Tailwag

I am also waiting to hear & see who is judging :). NZ is looking very tempting, i havnt been there and would love to compete over there as well :)

Looks like a fantastic FAST course to run and yes we would have used a turn away here, out of the 5 dogs we run i suspect 3 would have turn nicely the other 2 who dont totally 'get it' would have taken a bit more of a push to get them back over that jump.

Firstly good luck with the appointment Smisch, I too would advise seeking out a good performance vet they are worth their weight in gold. I agree with Vickie as to when to retire a dog, it is a personal choice for all that do any form of performance based activity with their dogs. I was faced with the possibility of retirement with Dash when she was 4 (she turns 10 this year). Long story short she had damaged her back hind leg when she was young that in turn caused other unforseen damage due to overuse. I undertook a very detailed rehab program with her and was told at the time she wouldnt compete beyond 5 if she kept going the way she was. We did the rehab program and wow you know at the age of 10 she is running better than ever :). If i had to retire her i would, but that would have been my choice. I am lucky and she is one hell of a tough dog. Injuries can be a pain in the backside especially when they are niggly ones that reoccur and we have no idea why. I really hope you find the source of the issue with Den :).

Agree the surface in Tamworth was spectacular, the 3rd ring was a little soft on day 1 but they repacked it and it was as Casima stated running on wet sand with a little give, my guys increased their speed ROFL, as if i needed that, but i cant remember when all 3 of my dogs ran so well over a 4 day event. By day 4 my legs were feeling it a little but that soon passed . I believe the equestrian centre is somewhat different tho and not the same surface guess we will see come January 7th at the fundraiser trial

I think both the new AgCh rules and old have both pros and cons about them. I guess with the new rules it takes away that needing to win scenario, now handlers can take their time gaining it knowing all too well everytime they go clear they will gain points. I still think the title isnt easy to achieve you still need to be consistant and if you have a fast dog that places in every trial just means you will gain it a little easier than with a slower dog that will go clear in every trial but may not place, however, that doesnt take it away from either dog given both are a great consistant dog. It is a real shame to see dogs and handlers like vickie and trim fall shy of such a well deserved title, these two have become one of the most consistant teams around, so to now have to utilise all that hard earned work into points is a real shame. As sad as that is, i suspect it wont take them long to gain it with the consistant fast runs they are having .

We will be there and looking forward to it. I will be running 4 dogs but hey always love a challenge best i work on my fitness now i guess . If the arena inside is anything like AELEC (ADAA Grand Prix Tamworth) then man i cant wait. That surface was fantastic and very fast.

And of course the 24 Weave Pole Challenge (only got a few dogs in this)

Ok i have just uploaded both Links and Sweeps runs, so here are the links for these guys , there are good and faulted runs in the videos but hey both my kids ran so well . Dash, Delta and Charlie are still waiting to be uploaded so will put those up once they are done. Enjoy Sweeps Runs Links Runs

We had an awsome time despite all the issues we had preceding the GP with our van. Dogs ran beautifully with many 1 & 2 fault runs, then the guys and i started to put it together for those long awaited Qs. The rapport at the GP is fantastic and everyone cheers on everyone else it is really wanderful to see. We had great results some being Delta 1st in the Regular Medallions Stakes final, 3rd in Gamblers, Dash 2nd in the 24 weave challenge (5.17 to be be beaten by a 5.15 time not bad for a 9 year old dog), Link 1st Starters jumping (Midi)& a Jumplers Q, Sweep 1st in the Tortoise & Hare (Regular Maxi), Dash Q in Open Jumping and Tortoise & hare, Charlie multiple Qs in Starters, Intermediate Jumping, Open jumping and jumplers. The venue was amazing i have ever only missed 2 GPs and given i missed last years this was brilliant to be there this year, the surface was amazing to run on (and the guys manage to speed up which threw my timing out the door ). But man i wish i could run on that at every trial, we will definitely be there next year (me running 4 dogs argghh).

Hi All, yep Delta Charlie and i will be their with our 7 Bcs altho we are only running 5 of them. Should be a busy weekend for us with 76 runs all up (i have 46 of those ). So look out for us with me having 3 Tri Colour BCs and a Predominatnly Black one, and Bec with a B&W, and a predominatly black BCS and a cattle x Be good to ctach up with you guys there

I dont find it hard at all, i was messing around with running AF with Sweep....Link is a definite 2o2o and Dash is a lie down. Rush my young pup will follow her mum in a 2o2o. I screwed up both Dash and Sweep with there contacts and i wasnt going to do the same with Link, she has solid contacts and it is something that i will be consitant with. Besides in all honesty i can get their contact names right but i cant seem to get the name of the dog i am running right lol, lucky my dogs are used to me calling them different things

We have a few of our Border Collies that drop at the end of a DW, AF no that is a 2o2o, SS our dogs either have a 4 on, or a lie down. I prefer not to have a 2o2o on the SS, altho with the new one, flipping up isnt going to be too much of an issue as it is very low to the ground anyhow. What i dont understand is why everyone must be doing the same thing in class. I know when i intructed years ago i worked with what worked with the dog and handler, not all dogs and handlers are the same, not all learn the same, and not all can do the same thing. You work with what you have and if a handler has something in mind that they want to go with then i would work with them to accomplish it. I really find that hard to understand. For teaching the target i also highly reward for any touch of the target then my criterias increase to what the dog must do, i prefer not to use a clicker but utilise verbals ie 'yes' and go from there . Remeber tho it is all a game .

Well the Weesaw has arrived and all i can say is 'Oh Dear'. I am sure Links pups went over something bigger than that for playtime.....all i could do was laugh there was no other option it really is rather funny. I suspect this thing is just gonna be used as a running contact with most dogs.

The bang game is probaly one of the most important games to play with your dog it helps build not only confidence with something moving underneath them but also helps desensitise them to the noise it make when it drops. With Links pups i screwed a piece of pvc pipe onto a board for them and they started running over that at 4 weeks with great delight. Wobble boards are also great to get a dog used to something moving underneath it. Speaking of SSs we have our new weesaw being delivered this saturday so at least we will have both sizes now to train with. It will be interesting to see what the big guys do when it only drops a few feet lol, i suspect some of them will try and use it as a running contact lol.

ya reckon complexity it certainly is Remember FAST isnt everything . I have spoken to a few who would love to own a 'FAST' dog, but with fast comes lots of learning to handle fast, lots of thinking on your feet, and lots of training. Every new dog i start is generally quicker than the last, i have made plenty of mistakes along the way, fixed those mistakes to make new ones . Fast is a fast learning curve. But in all honestly i wouldnt have it any other way (that is just me ). I love running my dogs, i love the adrenaline rush they give me, i love the game we play, but the best thing is, i love the looks on their faces when we finish a great run (regardless of Q) that is truly priceless .