AGILITY KELPIES

Guess Who's Back ?

2012-01-28T22:12:00.000+11:00

After a very long break from trialling, Atilla finally hit the ring again in October.
I entered him in one Masters Agility run at Sale and one at Warrnambool, just to see how he pulled up - and he has pulled up just fine, so hopefully next year will be a much better one injury wise. At 9 years of age, it will most likely be his last full year at Masters level which makes me sad to think about - where did the time go?
It only seems like yesterday that we lined up for our first ever trial run (Knox 2004 and he qualified in Novice Agility and won the ring)

Novice Agility October 2004 - Our very first trial.
Clear run and 1st Place - still remember how proud I was !

He was very happy to be out trialling again - so happy at Sale that he left the ring to jump on L. after I released him at the start line (naughty pants!) and then ran past a jump half way through to visit the judge (his favourite!) After that he decided that it was all business and finished the last half of the course like he had never been away from trialling at all. Luckily Warrnambool was back to being all business for him and he even managed to qualify ...... so we took away one pass for the year !
I no longer care about whether he qualifies or not to tell the truth - all I want is that he is still happy running - but I could do without the' visiting judges' part- as a Masters level dog he should show a bit of decorum, LOL.

Cruz had a couple of good runs at Warrnambool - we got an offcourse tunnel part way through one (which I was actually happy about as he was confidently and consistently running ahead of me which is something I have been working on with him for quite some time) and a refusal at the dogwalk on another (which had a straight tunnel sticking right out under it and is not something that is generally seen at Excellent level and is also something that I haven't trained with him, my bad !)

And since I'm indulging myself with nostalgia on this post, here is Cruz following his very first trial - December 2008.
Clear run and 1st Place in Novice Jumping, just to prove anything Atilla can do he can as well !

My goal is to get to run with them more than I did in 2011 - and as I can count their runs on the fingers of one hand, hopefully that shouldn't be too hard. Clear runs and ribbons and trophies are all very nice but are nowhere near as good as being able to run the course with your dog in good health and I know which I would prefer.
Atilla has been a wonderful agility partner for me over the last few years and I think he deserves a year where he can goof off a little if he wants and just have fun. Cruz is Cruz and we will take whatever his little brain decides to do at the time, LOL. Never a dull moment with Cruz.

Not much training at the moment as it's so damn hot - I hate Summer with a passion and am hanging out for the cooler weather to come. We are getting in a quick 5 mins or so in the evenings after it has cooled down and during the day (if I am home) we have been having fun with our new egg fitness ball. Cruz is an absolute star on it - I'm sure he thinks he is backing sheep.

Not sure when their first trial for the year will be - but for Atilla it will most likely be the Strategic Pairs trial in March where he will make his big 'comeback' with his best buddy Jack. Due to one or the other of them being injured (and of course they can't get it in sync. ) we only have one pass at Masters level so it would be nice to finish off that title before they both retire .......... and at least they always have fun trying !

Hiking at Mt Macedon

2011-09-11T00:06:00.000+10:00

I started this post a few months ago and never got around to finishing it, so rather than deleting and starting again, here is a now out of date post - bit like computer technology, buy it and it's already becoming obsolete.
End of Autumn, beginning of Winter is my favourite time of the year at Mt Macedon. As agility trialling has been very quiet for the kelpies, we have been doing some walks with them on Sundays, usually alternating between Mt Macedon, Kyneton and Anglesea. Hopefully it's getting them back in condition for eventually returning to agility. So here are some photos from our last Mt Macedon hike.

View from the trail

The hydrangeas are amazing this time of year - pity I can't spell them though

The gardens are magnificent, with lots of interesting stone pots and sculptures

And I'm always a sucker for holly

The Autumn leaves are pretty awesome too

We came back through Woodend and had another walk around the town, much to the dog's delight - as there were plenty of good interesting smells for kelpies on the oval obviously.

And they were even tired enough to sit and pose for the camera for a brief moment, so a good time must have been had by all. The Border Collie is still rearing to go though ! Although they are all happy enough to walk all day, the kelpies have at least had the good grace to discover 'couch potato-ism' when the mood suits, a concept that we are still having a lot of trouble selling to Ivy.

And now back to agility. Atilla is about to make comeback number 3 for the year, so lets's hope that third time's a charm. After recovering from the back problem and the sprained toe, he then collided with Cruz running around in the yard and came up limping again, this time with a pulled thigh muscle. So back to trick training and not much else.
We've been doing a little bit of agility at home over the past few weeks, and I took him to training last night for the first time in over a month. Ran 2 jumping rounds on lower height jumps than usual, but he ran 2 clears and was keen to do more although I wouldn't let him. I have him entered next weekend in one Masters agility and one Masters Gamblers run only, so we will see how he pulls up.

Cruz has had a couple of runs at the last 2 trials and seems to be fine. No passes, but a lovely agility run where the wrong end of a tunnel discrimination caught me unexpectedly when he decided to speed up and left me behind and a couple of Masters Jumping runs that weren't too bad either. He has been doing some nice work at training and I am happy with his progress considering he has also spent most of the year on the sidelines with Atilla.

I have come to accept that a couple of runs is really enough for Cruz at a trial - after this he tends to switch off and lose a bit of focus, so I am going to enter him sparingly so that he remains motivated. I don't have a problem with doing this, especially now that I am trying to get Ivy up and going. Running too many dogs does my head in, especially as all 3 of them are so different to run and I feel like I am switching from one handling persona to another.

I also feel as if I have lost a bit of spark with Atilla because we haven't been able to run together for most of the year - last night at training he did everything perfectly but there wasn't the connection that we normally have and I just felt like he was going through the motions in a point and shoot kind of way. I don't want to feel like this when we run so I think a new training project might be on the cards where we work on a new way of doing something. I am leaning toward trying to train a running dogwalk with him at the moment - I feel as if I have nothing to lose if he starts missing a few contacts and I would really like to speed his contacts up a bit more too. So we will see if we can teach an old dog a new trick.

So What's New?

2011-06-14T22:40:00.000+10:00

Not much on the agility front, that's for sure. Agility bites - or lack of agility does anyway. After missing the last part of the trialling season last year I have been looking forward to getting back out there but so far it's been almost a non-event.

First Cruz developed a limp which turned out to be a strained shoulder and took a long time to heal. So far this year he has had a run in Gamblers and one in Agility and that's it. The good thing is that he pulled up well after his last run, has been fast and enthusiastic at training and appears to be ready to give it another go - now I just have to transfer his speed and enthusiasm to trialling and we'll be right.

I will guard my Kong against marauding agility dogs!

Atilla decided not to be outdone and developed a limp around the same time as Cruz. This turned out to be a toe injury and also took some time to heal. He has also only had a run in gamblers - lovely Masters gamblers run with plenty of points in the opening, but a 'thread the needle' type entry to the gamble, needing to send between the gap between 2 jumps and we just couldn't get it, which was a pity as the rest of the gamble was very doable. Think time is going to run out for us in regard to finishing this title, as most clubs don't schedule it any more, and we've missed 2 opportunites now thanks to injury. Oh well, it's fun trying anyway, gamblers is definitely my favourite event.

I had Atilla entered a couple of weeks back as he appeared to be fine at training, but the day before the trial he collided with Cruz playing in the yard and of course came up limping again.
He appeared to be fine once again, came to training on Friday evening, had a couple of runs over a fairly straightforward course which gave him no problems - and on Saturday morning came up limping again.
And of course I have him entered in his 'comeback' trial this Saturday, which now may not eventuate.
At least it has given me plenty of time to get Ivy out there to develop our teamwork - totally different to running the kelpies - but I miss running my boys.

We finally got the swimming pool up to exercise the dogs - then discovered that the outdoor powerpoint had a switch missing and was generally very unsafe looking. It's getting replaced shortly but we've had to wait because a friend is doing it, and now the cold weather is well and truly here, I don't want their first pool experience to be in the depths of Winter - so the pool came down again and will be boxed up for a few more months.

Just to prove that it did go up ..... briefly anyway.

The drought appears to be well and truly on the way out here, great in regard to water levels but not so great for training or trialling, with trials being cancelled all over the place. Looks like shaping up to be a repeat of last year in that respect. For the first time ever, our training area didn't brown off over Summer, this is what it looked like in the middle of February.

Usually at this time of the year I am running on dead weeds and dirt. It looks even better at the moment, all nice and lush and green, but is really muddy underneath so not great for training. Hanging out for a couple of sunny days to dry it off before the next downfall.

Training for the kelpies has been different over the past few months, both from their injuries and because they appear to be really enjoying a different approach to it. I signed up for both Susan Garrett's Recallers online plus Silvia Trkman's Puppy training online which turned out to be a great idea when they were both injured as I had more time to devote to things like games and shaping.

I'll teach you a game Cruz - it's called 101 things to do with Mum's knickers.
Who says Susan Garrett is the only one who knows good games ?
Look how easy they rip when we get a bit of opposition reflex going - fun !

Atilla was a big surprise packet here. He hasn't been exposed to the amount of shaping that Ivy and Cruz have been and has such a 'serious' personality that he doesn't usually get into playing games either so I didn't expect that much success from him, but was I wrong or what ! Almost overnight he seems to have turned into a dog that wouldn't offer much in the way of behaviours to one that embraces shaping wholeheartedly. I was using Ivy as the demo dog for my Foundation and Intermediate classes that I teach but have now started taking Atilla and using him and he is loving it. He pulls toward the building as soon as he gets out of the car and totally cracks it if I take one of the others out instead. I have also discovered that he has a lot more value for me than I actually thought he did, so hopefully I can channel all this into his agility training as well.

Cruz has also been a surprise packet but not for the same reasons. Because I trained him with a lot more shaping and what I would consider more 'up to date' methods I just thought that he would be a lot better than what I have found. His shaping work is pretty good, but he doesn't appear to 'get' playing games and also appears to have very little value for being next to me - something that I intend to rectify. And this is the snugglepot that tries to sit on my knee every evening and cuddles up next to me in bed at night. No wonder our agilty results are so inconsistent when we don't even have the basics right. So hopefully the new improved Cruz is coming this way soon ....... LOL.

Who says I need improving ?
I'm speshul just the way I am.

Beau - Pet Detective

2011-01-07T23:40:00.000+11:00

Our neighbour has put 50 sheep on our property as we have way more grass in our top paddocks. Atilla thinks all his Christmases have come at once and spends most of the day watching them and moving them off the fence line if they dare to come too close to the house paddock.

Currently there are a number of lambs in the flock - including 3 tiny ones born just a few days ago.

How's that for cute, cute, cute ......... I swear I am going to rethink eating meat or at least may never eat lamb again cos I will keep seeing these babies in my head.

Look - even their wiggly little butts are cute

And who could resist this face ?

We lock the sheep into a smaller paddock at night to keep them together and maximise their chances against any roaming foxes. Then we let them out during the day to do what they do best - eat !

Last night when we brought them in, one of the tiny lambs was missing - L's favourite and the one he regards as his special charge.

A bit of a background story on this one first :

On the morning that this little one arrived, L was letting them out of the night paddock when he noticed it on the ground, not moving, and the mother taking off with the other sheep at a rush to get out the gate. He picked it up and found it was alive but very weak - I'm a sucker and would happily have taken it and bottle fed it, but L. decided that the mother was going to attend to her duties so started yelling up the paddock - get back here and feed your baby, NOW. Of course this worked a charm, not ! So then he starts chasing them, in his work clothes complete with fancy shoes, and yelling in his best impression of a school teacher (thankfully he is not!) 'I mean it, if you don't come back now then I will chase you all down and lock you all back in the paddock again and none of you will get out until you start looking after this baby you bad mother.' That's the way to do it, punish everyone until someone confesses.
And so that's just what he did.

At this point it begs for a video to be inserted of L in his work clothes running around the paddock rounding up the sheep - if dogs could cry laughing Atilla was doing it - but I was too busy laughing myself to think of videoing it, dammit. Anyway his plan for sheep domination worked, the sheep were locked back in the paddock, mother finally started feeding lamb, lamb was able to stand up and we both went 'awwwwwwww.'
(Not sure what L's clients thought about the sheep poo all over his shoes as he was too late to change them.)
Anyway, a happy ending, until this little fella went missing.

The life of a modern day sheep man is indeed lonely !

Did someone mention sheep man ?

Oooh .... it's sheep man !

We searched the paddocks with our neighbour for ages, but couldn't find any trace of him. At this point we were thinking maybe a rogue fox out in the daytime grabbing the opportunity of an easy snatch - although it seemed strange when Atilla had literally been at the fence watching them for most of the day and hadn't barked at all. We chalked it up to happening on one of the occasions when he went off duty to eat or hang about with me. Even though Cruz took over his shift at these times, Cruz is not a barker and isn't as hard wired and obsessive over the sheep as Atilla either.
Both the kelpies were crying for a bit of active service in the paddock to help look for the lamb (ACD and BC would happily have been in that too !) but there are too many hazards in the long grass at the moment, not just the fear of snakes but there is an old gully that runs down the middle of one paddock with a partly underground water course that goes into our dam. There are holes opening up everywhere after all the rain and I don't want to risk the dogs running into one of the holes and injuring themselves, especially as once there are sheep in the equation, all care and self preservation goes out the window.
It worries me enough having my horse roaming around up there as it is. Speaking of which ..........

Enter Beau - my old horse and fellow paddock dweller along with the sheep.

Once he saw me in the paddock he came over for a rub and the chance that there might be food involved.

On many occasions I swear this horse understands exactly what I say to him - or maybe that's my rationale for carrying on conversations with him and not feeling like a crazy woman. So I've explained the situation to him and promised him several carrots if he joins in the search and comes up with the goods. And he did on both counts!

About 20 minutes later when L. was helping me move some agility equipment (Sheep Man also doubles as Agility Ken ) we heard Beau making a fuss up the top paddock and looked up to see him pawing (hoofing?) the grass. Up popped a tiny white head - so sheep man headed up there post haste to rescue him.
And Beau was very pleased with his carrots as a reward. And now expects one every evening without fail as payment for his services.

Agility training has been a little slow lately, can you tell ?

After having 2 and a half months off thanks to my accident, the kelpies are in desperate need to get back to normal training again. All this lying around the house is making them soft.......

Still More Rain - and a Totally Crappy Trial as well

2010-11-13T12:04:00.000+11:00

Spring came for a few days and tricked us all into thinking that Winter was finally over. I even got excited enough to take a few photos around the place as it looks nice when everything's green .... but then by the time Summer finally comes and it all browns off I totally hate it and start to wish I lived somewhere else.
Luckily I only feel like that for one season a year as I so love it here the rest of the time.

Look - I even have a raised out of reach of dog pee vegie garden that's actually growing thanks to the rain.

It's nice to be able to play ball on grass instead of on bare dirt with clouds of dust flying up everywhere - the only challenge at the moment is avoiding the muddy bits.

Everywhere is green - apart from Cruz's self exercising track around the house paddock that is.
On the trialling front the year is nearly over and due to all the trials that were cancelled this Winter I hardly feel as if I have run at all. Went to Sale for one day, bloody long drive and I was almost too tired to run by the time I arrived. Getting up before 4am should be banned and if all the cancelled trials had taken place then there is no way I would have bothered, especially as I really don't like the ground there.

Cruz obviously agreed with me and his runs were less than spectacular. Atilla on the other hand was at his leg humping pumped up best for most of the day because L. came to watch, which I really should ban as it sends Atilla off his tree. (And shuts Cruz down, LOL) We managed a Q in Masters Agility and even came in 3rd which was nice, but it felt like a totally mechanical run to me as Atilla had one eye on L. and another on the judge, which just happened to be a judge that he knows and has a spectatcular crush on - having to stay with me and not being allowed to run up and jump on him must have really messed with his mind. There was no real connection between us and it felt like he just went through the motions because he is a well trained dog.

The next Masters Agility run was one of those lovely runs where everything comes together - until the 2nd last obstacle that is, when someone outside the ring standing near L. called out, Atilla thought it was L. so he left the ring and started to go to him. Sooooooo disappointed as it was a way better run than our first one, but that's agility. Some more distraction work coming up I feel ! Yep- my bad that he's not proofed enough to totally ignore what's going on around him, stickybeak kelpie.

Last weekend we went to another trial that I won't name and shame, which turned out to be not one of my better ideas. I usually enjoy this trial but after the weekend I don't think I will ever bother to enter there again. Total mess from start to end with catalogue errors, then an assembly steward taking it upon themselves to ditch catalogue order and move all their own club members up the line, despite the fact we were meant to be 5th dog in and had already warmed up and lined up. Why not put them further up the catalogue then to begin with and avoid the chaos that ensued? Disgustingly muddy ground meant I had one run with Atilla - who jumped out the weaves when I splashed him in the face as I ran beside him, sooky la-la kelpie- then I deemed it unsafe so pulled the pin and went home. Their dogwalk also fell apart as the first dog in came off it which didn't exactly instil me with confidence - luckily it was a pretty bombproof dog and wasn't hurt or frightened.

I don't usually crack it like that but it really annoys me when clubs put the dollar before safety - although it's been a disappointing season with so many trials cancelled, I fully applaud those clubs that pulled the pin.
What I don't get is the number of people that will still run their dogs in appalling conditions and continue to push hard the whole way round. A friend who runs one of the fastest dogs going at the moment also pulled the pin and went home after walking the Masters ring but we were definitely the exceptions and I'm sure there were lots of 'sook' comments floating around. Do people compromise their dog's safety for an agility run or are we just over cautious when it comes to our dogs ? Guess that's a whole other topic in itself.

The Big Wet 'n Wang

2010-08-17T11:16:00.016+10:00

Over the last few weeks we have had so much rain - everything in my life seems to be wet at the moment, the ground, the dogs, most of my washing that has taken up permanent residence on the clothesline and don't get me started on the mud.
If our driveway gets any wetter I might not be able to get my car out to go to work, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Not long back we were getting so excited at even a little shower of rain but now everyone is complaining about it and actually wishing it would stop. It is definitely the wettest Winter I can remember for a long time and we haven't even got to September yet which usually gives us more rainfall than the Winter months put together.

The local creek has almost become a river - much to Bosnich's delight. Our usual walking path is under water at the point where it crosses the creek-river.

Even our smallest dam has water in it and is close to being full and covering the jetty entirely. Don't be fooled by the sunlight, it actually stops raining and comes out for around 20 minutes or so just to suck you in but then it disappears, everything goes grey and the rain starts again.

Training is very minimal for the kelpies at the moment as our agility area is under water.

(We are getting very good at shaping tricks and exercising on the balance discs inside the loungeroom though and Atilla's toy drive is currently through the roof which makes me very happy)

Luckily our Friday night training ground is still OK but that's not the case for many other clubs across Melbourne and trials are being cancelled as a result.

Poor Cruz won't get out trialling again until October now. I decided to give them a bit of 'one on one' time at a trial and entered Atilla in the State Trial at the beginning of September and Cruz at Croydon the week after, but Croydon has now been cancelled and it is too late to put an entry in for Cruz at the State Trial as well. The only other trial scheduled for September now is the Melbourne Royal and I never enter there as I don't like the undersized area they use and the tight courses you get as a result.

Even though I decided on the one on one thing for a couple of trials, I have really enjoyed running both of them lately, apart from the inevitable clashes between classes of course, and finally getting to run them on the same course for the first time has also been a good learning experience and has given my training some new directions - that's if this rain ever goes away and I actually get to train them again. Not holding my breath at the moment.

These photos of Atilla were taken by Steve from Akuna Digital Photography at Bendigo a couple of weeks back. We were probably lucky to get to run as there was only a small area of their ground left that wasn't too muddy and slippery from all the rain. If they had scheduled their trial a week later we might just have missed out.

Last Sunday was my favourite trial for the year - Wangaratta. I have been hanging out for this one for ages as I missed it last year after I wrote my car off. It probably ties with Warrnambool for my favourite trial actually, but the weather at Warrnambool is often not the best temperature wise (very humid) so Wang is a bit more pleasant to run for both humans and dogs.

This time it was wet, wet, wet so they had to move the rings which were still wet, wet, wet and started to get slippery in places by the afternoon.

Cruz got 2 runs, Atilla got 4 and I was pleased with all 6 of them. Atilla qualified in Open Agility (which I haven't entered for well over a year) and finished in 2nd place. He also qualified in Masters Jumping and finished in 4th place, running almost 7 seconds under SCT. I know this doesn't sound all that impressive, but considering I have had 5 runs over the past 12 months that have been either one or two tenths of a second over time, I was very pleased with his results. His fastest run for the day was Masters Agility where he was so pumped that he decided he just couldn't possibly wait for a 5 second count on the table and left just a fraction early. This is an absolute first - I don't think he's ever left the table early before, but I was still so happy with his speed and enthusiasm that it actually didn't bother me at all and I loved the run. He also put in a good performance in Masters Jumping in the afternoon - the only afternoon run I actually entered - but ran by a jump after I slipped in the mud.

Some more photos from Bendigo, this time with Cruz. Very high second hit on the upside of the A Frame although he completed the downside perfectly with 2 hits on this one. (Luckily the judge is visible in the photo so I know which run it's from)

I thought the ring set up at Wang would be a bit stressy for Cruz - no space between 2 rings so when you set up on the start line you often had another dog literally only a couple of metres behind facing the opposite direction. They also had the same entrance and exit so you had to come into the ring past the dog that had just finished its run, which he also doesn't particularly like doing. He coped with all this way better than I expected though. In excellent agility he popped the last weave pole when I pulled away early for the next obstacle- more proofing required there. The rest of his run was lovely. I also entered him in Masters Jumping for the first time and was prepared to make up my own course and just give him a big speed circle around the outside if I needed to but his work was confident on this course and I couldn't have been happier. I haven't been doing any long lead outs with him at trials due to his stress issues but I think I may have to rethink that and start biting the bullet - I got a 4 obstacle lead out with no sign of stress from him and although I know he's still got more in the tank, his speed was good. He put in a lovely run and handled everything with little difficulty so on the home run (3 jumps) I sent him on ahead and started running. Normally he won't go all that far ahead of me but this time he actually opened up and moved ahead leaving me in the dust - or the mud anyway. As he got to the last jump he turned his head to check that I was still coming behind him and in doing so actually ran past it.

So we were very close to having a qualifying run on his first try, plus even though he DQ'd right at the end, the timer still read out his time, which was almost 3 seconds faster than Atilla and would have put him into 3rd place and pushed Atilla down to 5th. To say that I was delighted with him would be an understatement.

I have only been entering him in agility since he finished his JDX earlier in the year in an attempt to play 'catch up' - at that point he still needed one more pass for his Novice agility title.

He has had 5 agility runs since then - Q in Novice agility (2nd place) for his AD, Q in Excellent agility (2nd place) at Sunbury, Q in both Excellent agility runs (1st place in both) at Bendigo - and something actually resembling speed on the 2nd run and then his run at Wang. Minimalist trialling seems to be working with him.

He also had a run in Novice Gamblers last month (which was the only run I entered him in on the day due to doing this minimalist thing) and also ran clear, finishing in 2nd place.

So I think I need to stop labelling him as a 'stress head' and to start expecting more from him as his results lately certainly don't match how I have been describing him. I also had some very positive comments about him at Wang. which was nice. The best thing about the day though was how happy he was each time he came out of the ring.

Atilla has also had some good results lately - 1st place in Excellent Gamblers to finish his title, also 1st place in Excellent Strategic Pairs to finish that title too. A couple of good Masters Jumping runs at Bendigo, with one fault in one and being 2 tenths of a second over in the other - lots of twists and turns in his 'stiff leg' direction. He also got a pass in Masters Gamblers on his first try and finished in 3rd place.

The thing that has really surprised me though (and I don't really know why as it should have been a no brainer) is just how much of an advantage it actually is to run 2 dogs on the same course. Cruz got to run first the day we did Gamblers and as the only thing that changed in the opening set up was the addition of a seesaw, and as Cruz had enough points in the opening not just to qualify for his Novice run but also enough for Masters, it made it much easier to plan an opening for Atilla and to have a pretty good idea where I would be when the first whistle sounded.

On the Masters Jumping course there were a couple of parts where I was a fraction late with a cue for Atilla which caused a wider turn than I would have liked, so I made sure I fixed this when Cruz had his turn.

So I am looking forward to running them both together again and hopefully getting it right at least the second time - that's if it ever stops raining !

RIP Yasser : 5 January 1995 - 20 July 2010

2010-07-21T10:57:00.011+10:00

What can I say about this wonderful dog who was with us for so long and shaped my life in so many ways ? A total impulse buy not long after we got married , this funny looking farm dog with huge ears that he never quite grew into and of dubious parentage - supposedly a BC/ACD cross with a bit of kelpie somewhere in there for good measure. The last one left in his litter, we found out some time later that he was due to be 'disposed of' the day after we decided to take him, so maybe it was meant to be.

Although I grew up with kelpies as a child, I had never really been involved in training them in any way and don't ever remember having one as a young puppy. (I suspect Mum and Dad did some work with 'my dogs' first before they got put into my hands !) So into our unprepared lives came this goofy, tricolour pup who chewed everything he could get hold of - including every pair of knickers that ever got hung out on the line and my new bike seat, pulled on the lead like a maniac, barked like crazy every time he was left alone in the yard and totally shaped us to be his slaves in every way.

And for the first few years we knew no better and went happily along on one big 'Yasser-ride' in our inner city terrace home where he played happily with the other neighbourhood dogs on a tiny strip of grass near the railway station every morning, walked the city streets with me of an evening and learnt to swim in the Merri Creek on the weekends (eek!), progressing to the Yarra River once he got the hang of it.

When Yasser was 4 we discovered the Obedience Club quite by accident one Sunday when visiting a local nursery. L was impressed with all the 'good dogs' that were surprisingly obedient to their handlers and not a lead puller in sight. On the other hand, I was captivated by the dogs up the back corner doing agility and decided that I might even like to give it a try one day. (And so the seed of an addiction was planted.....)

L. and Yasser did pretty well at obedience, but there was never any joy in his work. At the time we put it down to him being 4 before he started, but looking back now I believe the training methods had a lot to do with it - my only regret with this dog is the number of 'corrections' he received in the name of dog training and if I could take every one back then I would.

Yasser had to be at Novice trialling standard before he was allowed to join the agility class. This took around 2 years (yes, there were a lot of bad habits to break first - courtesy of us!) and by then I was totally hooked watching the other dogs week after week and couldn't wait. Finally after our first agility class, another class member just happened to mention an agility only club where you didn't need to be at any particular standard to join and the rest is history. I couldn't believe that I had waited almost 2 years when I could have been doing agility all that time.

Yasser took to agility with a lot more gusto than obedience but having a foundation of 'working on the left only and not moving out of heel position' was a challenge at times. Although never a speed demon, he worked carefully and consistently and managed to do quite well at Novice level. Those who knew him used to joke at how revved up he would get outside the ring, barking and spinning around and giving every appearance of a totally driven dog. But the moment he got into the ring the 'driven' turned into something more akin to 'driving Miss Daisy' and he would amble around at my side, happpily taking any obstacle that I asked him to but never really moving out of half pace. This really did make him the perfect beginner's dog - fast enough to make time easily in Novice but not so fast that I couldn't get into position easily enough with my clumsy handling. Even though he was 7 before our first trial, he moved through Novice easily, with 2nd and 3rd placings along the way and had a couple of one fault runs in Open (the old Excellent class) before disaster struck and he injured his shoulder after getting a fly off on a seesaw.

Although his shoulder healed it was never really the same and he would sometimes develop a limp after jumping at 570mm height. Then we discovered ADAC agility (the Australian 'forerunner' to what is now NADAC) where he could run as a Veteran dog with a reduced jump height and so we retired from ANKC and made the change. This was a big hit with Yass, his speed and level of enthusiasm increased and he competed quite successfully in this venue until his retirement at 11 years of age. The only thing he never liked was a set of winged jumps (thankfully these disappeared after our first few trials) that were shaped and painted like elephants. He used to run up to them and circle them and bark and never once jumped the crossbar in the middle. The teddy bears and the soldiers were fine with him but obviously the elephants were just too damned freaky.

Despite his elephant aversion, Yasser amassed quite a collection of ribbons and medallions that I was always so proud of. Although they bring back lovely memories of our time in the agility ring together and the start of an ongoing journey, I would happily hand every one back if I could just step up to the startline with him one more time and see the look in his eyes as he couldn't wait to go.

Yasser enjoyed our move to the country where his new dog run was bigger than the entire backyard he had grown up in - even if he did have to share with some additions along the way.

He was a wonderful teacher for all the puppies that came to share his life - and there were 4 of them. Patient and gentle for most of the time, but also quick to put them in their place when their lack of manners warranted it. Both the kelpies especially loved him and right to the end would tell Bosnich exactly what they thought if they believed he had hurt the old man in any way.

Even when he was deaf, arthritic and his body was beginning to fail him, Yasser still loved to watch the kelpies training agility and would bark encouragement from the verandah. Although he got to spend less than a year with Ivy, once again he was a patient teacher and I loved seeing my young and old tricolours together - regretfully I never got a photo of them together.

So farewell my lovely boy and true friend. May you run free at the Rainbow Bridge, chasing tennis balls, sticks and frisbees, chewing bows off knickers and of course happily flying over those lower jumps. I'm sure Wolfie has found you by now and you are revisiting old times together.

Yasser was a beautiful dog and truly one of a kind. He was much loved, loved in return and is very much missed. Please give your dog a good rub behind the ears on his behalf.

Casterton Revisited

2010-06-13T21:45:00.016+10:00

Is it a trick of the light or can you really see the ghosts of Jack Gleeson and Kelpie by the banks of the Glenelg River ? Is that the sound of distant hoofbeats echoing in the wind as they make their hurried escape ?

Probably not, as I just made that up. True, the photo really was taken by the banks of the Glenelg River, but it's just Atilla and L with a bit of help from good old Photoshop.

But I'm sure that if the aforementioned ghosts ever did decide to pay a visit back to Casterton, it would have to be during the Kelpie Muster. After attending every year from 2003 I missed last year when I decided to go agility trialling over the long weekend instead, so this year it was time for a return trip, even if it does mean that it will be July before I get back to trialling thanks to all the trial cancellations this year and restricted trials over June that we're not eligible for. (Apparently putting kilts on kelpies for Scottish breeds trial just doesn't cut it.)

Anyway, back to Casterton we went for a weekend of kelpie fun with no agility equipment in sight.

There's a ton of information about the muster on the net, and I did a detailed write up on this blog in 2008 http://agilitykelpies.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-09-23T09%3A40%3A00%2B10%3A00&max-results=7 so this year it's going to be mainly photos I think.

Henty Street Casterton with the Albion Hotel in the distance. It wasn't this deserted for the most of the day, but this was during the High Jump competition so no prizes for guessing where every man and his dog were.Big kelpie banner shielded the Rotary ? Lions ? (not sure which) Club while they barbecued. Atilla earned himself a sausage for sitting up and looking pretty while I snapped away so he was pretty impressed with the whole thing.

Site of the legendary hill climb competition. The dogs run from just in front of the truck to the top of the hill. You can just make out the white gates part of the way up - a 5 second deduction of your time if your dog goes through them on the way up.

Apart from kelpies, the next most common sight is probably cows - these ones watch the hill climb from the paddock next door, until Cruz pulled the lead out of L's hands and moved them off the fence that is.L watches the hill climb while Cruz watches me - or more likely the cows behind me after his bit of unplanned active service.

The trains don't come to Casterton any more. We did the kelpie trail walk and finished up at the old railway yards, a pretty spot but a bit sad really. Looks as if some effort has gone into preserving the old station at least.

And finally a trip down memory lane. First of all L and Atilla as a young pup back in 2003.

And in the same spot, 2010. The drizabone is a bit worse for wear, the kelpie is older and wiser, or should that be more 'street smarts' and sneakier ??

Happy Birthday Cruz

2010-05-28T10:25:00.004+10:00

Lately I am obsessed with cupcakes. I'm not really interested in the cooking part and even the eating part I can 'take it or leave it' but I am mad for decorating them. There are whole blogs out there dedicated to the cupcake and some of the artistry leaves me with my jaw on the ground. If you haven't already, google 'cupcakes' and then allow yourself the next 2 or 3 hours to be totally gobsmacked by some of the work.

Unfortunately I don't have time to contemplate getting into cupcake decorating when I can't even find the time to train the dogs some evenings now that it's getting dark so early. But at least Cruz's birthday gave me an excuse to have a go. Pretty pathetic effort compared to some of the other stuff out there, but hey, you've got to start somewhere and it was a lot of fun playing around with designs.

Peanut butter and zucchini cupcakes (or should that be pupcakes?) with cream cheese frosting and a 'bones and flowers' theme. They disappeared even faster than the time it took to photograph them. (Photography hint for me - shooting them up so close shows up all the imperfections, don't do it again !) I am planning a very 'girlie' theme for Ivy's first birthday next month and can't wait to have another go. So move over Nigella and Jamie ....... not ! But at least the dogs are happy with the idea.

Under Construction

2010-05-23T22:59:00.008+10:00

I have been dreaming about extending my agility area for some time now and this part of the yard was first on the agenda. So one final look - and goodbye stunted apple tree that never gives fruit.

You can never have enough areas to train agility in - well that's my excuse anyway. This is going to become an area for contact equipment so I can get it out of my other area and have more space for setting up jumping drills - the current space I have is around 13 metres by 30 metres, plenty long enough but a bit short in the width department when it is cluttered up with A Frame and dogwalk.

We hired the digger and enlisted the help of a friend to operate it. The kelpies were a bit indignant at being locked up for the day but they barked encouragement from the dog run anyway.

OH pretending that he was actually useful even if he didn't operate the digger. Who needs a digger when you've got a big stick with a sharp digging thingy on the end.

Cruz is delighted with the progress so far as he thinks he has a dirt racetrack. Every time I look out the window he is self exercising by running from one end to the other repeatedly. Atilla likes the big pile of dirt and has already used it for secret activities involving bone hiding.

Next stage will be laying sleepers on the side we cut away plus putting in the fence posts. I am planning on 4 really high posts in the corners in the hope of one day having lights - but that's just on the wish list at the moment. (Along with the swimming pool for the dogs, another dog run, a hydrobath, an outdoor shower, a big vegetable garden, my own sheep, some geese, a wood fired pizza oven, an industrial sewing machine, a new bathroom and the sensitive man from the perfect cheese commercial.)

What's a Bit of Leg Humping between Friends ?

2010-05-10T12:31:00.006+10:00

Oh the shame of it all ! I have just discovered that I am identifiable to other agility participants who don't train with me and don't know me all that well as 'the one with the kelpie that humps her leg sometimes.'

And as this remark was made at this month's Nationals (or so I am told by the person who actually made it - just checking with me that he did indeed have the right person) then that may very well become my agility claim to fame nationwide.

To be fair, Atilla does indeed hump my leg on occasion. At 3 years of age, I had a kelpie that was crazy about food but not interested in tugging with me in the slightest so I worked long and hard to try and do something about this - we're talking 18 months of chicken-neck-in-sock-stinking-in-the-sun-at-trials-gradually-progressing-to-sock-alone-and-then-to-furry-tug-with- annoying-squeak- kind of working and it paid off. Now I have a kelpie who enjoys tugging with me for the most part, but his toy enthusiasm came with the side effect of leg humping when I decide the game has finished and he decides he wants to keep going.

As this only ever happens when I bring out the tug toy and I only bring it out at agility trials or training, then I guess leg humping has become an agility related behaviour. In fact I use it as a 'yardstick' for what kind of run we are going to have. If I have put the toy away and I am waiting in line and he is hanging off my leg then we usually have a pretty good run. If I put the toy away and he is waiting nicely beside me then we usually have an 'off the normal pace' kind of run , so you can see why I don't really have a problem with the leg humping bit. I also have the added advantage of being able to take the leg in question into the ring with me - bonus ! So take that agility rules that ban toys from the ring and stupid state that doesn't have 'not for competition' runs. Thankfullly I haven't had to drag him in still hanging off my leg, not yet anyway.

So in a nutshell, the leg humping doesn't really bother me - or at least it didn't until I found out it is rapidly becoming something that other people talk about. Why are they even noticing what my dog does when they should be too busy focusing on their own dogs you may ask? And if leg humping has become the pre-cursor to having a good run then what's so bad about it anyway - apart from the socially unacceptable aspect of course. And I do make a token effort to pry him off each time - even though inside I might be thinking 'leg humping = faster run coming up - yay!'

So I guess my choices are :

1. not accept the leg humping any more and take the risk of losing the tug drive with it. (yeah, OK, guess I'm being slightly paranoid on this one but as someone who worships at the temple of 'don't fix what aint broken' quite a bit, don't know if I want to take the chance)

2. try to camouflage the leg humping outside the ring by throwing a coat or blanket over him and pretending I'm just doing some kind of weird warm up dance.

3. stuff what everyone else thinks and let him continue doing it.

Hmm... lock in number 3 Eddie.

The Innocent Leg Humper in Question looking beyond reproach on a recent day out at Anglesea.

Where Did My Kelpie Go and Who Is This Faster Version?

2010-04-26T21:49:00.005+10:00

I don't know what's going on with Atilla, but ever since his runs at the Twilight Pairs trial, it's like a switch has flicked in his brain and he's back running like he did in the distant past before he had his accident. At home, at training and the best bit ..... at trials as well, and I'm loving it.

I'm experimenting with 'minimalist trialling' at the moment where I have only been entering a handful of runs in the morning and then taking him off for a long walk or a run in the afternoon to really try and build up our relationship- mostly just some one on one time without Cruz and Ivy in tow. So far I am enjoying this new arrangement and if Atilla's performance is anything to go by, then so is he.

At his last 3 trials with this strategy in place (2 runs, 2 runs, 3 runs - normally I would have close to that many on one day) he has finished his Open Jumping title (finally - for some strange reason this one eluded us, maybe has to do with not bothering to enter it all that much) with a nice 3rd place, 1st place in Excellent Gamblers, a 5th place in Masters Jumping - on a course with a whole ton of passes, and a 2nd place in Masters agility - again on a course with a number of passes. Generally we tend to finish just out of the places in Masters so I was delighted with this one.

Cruz has only had one run since Warrnambool - I am still undecided about what the best course of action is for him. He did manage to get the final pass needed for his Novice agility title which I never thought would happen after the lead up to going into the ring.

It was an incredibly windy day and Novice agility was scheduled for the ring closest to the road, which is quite a busy road. He was freaked from the traffic noise plus everything flapping around on the outside of the ring in the wind so I let the steward know where I was and then took him up the side of the ring where it was a bit calmer to try and focus him.

As the dog before me entered the ring, I started to walk over to the ring entrance and someone's tent blew down as we passed it and the flap hit him on the back. Poor thing was absolutely terrified. He literally lay down on the ground and wouldn't move. So here I am doing the Lynda Orton- Hill 'suck it up buttercup' thing and practically dragging him over to the ring entrance, just as I finally managed to get him to sit and focus on me, the handler of the dog before me decides that the first few obstacles are enough for her dog today and she will quit, so they are asking me to bring Cruz into the ring. Disaster !

I nearly turned tail and didn't bother - it was also a pretty tough course for Novice with a Masters level weave entry to boot - but decided to see what he did and if he totally shut down then we would leave the ring. To my surprise he moved off the start line when I released him, nailed the weave entry at obstacle number 3 and ran clear. Even though he was running nowhere near his normal speed, I was so proud of him. I know I complain about his lack of focus a lot, but this time I actually thought he was really brave considering how totally freaked he was before he went in. And he still gave me enough speed to finish in 2nd place, a couple of seconds behind a fast working collie and more than 8 seconds faster than the 3rd placed dog.

So his agility career will continue, even if we only enter one run per day for a bit, as he seems to be able to cope with this. We are now going to focus on Excellent Agility for a bit before he makes his Masters Jumping debut. If I thought he didn't like running agility then I would retire him, but when the conditions are 'just right' for him, he is loving it and turning in some terrific runs so we will soldier on for now and continue to work on handling his stressors at training and in some different environments.

If I stop obsessing over speed and just relax and let him run at his own pace then I am starting to enjoy running him too, even if he is 'my little challenge' at times.

We Heart Twilight Trials

2010-03-25T00:23:00.004+11:00

Did I mention that the heart in the title is a very big heart indeed?

Last weekend we had the State Trial for Strategic Pairs - a new event held as a triple twilight trial. I confess that I'm not the most enthusiastic participant in pairs. Generally I prefer to focus on my other runs and don't usually bother fitting it in. Plus I prefer Gamblers out of the 3 games on offer and if I decide to have a games run on top of my others then that's the one I normally choose.

I haven't run pairs since 2008 Nationals and haven't had a qualifying leg in just on 2 years - as you can see entering is pretty infrequent, plus my regular partner doesn't run Kennel Club trials any more, preferring the lower jump heights of NADAC instead. But when they scheduled a twilight trial soley devoted to pairs we decided to reunite and have some runs for a bit of fun.

Well we had tons of fun, plus someone must have stuck a rocket up the kelpie's butt when I wasn't looking. I don't remember him being this fast in a very long time so of course I was delighted. We Q'd on 2 out of 3 runs, won the ring on the 2nd run and had an even faster run on the 3rd, only to find the judge had DQ'd us for something he seems to have seen that we didn't - but we won't go there.

So now that we only need one more pass for SPDX we may be making a pairs comeback after all.

Plus it was really nice running in the evening, cool, not so crowded around the rings and lots of space up the back for the kelpies to have a run around off lead together between runs.

Here's Atilla with his partner Jack. This photo is around 4 years old now - it was actually taken the day before Atilla had his accident and broke his leg, a day I'll never forget - but it's the only photo I can find with them both together.

Did Warrnambool earlier in the month but my runs weren't all that memorable. The weather was disgusting - wet, hot and extremely humid. Plus the grass had just been mowed and not raked up and the rings were stinky to high heaven with wet grass aroma.

Cruz got the last pass he needed for JDX with a first place - he really wasn't all that into it given the conditions and although it was a nice clean run it wasn't at his usual pace. We were first in the ring and I remember thinking that the time we put down would certainly be beaten. The strange thing was that every dog in the ring seemed to be affected by the conditions and on a go slow, so at 11 seconds under SCT we were actually the fastest- on a course that would usually see close to 20 seconds under as the norm from some of the fastest dogs.

So my baby is now in Masters Jumping with his big brother - he is so not ready and won't be making an appearance for some time while we 'embrace our holes' in preparation.

Atilla didn't run anywhere near his usual pace - we ran a very technical Masters Jumping course that had threadles, wrap arounds, serps - you name it-we managed to go around clear but were .2 second over time. Every other run had just one little thing each time, although I was really disappointed with his speed on most runs. I think I have the only working dog that goes on strike if the temperature rises over 25 degrees - bring on Winter trialling. Or better yet, more twilight trials.

Did I mention how much kelpies heart twilight trials? Bring 'em on !

Five Things I Like About Summer

2010-01-22T21:15:00.013+11:00

1. We have two little Summer visitors who have taken up residence outside our front door. They are such beautiful creatures I can almost forgive having to clean their poo off the bell every five minutes or so.

2. Gotta love wearing crocs. Even though mine are a size too big as they don't seem to make them for little feet (and mine are that weird cross over size in no man's land between childrens and adults) they are still the most comfortable things in the world. My goal is to get a pair in every colour. Haven't worn these girlie ones in public yet but I'm building up to it. Maybe next step will be crocs with socks.

3. We inherited a couple of mature oak trees when we bought this place and they really look their best over Summer. A great spot to relax and read a book when it' s hot and the kelpies like their pool under there as well. Best place to be on an unbearably hot day.
4. Which brings me to not having to go to work for most of January and actually being able to spend time under the oak trees and even in the pool with the dogs if I feel like it.

5. The garden looks its best over Summer. Even though I like gardening I am pretty crap at it and don't really know what I am doing but over Summer I actually have flowers to look at, even if they are mainly agapanthus and succulents and plants from a 'gardening for dummies' list.

And now for a ton of things that I HATE about Summer.

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Firstly it's hot ! Yes I know that's the whole point of it but I hate the heat. And any time we get money put aside for air con. we seem to end up spending it on dog related things instead.

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I hate the fact that we're in bushfire season - especially after last year. Way too close for comfort. I hate that it makes me on edge and constantly looking outside for any signs of smoke and keeping the computer on the CFA website when I'm at work.

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I hate going back to work - okay a point each way on that one. But I still spend more Summer at work than at home.

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I hate having no agility training to go to. And no trials on the horizon for me until March, and even then only one before April.

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I hate the way the paddocks brown off so quickly once we get a couple of hot days. It looks so pretty around here for most of the year but it's not so nice around this time.

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Dust, dust, dust and more dust. No more words necessary really.

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I hate being too hot to work outside with the dogs most of the time and only being able to sneak in a few minutes in the early mornings or late evenings.

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I hate snakes and the thought of them coming out around this time and going anywhere near my dogs.

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I hate the way I always decide I'm going to retrain something when I have some time on my hands over Summer - my brain just seems to be wired this way and I can't help it. Retraining sucks and is to avoided if at all possible but for me it doesn't seem to be genetically possible.

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I hate the way even blogger seems to have gone mental and for some reason won't let me put spaces between what I write, which is why these stupid asterisk thingys are here.

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I could go on but I'm sure you get the point - I just hate Summer really and wish it would go far away.

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On another note, Cruz's running A Frame is coming along very nicely and I have been pleasantly surprised at how he seems to have taken to it. I have some video but for some reason I couldn't get it to load on here - maybe something to do with being out in the sticks and having very slow dial up - so you will have to make do with a photo instead - the blue crosses show approximately where he is hitting every time on the down side.

After I complained about him not 'getting it' last time and giving me three strides coming down he suddenly seemed to gain confidence which took care of the problem. He is now consistently giving me 2 hits both up and down and his speed has increased heaps.

I am going to try something different to fade the box and instead of taking off a piece at a time I am now working on doing 3 or 4 reps a training session where I take the box away totally for one of them and then put it back, so he never knows if the box will be there or not.
So far this has been successful - L. has watched a few times and doesn't believe he is even noticing the box any more but I'm not so sure.

Going back to training and running a different A Frame will be the next test.

Sheep Stalker

2009-12-28T00:35:00.012+11:00

My neighbour has sheep on his land and the kelpies are pretty excited about it - especially Atilla who thinks they were a Christmas present just for him.

We put some ugly bamboo screening on our south side fence a couple of months back, not because we like the look of it (eeek!) but to try and cut down the force of the wind that constantly rips down the hill so we can actually plant some more natural screening and give it a chance of surviving. The wind has destroyed everything we've planted up 'til now. Before the sheep appeared the fence looked like this :

Within a couple of days of the sheep appearing the fence now looks like this in several places :

Any explanation Atilla ? Well of course it wasn't him, he says. How could you accuse this face?

Maybe it's time to go back to some more sheepwork next year..............

We are having a sort of 'semi break' from training at the moment. I want to keep working on fitness with both the kelpies, especially Atilla. We did a 10 kilometre walk along the beach last weekend with a friend and her dogs and it was a lot of fun. I really want to do a lot more hiking this summer but it's so dependent on the weather - nothing is fun in extreme heat.

We're going to have 2 weeks off jumping totally and have gone back to running a plank on the ground to try and build more speed for the dogwalk. Plus I am doing a lot of 'single repetition' weave poles and really rewarding highly for speed. He enjoys both these 'games.'

This year Atilla has almost become a 'comfortable shoe' in regarding to working with him as a team. I think this is both good and bad - good in that I feel he responds easily to my handling and all the errors (and there are plenty) are totally mine. Bad in that I don't want to become complacent running him as I know that at just turned 7 he still has a few more years trialling in him (hopefully) and there are still things that I know I could improve on with him.

Posing with his club sashes awarded for Masters Agility and Masters Jumping - he's so serious !

Cruz on the other hand has not got anywhere the comfortable shoe stage yet. But I'm working on it and going back to some more foundation work (ie: circle running and a lot more playing) can't hurt. Groundwork for his running A Frame has gone pretty well - we have the box on the ground as part of a jump grid with a board under the box to simulate the A Frame contact.

Yesterday I tried the box on a lowered A Frame just to see where we were. He did a great job of hitting the box, but the problem is coming over the A Frame. I want him to be a 2 hits up and down dog, but at the moment he is hitting 2 on the way up, then doing this little shuffle as he comes over the top, which is creating 3 hits on the down side. I tried a stride regulator near the top but it's freaking him out for some reason. As my main goal for him at the moment is reinforcement and keeping him happy, I have decided just to let him run the lowered A Frame for a bit to see if it builds his confidence at all. At the moment I am leaving the box there as he is well and truly hitting it each time, but I'm not commanding him to do so. I think the little shuffle came about when I changed his training to 2 on 2 off a while back - for some reason he has never been as comfortable doing this as he is on the dogwalk and it has changed his striding coming down. Again I'm sure it's my fault but the A Frame is truly my nemesis when it comes to training equipment. So we'll see how it goes just letting him run for a couple of weeks and then I'll reassess the training. (That's the plan anyway)

Cruz looks pretty happy about it and wishes everyone a belated Merry Christmas. As does Atilla ...... And old man Yasser who is about to turn 15 next week. And not forgetting the mad Cattle Dog Bosnich. (Puppy Ivy can do it on her own blog !)

Great To Be Back Trialling - See You In 2010 !

2009-11-21T22:30:00.013+11:00

So our favourite trial of the year has now been and gone - and as Atilla is determined to chalk up those never ending battle scars, our trialling year has now also been and gone.
At least Warrambool trial is usually a good note to end the year on and this year was no exception.

No prizes for guessing what the highlight for both kelpies was ............... here's a clue : it involved a ball and a beach. Just look at the anticipation from both of them.

Atilla waiting patiently for the ball to be thrown - preferably in the direction of the water.

And then trapping the ball between his feet so that Cruz can't get to it at all.

Cruz knows there's a ball around here somewhere, but is not quite sure where it went.

We stayed in different accommodation this time as our 'usual' B & B was sold - this new place was a great find, reasonably priced, only 15 mins drive to the trial ground and the dogs were allowed inside which is always a winner.

Atilla had a good day on Saturday with 3 Q's and another clear round in Masters Jumping that was one tenth of a second over time. Although I was really happy with his work and especially his focus I was disappointed with his lack of speed. Every now and then we have a day like this, but usually I can tell before he goes into the ring that he's distracted for some reason or other and our speed will probably suffer as a result. Although it's disappointing, especially compared to the speed he gives me at home and at training, I have learned not to worry about it too much and certainly not to dwell on it. But this time he was so revved up before he went in that it didn't make sense. I asked a couple of people to look at him in case he was carrying an injury, but both seemed to think that he was jumping fine and moving well - he just looked slower than usual between obstacles for some reason.

We had 2 Open Jumping passes, one with a nice 3rd place, and a Masters Agility pass with a 5th place out of 8 behind some pretty speedy dogs. I was especially happy with the distance work he did on the Open courses but still mystified as to why he wasn't working at his usual pace - we're not super speedy by any means but we don't usually struggle for time in Masters, even when he gets into one of his 'go slow' runs.

On Sunday morning L. went to lift him out of the car as he had parked in a spot where there was some broken glass and when he picked him up he let out a yelp. We looked all over and couldn't find anything until we turned him over and discovered that his grass allergy was back - but under his front legs this time (do dogs have armpits cos this is where it was) and it was back with a vengeance. Poor thing - it must have been absolutely killing him to run as he was red raw, no wonder he was slower than usual. So he got scratched (no pun intended!) for Sunday much to his disgust as he was still wanting to go into the ring.

By the time we got home late Sunday evening it had spread down his legs and on Monday it had gone all over his face. Although he often suffers from patches of grass allergy around this time of year, we think that there was some plant in the yard at the B & B we stayed at that may have set it off - both kelpies were out there for a bit on Friday when we first arrived and of course they stuck their noses into everything. Poor thing was so swollen he looked like a red balloon with slits for eyes. So he has spent close to the last 3 weeks as an indoor dog due to the unseasonal heat we have had - he would have burnt to a frazzle outside. Although he's all healed now, he still has no hair around his eyes and he looks like a panda. The hair is starting to grow back a bit more around his mouth and on his legs and paws but he's still a bit of a hideous sight at the moment, poor thing. So no more trialling for him for the rest of the year - which is nearly over anyway I might add.

Cruz once again exceeded my expectations - poor dog, do I have no faith in him as I always seem to be saying he has exceeded my expectations - note to self : get some higher expectations for Cruz ! He's a good boy.

I only ran him in jumping as I thought the overcrowding at Warrnambool might be a bit stressy for him. He ended up being first dog in the ring for every run so I didn't get to warm him up and get him focussed on me to the extent that I would have liked. Surprisingly enough, it didn't seem to bother him as much as I thought it would. We ended up with 2 more Excellent Jumping passes - only one more leg and he's in Masters with his big brother. Again I was very happy with his runs, although he's still got some juice in the tank and is not opening up and running as fast as he can consistently. There were some sections on each course where he sped up and we managed a 3rd place and a 4th place - he had his 600 butt well and truly kicked by manic border collies each time - they put down some cracking times so I wasn't too disappointed. Suddenly agility here has become inundated with a ton of 400 BC's - and they are proving very hard to beat. And on they march towards Masters - eek !

As I didn't run Atilla on Sunday, I decided to pull Cruz out too and go to the beach.

I have also decided not to enter Warringal with Cruz - may as well make it the end of the season with both dogs. On the one hand I would like to try to finish the last leg of Cruz's AD title - especially as he is now so close to JDX - but I don't want to fall into the trap of thinking of agility in terms of titles and I'm quite happy to take the long way round. He will finish it when he finishes it.

So now for training talk - stop reading at this point if you're not another mad agility tragic as it will bore you silly. I have made the decision that I am no longer going to ask for a stopped contact on the dogwalk for Atilla. I honestly think he was happier (and faster) last year when we were running them - I only cracked it and went back to 2on 2off after he happened to blow 2 contacts on 2 good runs at Nationals. If I am honest with myself I think that if it had been a 'lesser' trial it wouldn't have bothered me all that much - I would most likely have just pulled him out of trialling for a bit and worked more on getting a more reliable running contact. I hunted out my old touchboard and he's hitting it every time, although his speed has been compromised from stopping - probably cos I'm a crap trainer and haven't been able to make the criteria clear enough for him although lord knows I've certainly tried. Now that he has finished his Masters titles and I'm not interested in qualifying for Top Dog run off with him - I am realistic enough to know we don't enter anywhere enough trials to get anywhere near the top ten point scorers- I am going to try a few different things with him. I don't intend to compromise my handling system or cut corners with his criteria, but there's still some room there for a bit of experimentation.

Cruz's 2 on 2 off on the dogwalk is lovely most of the time - I did a way better job with him. But our A Frame is a disaster. After competing with the variance there is in A Frame height here, he has totally lost his confidence. He was almost sliding into position for a bit until he scraped his pads so now he's creeping down to position and I don't seem to be able to speed him up. Last week at training I started early releasing him (yes I know, bad trainer) and I couldn't believe how happy he was not to be stopping - on the other hand I would have trouble getting him not to stop on the dogwalk as the position is really ingrained. So I have decided to go with it and will play around with going back to a running A Frame for him over the break. I videod his performance and he's currently averaging 1.9 seconds without a stop - but his up side is pretty fast and the down side is where all the time is taken. Plus he's a '3 hit dog' and I want him to be able to get down in 2 considering his long legs. I am going to give Rachel Sander's box method a go this time as it's a way of regulating stride on the ground that makes a lot more sense to me than stride regulators on the actual A Frame do at this point.

I made my box (yes, PVC really is a girl's best friend) and have had 3 sessions on the ground so far, trying to teach him to jump into the box with all 4 feet touching. We are up to 60% accuracy so still have a bit to go. When he makes an error, so far it's the same one each time, which is totally jumping over the box when he's revved up for a toy.

Pretty typical for kelpies - all or nothing !

The thought of all the training (or retraining, which is worse) this is going to take scares me a bit, but I really want to give it a go so I will keep our results posted. Plus I figure that whatever I learn along the way with Cruz will also benefit Ivy when I make the decision as to what behaviour I will teach her on the A Frame. I have come to the conclusion that I suck at A Frame training and don't seem to be able to train a really good one no matter what the method. So far, 4 dogs out of 4 all have , or have had, sucky A Frames.

Cruz is also going back to circle running over the break - when you have a 5 month old puppy that runs way better (and I mean way better!) circles than your 3 year old kelpie... something needs to be done.

On The Road Again

2009-10-24T14:36:00.005+11:00

The most noteworthy things from the last few weeks have been :

1. The amount of rain we've actually had - it's looking green here for a change and I have things that I'm sure must be flowers growing in my garden, competing with masses of capeweed of course. Our tank is full and even the smaller dam has some water in it ,which the frogs are very happy about if the level of noise they make at night is anything to go on.

Mmmm - I can smell the lavendar now that the nights are getting warmer. I know my Grand mother would have called it a weed, but I'm a sucker for purple flowers in any shape or form.

2. And the most exciting thing of course... drumroll please ........... tah daa....... after 13 weeks with no car, I finally have wheels again. It's a used Honda Odyssey (which L. has dubbed the catholic mother's car ) and I am in love with it. Now I just have to organise getting some barriers built into the back so the dogs can travel safely and I will really feel that I am back to something resembling normality in regard to cars anyway.

The kelpies like it too - they have christened the back with a trip up and down the driveway, christened the front wheels as only kelpies truly can and have enjoyed me christening the CD player as well - with the "Sunny Cowgirls - Kelpie' of course !

And the best thing about having a car again is that I can actually enter some agility trials.

So after 3 and a half months off trialling, I ran 2 in 2 weekends to try and make up for lost time, something that I rarely do. We went to Sale a couple of weeks back - not a trial that I normally run as it is so far away and I don't like the grounds there at all. You could tell I had trial withdrawl when I ignored my dislike of the set up in general and sent off my entry for that one, plus it was confirmed when I got up at 3:30 am in order to get there in time- generally any trial that would see me up before 5am wouldn't get a look in as a day trip. Atilla had 6 runs and I think they were the 6 hardest courses I have ever run before - often you get one or two that everyone whinges about - what was the judge smoking ???? - and then the rest of the day makes up for it, but not this time. We did manage a Masters Jumping pass that I worked my butt off for so was pleased with that. Plus we revisited the never ending list of a ton of things to work on again, especially after so long off.

The next week was Ballarat and I entered Cruz this time. Atilla got 2 Masters runs just so he didn't sit around doing nothing, no quallies but I was really happy with the way he ran - certainly a lot more speed than the weekend before. Cruz was an absolute little star which I wasn't expecting after so long off, with 3 passes off 4 runs. He put in a lovely Novice Agility run for 1st place, then qualified on both Excellent Jumping courses, with a 2nd place on one run that I was delighted with - there are some extremely fast 500 dogs coming up through Excellent at the moment and poor 'stretch' has to jump 600 after missing out by literally a 'whisker'. Me having a mental blank right near the end of his 2nd jumping run pushed him just out of the placings as I forgot where the course went (um, the tunnel right in front of you !!!!!) and had to stop and look- and Cruz being such a good boy stopped to look with me, unlike Atilla who would have just continued on to the tunnel and said' get out of my way, I know where I'm going ,' in which this case he would have been right.

The last Novice Agility run saw some shut down resurface at the start line where he got up and walked past the tyre. I took him up the back to the dogwalk, around the half way point in the course, did a bit of collar restraining to rev him up, then went on from that point and of course he finished the last half of the course like a rocket... but again I was very happy with that. I was also very happy with the speed that he completed the weaves on both courses as this was the first time I think I pretty much got 'home speed' in a trial setting.

So lots of positive things from Cruz overall and lots of things that I now want to work on with him before next year's trialling season. Loads of serpentines and threadles seem to be the flavour of the month in Masters at the moment, so when he gets up there I want to be ready for them.

This weekend is Warrnambool trial - one of my favourites. Not necessarily my favourite in terms of the way the rings are set up -almost on top of one another with tents and gazebos right on ropes due to very limited space. A nightmare for trying to get in and out of rings for your runs, plus usually there are dogs in crates right at ringside going off their nuts when other dogs are running. I think Cruz is going to find that a bit challenging. I have only entered him in jumping this time. The inevitable clashes from running 2 dogs does my head in sometimes so after only getting 2 runs at Ballarat, this is mainly Atilla's turn. But this is still my favourite trial in terms of the atmosphere and location. (Someone described it as 'party trial' once which was a pretty good description.) Plus lots of runs along the beach, walks around the town, great pubs, great fish and chips and even 4 of my favourite judges....... so Q's or not, who cares, bring it on!

Another Frustrating Break from Trialling

2009-09-05T22:15:00.003+10:00

So once again another trial season with a big amount of 'non trialling' in the middle. Poor Atilla - at 6 years old he has yet to run a full season - usually due to him being injured, but all my fault this time.

At the end of July I had a car accident coming home from work. Luckily I wasn't injured but my car was a write off and the 'quest' to find a new one has been frustrating to say the least. I have always had a high opinion of my credit union when it came to having to borrow money, but all of a sudden there appears to be a ton of red tape if you are self employed. Although I'm not, L. is - the fact that he's not the one paying the loan back doesn't seem to make any difference to them. So after many weeks of jumping through hoops finding documentation for them, not to mention trying to juggle one car when you live in the sticks with no public transport it all adds up to a load of stress ......... I am about to buy any single car that I can afford at the moment which is not much - what do I care what I drive providing I can fit dogs in the back, the Number 1 condition for a good car in my opinion.

And of course the worst thing about not having a car is not being able to trial. Neither of the kelpies has trialled since July. Cruz ran at Sunbury and gave me three outstanding runs - very little sign of any stress and the most speed he's given me trialling yet. We had an error on both Novice agility courses - both were extremely tough courses for Novice. It was wet and slippery for both our runs - first one he was going so fast on one section of the course that he actually face planted after trying to turn tightly from a jump, got up and ran past the next jump before I could even react. I was over the moon with his speed - especially when I heard that in the judge's briefing for Excellent agility he cautioned the competitors about how slippery it was for the 'very fast kelpie' in Novice - yes!!!!!! Fancy being delighted that your dog face planted..... what a dreadful mother I am.

On the second Novice agilty run, we had a similar episode - on the run home, he was going so fast that he didn't see the weaves until he was almost on them, collected to try and make the entry and slid around into the wrong side. I take total blame for that one - just assumed he would make the entry in the rain with me running full blast ahead and not slowing down........ bad mother and bad handler. (And bad trainer - note to self: more weave training in the rain!)

We only ran one Excellent Jumping round - an extremely difficult course that he actually handled very well for a green dog. We missed a tunnel discrimination (there were 4 of them all up and he nailed the other 3) that in retrospect was totally my fault again.

Atilla ran at Berwick and gave me some pretty good work, although we suffered from major tunnel suck again on several of the Master's courses. He still managed another Master's agility pass so was pretty happy with that. He also had a lovely Master's Jumping run on a course that I didn't put much effort into walking as it clashed with Master's Agility and I thought I had more chance with that one. So after only walking what was a difficult course twice, he went out and ran beautifully - until I forgot the course at about obstacle 19 and stood there like an idiot while he continued on taking jumps - not the correct ones unfortunately.

So.... how boring you say....... who cares about trial reminiscences unless it's with your own dogs? True, but I am having withdrawl from trialling so need to live vicariously through past runs !

And just to complicate matters and add a bit more stress ......... I have a new puppy. (You can read all about her in 'Ivy's Blog' - this one is for the kelpies, after having to share stuff with her all of a sudden they at least need a blog that's just for them)
Atilla doesn't seem to mind her at all - even when she jumps all over him. Cruz is a bit more wary and prefers a quick 'hello' but then to keep his distance.
Time management is interesting - now I have to divide my time between all three of them when it comes to training - maybe it's just as well we are having a break from trialling.

I'm trying to keep part of my agility area clear for circle running with puppy at the moment, so have been working with the kelpies on things that don't need much space in regard to equipment. Good excuse for all those jump grids that I've been putting off and have spent some time planning out today ........ although listening to the weather outside at the moment, it won't be tomorrow ! Keep planning detailed training sessions like this and I could break the drought.

Just Because I Think She's Cute !

2009-07-31T11:17:00.009+10:00

A friend found her 4 month old BC intently studying up on the finer points of GD's handling system and sent me the photos. Couldn't resist putting a couple of BC's amongst the kelpies.

"What's this? I distinctly heard a BC bark coming from that funny box. Better lie down here on guard. Then I'll corner it when it finally comes out the back of the box and teach it to come into my lounge room uninvited. "

" Hang on a minute...... this is actually good stuff. I knew it - you're not supposed to just run around flapping your arms all over the place while you expect me to read your mind and know which jump I'm supposed to take. Mum ! Mum.... are you getting this? You have to have your body facing in the right direction......... MUM ! Get in here ! You need to see this right now - before too long I'll be finished with my foundation training and then I'm going to have to know all this. Where is that woman for goodness sake? I'm never going to remember all this. MUM !!!!!!!!!!!! ""I'm going in for a closer look now. This bloke actually seems to know what he's talking about ! Hope he gives me a run next time he comes to Australia. Yoooo Hoooo Greg - can you hear me? It's me, your new Number 1 Fan. Aw dammit - this threadle thingy is complicated.... should I be taking notes ? ""And he also has really cool tug toys and lets his dog play with them at the end - think I'm in luurve........ That is one lucky dog right there. "
"Hah ! Friggin' suck of a pup. Don't you just love the ones who always have to sit at the front of the classroom so they can cosy up to the teacher - NOT ! And it's always those common black and white ones too in my opinion. "

"Anyway, check this out. What makes you think you're even going to get a go at this agility thing when she has ME to work with. Look at this, brains and athleticism as well as beauty ! Eat ya heart out puppy............... You can kiss my furry butt any time."

And apologies to my friend who actually has spent a lot of time studying the finer points of all the GD DVD's - and doesn't run wildly around flapping her arms on an agility couse. (Well, no more than I do anyway!)

Working Those Weaves

2009-07-23T22:01:00.011+10:00

Over the past few weeks I have been working to proof the kelpies' weaves a bit more - especially Atilla's. Although his weave pole performance is usually pretty reliable, he occasionally pops out at a trial when we happen to get a set that are particularly 'bendy' - he's not very tolerant at being hit in the face by them. When this happens, he tends to weave slower to try and avoid touching them and this appears to throw his footwork 'off.' Due to the lack of bend in his wrist, his weave footwork is quite bizarre since returning to agility - especially when compared to before - and he doesn't cope well with any disruption to his rhythm.

So the first thing I did was to set up a really bodgy set of weave poles. I used a mixture of jump bars (these were too big so they rattled around on the holders) and electrical conduit (very bendy and great face slapping material). Then I put them in the roughest area of the yard, away from the usual training area and moved them really close to the cyclone fencing of the dog run so that he was almost weaving into a barrier.

There's actually grass in this area now, but when I first set this up, he was pretty much weaving on dirt. I started off using really high value rewards, both toy and food, and jackpotted him several times for staying in when the poles hit him in the face. Then I worked on running alongside for the first half of the poles and then gradually slowing down as he approached the end. This one was interesting - I had proofed running along the poles and stopping at various points before he completed them beforehand and he managed this really well - but when I ran alongside and slowed down toward the end, he actually popped out the first couple of times. So although I proofed stopping, I had assumed that slowing down was the same and had never really proofed this before. So Cruz also got the benefit of this lesson.

Then I brought out the big guns of distraction - a few bones scattered around the poles as they weaved (although I questioned this wisdom after almost twisting my ankle on one!) building up to the two old dogs actually chewing on the bones beside the weave poles as they weaved.

The 'distraction crew' thought this was the best agility training they had ever been involved in.

And I'm also pleased to report that both the kelpies passed this one with flying colours.

I've also been taking some 'stick in the ground' poles down to the local oval every now and again and sending them through these in between our circle running and kong throwing.
Overall I am pretty happy with their weave pole work - although Cruz's entries, trained with 2X2's, would leave Atilla's for dead. I am so impressed with these, and can't wait to actually teach a dog 'from scratch' using this method.

I found this exercise scrawled in one of my notebooks - no idea where I got it from though - and have been working this over the past week.

I really enjoyed running this as there were a lot of different combinations - we mainly focused on working the 'figure 8' using the weaves and the jump but mixing it up by including the tunnel every now and then. Neither kelpie had any problems with making the right hand weave entry (pictured on the left) but the left hand entry was a real problem for Atilla if I didn't babysit it. Cruz was amazing - he actually straightened himself up by going past the first pole and turning himself around (which we trained in the 2X2 sessions) but Atilla kept continuing on the angle after slicing the centre jump, made the entry every time, but could not bend around enough to get the second pole when he hit the entry at speed. He has a very limited understanding of collecting and bending around the poles compared to Cruz - which is totally my fault (at least on his 'good side') as I never taught him to do it. He still does the 'see poles run fast' from the channel method.

There have been some interesting weave pole challenges in a few of the Masters courses lately. This one was actually set by two very different judges - the rest of their courses were totally different but the weave entry was exactly the same.
On both courses the challenge was coming from the lower jump with a tight left hand entry to the weaves - and an off course jump staring you in the face. Atilla missed the first time and took the off course jump. This was a fast and flowing course for the most part and he got too far ahead of me before the weaves so I wasn't there to handle it. On the second course he had no trouble with it - but this was a tighter course with a lot of turns and I managed to be slightly in front of him before the jump so it was much easier to direct him this time.

The other interesting challenge - which I couldn't believe how many had trouble with it - was on an Excellent Gamblers course that we qualified on.

The weaves were at the beginning of the gamble, but because of the way the line was set up, your dog actually had to weave away from you. (Imagine the distance line going straight up for the rest of the gamble - couldn't figure out how to draw it . This is also showing the first 2 obstacles only in the gamble - the last two were a single bar jump and the broad jump, slightly offset after the tunnel ) I found it really surprising that most of the dogs running were Masters dogs but very few completed the weaves.

Hopefully our proofing sessions - which we will continue with - will help both kelpies understand their job and stop me stressing every time I see a set of bendy poles. The thing that's impressed me the most with Atilla's weaves lately is his improved confidence. Last week at training he went through the weaves so fast that he actually hit a pole really hard and pulled it out of the holder. This would have freaked him a couple of months back but it didn't bother him in the slightest - plus he got the mother of all jackpots for staying in. Weave on !

A Quick Update in Photos

2009-06-21T22:07:00.011+10:00

So what's been happening over the past few weeks ? (Mainly non-agility related)

RIP Ryobi ................................

L. found him dead in the loose box a couple of weeks back when he went to feed the horse. We think he died in his sleep, possibly from old age. I googled how long goats live (11 years on average) and we have had him for 6. He was a 'rescue goat' and we think he may have been 5 or 6 when we got him, so that would add up. After being head butted many times I didn't think I would miss the cranky old thing, but I actually do. And the kelpies sure miss moving him off the fence whenever he dared to come too close.

The oak trees gradually started to change colour and a seemingly permanent flock of cockatoos moved in to attack the acorns. Cruz chased them off whenever they landed, but Atilla was fascinated by them. If they flocked on the ground in a group, he stayed in 'watching and silently stalking' mode, but if they separated at all it obviously offended his kelpie herding instinct so he scattered them and then backed off waiting for them to return and the fun to start all over again.

Now Winter has moved in, the remaining leaves are starting to scatter all over the agility area and the mornings are freezing ........

....... but on the clear days the sunsets are still pretty spectacular.

Bosnich turned 10 - that can't be possible can it ? Although I can't imagine my life without kelpies any more, it still only seems like yesterday when we brought this little bundle of fluff home - and not a kelpie on the horizon at that stage.

And finally back to the kelpies ...... Atilla managed that last pass we needed for his Jumping Dog Masters title. For once we didn't suffer from 'last pass syndrome', after gaining our 6th leg, he finished his title at the very next trial on his first run of the day, then followed it up with another Masters agility pass for good measure.And what about Cruz you ask? He has had 6 weeks off trialling as I decided that I wasn't going to put him out there again until he gave me some more consistent speed at training - after all if he can't do it at training then he isn't going to do it under trial conditions. The strange thing about making that decision was that he immediately started giving me a lot more speed off the ground at training - even when stressed by other dogs in the class barking in line. (That's a huge turn off for him)

So last weekend I entered him in 2 runs only in the morning and both his runs were beyond any expectations I may have had. First run was Excellent Jumping (his first time) and he put in a beautiful fast run - only my sloppy handling costing us a pass - I was actually unprepared for the speed that he came around a pinwheel and didn't get to positional cue for a front cross as a result. Crossing out of position actually put me behind for the next bit and I got a 'run by' on that jump as I didn't cue him to turn soon enough. But I was delighted with his run.

Then on to Novice agility where he put in another lovely run and qualified to win the ring - coming in 10 seconds faster than the second placed dog even though I held him on his contacts and on the table for a bit. So I am a proud kelpie mum once again at the moment - although I am not under any illusions that trial conditions no longer distract him. We will continue to work on this by trying to practice in unfamiliar environments as much as we can.

After L. mowed the lawn this morning (yes, I actually have grass again) I was looking forward to a good training session with both kelpies this afternoon, but ended up spending most of it driving around helping to look for my neighbour's dog, which they eventually found. As he doesn't bother containing the dog on his property, it runs onto the road (OK, it's a dead end, but still gets some traffic) and chases joggers, cyclists, etc. and this time must have continued to follow a couple of cyclists down the road. I would have little sympathy for him - he sees the dog as a farm dog and not a pet in any way - if it wasn't for his new wife who loves the dog and has constant arguments with him about not securing fences and gates. She would dearly love the dog to be allowed inside but he's not having any part of that ....... so we have ganged up together and are going to work on him - starting with the fences and gate.

The Great Handling System Debate

2009-05-16T23:49:00.003+10:00

This topic seems to be the flavour of the month on many agility related forums at the moment - to the point where some have almost adopted an 'us and them' mentality.

Personally I don't care which handling system, if any, anyone chooses to adopt. I quite like the fact that on any one course you will see many different handling choices, some successful and some not. But what really pushes my buttons is the amount of people mouthing off about why a particular system sucks when in reality they know next to nothing about it, apart from a pack of misconceptions spread about by followers of the 'other system'

Sometimes I almost wish for a return of the 'good old days' when I didn't have a system, wasn't aware that I needed a system and in fact didn't even know what a system was - Yasser got along just fine without one when he was running in agility.
But as dog training further develops ,the bar is raised (no pun intended) and now we're all looking for those things that can make us consistent, faster and more competitive and training a system would probably be pretty high on the list in regard to achieving those things. Plus we're bombarded with information about systems in agility magazines, seminars, forums and even in general discussions around the ring so it's pretty hard to avoid. And never has any topic since politics and religion caused so much dissension between so called mature human beings. Pretty funny really, when all people are arguing about is basically a bunch of cues used to get around a course - albeit combined in different ways and given different priorities depending on which system you follow.

So after initially training Atilla with a whole bunch of different things that I picked up mainly from overseas presenters - some of which worked brilliantly and some that didn't- I have now jumped on the system bandwagon (well about 2 years ago to be exact) and am trying to adopt a more consistent system of handling.
These were the things I considered before I decided :

1. Will this system fit with how my dog works and my physical ability?

Funnily enough, I began training the Derrett system with Atilla when he was starting out, but was persuaded not to continue by many who told me that I wasn't fast enough to be in front of him all the time. This is a huge misconception about the Derrett system - in fact you could run a course using all rear crosses and still be handling within the system. But as time goes by and you get more experience and can work a little more lateral distance, it also becomes easier to be in front of your dog. In fact the only difficulty I have now is recognizing when it is feasible that I will be in front and when I probably will not, and planning my handling strategy accordingly. I still screw this up on occasion.

2. Will the handling system fit within the typical course design of the organisation I am trailling in?

This is probably the consideration that turns a lot of people away from running the Derrett system in Australia - or in Victoria anyway. Quite a number of judges set courses that are very difficult to handle without breaking the rules of the system. In fact it's even been suggested by some cynical people that they do this on purpose. I have decided to bite the bullet when it comes to this and if I genuinely can't find a way to get around that I am happy with, then I withdraw or make up my own course. At first I was scratching maybe one run every month, but as my course analysis skills gradually improve (about time, say the kelpies) then I find I am having to do this a lot less - only one run so far this year.

3. Does the system fit with my training philosophy?

Personally, I hate the idea of 'punishing' my dogs for dropping a bar and missing contacts - to me that's a training issue so if it happens then it's my fault and I need to do more training. As one system promotes this and the other doesn't, that was an easy choice to make.

4. Does this system make sense to me?

One makes total sense, even if I don't always execute it properly. The other confuses me, so in all likelihood if I am confused then my dogs will be too.

5. What support is available to help me train this system?

This one was also hard - especially when very few people you train with are familiar with what you are doing. But I am gradually building up a 'network' - and the internet, DVD's and seminars are wonderful things. Sometimes it's hard to have the courage to try things when you're not sure if you're doing it right, but if no one ever tried things out, then I guess systems wouldn't have been developed to begin with.

6. Do I really want to invest the time and effort to retrain into a system?

This one was also a big factor - it took a big commitment to decide to retrain, especially when Atilla had already had a year out of trialling due to injury. But I feel as if I owe it to both him and Cruz to be more consistent with my handling and to put the foundation into training positional cues with them. And kelpies definitely do better with things in black and white rather than shades of grey and the consistency of the Derrett system was the final deal clincher for me.

So that's my system of choice and the reasons why I chose it. For me it makes a whole lot of sense and gives me guidelines to choose between the different options available for handling a course. This is one area that I especially want to improve on this year, as I believe that at least 75% of the time when I don't Q it's because I made a bad decision on how to handle a section of the course.

So I guess different systems suit different people and whatever you choose has to 'sit right' with you and I don't have a problem with that - but I'm seriously considering bringing along my i-pod for future course walking so I can tune out the comments relating to which handling system gets the job done better.

I Confess - It's a Shameless Brag !

2009-04-16T10:07:00.005+10:00

Although I never wanted this blog to represent a blow by blow description of every trial result - I can't resist posting this one. (And I will make more of an effort to get back to documenting my training after this, I promise!)

Last week at Moorabbin Atilla finally got the last pass we needed for ADM - he also managed a Masters Jumping pass and an Open Jumping pass just for good measure. On the weekend just gone we had our Club trial and he clocked up another Masters Jumping pass so we are now almost there in regard to that title too.

It might not seem all that special - many dogs gain Masters titles - but for a dog that suffered a major injury 3 years ago - to the point where it did not seem he would ever return to agility - then missed a year of trialling, then put up with my overprotective handling for the whole of the next year until I learned to relax again, and still runs with minimal flexion in one wrist joint (which inhibits his turns in one direction quite a lot) well, it is very special to me.... and something that I thought may never happen. So I am very proud of my 'heart dog' at the moment.

And of course Cruz did not want to be outdone. On his second ever Novice Jumping run at Moorabbin he won the ring in the morning - he also had a lovely run in the afternoon where I deliberately ran wrong course as I didn't want him out of Novice all that quick.
That run was probably our fastest one so far. Moorabbin is a nice ground with very few distractions for an ADHD kelpie. (Look at that! What was that?, Who is that and why is he in the ring? etc.)

He then gained his last pass for his Jumping Dog title at our club trial on the weekend - although he didn't give me anywhere near full speed as L. and Atilla were standing right outside the ring for a distraction, which they certainly were.
But a giraffe like kelpie can run with one eye on me, one eye on them, and still come in 4th place on a course with 11 passes - and of course now that I know how much of a distraction L. is - he is banned from all future trials !

So I couldn't resist having a little brag and posting their photo - what smug looking kelpies don't you think ? And after getting rump steak, they should be very pleased about their respective titles too.

And unfortunately, as much as I am allowing myself a brag - well I still have a long list of things to be worked on over the next few months with both of them - not to mention my handling as well.

Some Valuable Agility Lessons - From a Kelpie

2009-03-14T21:10:00.000+11:00

I couldn't wait to get back to trialling again after the Summer break.
So much so that I drove 3 and a half hours to Warrnambool for 2 half day trials - 3 runs on Saturday and 2 on Sunday.
As I had a devil of a time trying to get accommodation (Warrnambool was obviously where it was all happening over the long weekend!) I didn't enter Cruz. At one stage it looked as if I may have been sharing accommodation with a number of other people and dogs and I didn't think it was fair to rock up with more than one dog. Anyway, we ended up getting a tent site for Saturday evening only - 2 people and 2 kelpies only just fit into a 6 person tent by the way. Obviously to get 6 people in you have to sleep in 2 layers. Luckily my 'old boys' are happy sleeping in the car.

I'm not sure if it was the long drive or the warm afternoon, but on Saturday I just couldn't get connected with Atilla. Our first run in Open Jumping wasn't too bad but thanks to another 'blonde moment' I ended up doing an extra circle of a pinwheel before the run home. (3 extra obstacles and we still made time!) I haven't forgotten a course in quite a while so that should have served as a warning for what was to come - two of the worst Masters runs we have had in a long time. I can't even remember agility, and Atilla got so fed up with me in jumping that eventually he took off and made up his own course. (Very frustrated 'kelpie-like' and rightly so!)

Sunday was a lot better, the connection returned and we had two good runs in Masters (on two beautiful courses that were very kelpie friendly) with just one small error each time. Later on when talking to a friend, he commented on what a wasted weekend it must have been to travel all that way without a pass.
Well if that was what I measured a successful agility weekend on, I would be disappointed a lot of the time!

There were so many things that I learned over the weekend that I have decided to list them here in the hope that recounting them makes me truly learn these lessons and benefit from them.

Firstly, this was the trial weekend for my new lead out procedure - no more looking back and running to position instead. It has been working well at training with both dogs but this was the first time I have done it in a trial situation. 5 runs, 5 lead outs held and none of the stress signs that I was sometimes seeing before - even when I went out to the 5th jump in Open Jumping and 'arm changed' to handle the serpentine in the distance test, which was at the start of the course. So a big tick for this one and I will definitely keep on doing it. Not sure why running to position appears to work compared to walking, just happy that so far it is!

I'm usually pretty relaxed running Atilla but when things came unstuck on Saturday I tensed up and handled accordingly. Although I would put verbal cues down near the bottom on the priority list of how I handle, for some reason when I tense up I become a lot more verbal.
I think kelpies really hate this. Not that I see the need to run totally silent (although I think this is an excellent training exercise to really get the focus on your body cues) but maybe shutting up a lot more and letting the kelpie actually get on with his job would have been a better handling strategy.
Something I am going to try and be a lot more aware of from now on.
I also noticed that the more verbals I used, the more he started to ignore me, so maybe being a little quieter would give an improved response to a verbal command when I do give one.

One of my favourite quotes ( can't remember the author or where I read it though) is written in the front of my training diary as a reminder:
'What happens is not as important as how you react to what happens.'

This is a hard lesson to live and I don't think I have been able to totally hide my disappointment on other occasions when things haven't gone well, but this time I think I went closer to getting it right. After I left the trial on Saturday, I took Atilla to the beach - we still had 3 hours before L. was due down with the other dogs. This would have been the first time in ages when we got to run on the beach together, just the two of us, and it was a good 're-connecting' experience.
Atilla found a dog toy that had washed up - and of course a 'freebie found' is way better than any toy I could buy him. So for the better part of 2 hours, we ran played 'tug' and 'retrieve' with the toy. When we were both really tired, we walked along the sand for a couple of kms.
A happy kelpie face is a great pick me up so the disappointment of our runs was soon forgotten which I believe went a long way toward the much better performance on Sunday.
In the past I would have probably put him in the car, gone home, and stressed about all the errors I had made which is totally counter productive. Especially when no one else remembers or cares about your runs except you - including your dog!

Other things I learned on the weekend :
*There will always be some fallout as a reformed 'flicker'. (GD handlers know what I'm talking about) Accept it, continue with 'anti flick' training - which in all likelihood will never be 100% effective, and move on. Smile as your kelpie flips you the paw and disappears into the far end of the tunnel- you taught him to do it in the first place.

*I can actually have 2 good runs with L. standing right outside the ring. Apart from some initial head turning on the startline, Atilla didn't look at him once.

*Listen to everyone's advice, even if you don't take 99% of it on board - it's that other 1% that can sometimes make a difference.

*Sometimes very successful weekends, pass wise, mean that you don't learn all that much from your runs. So which weekends are really the most successful in the big picture?

Bed Etiquette - Sleeping with Kelpies

2009-02-22T22:34:00.000+11:00

I've just walked into the living room to hear L lecturing Cruz about 'bed etiquette.'

Our rules regarding sleeping arrangements have evolved as the number of dogs has evolved. Their first 12 months were spent crated at night, beginning in the laundry and then progressing to the bedroom.

No more than 2 dogs on the bed at night - this one has actually worked out well. Originally we had Yasser and Bosnich on the bed. By the time Atilla progressed to the crate in the bedroom stage, Yasser was too old and arthritic to get up on the bed any more and preferred his bed at the foot of ours. So Bosnich and Atilla had bed privileges.

Late last year, Bosnich decided that he too was having difficulty jumping up on the bed and would prefer to sleep with Yasser. So now the kelpies have the bed privilege - providing they get off immediately if I tell them to do so, which they both do. Just so they know they share our bed, rather than us sharing theirs !

Bed etiquette has never been raised as an issue with any of the dogs before Cruz - all of them prefer to curl up at your feet and don't move. Cruz on the other hand has no bed etiquette, as L is delighting in telling him.

No end of the bed for him - he's a snuggler through and through, whether the temperature is minus 2 or 35 plus. And he doesn't curl up in a ball like the others, he prefers to stretch his long lanky legs and giraffe like neck as far out as he possibly can, which is usually digging into my back, legs or head. And he doesn't keep still. It's not uncommon to wake up in the middle of the night with his butt on the pillow and his tail across your face. And if you happen to get up in the night you know he's going to be in your spot when you come back, looking up innocently with one eye - you don't really expect me to move do you?

And his reaction to the bed etiquette lecture ?

Victoria Burns - A Black Day

2009-02-10T22:50:00.001+11:00

This is the usual view from my verandah - something that I love to sit and look at most evenings with the kelpies by my side, as it gives me a feeling of peace. (Especially after a typical day at work. )This is Mount Disappointment, with Wandong just to the left of the picture and if you continue to travel to the right of the picture and face east instead of north, you can see the mountains of Kinglake in the distance. (You'll have to take my word for it)

The photo below is the view from the same spot last Saturday- one of the most tragic days in Victoria's history. The fire front travelled from Kilmore East, just above Wandong, right across Mount Disappointment to the foothills at Glenvale -only 5 minutes up the road from here. Once the smoke finally cleared in the evening when the cool change moved in, you could actually see the flames. It looked as if the whole of the mountain was on fire, which it probably was. Although I took some photos of the flames visible from our place, I couldn't bear to post them- in fact I ended up deleting them all except for this one, which is defintely the least sensational of the bunch.

From Glenvale, the fire moved across the back of Whittlesea to Humevale, eventually joining up with the fire at Kinglake - and judging by the number of international phone calls we've had the past couple of days, I think the whole world knows what happened after that.

My grandmother always used to say 'there but for the grace of God go I' and it pretty much sums up how I feel at the moment. We were put on ember alert mid afternoon and then upgraded to urgent threat later in the afternoon, but the direction that the wind was blowing meant that the fire front narrowly missed us for which we are thankful but also terrified that this was probably due only to chance.

Two former work colleagues lost their homes, and one also lost her favourite kelpie which I can't even bear to think about what that must be like. Another evacuated and returned home to find hers was the only home on the road standing - another instance of Russian roulette fire style.

Many dog breeders have lost properties and dogs - one lost every single one of their dogs which is so heartbreaking to hear about.

Such is the enormity of this tragedy that six degrees of separation goes out the window - I think just about everyone in Victoria knows someone who lost either property or family.

It makes me wonder how many of us living in semi rural areas actually have a realistic fire plan? Or think that we actually need one ? Coming as close as it did terrified me and we were never in any real danger - I can only imagine the horror of seeing a fire like that literally on your doorstep. Thoughts that I'm trying to push out of my mind now.
Our so called plan was originally to stay and fight if the fire got any closer, then when L came home from work he decided that I should go and take the dogs while he stayed. (Don't know if I could have lived with that or not?) The next day, after the relief turned to disbelief and shock from the amount of devastation and lives lost, we realised that if we had lost power, which is pretty likely in a bushfire, then we wouldn't have had any water to fight fire with anyway as the pump wouldn't have worked. So what dumb bunnies are we!
I think a generator is going on the latest 'wish list'. Plus a more serious attitude to actually developing a plan that is a bit more realistic. Most of us only think of the CFA once a year when making our annual resident's donation. An attitude that is probably going to change for a lot of people now.

My case was packed and ready to go at one stage and when I unpacked it later, I realised that just about every single thing in it was agility related. (What a tragic am I! )

So tonight I am thankful that I have still have my home (even though it's only property in the scheme of things), that my beautiful dogs and horse are safe - even the cranky goat, and all my friends and neighbours are also safe - we were a bit worried about one of them for a while.
I am so sad for all the lives lost that I am still numb all over- and I don't think I will ever feel the same about looking out over the mountains again.

And that makes me feel cheated, as selfish as that might seem - something that I loved has now lost the peaceful feeling that I always associated with it and I don't know if I will ever get that back again.

Time To Get Back to Training

2009-01-24T20:46:00.000+11:00

Atilla has finished his treatment for a strained hamstring - diagnosed during his muscle therapy session - we've had a month off jumping, well, pretty much a month off everything, so time to get back to work.

We're going to run very short sequences for the next couple of weeks, training no more than 4 times a week, and then start building up from there. I still want to continue with some shaping plus work on his fitness - and mine- on the days we're not specifically doing agilty training.

Today I chose a sequence from the new Greg Derrett DVD - which was actually taken from the middle of a course diagram, but I wanted to focus on something that incorporated the cloth tunnel/chute. The training exercise on the DVD focused on which way to turn your dog after the jump before the tunnel, so we worked it with a front cross and also with various lead outs.

I worked it with a diagonal front cross between 2 and 3, then a threadle from 4 to 5. Also worked it with a lead out pivot on the close side of 4, then a push through at 4, plus with a lead out pivot on the far side of 4, turning around the opposite side of the jump than before.

Also tried it running from the start and a rear cross between 2 and 3 which actually worked a lot better than I thought it would with Atilla. Didn't try that one with Cruz as our rear crosses still need a lot more work driving down a diagonal line. My fault entirely as I haven't devoted a lot of training time to rear cross work, something that I will rectify this year - in between the hundred other things I want to do with him.

I have really missed training, even though I think it has been good for both kelpies to have some time off.

I am so looking forward to the Greg Derrett seminar next week - although the very high temperatures forecast make me glad I didn't apply for a working spot this time.

Another Year .....for Training and the 'Old Man'

2009-01-08T16:50:00.000+11:00

Another year for Yasser, my lovely old man and honorary kelpie ! (We think there is a little bit of kelpie in there somewhere, along with the BC and ACD. ) This is his 14th Birthday portrait.

To celebrate I made the boys ice cream cone cakes - a doggy muffin jammed into the cone then covered with low fat cream cheese frosting, tiny bacon pieces and a blueberry on top, covered with finely planed doggy chocolate - gotta get those antioxidants. No complaints from the canine customers so I guess it was a winner. Plus I'm addicted to the microplaner grater thingy since I saw it on 'Jamie' - although I don't know what he would say about using it for doggy chocs.

Atilla is having a break from training at the moment, much to his disgust.

The end of trial season visit from the muscle therapist is happening next week. Since the end of the trialling year he has already had a few weeks off , so hopefully we will be able to ease back into training after that. I still feel that something is not quite right with him, so we will see.

We have been working inside with the clicker to sharpen up some of his tricks - now that I am doing this with both Tilla and Cruz at the same time, I can see a difference in their progress with both freeshaping and working through the clicker. (eg: the click does not end the behaviour- wait for your release cue) Cruz is way better at both these things which really makes me feel as if I didn't really use it to its best effect with Tilla in the beginning.

So nothing like a refresher course - for him and for me. And I think the clicker was almost invented for kelpies - they love the independence it gives them in trying out behaviours for themselves ........ plus the rewards for getting it right! Yes, another lightbulb moment.

I have also started retraining Cruz's weaves with Susan Garrett's 2X2 method - not that I wasn't happy with Cruz's weaves, but one thing that I have neglected with him is really working those difficult entries, so since this method is meant to train these I thought I would give it a go.

Day 6 so far and I am blown away by the results. We are on 4 poles, still slightly open even though I know he can weave straight poles - but the entries he is making are amazing. I know that a week ago he would have needed so much assistance from me to get them, but now he is doing it all by himself. I'm sure he thinks I'm losing my mind (I know L does!) as I am so excited by this that I am yelling 'yes, yes, yes' as he goes through the poles - note to self : Be silent next time. I am also impressed with his new found perserverance when he gets it wrong. I never used to let him fail at anything more than twice, and once we had two 'failures' I made the exercise easier. But this is one thing that Garrett now cautions against when teaching this method - let the dog work it out for himself without making it easier for him.

We had 5 'failures' in a row the other day - and it killed me not to help him out, but I didn't..... and then he got it right! As Elicia would say, 'Yeeeeee Harrrrr!!!!!!! ' Plus this is now also paying off in both his work and also his attitude. No shutting down and refusing to work, no frustration barking - which is also carrying over into the work we are doing inside using the clicker.

We should probably move to a location outside the yard now for a bit of proofing, so that may be a weekend project.

I have decided that once I get to the 'challenge' exercises, if he can still make the entries (eg: I've actually trained it properly!) then I will also retrain Atilla - who I thought had really good entries until I tried some of these with him.

One thing that I really wanted to do with Atilla over Summer was work on the cloth tunnel. He has never had any difficulty performing this before, although it's not my favourite piece of equipment. Personally I think it's an accident waiting to happen, especially with the design of many being used in Australia including those awful heavy canvas ones. Atilla got tangled in one on a Masters Agility run at Warrnambool in November. He has been tangled in chutes before and this has never caused him any problems, but in the following Masters Jumping run I got 3 refusals at it before he decided he would go in. That's never happened before, even back in Novice. Got it out at training the next week and he wouldn't go in either. So I brought one home from club for the summer break as it's the one piece of equipment that I don't own. Put it out on my agility area and as soon as I brought him in, he took off away from me and made straight for it, running through no problems and then looking at me like 'that was fun, let's do it again'. Several repetitions later, all fast and confident....... where was the problem again?

So after all the effort I made to get it home, it's now sitting in the bungalow gathering dust!

It will come out again in a couple of weeks so that I can design some sequences to run incorporating it for both dogs, just to make sure.

And I would still like to see it disappear from trials in the near future.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T11:22:00.000+11:00

From my kelpies to yours .............

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and lots of training success in 2009, whatever your training goals happen to be.

And do you really think either of them would wear a Christmas hat for me? Not on your life - thank goodness for photo editing programs !

Training Kelpies - Some Thoughts

2008-12-22T10:44:00.000+11:00

I joined a kelpie discussion list a few months back - which has been a largely disappointing experience I might add. The description of the group had the words 'training discussions' which I thought would be interesting, but have since discovered that the only type of 'training' that the moderators of the list deem to be acceptable is anything related to working livestock and if you dare mention the word 'agility' you are told in no uncertain terms that this list is for training - get thee to another list! The big implication being that working kelpies should be doing just that - working with livestock and nothing else, agility is the devil's playground.

No matter, but I find this a very narrow attitude for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, I believe that any information shared about kelpies, whether relating to genetics, instinct, breeding lines, and even training for agility competition, promotes a better understanding of the breed in general - which is so important for working through training issues, not to mention living with them.

Secondly, understanding how kelpies work stock also gives some great insight into training by working with their natural drives for those of us who do other activities with our kelpies - which is the main reason why I am still a member of the list, albeit a lurker rather than a poster.

And every now and then , someone posts something a little more though provoking than usual which makes it worthwhile - after saving the following quote in my computer with the intention of giving full credit to its author- I have just realised that I forgot to copy the name of the original poster. Anyway, this post struck such a chord with me that I am going to quote it with apologies to the author and the assumption that you don't mind as it was contributed to a public forum to begin with.

'One of the things that I have noticed about Kelpies in general, is that they have a lot going on mentally. They are tuff yet can be extremely sensitive, they are intelligent and they are always thinking. A lot of this goes back to the fact that they were bred to cover thousands of acres and large flocks of sheep or large herds of cattle. They were bred to be intelligent enough to figure out how to get the job done even when no one is around. This can be both good and frustrating for us on small farms and trials because they like to think that they don't need us meddling in their business. But I have noticed that you can easily hurt their feelings if you are not careful. You just have to learn how to work these qualities to the best of our abilities. If something is not working take the time to think about it and figure out what it is you want and how to succeed at it. But when you do, the look on your Kelpie's face when the light goes on is unmistakable. Just don't forget to make a fuss over his/her success. Let them know they got it right and then quit on that for the time being. All 3 of mine thrive on attention and live to get that 'Good Dog!'

I don't think the author works dogs in agility, but if she/he did, I have no doubt that they would be successful as they seem to have a pretty good handle on the kelpie temperament - as it relates to my experience so far- and dog training in general.

The 'tough but sensitive' contradiction is hard for a lot of people to understand but for me it is a pretty accurate description.

They are bred to be tough in relation to the work they carry out and the conditions that they often work in - after all, no one wants a working dog that can't cut it and a good kelpie can do the work of many men on a big property, so I am told. I also have to admit that the first few times I saw Atilla work sheep I was dumbstruck at how hard he went in when it was necessary. Here was my 'soft' little kelpie pushing himself between the fence and the sheep to move them off with no hesitation and using a fair bit of force, but the same dog worked in an entirely different manner when put on ducks.

This has always been the one big difference that stood out for me compared to working my ACD on sheep. Again, I only make the observation from my own experience, but the ACD uses the same degree of force on sheep from start to finish whereas with the kelpies it is almost like watching a choreographed perfomance - go in hard, ease off, go in hard, ease off. They seem to have more of an innate understanding of when to use force, rather than just using it for the whole time because they can.

I have seen a lot of people ruin good kelpies,when training them for agility in particular, because they hone in on this 'tough' quality but ignore the 'sensitive' one. Kelpies are very good at trying you out (right from the moment you first bring them home) and a lot of people respond to this with the 'me human- you dog' mentality and resort to physical punishment and the like to exert their 'dominance'. Kelpies do not respond well to any sort of harsh treatment - not that I've ever been harsh with mine, but have witnessed plenty with others. They are ideal candidates for positive training techniques (mine are both clicker trained) and you just have to be patient, consistent and occasionally outsmart them to get the pecking order clearly defined. (Not that it's all that easy to outsmart them of course)
And they are always thinking - anticipating what you want next, which can be a double edged sword on an agility course. Running my old BC cross or ACD in agility used to have a little room for slight handler error - not so running kelpies. I find that my position or body signal only needs to be a tiny bit out and there's an off course or a run by. Which is only fair and spurs me on to be a better handler.

I really like Suzanne Clothier's description of 'relationship based training' (if you haven't read 'Bones Would Rain From the Sky do yourself a favour and get a copy) as this is what I think agility training is all about. If you take the time to develop a relationship with your kelpie - based on mutual respect rather than dominance and force- then you will get much better results.

The other part of the quote that I really like refers to using those kelpie qualities to the best of your ability. I agree with Susan Garrett - dog trainer extraordinaire! that you need to 'train the dog you want' - but to get there I believe you also need to work with what you've got, rather than 'fight' your dog every step of the way. And if something's not working, think outside the square to change the picture for your dog in order to set them up for success. So I am thinking of the end product that I want and then backchaining to work out the steps I will need to train to get there in a way that 'sits right' with both me and the kelpies and enhances rather than damages our relationship.

And yeah, that look of the light going on is priceless - Atilla has had quite a few lightbulb moments over the past 12 months.

So these comments may be way off base to some kelpie owners and breeders - after all I am still pretty much a novice kelpie owner even though I did grow up with them as a child. But these observations totally fit with my experience so far. Looking forward to learning more about them as our training journey progresses.

Cruz Finally Makes his Debut

2008-12-17T00:08:00.000+11:00

Well it took us until the last trial for the year but Cruz is finally no longer a trial virgin.
My training had reached the point where I needed to put him in a trial situation to see how he coped with all the distractions so that's what I did.
I only entered him in 2 runs for his first time - which I will probably continue to do for the next few trials as well.

First up was Novice Agility - a course with some extreme angles for Novice level, I honestly think I may have struggled to get Atilla around it clear.
Cruz showed a few stress signs at the start line which I expected may happen for his first time - plus I was actually nervous too which didn't help him. I don't get nervous running Atilla any more so it felt really strange to be so on edge.
We got through with 2 bars down which wasn't too bad for a first time, considering some of the angles. Plus I realised afterwards that it was the first full course he has run at 600 - bad trainer!

Novice Jumping we were first in the ring - but he appeared a little more relaxed at the startline compared to the first run. This time we were clear and won the ring which I certainly wasn't expecting to happen. So I am one proud kelpie mum at the moment.

Cruz with his first place trophy, sash and of course the most important part of the win - food!

Although more focussed than on his first run, he definitely didn't give me as much speed as he usually does but he has such a long stride that he still ran a reasonable time. I saw the 2nd and 3rd placed runs (BC and BC cross, both jumping 500) and they looked pretty fast to me so I was very surprised to clock up a faster time - but very happy about it ! And although it wasn't his fastest run , when I looked back at my trial diary and compared his time to Atilla's times in Novice, it was almost identical.

Plus he held both his startline stays - I went out 2 obstacles on the jumping course- and hit all his contacts and weaves in agility.

The only thing that I was really disappointed in was that he wouldn't tug with me before he went into the ring, which is unusual for him. The presence of the judge and timer in the ring didn't appear to bother him at all, I felt that the stress was more related to waiting outside for our turn.
So a lot more proofing with distractions and unfamiliar locations for us over the next few months.
And I need to experiment with finding the best warm up procedure for him to build focus. This is going to be more of a challenge than with Atilla - because he jumps 600 it is very likely that he will often be first dog in the ring which can make warming up difficult on occasion.

But I am very proud of my long, lanky boy who has now equalled Atilla's effort of qualifying and winning the ring at his first trial.

More Training .... and More Beach !

2008-11-27T21:31:00.000+11:00

I finally have a training routine that I am happy with and appears to be working. Based on 4 times a week at home, which does not include the times I train at club, this is what I am aiming for :
1X Jump Grids (from the Susan Salo DVD)
1X Double Box or 'related exercise' (from Greg Derrett DVD's)
1X Sequence from Clean Run or Dogsport or anywhere else where I happen to find a sequence
that I want to work
1X Speed exercise - maybe a speed circle or something else straightforward where the focus is
on opening out and really running.

In addition to this, we usually go out for a 2nd very brief training session on each day to focus on weaves or contacts. Both training sessions do not last much longer than 5 minutes.

Yesterday we worked on a spin off of the Power Paws 'W' pattern and this was a fun sequence to run. It looks a bit like this :

This is designed as an exercise to work weave entries. I also changed the order to incorporate a threadle between 3 and 4, and a send to the tunnel. There were quite a few other variations listed in the article, but at this stage I have only tried a couple of them. Nothing worse than long training sessions, so we might set it up again next week and try some others.

Atilla had no problems with the weaves as they are numbered here - I got a fast entry into 2 and then after 4 I front crossed for the weaves at 5. This was a harder entry but he made it easily - even though the first time he had a lot of speed and the first pole whacked him in the face ! Made sure that I rewarded after that set of weaves as I want him to stay in and weave fast, even if the poles hit him, this has been an area where we have had trouble in the past.

I also ran the exercise with Cruz and even though I thought it might be a little challenging for him, he had no difficulty with it. I did have to 'babysit' the weave entry at 5 a lot more than Atilla but for a pretty green dog, I was very happy with his performance.

The 'agility year' is winding down - last official training session tomorrow night and last trial the weekend after - although if it is too hot I won't run. I find that I am really flat in the heat and it rubs off on the dogs. Plus I worry about keeping them cool even under a gazebo.

We went to the beach again on Monday, Ocean Grove this time, and both kelpies had a ball.
Although I love living where I do, I would consider a move to be closer to the beach - it's such a great fitness thing for the kelpies to run along the sand, not to mention swimming. Plus it's good for me too. I seem to be able to walk much longer distances in a seaside environment.

Cruz checking out the rockpools and deciding that there was nothing in them to hold his interest.
The kelpies met another kelpie on the beach and even though I don't normally let them run around off lead with a strange dog, I made an exception this once. They ran and played together for ages - in the end the other owner had to put her dog back on lead to get them to stop playing and continue walking.

Atilla and Cruz chasing each other in and out of the water. Another exciting kelpie game.

Atilla posing amongst the seaweed - there was an incredible amount in places with some unbelievable colours.................. especially that shade of pink. Who says seaweed only comes in shades of brown and green ?

A Fun Weekend at Warrnambool

2008-11-05T14:37:00.000+11:00

After last year's disastrous weather at Warrnambool, eventually causing the cancellation of their trial, the 'agility gods' were definitely smiling on them this weekend.

The weather was perfect - even warm enough to run in short sleeves on Sunday but not warm enough to make the dogs uncomfortable. The predicted rain didn't eventuate apart from a few drops on Sunday around lunchtime.

The 'agility gods' were smiling on us too - we managed to come away with 4 qualifying scores and Cruz won the raffle on Sunday and scored a brand new dog bed.

There were some fast and challenging courses, especially in Masters, and I was very happy with the way we ran most of them. Atilla stayed focussed for most of the time, apart from an incidient with the cloth tunnel (which I'll describe in a later training related post) and was eager to work. I was especially pleased with his speed on many sections of the courses we ran.

Overall we earned a pass in Open Jumping (our first one as I don't run this event very often) and 2nd place behind another kelpie that is exceptionally fast, a pass in Masters Jumping (number 3) and 3rd place, a pass in Masters Agility and 4th place (number 6 - one more to go !) and a pass in Open Agility and 3rd place.

Although I have had 3 passes at the same trial a few times, I haven't had 4 since we were in Novice so I was very pleased with this result, plus I really enjoyed running most of the courses over the weekend, whether we qualified or not.

This is the trial ground in the foreground, with the neighbouring soccer ground behind. Pity I didn't think to take this with the agility equipment still set up as it would have made a much better shot.

All the dogs had an absolute blast at the beach. Atilla and Cruz got to have a good run along the sand on Friday after the long drive down. The beach was deserted as it was a bit cold by then, and they loved it ! They kept running way ahead of me, then waiting for me to catch up as if to say 'what's keeping you?', then taking off again.

They got to swim on Saturday and Sunday after the trial had finished each day - much to Bosnich's delight. He literally has to be dragged out of the water when there's swimming involved and if it were possible for a dog to sulk when we leave, then he most definitely would. As a 'non-kelpie', he sets the benchmark as far as swimming is concerned. Both the kelpies swim but not with the passion that Bozzie does - or should that be 'ACD mania' rather than passion ?
Even old man Yasser enjoyed his walk along the beach - at his own pace of course, which is way slower than the rest of them.

Warrnambool is one of my favourite places - located on the south-west coast of Victoria about 3 hours from Melbourne, and originally settled (I think) in the late 1840's as a maritime village - fishing, boating and related industries. I think I read something about sealing too but we won't talk about that ! There is a recreated maritime village set on the bay, but as they don't allow dogs I have never been in. Looks interesting though. The area is most famous for the legend of the mahogany ship- reputed to be buried deep beneath the sand dunes somewhere on the outskirts of Warrnambool. The following description comes from the Warrnambool Vic. Government tourist website:

'A Portuguese vessel fondly known by locals as the Mahogany Ship, reportedly ran aground off Warrnambool in the 1500's. This local legend is supported by the discovery of old Portuguese charts that depict Australia's southern coastline. It is believed these charts were drawn in the 1520's. '

There was a reported sighting of the ship's mast protuding from the sand dunes - although more than a hundred years ago I believe- but when a salvage party was organised the ship had disappeared and the coordinates of the sighting were not recorded by the person who believed they had found it. (You'd kick yourself wouldn't you?)

Anyway, it's a pretty cool legend whether true or not, and brings many tourists to the area in search of buried treasure, literally.

There are still a lot of old builings remaining in the town - I found this website which I really liked as it showed some of them as originals compared to how they look now.

http://www.warrnamboolcam.com/nownthen.htm

This is the view over Lake Pertobe, with the old breakwater in the distance, another reminder of the area's history. There is another good walking trail around parts of the lake that you can do with the dogs, accessed from the agility trial ground.

So overall a great weekend - can't wait for their next trial to roll around.

The Double Box Rules !

2008-10-25T22:24:00.000+11:00

I'm now halfway through revisiting Greg Derrett's double box exercises and I'm really enjoying working them - with both dogs.

I've also been pleasantly surprised by how tight both kelpies can actually turn when I cue them early enough - especially Cruz.

I ran Atilla at Ballarat last weekend - not a trial that I usually enter but I haven't run anywhere near as much as I planned to this year - again. And I need to enter more trials to really consolidate all the training we've done this year. I only entered him in 4 Masters runs as sometimes it gets to be a pain running from one ring to the other trying to fit Open in as well. We had 4 good runs overall, with a Q in Masters agility and 2nd in the ring, and one small handling error on each of the other runs causing an off course. I can live with that!

There were some challenging courses and I don't believe I would have been able to handle them as well without all the double box work we've been doing - on one Masters jumping course I think I counted 6 Front crosses that I put in - and the only place that I didn't get there in time and decided to rear cross instead was where I got the offcourse.

So we'll definitely be incorporating the double box into our training every week from now on. I can't wait until the Greg Derrett seminar where we will get to work on these with 'real live' guidance, instead of working from the DVD.

Plus I am trying to continue with jump grids every week too. I am really pleased with the way Cruz is putting in minimal strides between jumps when he is running confidently. If only I could get Atilla to do the same more consistently.

Beauty, Brains and an Angry Magpie

2008-09-28T23:32:00.000+10:00

So first for the beauty and brains - this is Cruz's litter sister Meg.
She is a fawn kelpie, a colour not as common as the red & tans and black & tans.
You can find more information about fawn kelpies here :

http://noonbarra.com/PROFILES/FAWN%20KELPIES.htm

Pretty stunning hey ! And brains as well - she is showing off her sashes for winning her class (CCD) at an Obedience trial in NSW. Just as well one member of the family is out there strutting their stuff as Cruz still hasn't made his agility debut. Thanks to me continually finding 'holes' I want to fix.

Poor Cruz, he'll be a veteran at this rate before he ever gets out there. So October is going to be my 'focus on Cruz's training month', Atilla has had the limelight for long enough.

We have magpies nesting everywhere at the moment and one has taken up residence in a tree in my agility area.
I was training Atilla this afternoon, we set up at the startline and he did 2 jumps, which put him in line with the magpie tree - every time he reached this point, the magpie came down and dive bombed him.

Normally he's happy to chase any magpie who dares to do this to him, but this one was either extra mean looking or the fact that he was trying to complete an agility run messed with his mind and he couldn't handle it.
Finally he freaked out and went into the tunnel and wouldn't come out.

I know it's mean to laugh at him, but I couldn't help it. Especially when a little kelpie face appeared at the end of tunnel and looked around to see if it was safe to continue - too funny !

And even funnier when I ran the same sequence with Cruz and the magpie ignored him - poor Atilla ! A dent in his kelpie ego I'm sure, let's hope the neighbouring sheep don't get to hear about it.

Kyneton, Malmsbury......and Greg Derrett !

2008-09-23T09:40:00.001+10:00

I've been taking the kelpies to Kyneton and Malmsbury quite a bit over the past few months. It's just under an hour's drive from here and there are lots of places where they can walk. It's such a pretty area with a ton of history - according to the internet there are more original bluestone buildings still standing in this area than anywhere else in Victoria - and if it was on the internet then it must be true !
Some photos from the Botanic Gardens in Malmsbury -

Don't they look so well behaved and obedient - as if butter wouldn't melt in their mouths- not!

Views of the railway bridge taken from the gardens. A very modern V Line just went over but I was too slow to get it - would have made a great shot with the contrast between the train and bridge. I waited for a while, but no more trains.

Atilla in the gardens - eyeing off the geese and ducks in the lake - they didn't appear all that inclined to let themselves be herded though, much to his disgust.

The Malmsbury bakery cat. Loves to come and sit on a chair at the outside tables with you. Kelpies are not impressed by this at all but the cat is not phased. Gives you headbutts as a reminder to keep patting it if you happen to stop!

One of the examples of an old bluestone structure that the area is famous for. I got out of the car to take some photos of an old bridge and some interesting looking trees and just as I was getting back in I happened to look into the distance and saw this tower. The lighting wasn't great by this time but I just had to photograph it anyway. Something very eerie about it, the way it just rose up in the paddock behind all the gorse and whatever the red berries are plus it played havoc with the focus on my camera - it would appear perfect but when viewed back the foreground would be fine and the tower was a blur- freaked me out a little bit I must admit. Anyway, this was the best I could do.
Looked it up on my friend the internet and it is the oldest surviving stone windmill in Victoria, sans sails.
The bridge that I originally got out of the car to photograph. Probably the original 'Calder Highway' at one stage.
And yet another of the bluestone buildings that are all over the area.

And now for the really exciting news - Greg Derrett is coming to Victoria. My 'agility idol' in person, I am SO there ! I am going to start setting up his double box exercises again and working through them one at a time, watching the DVD in between each exercise to make sure I get them right. Cruz is ready for them too now so it will be interesting to compare both dogs - experienced and inexperienced- to see how they go.

Training is driving me crazy at the moment.
Due to a problem with the new lights at the oval where we train, we have had no club training for 4 weeks now, and this week is looking doubtful too. Cruz's debut seems to be getting pushed back further and further all the time. Maybe I should just 'bite the bullet' and put him out next month just to see what happens. Or maybe I should be patient, stop comparing them and not keep thinking 'Atilla had his novice titles by this stage' . I guess it will happen when it happens and I shouldn't be in a hurry.

ANKC V NADAC

2008-08-21T14:53:00.000+10:00

I don't run NADAC agility very often but last month I entered a trial on the following weekend from the ANKC trial at Sunbury.

Everyone seems to have their own thoughts about which 'flavour of agility' they prefer for varying reasons which has got me thinking about the differences between the two.

These were the jumping courses I ran in each venue, qualifying on both.

Sunbury Masters Jumping (ANKC) *6th place

Bacchus Marsh Open Jumping (NADAC) *1st place Quite a difference, as you can see- or at least you might have been able to see if I had used the larger numbers, so you will just have to take my word for it.

OK, we are running one level below at NADAC (Open is equivalent to Excellent) but I've seen Novice courses harder than that Open one - one side change for crying out loud and even that I did with a lead out pivot.

Although I don't like the twisting and turning of many ANKC courses, that NADAC course was not much of a challenge. I like the way NADAC offers lower jump heights - great for veteran dogs and dogs coming back from injury, but I can't say I really like too much else about it.

I especially dislike the way there is now no running order and you just line up. Two friends missed their jumping runs a couple of weeks back at a trial I went to watch. No-one called that the class was over, and one is a very new trialler. I felt so bad for her. OK, I know it's your responsibility to know when your height is coming up, but still. It also seems to promote a 'NADAC style' of handling that I hate - lots of running from behind, rear crosses on the landing side and opposite arms waving around in the air on rear crosses. Plus ridiculous distance for the sake of distance that's not buying you anything by handling in that way but is seen as the holy grail of NADAC for some reason. Call me strange, but I actually enjoy the buzz of running the course with my dog, not standing there and flapping my arms around while I yell 'out.'

I also feel way more stressed at NADAC trials than I do in any other venue - there's such a long list of what you can and cannot do, and it appears to change at the drop of a hat so I can't keep up.

But on the other hand, even though the courses are not very challenging (and they all seem to be variations on a theme from what I have seen) the ANKC courses can be ridiculously hard at times with all that turning and twisting.

So I definitely think there is a place for NADAC as well as ANKC, but at the moment it's not my venue of choice. I am grateful that there is another venue to compete in once my dogs are not able to handle the jump heights of ANKC any longer (NADAC veterans was wonderful for Yasser, although I did prefer it back then when it was ADAC) and also think it's great that there is a choice available - there's not in some states,

Maybe a hybrid between the two forms of agility would be perfect!

My Favourite Training Distraction - Sheep !

2008-08-07T21:53:00.001+10:00

The sheep are back on the land behind us. The old guy who owns them has several 2 acre blocks in the area - you can't build on anything less than 5 acres at the moment- and he rotates them around for a few weeks at a time.
The kelpies love watching him come down the road when he is moving them, he rings a bell and walks the sheep along the road with a .........wait for it....... Jack Russell Terrier ! Which surprisingly does pretty well. The kelpies are dying for a bit of active service of course, and run along the fence line barking as he goes past just to let him know they are available if the JRT doesn't cut it or disappears into the nearest rabbit burrow.
There are lambs at the moment too, which are pretty cute.

So every time I go out to train agility this week, I have woolly faces peering through the fence, which is great for proofing distractions.

Cruz does pretty well. He is aware of them, but happy to stay with me and work, especially if he thinks there may be food involved at the end. But it absolutely kills Atilla ! I have been using the sheep as a 'life reward' and releasing him to the fence to clear them off after he does what I want first...... Premack Principle rules ! This has turned into a pretty good game in his opinion and his agility work this week has been fast and motivated as a result. Now I just have to figure out a way I can get them to my next trial.......

A Good Night at Training

2008-07-14T13:52:00.001+10:00

I really enjoyed running this course at training on Friday evening. It was a small class for a change, only 5 of us, and Murray set up a fairly simple course, but still with some challenges- especially if you didn't handle your dog's path. Also a good course for working on speed. (What I would call a 'Tank of Oxygen Course,' especially when you run it, another dog runs and then you have to go again!)
There were some fast diagonal lines in this course - or what Elicia referred to as SFL's (straight friggin lines) when she was here.

I started with a lead out between 2 and 3 so I could be ahead of Atilla to indicate the path to the tunnel. Then a front cross between the tunnel and jump 5 set up a nice straight line to the seesaw. I also made sure I was still in front at this point so I could use a little shoulder pull but I don't think he even looked at the tunnel.

Good section for speed next. He surprised me with a pretty fast dogwalk performance which actually changed the way I handled the weave entry. I was planning on front crossing after the tunnel to handle the weaves on the right, but he was so quick off the walk and through the tunnel that I didn't get there. I then used a 'threadle arm' when he came out of the tunnel and then rear crossed the weaves once he was in. I thought that might be a bit messy but it actually worked really well so I stuck with it on the 2nd run through. As his weaves are pretty reliable I was also able to peel away from them for some more lateral distance so I could front cross at the end. This made a straight line to the tunnel at 12.

Being ahead after the tunnel made jumps 13 and 14 easy to indicate. On the first run through, I had an off course at the next bit. I honestly thought my movement and position would be enough to indicate the change of line to the tunnel, especially as I don't layer in the handling system I am using, but he took the tyre. (As did most of the dogs in class) On the next run through, I used a 'threadle arm' after jump 14 and he took the correct obstacle that time. Something else for me to remember : still need support on some discriminations, especially as it was a slight change of line.

I thought about front crossing after the tunnel for a better line to jump 16, but found that I was able to stay ahead on most of this course so decided I didn't need to. Handled both jumps on the left, then front crossed at the end of the A Frame for the run home. On the second run through I left out the front cross and rear crossed after 19 to pull him toward the broad. That also worked well.

So, an enjoyable training session and I was so pleased with the way Atilla worked. Now all I have to do is get the same speed happening consistently at a trial. We seem to have sections of 'all cylinders firing' but others where he drops off the pace a bit. After our 3 passes off 4 runs last weekend at Sunbury, I am going to throw caution to the wind and push for a bit more speed next time we trial and see what I get. Plus try harder to sharpen up my handling for him.

Cruz ran a full length Novice Jumping course at training on Sunday and went clear with no difficulties. Guess I'd better start thinking about entering him in a Jumping run to see how he does under a bit more pressure and to see what I still need to work on with him. After Nationals maybe.

Of Cakes and Contacts

2008-07-01T22:09:00.000+10:00

Okay Karen, this one's for you - Jack's photo has disappeared into the black hole of the alternate reality of my computer, so I have recreated for Cruz's second birthday.

Carrot, zucchini and peanut butter cake with low fat cream cheese frosting, hand made dog biscuits and of course the icing, 'smakos' and doggy choc sheep - mmmmmm !

Plus pupcakes for his 'brothers' and friends. Well, the friends didn't really get a look in thanks to the brothers, but the intent was there.And while I'm on the subject, here's one I made a few months back as an order for a dog's birthday party. Which annoyed mine as they got to 'look but not touch...... or taste !'

And now to the topic that is almost causing me sleepless nights - at least it would be if I wasn't so cosy with an electric blanket and two kelpies (oh, and there's a husband in there too somewhere I think) - CONTACT TRAINING , namely one A Frame.

This would have to be the piece of equipment that I have decided I hate training, as I have a clear picture in my head of how I want Cruz's performance to be, but achieving it is another story......... Cruz prefers messing with my mind instead.

We started with 2 on 2 off, as we are doing on the dogwalk, where he performs it brilliantly. This was fine until I started raising the A Frame close to full height and then he lost all speed and started creeping down to the position at the bottom . After a few weeks of this with no improvement I decided to train a running contact on the A Frame.

Began with a stride regulator at the top and a hoop at the bottom, got rid of the regulator early on as video analysis showed he was hitting the (almost) identical spot every time. Hooray - she says ! This will make it easy. (Fool!)

So a couple of weeks back we finally went to full height and it is a lovely running contact, fast and accurate. Am I a good trainer or what ? Well here comes the what ........... Cruz is getting faster and faster as his confidence grows, last week he began to fully extend and really run it, well that taught me something about running contacts.............a very long skinny kelpie when fully extended can actually get through the hoop at the bottom without touching the colour. Picture head down, fully extended with his back legs just above the colour and his front legs just off the end on the ground and you get the idea.

So my choices now are - put stride regulators back on to manipulate his stride, try to implement some sort of a board on the bottom of the contact for him to hit, or go back to a stopped contact. I don't feel I am experienced enough with stride regulators to do this successfully, plus by changing his stride I will need to go back to the months and months of muscle memory with loads of repetitions and even then there is no guarantee as I have just found out. The board has potential - and there are several DVD's in the pipeline using this method coming soon, but the problem is that his nose touch is so hard wired, every time he sees any sort of a board he wants to do 2o2o and nose touch - so I would need to break him of that habit first.

The problem with his stopped contact was that he never really got his weight back far enough as he does on the dogwalk, creating a slow performance which I also don't want.

So I am going to give Elicia's method (slide into a drop on board) a go. That way he can still nose touch if he wants, and then I can fade it. Began shaping the position on a touchboard last week and he has caught on to this very quickly. Put the board onto a lowered A Frame today for the first time, and he had no trouble with the position at all, so we will see what happens with this method. I am prepared to sacrifice a little of the speed I had with the running, but I don't want the 'creeping' down to the bottom.

I need to be patient this time and make sure I raise the A Frame one link at a time instead of rushing it. ('Patience is knowledge disguised' - Kay Laurence)

This whole training issue has also given me a better insight into how hard it is for people at club to train contacts with their dog when they don't know what they are doing. I think as Instructors we confuse them by all having our 'pet' ways of doing things. So they are told something different every week depending on who the instructor is plus they don't have access to equipment to train at home. I 'kinda' know what I 'm doing (at least I thought I did) and I have access to an adjustable A Frame at home, but I'm sure Cruz will tell you that I am still stuffing it up. So we need to get some consistency with the way we are teaching at club - something else for the next Instructor's meeting agenda.

Casterton Kelpie Muster

2008-06-09T17:09:00.001+10:00

This annual event is held in the small Victorian country town of Casterton, not far from the South Australian border. A great celebration of the breed and a totally shameless 'kelpie-fest.'

If you are a kelpie lover and have never been, mark the Queen's Birthday weekend in your diary now.

A brief background of the kelpie's ties to Casterton for those who don't know the story :

In the 1870's a young stockman named Jack Gleeson worked on Dunrobin Station, just north of Casterton. The neighbouring property, Warrock Station was owned by a man named George Robertson. (Warrock Station still survives and is open for visitor tours) In 1871, Robertson mated a pair of Scottish collies that had been imported into the country. Gleeson took a liking to a black and tan bitch from the mating and asked to buy the puppy, but Robertson refused and gave her to his nephew instead.

Robertson's nephew knew that Gleeson wanted the pup and arranged to swap her for a horse of Gleeson's that he wanted (just like 19th Century e bay). They met at night on the banks of the Glenelg River in Casterton to perform the trade. Gleeson named his new pup 'Kelpie' - meaning a malignant Scottish water spirit that haunts streams and rivers in the shape of a horse.

Shortly after this, Gleeson left the area and moved to the Ardlethan district of NSW. It was there that Kelpie was mated to a black dog named Moss and another working dog named Caesar. The resulting progeny were highly sought after and when one (also named Kelpie after her dam) gained fame for her performance at the very first sheepdog trial in NSW, the name Kelpie was adopted as the breed name.

If you drive through Ardlethan you will see that they also claim rights to the origin of the kelpie breed, but Casterton beat them to the idea of the annual muster !

On Saturday there is a street parade featuring local schools and businesses, and kelpies of course.

The parade is held on the main street of Casterton. In the background you can see the hill that the kelpies run up in the hill climb event. (It doesn't look all that steep in the photo but believe me, it is. ) The owners are driven to the top of the hill and you need someone to hold your dog at the bottom. They are then recalled up the hill until they reach the owner and run into a designated area at the top. This is timed and the best time wins. Just to complicate matters, there is a set of gates with an opening in the centre part way up and if your dog goes through the opening you get 5 seconds off your time. This year the climb was combined into the kelpie triathlon along with the high jump competition (jumping up boards that make a high jump into the back of a hay laden ute, boards are added incrementally and it works as a knock out type contest) and a 50 metre race down the main street. There are other activities you can join in if the athletic side of it doesn't do it for you, such as 'Kelpie Idol' (show off your kelpie's tricks), Pinball (herding Indian runner ducks through croquet hoops), or Kelpie/Owner look alike contest. There is also the stockman's challenge on the banks of the Glenelg River ( the ghosts of Jack Gleeson and little Kelpie may very well be watching on) where kelpies herd sheep around a set course, directed by a modern day stockman- or woman- on horseback. This is my favourite event to watch and something I would love to try one day, dream on !

On Sunday there is a big working dog auction - the jury is still out on what I think about this - but you get to see some really good dogs work during the demonstrations and it is exciting to see the prices that they fetch, around $6,000 is usually the norm for the top priced dog. (Although I wouldn't accept a million for either of mine !) I have just read on a dog related forum that this year the top priced kelpie was 'Beloka Red 11'. Sold for $7400, paid by the owner's father and then donated back to her and the breeder. Proceeds went to 'Beyond Blue' for rural depression initiatives. Nice to read a story like that for once.

There are kelpies everywhere in Casterton, including a 'kelpie trail' that you can walk along the river and through the town featuring kelpie sculptures and information about the breed and the artists. Fascinating stuff for us kelpie addicts, plus the kelpies enjoyed the walk.

Atilla wasn't quite sure about this one - he kept waiting for it to move and sniff him back.

It's a fun weekend for kelpie fans and a great chance to catch up with others who share the same obsession. I wonder what Jack Gleeson would think if he knew what his long ago clandestine meet on the banks of the Glenelg River had started ? I know I am grateful that it happened because if not, then I would never have this .........

or this .........................................

And both are eternally grateful that I DON'T make them run up that great big hill each year !

Official Agility Shop-A-Holic !

2008-05-25T10:44:00.000+10:00

I have been reviewing my agility related book and DVD collection - how did it get to be so big? As for working out how much money I've spent on agility related items, I'm not even going to go there at the risk of going into shock....... not to mention an instant divorce from OH.

(I'm sure I could have had at least two more kelpies for the money that I've spent.)

So now that I've spent all this money it's got me thinking about how to get the best value out of all the resources that I have. It's all too easy to read a book or watch a DVD and think 'that was great', then put it away in the cupboard and never look at it again - unless some sort of 'training issue' comes up that has you madly rushing to look for it just in case it has a 'magic wand' solution. (And if I could patent an 'Agility Magic Wand' I would never have to worry about how much money I spend on agility again!)

I'm also thinking that maybe if I made the effort to implement some of the advice from these resources in the first place, then I would be in less need of these 'magic wand' solutions - some merit in that thought hey!

First step is going to be choosing my favourite resources and working out how I can incorporate them into my training plan. So let's have a 'Favourites List' - beginning with DVD's, to review them (in no particular order)

1. Greg Derrett : 'Foundation Training'

*This one goes back to 'video days' and would probably be one resource that I have definitely got my money's worth from many times over. I implemented Greg's program with both kelpies as soon as I started working with them as puppies (although I am still trying to convince OH of the benefits of the doggy swimming pool from the 'conditioning' section.) It's also the first item I tell our new club members to borrow from the club library when we run new member evenings. Plus refer to it when I take Foundation class many times over just to make sure they get sick of me nagging and actually do get off their bums and borrow it!

A 'Must Have' for every agility addict's library. (Shame on you if you haven't seen it !)

2. Greg Derrett : 'Great Dog - Shame About the Handler'

OK, I confess - I am a bit of a 'Greg Derrett groupie'. (He kind of appeals to me in the same funny way that Jamie Oliver does - maybe I'm just a sucker for an accent - I guess my choice of hubby would also support that theory, anyway, I digress - back to agility)

*This is one that I think you need to watch many times to take it in - when I first watched it I don't think we were quite ready for some of the box work so I haven't given it the workout it deserves. This is about to change as I am going to train the double box for a few weeks with both kelpies. Atilla would definitely benefit from all the exercises and I think Cruz is ready for some of them now. Also, when I first watched it, I wasn't quite as familiar with Greg's handling system as I am now. Poor Atilla kind of got bits and pieces of different systems - now he is a total 'retrain' into Greg's system - Cruz has worked in that system right from the start.

So, this is first on my list of 'watch again' to incorporate into my training program.

3. Greg Derrett : 'Great Dog, Great Handler - The Winning Combination'

*My new favourite GD resource, especially as I travelled to Canberra to audit Susan Garrett's workshop last year where she presented Greg's handling system. (I had heard a lot of conflicting things about SG seminars but I have to say I thought she was AWESOME and if you get a chance to go to a workshop - be there with bells on!) This DVD really drives it home for me. I have already worked through the front cross exercises with both kelpies - really showed up with the 'green kelpie' how important it was to get them in the correct spot. Plus we are always working on developing positional cues on lead outs. I am going to work on this in conjunction with the double box exercises for the next few weeks.

4. Susan Salo : 'Jump Foundation Training'

*My newest acquisition and so far I am loving it. Although I have been working jump grids with the kelpies for a bit now, they were a bit ad hoc. Now I have a more sequential plan for integrating them into my training program. Liam videoed them doing the distance grid last week and I was really happy with the results - Atilla could stride 19 feet no problem and Cruz the same for 18 feet - didn't space them any further apart as I wanted to finish on a successful note, but next time I try them I will go out further, aiming for 21 feet eventually. Plus when I can figure it out, I will post the videos here. I have only watched the first 2 DVD's at this stage - it's a 4 DVD set - plan on watching the other 2 this week.

5. Susan Garrett : 'Success with One Jump'

*Another in the pile for rewatching - have worked a lot of it already but could do with a 'refresher'. Cruz is doing well at looking down his line at the startline, haven't retrained it with Atilla and not sure if I will - although I do see the benefits. The work on positional cues, plus 'change of arm = change of line' fits in well with new Derrett DVD.

6. Lori Hansen : 'Human Agility Training'

*OK - I'm slack. Haven't actually watched this one yet - but it's going in the ever-growing pile - I PROMISE ! And I did sit ups this morning - does that count?

7. Joe Canova : 'World Class Weaves'

*I used this method to train Cruz's weaves and I am pretty pleased with the results.
But now that he weaves 12 poles well I have slackened off on training the entries - I was keeping a diary for a bit but once I got past the first 3 'stations' (as Joe refers to them) I stopped and worked on other things. I need to go back to this, working the first 3 stations again and them moving on to the others, plus more weave pole proofing.

8. 'Agility in Motion' series (Various contributors)

*Saving this for another post as there is so much good stuff on these - and it's all too easy to watch and then forget. Plus I can't let my rewatching pile get any bigger or it will be unmanageable and then I won't do it.

So, more than enough to keep me busy over the next few weeks I think. In between taking the kelpies on walks, swimming (we did Altona dog beach yesterday evening), training, trialling plus the Casterton Kelpie Festival coming up shortly.

But at least I'm feeling more motivated now that I've put this in writing - that third Susan Salo DVD is now displacing GD and is going to the top of the pile for later today. Jump Grids - bring 'em on !

And A Good Time Was Had By All

2008-05-12T14:53:00.000+10:00

Well the trial at Wagga Wagga has come and gone but will long remain in my memory as one of my favourite ones ever ........ why did she wait so long to trial interstate she asks ?

Such a relaxed atmosphere with only two rings running - you can see how dry it was from the photos but still OK to run on.

I loved everything about the weekend - friendly club members and other participants, great courses (mostly) and a dog who was happy and relaxed and couldn't wait to work - what's not to love? Plus the passes in Masters and Open agility helped too !

I was happy with all our runs (apart from a blonde moment on the Open Jumping course which we won't talk about) .......... and with our speed on most sections of each course. We are positively slow compared to some of the dogs there though - Open Agility we ran (what I thought was) a really good speed, 21 seconds under SCT and we still only came in 7th! We were 8th in Masters agility, but I did have a little 'bobble' on one discrimination where sloppy handling caused him to ask a question, so I know I lost a bit of time there.

Anyway, a great weekend, and I really enjoyed watching some different dogs run. Plus I learnt quite a bit from watching different handlers, especially relating to my position and motion around the course. I will be marking this trial on my calendar each year now.

Here's Atilla with his quallie sashes. One thing I had never seen before was that no sashes were awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd (just prizes) - but everyone got the same sash for qualifiying no matter what position they came in.

I have a list of things I want to work on over the next few months, plus a few more 'holes' after last weekend's trial at Bendigo, so once I get my list (and related thoughts) together I will publish my training plan. I majored in 'course forgetting' at Bendigo so I have decided that once I get the last pass I need for ADO I will just run Masters for a bit to avoid clashes - JDO can wait.

Cruz ran his first full length course at training last week (one of Murray's old novice agility courses) and went clear both times which was encouraging. There are still some areas I want to work on with him before I put him in his first trial, but overall I am really happy with his progress and am in no hurry.

Dog Friendly ? My Butt !

2008-04-08T22:11:00.000+10:00

Finally decided to make the trip to Wagga for my first interstate trial. Decided against running Cruz. On the one hand I would like his debut to be away from most people I know - I felt a lot of pressure when I first started trialling Atilla - but he can be a stress ball sometimes so I think a familiar location will be best for him when I finally bring him out.

Someone posted the name of the closest motel on an Agility list, so I gave them a call to book a room. When I said that I would have a dog (or two) sleeping in the car, the response was ' no one has ever asked that before. I will have to check.' What the? .......... Anyway, she came back and said, 'you can't have a dog outside your room, you will have to park in our carpark out the back.'

Thanks, but no thanks. Have a nice day.

I then called another motel, not all that near the trial ground, but this one promotes itself as being 'pet friendly.'

Surprise, surprise, when I mentioned that I would have a dog in the car, I got the same strange response, 'I will have to check.'
Um, excuse me, but you are advertised as a pet friendly motel. Yes, but we have kennels out the back and that's where your dog needs to sleep. After going off and checking, she came back on and said they would make an 'exception' in this case. What kind of dogs do you have? Working kelpies. Oh, they will be sleeping chained up in the back of a ute.

That made me laugh as I can just see Mr Spoilt Atilla roughing it. No, they will be cosy inside a 4 wheel drive !

And I thought Victoria was bad when it came to finding dog friendly accommodation - NSW beats it by a mile, even Canberra wasn't that bad when we went up last year to Susan Garrett's seminar. All the more reason to splurge on that van that I've been wanting for ages.

We had a huge storm here a few days ago - looked out the window and saw something yellow on my neighbour's property and thought 'please don't let that me my tunnel!' - luckily that had only made it as far as the back neighbour's fence.

The rainbow at the end of it was worth it though. Maybe the pot of gold is on my agility field! In which case, I will have it covered with artificial turf and won't have to worry about it dying every Summer ever again. Or better yet, I will turn it into an indoor venue complete with toilet, bathroom, kitchen, climate control, etc. Then I can train day or night, all year round - dream on!

Why I Love Living Here

2008-03-27T17:02:00.000+11:00

Views from my verandah- it's way prettier when it's green though.

No more a city girl - I never want to go back ! And I can't imagine my life without kelpies either.

ADCV Easter Trial

2008-03-24T23:56:00.000+11:00

Finally -first trial for the year, first trial in almost 5 months in fact. It was good to finally get one 'under our belt' so to speak and nice to do it in a familiar venue as it was our club trial.

After having missed 2 trials already this year, one due to a twisted ankle and one being cancelled due to extreme heat, it felt great to be finally back out there.
Overall I was happy with Atilla's runs - we managed a Q in Masters Jumping (5th place on a lovely course with quite a few passes) and another in Strategic Pairs Excellent with Jack (3rd place)
I have tried to highlight the positives of the weekend for me as well as the negatives as I'm very much a 'list chick' - and the positives definitely outnumber the negatives.

For me these were -
*All our startlines. Minimal signs of stress with me moving away and this has occasionally been an issue with him. Managed 4 obstacles out with 5 metres + lateral distance on one of our Open runs. (I know it was 5 metres as the line was marked for the distance challenge.)
*My recovery after I momentarily forgot the course - usually I panic when this happens and then it's all over. This was on the course I actually qualified on and although my indecision after he came out of the tunnel cost me time, I was really happy that I managed to hold it together for a good finish.
*The speed that he ran the gamble at on Sat. (even though his speed made it more difficult for me to get into position and we got a runby the middle jump) and the number of points we managed to accumulate in the opening.
*Me nailing a really difficult front cross into the weaves on Sat. Timing and position actually came together and the difference in the tightness of his turn was mind blowing.
*In general Atilla's focus was good - only once did he show signs of shutting down as he is sometimes prone to do, and this was on a difficult jumping course with tight angles and lots of lead leg changes. (Plus my handling on that section was crap, don't blame him for disconnecting)
*My body position at the end of the dogwalk on our Open agility run on Sun. I actually remembered to use a positional cue and it paid off.
*I am also proud of both our passes as we have worked hard over the summer break, especially with jumping.

Some holes I need to work on -
*My (lack of) course analysis. Cost me another Masters Jumping pass on a run that was way better than the one we qualified on. Right near the end of the course as he exited the tunnel and me thinking ' we've got it'....... too bad about that off course tyre that never even entered my head that he might take it as I didn't bother getting down at the end of the tunnel to look at it from his viewpoint during the walk through - bad handler !!!!!
*My timing and positioning on some of my front crosses. Slow, slow, slow.
*Inconsistent speed over some sections of a couple of courses.
*And a brand new one just to keep me on my toes - 10th Pole Syndrome !
This has never been an issue for me as Atilla is a pretty good weaving dog, not super fast but averages around 3 seconds on a set of 12 poles which is not too shabby. And never pops out once he is in. For some reason on the weekend he totally lost his rhythm and footwork. Almost falling over himself at one stage and stopping - apart from one run he popped out at the 10th pole every time, costing us a Masters agility pass and an Open agility pass. A total mystery.
I am going to take him to the muscle therapist as soon as I can get an appointment just to make sure there is no physical problem. After that - well I guess I need a plan. I am thinking of going back to opening the channel a bit to see if that helps with his footwork and doing some more proofing. It certainly won't hurt Cruz to do this as well.

So, as well as retraining my contacts (only missed one on the weekend - a dogwalk in gamblers so it didn't matter) I now have a 'weave problem' to sort out as well.
Not doing any weaving with him until I get him checked out and after that we will see.

Over the next couple of weeks I also want to try and write a fitness plan for both the kelpies now that I have some time off work - maybe I should write one for their handler too !

Control Unleashed - My thoughts

2008-03-15T21:24:00.000+11:00

I have just finished reading 'Control Unleashed' by Leslie McDevitt and found it to be an interesting read with many useful ideas. I wrote this review for our club newsletter and thought I would post it here too.

Although I originally purchased the book as a reference for instructing classes, I gained a lot of great ideas that I intend to implement with my own dogs - even though my kelpies would not be classed as typical 'CU' candidates.

McDevitt originally devised the program as a behavioural program for dogs that had difficulty fitting into mainstream agility classes due to them being either too reactive or too distracted when asked to work around other dogs. Although dealing with these behavioural issues is the main focus of the program, the book takes on an agility related focus in several ways.
Firstly, most of the dogs taking part in 'CU' are 'agility dropouts' - dogs that were unable to work calmly around other dogs for various reasons. Many of the exercises in the program could also be successfully incorporated into a foundation program for a future performance dog, where teaching and proofing focus is very important.

The program teaches dogs to focus in difficult situations by learning how to relax when other dogs are nearby. The end result of this is that the dog can begin to work unleashed, hence the title of the book.
McDevitt identifies what she calls 'low end and high end CU dogs' and lists typical behaviours associated with each one to aid with identification.

The book provides a six week class outline (although the reader is advised that this timeline is flexible) and presents this as a progressive sequence of exercises that build on each other.
These are based on operant conditioning, where the dog learns that his behaviour is directly linked with earning a reward. This is paired with a clicker for maximum effectiveness, but a bridge word (such as 'yes') may be used in its place if you are not clicker training your dog.

The program also centres around the use of desensitization techniques. I found McDevitt's use of these to differ somewhat from other trainers who reward the dog for ignoring their triggers and focusing on their handler instead. (ie: teaching a behaviour that is incompatible with the dog checking out its environment.) In the 'CU' program, dogs are rewarded for actually noticing and looking at their triggers (other dogs in this case) before checking in with the handler. McDevitt believes that this approach is more effective as it gives the dog a greater chance of learning to cope with its environment, therefore genuinely lowering the dog's stress level rather than just sticking a 'band aid' on it. This idea makes a lot of sense to me and I would have liked to implement it when I was running my ACD in agility - the poster child for reactivity.

All of the exercises in this program are presented as games - in a similar manner to the way Susan Garrett presents a lot of her material. I find this approach very appealing in the context of agility as it is a good reminder that agility is just that - a game we play with our dogs.
The program devotes a lot of attention to the importance of understanding what your dog is feeling, a concept central to connection and relationship building which is another vital part of agility training, if not the most vital part. The importance of being able to stay connected with your dog during class is stressed through active and passive attention exercises which are provided as part of the program. McDevitt cautions against expecting attention from your dog every single minute you are together and highlights the importance of letting your dog check out its environment before you ask for focus. This also makes a lot of sense to me and I believe it is a commonly misunderstood part of dog training.

Recognising your dog's optimum arousal level is also discussed and the reader is reminded that arousal is NOT drive, another concept often misunderstood. I really liked the term for finding your dog's 'just right' stimulation level for working. McDevitt refers to this as the 'Goldilocks rule'.

After the series of exercises are presented, the book goes on to explain how to introduce the 'CU' principles into an agility setting.
Many of the games would be beneficial for developing start line stays. My favourite game was the 'Give me a break' game which is great for keeping your dog wanting more and improving focus. Although the value of training in very short sessions is well documented, having it presented in the context of a game made it more fun and easier to remember to implement into my training sesisons - which 'Cruz of very little attention span' will be very grateful for.
'Reframing the picture' also gave me some ideas on how to retrain Cruz's A Frame contact which I have been thinking about for a bit now.

Using food drive to create toy drive is also discussed and here McDevitt refers to her 'Clean Run' July '05 article titled 'But he only wants to play at home !' This article provides ideas on how to help dogs feel comfortable enough to tug in unfamiliar environments and around other dogs.

Throughout the book, lots of real life case studies from 'CU' dogs are presented, including McDevitt's own terrier Snap - one of the inspirations for this class being created.

I really enjoyed reading this book and it's an 'all 4 paws' score from me.
I am going to recommend that my agility club purchases a copy for the club library as I believe it would be a worthwhile addition.

So, that's my article and I'm now almost stuck to the computer in my non airconditioned study in the middle of an unprecedented March heatwave. (I'm over it and so are the kelpies as it has dramatically decreased their training time)
Thoughts anyone?

Contact Training

2008-02-27T23:10:00.000+11:00

After working with Elicia late last year, I have decided to retrain Atilla's dogwalk contact to a running rather than 2 on/2 off. I am amazed at how his speed has improved already - which is what I have been wanting- but 'don't wish too hard for what you want'............. his incredible accuracy (never missed a contact at a trial) has gone out the window ! However, we now have the 'wheeee' factor, which is worth it. I am focusing on teaching him to RUN the dogwalk at the moment as that is one foundation skill that I overlooked. At the same time we are working on hitting a contact board with his front paws on the flat. I put the board on my small dogwalk tonight for the first time and in 6 repetitions he only missed one, so I think that is coming along nicely.

I timed his dogwalk performance a couple of weeks ago, just to get a 'benchmark' and he clocked in at 3.06 seconds on one run and 2.96 on the other, but at that stage he was still a bit 'creepy' at the bottom as he wasn't sure if he should stop or not. Now he is very happily 'not stopping' so I'm sure we've shaved that time a bit. I don't expect world class times with 'Mr Cautious' that's for sure, but I am aiming for around 2.5 seconds, as I think this is realistic for him and also fast enough to be competitive here.

I have decided to keep trialling for the time being - at the moment I only want him to continue to run his contacts and if we miss the colour I can live with that for now - I just need to remember not to react and keep running as obviously he doesn't understand his 'new job' just yet. If we need to stop running agility for a bit later on when the board goes on the full size walk then we'll take a break and just do jumping for a bit.

Cruz is doing 2o2o and I am extremely happy with his dogwalk performance. His best time was 2.56 seconds from paw on 'up plank' to nose touch at end. I am considering phasing out the actual nose touch, but need to do a bit more 'research' about this first. I did this with his seesaw performance as he was running to just before the end of the board (about 3/4 of the way down) riding it down, but then sliding into 2o2o with nose touch after the board came down, which was wasting a lot of time. I am now releasing him as soon as the board hits, which he seems to be coping with pretty well. Not the fastest seesaw going, but I am still happy with it.

The A Frame is another story - this would have to be the piece of equipment that I feel the least comfortable training for some reason. Atilla is continuing his 'moving' contact on this - hoping it will become more of a running contact once the touch board goes on but I'm not messing with it until his dogwalk is a bit more under control. Considering I didn't have access to an A Frame when I taught him and he learnt by running a full size frame once a week in class, I don't think he has done too badly but there's always room for improvement.

I now have a height adjustable A Frame but I am not happy with Cruz's speed. Started training a stopped contact, then decided I would train a running on the A Frame only, but his long legs and huge stride were causing problems with this. Reverted back to 2o2o and I was pleased with his speed on a lowered A Frame. As I raised it, he lost speed at first, but then regained it as he became more confident. But we have now been using the full size frame for about 3 weeks and this time his speed has not increased. He has a very fast up ramp, but really slows to hit the position at the bottom, which I don't want. His weight appears to be back and his position is nice, but I would really like more speed. I have now lowered the A Frame again so we will go back and work on this. Timed their frames tonight - Atilla 1.65 with a 'running' (more of a moving) and Cruz 1.88 with a stopped. Would like to get them both around the 1.5 sec. mark if possible.

It's amazing how your expectations change with each dog as you learn more - to think with Yasser I taught him the 'PnP' method (Point 'n Pray) and was really happy with this at the time!

Canine Cakes

2008-01-21T22:06:00.000+11:00

Yasser's birthday treats - carrot, zucchini and peanut butter cake with dog friendly carob frosting, yoghurt drops and mint and peanut butter biscuits on the side - Mmmmmm!
Plus a squeaky toy on top. I think the kelpies were more interested in that.
I also made his biscuit platter - happily shared with the bluey and the kelpies. Cruz's birthday is next up - don't know what 'theme' cake I will make for that. I was particularly pleased with the one I made for Jack last year - pale green frosting with a white (icing) sheep on top. The photo is in my work computer, will post it later if I can find it.

Love spoiling my dogs on their birthdays - and the look on their faces digging into their slice of cake makes it all worthwhile.

Happy Birthday Yasser

2008-01-06T00:22:00.001+11:00

13 years young today.

It only seems like yesterday when we brought home this cute black and white puppy with ears that he never really grew into. My first grown up dog - not a kelpie but I think there's a bit of one in there, along with a few other herding breeds. Best agility dog a beginner could ever have had - we certainly never set the world on fire, but had a lot of fun over the years. And the funny thing was that he actually developed more speed and enthusiasm as he got older- maybe something to do with my handling improving. By the time we reached Veteran class he barked with excitement the whole way round. First dog I ever trialled - I still remember that first time so clearly, I was so nervous I didn't think I would be able to move and co-ordinate my mouth at the same time, but somehow I did.

First dog I ever gained a title with. I remember that Novice agility run as if it was yesterday too. Where did the years go?

Happy Birthday faithful friend - may there be more ahead !

Happy New Year

2008-01-02T12:17:00.000+11:00

Merry Christmas (a little belated) and a very Happy New Year !

After spending so long creating this relatively simple task I now have a new found respect for all those bloggers out there who unfailingly keep theirs up to date.

Not sure I can promise to do the same - or maybe it gets easier after time.