piper

Ok, seems I do get to brag after all. My girls are gorgeous and beautiful and constantly amaze me:) Neither are trained for the level I entered them in and they both passed, taking out High In Trial and Runner Up High In Trial. Not great scores and they were um, interesting runs at times but I am thrilled to bits they both coped with what I have asked of them Jazz continued her run of High in Trials, I think only once has she missed out on winning it. She scored 83 in intermediate A course ducks. She was not at all my normal calm, quiet, controlled Jazz - someone gave her red cordial before we went in there. OMG!!!! I was exhausted after her run and it is not like I had to move much but commanding her and and watching her and trying to out think her were tiring. There were times when all I could was laugh - she was like a pinball out there. My saving grace is that she works so wide that her craziness did not overly upset the ducks. We had some issues with the cast - the devil turned in too soon but after that did a lovely job of getting them up and around C and into the Y chute, only losing 2 off the Y. She then had a perect run to the Z and was looking good for the hold exam pen but an extra couple of steps pushed 2 out and around. OUr biggest hurdle was getting them out of the pen which I expected, she has NEVER done a hold pen with ducks. The drive across the centre apparently left a few people gasping as the ducks nearly popped around it and she JUST managed to stop them and turn them back. It was then a smoothish run to the pen. Piper had a difficult duck in her batch of 5 in advanced. 1 kept splitting off which always bothers her and a few times we lost them offline as she would stop and worry about the 1 that kept wondering off. When she would try to bring it back it was not shy in pecking at her face. She had a beautiful cast, lift and draw losing just 2 points then none from the Y and the Z. The hold pen was our big problem with Piper too, I really batteld with getting them out and around it with me having to stand on the side of it. With a half point to spare we got them to 4 and then had a much better run across the centre than I expected, given that I have never attempted it with me stuck back at the hold pen. Piper also had a nice smooth pen to finish her run. Her round would have been much smoother had she remember that the word WAIT is 1 that she knows!! Luc kily she knows A course and could probably do much of it without me in there anyway. Oh and we did have some interesting commands of "WAIT, oh hang on, that worked, just keep going then."

What a wonderful job you have done with him in just a year Smisch! 21Qs already is fantastic, you 2 have a long and succesful future ahead of you.

Urgh, don't evny you having to get up there in this weather At least Saturday and Sunday are supposed to be ok weatherwise. I know how muddy it was up there in June in the yards so it will be disgusting by now. Good luck!!

Does this remind you of anyone Janba? I can't believe the resemblance OMG, Cole got cloned!!

The catalogue is not out yet, so you will all have to wait patiently Nightgrace, unless a breed is the first one listed for the day you can't know the time they will be judged. They are judged in the same order they are listed in for each day so all you can really do is look at that to get an idea of time. Looking at it, dobes are the third breed in their ring so they will be on fairly early, maybe 10ish at a guess.

You will have WAAYYY more chance of a brag than me. I have entered 2 dogs, up a level and not convinced either is ready. LOL

I am sooo jealous of you guys who got to do the clinic!! We have a trial here in SA this weekend. I haven't entered much (bit hard when you are judging half of it!) but I am giving both of the girls a run on ducks. Piper will be having a go at advanced - the first time there has been an advanced duck run in SA. I am not expecting much from it and had never intended on tryng advanced as I didn't think her driving was up to it but at a training session a few weeks ago she really surprised me. The area was a little smaller than the trial area, but not so much smaller that I think it made much difference. I am a little excited about giving it a go (and very nervous) Jazz will have her first run in Intermediate, also on ducks. Her driving is getting there from very limited training opportunities (3 or 4 so far this year) and the ducks being a smaller area I thought might make a good training exercise for her and me.

MayaBC, I am ging through similar with Jazz for similar reasons. She also cut her foot hooning around on who knows what and ended up under anaesthetic and over the last 10 days her coat is coming out rapidly. Jazz is entire and like Gayle said loses her coat about 8 weeks before a season so she should not be losing yet. However as someone else said stress and medication can make them lose coat as can a general anaesthetic. And in my case the Royal Show is in 3 weeks so of course it is a necessity to lose every hair before then, lol. Bath her and blow dry her and it will help lift a lot of the dead coat out and then give her a decent brush a few times a week.

I haven't checked in for awhile Jed, but I think about you regularly. It seems your sense of humour is still in tact, and that is always a good thing My hubby is a CFS volly and was shocked when I showed him the pictures and said he is amazed you are here, so you are right while the pressure suit is not comfortable it could have been you were not here to need it. Ker, your offer of the laptop is fantastic. Good on you!

1 trick I have used with kongs in winter to make them trickier to empty is to put a little cheese on top then put them in the microwave for a few seconds. Cheese melts down through the dry food and as it cools sets hard. I stand the kongs up with the large opening at the top in a coffee mug when I put them in the microwave so that they stay upright and allow the cheese to go into them. What about a sand pit - a clam shell or designated area of the yard and bury some food in ther for them to find? Start off with it on top, then just covered and gradually put it in deeper.

At the DogsSA grounds, Cromwell Rd Kilburn. Off the top of my head it is on September 12. I think it is great they have moved it from November to September, just not sure about it being smack bang at the end of the Royal. Having said all of that I am bound to be there representing herding. We may or may not do herding demos depending on availability of stock.

I would have loved to go to that clinic but work and $$ got in the way I know a couple of South Aussies went and from what I have heard had a great time and learnt lots. What was the yielding exercise?

Way to go Janba and Cole! That is a huge brag.

Were they truly a running contact or were they super quick releases for a 2o2o? For a nationals you may find they were giving a release before the dog had assumed its contact position - at last that is what a US trainer told me they do at big comps a few years back. She said after a Nationals or large regional qualifying event she will then spend a few weeks reproofing the contacts and getting the dog to assume and hold position. The conversation came up as I was at the time trying to convnice trainers at my club to start training a contact behaviour and asked her id she had some videos to show of her dogs using it in comps, but the only videos she had brought with her were nationals videos where she released the dog before it stopped so did not show a solid contact behaviour. It has been a few years since I have done agility so someone like Vickie will probably be able to clarify/explain that better than me.

I would say a 30". I have a beagle and 2 border collies. I have 36 inch crates for the border collies and they are much more space than Jessi needs.

This is a weekend clinic with a trainer from the US so an awful lot more than that and an opportunity that does not come up very often. A clinic that I would have loved the chance to go to, but just as well I didn't as Jazz still has stitches in her foot.

BIS is on the last day of the show which is a Saturday. The Sunday which is the third day of the show is special class day - baby puppies, state bred etc.

Yep, these are Jazz's favourite. She will walk around carrying them like a dummy. The blue 1s are softer than the red and also they float if the dog likes swimming. We have yet to destroy 1, and Piper used to play tug with them. We have lost several (over fences, into the reeds at the river - all due to poor throwing, lol) Our current 1 must be around 18 months old and gets used on a daily basis.

Thanks, I am wishing now I had gone with my instinct and kept it bandaged in the first place. We change the dressing at home on Tuesday and then again Friday or Saturday at the vets so they can check on it. Sheena - no idea what she did it on, we were playing in the back yard. First I thought it was on some old garden edging but when I checked that out it is not at all sharp, the top is sort of a rolled edge. I threw the frisbee she went and got the frisbee, ran back with it, gave it to me then started licking the foot and holding it up.

Well Jazz has her started title on ducks now with 2 more high in trials and will shortly have a go at intermediate. Her driving skills are coming along but I don't think she yet has the confidence for the distance needed for trialling intermediate on sheep. The inside of an obedience ring.... hmmm.... we made it to training, once! LOL. Start agility - I have done some dablling at home but not gone to classes. Piper is enjoying her semi retirement, no B course hering here yet but I am going to give her a crack at advanced A course ducks after a couple of lovely training runs. I had never expected her to be able to manage advanced but I think she will give it a good shot if she continues to work as she has been.

The good news is no more stitches at this stage. The bad news is at least another week of confiement, which I was gig to do anyway. Today's vet thinks it needs to be covered to keep it clean and dry. Which is what I thought all along. There is enough new tissue there that she thinks will hold but has put a paraffin dressing and wound gel on and given me some to reapply in a few days. Hopefully this will work, but it looks like the next hereding trial and maybe the Royal will be out.

Is it the dew claw pad? Never heard it called that - it is the 1 furthest up the leg, so I guess so. With my old boy I am fairly sure they trimmed a section off, I am going to discuss this tomorrow. Of course these things always happen when your favourite vet is away on holidays. The guy I saw was very new, had never seen him before and he was not very confident at all, 1 of the other vets did the surgery. I doubt restitching will work - the best way I can describe it is they have pulled the tough outer layer away, if you look at the photos most of the pad is now soft pink flesh rather than the thick black stuff, with the thick black skin hanging off attached to the stitches. And I am sure this is exactly how it happened with Reagan. Someone else has suggested glue, so I will ask about that as an option as well.

Ok, I just took these with my phone. They sort of show how the skin is lifting and howit went all the way from 1 side to the other through the pad. We have no idea what she did it on - we were playing frisbee and she skidded to get it, I can't find anything where it happened that would have cut her so I suspect it just tore open.

Jazz has had plenty of small tears and slices that I haven't bothered with. And even this 1 I left for a day or so as I didn't think it looked that bad but then I got home 1 day and it had torn further. It is the pad up by the wrist and it was basically split in 2 with 1 section hanging off and a large area of exposed flesh. I don't have any pics of it before but will try and take some now. I am really reluctant to get it restitched but don't want it reopening either. The wound is clean, but it is hard to tell what it looks like with the way the stitches go through it.

Jazz tore her pad quite badly nearly 2 weeks ago. It ended up needing stitching. The vets said confine her for 2 weeks as they are slow to heal. I asked about keeping something over it and was told it was best left open so that is what I have done. Jazz has been shut in all day every day since it was done with the other dogs left outside. Active toys have been taken away, play with other dogs when we are home has not been allowed. She has had 20 minutes a day outside in 4 x 5 min bursts to go to the toilet. If she starts to run around she gets called back in. The stiches have almost all pulled out and it is opening up again, it is nowhere near healed. We are off to the vets again tomorrow AM as they can't fit us in tonight (I did discuss with them why we needed to come in) but I am really annoyed and disappointed as I don't know what else can be done to help it. Anyone have any tips? I am unsure if I should get it restitched, when 1 of our oldies did similar they stitched it but told me that pads don't stich well and it may pull open again, which it did. When that happened they decided to leave it to heal by itself, I think they may have trimmed some tissue off - it was about 12 years ago now so can't be totally sure. If they do restitch it should I go with my instinct and cover it?