Out of little acorns..

Diva is one whole year old today - no longer a puppy, a proper big girl now. Not so you'd notice, she bounds around like life is one big adventure - actually I kind of hope she never grows out of that :-)

 

Having her 1st birthday means she's now eligible to train at a KC registered club such as Severnside DAC, so we joined the class which Sue James is currently taking on a Thursday evening. Now Diva doesn't know very much about agility yet, but what she does she quite likes - opportunities for reward are always good things in her book :-)

Now Ella had done a fair bit of agility training by the time she was 12 months old, because at that point I had a wee bit more time on my hands. The boys have pretty much absorbed any of that, so Diva's had little patchy bits here and there. She knows how to wait in position until released, about going through rigid and flat tunnels, that going up and down on the see-saw is fun because you get fed a lot (always a good things for Diva!), doing something with a target on the end of a contact (mostly paws unfortunately, oops!) earns treats, and she's done some jumps in a straight line. Actually maybe that's rather a lot when you look at it like that, but I can assure you we're only talking about 3-4 hours training time overall.

So I was wondering to myself if joining this class was a good idea on the way there tonight. The other people in the class have been training for longer and their dogs are doing much more. But whilst I don't have a dog that really knows the names of equipment or many agility based cues, I put my faith in the fact that I have her focus and attention. I figured at least she wouldn't abandon me, even if she didn't manage to do much of what Sue set us.

Well, my dogs never cease to amaze me. Her startline was as impressive as her collie sister, perhaps more so because of her babyhood. When I figured out what I needed to do to explain what I wanted (starting again is hard!) she was a willing and accurate partner. Don't get me wrong, we have a lot of work to do, but she's just such a fun little dog to play agility with! Her attitude is full on and she concentrates with the intensity of a far older dog. The only difference is you can see her tire more quickly and that reminds you of her youth. 

What she has taught me in her young life is that attitude and focus counts for a lot. Technical knowledge and skills are straightforward to teach when you're working from a strong foundation. A good relationship can move you towards any goal - agility, obedience, trials etc. Out of little acorns...

Today I'm grateful for Diva :-)

Hockey!

This is a short post before I head off to my first hockey match in I don't know how long! Yes that's right, I said 'hockey' not agility! Ella came into season just over 3 weeks ago, so I've had no agility partner to play with :(

However it's not all bad, hopefully we have a new adventure awaiting us - puppies! We've been planning to have a litter from Ella all along, but with me having children of my own the timing hasn't been quite right. Now she's 4 1/2 (where does the time go?!) though and we don't want her to be any older her first litter, so having carefully selected a stud dog we've gone for it! The boy in question is Harrjak Tigger (Tigs to his friends), a handsome black and white dog who carries the red gene. Watch this space! :)

The happy couple :)

Today I'm grateful for my husband for giving me time to myself this morning to get bits and pieces together.

Tonight's training - CANCELLED

After discussions with  Sue this morning about how her evening classes went last night, we’ve decided to cancel my classes this evening and start weekend training from 25th/26th September. Unfortunately we can’t do this weekend as I have a wedding to attend down in Devon.

Apologies for the short notice, but wanted to be sure of what the weather was doing before cancelling for definite – as it is I hope you’ll all be quite relieved! :)

Prestbury Park 4th September 2010

I can honestly say I didn't expect much from competing today. My poor little Callum started a temperature yesterday and didn't sleep very well at all. Despite Mike being a wonderful husband and getting up to care for him, it was still a restless night as his cries cut straight through his mother's sleep. When the morning came I wondered aloud what God's plan for me was - I'm feeling under such pressure in all areas of my life, and sleep deprivation doesn't help! Mike convinced me that he'd manage, and sort out a doctor's appointment etc. So feeling very dubious about it all, I set off for the show which is up near Cirencester.

My sat-nav has been playing up for a little while, but really earnt its self retirement today by taking me to the middle of the Gloucestershire countryside, but no-where near the venue. At this point I'm thinking that this might be a sign to head home! However my wonderful instructor Martin Tait is also very good with directions, and he re-directed me to the venue. So we arrive a little late, a little flustered, but there! Missed walking my first course which left me a little wayward in the middle of it, but Ella worked well and was really listening to the somewhat garbled and late directions she was receiving ;-)

Fortunately that was just a Helter Skelter, so I treated that as a warm up and soon headed to the G6 Agility ring to walk that course. Much more straight forward than most of the ones we've seen this season, and bar an obstacle discrimination of tunnel/A-frame, I was feeling pretty confident about getting round.

On my way to get her for the run, I got thinking about what God's plan for me might include. My sons immediately sprung to mind, and I started to think about what they might be learning from watching their mother compete like I do. I realised that I would want them to learn that putting themselves out there to compete is an exciting and worthwhile thing to do. I would like them to know that even if they don't get it right first time, every mistake they make is an opportunity for them to develop and get better. Most of all, I hope they would know that all I ever expect from them is their best, and that their best will always be just fine by me. That made me remember that my parents and those that love me, only want the same for me.

So I entered the ring in a good frame of mind. You'll see from the video clip that Ella has been allowed to get very barky as we enter a ring, something which I'm trying not to let bother me. I'm not mad keen on barking, I find it very distracting and annoying! I console myself with the fact that when she's asked for her startline position she immediately quits barking, and the work switch clicks into place.

Ella demonstrating her cool poise on the startline :)

As I look back at her I'm always blown away by her focus and self-control, and I thank the heavens for such an amazing agility partner. Not everyone gets an Ella in their lifetime, and I still question how she ever made it into mine. The answer to that is in the series of events after Kai's accident and she's another important thing I have to thank him for, he's another truly amazing dog. I don't know how anyone could put together a case for their dog of a lifetime - each that has come into my life could argue a strong case for being the special one! Diva is already shaping my life, pushing me to become a better trainer, to explore new methods to better help her learn, and just generally being a bit of a lovebug :)

Today had some really good bits, and some mistakes to allow for more improvement :) My favourite has to be winning the G6 Agility class, and having Sue there to celebrate with. Must convince her to enter some more agility shows next year! Anyway, I'll leave you with some video clips from the day. I'm off for a glass of champagne to celebrate... ;)

Today I'm grateful for Ella :)