European Open Championships 2009 part one

This photo just makes me laugh.



The adventure started out on Thursday morning when Zen and I met up with Nicky, Dave and Sharon to begin our journey to Arnhem, Holland. I was very lucky to be able to catch a ride with Dave and Sharon as Dennis had to stay home with Neil/Vinnie as I just could not ask someone to watch such a baby puppy.



Dave and Sharon drive a huge comfortable van and there was loads of room for all three little dogs. Each dog had it's own condo...you couldn't even call it a cage! Notice the little poodle, Libby, sitting in the top bunk next to Indy; you can hardly see her!

The trip to Holland went so smoothly and we were checked into the hotel and having a nice meal before we knew it. The hotel was great and only 10 minutes (depending on how your sat-nav behaved-haha) from the venue. What a difference from last year! The hotel had great walking for the dogs and really good food.

Our team practice was on Friday afternoon and gave us a good chance to try out the equipment and get the dogs acclimated to the rubber surface. Burns (our dog food sponsor) gave our medium team some extra shirts and caps to wish us luck and Becky Parks made us all matching red/white/blue fleecy leads. The medium team rocked! I love how how our team was made up of 4 different breeds (sheltie, border collie, staffie and cocker)



The equipment at this EO was so much better than last year. Proper jump cups, nice breakaway tyre and, even better, rubber contacts! The rubber contacts are great; you don't worry about the dog's entry onto the contacts and you do not hear them scrabbling to hold on.



As for the competition days they just flew by. I was so proud of Zen as she just took everything in her stride and performed great. Our first run in individual agility has a little "miscommunication" when she headed with great force for an off course tunnel but she called off in time and we just lost a few seconds off our time. Her individual jumping run felt so good! Unfortunately we were just off the podium at 4th place but I was so thrilled with the 4th place that I had to take a photo of the results!



The finals went by so quickly. Again she was a dream to run and I felt that it went so smoothly. She went into the lead after she ran (9th from the end) but got knocked into 5th place by some fantastic dogs. 5th out of 65 dogs from all over the world is pretty damn good!

As usual most of the photos taken of Zen by the photographers on site were blurry! They can never seem to get in focus photos of Zen which is quite funny. But I bought two photos anyway as they were cute. As usual Zen had lots to say to me when I wanted her to turn.



I do not have too many photos yet; hopefully some will be coming from other people. Nor do I have any video! But luckily a helpful blog-reader sent me this link in which you can watch Zen's finals run! It was great as it was the first time I saw one of her EO runs!

Zen in EO Finals

Thanks to Katja for sending me that link; it meant alot for me to see it. Sometimes I watch videos afterwards and think...Oh I could have done better...but this time I was so happy to see that the run looked as good as it felt. Zen is just smooth as silk to run and she just keeps getting better with age. How lucky am I?

More EO news and a Neil/Vinny update soon!

Phew we are back!

Wow I have been away from home for almost 2 weeks! I think I am agilitied-out! Even Zen is tired!

We left two weeks ago headed off to the Netherlands for the European Open Agility Championships and after that went directly to the UKA Nationals week long agility show. My legs and feet ache, I am tired but I had a great time at both shows running my little Zen. She was a star and gave me her all as usual. I will post more about the European Open when I get some photos and maybe video. Dennis stayed home with the pups and so no videos for me but hopefully I can find some!

We have some changes in the household. Little Neil has gone to his new home and is now named "Vinnie". Luna has left with Johanna back to Denmark to grow her coat and be fluffed up and shown in the breed rings all year. Luna will be coming back to us next year to hopefully try for a bigger litter with a few girls next time! So it all seems so quiet here now but a good time to recover from the EOs and to think about actually training Zaz and Itzy!

Neil 5-6 weeks and more

Murphy and Becky are still here but are leaving tonight. Boo hoo I will miss Mr.Murphy my main man. Itzy hero worships Murphy and he just puts up with her although she can be an annoying little Itzy flea jumping at his head all the time. I can be sure that Itzy will greet Murphy with more enthusiasm than she greets Dennis and I lately! We have gotten into a daily habit of ball throwing in the garden for Murphy and Becky and the pups. I love to see them afterwards; plum tuckered out!



Time is whizzing by! Neil is growing and as cute as a fuzzy button. He just turned 6 weeks on Friday. I have had no time for blogging or videos but will try and put a few in just to keep everyone up to date. It is so strange having a singleton again. I watch him in his puppy pen and he keeps himself occupied. Sometimes he goes from one thing to another (I keep changing things in his pen) pulling on toys, banging the piano and then will just climb into bed and fall asleep 10 seconds later.



Itzy tries her best to keep Neil socialized. We put a cardboard box out for Neil (the best puppy toys are disposable!) and the next thing we saw was Itzy inside the box showing Neil what to do with boxes.



This little toy car has been such a hit with the last two litters and Neil is no exception.



Zen got a few nice gifts to congratulate her on getting to the world championships. She has enjoyed them all! This cute pink handbag is from Karen and it was a big hit but, of course, all the girls wanted it. It was HANDBAGS AT DAWN!

Well well well..

Well well well...she did it again! I was so proud of Zen yesterday when she became a member of Team Great Britain and will represent GB at the World Agility Championships 2009 in Austria.

Not only did she qualify but she came 1st overall in medium and I think she was the only dog in all heights to run clear in every round. I can't stop saying how proud I am of this little dog. This will be her 3rd time at the World Championships and she has qualified every time we tried out. Because of family commitments one year and money issues last year we were not able to try out every year, so it seems extra special now. Zen has done everything she could to help me get through this tough year; I am blessed by this little girl.

Today I will just enjoy the feeling and then tomorrow I will start thinking about how quickly the European Open is coming up in less than 2 weeks and how fast 2 months will fly by before the World champs. Yikes!

I am so psyched; I can't wait! (Thanks Jane Savoie!)

Itzy Agility Training 12 July 2009 and so it begins

Well the pups are now 7.5 months old! I guess Itzy needs to start some agility training!

To get started both pups have now had two agility lessons with our fantastic trainer Lesley Olden. We are mostly doing short sequences with tiny jumps and tunnels. Just teaching the pups the basics.In addition at home we have started playing around with contacts (dog walk and see-saw). It is fun training both puppies as they are totally different yet both fun. What I try to do is work with one puppy for 10 minutes and then take the other pup out and do the exact same thing again for 10 minutes. It helps keep my training sessions with each pup quite short and that is good.

Anyway here is a little taster of what Itzy did today. The dog-walk plank is just up on a caravan step and we are playing around with running contacts. It is my first time trying to train running contacts on my own dog so it should be quite a journey for us. We have been running the plank for about 1 month. We started on the see-saw this week. The see-saw is propped up so that it is only tipping slightly and this is Itzy's 3rd time seeing the seesaw. I am very pleased with how she progressed already.

I will try and edit Zaz's video later this week. By the time I get all my training gear out, set up the video camera, train the both pups, watch the video, edit the video and then load to You-tube I am exhausted! HAHA! Anyhoo...Enjoy!
PS if I was more ambitious I would add music to cover up my voice but I am too lazy!

I've been lax

I have been lax in keeping up to date on the blog with agility results. I will blame it on the puppy; he is a time waster. Anyway this has been a good month for some of the OBay pups.

The photo above is one from last year but since I have not been at the agility shows recently this was the best I could do! Todd and Kizzy are almost the same age and both are really coming into their own this year.

Kizzy (Zen x Tazz) went into Grade 7 in style by winning those last few classes up at Lune and Barrow. Kizzy just went into Grade 6 back in March so she is moving along quickly. She just missed out on entering any championship classes this year as the shows have already closed but I am sure she will do fantastic in the champs next year. I know Andy is certainly ready to get into those champ rings next year and enjoy himself as a competitor rather than a judge! Kizzy and Andy make a great team.

Todd (Hob-b x Chi) also has gone into Grade 7 and has just qualified for the Olympia Semi-Final. Todd is just an amazing little dog. At just under 15" he competes in medium against all the larger dogs and does not look out of place with his speed and enthusiasm. Little Hob-let did good with her one puppy! I can't help wondering what she would have produced if she had been able to have anymore. Todd will be in his first championship class at the end of this month and I know he will shine.

While looking for photos of Kizzy and Todd I came across this photo take in Febuary 2007. Todd was probably about 7 weeks old and Kizzy just a few weeks older. We all met at Sue's sandschool for a sheltie puppy party. Also in this photo is the blue merle sheltie Kodak (Amanda's boy) who was about the same age. Kodak also is doing really well recently and just won a class last weekend at Bridgehouse and Surrey. Kodak is a tiny little ball of fluff with a huge attitude!

Aren't they adorable!



As for Zen and I....we leave for the European Open Agility Championships in two weeks! We have not been doing many agility shows lately for one reason or another but Zen is still in great shape. We went to an EO training session on Friday and Zen did not put a little foot wrong. She amazes me. Last weekend we did our first agility show in quite a long time and, again, Zen went 6/6 clear fast runs with perfect contacts! I was a happy bunny!

Here are some photos taken at Bridgehouse Agility show by a friend's husband. I always appreciate that because I know how hard Dennis works when taking photos and giving them to people. It takes alot of time and effort out of a already busy day!

I love how Zen smiles in the weaves.



This photo shows how she uses her tail to hold onto entries.



This is Zen's favorite pastime other than agility.



More Zen smiling!


I just liked this photo!

Our lovely visitors: Murphy and Becky

We have been lucky to get Murphy and Becky for the week while Nancy and Andy are in Denmark. Nandy have gone to Denmark to compete in agility at the Jutlandia Cup. I wish I could have gone but maybe another year.

Becky and Murphy are such good house guests. I just adore having a big dog (or two) around again. I don't think I want another big dog permanently but it is a nice change. What is so lovely about Becks and Murph the smurf is that they are so gentle with the little dogs. There are not many dogs I would let run with my youngsters but Becky and Murphy are so aware of their bodies and you can see them consciously avoid the puppies no matter how fast they are going or that they are chasing the ball.

I must admit that Murphy is my favorite but Becky is very beautiful if slightly blonde! She reminds me of a larger version of Jordan.



I call the border collies my "sheltie exercisers"! Zaz and Itzy love to run and chase Murphy and Becky. 10 minutes of this and I have nice tired puppies!

Fat Boy Neil 4 to 5 weeks

Neil's growth seems to have slowed. He is now eating his Burns puppy food and has sharp teeth! Generally he is an easy pup; cleaning and feeding one puppy is so easy. Itzy is jealous at how often he gets his Burns puppy food. He is a regular part of the pack right now and has much more access to the older dogs than a regular litter would be allowed. He plays with Itzy and Zaz and toddles around with the older dogs outside. This week he has been introduced to Murphy and Becky; two border collies that are having their holiday here with the shelties. It is good for him to be around large dogs as well as the shelties. Dennis caught him sleeping; he sleeps lying on TOP of his stuffed elephant (a gift from Aunt Sonia who was disgusted at how many PINK toys he had) This is the time for new experiences so I try and introduce him to something new everyday. It might just be a new toy or a trip into the back garden or a ride in the car to Dennis' office. Taking the pups to the office has always been a great opportunity for them to see a new place with new noises and new people. Here Neil meets a friend named Neil! Some silly videos of our little fat boy. Here he is on his first introduction to the wobble board.



I am sure you jumped at the sound of the glass breaking! But do not worry, it was that little fuzzy green and yellow toy shaped like a hammer that Neil is checking out at the end of the video clip. It sounds like glass breaking when you bang it on the ground! It is a cool toy but I won't tell you how many time Dennis and I have jumped up when we heard it after the dogs were playing with it in another room.

Neil may be a male but he can multi-task!

Luna and Neil

Luna is wondering just what she got herself into!

Fat Boy Neil 3 weeks

There is really not much to blog about Neil right now! He is growing and being as cute as a button and not much trouble at all. Three weeks old and 1 lb 12 ounces; but most of it is his beer belly! In comparison to my other singleton litters: He is not as fat as the original Fat Boy "Todd" but heavier than his daddy "One". Comparisons at this age are not really very helpful although many people are desperate to figure out heights at this age already! I will already have people asking me if he is going to be small or medium! hahaha

I have him up on the balance disc to try and work on his core abdominal muscles and lose some weight! (really just kidding in case someone thinks I am serious!)



He is making excursions into the kitchen and just started walking around a little. I find singletons are definitely behind in the movement area probably because they don't have to fight for their food. Here he is looking for his mum on the other side of the baby gate right before he got his head stuck between the bars and scared me half to death. Yikes!



The puppy pen has changed again. Now the panels are around the box and the box cut down so that Neil can move out of the box and see more action. I am really liking the adaptability of the old "cardboard box" instead of a fancy whelping box. Ahh the simple things!



A sunny day and Neil goes outside for the first time. He still looks so lonely in his pen.



The two men in the house have got to stick together.

Fat Boy Neil adventures into the kitchen

While having my tea this morning I brought Neil in to interact with Itzy and Zaz. They will have to take place of his litter mates although I think Itzy would like to be his momma. Luna needs to be out of the room during these visits as she is quite protective of her baby. Between Luna, Zen and Itzy I think Neil will have three mums!

Fat Boy Neil at 2 weeks old

Fat Boy Neil is now 2 weeks old. I have almost been feeling guilty as this has certainly been an easy litter to care for so far! Now that his eyes are open and his ears are almost open I can feel needed again.

We have changed the whelping box slightly to start adding more fun things. The baby mobile over head to stimulate him to look up and get used to things over his head. The Radio/CD Player next to the box to start adding extra noise. More toys to climb over...well not really climb as he is not even waddling yet! I know from experience that he will be on his feet later than if he had litter mates and less food!



I laugh whenever I see photos of the cardboard whelping box. It is such a great idea for cleanliness reasons as it is disposable; but all I can think of are homeless people on the NYC streets!

We pick Neil up all the time and just hold him but now I have started to add a litle yogurt for him to lick while we are holding him. This is just to associate good things with being held. I carry him into different rooms and put him on a fleece on the floor to just look around. Nothing too exciting yet as he is barely awake most of the time. ha!





Luna continues to be a great mother. She is very protective of him and when strangers come to visit she gives them a very stern look! I can see her mind is conflicted as she normally loves everyone but is worried about her baby. She certainly does NOT tolerate the other dogs around HER baby and Zaz and Itzy have learned not to mess with "mother nature"!

One week old Fat Boy Neil

We had a nice time at West Wittering beach yesterday. It was Zaz and Itzy's first time at the beach. They are so much fun to take places and I just love them. I was so impressed that they stayed for this photo; I guess my training is starting to work! They are alternatively known as the "Dynamic Duo" or "Dastardly Duo" depending on how well-behaved they are. Luckily they were pretty dynamic at the beach!

Agility has taken a back seat for awhile for many reasons. I just cannot get my competitive head back right now. I am enjoying working with Zen and training her to get ready for the European Open but I am not enjoying the actual agility shows . So I have stopped entering shows for August and instead Dennis and I are going to take a week off and go up to Scotland. After much time on the internet I finally found a nice self-catering cottage that takes dogs and was NOT booked! I think everyone and his family have booked holiday cottages in August. Next year I must think of booking earlier as I found some fabulous places that took unlimited dogs but were booked already. I hope the place I found is nice; it looks good. It is really remote and seems to be in an area with loads of good walks and lots to do. We will take Zen and the dynamic-duo pups leaving Jordan and Pax home with the pet-sitter. Pax and Jordan love to walk but get tired earlier and I think they will be happiest at home.



Neil continues to grow and at 1 week old is now 1 pound! He has the biggest belly and when he lies stretch out he looks like a big blob. The other two singleton puppies I have had were the same way; they seem to gain huge amounts in their bellies.

Here are the two sides of Neil. Luna's breeder was worried that Neil would be too white factored! haha We think Neil is "black-factored"! He has so little white on him but he is cute anyway!




Zen was just dying to see Neil. I put Luna out and gave Zen a chance to check him out. She immediately jumped in the box and cleaned him but then realized that he may want to nurse and skedaddled out pretty quickly.

Smiley Zen

I could not resist posting this photo. This is Zen in a nutshell; most happy when she is doing something. Thanks Paula for taking this photo of Zen during a break at a Contact Clinic we attended this weekend.



This is a photo of Zaz in her puppy class but sadly Zaz's puppy class is over! It was a really good class with people and dogs with similar ideas. So nice to have a class where everyone is so kind to their dogs. Unfortunately the instructor has no space available to do another class so we are on our own again!

Fat Boy Neil continues to be fat and is gaining 1-1.5 ounces a day! I would much rather this than all the problems I had with Itzy and Mouse in the last two litters. I feel sort of un-needed right now as Luna is doing all the work and all I do is pick Neil up to give him cuddles and kisses. At least he was 3 days old and I could start the Neurological Stimulation to give me some purpose!