The Hardy Family

We have been travelling about 1070 miles since Good Friday! After we found out Dashin' Dogs is cancelled due to high wind, we checked in at our caravan park in Ashbourne, Derbyshire. Woodland Caravan Park (http://www.woodlandcaravanpark.co.uk/). This is a new campsite, this is just their second season. It is clean, tidy and tranquil. We were surrouding by all lovely pine trees and the high wind didn't bother us at all! They even have a securely fence quarter of an acre land for the dogs to run free and just behind the campsite, they have a lovely country walk for miles!

During our holiday in the Peak District, we have expericed all sorts of extreme weather but it didn't stop us go out walking for miles and miles everyday in the snow, rain, high wind and sunshine. We have two walks a day, one in the morning, then hop in to a pub for nice lunch, then go for another walk then go back to our campsite.

Day 1, we went to The Roaches (http://www.cressbrook.co.uk/visits/roaches.php) in snow! It was a medium walk, a bit of climbing, not too bad but we managed just nice in the snow!

we are on the way up to the Rock

Colin and Sing and Saturn were brave enough to climb where I chicken out on the slippery rock!! I think the boys did better than their daddy!!

Don't think the boys enjoyed taking photos!!

After a warm pub lunch, we found Biddulph Grange Garden (http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-biddulphgrangegarden/) to burn off the calories we have just taken. It was a lovely long walk in the snow, sunshine and rain!

Seagull can't cope with the snow!!

These two evil and wicked combinations couldn't care less!

Biddulph Grange Garden is a very big garden, you just walk miles and miles ... they have a few different walks, some are difficult and some are gentle ... this is a long road, which way now?

a miserable Seagull walking in the rain

Day 2, we thought after a long walk from yesterday, we should take the second day easy, I do not want to get over tired for Spring at Shuttleworth. We chose to find some water walk for Sing ... we found Carsington Water (http://www.cressbrook.co.uk/visits/carsington.php), since this was a not-in-plan walk, we decided to do a quick 20 minutes but this 20 minutes walk turned into disaster! We didn't know this Carsington Water is BIG, we just followed the route around and to realised you either carry on finish the route or there is no turning back!! As we do not want to pay the expensive car park, so we park a couple of miles away. Guess what, we walk and walk and walk, hungry, thirsty ... wander how far is this walk, but it seems endless ... again, in the snow, rain and sunshine, that made the walk a torture! We haven't prepare for food or snack, so we were really starving after 1.5 hours walk! But, we are not even half way round the lake yet!! The route include a walk through the village and we were so happy to find a pub, don't care about the quality of food, as long as they do food, we will go for it! We have the five shelties with us in the beer garden and have our Roast Beef in the snow!!!

After we got back to our campsite, we can't wait to find out how many miles we have been walking! The Water itself is about 8-9 miles and we park the car further, so it must be a good 10 miles we have been walking!!

By the end, we were all very tired!!

Monday, Day 3, we went a bit further into Walsall to visit the Tree Museum, it wasn't very interesting, it is quite a built up area and the dogs have to be on the lead. I don't think we enjoyed the walk as the boys can't run free!! We then went to Tipton, near Dudley for some mad pies! Colin found this place, the famous unique pie factory called MAD O'ROUKES (http://www.madpies.co.uk/). They have their own very famous "Desperate Dan's Cow Pie" of 4lbs, Colin was very interested but we don't think he will finish the whole 4lbs pie, so we both chose to go for a Ruby Murray Pie! I have some great photos of the pub and the pie on my iPhone but my old pc wouldn't let me download anything more than 2GB!! I need to find a way to post the photos. It is a lovely pub/pie place, we have to return to try the 4lbs Cow pie two days later!!

The famous Mad O'Roukes

Day 4, we went to Black Rock. It was a nice walk, we enjoyed the beautiful scenery, again, I was not brave enough to climb those rocks, Colin and the boys went up there but I decided I would just stay down here to take photos!!

The Black Rock that does not look BLACK!!

They wonder why I don't come up there with them!!

I like this photo, especially if you can spot Saturn, looks like he is eye spying me!!

Day 4, we went to Preston to meet up with Irene, one of my sheltie friends that lives in Cumbria. Preston is half way for both of us. We had a very long lunch to catch up with each other. It was very good to see Irene, unfortunately not with her three lovely shelties, the two girls were in season. After lunch, we took the boys out walking in Beacon Fell Country Park (http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/Environment/countryside/sites/beaconf.asp), again, in the snow and rain but no sunshine this time!! After the wet walk, we drove to Tipton again, so Colin can enjoy his Despearate Dan's Cow Pie!! I must get this 4lbs cow pie picture upload soon!!! Well, this mean we didn't get home till 10:30pm!

The Boys at Beacon Fell Country Park. This Park has a lot of sculptures.

Day 5, we went to Dove Dale, one of my favourite walks this holiday! It was a lovely day with a bit of rain but mainly dry. The attraction is the famous stepping stones! Colin and the boys walked on the stepping stones a few times on the beginning of the walks. The water was quite strong and some stones even under the water but the boys enjoyed themselves. On the journey back, I have a go and got all wet but we were very happy as we have all tried it!

we found this "money tree" on the walk in Dove Dale!

Skye on the stepping stones

Colin and Sing waiting for us

Bless him, he was so tired after the long walk, he fell sleep standing while we had our cup of tea!

Day 6, the last day of our holiday, we took it very easy, stay in the campsite, do the local walks. It was a lovely "sunny" day for a short while, so we can have our breakfast outside the caravan!!

Woodland Caravan Park

While out walking, Saturn practising his herding/stalking on the sheep!! I think he certainly has the potential to herd!!

We have some snow!!

This is Colin's fault, he chucked the ball in the muddy swamp and sent Sing to fetch it, of course he is a good boy, do as daddy told to, and he came back cover in mud. This is not funny as he got eye infection after that and he was bad on Saturday and worst on Sunday!!

At the end of our holiday, I came up with a new name, THE HARDY FAMILY for us. We walked miles in the snow, heavy rain, gales force wind ... and we survived!

dust free 10 days

We took the dogs and caravan with us to Dashin' Dogs on Good Friday, thanks to Colin's good advice, we left at 7am to avoid the traffic and drove all the way there to find the whole show is cancelled. I should have check my email while we stop for the toilet trip but I forgot I have a brand new iPhone! While we were off the motorway, I saw a lot of doggie caravans drove from the opposite direction and I asked Colin where are all these people go and he said they might be going to Ardingly!! There you go, we carry on driving and sunk at the entrance!! Luckily there was a tractor to tow us out!!

Well, after the disaster start, I have to ring up the caravan park in Peak District where we are going for holiday to see if they have an empty spot for us and thank God, due to the bad weather, they have 5 cancellations and we were able to get there a few days early.

More about the holiday and Spring at Shuttleworth later ...

While we were away, my friend Jim carries on working on the garage for us so we can enjoy dust free house for 10 days!! The house is in the right mess for nearly 3 weeks now and I am very stress facing this situation and I can't wait to finish it off quickly.

When we got back on Sunday night, the house looks very different! This is our new window to replace the garage door:

and the inside is looking good ... the electric cables are all fixed, the plaster board is up and now we need some guy to come in to plaster the wall and a ceiling guy to come in to fix the drop ceiling, then emulsion, then carpet, then we can start moving furniture in!! Oh, I can't wait!!

Chippenham

We had a good time at Chippenham yesterday eventhough it was wet, windy, bitterly cold and very long day but I am very happy and pleased with both Sing and Saturn. I think they did some good rounds.

Saturn managed to get all his contacts in his Graded 1-3 class and finished in a good time, 28 seconds, eventhough that is not good enough for a place but I was very pleased with his contacts. He got 6th in his Combined 1-3 Jumping and 10th in Combined 1-7 Steeplechase. He got a bit naughty in the Combined 1-7 Agility, he was good on the A Frame but didn't stop on the Dog Walk.

Yesterday was Sing's six birthday and he managed to get himself a nice little pressie, 2nd in Combined 4-5 Jumping. I am very pleased with his time, he has tried very hard and he wasn't that slow after all. He did a couple of nice agility rounds, unfortunately he missed the dog walk in the Graded 4-5 but he did a wonderful dog walk in the Combined 1-7 when he got e'd. It was my fault, I am a lazy handler and I didn't push him to the jump and he missed it totally but I didn't stop as he was flowing nicely. Now, we have something to work on ... either me stop being lazy or Sing has to learn to take the jump!! Ha!

Happy 6th Birthday to SING

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY TO MY VERY SPECIAL BOY, SING

Incredible Saturn!

Can any of your dogs cuter than this?

As we are converting the garage, we have to move every single thing out from there and temporary pile them in the house. Every single room in the house is absolutely packed, there is hardly a spare inch and I have realised all the dogs are totally stress out!! They are so used to be able to run around indoor and play indoor and now, it is like hell to them! I have two old armchairs given to us by my brother-in-law Russell when they moved to their new dream home, they have been sitting in the garage for nearly two years. We have to move them into my office pile them upside down, I was very SHOCKED to find Saturn sleep in between the gap!! I do not know how he gets in there and how he managed to turn himself around. Most of you know he is quite a big sheltie and with long body, as you can see his back legs are kicking the back of the armchair. I found it amazing!! He is a very cute sheltie!!

Nurofen and paracetamol

I thought I could relax and chill out after Crufts for a good few days before going back to my training routine again, obviously I am very wrong!!

Many of you know that we plan to convert our existing garage into a study room for the kids just after Christmas, we wanted the study room to be ready by Easter when the kids are back to stay for a month from their Easter break. Unfortunately, there were so many unforseen circumstances and we have to keep delaying the job. Out of a sudden, we had to start work on Monday!!

Yes, we are doing the job ourselves! With my friend Jim's help, two of us are going to make this happen!! Luckily we got a handyman to help lighten the job by breaking the concrete and digging the footing. We hire a breaker from the hire shop and bought some bits and pieces and we spent yesterday and today breaking the old tatty concrete up and dug 3'3" footing to put the window to replace the garage door. The handyman is very good, he is a very hardworking guy, Jim and I help to move the rocks into the skip and blimey! I need lots of Nurofen and Paracetamol to survive from ache and pain!!

Guess what? I missed going training but with this council people popping around, I have to be there to entertain him while he inspects the job process!! We have finished breaking and digging, and we are waiting for the skip company to pick up the skip to allow the concrete lorry to come in. At this waiting time, we are going to do some battening work!!

The house is like hell at the moment, we have to move every single thing out from the garage and pile them in the house, the poor five shelties have no room to run around and Sing is very upset as he cannot play ball indoor!!

Day 1

Day 2

THANK YOU

Crufts is over for another year!

I would like to say a very BIG thank you to:

• ESSC and Bernadette - for giving me a chance to be a part of the Team; I hope Sing and I did the Team proud
• Bernadette - for all the trainings and advices
• my team-mates - Lisa, Amy & Karen - for all your great support, I can't do it without you all. Special thanks to Lisa for your endless support.
• Becky - who made the special leads for the Team
• Johanna & her Danes - full support
• ESSC supporters - thank you for your cheering & supporting, that made a big difference
• all my friends who sent good luck wishes and moral support
• my groom Colin - for filming and taking care of Sing
• SING - for being such a brilliant boy

This Crufts means a lot to me:

• first time at Crufts
• 2nd in the semi-finals
• 2nd in the finals
• appeared on the telly

TriStars on the Telly!!!

YEAH!! TriStar Boys made it to the telly!!

I can't belive we made it to the telly!!! Up go the Shelties!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ESSC TriStars Final

ESSC TriStars Semi-Final

The Final video to be followed ...

Crufts 2008

What a GREAT experience for me!! A GREAT thank you to the ESSC and Bernadette to give us an opportunity to run for the Team. This was my ever first time at Crufts, running on the GREEN carpet. I am very proud to be in the Team and Sing was such a good boy, the BIG atmosphere didn't bother him at all! All the team-mates were great, we support each other and our team spirit were high all the time!! And we have all time supporters not just from England but all the way from Denmark!!

The TriStar boys did very well in both semi-final and in the Final. We've got 2nd in the semi and that took us through to the Final. The team picked up 5 faults in the semi and so do Team Chart but they beat us in time; this happened again in the Final, our Team picked up 10 faults and so do Team Chart, again those darn collies beat us in time and put us in the SECOND place!!

THANK YOU to all my team-mates, Lisa, Amy and Karen, and not to forget our team caprtain Bernadette who are supporting all the way at home on her mobile!!!

Above: the REAL STARS of the day! The Bark Bark TRISTAR Shelties Team!

from left to right: Ace, Taz, Sing and Chi.

It was a great experienced for me, first time at Crufts and I was very proud of Sing, he took it beautifully (so do I??), nothing worried him at all eventhough we didn't get any sleep the night before!! We stayed in the Travel Lodge and there was a dog non-stop barking for an hour!!! Then, at 3am, two men checked in, they were walking and talking loudly on the corridor for good 45 minutes!!! The room was roasting eventhough we didn't turn on the heating, so we have to open the window and poor Sing drank two bowls of water!!!

And here is my very proud boy with his medal and rosette on the podium!!

and here is our set up on the bench!

Good Luck!

We would like to wish everyone

GOOD LUCK competing at Crufts,

especially the SHELITES.

The very BEST of LUCK to those I know:

Bernadette & Hex

Lisa & Chi

Nancy & Niamh

Johanna & One, Tazz 'n' Spooky

Rosie & Disney

Louise & Maisie

TriStar Shelties Team

Ryan & Tippex in the YKC

C Side March Final Show

We went to C Side yesterday to celebrate Mother's Day doing more agility!! I can't believe it was warm and sunny!! Very unusual weather for C Side!! You guys must think I am mad but I ran Skye, Saturn, Titan and Sing!! I just want to get fit myself before Crufts!! This was the last run before Crufts, so better get full runs of it!!

I was hesitated if I should run Skye as most of you know that he is not a strong healthy dog and I was glad I did. He had a clear round and put him into a 3rd place! I won't say he has a great speed but he did try very hard and there weren't many clear rounds!! That was only his 2nd show and I am now decided I will run him in one agility round when I go to show with the others.

Saturn also trying very hard but I guess he wasn't feeling right. We were very busy last week, non-stop training for this poor lad since Wednesday, so 5 days in a row is definitely too much for him! He pulled out at the 10th weave pole when we were training with Toni on Friday and the same on Saturday with Natasha. That got me worried a little. He wasn't barky (at all!!) at the startline yesterday. His speed dropped after two runs, especially on the weave and at the 1-7 Jumping, he pulled out again at 10th pole but I decided not to put him back and let him run to the finishing line. His contacts were hit and miss. The first agiltiy run, he was solid on the DW but leap off the A Frame, due to some circumstances, I didn't put him back. In the Final, I tried to release him quick before he leap off the A Frame and his DW was iffy. I guess I was worried and because I cannot train him in the final and I have realised I eye-balled him to make sure he got his contacts and that made it worst!! In his final agility run, I tried not to eye-ball him and take time to priase him on the A Frame but when came to the DW, he didn't put his 2 front paws on the ground, just as I am about to pick him up, he did it, so I have to let go at this point. He is feeling very poorly today, so he is on the rest.

I also ran Titan in the 1-3 Agility, he was a good boy too, he only lost his attention once, which was a good start.

Sing also had two runs in the afternoon, he went clear at both Jumping and Agility. I didn't wait for the classes to finish so I don't know if he got a place but I was very happy that he got his DW again. That's the main thing!

I told myself not to keep buying the photographs but these three pictures are pricelss!

Skye aiming for the straight line "GO ON"

Saturn: mum, I can't turn any tighter!!

me: SEE-SAW ....

here is the montage of some runs, Colin was very tired and didn't take all of the runs, I was very disappointed as I would like to see Saturn's agility runs to see where did we got wrong!!! Luckily, he managed to take one of his agility run!!

Saturn's Herding Clip

This is Saturn's herding clip. It took me too long to trim the video and I can just managed to do this, probably not the best editing of all but here we go, to my friends who were asking about it:

Sing's herding clip

After a few different attempts trying to upload the videos with no success, I have learned to trim the big file into 10 small pieces and I am glad it is finally up and running, this is Sing's herding video, Saturn will be on the way as his video takes longer to trim.

photos from Sheep Herding

I am still unable to upload the videos but managed to captured a few shots from the videos (so, the quality of the photos are very poor!!) of the boys working sheep, here is Sing trying to round up the sheep:

and here is Saturn moving the sheep:

and Saturn trying to get the run away sheep back to where he belongs:
the happy chap working sheep:

trainings

We have been quite busy for the last few days ... all sort of trainings. The most exciting trainings happened on Saturday and Sunday!

On Saturday, we went to Dial Post to do "Sheep Herding". This was just an introduction training, mainly to see if the dogs are interested in the sheep and have the instinct to herd. I put a lot of hope in Sing as when he was a puppy, he has a very strong herding instinct, he tried to herd the wild ponies when we were in Dartmoor and jump into the freezing cold water to herd the ducks in Wimbledon Common. Obviously we do not like this to happen again, so we "control" him whenver we go out walking in the country. He gradually learned that he is not allow to "chase" them over the years and on Saturday, when we showed him the sheep, he wasn't very interesed in them! He did have a good look at them but decided he rather be obedient!!

I was glad we have two go, so on the second go, I decided to give Saturn a go to see if he has any interest in the sheep. When the other dogs were working, I let him watch them. At first, he didn't know what is going on but when he saw the sheep moving, his vision changed. He was hyper and keen, so when our turn came, I took him in the pen. He dragged me towards the sheep and I let him go off the lead and he charged towards the sheep. The good thing is whatever he did, he did not harm any of sheep. For the 10-14 minutes session, he did not lose his attention on the sheep.

As this was just an introduction, so there is no skill or handling involved and I have never work sheep before. (To be honest, I was very scared of the sheep when I was in there!) I have no idea how to encourage him to work, so I let him get on with himself and occasssionally talk to him. I think he was proud of himself and sometimes he jumped up on my arm for priase!

I take that as a good start and I am thinking to persue a 6 weeks course to see how we get on. Colin has taken the videos but the files are too big (755MB) and I am struggling to upload and post them. I have tried to compress them but my program kept disconnect and fail to finish the compression. Unfortunately there is no photo at all, so to all my friends who kept asking me about the training, please be patient, I will try my best to upload the video, somehow!

On Sunday, we went to Bernadette for a Team training with Sing. We tried different runs and eventhough Sing wasn't accurate but we enjoyed the training very much and that gives me something to think about and focus on with Sing.

I will have today and tomorrow off but from Wednesday on, I will have more trainings everyday until Saturday and Sunday we are going to C Side.

photos from the glorious weekend

Didn't have a lot to say (but with lots of photos) ... we have some beautiful sunshine for the last few days eventhough it was -5c during the night but when the sun came out, it was a lovely blue sky with a lot of sunshine. We took the dogs to the Common for a good long walk, fed the poor hungry ducks and some seagulls came into action!!

This is Colin's favourite.

I like these two photos of the seagull

surfing seagull!!

LOVE is sharing

evil Titan!!



Seagull: I will get you!

The story of these three photos below:

Colin was busy feeding the duck on the other side of the pond and I was busy taking photos of the others running around and suddenly I heard something throw into the water and I thought it was Sing can't hold himself anymore and decided he should go and fetch all the breah his daddy threw for the ducks but I was surprised to see he was still running around next to his daddy. When I looked around to see if I missed any, I have realised Titan somehow run into the pond!! I wonder if he then realised it is not a land and it is water?

This picture was taken when he swam towards the other side of the island!!!

and this one, he realised there is nowhere for him to go and decided to turn back!!

he is another swimming sheltie after all!!

These happened once before when we were in Richmond Park. I was throwing ball for Sing in the pond and didn't keep an eye on all dogs but I knew all of them are around there barking madly. Suddenly, I heard a child shouting about 50 yards from us: Who's dog is this? and I turned to find Titan was in the water swimming towards those duckling, so I have to shout at him to get him to come back before he realised it is far and deep!!

I've spent my time and money taking these shelties to swim in the hydrotherapy pool, Titan is the worst among the rest. He gets very nervous and shaked all the time but look at the above photos, you never thought he will be timid near the water?

Saturn is great swimming in the pool, he really enjoys it everytime I take him to Greyfriars but he will never swim in the open water!! He is happily chasing the ducks but when the water is up to his chest, he will stop right there and won't go further!!

Sunday was another glorious day, you can't believe that we managed to have a small BBQ in the garden for lunch!!

the boys in the garden begging for a throw of a ball

Skye: Can you please give me the burger if I kiss you?

This is Tikka, he is nearly 14 now and still looking good.

I set up this crate in the kitchen permanently for Seagull. I normally keep him in there when I am out, I am so afraid he will have another "accident". He is a typical sheltie when comes to food!! When he is not in there, Tikka will sneak in and cute Seagull is also happy to share his crate with the cat. They spend most of the time in the crate together now!! How funny?

sad

I've subscribed to the Dog Lost and I receive emails from them very often (well, when there is a dog went missing!!). Just for the last few days, there are already two shelties were reported LOST! Thank God, Sophie was found SAFE on the same day near a railway line!!! Angus is still missing!!

Just as we enjoyed the good weather over the weekend, Joan rang to tell us she "caught" a Jack Russell Terrier and needed help. On Saturday, Joan was on her way home from the Common with her shelties, she saw a JRT (white with black) running loose on the street approaching every single person and she particularly likes children. She was about to tell the kids and the mum off for letting the poor dog running loose and was surprised to be told she is not their dog!! Anyway, Joan managed to lure the JRT to her and brought her indoor. She rang the police, RSPCA, dog warden ... and they kept passing her around, poor old Joan was so tired after 20 calls with no results. We spent 3 hours in the Common yesterday looking for posters and asked every single person we met if they know anybody lost a JRT ... Joan went to a few houses around the Common to knock on their doors to ask if they lost a dog ... by the end of the late afternoon still nobody claims her. Joan is getting desperate to get rid of her because she is a very excitable dog and the three shelties were very upset of her jumping on them! I was very sad and do not know what do with the poor girl, she looks very young, I would guess she is between 18 months to 2 years old. Very lively and smart, I thought I would keep her for agility but NO, I am a sheltie person!!

About 5pm, finally a couple of police officers turned up at Joan's. We guess they are from the Sutton police station as Joan rang a few stations and they kept passing her around. I was holding the dog when they arrived so the policeman asked me if I could put her in the van for them, as I put the dog in the big metal frame, I wish I would have claim her. Eventhough we were told she will be ended up in Battersea but I thought we could have find a better home for her!

I don't know if her owner is looking out for her? Or does she really have a owner? Or she has been dumped? She wore a "show" brown leather round collar without a tag and the collar is so big which we can't imagine that was belong to her!!

I was very sad all weekend and I hope all dog owners are really taking care of their dogs.

Please HELP find ANGUS!!

cross post from Dog Lost

ANGUS, 7 year old Sable Sheltie

missing from BR3

Angus ran off in Beckenham, Kent on the 16th February. May be trying to make his way home to Chislehurst. Angus is MICROCHIPPED. Please look out for him appearing in your area

http://www.doglost.co.uk/poster.asp?ID=12634

Happy Valentines

Wishing all my friends a very Happy Valentines!!

Please HELP to find lost Sheltie

update: Sophie has been found!!

Sophie has been found near a railway line at 9:30pm last night!!!!

Please HELP to keep your shelties/dogs safe!!!!!!

Cross post from Dog Lost:

4 year old Golden Sable and White bitch, Sophie.

Sophie ran off from the Spinnions (could be Pinions?), High Wycombe on the 13th February. Sophie is MICROCHIPPED and tagged but can be nervous of strangers. Please look out for her appearing in your area. Awaiting photo from owner, please check: http://www.doglost.co.uk/forum.asp?ID=12566 for updates.

Please HELP to look for this beautiful girl

wonderful weekends with a lot of sunshine

The weekend was good, lots of beautiful sunshine! Saturn and I went to Dave Jolly's training day on Saturday morning and enjoyed toroughly. I got home about 2pm and had lunch in the garden! It was such a beautiful sunny day and I can't resist not to take photos of the boys in the garden!

this is my handsome merle, Skye.

the dog of my heart!

and the dog of my soul, he is jumping onto my arm!!

the best way to take photo of Titan is have someone to hold him,

he can never get still for 1 second!!!! Here is Ling with Titan.

We then went out to walk the dogs in the Common, as Seagull is restricted to gentle walk during the week, so on the weekend he can run free, here is him enjoying his freedom chasing Titan and play fighting:

The Happy Seagull

practising Sing's running Dog Walk

We went to the ESSC Working Section AGM on Sunday and I was surprised that Sing was awarded The Suky Trophy!! What a Great surprised!!

The only bad news: I put up 4 kgs and now I am seriously on diet, getting fit for the new season!!

TRAVEL LODGE RIP OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have entered the boys at Chippenham and I thought if we can find somewhere to stay on Saturday night that would make life easy, at least we don't have to wake up early and drive a long way!

I knew Travel Lodge takes dogs so they are on our list to search for a place to stay for the night. After searching on the Internet and found Warminster branch is the closet. I've rang Warminster to book a room and the staff told me she can't take my booking over the phone because March is a long way away and suggested I book it online. We have tried to book the room online but their server was down and we returned two hours later to rebook and was happy we managed to find a decent price room. When I checked on my email later to find the confirmation letter from Travel Lodge gave me a heart attack!!

Instead of confirming my booking at Warminster, they sent me to Stonehenge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I quickly rang Stonehenge to check with them but the stafff there was very unhelpful, they said I cannot cancel the booking and I cannot do this and I cannot do that, after a very bad telephone conversation, she suggested I email Travel Lodge so I did. After I have not hear from them for 48 hours, I sent another email and this time I saw a note saying they will take 10 working days to reply to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What the heck????????????????? There is no telephone number you can ring them and all you can do is WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, £39 is not a lot of money but I don't want to go and stay in Stonehenge, what is the point to stay an hour away from Chippenham? I rather go from home, it only took me 3 hours!!

C Side February show

We went to C Side yesterday, as usual, it was freezing cold and always a great show with friendly people, nice judges and lovely courses to run! Saturn was a bit naughty in the morning on the both 1-3 Agility and Jumping. He missed his contact and I was glad that judge Bernadette allowed me to put him back on the A Frame. In the Jumping round, he was frustrated at the beginning, I don't really know why but there was a dog tried to snatch him just before we went in the ring, it could be it? But when he gather himself half way through the course, it was good, he flew with nice speed.

Later in the afternoon, we have 1-7 classes. The jumping course was a bit tricky, there were 3 jump of your choice, you can jump either directions as long as you jump all three. All people use them as a snake and so do I, is just depending which way of the snake you prefer and I choose to run the inside bit. Sing was the first one up in this class, he was left in the car for 7 hours since we got there so he was very excited when he get the chance to run. Eventhough he is not a speedy dog but I think he did a lovely snake and his weave was very nice. Next up is Saturn. I plan to run him the same as I ran Sing, the snake version but it ended up him prefer a pull through, I was shocked when he took his first pull through, so I have to do another pull through to make it look like we are doing a pull through, unfortunately we got eliminated for doing that! I didn't take it too seriously after all it is just a show. Then, we started talking to friends about it and I was curious the way I did the pull through will put us to an "e'd", so I went to check with Lisa and she told me I shouldn't have penalised for doing that, at the same time, judge Sue came to apologize and asked me and Saturn to have a rerun for time. Ha! I haven't prepare for that but luckily Colin was there with the boys and off we went in for another run but this time, we did a SNAKE and Saturn came 4th in the Jumping round! That feel good! Saturn is on form again!! Unfortunately NOT!! In the agility round, he got his A Frame contact, didn't stop on top or slow down but right at the target point which made me very happy. As we went up the Dog Walk, he was fast then stop at the white bit (not at the target point), when I asked him to touch, he went further to do his target but I wasn't too happy about the hesitation so we finished just there! As for Sing, he missed his Dog Walk and pull out at 10th pole!! I think he got too hyper as he was barking mad at the start line and he was dashing too fast uncontrollably!

Oh yes! I did ran Titan for the first time since Lansdown. He was not perfect but is good to start with, he only ran away once in the ring to say hello to the ring party, just before he was thinking to say hello to judge Bernadette, I made sure I stop him and I am so happy he did listen! Again, his didn't get his weave entry, I knew this is the big issue at the moment but I was glad when he gets into the weave, he was fast, not slowing down. In the Jumping ring, he was a mischeivious!!

Titan and his weave

A lot of my friends asking me how is Titan and his training. Eventhough Ryan is handing him in the ring but I still train him whenever I have time. He is great. He is still a great mischievious but he calms down a lot now and I started to re-train his weave, instead of telling him to WEAVE, now I change the word to POLES, just something different.

Here is a little video of him training today: