Busy Busy Summer

Its been so long since I last wrote, that I can't actually quite remember what we have done since, apart from agility, and working on the house, oh and going to work that's pretty dull but constantly on the go!!  I must write some kind of mission statement to update at least two weekly if not more!!

In old news that never got its own post but I think deserves to, my 'in laws' (Alex's mum and partner) decided to get married at the beginning of April, so we were invited to and attended  that - with the dogs invited too!! It took me a while to find my outfit - not wearing dresses often it had to be a specific choice, but once found we managed to buy bow ties for the dogs to wear too they looked very smart!! It was a lovely day - very lucky with the weather that was remarkably pleasant and more importantly 99% dry, and we managed to get lots of pictures of the bride and groom and wedding party. The dogs were super well behaved on the day, and in the evenings staying in the dog friendly b&b too, so I was very pleased with them.  We always like to ensure that the dogs are on their best behaviour, so that we get invited back and so that by word of mouth, more and more places become dog friendly!  Funnily enough it seems to be a year for weddings, we have since been invited to two more, one in July and another in September.

Looking back over old posts I also can't recall whether I mentioned that we have changed our caravan again, we have the space now to store a bigger one, so thought we would treat ourselves, and this one will be staying for a fair while yet. It is a twin axle, with a bench seat at the front, separate shower and toilet, and with a fixed bed at the end, which is so much easier than having to put the bed up every evening, plus with the extra space the dogs can be in with us, which is so much nicer. So far we have used it 3-4 times mainly no more than a couple of hours journey... all bar one 'little' mishap where we had a blow out of one of the tyres!! Thankfully it happened on slower roads and we were only about 5-10 miles from home, so we limped home with the spare, so lucky it being on a twin axle as the other wheel can take some of the load.  Alex tows as he has passed his towing test and always says it is very easy, though next week it has a longer trek of a few hours to make so everything crossed - plus we have four brand new tyres now.

Going back to agility and the dogs, Davy dog (and Alex) have been the superstars, getting loads of places in grade 1, mainly second places in both agility and jumping, and then... at one of the biggest shows of the year in the summer, FINALLY winning out!!!!!! He ran quite early on and so we had to wait a while and check the results a couple of times, to see if he would stay in first - which he did!!! Not content with just that, he then won a jumping too, and got a place in another combined jumping class, just showing off but very well deserved!!!

Other agility results wise but not quite as spectacular - Kiah has been doing well in her classes, in one of the shows a few weeks ago where we had an unfortunate slow messy bit in an agility run, she even ended up with 7th place, which is great but I just think how brill would she have done without that little hiccup!!  Most recently we even managed a clear in her agility run last weekend, held contacts, wide turns and not really our kind of course so no placing, but so pleased with her listening and picking up her feet as she has never been very careful.

Risky roo is getting SO much more confident, I really feel like we have much more of a partnership now and though he loves to bark (read as yap and squeal!), I am reluctant to stop him as he enjoys it and it hypes him up so much - he does get his toy too to rag around to prevent too much annoying noise as it does go through you. He has had some great places though - another third and a few lower places in jumping, usually around 6-8th, usually me that messes up his agility runs as he is running very well!! Even young Evan is starting a little more with his agility now, just the basics of straight lines, getting the hang of working together with me, doing tunnels and enjoying himself.


Over the next few weeks we have one show - one of our favourites and the first ever show that Evan came to last year, so he has been with us a year already.  But mainly we need to concentrate a little more on the house, so we have a bit of a break throughout most of July and even most of August to spend at home. Unfortunately it is boring but necessary things with a larger house and a bit more ground, like painting decking, sanding windows, housework, cutting the grass, keeping the evil weeds under control, and then some.  As I have said before - hard work but very enjoyable for us all... back to the grindstone!