Looks like we are over the kennel cough now. Thank Dog for that. But it wasn't as bad as I expected. On Thursday we were back at training. It was very nice. Even Merlin, who was an utter nut case before decided to actually work for me. Good boy! And he was fast. Wow. I was very impressed, if only he would set his mind more often on working, rather than watching the other dogs.
On Friday we went up to Norfolk for a herding lesson with Sarah Jenkins. She is a fabulous trainer. So calm and gentle and always full of praise for dog and handler.
Luke was full on with the sheep. He has much more stamina now and really made me work hard. Now I know why "sheepdog people" are always slim ;)
But I managed in the end to keep Luke behind the sheep quite steady. That was really good. This time he actually came back to me very often, even when I didn't want him to.
I wanted to try Merlin on sheep too, as he likes to herd the other dogs. And after his initial barking at the sheep he actually wasn't too bad. Not bad for show dog anyway ;)
Then Chadiga asked me to try Jake. I was already very tired and wasn't looking forward to another full power session or a dog eating sheep ;) What a surprise Jake was. He was gentle and calm and just steadily brought the sheep towards me. It was a pleasure to work with him so that Sarah said next time we go out in the field with him. Wow, what a surprise. Maybe his destiny is not Agility after all, but being a good herder.
With Luke on the mend things started looking better. Then last Saturday Max started retching. First I thought something was stuck in his throat, but after a while I realised it must be something else. I looked up kennel cough on the internet and all the symptoms did fit. Unfortunately I had 2 shows that weekend which I then forgot about :( Instead I went to a sheepdog trail on Saturday. It was very relaxing to watch and made me realise how difficult it is. If I ever get that far with Luke, I am not sure we will be any good. It seems so complicated. On the other hand, why worry now, as he doesn't even stop on sheep or does anything in a controlled fashion ;-)
Max is better now, his cough is gone. I gave him Wiccaweys kennel cough remedy and it helped a great deal. Unfortunately all the other dogs came down with kennel cough heavily. Especially Nina and Larkin. They are still coughing. So no Agility training for us at the moment.
Luke change is amazing. I don't know if it is because he feels better now or if it has to do with the sheepdog training, but his recall improved, he is much more responsive in general, very bright and very very lively ;-)
He looks much better too. Shiney coat and bright eyes....
This week I am off to see Sarah again. I will take some of the other dogs too and try them on sheep. Then next week I go together with Mary. We share the journey, which will help with petrol. Especially with ever rising petrol prices :(
I have entered Pembroke show now, but actually sent the entries off too late. Not sure they will accept them. I was wondering if the kids and I could go to Scotland instead. Always wanted to go up there, but it is a pretty long drive... We shall see.
On Sunday the 14th of June Luke started limping after the walk. It wasn't an extremely long or strainious walk, so I was wondering why. On Monday morning I took him to the vet to get him checked out. The vet couldn't feel anything and send me home with Rymadil tablets. In the afternoon the kids rang me at work that Luke had started vomiting blood. So back home and off to the vet again. Poor Chadiga, it was her birthday and we seemed to spend it at the vet's. Anyway, the vet took n x ray and said his lung looks congested. By then Luke was anemic. So the vet referred us to the vet hospital. So off we went to Worthing.
They took Luke in and the kids and I went for a pizza as a birthday treat for Chadiga.
Anyway, Luke spent a few days in the hospital, the vet pretty quickly guessed that it is either rat poison or Lungworms, so started treating for both but nevertheless did more tests to be absolutely sure.
On Friday the got the results, Lungworms. When I looked it up it really fitted with all his symptoms. Now he is back home and his usual bouncy self. Left me with a vet bill of £1200. I just hope and pray the insurance picks the bill up or I am in deep trouble. On Sunday we went to sheepdog training. I really start to like this more and more. Luke was very full on and managed to blister his paws.
I really would like to try all dogs on sheep, but not sure I can afford that :-O
Time seems to be flying by. Is that because I get older and suddenly time seems much more precious or is it just that I have much more to do?
Well, back to Agility and dogs..... Supadogs was a bit of a disaster, weather wise. Saturday and Sunday was lovely weather, but it started raining the night Saturday to Sunday, which turned tha pathways into mud baths.... Walking or driving was terrible. Saturday it was very hot. Jake and Max did quite well, Chadiga managed to get her first clear round with Jake in the junior classes. Well done, girl! This time he didn't run out of the ring and seemed quite focused. Jake and Max managed some few rounds, but no placings. Max managed a clear round in the jumping, though the third last obstacle was a tyre. I tried to stop him there to help him through, but he just went on and flew through the tyre. What a good boy. Of course stopping him made us very slow. Jake managed a one clear round, in the jumping. Max managed a clear round in the jumping and the Agility class. He was such a good boy. Unfortunately due to the rain falls starting Sunday evening the rest of the show had to be cancelled as the venue was partly flooded. What a shame. Especially as I paid around £127 in entry fees :(
At the weekend we had entered UKA show in Walton on Thames. Lucky us the weather was lovely. Chadiga entered Larkin in the Steeplechase, Nursery and one Casual jumping class. He was ok to start with but got worse over the day. He has the bad habit at jumping up at Chadiga and starts nipping her arm, hand etc instead of working ahead. In the end she was quite frustrated.
Jake had 2 clear rounds in the jumping each day, a total of 4 clear rounds in jumping and Steeplechase. Max had a clear round in the Agility each day. Seems that I have to be more accurate when I do jumping courses with Max. He is a cracking dog and could do very well in jumping classes, as his contacts doesn't slow him down, but then he is burdened with a crap handler :( Oh well, maybe one day I will know what I am doing :)
Now I don't have any shows till the end of the month, but will go to some sheepdog clinics in June. Not sure that might become my second "doggy" hobby :)
I took Luke to Sarah Jenkins for a sheepdog lesson. I was so worried that he would go for the sheep, but Sarah was very impressed with him. I hope it will help me with solving some of his problems. He has crap recall, liked to chase birds, planes, cars etc. Fortunately he stopped chasing cars and planes now and since the sheepdog lesson his recall slightly improved. He was brought up in a crate in his former home, so the moment he is let outside he tries to stay away from me as he thinks it will be his last opportunity to go out. We have little steps forward, but sometimes a few backwards. Now at least he comes back indoors, most of the time. Not always though. It can be very soul destroying when he buggers off outside to play with water and just totally switches off. But he just loves to work. Last night I did hide some treats in the garden for him to find and he really enjoyed that. His tail was wagging nonstop. We did some simple obedience training too. Sit, flat, lefts and rights. I tried a "roll over", but he is very reluctant to lie on his back. Maybe he feels vulnerable then. I lured him through the weaves with a treat, what I actually don't like to do, but hey ho, he was so eager to do them and not at all worried. I enjoy those moments with him, but then he suddenly seems so far away again and really worried.....
Chadiga made a few videos of Luke herding and I hopefully upload them here now, otherwise one is on YouTube :)
But, oh boy, did my calves hurt after the 1 hour session. Must be the constantly walking backwards. Wonder if it will ever get better. Had real problems walking the next days ;-)
Looks like the upload doesn't work, I just insert the Youtube link then....
I am really sorry, but I never seem to come around to update my blog on a regular basis.
Quite a few things happened. At the UKA show in Horsham, Patenden and Waverunners, Jake got a second place in Agility. Max did quite well, too, but had a few hang ups. On Sunday I actually had to put him back into a casual class again, as he had lost his confidence, again, but after that he was brilliant. he had some really good runs, I just should get my brain in gear. Chadiga did run Jake in 2 classes, but he takes very much to leaving the ring to look for me. She ran Larkin in the casual jumping and got a clear round! Well done Chadiga :) The show was end of April....
At the beginning of May I had entered the Shrewsbury show. So we drove up there prepared for camping. The car was fully loaded, no inch of space left for anything. We were very lucky with the weather. Saturday was wonderful sunny. Jake was very good and got me 3 clear round, always too slow for placings though. And to my utter surprise Max managed a clear round in a quite tricky Agility course. I was over the moon. With all the problem we had I didn't expect him to get a clear round. I was so happy, walking on cloud no 9.... On Sunday we had rain and I felt very tired and was basically rubbish. Never mind ;-)
We had planned to stay till Monday (bank holiday), but one of the dogs (I think) was nice enough to puncture one of the airbeds and as it was too late for a replacement we packed up and went home. I was so happy to sleep in my bed again :)
The next show was Tunbridge Wells. It was a glorious weekend weather wise... It was HOT! Was a bit of a problem with dogs in the car, but I found a shady spot under a tree. Jake was good again and managed 2 clear rounds. Not bad! One even turned into a placing, we managed a 16th place in the Agility class. Well done Jake. In the jumping class the first obstacle was a tyre. All my hopes for Max vanished when I saw it, as he is scared of the tyre. I talked to the judged, explained my problem and asked, if, in case he refuses, I can lean through the tyre to lure him.... She was very nice and said "whatever is best for your dog". To my utter surprise Max jumped through the tyre without any problems and went clear in the round. He was quite slow, which was basically my fault, but I was soooooo chuffed.
Now we are looking forward to Supadogs which will start next weekend and will end on Thursday.
I had 2 lovely training days with Toni Dawkins. She is brilliant in explaining things. Just too bad I am so terribly coordinated. Always said that my dogs need deserve better handlers ;-)
I worked with Max in the garden and tried snakes and pull throughs, as I am quite rubbish at them. I find it amazing how quickly he picks things up. He is such a clever boy. If the weather stays dry I should practice this really every day just for a few minutes, plus some weaves to get used to some awkward weave entries....
That's for now, let's see if it takes me another 6 weeks before I have the next update :-O
Today is Max's birthday. Well, at least we decided it is today, as nobody knows for sure. We adopted him in October and he was about half a year, so we decided that his birthday was 6 month before we adopted him....
He had a lovely long walk today and now is happily chewing a bone. He grew into a lovely and handsome dog. Not that I am biased at all ;)
He was found at the age of 4 month wandering the roads of Ireland, full or worms and terribly scared. He was brought over to Wiccaweys, where he went into a foster home. I fell in love with his picture on the Wiccs website, but when we went up for a weekend to help, I was told that people where coming to meet him. So at least I had the chance to meet Max in the flesh.... He was a very scared puppy when we met and immediately attached himself to me. The people who were thinking of adopting him then decided he is not the right dog for their circumstances.... So I was asked to look after him for the afternoon..... And I just couldn't imagine to let go of him after that.... There was just the problem to convince Sarah and Paul, that I am the right home for him...
Well, the rest is history. he came home with us and I never regretted it. He is a lovely, but very sensitive dog. I have to be careful how to work with him, as he is easily shattered and so is his confidence... Agility gave his confidence a real boost, if I teach him gently....
Here are some recent pictures of my handsome boy :)
His first rosette for a 3rd place in a UKA casual class (he didn't even went clear..... oops, but nice nevertheless :) )
I found my "addiction" collies and Agility after I adopted my first Collie Jake from Wiccaweys. Max was unplanned.... I adopted him when I was at Wiccaweys to help out and people who came to meet Max for adoption, decided that he is not the right dog for their circumstances. Max is my special dog. I am so glad we found each other.
