Just Dogs Live, De is now Grade 2!!!!!!

Can't believe where the time has gone.

Demon had his 1st show on Friday @ Just Dogs Live at the East of England showground in Peterborough. He only had two runs but i decided to go as my friend Pat was showing her sheltie on the Friday so i had company.

The day started out lovely the weather was nice, sunny and with a lovely breeze.

Demon's 1st class was Grade 1 jumping, i think he handled the course really well as i walked the course i was quite happy with it although i knew how hyped up he was and that I'd have a chance of loosing him in two places.... either the weaves or on jump number 4 because number (10 i think) was calling, but the course was very flowing in the middle and at the end so he could also make up time in these places.

I don't think it helped that i was so so nervous too.

He had a lovely start line wait and did the 1st few jumps lovely i did lose him over jump 10 so we were eliminated, called him back to me and set him up after jump 4 and he went lovely, over jump 5 into the weaves and wasn't slow either everything was perfect from then until the last jump which he clipped but i couldn't of been prouder!!!! ;0)

As the day went on the weather got hotter and hotter we definitely felt the heat,

it wasn't until 12ish i walked my Grade 1 Agility course....I'd walked and done my jumping by 9.....and by this time i was boiling god knows how poor de felt, but we found a nice little water pool with a hose pipe attached to shower the dogs down with and cool them off.

So on to Grade1 Agility.....I was soooo worried about this course, and watching other people and dogs running it make me worse, dogs were flying contacts, the weaves were best being done with the handler on the dogs left as you had to pull them off the start line jump and then on to a snake line, i prob am not describing it very efficiently but trust me i wasn't feeling very confident lol!

So after umming and ahhing i decided to get in the waiting line, then on to the start line.

Well what can i say!! Demon was a darling throughout the course and didn't put a foot wrong :)

The one thing a decided i wanted out of the course was his contacts and i got these, i also said i run his contacts with me on de's left side, if he got them good if not I'd try again. He did do the weaves and at the end of the course we had gone clear!!!!! I was over the moon and actually crying ( yes crying, i felt like a right idiot after lol!!) but i was so happy i couldn't help it.

I went to ask for de's time out of interest and found out he was actually ranking 1st in Grade 1 at that point, but there was still lots of dogs to go.




And here is the little star.....Yes he actually won Grade 1 Agility @ his 1st show!!! ( and a few seconds in front of the 2nd place dog too!)

So my baby is now Grade 2 I'm so proud and feel so lucky to have him xxxx

Massive Catch-up 1

So much has happened since my last blog so this may take a while.....

Training lesson with Lucy

As i put at the end of my last blog I'd booked a private lesson with Lucy. At the end of this i came away very very happy with De as i feel we achieved loads out of the session. I book an hour and a half and did 15 mins with Roxxi, 30 mins with De, another 15 with Rox and finished with De's last half hour.
With Roxxi being young still i really just took her as the journey is good and it ment i could do something with her in a new environment. We did some change of directions with her, with either Lucy holding her and me running away then once she was released and almost with me id change my direction to see if she'd be with me, we also did it where I'd leave her in a wait, call her to me and change direction. Alot of it was playing getting her to value the toy even if Lucy's dogs were doing something. Roxxi did a few tunnels which she does nicely and also some just running through wings.

The private lesson was mostly for De, we did mostly jumping and tunnel work as it was too wet to use the contacts. We worked on getting De to look at the starting jump no matter where i was stood, this will hopefully give me a bit more control and give De some independence that i don't always need to be directly in front of him for the starting jump. We did alot to do with him working on to other obstacles.

One of my biggest problems (or at least i thought i had a problem) was with demon working while other dogs are working, i felt like i had not done enough to ensure that he wasn't more driven to chase another dog while it was working, rather than him working himself, so i was worried that if i got him in the ring he'd forget i was even there and run off!!! Luckily Lucy had stig (and Ben) with her so there was a bit of a distraction if stig was doing something. But, to my amazement as soon as i put De in front of the first jump that's all he thought about :) Clever lil boy....Maybe I'm underestimating him???
We finished off with some channel weaves, i love doing channel weaves yet i feel i don't have enough knowledge to train them myself so just recently Ive been reading up alot on them...If anyone has any tips or can recommend any books/ dvd's please email me at: sarah_261086@hotmail.com Id be very grateful. I was finding it hard as i don't have my own channel weaves o do it a home as much as i would like to also, but i have now sorted this and should have some during April.

The name game

When i got Roxxi, Paula, her breeder was waiting for the puppy's names to come back there were two names, Stillmoor Shimmy and Stillmoor Silk and Satin. Me being me hoped for the girlie name but alas it wasn't to be as Roxxi was given Stillmoor Shimmy as second choice...Now i wasn't too keen on the name so looked into changing it. I got all the info from the Kennel Club and sent the forms off. Since the last post I've had them back!!!
So now we have Roxxi a.k.a STILLMOOR MISS INDEPENDENT.

Still got to write up Crufts and my training session with Kenny Spottiswoode and Lucy but will update more soon x

Good Lil Girlie, To Show Or Not To Show?????

So off to training classes i went on wed, as always there are lots of puppies, more now as the weather starts to improve. Once i had taught the puppies in my puppy group it was roxxi's turn to come and socialize. Roxxi started her puppy classes on the 27th Jan and has come on in leaps and bounds, she is, like most pups very playful and interacts with people and other dogs great, the one thing i love about her though is the fact that when i actually train her she is nearly 100% focused on me (wherever we are.) Like all puppies she has her moments, but then she is only a puppy, but in most cases she is all about me. At training classes we have been doing The Kennel Club Good Citizen Puppy booklet. This week was roxxi's 4th week at puppy classes and my clever little girlie PASSED her puppy training!!!! To most this may not be a big thing, after all the booklets they do are made up of simple tasks such as Sit, Down, 10 sec stay, Play with puppy etc. But to me it is a big thing it means that the bits of training i have done with her she is taking on board and that although these are only simple tasks, she can do these with other 1st time puppies around that are barking, whining and playing, other people around, and people coming in and out of doors within the training hall, so, to me she's coming on in leaps and bounds. :)
We got a little purple and white Kennel Club Puppy certificate and also a lovely purple puppy test rosette!

On another note i have been contemplating whether or not to do a bit of breed showing with roxxi, although at the moment in my mind I'd only be doing it until she starts to do agility....this may change depending on how we do i guess.
I'm not really in to breed showing to be honest but i just think it would be a good experience for me and roxxi and also it'll be nice to try a bit of everything.

I've been talking to someone else who does breed showing with her collies, but also does agility so i don't think it'll hurt to try it.

I will update when i enter her first show (I'm still looking to enter one as of yet) and we'll see how it goes.

Demon and I have a private lesson with Lucy on Monday so will blog what happens after that.

New Year, New Start. . . .

Well, I really don't know how I've not got round to updating my blog.... So much has happened yet i couldn't find any spare time.

Finally got my car although not the one mentioned in the last post, got myself a little 1.4 blue corsa. I looovethis car and i love the freedom i have now I've got it :)


Since my last post De has had his 1st birthday!!! I think it was around this time we started proper agility training with Lucy Osborne near Lincoln. Demon has come on so much since being there and I'm soooo happy to be doing agility again. We have just started his weave training using channel weaves, I've not trained weaves this way before so its a learning curve for me and demon. So hopefully, now we're doing some training where other's can help with any probs i have, along with the training i do on my own during the week, we may just about get somewhere ;0)






And now for another positive note.....Over the new year i was very, very fortunate to be given another opportunity to own a "Jaff" pup. "Jaff" a.k.a WT Ch Flynntastic Red Jaff of Tarnforce was the dad of one of the dog's i used to own. So to get the chance to have another puppy from him is a dream come true and also a chance i wondered at times if I'd ever have again.


So it is with a very happy heart i introduce to you...... ROXXI.

DNA Tests and Driving!!

Demon's Mum Gael

Demon's Dad Mac

Mac working the sheep

Well...where do i start? Life's been hectic. I finally past my driving test, with only four minors :) Its taken ages as I've started and stopped sooo many times over the last three years for various reasons ( becoming pregnant, moving, relationship problems etc etc.) But its finally done :) Currently waiting on an Astra, although it's a big first car, it's practical with having the dog and Chloe-Leigh to think about.

De's training has come to a problem stage just lately lol, he's still so willing to please, yet, he's at the age where his nose is down alot and it suddenly seems his eye's have become a heck of alot sharper. So our training sessions are 5 min bursts (tops) and this seems to be working. I'm not too worried as he still seems to be coming on this way and training is sooo much happier.

On another note Demon has been DNA tested (CEA/CH, CL and TNS) I have now had all the results and certificates back and all tests are CLEAR/NORMAL!! :)

I have looked about for various agility training as I'd like to get the ball rolling as soon as my car gets here spoken to friends and also had recommendations from others that have done agility and think i know where I'll go now, although would be grateful for any suggestions for ob. training in my area as where i go they don't specialize in one particular area which is what I'd like.

Above are some pics of De's mum and dad.

De's Training Update....

Demon's been on the ruff love program for just over two weeks now. He's taken to it really well and is giving me all his attention in most situations now and works nicely. When i take my puppy class at sutton i still take de along as he tends to settle in the corner and no-one bothers him. We do some work outside with the bronze and silver groups with me and de slipping off to the side either when i think he's not focusing right or if i choose to do a differnt excercise. We've been training his send aways quite a bit just because to my surprise he loves this excercise alot!!! I've tried all sorts with him from me running part way to speed him up, to sending him on his own....i tend to put him back on a long line at least once at the start of the lesson because i always think he'll of forgotten but he deff knows what he's doing. I've used the little flower pots and flags so far. At the min i've been doin it so that he runs between two front markers and to a back one, and my god he likes it lol. His heel-work is coming on now slowy but it's coming on so i happy with it.
The only other thing we've been doin is learning tricks, he can nearly get three feet in a container now lol but he aint to sure about it. He holds his back left leg up on command and he walks back wards and lifts his two back legs up on to boxes and on to the sofa lol :)
I haven't done any directional work in agility with him as yet since about a month ago because he just lost concentration in me for a while so wanted to sort that first before that he was doing his lefts and rights and his bend and wraps ( tight turns round wings) Although i have been doing his contacts at the bottom of the A-frame which he can do nicely.
Gotta go now got three kids running riot round the house and de's looking at me as if to say "please mum let me herd them". Oh that's the other thing i've noticed he's become very herdy these past weeks and he crouches dead low lol and then pounces...which i mite add... my little girl finds very funny :)
Will try and get some vids although i cant manage to convert them atm :(

Family Photo's.

De looking rather confused????

Chloe and Demon, De looking like he was camara shy, really it's the fact i taught him to hide his face and he prob thought it'd get him a nice treat. (does look cute tho!!)


Hmm would anyone like to explain to De that he isnt suppose to stick his tongue out Hehe!!


"Smiles all round" Lovely when the lil bro's down, dont see him vey often.

These were the best outta the pics there's lots more but these stood out lol, My little bro decided to visit a few weeks back but only just got round to getting the pics on to computer.