Asher at Shackerstone

Just got sent these 2 pics from Shackerstone of Asher waiting to race. Fully kitted out in his Rogz stuff, I think I should get sponsorship lol!

Fab Four!

As Sarah (author of campbellsdogs.blogspot.com) is currently doing work experience she has bravely entrusted me with the walking of her 2 dogs. Walks are definitely never boring and so far i haven't lost anybody so all is going well!

I was very impressed I got them to stay still for this photo so thought I'd post it here. Left to right we have: Asher, Jemma, Elliot and Tess.

Agility Update

I realised I haven't posted anything about Agility in ages so...

I have entered our 1st KC show. We are going to Honiton on the 26th-27th September. I am camping Saturday night so if anyone reading this is going please let me know as I will hardly know anyone!

Well Asher is getting better. His weaves are cracking now, always gets entries and hasn't popped out of them for ages. Hopefully this will repeat in competition as at the Agilitynuts shows he just got too excited and hit them too fast. Contacts are ok, I think he is understanding a little bit more now. His position is alot better although he is not driving quite as much as I would like. I just need an hour alone with Asher, a dog walk and an Aframe and I reckon I could sort it but at training you only get a couple of reps of each at each session. As far as jumping work/sequences go, we have good days and bad days. He has more poles than I would like, its most common when I ask him to jump towards me or when he's trying to turn after building up speed along a straight but to be honest sometimes I don't see the reason for it! He's quite good at snakes and can do pull throughs. Lefts and rights are now pretty good but we still go wrong a fair bit. The main problem is that if I'm not clear enough in my handling he gets very frustrated, starts barking and switches off. Thats when he turns in to the tunnel demon and heads for the nearest tunnel. Tunnel obsession is still a bit of a problem but it is getting better as he is getting more confident in other areas. I'm quite happy that he's ready to start competing as I don't think there is alot more I can do until I find out how he reacts to the competition environment. He should certainly be capable of grade 1-3 courses. So we'll go with an open mind and see what happens!

ShakaKhan!

Wow what a fantastic show! I went Friday night in order to get the full party experience, beer tents are so much fun! Saturday I had a free day so just watched racing and pottered round the show. I also got to go visit some very cute puppies, Carol and Mark chose their pup (Piper-Brae litter) so we will be welcoming little Loki in to the mad world of the Ballistics in a couple of weeks :-). Saturday night we danced like crazy people and got very drunk. The Cutlery Crew was born and we tamed the Chair Police! I think we are all off our rockers!

Sunday we had 2 teams in. Extraset were in division 5. The team was Sonny, Perry, Jamie, Guiness and our lovely baby Luna making her debut. Luna was fab, she ran really well and was very quick. She only had one little wobble the 1st time we changed lanes when she really thought she should be on the other side but we soon sorted that and she was paw perfect after. Although I think Carol found it a little difficult adjusting to running a dog that goes out like a rocket (especially with a hangover!!). We only lost one race and ended up in a 3-way tie for 1st place, we had the fastest time of 21.63secs so won the division :-), not a bad way to start a flyball career. Oh and the best news is that Luna got measured at 12".

Ballistics were 3rd seed in div 1, we had Diefer, Asher, Rosie, Smartie and Bunty. 1st race against Molten Magnetics didn't quite go to plan, we went 2-0 up then got a light and the next 2 legs they beat us very slightly on speed. Against Northants we got lights on the 1st 2 legs then the last leg everyone was late so we lost that. We were trying to be quite fair about the amount of racing everyone got so 3rd race against High Voltage we rested Diefer which meant I got to go start. I never go start and the last time Asher did it was his 1st starters! I really enjoyed it and Asher was really racing the other dog, his times were soo fast! We won that race. In the afternoon we had Bassetts and Flyers who we lost to. Last race was against Mutts, Asher again got to go start and we won that one. Our fastest time of the day was 17.64secs. I was hoping for a bit quicker than that as the ground seemed to be running quite fast but a couple of the dogs were a bit off their usual times. Asher was just awesome though, he was driving back so well. Box wasn't so good, if I can ever get him doing the perfect box when his speed is like it was on Sunday then he will hit consistent 3.7s. As it was, last leg of the day I had a 0.05 start and he ran 3.88secs. I don't think he had a single run all day that wasn't sub 4. Sorry for the massive brag and I will shut up now but I'm just so proud of him! So anyway we won 2 races and finished 5th. Mega huge congratulations to High Flyers who ran 16.66secs which should be the new British record but doesn't stand due to the rule that states all record breaking runs must be filmed. The record will just have to wait til next time!

Big thanks to Mutts and Flyers for the use of their boxes again and to the Nunnies for a fantastic show. Just 2 more for us this year.

Stoneleigh

We had 2 teams in at Stoneleigh, they were both very mixed and we weren't sure what times we would do. We entered the Extraset who we thought would be seeded on 23.15 but the seed time dropped to 23.62 by the time the running order was out. Either way it wouldn't of affected the division we were in. We had Sonny, Perry, Jive, Chelsey and Guiness, so 2 rocket dogs, 2 missiles + Jive who kinda floats between. We didn't expect to go under 23secs but managed a time of 22.36secs. We lost 2 races, one on speed and one lights but still came 2nd :-).

Sunday we had Ballistics 3rd seed in div 1. We didn't have Rosie or Bunty so decided to try Jamie the usual Rockets height dog along with Diefer, Asher and Smartie. To be honest I wasn't expecting too much but the dogs did well, we won all our races in the morning, then it rained and everyones times really slowed, we lost all our races in the afternoon but that was to Bassetts, high flyers and moltens so can't really complain and we finished 4th with a best time of 18.11secs. Asher ran well, box wasn't great but is was a bit slippery and he was driving back better than he was at Champs.

Thanks to Flyers for lending us a box as ours is still broke and also letting me stay with them to save me driving up both days! The show was good, we had a nice look round, I went on the Waltzers, very scary experience!

Really looking forward to Shackerstone this weekend, we have a full 1st team and Little Luna will be making her open debut dead on 18months, fingers crossed that it all goes well. Oh and that the rain stops so the show can actually go ahead this year!

British Flyball Championships 2009

I headed up to Southam on Thursday very very excited about the weekend, set up camp before having a few quiet drinks with Mad Mutts and Hotshots.

Friday morning came and we were 1st in at 8.30am in division 32 with the Missiles. The team was Tyne, Sky, Chelsey, Fraggle, Molly and Guiness. With alot of our members including captain Lou not arriving until Saturday we were a little thin on the ground but we managed ok. The dogs had to run on a boomerang as our canam had packed up at Stockbridge, they all coped fine and Chelsey maintained her lovely turn. We were bottom seed so the aim was not to come bottom of the entire show! All the dogs ran really well and despite not having Jive managed to better their seed time by over half a second with quite a late start. We won 2 of our races and the others were close aswell. This put us 3rd overall so we were pleased with that result.

Friday night was neon night, so out came the leg warmers and glowsticks! I had a brilliant night raving in the marquee and then getting drunk with Katie, Kristian and Faye. I then went on for a few more drinks with Livvy and Craig and ended up going to bed around 5am!! Woo hardcore!

Saturday was a quiet day for us with no teams racing. I just milled around and watched racing, tried to keep my dogs occupied by taking them for little walks around by the ring. Bless Tess she was still going mental to get in and show the youngsters how its done! Saturday night was dress up night, I was brave and wore my little dress and partied hard! Katie deserted Owler camp to join us (me, Katie and Sam in he middle of the dance floor bouncing to BEPs was really something to be seen!), the music was fantastic and I loved every minute, still smile when one of the songs played that night comes on the radio! A few of my team then went to play the much talked of Sociables with Cheshire, my god that game is lethal! A certain member of my team got absolutely wasted! We had a wicked time and a slightly earlier night of 4am!

Sunday we had 2 teams racing. Rockets were 1st on in division 8. We knew we were going to be a bit up against it as the seed time we were on was the fastest we'd done all year and we were missing Bonnie the quickest dog on that team. The team was Lacy, Sonny, Smartie, Perry and Jamie. We lost the 1st 2 races in the morning as things didn't really gel and we were unlucky on 1 race where a ball rolled infront of Jamie just before he was released resulting in him getting that ball instead. The afternoon was alot better, we ran much better times (very low 19s) and won the 1st 2 races. The last race was against High Voltage who had managed a fantastic 18.20secs earlier on so we just went for it and weren't far behind even taking a leg off them. Despite winning 2 races we came 5th which gives you an idea of how close that division was with High Voltage being very worthy winners.

Ballistics were in Division 2 which I was very excited about. We were bottom seed on paper but as the seedings list had changed quite considerably since the running order had been done I knew that we had a chance (not that I told anyone else for fear of putting the pressure on lol!). First race was against Shooting Star Comets, we raced well and beat them 3-0 with a time of 17.8something. Next up was Cheshire Set, I knew this would be close and it was, it went to a 2-2 decider when fortunately for us they got a light although I think Bunty was back just ahead anyway. We ran 17.65secs. Next up was Wire Flash who again we beat quite well. In the afternoon, 1st up we had Mutts who again it was very close with, they beat us on the 1st leg then I got a light on the 2nd, luckily we pulled it back to 2-2 and they got lights on the last leg! Final race was against Rotherham who came out and beat us 3-0, I think they had a dog running who is taking a while to be reliable (Scooby?) and so they couldn't run him in every race and I think it was lucky for us that they couldn't! With Rotherham having lost 2 races previously that made us the division winners! I was so thrilled that after the disaster we had last year that we were able to make up for it and more, really was a very proud moment! Don't really want to think about negatives but I wasn't overly pleased with the way Asher ran, his box wasn't great and he wasn't really driving back the way i know he can. His box was probably due to it being a different box (we borrowed 1 from the bandits which I am very grateful for but probably did affect him a little bit). The only thing I can think of over his speed is that he wasn't feeling quite right, he did seem to have a bit of a dodgy tummy and the last couple of days he has been very quiet which is not like him. Luckily he seems brighter today. But anyway we won :-) :-) and I really am so so happy, going up and getting our plaque infront of the crowd was a great moment.

Division 1 was amazing to watch, Bassetts deserved the win, they really just looked like they were coasting for much of it and I'm sure they'll break the british record again in the near future. What really seems to set them apart is the amazing boxwork, it really does shave so much time off each dog and of course that cracking little dog that goes by the name of Lizzie who is pretty much unbeatable so huge congratulations to Bassetts. Also big well done to High Flyers who pushed them more than anyone else and stepped up their game from last year. They were gracious in defeat and I'm sure will be back fighting again next year.

I had the most fantastic weekend, I'm actually really sad it's all over. The atmosphere was brilliant, everyone was so friendly and the racing was all so close. Roll on next year.

Fairview Farm

Ok so this is over a week late, but as they say... better late than never! We had 3 teams in. Rockets ran Saturday.

Rockets were in Division 3. We had Bonnie, Lacy, Sonny, Perry and Jamie. Weather was a bit rubbish on the Saturday so it was a bit slippery. Bonnie was alot better on the box although still fumbling a bit, she was running around 4.2secs when her box was ok. Lacy was fab as usual, then I was running Perry and Carol was running Sonny as Louise was on holiday. We just swapped Perry and Sonny so as to keep the team fairly consistent with Jamie on the end. They ran really well and ended up winning all their races and therefore the division with a best time of 19.43secs.

Had a brilliant night Saturday, playing games with my team then after most of them went to bed we invaded the Mutts and then the few of us left standing invaded Lightning and somehow stayed up til gone 4.30am. Don't know where the time went! Was up again by half 8 and I swear I was still drunk! Had to go run a dog though!

Ballistics and Missiles raced Sunday. Missiles were on 1st and bottom seed by quite a margin. We decided to put Jive in this team to give them a little bit of speed. They still ended up coming last but did take a couple of races to 5 legs and raced quite consistently.

Ballistics were 5th seed in Division 1, we had Rosie back from her holidays so had a team of Diefer, Asher, Rosie, Smartie and Bunty. 1st race was against Barkshire Bandits, we went without Smartie, and proceeded to break our seed time 3 times in a row by doing 2 times in the 17.50s and then a 17.46secs! We won that 3-0 and it gave us a lot of confidence to go and face our next competitors... Shooting Stars. Ordinarily we would rest one of our faster dogs as we wouldn't think we had a chance of beating them on time but now we decided to were gonna go for it! We rested Smartie again, went in and did a 17.42, then a faster time than I could of dreamt of for this year 17.37secs!!! Stars got lights on both of these legs so we were 2-0 up. 3rd leg was sooo close, no lights, they did 17.55, we did 17.52... Omg we'd just beaten Shooting Stars! That was it for the morning, in the afternoon, 1st race was against Maples which is nearly always eventful! We went 2-0 up, the 1st one they got a light then the next we beat them on speed. 3rd leg, Diefer came really wide off the box and ran out so 2-1, then we were late on our changes so 2-2. Last leg there was a lot of pressure but we held it together and won it! Then we also beat Shooting Star Comets. Last race all went a bit pear shaped against Hampshire but we'd won 4 out of 5 and won Division 1!!

I can't remember the last time we won Div 1, it was literally years ago. I had a goal for this year which I set back in January that was for ballistics to go sub 17.50secs, i thought after the way some of the comps had gone this year and after it taking so long to come together that this aim was a bit unrealistic so I am so thrilled that we beat it by over a 10th of a sec and hopefully we can go a little bit quicker! It's funny how everything happens for a reason, and how an unplanned chain of events can lead you to success. E.g. If it hadn't been for June (with Rosie) and Lou and Bobbie being on hols at Becketts Farm then Smartie never would of been in the 1st team. Smartie can't change to Diefer cuz she loves him so much she nips him on her outrun so Asher had to go 2nd. If it hadn't been for this we wouldn't of realised how much better Angie with Buntys changeovers would be to a slightly slower dog. We also wouldn't have known how much better Diefer would be with Asher running to him. He was back hitting 4.1s at Stockbridge which he hasn't really done all year and we believe it is because although Asher is fast he is also very inoffensive and non-confrontational unlike the other bossy bitches in the team! So from Frimley to Stockbridge just swapping Rosie and Asher round improved the time by half a second! Obviously some of this has got to be improved racing fitness but it really makes you think!

So yeh bring on the Champs! Can. Not. Wait.