Its bad when........

Your dogs hair is tidier than yours............and you haven't even brushed him for a week! Bwaahahahaha....

I forgot to brush my hair before the show lol

 A few weekends ago Becky,I and the dogs went along for Sixx's second ever show,which they did brilliantly in :)
I was looking after Ella,so she came for the day,which I think blew her mind lol I don't think she'd ever seen that many dogs in one place before!
I ran the girls in a run each,and what it highlighted was that I need to practice more,and not leave it months between shows,and then just expect that they'll behave that they've been competing every weekend ;)

I'm feeling pretty disconnected from agility at the moment :( Not through choice,but through lack of finances.I am hoping to move out on my own very soon,which means I will have no spare cash for training,and I just lack focus in a big way,when I'm not being actively taught by someone.

There are lots of foundation games I could be playing on my own with the dogs.Games which would then seamlessly help with how they behave in a course,do I practice them?? Not very often.
I am lazy at them,I always just end up doing my 'practice' during classes and lessons,and then doing nothing outside of the lessons,which works out ok when I am having 2 lessons a week.But now I am having zero lessons,I need to pull my God damn finger out!
The weird thing is,when I do them,I enjoy them and have a fun time with the dogs,who also love them,its just I have as much fun,if not more with the dogs and the Flinger!

I think if I had a field of agility equipment nearish to home I would be inclined to practice more.I think in my brain I just seperate 'agility related training' to any other dog stuff,and think it can only be practiced around equipment,which is ridiculous!

So tommorow I WILL do some foundation exercises with my doggies,I WILL :)

Shady and Sixxers :)

We were briefly joined by Blade,a GSD I groom.

Plus a Collie who's name I forget,think it might be Betsy.

Boys and their toys! ;)

Sixx had to give Blade a well deserved lesson in manners lol.

Becky and the 'Sheepdogs'. :)

Tugging......

Tugging.....

and giving in graciously to Shadders haha .Being a girl doesn't make him give you anything!

It was F R E E Z I N G!!!!

Me looking suspicious with the gang.

The usual suspects!!

Its really handy when we're both at shows,we put Shady over into Becky's van with Sixx,they have the 'cold van' with the doors open as they're both coated.My van is kept closed for the Baldies!

Mookie,me and the flinger :)

'Wwwwwhhhheeeeeeeeee' happy girl :)

'Hurry up mummy!'

Eyes on the prize'

My handsome boy :)

He's such a weirdo...he loves to shove his head between my legs when he has a toy,and then likes me to smack and kick him whilst he growls away ferociously!

I just love his eye contact in some of these photos,he's such a loyal little boy,just loves to be connected with me :)

Even good looking boys get the odd Duh face photo!

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He also loves to 'hook me up',where he curls his leg round one of mine,I can walk along and drag him like this too,he's such a weirdo ;)

He also likes this to do this whilst I kick and smack him (in play obviously).

I taught the foof to jump up when she delivers the toy after a retrieve....its a decision I regret occasionally! ;)

Dances with Foof's'

Love this little girl.She has SO fricken much heart!!!!

Trying out the outdoor gym equipment.

These pics give you a bit of an insight into the Foof''s mentality.Becky was climbing the climbing wall.

So I told Foof to 'get up'.

and so she tried to climb the vertical wall,but ended up looking like Becky was giving birth to her.She will just try anything,she has no sense of self preservation!

Anyway exciting things are hopefully afoot,I don't want to blog about them,as I am pretty superstitious.....hhhmmm is superstitious just another word for irrational??? lol

Girls,girls,girls....

Just a couple more pics,the 2 with the Foof were taken at training eve focussing on propreoception.

The Foof doesn't really need to do specific propreoception exercises,her whole life is a giant propreoception exercise.I don't think I've ever come across a dog so naturally aware of their body,and how to balance,and or manipulate their body or their environment to their advantage!

Also...I really should have got a flinger years ago,I just took Mindy and Mookie out with it today,so that Mookie could get to play without Shady or Floozie muscling in!
Mindy today got the game too and was loving it.

I think I finally found mine and Mookie's thing.She likes training,and she likes agility,but her true love is simply RUNNING!!!

Playtime!

Guess who wasn't chasing the ball? lol.

Ever since I've split up with Pete,and taken over the job of sole owner to my dogs I've often felt like I was somehow short changing them of enough exercise.Its ridiculous,they all go for a run each day,they are free to be in the grooming room,or play in the garden as I work,and they go to either agility twice a week,or flyball,they are hardly underexercised dogs.
But having felt a bit bogged down by the guilt,and having taken on more work,I needed a plan to condense the time needed to exercise them,and make the state of my mental health better lol,knowing that they were physically satisfied.

What really made me think about it recently,was coming home from my army training exercise class on Thurs eve,I was buzzing,feeling so great about the hard work out I'd just had,and I thought it must be how the dogs feel when they've had a good blast.
So today during lunch I nipped to a local and pretty crappy pet shop and bought a ball flinger.
I've always shied away from using them,just imagining how easy it would be for me to break the dogs having them skidding about to fetch the ball.
I had half an hour,an empty field and 4 energetic dogs,I let them do a couple of laps of the field to warm up them I started flinging like my life depended on it haha.
they loved it,and apart from having to remind Floozie that if someone else beats her to the ball,she is NOT allowed to mug them to get it,we had a great time :)
I mainly flung into long grass or the edge of bushes so they slowed before they got to the ball to minimize slipping and twisting,so they got the added bonus of having to search for it too.
We did go through 2 of the crappy tennis balls which came with it,so I'm going to have to find some different balls to use.I had bought 3 planning to letting the 3 ball mad dogs have an individual ball to chase,but ended up finishing 2 of completely.
Then I took everyone back to the kennels as I worked the afternoon,and I now have 4 lovely tired doggies,and that make me happy :)

Just photos.

Morning!

Mindy found some more Christmas!!

'Um I'm trying to sleep here!'

Ted a 7 month old Cockerpoo came for his 2nd haircut,I love the way people at home trim one eye then chicken out cos its all too much of a trauma for them!

Mookie giving Ted a lesson in respect.Ted is actually a great,and very appropriate puppy :) really nice dog,fun but not overbearing or spoilt.

Mookie has a sad cos Shadders has the ball :(

Shady...'waa?'

Mooks still trying to figure out how to get the ball.

'I'll bark in your ear then1'

Whilst the others were playing outside,and trying to get me to throw there ball,poor Foof was experiencing near death coldness.She stayed inside huddled in an open cage trying to fit in the little sunny spot!!

'HAHAA I gots the ball,and my brother wants it :)'

Love her face here.............'throw it throw it throw it!!'

Lots of throw it staring going on with the Mooks,think that's from her Collie side.