Sing is making history!

Sing is making history!

To my knowledge, he is the first ever sheltie to do Dash 'n' Splash.

and in STYLE!

all smashing photos were taken by Steve Collins of momofoto

Everyone who knows Sing knew how much he loves water! He is not just a great swimmer but a good diver too. If you remembered I have post some photos of him diving into the freezing cold pond in Richmond Park last Autumn? Whenever we walk anywhere with lake/pond/water, we MUST let him get in there to satisfy himself, all weather! His breeder Paula said, he is a fish in disguise! How true is that?

Dash 'n' Splash sounded like a new sport but I rememebered seeing them at Hop Farm, Paddcok Wood many many years ago when we first started flyballing. I told Colin Sing will love it but we never get around to try it out or do it. People that have been there knew what I mean. The queue is always very long and you can quece for hours. With a dog like Sing, I will go mad as he is not just bark in excitement but wind! How could you stand in the queue with a dog barking and winding for hours before it is your turn?

Anyway, Agility and Flyball occupied all these years and we slipped our chances year after year. This year, I know our circumstances has changed, with mum and nephews staying with me, two litters of puppies, European Flyball Championship ... etc, agility sounded like the last thing on my list, so I decided I will make an effort for Sing and his Dash 'n' Splash.

Eventhough Sing loves water but we have never try this sport before and know absolutely nothing about it. Luckily they have a training day on Friday, so I booked in the morning for Sing and afternoon for Sizzle.

We got there nice and early on Friday morning and it was very quiet at Hop Farm, very unusual. As everytime we visited Hop Farm, it is always so crowded with lots of activities. This weekend, they have lots of doggie events, from agility, flyball, Dash 'n' Splash, GunDog Scruffy show, Canine Cross ... you name it, they have it, basically an all dogs related show!!

On Friday, lots of campers arrived and set up for the weekend. The pool is not crowded (open for pre booked training only) and we have plenty of time to ourselves. They have two small pools and the main one for Dash 'n' Splash. The small pools are open to the public to have a go and the main pool is for invitation only. As we have not done this before, we got to go to the small pool to see how Sing performs. The rules for the beginner (or dog have not done it before) needed to be on the lead to start with. Sing does not like to be restricted, so he wasn't keen to swim with someone holding his lead, I guess he thinks that I am not allow him to swim. I normally put him on the lead when I do not want him to swim. After a couple of go, I told the trainer if he can allow him off the lead and Gwain was very nice and kind and took his lead off, "splash", he is off and swim happily. Gwain was happy and said to me I can take him to the main pool. WooHoo!

So, off we go on the main pool. That is a different layout to the small pool. It has 30 feet long platform/runway and a 40 feet pool. The drop between the platform and the pool is only 2 feet, so you do not have to worry the dog gets hurt when they splash. The TOP dog is called Dash, a black lab cross with a pointer but he looks more like a lab, leaner and taller. He is holding the UK and European record. He jumps 28.5 feet!

The first time Sing and I were on the main pool, I don't know what to do or expect but he jump straight in but short distance, so Gwain told me to take him down the runway, I only went 1/4 back and he already dive in a good distance. Gwain was very shocked with Sing's talent. Oh Yes! Can you imagine a sheltie swimming? Let alone diving? Anyway, Sing attracks a lot of attention this weekend. We did try a few jump from different distance, he started off well with 14 to 15 feet then ended up the day with 16.5 feet. Amazing, isn't it? I can't believe he can jump that far! My estimation was 12 feet the most but how wrong was I?

I went home happily on Friday, with high spirit! I didn't do Sizzle as he wasn't happy and is not well. We went again on Saturday morning for the heat. You need to jump a certain lenght to get qualify for the Final. Once again, Sing proved he can jump further and qualified with 16.5 feet! In the Final, you can have three goes, one for practise and two for competition. Sing didn't need the parctise, his first jump was 17 feet! 2nd jump was 16.6 feet when his coat get wet and heavy! He ended up 3rd place behind Magic, a cocker spaniel jump 19 feet and a springer spaniel jump 17.5 feet, both of them are at least twice the body lenght of Sing! I am so very proud of him!

On Sunday, Sing looked tired in the morning but when he saw the pool, he got so crazy and dragging me to the platform. His performace wasn't as good as Saturday, he had 4 runs but he managed 16.5 feet as his best of the day. He actually slipped on the last run (you can see on the video). When he quiet down, I can see him limping and a little lame. Luckily we have a vet in one of the flyball teams, she kindly have a look at Sing and told me he has pulled his shoulder so NO Final for us! I was disappointed, Gwain and Kate were disappointed and the public was disappointed but I would not risk my dog. I know I will go back to do more in the future but we have a splashing time.

Sing did get a lovely 3rd place rosette and a rope ball and a small bag of Purina dog food. I bought him this towelling cool coat to reward him, that also keep him dry and warm.