Busy busy busy!

Well we sure have been busy bees! So much to update on! Okay lets start with the basics, we no longer do flyball. We will still camp every now and then just because my nan likes the company and there are always great hiking places :). But we will no longer be training or competing in it. The reason for this is because of them shouting at Indi, and the way they were treating me. I just have no enthusiasm to help in the ring, hold dogs etc because they are always shouting and they dont give me the time to train my dogs anyway. And when they do, they shout at them! So yeah, no more flyball.

But, thats a good thing because now we are focusing on agility and obedience (mainly agility). So we had another agility comp last weekend. Just Indi was entered in the pre-competition. Well, we learnt something, he has a phobia of tunnels! Everything else was spot on (other than he pooped in the ring on the first run *sigh*). He did dog walk and A-frame perfectly, weaves okay (popped out missing last 2 weaves in 2nd run), did see-saw with help perfectly (this shocked me, his first time on see-saw since being forced at horrid agility club we did with flyball) and jumps were great. But tunnels, no. First run judge offered to hold him at end, well he didnt like that. Then Nan offered in 2nd run, didnt like that either. In the 2 last jumping runs he was so freaked he wouldnt go near tunnels at all. We could only do the last few jumps as he just wouldnt think if those tunnels were in sight. He had done tunnels before this, just never curved. So yes, we have some work to do! But we ended on a high in all the runs, we had fun and we learnt something new. So it was a success!

We've recently started agility classes with our obedience trainer. At the moment im only taking Kez, but id like to take Ernie at some point too. Which leads me to my next point, today I entered Kez and Ernie in there first agility comp! Its a KC comp so they will have to be officially measured, and be in grade 1, so were very excited :). Hopefully, nothing goes wrong with the entries, but knowing me something probably will. We shall keep you updated :).

So thats it really. Yep, we've caught the agility bug! Now we just need to train, and work on tunnels with Indi. We do have a collapsable tunnel now, so we just need to do tonnes of training on that! Were not going out to win though, we just want to have fun! It'll be Kez's first competition ever (except for a flyball comp where she got freaked by the other dogs so didnt run very much).

So for now some photos of Indi & Ernie in the sun :). Yep, Springs here! And were loving it!

And Spring might just be on its way...

Well, we've been busy, busy and busier! We've been doing tonnes of training. I am now attempting to train Kez out of her herding habit completely and building tonnes of confidence at the same time. I must say, changing a lot of my training techniques has improved her so much already. I dont let her off now when I know she will just run off straight away and herd Ernie. And when I do let her off instead of letting her run I get a treat and get her heeling. The speed of the improvements has been AMAZING. Yes, she still herds, but not constantly like she used too. It was actually stressing Ernie out, hence why I decided it was time to take action. When she does herd I stop, call her and as soon as she comes back tonnes of treats, some heeling and lots of playing.

As a side product of all this heeling her confidence and trust in me is improving massively. Where heeling is forcing her to look at me constantly without looking around it is improving her focus and trust so much. She is now not looking around so much when doing tricks, if at all, and we are now getting some real agility training in down the woods without her constantly looking around. She's still very nervous of other dogs, but there is a clear huge improvement. Yesterday we had a little chihuahua thing with no recall following us. Kez was barking, growling with teeth showing. She was petrified. As soon as the dog was put on the lead she completely forgot about it. Which is quite interesting. She is a lot better at dogs from a distance too. Shes no longer barking at them or running away. I treat her lots everytime we pass one at a distance and shes so much more confident. Yeah, Im proud of my little girl :). Of course, we still have a huge way to go, even bigger if people keep on not controlling there dogs, but we'll keep going :).

On Sunday we had flyball training. I didn't do anything with Indi, and I think he enjoyed it a lot more without it. That makes me happy :). Instead we did a heck of a lot of agility training. We used a fence as a jump and did some go go go training. Lots of cap training too, oh and weave training. At the end someone set up a set of 12 weave poles. With dogs all around I sent Indi through off-lead and he did perfect! There were all these BC's speeding through and then Indi, showing them all that Spaniels are just as great! Hehe, good boy Indi :).

We did some flyball training with Kez. She enjoyed it lots, and as long as she keeps enjoying it I shall keep doing it with her and maybe enter some starters comps this year. She sure is fast, and loves it!

Oh and one last thing, I might be starting volunteering in a rescue! Something I've always wanted to do, but never really had a rescue close. Then I realised there was one 15 mins drive away, and applied. Hopefully nothing will go wrong, Im so excited for it!

For now, some photos of Sherman at 5 months and some absolutely stunning photos of Kez heeling. Yes, she is a heeling genius! :)

First ever agility competition!

Well, what can I say? Indi's found his sport.

I'll start from the negative and go onto the positive. He did have a few nervous issues. Someone who goes to our dog training went down to stroke him and he had a bark and was not happy about it. So, one thing we have to work on. Also, while on a walk we were joined by that same persons cocker spaniel, he went charging at it. Back on the lead for him. There the only negatives I think.

Now onto the positives :). We went with my trainer who took there 3 dogs, a Japanese Spitz and 2 collie crosses. The Japanese spitz was also competing so was practically always with him. He did really well with them :). He did have a few issues to begin with, but then we went on a walk along the beach and he ran with them completely not even realising they were there :). Good boy Indi! He did have a run and bark at the cocker spaniel, but once put on the lead he was perfect :). They also had a huge German Shepherd that walked with us, and he completely ignored him. I was very suprised at that, and very pleased as the GSD was a bit funny too and had to go on the lead in the end as well. But I learnt a lot, we went with our trainer again and she gave the woman with the GSD and me some good advice on how to handle our dogs. But overall, I am pleased.

Agility-wise, he did brilliant! Our first round was probably our worst (mainly my fault). It was agility, and I completely forgot the course and had to go back and read the numbers! Embarassing... but inevitable. We missed out the tunnels and the see-saw, I didnt want to stress him out as it was his first time. The 2nd obstacle in the first round was the A-frame. He went up, then came back down. Then went up again, and went all the way over! No problem :). My handling skills were pretty rubbish... and his jumping skills need work, but hey we have only ever had 1 agility class ;). His weaves were STUNNING! Our trainer was really impressed by his weaves, 1-footed plus got the entries, plus they were his first time on 12 poles! Amazing! If it was just his weaving, he looked like he'd been doing agility for years! His dog walk was really good. We'd been over one before in a show, and this time he went straight over it, no hesitation! I still held onto his collar, but he did so well :).

Our 2nd agility round was the best of the day :). He was fast, focused and I didnt forget the course :). His A-frame was great and we even did a little contact :). His dog walk was AMAZING! I lead him up, but let go on the top and he went on walking, and then I told him to wait on the contact while I got in position for the next jump! Then off he went! It was a perfect 2on2off contact! His weaves were stunning again! His jumping was great, I was pretty pleased with my boy :).

The 2 jumping rounds werent too bad, but we need lots of training on my handling and his jumping skills. He doesnt know the concept of 'go on' and kept coming back to me. But he still did well.

All in all, well done Indi! He was fast, focused and barking with enthusiasm! Well done Indi :).

So, I really hope we can do more agility. He just loved it so much. After seeing the contrast between flyball and agility, I think im going to give flyball a break. After they shouted last time, I think we need to do some confidence work. Its a shame I cant drive or I would be finding an agility class and joining straight away, plus entering every competition I could! I loved it, and so did he. Its a sport ive always wanted to do, and something Indi would benefit so much from. We learnt a lot from the day, and both had tonnes of fun. The area was beautiful with a lovely sandy beach, its a shame the weather was so miserable!

Overall, it was a great experience for him. He walked with completely new dogs and was with completely new people for the day. It was just such a new environment, and he did so well. Now just to teach the tunnel and see-saw and he would be one very good agility dog :). We'll just have to see what the future holds...

Sun, rain, sun, rain...

Okay, the weather has been very strange this week. We've had cloud, then on Wednesday and Thursday we had Spring weather! It was extremely warm and extremely sunny! Today, the cold returned with the cloud and tomorrow were set for a dog of rain. Joyous.

Me and Indi have our first agility competition on Sunday. I'm nervous and excited. Its going to be an extremely strange experience for him, in a car with completely new dogs and people going to a completely new place and then competing in a completely new competition. Its going to be an experience thats for sure. But were just going to enjoy it and see what happens.

I can't believe how fast 2011 is going! Its almost Spring already! Yeah, were quite sad we havent seen any snow this side of winter... but were looking forward to the days getting longer, the camping trips starting up and lots of hiking, swimming and playing :).

It's been a very good winter though. We've done tonnes of training on Indi's lead walking and it is now 70% there. Well, no, thats unfair. More like 85%. He just forgets every now and then and needs reminding that walking ahead is not what we do :). Hes still barking at other dogs, but we'll just have to see what hes like on Sunday.

So, were very busy at the moment :). So here are some photos taken on Wednesday down the beach :). Yep, my 6 year old cameras going strong! Also 1 of Kez doing heelwork. Not the best photo, but she still looks absolutely stunning in it. :)

February...

Well, what a busy time were having! Lots of training, playing and having fun. Winters nearing the end, which is sad as we didnt get any snow this side of the year, which we were all hoping for. Hey ho, guess 2010 can officially be known as the snow year now ;).

We didnt go to the 2nd flyball comp in the end, a few weekends back at flyball we had a rough experience. Indi started barking at the man holding him, no aggression just barking. Then all of a sudden 2 of the other trainers, women, came over shouting at him. Shouting? Thats clever, really going to boost his confidence. As of afterwards he was very nervous of going up to the box, and lost his speed entirely. Me, I was not a happy bunny. I was tempted to turn away from flyball and never look back. But, seeing as it is good for Indi, we shall still go. But, we are going to do it our way, and if we have another experience like that, its bubbye flyball. Some of the trainers are good there, but unfortunately, the ones that were good weren't there on this particular day. Poor Indi, he didnt deserve that.

On the up-side I took Kez back to flyball on that same day. She did AMAZING! Everyone said how happy she looked, how different she was ect. Then we tried flyball. She was fast, focused and confident. Maybe she'll be my next competition dog ;).

Obedience-wise, Kez is also doing stunning. She's turning into a real star! Even the trainer is amazed by her stunning heelwork. She's still gaining confidence, but is getting there. Ernie's obedience is doing well too, but it is a lot harder training a smaller dog. That said, his recalls, stays, presents, ect are perfect! His heelwork is better, still not as close and focused as I'd like, but still not as far away from my leg as he can physically get before it becomes not a heel.

So yeah, sports-wise, its going well! Indi did have a downturn dogs-wise a few weeks back where he slipped his halti (my fault) and charged, barking at a Lab. The Lab was none too impressed, nor was the owner at me running around trying to grab him. Yeah... that had me stumped. I was not a happy owner. But, since then, he has been a lot better. Were not gonna give up. Of course were not!

Next weekend though, we have an agility competition! Yes, an agility comp! First real one ever for me, and of course Indi. Were not going to do it competitively, just train it as hes never done it in a competition before and not fully trained on all the obstacles. Were going with my obedience trainer again, who will take her Japanese Spitz and possibly some other dogs too. That makes for a very interesting, and hopefully good, experience for Indi. It could go horrifically wrong, or go really well. Either way, were going to have as much fun as possible. I've always wanted to do an agility competition with Indi, and am over the moon I finally have the chance :).

So for now, just one photo of my crazy Indi playing in the sea. The sea was beautifully calm yesterday, so we took advantage and Indi had a good play :). Oh and it was taken by my phone, pretty impressed with how it came out!

January flyball competition!

We had a flyball comp yesterday. It was in such a beautiful location, I used to go there all the time when I competed with my nans BC but never really explored the area properly. Today me and the boys went for a walk and explored the beautiful river that runs alongside the hall that we were competing in. It was so beautiful, there were people canoing (which Ernie found fascinating) and geese roaming around. Indi had fun playing in the mud, no swimming though, I would have been a bit more leniant if not for the horror story I heard that last year a dog got stuck swimming in the river. But he had a bit of fun, and I doubt he would have swam on his own anyway ;).

Competing-wise wasnt as good. It was indoors in a completely new environment, plus we havent trained in so long, plus it was his first open competition. He was very confused as to what to do, and didnt race. It was a good experience though, we just need some training :). He was really good around the other dogs, even greeting some without barking. This shocked me, where he hasnt been around so many dogs in so long I thought we'd have lots of trouble, but he sure proved me wrong :). He was such a good boy!

So yeah, we had lots of fun. The place was really nice for a winters day out, and a great experience for us all :). So here are some pics... enjoy!

A day at the beach...

Well today after a week of rain, we got some sun! So we headed straight for the beach! The sea was beautifully calm, the wind was low and the temperature was well above freezing. It felt almost like Spring!

Kez did really well around the other dogs, it was EXTREMELY busy out as everyone was taking the opportunity to enjoy the sun :). She didnt freak out and run away once, and she did really well. Well done my crazy little Kez :).

Indi however, did absolutely brilliantly. We saw quite a few dogs, and he didnt bark once. When down the beach there was a little JRT playing literally next to where we were playing. Indi didnt run over once and completely ignored it. I was in shock! Then, when we left he did go running over, a little bit too fast, and knocked the poor little dog over! But he showed no aggression whatsoever and just sniffed the little dog and then came back. He did get a bit scared by the two boys the dog was with picking up the poor little dog, but he did so well. I was a very happy bunny :).

Next Sunday we have our first flyball competition of the year. The exciting part is, Indi will be competing in open rather than starters! It sure will be a challenge as hes never properly raced without barriers, but its going to be an experience, for both him and me. So we will just have to wait and see what happens. We havent done any proper training since before xmas, so that makes it even harder. But hey, its his first ever open competition (and mine with my own dog) so we are going to enjoy every second... even if it goes disastrously wrong :).

So, for now, some photos in the beautiful Winter sun :).

January sun

Today we got our first proper bit of sun in 2011! Yeah... its been a bit of a miserable 2011 so far. So today I grabbed the sun, grabbed the dogs, grabbed my old battered camera and had some fun. The photos came out pretty good considering :).

Not much else to say, Indi's still reacting to dogs quite badly on walks but were not gonna give up :). A few days ago while in a huge field that not many people go to, a huge Golden Retriever came flying over to us from a completely different field. I didnt see it coming until the last minute so there was no chance of grabbing Indi. To my relief, all he did was bark. There was no nipping or real aggression at all. Eventually I grabbed him and the dog gave up and went running back a mile in the direction it had come. But I was pleased there was no aggression, just barking. It would be good if the barking could go to... but we just have to keep trying.

So, for now we have some photos, all taken today :). I added some of Sherman too, hes 3 months now and growing up! Hes now going on off-lead walks, but unfortunately the weathers been to grim for photos!

Enjoy :).