A Year Ago Yesterday....

(both Jo and Katie managed a "year ago today" but I was stuck on the M1 for almost 3hrs yesterday!)...................I picked up our little Reno.

Funny how he still feels small to me even though he is the tallest of all of our dogs but he is very skinny and still so puppyish which I love.

We had an excellent, but short, Xmas break in Dorset and I'm looking forward to going back for the New Year after I've finished work on Wednesday.  Christmas was a little strange as Ronnie stayed with Jamie this year and I really missed him but he's comming with us for New Year so I'm really hoping all the dogs get along ok.

Photo's of the Boys.

As requested here are some long awaited photo's of my boys!

Not much to report since my last update really.

Reno's Agility training has taken a bit of a set-back so I've decided to book him into be neutered and give him a bit of a rest until after Xmas.  Apart from that he contiunes to have fun playing with us and other Dogs out on walks. 

Ronnie has torn off one of his claws so is bandaged up at the moment and on Antibiotics.  Not much fun trying to keep his bandage dry in this weather!!

It was the last Agility Nuts show of the year on Sunday and Kiros ran really well.  He won the Agility but was eliminated in all of his other runs due to my poor handling.  You've got to feel sorry for the boy?!!

I'm really looking forward to Xmas.  We're heading down to Dorset on 23rd and, hopefully, Wanda's new kitchen will be finished by then.  Can't wait to cook dinner in her new oven.

Long overdue update!

I'm just getting worse at this aren't I?................Here is what we've been up to!

I've started swimming Ronnie as well as Kiros and he's loving it.  I'm so surprised how well he's doing as I thought it would really worry him.  He was a bit uncoordinated at first but has now worked out that he can swim with his front and back legs at the same time!  It is the highlight of his week.

Kiros has only had one competition since my last posting which was Nuts on Sunday.  I could only do two runs with him as I was judging in the afternoon.  I'm kicking myself for the mistakes I made.  We were eliminated in the Agility as I let him run his A-frame then didn't have time to command which tunnel enterance I wanted him to take.  In the jumping we had one pole down but still managed 4th place with the fastest time by over 4.5 seconds!  Ann ran him in my TFO Agility and (much to my surprise) he missed the Dog Walk contact.  At least that's this years missed contact out of the way!

Reno and I have done a lot since my last blog entry. 

He was entered in an other Breed Show the weekend after and he was even worse that at Midlands Counties.  Not only would he not let the Judge go over him but he barked at her.  As I'm struggling to know what more I could have done to stop him being like this I've decided to take him to Ringcraft classes.  So far we've been to one which was a bit manic!  There were Kids running around all over the place that really spooked him but at least people got to see what he could be like rather then seeing the confident, sociable puppy that he is 90% of the time.  We've got another class tonight so hopefully he'll be a bit more used to it?

Now he's 12 months old I've started his Agility training and have managed quite a few sessions at Paul and Pen's Paddock.  So far we've worked on recalls and send aways over jumps and through tunnels which are working well if he has a toy or treat at the end.  We've also started on the basics of front and rear crosses.  I'm really pleased at how well he is reading my body language already.  The foundation work that I've done with him is paying off.

We've started on channel weave but can't get them much closer then 6" without him comming out.  I really need to practice these more often.

I'm looking forward to his training on Thurday and also the Crate Games session that we're doing at Jo's on Monday.

We're off to Wilmslow on Saturday.  Our last KC show of the year.  It's going to be fun!!!

Midlands Counties.....

Didn't quite go according to plan!!

The schedule said that the judging of the Malinois wouldn't start before 1.30pm but, as it was our 1st benched show, we got there nice and early to get settled. As it happened we didn't get into the ring until about 3.30pm. Reno was happy and relaxed most of the time. He enjoyed "talking" to the other Mali's, especially Speedy, and wandering around but it was really hot and he wouldn't settle down so I think he got quite tired.

As they were Judging the Gron's Jackie and I took the boys into another ring that had finished to do some practice. All was going well.......................until seconds before we went into our ring!

A little boy was playing on the empty benches, running around and bashing them. This totally spooked Reno - he was barking at the boy and hanging off the end of the lead - but he seemed to settle ok when he was in the ring until the Judge tried to touch him. She was great, trying to persuade him and give him sausage, but he just wouldn't let her touch him and she was in a bit of a hurry so had to give up.

Reno ended up Very Highly Commended - in other words......Last!!

Speedy, on the other hand, was a very good boy. He ran lovely and let the Judge go over him. He came second in the Puppy class and then went onto win Best Dog in Breed and Reserve Best in Breed. Well done Speedy!!

After the Judging had finished the little boys Dad kindly let his Son give Reno some treats and stroke him and he then became Reno's new best friend. So a positive to go away with but a lot of work to do before Crufts!

Happy Birthday Reno!

How time has flown - can you believe that Reno is a year old today?

He has grown into a very handsome young man. Weighing in at about 26Kg he is tall but a bit slim - a perfect Agility shape, I hope! He has a lovely sweet personality and is never lacking in joy and enthusiasm.

We are celebrating today by going to Midlands Counties Breed Show where he will see Speedy. I'm hoping he will be a good boy as I have to confess to not doing much practice!

Happy Birthday to the rest of the litter - Zippy, Speedy, Megan, Eva and Zippo. Thank you Jo, Jan and Lisa for letting me have my little angel. He is very loved xxx

Lucy Osborne's Puppy Training

Reno and I had a great day at Lucy's training yesterday. I couldn't believe that I knew 4 out of 5 of the other people on the course. I knew that Allison and Sue were going with Faym and Guess (even though we booked it separately without mentioning it to each other) and Kate would be there with Megan but I was really surprised to see Rae there with her new puppy, Obie. It was lovely to catch up as, due to Rae's injury we haven't seen much of each other over the past year.

Reno was probably the least experienced of all the puppies on the course, but what he lacked in experience he made up for in enthusiasm! The sequences that we did were a little more complex then Reno has been used to but Lucy had some great tips for keeping his confidence and speed up which worked really well. It was pleasing that his enthusiasm lasted for the full 2hrs because previously he has seemed to switch off quite quickly. He had a go at doing a full set of channel weaves for the 1st time and really loved them.

After the training Kate and I took Megan and Reno to a local park with Lucy and her puppy. Kate took some lovely photo's. Check out her blog to see a couple more.

October "Nuts"

Just spent a lovely weekend with the Doggie-boys.

On Saturday afternoon we went to Paul and Pen's paddock for a bit of Agility practice. When we arrived they were busy re-painting the contact equipment. Now our pack can be easily identified by the blue paint blobs on them! I'm hoping Reno's wears of soon as I'm not sure what the judge at Midlands Counties will make of a blue tinted Malinois!!

Yesterday was the first Agility Nuts show of the winter season and Kiros ran really well going clear in 3 out of his 4 runs. Although the classes were small there were three really promising young dogs there that were running really well. I was delighted when Kiros won Ann's Power and Speed shaving a fraction of a second off the youngsters times. He came 4th and 3rd in the other 2 classes.

I'm really looking forward to next weekend as I'm taking Reno to Lucy Osborne's. This will be the first time that he has done something like this so I'm hoping he isn't going to be the disruptive influence! He has enjoyed the foundation training that we have done so far but likes to do a couple of "laps of honour" after every tunnel or line of jumps, bless him.

Speedy and Zippy have started proper Agility training and sound like they are doing very well. I'm taking Re to Pen's class on Thursdays (when I can make it) and we are starting to progress onto small jumping sequences, jumping lanes, target training and channel weaves set at 8" (which Reno fits through easily without wiggling due to him being so skinny!). I'm also hoping that Jo will be starting a Puppy group on Mondays soon so am looking forward to that.

It's been a long time!

So what have we been up to since 7th Sept?

A visit to Dorset for the 1st weekend. Reno and Ollie still love each other loads. They really aren't aware of the size difference and Ollie has a unique way of getting Reno on the ground - watch him going for the legs!!

Next came Nottingham ADTC Fun Day. A relaxed day with three easy jumping classes. Kiros won two of the classes and had a Judges Special in the third class as he would have won if he hadn't had a pole down.

Hazel attempted to take some photo's of him jumping but he was too fast!!

Then onto Dog Vegas Agility show at Bakewell. Lovely venue, perfect weather and sensible courses. We only managed two clears but came away with respectable placing in each. 7th in Grade 6 Agility on Saturday and 4th in the "Money" class on Sunday winning us £7. Well done Kiros!!

Last weekend we were at Lune, our first indoor show of the winter season. Kiros loves running indoors and again came away with a reasonable place in Grade 6 Agility, 5th.

This weekend coming sees the first of the Agility Nuts winter shows. Ann is Judging in the afternoon so I'll be ring managing for her but will have all morning to concentrate on my Doggies. I'm really looking forward to it.

Reno's training is coming on well. Pen has moved to an indoor venue so he found that very exciting last Thursday, especially as there were different Dogs in the class.

I've been taking him to most shows that I have been to and he is getting very used to them. I was really proud of him on Saturday at Lune as the venue must be strange and very noisy for a puppy. He took it all in his stride apart from being "spooked" when Steve Croxford jumped over the barrier in front of him but Steve, being the experienced Dog person that he is, just ignored it and fed him a few treats. He's now Reno's new best friend!!

Reno is entered in a couple of Breed Shows. Midlands Counties on his Birthday (24th Oct) and then one in Newark the weekend after. Only two weeks to go. I really should be practicing!!

Well done to everyone who has done so well recently particularly Jo for qualifying Keisha for next years ABC semi.

Chatsworth Country Fair and Gedling Show

On Saturday we went to Chatsworth Country Fair and had a great day. Kiros had 4 runs but two of them were for Grades 1-5 only so he had to run "Not for Competition" in them and, of course was clear in both. In fact he ran the fastest time in the Agility.

Typically I caused some faults in the other two classes.

Reno and Ronnie came along for the experience.

Ade walked Reno around Chatsworth for at least 2hrs and he was fine with the crowds, fairground noises and guns so I decided to take him to our local show yesterday. They had an exemption show on so I thought it would be good practice for him.

I got there to late to enter him in most handsome dog and the other classes weren’t suitable for him. I walked him around for a while. It was very different from Chatsworth – Although not as big there were a lot more Children about, running and screaming. He was doing really well until we were waiting at a stand for a drink to be made and a Child (who had been running around him shooting him with a toy gun which he was fine with) trod on his tail! That didn't really help prove to him that kids are nothing to be scared of.

Then a Wild West Shoot Out started in the main ring. Reno was ok to start with then, as the shots got more frequent, he freaked and slipped his collar – He ran to get under a car(stationary) but half way there decided that it would be better to come back to me, thankfully!

So I’m now worried that all Ade’s hard work on Saturday has been undone and he is traumatised for life. He pulled me home until we got out of earshot of the fair. Poor little boy. Not sure if I should try and do something about it or just ignore it? I’m getting a bit worried about how he will react to fireworks. Suggestions welcome!!

Just what the Doctor ordered............

.....a second weekend of Kiros friendly courses!!


Not a paw out of line - we had four clear rounds over the weekend and the only mistakes made on the courses were my fault (with the exception of his last jumping run when he broke his wait - but that doesn't excuses me from forgetting the course and having to ask the judge for directions!). We didn't get any placings although some of the runs were tantalizingly close.


I think the time has come for me to have to admit that Kiros has slowed quite a lot since last year and, although I'm convinced that he is still enjoying himself, I have to be careful not to keep him running full height for too long. Having said that his clear in Tom Hadaway's Graded 5-7 Agility (a typical TH course - plenty of running!!) would have won him out of Grade 5.


Ronnie had a couple of nice runs. Particularly on Saturday when he came away with only 5f for a refusal in Anysize Jumping. See, I told you that clear is just around the corner!!


Reno had great fun socialising as always. His sister, Megan, came to the show on Saturday and Sunday and they had great fun playing together with Kiros, Harley and Heidi. (Hope you don't mind me steeling the photo Kate?)


Next weekend is Chatsworth Country Fair. I love this show but never do very well. Perhaps a little too relaxed?!!

Agility Nuts August Show

Kiros is well and truly back on form. Over the weekend he was clear in all but one of his competitive runs and was placed in all of them.


Saturday - 5th place in Agility (with Ann), 2nd place in Snakes, 4th place in Power and Speed and 4th place in Jumping.

Sunday - 1st place in Agility, first pole down so 5f in Jumping and 1st place in Time, Fault and Out Jumping. The rules of Time, Fault and out are that you keep running around the judges course until you make a mistake or the course time expires - in this case 40 seconds. Kiros ran beautifully and completed 37 obstacles in 40 secs but it almost killed me! I decided not to run Gamblers making the excuse that it might be to much for Kiros, but truthfully I think it was to much for me!!


Ronnie had great fun over the weekend. The judge must of had a laugh in Snakes (a jumping course were you have to avoid the tunnels) when Ronnie decided to completely circle the tempting tunnel before coming back to me.


He was almost clear in the Knockout Jumping but was distracted by the Dog running in the next lane and ran slightly past a jump. His best run of the weekend came in Ann's TFO. He completed 12 obstacles before being faulted. I'm sure that clear round is just around the corner!!

Reno had a great time being cuddled and playing with other Dogs.

Here are my courses from Saturday.

Veteran, Starters Plus and Elementary Agility
I thoroughly enjoyed the show, the highlight of which was Pen and Brennan winning my Elementary Agility and Kiros coming 2nd in the Summer Season Senior League. August Nuts August Show is rapidly becoming my favorite of the season. I think because it is a sharp contrast to the Pomp and Ceremony of the KCI Festival the weekend before. I'm looking forward to the Nuts winter season starting in October.

Strange "Agility" Happenings

We've just spent two very enjoyable Agility-filled weekends at Scunnie and then at the KC Festival but Kiros's runs have been quite out of character.

He obviously loves running at Winterton so was well up for his runs at Scunnie.

No faulted Dog Walk ups but a very bad missed A-frame down contact on Saturday and again on Sunday (strange happening no 1. He honestly hasn't missed an A-frame contact in competition or training since 2005).

He then went onto run clear in Graded 6-7 Jumping on Sunday and got 10th place (strange happening no 2. Our last jumping placing was 5th in Grade 5 Jumping at Newton Heath - June 2007).

Needless to say I practice contacts at training last Tuesday! I tried really hard to push him to miss the A-frame contact but try as I might I couldn't.

So onto the KC Festival. All but one of my Agility courses lent themselves to stopping on the contacts so that's how I handled them. Strange happening no. 3 - Kiros really seemed to loose confidence, possibly because of this, and even almost stopped on a couple of the courses. Even though we had a couple of Agility clears over the weekend he was to slow to be placed.

His jumping rounds, however, were a different story. He really enjoyed them, helped by some fast open courses, and came away with another placing in Grade 6 jumping (strange happening no.4!) - 29th out of 307 so within 10%.

Reno had a great time socialising and being admired by all. He played with his brother, Speedy, and met some friends of Jo's who recognised him as a "Ronny Pup" straight away!

I'm really looking forward to the weekend coming - Agility Nuts. A good chance to catch up with old friends and I'm Judging Agility on Saturday so I hope everyone enjoys the courses.

Reno's going to Crufts!

I promised Jo that I'd put a post on quickly to let you all know but she's still beaten me to it!!

Firstly, well done Jo for your excellent results with your Doggies and, Of course, to Jan and Lisa.

We had a lovely (but long!) day at the BSD Breed show yesterday. Reno's class was first in the ring. I was really nervous but the Judge was lovely. She helped us with everything when she realised it was our first show and was very kind with Reno. He was a little worried about her going over him but not as bad as I'd thought he'd be and no worse then the other Puppies. Much to my surprise he won his class so he then had to go against the other Dog winners for Best Dog in Breed and the Bitch Puppy for Best Puppy in Breed.

Obviously he was no match for the the other Dogs in Best Dog in Breed but he did win Best Puppy in Breed and then had to wait to go into Best Puppy in Show at the end of the day.

Jan had entered us in a team of four for the Breeders Stakes so after lunch we were back into the ring for that. Reno was a bit unsettled in this class as he was confused running around so close to the other dogs.

Many a time we have sat and watched the Group being judged at Crufts and a dog has bounced into the ring on the end of it's lead, not running properly and not letting the judge look at them and we've asked "How did that Dog even get though?". Well that was Reno in Best Puppy in Show!

It all happened to quickly for me. I couldn't get him settled and the other two Dogs, that were obviously more mature with more experienced handlers, total overshadowed him.

Oh well, still a very good result for our first Breed show and I'm so proud of my little man. Better get some practice done before Crufts!

My Week Off Work....

.....started with Agility at Derby. Kiros ran well but I made a few silly mistakes so we only had one clear round all weekend. Surprisingly Kiros got faulted on his Dog Walk up contact in three of his four Agility runs. I don't doubt that he misses some of his up contacts, I've never trained them preferring a natural stride on, but we've never been faulted for so many at one time! Lets see what tomorrow brings?

We've just come back from a few days Holiday in Dorset. Once again the Dogs had lots of fun playing with each other. Dad bought a cheap water sprinkler that Reno had hours of enjoyment with.

Tomorrow we are off to JDA in Lincoln. I'm really looking forward to this show as it has a 4-7 Class. Much as I love being Grade 6 it will be a welcome relief (hopefully!) to run a course that isn't aimed at the highest level.

On Sunday I have entered Reno in the BSDA of GB Champ Show. I've never been to a Breed Show before so have no idea what to expect. I'm really glad Jo will be there to show me the ropes and I'm taking Lynne along for moral support.

Reno is losing his coat like it is going out of fashion at the moment and, despite me grooming him daily, it is still coming out in handfuls. I'm quite confident that he can stand and walk ok but I'm a bit worried that he might bark at the judge as he isn't keen on having his mouth opened.

Wish us luck!!!

Norfolk and Empingham

I always look forward to our Weekend away in Norfolk mainly because of the hospitality offered to us by Gill, the owner of "The Limes" B&B. We were so lucky to have found this the first time we went to Norfolk and have just visited for the 6th time. Gill loves dogs, she has four of her own, and welcomes us like family.

Most of the pics were taken in the Gardens of her beautiful house. The river runs at the bottom.

Kiros and I had a very successful Norfolk, in fact the best yet! We 3 clears, 2 5f and one elimination because Kiros missed his Dog Walk contact so I put him back over it (he only seems to miss one a year so at least I've got that out of the way!).

Much to our surprise we came 2nd in Graded 6-7 Agility on the Saturday. So near to being half way to Advanced!

I only managed one day at Empingham because I was on a work course in Buxton on Saturday. It was really strange to be missing a days Agility but well worth it as I learned a lot.

We weren't so successful Agility-wise at Empingham but thoroughly enjoyed working on Andrew's ring, watching and running the last ABC qualifier that Kiros is entered in this year.

Ade let me borrow his Canon PowerShot Pro so hopefully you can see a difference in the quality of the photo's posted here. I love the one of Reno and Indi.

A Weekend at Home

Just spent my second Agility free (well almost) weekend and I can't wait to get to Norfolk next weekend and competing again.





I spent Saturday catching up with all of the boring gardening and house work type things leaving yesterday free to spend with the Dogs. As the weather was a bit cooler I decided to take them to Paul and Pen's paddock. I just got out a tunnel and 4 jumps to work Kiros and Ronnie over a few sequences and let Reno have a bit of a play with the tunnel.















Here are some photo's that I took of them enjoying themselves playing ball and, in Reno's case, with the hose pipe!

Friends Reunited

Kiros, Reno and I went down to Dorset this weekend and Ronnie stayed at home to keep Ade company.

Although we were all looking forward to the weekend we were a little apprehensive of how Reno and Ollie would react to one another as they hadn't met since Easter and Reno is a lot bigger now!!

We needn't have worried as they just started where they left off last time. Re still looks at Ollie as "Boss" even though he is a lot smaller then him.

As the weather has been really hot we spent a lot of time chilling in the garden with the dogs.

Reno would like to inform everyone that he is now officially a Big Boy - He's cocked his leg!! He's only done it a couple of times and only if he really has to but he has done it.

I went back to Agility training last night (I hadn't gone for about three weeks because of my leg). Kiros worked really well, he was so excited to be back, just a couple of knocked poles but we're used to that.

Reno was a very good boy when I look him in before class started. He was really excited to see everyone and was incredibly relaxed with people fussing him. I'm hoping he is beginning to get over his "freakyness" around strangers as I've entered him in a breed show at the beginning of August and it could be really embarrassing if he barks at the Judge.