Making the most of the Weather!

I try my best to get Macy outside, I enjoy doing some agility with the dogs and took Macy with me training.  Here she is with Rum who is 12 this year and he was diagnosed with collie collapse about 6 years ago so he doesn't compete any more, he just has a potter about over small jumps.  Ideal for Macy to have a practice with:

 Kite came out for a bit of training too:

It's interesting comparing Kite (as a mini american shepherd) to my usual collie.  She is much more into her food than her toys, my collie will spit food out and choose to play with his tuggy.  We do need to work a lot more with her tuggy work, though to be fair my very first rescue collie was never into a game of tuggy and was lightning fast round a course so I don't think it is the end of the world if they don't tug.  She reminds me a lot of my very first dog (a collie cross german shepherd) as she really values verbal praise and attention/fuss.

She actually had her first media job last week and should be on a tv screen near you soon!  Here she was on set and she was sooooo good! :)

Cas - One in a Million

It is with a heavy and broken heart I have to let you know that my beautiful girl slipped peacefully away earlier today.  Cas was diagnosed with liver failure and possibly cancer earlier this year, we managed to keep her free of pain and still active until recently when her body really started giving up on her.  She didn’t let it get to her and remained so bright and kept such a passion for living life, but we could tell no matter how hard she tried to hide her pain, the pain was becoming too much, I knew and so did she but she just didn’t want to give in.  Cas was a determined little dog and she always tried her best, she gave 110% and put her heart and soul into everything she did.  Nothing made her happier than when she was making us happy.  When I saw her sigh and go peacefully to sleep free of pain I knew we had made the right choice, she could run free without any pain and was happy again.

I don’t really need to say much about her life as the video tells it all:

The Story of a Rescue Dog from Gina on Vimeo.

  

I am just glad she chose us and so proud of what she achieved, not in terms of competition achievements but in that she really turned around and loved everything she did.  I will never enjoy working a dog as much as I did Cas, she was one in a million and never even needed a reward, my praise and happiness was reward enough for her and she knew it was a job well done.  I would give anything to have another Cas, she was such a crazy oddball of a dog, but I knew that she loved us to bits and we returned that love.  Some people would say they wished they had had their rescue from a pup to give them a better start, with Cas, her beginning in life made her the dog she was, made her appreciate her life with us, I wouldn’t change it for the world.  God I loved and still do love that dog!

Her colour was pink, she was a merle, she was a girl, so it HAD to be.  The sky tonight was lit up pink, thank you Cas for our wonderful memories that will last a lifetime and you will stay in my heart forever.

Crufts - The World's Largest Dog Show

My favourite event, I love Crufts, always have done, always will! I remember as a child watching it on tv every year and always wanting to go. As soon as my mum gave in and let me have a dog at the age of 15 I started to copy the agility and make jumps in the garden out of flower pots and canes! Anyway to cut a long story short a few years later we were actually competing at Crufts and every single one of my dogs (I have four) has since competed.  My dogs are now too old to compete or illness doesn't allow them to.

I still love Crufts, the atmosphere is like nowhere else, full of excitement and hope that a ribbon will be accompanying them on the way home or even a trophy. I am not 'into' showing dogs, it's not really my thing. I prefer something a bit more exciting, my background is canine freestyle, agility and flyball. 

Someone who has never been before does have the expectation that it is just dogs walking round a breed ring but it's far from it. Yes breed showing is the main reason Crufts exists and yes it all culminates in Best In Show but the other dog activities also now take a lot of ring time up. They used to just be there as a little bit of entertainment but now it's serious stuff and people compete across the country and even across Europe to qualify so we have THE best dogs at Crufts.

Crufts spans several halls of the NEC and it's so easy to get to by train or car. We usually go by train as the station is Birmingham International and the station is virtually in the NEC! Car parks have shuttle buses to and from the halls.

There are several rings, of course you have many breed rings and depending on which day you go depends on which breeds are showing so check the website. There is the main ring where all sorts happen from agility, flyball, canine freestyle, displays and Best In Show.  The YKC ring which is for the youngsters in the dog world and you will see future stars in all disciplines - this was my world when I was younger :). There is the Good Citizen ring where demonstrations take place from dogs which have completed the Kennel Club's Good Citizen training courses take part in displays - a great scheme for pet dogs. Finally there is the Dog Activities Ring where you can go if you want to get involved with any of the disciplines as there are people there who have competed in and trained in their chosen discipline.

Another major part of Crufts is Discover Dogs where you can meet every single breed registered with the KC. Great if you are thinking about a new dog as you can ask the owners loads of questions to find out if they are right for you.

Finally there is the shopping, wow! So many things you can by for your dog, for you and for any dog loving friends!

Tickets are cheaper if you buy online so get buying now ready for March 6-9!! Crufts is great for all the family, something for everyone! To learn more and buy tickets, visit:

Http://Www.crufts.org.uk/ticket-office

Here was me in the YKC ring with my little rescue collie, Cas (now 14):

And in the main ring:

With Ember my sheltie:

With Rum, my welsh sheepdog cross collie: