Life Is Good

and do you know what, life is pretty good.  Ok, so I have no money but the rest of my life is pretty much just how I like it.  The dogs are all doing great.  I have put Kai and JC on Yumove and it is working wonders for them, both dogs had been showing a little stiffness in their back legs from time to time but that is all sorted now. 

The first few show schedules have come out and the excitement has started - although my iss account is looking decidedly in the red but then so is everyone else's LOL. We have the lovely friendly Carn Brea to start with which will be a 'lets see if Wren can remember what a contact is at a show' and see whether the handling is better.  If it is, then roll on the rest of the season, if not then I will now what else we need to work on.  

Last year I was training virtually every weekend but this year I have done things very differently.  I train at a weekend maybe twice a month, either a private lesson or a workshop.  Otherwise I train once a week on a Tuesday on full courses to get used to running them and working out the handling.  This has meant that I can spend a lot more time with Gary and I have really enjoyed it.  We have discovered lots of walks that we have never tried before and the dogs have loved it although secretly I am sure he cannot wait for my season to start so he gets the remote back! 

I set up a raw feeding group on facebook a couple of weeks ago and I am amazed by the response, I wanted somewhere for people to ask questions, have a yap but for it not to be holier than thou but just swopping ideas and respecting each other.  Really seems to have worked and we are helping lots of new people to raw feeding who haven't had the guts to take the plunge before.  It is a well known fact though that my dogs eat better than me though but I won't drone on about feeding as I am a bit of geek when it comes to feeding my dogs. 

Its my birthday next weekend, first time it has been at a weekend for years.  Gary has been wonderful and bought me two tickets to Crufts as well as best in show tickets - just awesome and I cannot wait to spend the whole day up there with my partner in crime, Lolly.  Its gonna be a blast.  On that note bye for now.

and so the training begins

So after 6 weeks break from agility it was back to training this week and what fun was had.  About a week ago I had done a small training session with Wren just working on some gridwork etc on small and then up to medium height to ease her back in.  


Today I travelled up to Bristol and the sun was shining, a lovely little venue and training with a lot of people I knew from agility.  For nearly all of us I think it was the first session back.  Working on positioning, cueing turns and driving forward but the main aim of the day was working on how the dog moved around the course and thinking about that when walking courses rather than what we are doing.  Very interesting and lots to think about. 


Without a doubt we have made more progress, my positioning is better and technique has improved but there is still plenty to work on to take us forward this season but the future is looking bright.  


And just a little thing, after losing a stone and a half last year I had managed to put back on about half of it over the winter so I am back to wanting to lose about a stone and three pounds to get me back to where I want to be.  This was the first week and I have lost three pounds so very happy with that. 


Tried the dogs with pigs trotters tonight, the boys loved them and kept them busy for over an hour so a definite hit.  Wren?  ummmmm not impressed at all so she ended up with a turkey back instead.  Ah well you live and learn. 

2012 Here We Come

So I decided it was time for a new start so hence a new blog, with a new positive attitude in the hope that maybe, just maybe, we could have a good year this year.  Me and hubby were talking and, to be honest, we could only think of one high point for us this year, and that was Wren winning into Grade 5 - that's really quite sad, even if agility is a huge part of my life.  Without a doubt 2011 was a struggle both financially, emotionally and mentally so here's to pushing forward for a better 2012. 

So onwards and upwards:

Christmas, well sort of passed us by.  Saw my dad and his wife on Christmas Eve and had a quiet Christmas Day.  Got my kindle that I have been banging on about for months.  I love reading and read most paperbacks in about a week. I read pretty much anything, although I do find comedy stuff hard going.  If anyone has any recommendations let me know.  Boxing Day was with the in laws where the drink was flowing (as always) and we had a laugh.  Sister-in-law got us really badly by giving us a fake lottery ticket where we had won £50,000!

The van decided it was going to be ill just before Christmas, so more expense that I couldn't really afford.  Two new track rod ends, one which was really bad but the van is back and driving nicely.  Unfortunately, it does mean that the dogs missed out on the lovely walks we had planned so had to stick to walks near home instead.  

Got vouchers for Christmas for Mountain Warehouse and the like so had a shopping trip yesterday and ended up with two new fleeces, new waterproof jacket for agility and some stuff for the camper ready for the new season. 

So onto agility plans for 2012:


My show diary is already planned.  This year I have picked only those shows that I enjoy immensely rather than just doing a show because its on, which in turn will mean more time that I can spend with my hubby - time will tell whether he will appreciate it or not :-)


Kai will no longer be doing agility courses and will just be sticking to jumping this year.  He is 9 in February and with this mind I don't want him to have the pressure of the A-Frame on his joints plus at the end of the day he does't really have any contacts to speak of anyway LOL


JC will continue to do anysize as he started at the end of last season.  He was having a ball and as long as he continues to do that with a grin on his face I am happy.  


As for Wren, we have workshops planned over the next couple of months to build on what we had achieved last season, so better contacts, better communication on the course and better handling from me.  If we can carry on with all of this then I am hoping we may start to see more consistency as we lost so many clears with just one pole which were normally on turns due to my lack of communication.  


So goals for this year, well more consistency which should lead onto more clears, going clear in a qualifier would be nice but we shall see, but most importantly just enjoying myself with my dogs and my friends.