Ptolomy

Good work EM and TSD - I think these indoor fun find it sessions are a heap of fun and we seem to be way more relaxed because it isn;t really training Yep Moo has got the wash cloths now....but it took a while

Strauss is 17 months old, which is about the age my other kids have started trailing, but they have all been more advanced or ready than he is. Funny - he will probably turn out to be my ideal trialing dog, but at the moment its a long slow work in progress. I find the girls are much more switched on and learn much quicker. My mum loves him to bit - hes her favourite

This is what you call.......a work in progress. Its Strauss's first trial on Saturday night, where he had no warm up - straight out of the car and into the ring. Full marks to him for not taking his eyes off me , but you can really see the holes in our training (READ SLOW PACE), oh and the scratch to begin with... http://www.youtube.com/watch\?v=RijL5Cphdu4

TSD I play those sort of games too. Your next problem will be with the wash cloths when you have to explain to the dog (after they have been finding your scent for years and years) to find the cloth that smells like this one.... Thanks again to Livertreats for doing all the videoing for me on Saturday and for also taking Scoota into open stays - I save that special treat for my bestest friends

TSD - Brookie and Scoota learnt UD before UDX was around - so they were taught there is something out there - go bring it back. They both played in UD for over 4 years before we started teaching them UDX where we changed all the rules. The game was now - there are 2 things out there, both look the same and I want you to bring the one back that smells like me. I also started using metal for the seekback in UDX (I use leather in UD) as I thought that most said it was a scent discrimination, however, when Moo became sick earlier in the year he refused to pick up metal at all, so I then swapped to wood. How will I teach Cider UD, well she will be taught from the word go that there is more than one article out there and I want you to find the one that smells like me - so it will be taught as a long distance scent discrimination.

I tried to stop the sneezing with mt first toller, Blaize, but it was a lost cause, so in the end I taught her to sneeze and stay in heel position. I am not sure if the sneezing is related to excitement, or how the head is held in heel position.. Bean's sneezing is allergy related!

Murve the CCD dog who won at our States Champs (which was also a toller ) also didn't get to compete in winner of winners. The reason being is that the two exercises for WOW are heel free and recall and a CCD dog heels on lead, so it isn't a fair test for them. But as you said it should have said it in the schedule.

For anybody that wants a look ........ Soggy Bears Open Round from Saturday night State Champs. This was her title http://www.youtube.com/watch\?v=V4oPc0n2oCE )

Here tis...... complete with all the naughty bits http://www.youtube.com/watch\?v=e5xuCNBHotA

You had a super night Mirawee - thinking we might have turned you to the dark side.

Welcome to my world - Saturday nights State Champs and my OC dog picks that night to forget what SFE means, not once but twice. Just as well he got his UDX otherwise he might have had to walk home without sharing my cheese and bacon balls

Scoota was like the side of a house at the end of the night - 4 rings - 4 jackpots 3 lots of stays - 3 more jackpots + warm up food. In the end before going into winner of winners he was getting cheese and bacon balls. The car was very poorly packed for the trip home and the half empty cheese and bacon ball packet fell off the front seat and upended all over the front floor, so rather than pick them all up - I called Beans and Lexi out to the car and let them do it for me - in less than 30 seconds the job was done. Now why can't they make this a UDX exercise I have very flat batteries today!

For those who feed chicken feet, Caffy was telling me last night that she has found Duck Feet

Who was after the eye specialist? Colin Cherry is in Champion Lakes and you don't need a referral.

Winner of winners was Selina with Abbey, Cider, Moo and Smudge. Yep Mouse was in his first CCD trial and while it wasn't pretty he definitely has potential for heelwork to music CCD was won by Ciders half sister, Zippa, Strauss was 3rd.

Its party time....... I don't think I have ever entered 6 classes and had 6 passes in any trial but this was a State Championships. Its now Scoota UDX Its now Cider CDX (winning open with 197) Scoota won UD with 194 and 3rd in open with 193 STrauss passed CCD with 92 Beans passed open and.......... Scoota won winner of winners. We all celebrated with cheese and bacon balls - a favourite of all the kids

Its Scoota UDX - we fell over the line, but who cares!!!!

Here i am finally home eating yummy cheese and crackers with a bottle of cider in my hand If ever I wanted to bottle a night - it would be tonight. 6 entries, 6 passes, 2 titles, its now Moo UDX and Soggy CDX, 2 kids in the winner of winner runoffs and Moo wins winner of winner. I can't ask for more than that. Off to celebrate by myself some lovely work by lots of dogs, Rubystar has a brag, so does Mirawee and Bedazzled - well done to all........

Hey RS don't forget a cruiser or two . Good luck to everybody competing tomorrow night - what will be will be PS - I will be hounding everybody to buy a raffle ticket for the 2012 Retrieving Nationals, 1st prize is a gold handcrafted pendant of your own dogs head, 2nd place is a silver one. I have a silver one of Scoota which I will bring down so you can see what you get....... so go and throw $5 in your cars now.

I work full time and I am obsessive compulsive - so house has to be tidy. Gardens hmmm I have a BIG block so the lawn gets mowed every 7-10 days as I am worried about snakes, but the garden beds are full of weeds. Older kids are all titled in obedience and agility, but the 2 younger ones I keep stalling at the start post with regard their agility training. I also keep threatening to do some retrieving but have an issue handling dead birdies and tracking is on the todo list. Now if I could just win lotto I could do everything....

Beth all my kids drop like they have been shot - so I must be consistent what ever I am doing, or however I am training them I think I would be working on the drops separate to the heelwork in a game format and sometimes using a toy and rewarding the second her elbows touched the ground, other times throwing food and either telling her to get it or throwing food between her front legs and saying get it. If they weren't fast enough I am not even sure I would be using a no reward marker, I would be getting her up by slipping a foot under her belly, or reving her up to chase me before turning around and giving her a drop signal again. There is a possibility the"drop" signal has been posioned, but I doubt it. The missed drops - my kids miss them if I come to a halt and then give the signal rather than giving it in the process of taking a step. So all missed drops are my fault

Yep good work Nik. Don't you love those judges that just keep you going around and around and around that figure 8. I had one on Sunday

Well done thats a fantastic score - now dare I ask where you lost your 1 point

It was a great weekend for trialling - well the results were good - the weather here in the West was hmmm less than pleasant Congrats to Melody, Murve and SLLH and young Lottie and your mum - you are the future of our sport

No luck in UDX yesterday. The morning trial was a bit of a disaster with Scoota putting his own interpretation to a lot of the exercises. The afternoon was a much better effort - just failed the down to a stand in distance control. However I did notice some evil things creeping in over the 2 trials so think our next pass will be a long time off.