dogs for a walk in the snow. Max loved being out again, even if it was only for a few minutes but its better than nothing. Theres no point him being alive if he cant go for walks. The snow is now just really ice and is melting really fast. We sure are going to miss it, but have enjoyed it a lot while its lasted. Things are going to be back to normal tomorrow, school back on, exams coming up and everything being very busy.

So for now here is a pic of Jasper, and some pics from our walks today.:) I didnt take any pics of Indi when I took him, and didnt take many of Ernie as I already have lots of them in the snow, so there mainly Lola & Max!

More snow!

Well the snow is still here, and showing no signs of going anywhere! It just keeps coming down, and everywhere is just white! It is fantastic, and we are enjoying it.

So here are some pics of Ernie in the snow as he has to be the one who loves it the most, Lola thinks its utterly boring and gets cold quick, its very dangerous for Max and his hips with the ice and thickness and Indi has his problem of snowballs in the fur!

Ernie doesnt have any of them problems and is loving it:)

A real snowfall!

Well, the weather has been very strange this first week of 2010. We've had days of no snow, we've had bits of rain, we've had sun, we've had it all. While the rest of the country was buried under about a foot of snow, we had basically nothing here. Then, last night it started snowing. Very light at first, until it just kept going and going. We got to the same amount we had that Saturday before xmas, and then it just kept getting thicker and thicker. At some points it was like a blizzard, it was completely mad! I can honestly say, we have never ever had this much snow in as long as we have lived here. I was in shock with just how thick it was, and still is! As I speak, it is still about a foot deep out there, maybe deeper and we are still getting bursts of heavy snow that is just making it even more thicker!

Well today, we woke up and the snow was still thick. So, the school was closed! It was the first time in, I think, my whole life where the snow has caused a WHOLE day off school. It's caused an afternoon off school, but not a whole day! So, as soon as the all-clear was given of the schools being defiantly closed I took the dogs out! I was shocked at how deep the snow was, Ernie was actually getting lost in it! It was fantastic, however I dont think I will be taking the dogs out in it for as long for the next few days. Ernie was very cold in it, if he stopped. As long as he kept moving he was fine. Indi had a slight problem with snowballs in his fur. He had so many that they were actually weighing him down. Poor Indi, having long fur can be so annoying!

But we definantly enjoyed it, and made the most of it. I am in shock at how much snow we've had this winter, two major snowfalls in 1 winter?? We normally get nothing, so this sure is a shock! The dogs have loved it, I have loved it, but I must say it is getting too much now.

But, for now here are some photo's from this fantastic weather =D

I sure do love my dogs!

Today the weather was absolutely stunning, we woke up to a very thin layer of snow, more usual to what we usually get. I am so suprised with how much snow we are getting at the moment, I mean we had more snow over the christmas holidays than we usually have in a whole winter and there is still more snow to come! Ernie is now wearing his coat almost every time we go on a walk, and he really is loving walking in the snow and ice a lot more! Indi is just loving it full stop! Now he has a muzzle, I am able to let him off-lead all the way round the field without worry of other dogs. It was great walking both Indi and Ernie in the snow together, and they both sure loved it as well:).

We had an absolutely fantastic walk, the sun was shining and setting and it really made me feel a lot happier after a not so great day at school. My dogs really do mean the world to me, and I just couldnt imagine my life without them. Ernie with his gobby, crazy attitude, Indi with his just plain craziness, Lola with her dopiness and Max with his sweetness! Before dogs became my hobby, dancing was how I would spend my time. I suppose, now I can do both with canine freestyle. I dont understand how people hate dogs, they are such amazing animals. They have unconditional love and are just the most forgiving animals on the planet. They are ALWAYS happy to see you, and are ALWAYS happy to join you for a walk and just LOVE to please you!

My dogs really are my very best friends, my most loyal company on walks and well-loved members of the family. I wouldnt have it any other way:). They can make me smile just by being there, and they will never let you down.

So for now, here are some pics from our walk today enjoying the limited amount of snow we had.:)

Bizarre weather to start the year off!

Well, as you saw yesterday we had gorgeous sunshine, and the weather was fantastic! Today, its the same here, but a few miles down the road where we go flyball training its white with snow! It was unbelievably bizarre, but fantastic that we got to enjoy somemore snow without actually having any here:).

So, yes flyball was finally back on so we got some training in. Ernie did well, but wasnt happy about grabbing the ball and wasnt very confident at all about being held by the box loader so we need to work on that. The person I was working with though said he was fantastically fast coming back to me, so at least we have the speed element :). Indi had quite a few problems, he was let off-lead with his muzzle on and had a go at quite a few dogs, but was also friendly with quite a few dogs so we have a lot of work to do. We also saw another Springer that had once been my Nan's, until she kept fighting with my nan's dogs. She was also barking at other dogs, but not in an aggressive way so it must be a springer thing:). She looked so happy, and even had a cute little hoodie on:).

All in all, it was fantastic to be back at flyball. Both dogs are completely worn out, and both were very happy to be back in the snow! Ernie now has a coat, which came in handy and he was so much happier in the snow than he was and enjoyed it a lot more so we will be definantly using that!

So for now, here are some pics from flyball. It's so bizarre looking at them and thinking they were taken today, and then looking out the window and seeing the contrast!

2010 is here!

So here is my first update for 2010! I sure am going to miss 2009, I have to say it is the best year of my life so far, and I'm not exaggerating!

Achievements of 2009:-

-Beat Ernie's recall around other dogs problem.
-Learnt tonnes of new tricks with all 4 dogs.

-Break through with Lola's training.

-Did tonnes of foundation agility work with Indi and Ernie.

-Ernie took part in some fun agility and obstacle courses at a dogs trust show.

-Ernie got his first ever rosettes in flyball!

-Ernie finally competed in his first ever flyball competition, and came 4th in the first comp and 3rd in the second!

-Ernie learnt tonnes of tricks that looked completely impossible (eg, skateboarding, limping on front feet and back feet, standing on my back, jumping into my arms).

-Beat Indi's recall problem.

-Indi turned a year, and Ernie turned 3!

-Climbed Snowdon!

-All the dogs got to play in the most snow they'd EVER been in!

As you can see Ernie had a lot more achievements. We actually gained more problems with Indi than we beat! But still, we had a super year! The snow was a huge highlight! The competitions were another huge highlight!

So what do I want to happen in 2010?

-Indi to at least become trustworthy off-lead around other dogs.

-Get Indi doing tree agility.

-Maybe get Indi swimming (big maybe).

-Beat Indi's pulling on the lead problem.

-Increase Ernie's confidence around new people.

-Increase Ernie's speed in flyball and agility (increasing motivation and confidence).

-Increase Indi's confidence in everything.

-Have fun =D

So yeah, we shall see what the New Year brings. :)

For now some photo's from our walks today:)

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