lucyandmeg

I emailed them jsut to check, because i thought they would only stop the nil excess for new policies, and am shocked when i was told it was all existing renewals too, what a way to treat loyal customers! Trouble is i have claimed for so many things now that i am stuck with them.

Yes, we do tend to stick out like a sore thumb!! I've got a huge black and white springer spaniel, and my boyfriend has a cream coloured kelpie (looks orange!!).

At 7 months janine would advise that he should still be on puppy food, so don't reduce his protein level too much, hes still growing. Well he is half collie! Alex is a very lucky boy, but he may need to get some sprint training started now, its not easy keeping up with these fast collies you know!! GOod job hes got young legs! James did some agility training with maisy for the first time yesterday, shes so quick learning she can now do a run of jumps at low height (set out in a course, not just straight), dog walk and flat tunnel (which took only 2 attempts and she went straight through without holding it up) all off lead. Shes so responsive and incredibly quick already!!

OH dear, looks like we're coming instead, slow but steady spaniel and fast and furious kelpie, look out!!

Trust me annyetta, with a dog that is crossed between a working sheepdog and a working springer its going to be very hard to find an off switch, he is always likely to be higher energy than the other two, even when adult. Meg was exactly the same when she is younger, most collies are - which is why they aren't for the faint hearted, but why i love them!! It may be that hes actualyl getting too much stimulation and isn't learning how to settle down. Sometimes i find that it takes my dogs longer to settle down after a long walk than a short one with a bit of mental training thrown in. If hes wanting to play with the others all the time at home it may be that you need to put a stop to it occaisionally and ask him to settle on his bed or in a crate just to give him some calm down time. At 7 months hes still growing so he should be on roughly 30-35 minute walks at a time because of his joints. What about finding him some interactive toys such as treat balls and frozen kongs to keep him occupied?

Hi, Just seen she was in the vets this morning! What a shame, after all the hard work you've done organising the team. Hopefully it will be better soon.

I'm glad to hear that shes on the mend!

Despite a miserable weekend weather wise at UKA newbury megan got: 1st beginners std jumping sat and 1st on sunday, 5th beginners agility std and 3rd beginners steeplechase. We've now moved up to novice steeplechase and only need 10 points in agility to move up to novice for everything!!

I have pmed you. Lucy

Thats ok, its no problem at all, shes my boss, flyball team captain (Hampshire harriers) and very good friend so i knew she would be more than happy to help. I'm glad things are looking better for you and pumpkin, wishing you all the best, and lots of hugs for pumpkin.

That is really unfair, I would have thought someone might have noticed that the timing didn't seem right when you finished your round. I'm not surprised your upset.

Ah yes, true it does look a bit nice for the weekend doesn't it, looks more like the easter show!

That looks like frimley, if so we were parked in the day parking just behind you, infact i am sure i was watching your dogs playing at one point because i was wondering if rena had kelpie in her due to her colour. Would that have been you? Wasn't the mud fun!!

Why don't you try e mailing janine? Shes going to uka newbury agility show at the weekend, but i know shes at home until then. Shes off work at the moment as you know but i'm sure she would be more than happy to help. The dog i know that recovered well is her brothers. (What is her breeding out of interest?) I'll check my hotmail account and get her email address for you, as the forest lodge one isn't working at the moment. If you like i can always ring her and pass on your details.

Any news? If it helps my friends toller suffered with meningitis when she was about the same age, shes now 6 and perfectly fine.

Had a fantastic day at frimley on sunday despite the rain and glastonbury style mud! The Harriers won div 2, beating every single team, and the hounds won div 6 losing only one race. I'm particularly proud as it was murphy spaniels first open competition and he didn't put a paw wrong, hes not the fastest but hes very reliable, despite not being used to running full height and running into a dog he knows is very temperamental but has never run into before. ITs taken about 2 years to get him there and i really thought we would never do flyball as he used to chase the other team, drop the ball, go for a sniff etc - basically anything but flyball!

Meg, my small collie is reasonable fast considering her small stature (18in at the shoulder) and has to jump full height at KC. She has won out of elementary and has a few places in kc and uka to her name. Shes being doing agility for 3 years. (as have i, shes the first dog i've trained - what a baptism of fire!) Anyway despite being perfectly capable of clear rounds she seems to have got lazy when jumping and tends to knock jumps over. THeres no particular pattern, although it is almost guarenteed that if you tell her to turn left or right after a jump she will have dropped her back feet and knocked the pole over. I've been told i need to give the command earlier, but at her spped i'm just not on the ball enough. Frustratingly we can do all sorts of tight training patterns without a problem. I go to 3 different clubs and she tends to knock loads of poles over in 2 (One outside on grass and another in a woodchip riding school), yet at another she rarely ever knocks a pole(grass again.) Also in competition, one day she may manage clears the other not. I'm not sure how i can teach her to pick her back feet up. She will even knock mini height jumps over sometimes. I thought about getting her back checked, but she seems ok in every other way and as she can manage it at one club and not the other it makes me think its not physical. (shes 5). Any ideas? Shes got good weaves and contacts now, so is pretty much on route for clears if she doesn't keep dropping poles, but its so frustrating!

I've been doing agility for about 3 years, and competing for about 2. Don't get me wrong, megs fast, we usually get placed 2nd to 4th if we go clear, but at only 18in at the shoulder she is never going to be as fast as some of the bigger dogs. Its never bothered me before, plenty of my friends have done well before and apart from the odd pang i have been pleased for them, but theres always been an element of competitiveness between me and my boyfriend, willow and meg and i guess i feel that hes got what it takes to go to the top but megs always going to be second best. Stupid i know, but its taken all the fun out of it. I do enjoy the social side, but the jealousy and competitiveness is really getting me down and ruining it for me. My second dog is a spaniel and nowhere near as fast, but i don't getthe same competitive feelings i get with him cos i know that he will never win. I just wish i didn't feel this way.

Absolutely! I'm suffering from it at the moment!! Sometimes i think you have to reassess the situation and look at whether you are actually having fun. At the moment i am seriously thinking about giving up agility. My dogs are good, they get placed on occaisions, despite me being a rubbish handler, but for me thats the problem. THe funs gone. When i first started getting a clear round was my aim and we were just having fun. Then we started to get placings and my competitiveness went up a gear and i was disappointed if we didn't go clear. Now my boyfriends dog has started going clear and is miles faster than meg becuase she has much longer legs and actually won the jumping at thames a second faster than all the other dogs and i am so jealous despite myself. I can't shake off the jealous, depressed feeling knowing that meg will never be as fast as willow, and i'm starting to resent them for it. I know it sounds awful, i don't want to feel this way but i just can't help it. Stupid when you think other people would love to get placings, but i just can't seem to get rid of the feeling of we're not good enough and never will be, o i'm thinking of giving up competiting and just having fun cos i don't want to be that kind of person. But anyway hey ho, thats my problem. Going back to lucky, perhaps it would be worth taking a break, letting both of you relax a little. Its hard not to want to do well and compete, but when it starts stressing both of you out like that its not worth the hassle. Hes still young, it takes a while for some dogs to settle down and become reliable, it took willow and meg 5 years before they started listening to us and going clear and i think most dogs are the same. I can't really offer any tips as i know how hard you have worked and know that you've tried most things, but just remember at the end of the day you've got a lovely dog there it doesn't matter if he doesn't do agility competitions.

Me too!!

Don't forget they don't always pick your first choice, for one for one of mine they picked the last choice i put down which was rubbish because i was so sure i would get one of the first three!

Megs pics are in div 4 (and sadly i'm looking fairly drowned in a couple of them!) numbers 120, 121, 124, 128, 131 and 136. Does anyone know how to post a link to them from here?

The click is a very consistent noise, if you think of how often you use your voice talking to the dog in so many differnt tones of voice it becomes less easy for the dog to distinguish what marked the behaviour, or what was part of the command etc. Its a very powerful sound as there is really no other sound like it so the dog is in no doubt what you mean, and its easier to get split second timing right with a click, for example when training heel its easier to click that split second one of the back legs moves.

Had an ok day, except for the weather, came 3rd in div 4, very tight racing and a couple of silly mistakes lost us two legs, but c'est la vie! Was lovely to meet you and eddie at last jayne!

I must say there aren't many team names i don't recognise! They've changed the racing orders around so we are now racing the harriers on the sunday instead.