Team Day

We managed to get back to Leuven around 9pm, had a quick walk around the square with the dogs. It was very crowded and none of them wanted to do toilet. We even witnessed fight in the street. OMG! I quickly picked up Sizzle and run the different direction. Well, Colin and Sipzie just slowly stroll along :D This is the reaction between a man and woman!

One funny thing I have to mention here is ... I think Sipzie is reacting to Flemmish. I was checking with the hotel counter to see if we can get refund from the car park as we were unable to park the car in their carpark on Friday night and Saturday night. On Saturday night, we have to park the car even further! BUT, we insist to bring Sipzie's crate into the hotel room. Well, back to Sipzie. While I was talking to the hotel stuff about the carpark, then the two stuff were discussed in Flemmish (I guess). Sipzie over heard and she got so wound up and jump up and down to get to the counter. I really don't know if she thinks that is Miguel or is the Flemmish that reminds her of her home land? I tried to distract her but she just wouldn't take notice of me!

Thank God we have a good night sleep. Sipzie immediately settled into her crate that night. I didn't even bother to zip it up but she just went in there and lie down for the entire night! Not a twitch! The clock goes back on Saturday too. I wasn't sure my iPhone will automatically change, so I have to set the alarm at 2 different times, just in case! Of course, I was up an hour early! I couldn't go back to sleep because Sizzle asking to go toilet. Oh dear! I am not sure where to find a piece of green so I hope he will do it on the pavement. After 10 minutes walking up and down the square, finally he realised he has to do it there. He is such an easy boy. I can't get Sipzie to do her toilet! Look like I won't be going back to bed after all, so I went to pick up the car and bring to the front of the hotel so we can load our stuff in the car easily. Phew! What a nightmare!

Sunday is a Team day. Sipzie is running for her "Of The Five Colors I-Team" with her brother Ronin, sister Chiqi and mama Ypra; and Sizzle is running in the "International Sheltie Team" with Skye, Digger (Chiqi's big sister) and another sheltie from Czech that has not turn up. There is 4 shelties in a Team and the best 3 runs count. 

Sipzie was working much better on Sunday, although she can't weave the first time but she managed the whole weave in the 2nd attempt and I am really happy with her. Sizzle ran clear in both the Team Jumping and Team Agility. 

Sorry the video camera is playing up early in the morning :(. This is Sipzie's Team Jumping and in fact, this is her best run ever this weekend:

and this is Sizzle in the Team run:

They started with Team Jumping first (Large/Medium/Small) then work out the reverse order of the Team placings for the Agility. Sizzle's Team wasn't doing well, so we were quite early to run and follow by Sipzie's Team. In the Team Agility, as the Team can consist of Small/Medium/Large, so they want to run as a whole Team, so they took very long to run the course as they have to keep moving the jumps up and down! As you can see in Sipzie's Team Agility. While I set her up, the people are putting the jump for her height. I think this is ridiculous idea, so much hassle and trouble, oh and tiring too!!

 Sizzle in the Team Agility:

Sipzie in the Team Agility:

Of all three days competition, I enjoyed Sunday the most. It is quite relaxing, during the break or course change. A group of Agility enthusiastic starts dancing like they did at the World Champ. Oh, I forgot to mention, they played music all day long, even when you are running. I don't think I do hear the music when I run but when you came out and calm down and you know there is music at the background! One thing I like about Belgian Dog Training is all training club has a club house that sells beer/drinks/food and they are dog friendly! I so wish we can have the same facility in the UK. 

Knowing me, I did a lot of shopping at the show, including this, the tyre I mean, not that sheltie :D

and I enjoyed a bit of photography ...

Jolanda and Skye, first competition. I posted this photo on facebook and I like someone's comment: 

Small dog handler go to the edge! LOL

Skye is very tiny, I think she is about the same size as my little Sizzle.

Skye on the A Frame. I am so proud of her. I am so happy to see her again and she hasn't forget me at all. It's very good to see your puppy being so well look after and trained and most of all a beloved family member!

 oh ... and the family photo, almost ...

above: Sipzie, brother Ike, mama Ypra and brother Ronin

below: brother Ronin, Sipzie, mama Ypra and sister Chiqi

sister Chiqi is doing very well at the show. She won everything in the Small Grade 1 category. Watch Out Small dogs handler!

Oh, people who knows me knew how crazy I am over a bi-black sheltie. This is a very young sheltie from Italy, she is a little cracker. One day ... maybe one day I can own a bi-black!

 

Sadly, we couldn't stay for the closing ceremony as we have to catch the last train back to UK. There were engineering work, so they won't have frequent train on Sunday night. We have to rush off at 6pm the latest. Such a shamed but I've learned my lesson. I will not rush in the future. Next year is in Italy, its a long way to go but hopefully in 2013, if the competition is in Netherlands, we will go! I really enjoyed my experienced, although there were good and bad but seeing all the shelties always made me happy. They are some fantastic shelties and the standard over there is high!I am glad I am up for the challenge :D

Oh, I forgot to mention about their contacts. The surface is made by plastic/pvc with a strong grip. I was expecting to see "carpet" type of contact. The equipment was supplied by "favoriet" from The Netherlands.

The competition begin ...

We got back to the hotel around 11pm on Friday night. Why so late? Don't ask me, we left around 10:30pm, the competition still going on ... we got back to Leuven, can't find anywhere to park the car, the hotel carpark is absolutely full up. We drove round around the square and the nearby street and finally found a spot 15 minutes walk away from the hotel. We were so tired that we only took with us the essential, changing cloth and wash bag. 

We settle in almost immediately, apart from Sipzie. Colin and I were too tired, after a quick shower, we were in bed with Sizzle. Sipzie for some reason just wouldn't settle. I am not sure if she is still thinking of Miguel. This is not the first time she stays in the hotel with us. Anyway, the hotel room isn't carpeted, it is wood flooring. ALL NIGHT, yes, ALL NIGHT! Sipzie been tip toeing!!! I was regret not to bring her crate into the room and Colin definitely don't fancy a 15 minutes walk to get her crate! I've tried to take her in bed with us but she jumped off straightaway and begin to walk around like an idiot ALL NIGHT! To be honest, I want to kill her! I was too tired and finally fell asleep but I woke up at 4am to hear her walking again! I tried very hard to go back to bed but I just couldn't! At about 5am, I have enough of her, I shut her in the toilet! Guess what? She still walk around in the tiny little square!!! Arrrrggghhhh ...

We have to wake up at 6am to get ready to go, the open ceremony starts at 7:45am and competition starts at 9am. After not much sleep on Friday night, I was feeling very tired and couldn't concentrate. I really enjoyed the courses, eventhough with the Grade 1 course. You think it will be up and down? Yes, the G1 Agility is up and down but they tilt the angle of the jumps so slightly and for a real beginners, I think I will struggle. Having said that, Sizzle for some reason won't go on in his G3 classes. 

Sipzie's performance on Saturday was absolutely awful. Her level of concentration was very low. She constantly looking for Miguel. At one point, I nearly leave her in Belgium with him but I am not that easily give up kinda of person. I decided to bring her crate into the ring and put in the crate until our turn to run. 

You can see from this video that I let her leap off the DW and didn't want to put her back and then into the weave, she's looking for Miguel ... I just want to keep running.

 

 and this is her G1 Jumping, I was so stressed with her weave that I forgot where to go after that!

 

 

On the other hand, Sizzle is such a good little boy. He has to wait for a long time before his first run and he gave me his best. Sadly, bad mummy didn't handled him well in the course and of course he jump off the see-saw too! Other than that, I am really pleased with how he ran the course. 

 

Oh, and this G3 Jumping I sent him into the wrong end of the tunnel after the tyre :((((

 

 

After we finished all our runs, we went for a nice country walk with Skye (Sing x Samber pup) and Jolanda, Joost and baby Hidde. It was such a nice tranquil place. Then, we patiently wait for our "ordered" meal. I think lack of communication and announcement made it hard for us. We've waited and waited and I was so hungry, and we don't know where to get food, not until we saw people start eating! Arrrggghhh ...

Anyway, we found out where to get food and it was a long queue ... I am very disappointed with the food, we have a bowl of pumpkin soup because its Halloween, a tiny portion of meat with a few fries and a bowl of salad and a tiny portion of chocolate mousse. At the end of it, we left and we went back to the hotel and bought a big kebab to share!

competition continue ...

Outward to 8th International Sheltie Agility Show

I've learned my lesson, IF I ever going to compete in Europe again, even in the closet country to the UK, I WOULD definitely want to go at least a day earlier. This past weekend was too much, too exhausting! At the end of our last day, I was like a zombie!

I went to bed at 11pm on Thursday night, not to my plan. When you have a litter of puppies, there is always something to do and puppies do not understand the clock! We woke up around 2am, sort all the dogs out (mainly to comfort then before we leave) and the puppies heard the noise and they seek attention too! We left home at 3am to Folkstone. We caught the 5:40am train to Calais. 

Gosh! I must be so out-dated! The terminal is all machine operated, there is no man at the terminal to check you in. The automatic sensor sense the car and show up my details and booking on the screen, so we just have to touch the screen to check ourselves in. 

We got there plenty of time, Sizzle and Sipzie were too tired to go on the exercise area, they are spoilt, they don't do early morning! Europe is an hour ahead of us, so by the time we arrived at Calais, it was only 7:20am. It was still very dark outside. Imagine I have to drive on the other side of the road! The journey to Belgium involved a lot of screaming from me and yes, I was the one who drive too! I was glad that I decided not to tow a caravan on the wrong side of the road!

Since we have time to spend, we stopped at a service station called Mannekensvere. That gave me time to feed the dogs and let them run around for half an hour. It was a nice service station with plenty of green. I ordered a "full English breakfast" (in Belgium), I don't think I can have a Belgian waffle in the morning, no matter how much I like my sweet. Had a little nap before continue our journey into Belgium. We stopped off to see the vet to sort out the pet passport; then drove on to our hotel in Leuven. 

beautiful sunrise in Mannekensvere service station

To be honest, I was very disappointed with the hotel. It's right in the city centre, there's hardly any piece of green around, all pavement. On top of that, there is no kettle in the room. I am not looking for luxurious but after a long tiring journey or a day, I fancy my cup of tea. You can't believe how desperate I was to have a cup of tea all weekend long! The hotel carpark is a nightmare too. We have to pay for the carpark, 12euros per night. We parked the car there when we got in on Friday afternoon to check in. The carpark is very tiny, the ramp is very narrow and there is not much space to turn the car around. I was struggling to leave the carpark. I am not a bad driver at all!

 Sipzie and Sizzle posing in Leuven Square

Anyway, we set off to the show at 3:30pm. I've entered the dogs on Friday too. I thought it's a good idea to get them to get used to the equipment and venue before the competition starts on Saturday. Friday was a fun class, so there were other breeds apart from the shelties.

The venue is good. The surface is good for running and the audience seats are good. The exercise area is brilliant. You can take your dogs to walk miles and miles or just run around in the field. All very safe from traffic. I like their camping that they supplied electricity, they have a portable electric thingy, they put one out and it can be shared between 6-8 caravans; but I dislike their camping allocation. There is no space limit, you either have a very close neighbour or extremely close neighbours. They didn't mark out per camping spot like what we do in the UK. We, Britons are spoilt!

The Friday competition supposed to start at 6pm but their timer (radio control timer!)'s broken. We HAVE to wait for them to fix the problem. There were a lot of moaning going on, I joined the moaning group! They took forever to fix the problem. Someone has suggested we could use manual timer but the organiser insist they will fix the electric timer. Well, the competition actually begin an hour later!

Sipzie was entered as Grade 1 and Sizzle in Grade 3. Sipzie was very happy to see her breeder Miguel, she went absolutely bonkers and lost control of herself when she saw him. You can guess the rest. I don't know how I will get her attention to me when we run ...

Our first run on Friday was with Sipzie in the G1 Agility. Actually, I was very pleased with her. She gave me her full attention. I knew I have to keep her happy and keep going if she went wrong. All weekend long, her weave was awful. She just can't weave at all. I wasn't sure if I should put her back on the plank if she missed her DW, all were too much for her to cope. I decided I will let her do whatever she will do, so long her attention is on me. 

Sipzie - Friday, G1 Agility

How they organised the schedule was a guess, they can change the schedule as they wish, so we have to keep look-out on the window (notice board). My second run was with Sizzle in the Open Agility. Apart from our naughty see-saw, he did great. I am really happy that he ran well after a long tiring journey, stuck in the car most of the time.

Sizzle - Friday, Open Agility

After Sizzle's run, it was about 8:30pm. I was extremely tired and I so wish to go back to the hotel for a good rest before the real competition the next day.  Thank goodness, Jolanda and Joost was camping with Skye (Sing x Samber pup) who moved back to The Netherlands cooked us dinner. At least, we don't have to worry where to find food and we can bully them to make us cup of tea/coffee. Thank you Jolanda and Joost! I managed to run Sipzie in the G1 Jumping before I decided I should rest. 

Sipzie's attention beginning to drift away. She knew exactly where Miguel is and she keeps looking out for him. I just don't know what to do? To take her to see him before her run or to take her away? I can't quite understand her and judge her behaviour. From this video clip, you can see she keeps turning her head to look out for him but I was very pleased with her that she run with me and never look back. I did allow her to run to find him after her run though. I thought that is a good reward for her if she really want to see him that much.

Sipzie - Friday, G1 Jumping

After this run, I really can't stay up any longer, I really need my bed, so we drove back to the hotel and missed Sizzle's Jumping run. I don't think he needs a practice run, he really is a very good boy.

first night disaster at the hotel ... to be continued

8th International Sheltie Agility Show

We are off to the 8th International Sheltie Agility Show in Belgium in less than 24 hours time! Phew! The dogs are not ready and I am not ready! They have not done much training, especially Sipzie, so we will see what she will do when she goes back to her homeland and see her breeder Miguel. One thing I am sure is she will go bananas when she sees him and trust me, I may not be able to bring her back LOL.

We haven't done much training due to puppies and me being under the weather; luckily, we went to Toni Dawkin's Training Day last Saturday, so at least both dogs had done a little bit of running and I've got to learn the "European Turn" which I wanted to learn for ages. Thanks Toni for a great training day!

I spent 3/4 of the times training Sipzie and only took Sizzle out for the last sequence, so I wanted to try to practice that "european turn" with Sizzle in the garden, sadly the weather didn't help, so hopefully next year, I get to put in some "european turn" in my runs.

We only take Sizzle and Sipzie with us, so the others and the puppies are staying. They are in good hand while we are away. Great Thanks to Ann for looking after them!

pups-date

Pups are 3.5 weeks already! They are getting more active when awake and they now they form a pattern. Two pups asleep and one pup awake! Mmm ... so I am even more busier! All the pups are quite forward. Each time I let them out of the puppy pen, they go explore further! They jump over the puppy gate (the lower bar), so you can see they are quite an agile pup, and off they ran into the other room ... so I am constantly chasing puppies ...

so, this is the Big girl who we called Sooty but her new daddy is naming her FLY

 she is very cheeky fat girl and she has a lot of attitude and she loves her toys ...

and here is a little video clip of Fly killing Mr Duck:

Oh, puppies teeth are growing ... so it's about time to introduce some solid food. Here is Scamble breakfast for the little ones ... they really like them and to my surprised, they finished it all between them!

It's sunny and warm this afternoon, so they pups get to go on the patio for the first time for quick 5 minutes. The sun didn't stay very long, so I took them in quick before they get too cold! I think they enjoyed their outing!

 Mr handsome

 ... and this is what they do most of the time ... play fight!

 look like the discussion went wrong here!!!

 Scampi: I do love you sis

 very handsome boy

 no problem on the wobble board!

 and the beautiful mama

 this little sweet Sweep melt my heart!

 butter wouldn't melt expression!

let's guess the butts!

Sooty, Sweep & Scampi 3 weeks

Gosh! I've been so busy, hardly any time left for myself. The puppies still sleep a lot. They woke up and back to sleep all in 15-20 minutes! They spent very little time playing but when they do, it was quick and cute. No time for photography or video, I am too slow. Hehehe ... actually I just enjoyed watching them play. The two girls play fight and each time, they go "grrrr ...". Scampi is a good little boy, I have not hear him growl but he is very playful. He and Sooty both like tuggy a lot. Oh, these puppies do bark! Proper shelties! LOL

Sonic and his brother and sisters

Sonic made me laugh so much. He is absolutely crazy, obsess with his brother and sisters. He nurse them better than Sunny. He keeps licking them and he is ever so gentle. I have not known him being so gentle before. He is quite powerful when playing tuggy and crazy when we train. He is always on the go but he is so gentle and calm with them. That's amazing! I've just managed to catch a video clip of him and the pups.