Dog Vegas - 09/12/2017

I had an awesome day at Dog Vegas running Kelly on Saturday! She may be a challenge, but when she listens to me, she's amazing to run and such a fun little agility partner! Getting her consistency up isn't a quick process, but with hard work and never giving up, I can feel us improving the more we work together. It's onwards and upwards for us, and I always feel honoured to have been chosen as her longterm handler.

Kelly and I in front of the giant annual Christmas tree at Oakridge arena.

We won one of our jumping classes with an awesome clear round, which was quite a pretty tight course but really enjoyable to run! Kelly listened to me really well and didn't put a paw wrong, and I couldn't have been happier with her!

We came 4th in our other jumping class, which was a very smooth course and ideal for a speedy dog like Kelly. I loved blasting round the course with Kelly, and we were less than half a second behind 2nd place! She listened really well again and clearly had a whale of a time! Now we just need to push even harder in an attempt to lose those precious couple of seconds that kept us from the win!

We also had a very close helter skelter run, which is basically a jumping course minus the weaves, and usually follows a circular pattern. We gained an unlucky 5 faults when Kelly burst out of a tunnel, took a jump and was unable to slow down enough for a sharp turn and skidded past the correct jump! I brought her back and sent her over it, and we continued the run gaining no more faults. I was really happy with the run, however, as she was really speedy and mostly consistent.

One of her agility runs was awesome, and would've been clear if I hadn't have put her back on her a-frame contact. She got the contact, but I'm sticking to criteria with her and making sure she always stops in the 2-on-2-off position on every contact. Not long ago, she wasn't getting any of her contacts whatsoever, and now she's getting just about all of them thanks to sticking to criteria and making sure she knows what is expected of her. Now to continue putting this into practice with the goal of getting her to stop of every contact on a consistent basis. I believe we're not too far off that point!

Our other agility run was slightly crazy. Strangely, it felt as though the old Kelly had returned! Kelly wasn't listening to me like she was in all her other runs, but I understand that dogs will be dogs and she's bound to have some runs, and even some days, like this. I kept her going and completed the course in the end. Sometimes you have to take one step back to take two steps forward, and when I look at the big picture, we're definitely taking those forward steps. Luckily this wasn't the last run of the day, and we managed to finish the day on a high note.

I just love Kelly's drive and enthusiasm for agility, and running her is helping me to be a better handler and dog trainer, and for that I am so thankful. She's helping me learn about running a very fast dog, and running a different height to small. In a similar way to when I used to run Earl as well as Ethel, I also have to switch both physically and mentally from Ethel mode to Kelly mode when running both at the same show, as they're both so different to run. Overall, I've seen a huge improvement in Kelly's agility since when I first started running her, and I'm beyond determined to keep the improvement going with her! Onwards and upwards!

YKC Junior Agility Team GB Tryouts Day 1 - 02/12/2017

We had an awesome time at the first day of the YKC Junior Agility Team GB tryouts the other weekend! I'm really happy with how Ethel ran, despite her little aversion to tunnels, haha!

Little Ethel the superstar looking as sweet as ever!

Our first run was the jumping. This was a fairly challenging and tight course, and it was really fun to run! Our run was going awesomely, until I lost communication with Ethel at a german and she failed to see my change of hand, resulting in her dashing into the wrong end of the tunnel! I quickly corrected this and we carried on, and apart from another slight miscommunication at a ketchker resulting in Ethel wrapping round the wing the wrong way, which I corrected, the rest of the run was fantastic and I was really happy with it! For a young dog on a pretty challenging course, she was awesome.

Our next and final run was the agility. This was a pretty spread out and flowing course that really let Ethel and I run for it and push ourselves! I couldn't of asked for better contacts from her, they were awesome! Our hard work on them is definitely paying off, and I feel like we're finally cracking them! The run felt fantastic to me, and so speedy! We were clear up until the last couple of obstacles, where a rear cross into a tunnel unfortunately confused Ethel and she popped back out, gaining us 5 faults! I sent her back in and she successfully went through the tunnel without any issues, and I'm pleased that she completed it. She's usually fine with rear crosses into tunnels, but I think she got confused and assumed she'd gone wrong when I sent her in and then moved backwards to get to the next obstacle. I did this in order to block her from taking a jump very close to the tunnel entrance. Next time, I'd either stay on the other side and pull her away from the jump, or I'd rear cross the tunnel in the same way but run up to the tunnel exit afterwards to encourage her to continue through. Overall, I was very happy with this run!

There are lots of positives to take away from the day and plenty of things to now go away and work on in order to improve. No matter what the results, Ethel never fails to make me proud, and she's just so much fun to run! We always leave the ring buzzing!

Huge thanks to the Team GB management team and coaches for holding such an awesome day, and to the judges for setting up such fun and challenging courses! It was lovely to catch up with and support some awesome friends and watch everyone run, everyone did amazing! Every competition and event that I go to reminds me of just how grateful I am to be within the world of agility!

Now to wait and see if we gave enough to make the second day of the tryouts, fingers crossed! In the meantime, we'll go and train hard and practice the areas that we had some difficulties with on the courses so we can come back even stronger next time! See you in the next post!

Where We've Been Recently...

Hey guys, sorry for the recent inactivity around here, we've been super busy! To make up for it, I thought I'd give you a giant update on what we've been up to since you last heard from us back in October. Just a warning, we've been up to quite a lot!

Chippenham - 07/10/2017

Ethel was awesome at Chippenham, despite the awful weather that we had to run in! We went clear in both the YKC jumping and a regular jumping; she's always been a natural at jumping classes.

Dog Vegas - 11/10/2017

What an awesome way to start the winter series of agility! I couldn't be happier that both of my clear rounds with Ethel at this show were in agility classes! One of them got us 3rd, even with (beautifully) held contacts! Kelly also went clear in two of her classes, an agility and a jumping, and held her contacts awesomely too! The improvement in both of their contacts was huge!

British Agility Championships 2017 - 21 & 22/10/2017

Ethel, Millie & Dime

Ethel ran awesomely at this big event getting several clears, including 2nd in the Agria Brillo Bounce agility round, and qualifying for both the Agria Brillo Bounce and championship finals! We came 6th in the Agria Brillo Bounce final, despite a couple of misunderstandings from Ethel, and both Ethel and Kelly went clear in the junior speed jump off final! Such a fun weekend with awesome company.

YKC Newark Weekend - 28 & 29/10/2017

Millie & I

What an amazing weekend qualifying for Crufrs 2018 a whopping three times! I won the agility dog of the year qualifier with Ethel, came 2nd in the same qualifier with my friend's Mini Labradoodle Millie, and on top of all the agility success, I qualified with Earl in the groomer of the year qualifier! I simply can't wait for him to make his Crufts debut! March can't come soon enough!

European Course Running - 05/11/2017

Millie & Ethel

It was an awesome opportunity to train with one of the YKC Junior Agility Team GB coaches and practice running some European courses. Ethel was on fire with 3/3 fast clears! We really enjoyed it and I learnt a lot, with lots of information to take away and things to practice before the Team GB tryouts in December. It was also awesome to catch up with so many of our friends!

Dog Vegas - 11/11/2017

Kelly & I

Both Ethel and Kelly ran amazingly for me at this show and are looking super cool! I couldn't be happier with Ethel's contacts! I finally feel as though they've just about completely clicked and it's an awesome feeling. Kelly's listening to me really well, we just need to tighten up those turns and she'll be well on her way to many, many wins!

Fame On Fetch

I'm absolutely honoured to have been chosen to have my cover design printed on the latest edition of the YKC Fetch magazine! I love this magazine and still can't believe my artwork is on the front cover of everyone's copy!

Well, now you've had an update, I vow to stick with you guys and give you regular, on time updates from now on! We have some awesome stuff coming up, including the YKC Junior Agility Team GB tryouts for next year's trip to the European Open Junior Agility Championships 2018 in Holland! Keep your eyes peeled for the next post, and I'll see you then!

Wilton - 01/10/2017

Wilton may have been weeks ago now, but I'm super happy with how Ethel ran there! I feel as though we've experienced a breakthrough as far as her consistency goes; most of her runs were clear and she's feeling awesome to run! Now we just have to start pushing for speed and really fighting for the top places in each and every run we do!

As the journey was quite a long one, we only did one day, the Saturday. We were asked to join an adult Crufts team a few months ago, and the qualifier was at this show on this day. We put in a lovely clear for the team and we all ended up with a pretty fast combined time, however, one of our other team members gained an unlucky 5 faults for a missed dog walk contact, meaning we missed out on qualification. However, I'm super happy that we proved ourselves to our new team!

We also went clear in another agility class and two other jumping classes. We're finally starting to see some contact consistency and it feels awesome! And, of course, she rarely lets me down in her jumping runs!

Ethel definitely proved herself as far as accuracy and consistency goes, and I couldn't be prouder of her! Onwards and upwards towards those higher places we go from here!

Crufts Official Shop Border Terrier Gifts Review

Recently, we were kindly sent some super cool Border Terrier gifts from the Crufts Official Shop! We received a Border Terrier tea towel and a Border Terrier apron, which we've found are perfect for cooking and baking your dog some treats! As you can see, Earl and Ethel highly approve of them!

Firstly, we have the Border Terrier tea towel. This has the same design as the apron and is ideal for drying dog bowls in style! Again, it's of excellent quality, thin enough not to be bulky but will withstand use without getting ruined. The material is slightly less shiny than the apron, making it more effective for cleaning and drying.

You can view the tea towel through this link: https://www.cruftsofficialshop.com/collections/tea-towels/products/border-terrier-tea-towel

Next, we have the Border Terrier apron. Printed with a beautiful image of a Border Terrier and an extremely accurate description of the breed, it's perfect for all Border Terrier lovers and admirers to wear while cooking! It is of excellent quality and easy to put on, off and tie up. The material isn't bulky but at the same time feels sturdy and will take wear without spoiling, ripping or breaking. There's a certain shininess about the material, making it very comfortable to wear.

You can view the apron through this link: https://www.cruftsofficialshop.com/collections/aprons

Huge thanks to the Crufts Official Shop for sending us these gorgeous gifts that we highly recommend to all Border Terrier lovers! Check out their official website and treat yourself or a dog loving friend or family member to something special through this link: https://www.cruftsofficialshop.com