All Work, No Play

We haven't done much over the last week, I've been busy at work unfortunately. My mum and dad came for a visit last weekend and we took all the dogs out for a nice walk on Sunday as it was lovely and warm. They all enjoyed having a good blast, I even let Chaos off his lead, he was good until it came to getting his lead on then he was suddenly 'deaf'. We managed to get him though. Obviously need to work on that still!

Yesterday Brian and Chaos went to hydro and we both really good, not much happening on the training front though other than wait training with Chaos which is actually going very well. He now has a lovely wait in front of a jump. I think maybe next month (when the weather warms up) he can begin some agility training.

Happy Birthday Heidi!

Finally... Some Training!

We finally managed to do some training yesterday. I had a few hours of leave left at work so finished at lunch time and spent the afternoon with the doggies. It was nice to be outside training with them and they all did very well. Brenda is coming along nicely with her jumping, doing a few short sequences. Heidi had a good few poles but I got her best runs on the video below. Kody worked exceptionally hard too but I think he pulled a muscle in his back as he was very uncomfortable last night and a bit guarding of his back when touched. He seems OK today but he will have a few weeks rest now to make sure it doesn't get any worse. 

Chaos' video is just his tricks, mostly the same as he did when he was younger but also a couple of waits in front of a jump and the wing wraps which have developed from him going around the cone.

Swimming & Walking

Brian and Chaos have been to hydro this morning. Brian is doing so much better now it's not so cold out, hardly any stiffness in his legs this week and it showed in his swimming. So glad he is looking better. Chas has been with us loads of times and had his first few swims back in October. He has then had a break but today was his second session back. He is a very good boy, still gets a bit silly about having to have a harness on and lies down on the floor but then he gets in no bother and just happily swims.

The plan today was to do some agility when I got back but typically it rained :( Instead I took Kody, Heidi and Brenda for a walk along the river for an hour. They had a good run and got rid of their crazy energy.

When I got back Chaos was all recovered after swimming and wanting to do something so I took him out on his own for a shorter walk along the river. Today was the first time it seemed like he really enjoyed a walk on his own. He is regularly walked with the others in our field or on his own outside but he generally just walks along when alone, today he was off sniffing and exploring which was great to see. We did lots of recalls when he was let off his lead -rewarded with yummy sausage and he walked lovely on a loose lead on the way there and back (first time, he normally pulls like a train!) and we even did a few short stays, all perfect and the first time he has done any away from home. So although we missed out on agility today we have still had a good day and achieved a lot of good training.

First Post This Year...More To Come

 

I cant believe it's February already and I haven't updated the blog in ages.  I do intend to try and keep it up to date from now on (at least once a week). Our dogs are all well, Brian has had some trouble with his hips in the cold weather but he is enjoying regular short walks and hydro so nothing to bad.

Really we haven't done a lot with our dogs over the last few months.  We have had other dogs staying here with us for training but they have gone now. We both said yesterday that it seems quiet with only 5 dogs as we have had pretty much had 6 here for the past few months.

Our agility Training has been very limited due to the rain and snow. I did manage a short session with Heidi last week, working on 'ins', it wasn't great though as she has had so long off training she was wild as you can imagine. As soon as we get some good weather though we will get back into it. Kody has been doing some obedience, he is very good at it too.

I have entered 1 show for this year so far, Dog Vegas at Easter but only for the day. It's far too early in the year to be camping yet and with so little training I doubt Heidi and Kody will be at their best by then. I have accepted a couple of Judging appointments for next year, Scunthorpe in April and Dog Vegas in May. Other than that though I have declined any others as I really cant make plans much further ahead than that at the moment.

I have played around with some bits of Agility Training with Brenda but she certainly wont be competing next year, if at all. I think ill just end up training her but nothing more. 

Chaos is growing so fast, he is really big now and a little bit of a monster (eaten 2 sky remotes in the space of a few weeks as well as several shoes) but he has a heart of gold and is such a lovely boy. I am so pleased with him and his character, he makes us laugh so much. His obedience has been going well but a bit slow, until recently he really hasn't been that interested in toys but he does have one toy that he likes and we have been out to the paddock a few times playing tuggy with it and he is quite focused so we just need to build on that. We haven't started agility training yet, I want a nice solid wait before we do any equipment.