Supermum

Nope - there was that guy with 'the lens' Also, a lady - particularly on the Sunday. They were chatting when I was nearby, but they obviously didn't know each other beforehand. Neither was from a team or had association with a team. One came from Sydney (I wasn't eavesdropping...promise ) I think there were a couple of others too with good equipment, but not for the entire day/s.

Yes, thanks heaps Jo. Saved me checking constantly. It already feels like a long time ago! There were a number of photographers there, though. Are they all through the same place? I'll be finding my credit card....

there is a team in noosa called "paws of noosa" ( ithink thats there full name. Failing that your welcome to train with us at luv a dog regardless in marybrough, but it may be a bit far to come We were Paws of Noosa at the Nationals recently, but it was a team representing the Leaps and Bounds club, which does have a Noosa division as well as the Sydney division. We are more than happy to welcome new members - whether you're in Sydney or Noosa (or thereabouts). PM me for extra details! Best Jo

Here's the link - they're posted under the Photos Photos Photos thread http://forums.dogzonline.com.au/index.php?showtopic=103557

I'm also excited to see you got a good pic of my darling at the box! Very cool. And now I'm finally on YouTube too, thanks to the video. Lots of fun! Thanks!!

Thanks to my team mates in St George for thinking up the cheer squad idea while we were in the ring. It was a little disconcerting the first time we heard them start up the chant / stomp / clap thing up in the grandstand but after that we all got into it whenever one of our three teams went into the ring, it adds to the fun. Might have started a trend I fear. I heard someone wander past me later on after racing one of our teams muttering to their companions that 'we need a cheer squad too.' We might wheel out the cheer squad again at the Wodonga comp. Jo Thanks Jo - I keep checking the Nationals site too. We'll be spending up big on good pics! That cheer squad was incredibly intimidating Trent was on the side of the ring right next to me, yelling "St George, etc". I said to him "Yeah, that's great" and gave him the thumbs up. The essence of great sportsmanship is that after the first heat, (which we won ) Trent paused for a second in his chanting, and said "Great start Leaps and Bounds - 0.02!" What fun! The chanting added to the pressure on us, but I'm sure it added to the pressure on you guys too. And it's all good natured and supportive of their team anyway - not like it was done to try and put anyone off.... You stopped when the start began too, which ensured everyone heard the lights/buzzer. Leaps and Bounds will definitely have to get rent a crowd along to a comp....

We were also somewhat disappointed in the small number of races - in fact, we even said that we'd be really annoyed if we got stuck with the 3 heat races. I really feel for you. We'd run that many races in a normal one-day comp. And on Saturday we had a 3 hour break between two of our races. At least we had a run-off at the end of the comp and we won that with 3 clean runs so that was 6 extra points for each of our dogs. That said, we had a great time and I think it was really well put together. Can't imagine the amount of organisation that goes into it. Congratulations to St George for having so many team members there, and for them being so very vocal on Sunday in supporting each of their teams! Can anyone tell me who the professional photographers were and where the pics will be likely to go up? I'm assuming Pinnicle was one? Nothing listed anywhere yet, and I know they took some pics of Bryce in full flight.

How does that work? are you the same club but in two diffrent states? We could almost do that as we have a most of the club in Ballarat and a then one in Melb and one even further down. Sorry no reply earlier - hadn't checked! We just got home. Sorry not to meet more DOLers while at Nationals - but now, looking through the messages I recognise the teams you're with! Next time :D We combined our Leaps and Bounds teams from Noosa and Sydney by creating a 'new team' called Paws of Noosa - easily done, with a 'declared' seed time, made up of the fastest time ran by each dog in the team. We were in Orange and Black (you might have seen us!) We ran in division 4, and what an exciting couple of days, running an entirely new team and trying to get the passes right, etc. We are very proud of our second placing in the division. The team over the weekend was made up of four Noosa dogs (Rosie, Caddy, Leo and Oscar) and two NSW dogs (Jedda and Bryce - Bryce is mine). Turns out Oscar, our height dog, decided flyball wasn't his 'thing' this weekend, and Caddy wasn't 100% fit, so we were forced to run four taller dogs. We'd never done that before either! What a bizarre combo! We ran 13in jumps, and got the passes pretty well sorted - and we ended up coming in second after a pretty exciting run off with Canberra X-Factor late yesterday. If you're all in the same team, you can make up different 'combinations' of dogs, and enter them as a team - I've done this twice now. The only problem is that you won't have trained with the dogs you're running with and many would find this off-putting. I'm lucky that my club is more based on friendship and doing the best we can with what we've got than with winning at all costs. We pretty much focus on clean runs. Winning kibble is always a bonus. That said, both times I've made the trip north and combined with our Noosa division, we've won kibble! I love winning kibble!

Same with a working dog, unless you have the work or requirement for it, you wouldn't enter. Farmers don't tend to "impulse buy" a working dog. Completely different target audiences! And where did anyone say in this thread about shooting them? There are no limitations to whom can enter this competition. You don't have to justify your reasons. It doesn't matter who you think the target audience is - the fact is you can't guarantee a good environment for the dog. Shooting them? Happens all the time. I live semi-rural and know at least two people who do this.

Agreed. Offering a dog as a prize is wrong, no matter what. It's not about who is 'likely' to win, and what they're 'likely' to do with the dog. It's about making the dog a prize in a competition. I can't believe so many were outraged to the point of blackmail for the last comp, and yet here are heaps of people who think it's okay this time around?! I know of farmers who will shoot a dog in the paddock if they don't do their job any more. But because they're 'working dogs' that's okay by you people?

Turns out we're going too! We've combined some of our Noosa Leaps and Bounds club with our NSW club to form a team which is possibly our fastest to date. The dogs have never run as a team, however, so the whole thing will be incredibly interesting Bryce has only had one comp since injury, so I'm hoping for good clean runs the whole time. I don't do camping (ICK!). We have rented a house nearby! Me, my teenagers Bec and Max and Bryce will drive up on the Friday, and back on the Monday. Looking forward! Hoping to meet lots of other DOLers - I'll be the weird one in the orange shirt with a stain on the back. (A marker pen leaked in the bag.... hmmm).

The Psycho's is one of the craziest flyball teams you'll ever seen. Ian is unforgettable. The whole lot of them are cracked (just like all good eggs should be ) We're always pleased to see new members at Leaps and Bounds. We train every Sunday morning in primary school grounds near the Water Tower at Bankstown. For flyball it's 8.30am to 9.30am for beginners (the teams that compete then train from 9.30am to 10.30 or 11am - depending upon the dogs and how much we all have to work on!) We also do agility, but not every week. PM me if you'd like more info on where we are.

Can I point out that there need not be a direct relationship between price and quality!? If a company wants to appear to be high quality, then the price point will reflect it - it doesn't necessarily guarantee it! This discussion is had over and over. I like supercoat (the lite one), but mix it with a selection of BARF patties or chicken necks - I vary the combination. My dogs are happy, healthy and with great coats. I mix it because I want to keep their teeth white and healthy, so the necks are great for that, and because I like to think the dogs like a bit of variety in texture and flavour, just as I do. Just from reading this forum over time, I've seen people have far different results with different kibbles. (For eg, my dogs get the squirts with Optimum - but I realise this doesn't happen with other dogs). And this is fine. But I see lots of posts where people espouse the merits of so-called "premium brands" based solely on the price and exclusive method of sale. As a marketing teacher, I know how these companies work, and I'm telling you, where you get it and the price you pay doesn't actually automatically reflect what you're buying.

My vet recommends using a tick collar as well as frontline or whatever tick treatment - doubling up is a good idea he feels. You'll also need to check your dog throughly every day for ticks while you're away but also for a few weeks after returning. It might seem like hard work, but nothings harder than finding a tick when it's started to do its work. Don't forget to look in their ears and around the paws, in between the pads too.

Toby is only clean for a blink of an eye (you caught us out - we washed him specially to see you at Holroyd, Westielover!). He also gets lime green paws from running in the fresh cut lawn. Very cute. We used to use chalk to keep our show westie looking his best - worked brilliantly. Was at PetBarn today and they didn't have any. Don't know if it's still the done thing. Many westies who are not 'show quality' do demonstrate 'flaws' like curly coats, etc - and also a tendency to sport a 'browner' coat, like their Cairn Terrier heritage.