SUPA(muddy)DOG

What was I doing when everyone goes to SUPAmuddyDOG?

I was pretty lucky with Supadog so far, I've entered the first day and the last day (don't know why). The weather was dry on Saturday but the day parking was a nightmare, I have to walk miles to get my dogs, especially when you have to run 2 dogs in the same class!! I am thinking to skip my runs today, the weather forecast said it is going to have heavy shower later on. I rather stay indoor and they boys need a good break too.

We went to Cippenham on Sunday, it was pouring down and it was freezing cold.

Then, I spent Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday shaving the cat and decorating the small room! I feel sorry for those people that camp at SupaDog, especially some of my friends staying in their tents, I hope they managed to keep dry and warm.

Sing was doing alright at the shows but Saturn was a "naughty" boy last weekend, his mind drifted off when we went into the rings, mainly he missed the weaves. I need to get him to concentrate. There are a lot to work on with him, hopefully he will settle down for Thames.

The Poddlely Persian!!

Tikka does not like a proper grooming, he only like a gentle brush. He normally get himself in a terrible knotted stage just before Summer. We sent him to animal groomers but they will not take him the 2nd year as he scratched the poor ladies that tried to shave him. We went to few places and the last one (2006) was to the Vet. He charged £150 to clean shaven him!! Colin decided we should have a go as we can't keep paying £150 a year to shave him. There is no groomer wants to take him anymore (poor cat!!). I am not a great groomer but I think I did a good job because the cat didn't scratch me at all and he was actually puuring!

MAMA I Love You

I rang my mum on Monday and somehow I upset her terribly and the topic was related to DOGs!!

My mother is not an animal person (luckily I didn't inherited from her!!), she does not like dogs or cats! I wonder how did she coped when my father used to have so many dogs at once. I was very young and I can't remember how many dogs we have then, it must be at least 6 at a time, 4 GSDs and 2 Dobermans X. I must have been inherited from my father.

Anyway, she was supposed to come to visit me when my eldest nephew is coming to further his study in August. I told her she is welcome to stay as long as she likes but she has to somehow respect my dogs during her stays (she has no idea why we keep the dogs & cats indoor in this country!!). She then went on to ask: "Can I chase them off or kick them off when they come near me", that really drove me mad and I started shouting at her (+*/&#?%^$£"!+<->:@~)!! Everybody who understands me knows how much I love my shelties, they sleep on my bed, they eat what we are eating, they are my best companion and they are very close to my heart!

I am such a terrible daughter to her, we never click since I was young. Whoever read this, please do not translate to her, I don't want to upset her more! I hope she will understand one day that the dogs mean everything to me!

How can I not love my dogs? They never upset me like those children did to their parents, most of all, they give me UNCONDITIONAL love!

NO show weekend! Yipee!!!!!

What an unusual weekend for me but I was very relaxing and enjoyed every minutes with the boys and their dad NOT in the showground! Colin and the boys were so happy to be out and explored new exciting places!!

We spent Saturday morning doing some gardening ... mawn the lawn, tidy up the annoying weed, plant some more fushias (Colin, not me!) & watering the poor droopy plants. Oh! I also remembered to feed the poor fish after 3 weeks' starvation!! My brother & sister in law came over to visit us about late afternoon. We have not seen them for a long time so it was good to catch up. Then, there was a football on (Man U v Chelsea), the men were watching while we ladies nearly falling asleep!! After the footie, we were supposed to take the boys to Richmond Park so Sing can have a nice swim in the beautiful pond but the time would not allow us to drive an hour to get there (blamed the football!! No goal in the 90 minutes and they have go on for extra 30 minutes!!). The traffic at that time will be terrible, instead we went to Mitcham Common. We walked more than 2 hours, this including Sing swimming in the dirty pond, me climbing the tree and the dogs went mad and barked at me!! We had a good fun time in the Common and when we got home, it started to get dark and I sent Colin and his brother Russell out for a bon fire. We have chopped down some trees last year to create more space for me to practice in the garden and it is time to get rid of them. We then have my "secret" recipe sausage casserole for dinner! I think everybody must have enjoyed my cooking as all the plates were shine & clean!! Or they were too hungry and gulp it all down??

It is his job to mawn the lawn but I always help to trim the edges

It is very kind of my nephew Yung to help trimming the Willow Tree

We spotted this weird mushroom grows in a big tree in Mitcham Common

As usual, we cannot stop Sing swimming in the pond. I guess the gease is fed up with him disturbing the calming water, he was behind him to chase him off!!

Sing is very good in catching the ball in the air, I always wanted to capture the special moment but all our timing is wrong. I think I need a professional photograher sitting there all day watching us playing and maybe he would be able to get the right photo but thanks to Russell's patient to get this photo of Sing catching a ball.

Colin likes adventorous stuff, we saw this unstable swing and he decided he should have a go. I don't think the boys were impressed by their crazy dad!!

I am pretty good at climbing tree (is this anything to do with me born in the year of the Monkey?). I must admist this tree is a bit difficult and it need a bit of climbing skill to get up there. I finally got up there and Colin thought he would join me for some fun!

Well, Kyung Yeon was impressed and she wanted to have a go with Russell's help. Here they are both on the tree, well done!

Colin is HOOK to his "toy" (a Blackberry) and here he is showing it off to his bro & sis in law.

BONFIRE

Sunday was a beautiful day. We heard from the weather forecast to say that they will be a light shower especially down the South coast but we have planned to go to Chichester Harbour or Hayling Island for a day out! Well, whether rain or shine, we are going!!

First, on the way down to the south coast, we stopped by Sussex Caravan to buy a new jockey wheel to replace the stolen one; then we headed to Angmering to sort out our old caravan. Good-bye Dorothy (that's what we used to call her!)! All the jobs done and it is time to enjoy ourselves. We decided we will go and explore Hayling Island. We heard a lot of Hayling Island from friends and we never have a chance to go and yesterday was the day. We got down there nice and easy, parked the car by the council carpark and started the Coastal Path walk with the boys. It was a bit crowded, full of cyclist, people and children but the boys behaved themselves beautifully and there was no problem at all. Both human and dogs enjoyed being outdoor and exploring new places! One thing, we could not get Sing out from the sea, he was so determined that he wanted to swim ALL THE TIME, he kept begging us to throw stick so he can retrieve. We have to stop every now and then to keep him satisfied!! All in all, I think he must have swam more than an hour!! He never get tired. I wonder is he a Toller or a Sheltie?? We spent good 5 hours at Hayling Island, 3.5 hours walking and 1.5 hours having our late lunch at the pub. We wanted some fish and chips but could not find any fish & chips shop around so we have to ended up eating at the pricy pub and the terrible food! I missed the scuzzy fish & chips!!

welcome to Hayling Island

Colin said this is the bridge separated the mainland and Hayling Island. I like the street lights, they are unusual shape compares to the one here.

The Harbour

Cute Hayling Cow

Come On, daddy!

At the end of the weekend, I wonder why I was so achy. Well, walking 6 hours a day will not kill me, I am pretty good in walking on my own pace. We used to go out walking every weekend and we walked miles and miles. I think climbing the trees were not help at all!! I actually climbed another tree at Hayling Island. It was a lovely tree for climbing; the branches were low and very easy to climb. When I was half way up the tree, I have realised Saturn and Titan actually followed me up the tree!! Don't be fool by the picture, we were actually about 10 feet off the ground!!

2 James Patterson's biggest fans!

The picture says it all!

Tunbridge Wells and more RAIN!

wet, wEet, WET

After the hottest April ever, are we going to have the WETTEST May ever???

It was very WET, WINDY, COLD and slippery at Tunbridge Wells yesterday. After 4 hours run, I was wet through, inside out!! and freezing!!

Our first run was the Crufts Team, there were only 6 Medium Teams, only ONE team gets qualified and that goes to Toni Dawkins and her all Collies Team. After watching Toni and her gang ran, we knew that there will be no more pressure and we can take our run casually. Me and Sing was the first one in, we got 5 faults on the Dog Walk (as usual!! how am I going to break through this??); the second up was Tippex with his mum. (I am sorry but I don't know the human's name, I better go and find out!!), Tippex got 5 faults on the Dog Walk too (at least I don't feel too bad!). Then, followed by Laura & Sisko, this pair got 10 faults, 5 on the Dog Walk and 5 on the A Frame. The last one was Sue & Cola and they were the only pair that went CLEAR!! Well done Sue and Cola. I think we came 4th at the end.

Saturn was brilliant at the show yesterday. The condition was terrible, very wet and slippery. He had a nice round at the 1-7 Agility, he got the weave entry but got his tail caught in between the wet poles, this superb boy determined to finish the weaving, I praised him like crazy. The only "naughty" point of him was he released himself at the A Frame but I make sure he has his target on the Dog Walk. He did it and I was too happy and send him to do a back jump in front of the Dog Walk! Ha! At the 1-3 Jumping, he was a bit slow to start with and then he got caught again at the weave, I think his tail got stuck on the 7th pole and he was in between the 8th & 9th pole trying to pull himself out, anyway, he decided he had enough of the weave and came off. I took him back to do the full weave again and I was very pleased he did managed to finish it the second time and after that he sped up and did a fast round.

Sing got a 4th in the Jumping. It was a nice easy flow course. At the Agility round, he got his Dog Walk, YEH!

Training with SKYE

A lot of friends are asking me why I only train Sing and Saturn and not the others? Well, I did. I train Titan & Skye as well. It is probably now is the agility season and I spend most of my time with Saturn, hopefully he will be able to progress to Grade 4 by the end of the year. I am not rushing to compete with Titan and Skye, so I can train them casually and I would rather prefer they are confident before putting them into any show.

Here is a music compilation of Skye doing some basic exercise:

Rythm of the rain

Goodbye Sammy

Sleep tight our dear Sammy, we missed you terribly!

I just received a bad news, my friends Jim & Joan has lost their beloved Sammy yesterday morning. She was unwell since Friday and it only got worst. Jim and Joan decided to take her to see the emergency vet on early Monday morning and sadly Sammy passed away in the journey!

running contacts!

I don't remember when but I decided to do running contacts with Sing. He never is a fast dog and with his marginal height to jump in Medium is definitely not an advantage for us, especially there are so many Collies in the Medium now!

Sing is pretty good running the A Frame but we are having faults on the Dog Walk every now and then. I already know running contact is a risk but I still want to try to train him to be more persistent in the Dog Walk.

Surprisingly, his dad gave me such a good "advice". He reminded me back in 2005 when I competed Sing in Flyball, and in many occassions, there is a company called Mordern Dog Sport (?? I may be wrong but definitely something to do with "Mordern" and "Dog"!) always have a small fun agility course and they always put a hoop at the end of the Dog Walk, I don't know what is the reason/rule behind it. Sing has a go at one occassion and we got to the final round, unfortunately we cannot compete in the final because Sing was also in the final round in the Flyball Team, so we have to give the 1st place to a Manchester Terrier but Sing and the Team won 1st in the Flyball too!

Back to my running contacts ... I cut some pipe out and stick it at the end of the Dog Walk, hopefully Sing will slow down and go through the hoop. The first time, I show him there is a hoop at the end of the Dog Walk, so when he walk up the Dog Walk, I am hoping he will run through the hoop without missing the contact, guess what? This Super Sheltie ran up the Dog Walk and jump over the hoop to finish his Dog Walk!!! Oh God! I make it worst? I thought I am suppose to teach him not to leap but now with the hoop at the end, he has to leap far before he reach the bottom!!

Anyway, I need to try again, but this time, I pick him up and put him on the lower plank and tell him to go "THROUGH" the hoop, he did it and I click. We tried a few times and each time he go through the hoop, I click and treat. Then, we do the full dog walk. I must admit, when he knows there is a hoop at the end, he actually slow down. I think I am going to leave it like that for time being so we can practice the running contact. I may try to take the hoop out tomorrow to see if he misses the contact, well, trial and error!!

agility AND rain

This is Saturn's first trophy

he won a 3rd in Grade 3 Jumping at Vyne

After we had the hottest April month ever, now the weather is going to change! We heard from the weather forecast saying bank holiday Monday is going to be wet and miserable, WHAT? Not when I need to go to a dog show!! Well, it is a typical English weather, all bank holidays are going to rain, rain, rain ...

Well, we have all sort at Vyne ...

• It was dry when we left home, the rain started when we got on M4, by the time we got to Newbury Showground, it was all wet and windy and COLD!!
• First thing for us was the Grade 1-7 Agility, due to the wet wet wet condition, almost every other dog fell off the Dog Walk. Sing was one of the victim! Saturn was doing fine on the contacts but we got E'd because the silly boy didn't want to weave!!
• After a couple of hours, the rain and wind still going strong when the Grade 3 Agility course was up for walking. Sing didn't freak after the fall, he walked up the Dog Walk but freeze at the bottom and looked blank. I then realised he was very unwell, so he has the rest of the day while I concentrate on Saturn. The big boy was doing well until he refused the A Frame! Hey, what's going on here? I was very disappointed as he was in a nice speed and weave beautifully.
• The last thing, Grade 3 Jumping wasn't on until nearly 3pm. I have plenty of time to watch the Champ Classes, I was amazed by all the Champ dogs and enjoyng myself in a bit of rain and a bit of sunshine.
• Luckily the sky brighten up in the afternoon but the ground was still wet. I saw a few people fell over in the Large Champ Class. The strong wind didn't help either, the jump wings kept falling over while the dogs were running in the ring, I fell sorry for the Champ handlers especially a lady handler, she started her BC with a nice speed and went through the first tricky bit (many got caught in that tunnel entrance!), all the way round and up the Dog Walk, when the dog came off the Dog Walk, he needed to do a sharp left to jump over a jump and go into a very difficult weave entry but the jump between the Dog Walk and the weave was blown by the wind and the wing fell inward, the judge told the handler to go ahead but the handler refused and I thought it was a big shamed that she never was given a chance to rerun as the jump was a dangerous object and she was right not to do the jump. If the wing fell outward, I think she might jump over it.
• The highlight of the day for me was Saturn won his first ever torphy in Grade 3 Jumping. This dog is going strength by strength!
  

BEWARE of ... caravan THIEF!!!!!!!!!!!!

For those who owns a caravan, the weather is nice to go on caravan now but be careful when you are not away and park your caravan at your front garden!!! Just get yourself something more secure, one of my friends Bernadette is one of the victim, her lovely caravan been stolen yesterday and when I came back from shopping today and have realised my jockey wheel was gone!!!!!!! Whoever these B*****D are, I am going to kill you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr... or I will set my dogs on you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You better don't let me catch you, I am pretty violent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!