September 2016
We have been busy out and about at shows (check out the blog for more details) Brax and Brodie have had some good placings and wins at shows, Spark is now 3/4 of the way to Grade 7 and Brooke is coming back to work with so much enthusiasm :-) We have been lucky to catch up with the gorgeous Braxway boys recently...recent pics on their own pages! May 2016 Sparkle goes Grade 6! Brodie and Sparkle had a great time at Quadpaws and JDA between them collecting a total of nine 1sts and a 2nd out of 15 runs! Brodie and Brooke have been entered in a Rally competition in July. It will be Brookes first competition for a long time! |
October 2016
Sparkle has gone Grade 7!!! We have a winter of fun training ahead of us to work on some tricky stuff and revisit our foundations. She also managed to get her second qualifying score in Level 3 Rally :-) I'm upping Brodies core strength work and fitness for the UKA Grand Finals gradually. I haven't done much agility specific work with him but will step it up a bit over the next couple of weeks before we go on holiday. Squidge qualified for the Beginners Steeplechase Final at the Grand Finals so it will be exciting cheering one a Braxway pup! |
January 2016 - Braxway boys turn one!! See blog for more pics!
Brax and Sparkle get qualifying scores in Level 1 and 2 Rally at Leamington. Brodie gets an excellent score in his first Level 3!
Brax and Sparkle get qualifying scores in Level 1 and 2 Rally at Leamington. Brodie gets an excellent score in his first Level 3!
December 2015
I have been really useless at keeping this page up to date so I am going to stop putting news here as it all goes on my Blog anyway (see link above) Also search for Braxway shelties on Facebook! I will be keeping all of the dogs individual pages up to date on here with any results or news :-)
I have been really useless at keeping this page up to date so I am going to stop putting news here as it all goes on my Blog anyway (see link above) Also search for Braxway shelties on Facebook! I will be keeping all of the dogs individual pages up to date on here with any results or news :-)
September 2015
Brooke had her operation yesterday to cut her biceps tendon. After six months of trying conservative management our vet decided it was for the best to stop the cycle of inflammation. She will now have 12-18 weeks of cage rest and then lots of slow rehab work but the vet is optimistic she will recover fully given time. Luckily Brooke is the best patient and seems to take everything in her stride! We have recently returned from a lovely holiday in Wales-for pics click on the blog link above! |
August 2015
Dolly won into Grade 4 at her first G3 show!!
Video of the puppies 6 month birthday party is on their litter page!
We have had a busy few weeks doing some agility and Rally. Brodie has moved into Level 3 at Rally so has to work off lead, Brax got 5th at her first ever Rally competition with Matthew and an excellent score of 196! Sparkle is now Level 2 at Rally, has had a couple of wins at UKA and FAB shows and Miss Dolly has won into Grade 3 agility which will make borrowing her for shows much easier! In training Sparkle has been learning turns off her dog walk and so far they are going well but I am yet to need one in competition!
Dolly won into Grade 4 at her first G3 show!!
Video of the puppies 6 month birthday party is on their litter page!
We have had a busy few weeks doing some agility and Rally. Brodie has moved into Level 3 at Rally so has to work off lead, Brax got 5th at her first ever Rally competition with Matthew and an excellent score of 196! Sparkle is now Level 2 at Rally, has had a couple of wins at UKA and FAB shows and Miss Dolly has won into Grade 3 agility which will make borrowing her for shows much easier! In training Sparkle has been learning turns off her dog walk and so far they are going well but I am yet to need one in competition!
25/6/15 - My two had a busy weekend doing Rally on Saturday at the Dog Barn in Banbury and agility at MADS UKA on sunday. They were amazing at Rally and came 1st and 2nd in Level 1 and Brodie came 5th in Level 2!
Brodie needed a new handler at agility on sunday though and Sparkle just did some nfc contacts and weaves. Matt and Brax managed to qualify for Masters at the Grand Finals again-clever little Diddle! |
26/5/15 - Wow we have had a busy month which can be read about in more detail on my blog but in essence Brax is a little superstar and has qualified for Masters at the UKA Grand Finals, Sparkle has had her first ever KC clear resulting in a 3rd place in a C1-7 helter skelter and Brodie and Brooke have had a very successful Rally debut!! Both of them came away with qualifying scores in both of their classes and good placings in three out of the four! Looking forward to the next show!
I have also had lots of lovely updates from the Braxway boys owners and good to catch up with all three a couple of weeks ago. Such lovely boys! |
20/4/15 - My two have had an exciting three days! We did some training at an indoor agility venue with proper Crufts carpet on Friday. Sparkle and Brodie worked really well and had such a great time! Jenni bought her two shelties so Squidge got to play too doing some restrained recalls. On saturday we went to a fun dog show and Brodie came 3rd in AV Pastoral and Spark was 3rd in Best Condition and Best Trick! Yesterday we went to Wallingford show and Brodie worked really well getting a 7th in a big C6-7 agility class. Sparkle got two eliminations but did some nice work!
|
31/3/15 - Oops long time since I have done an update but always news reports on my blog (link above) for anyone wanting to know what we have been up to! Left is a picture of Brodie, Brax and 10 week old Squidge at a demo for a local Day Centre. They were brilliant and Squidge took it all in his stride!
I have made it to a couple of shows and Brodie has done very well. Sparkle has done some nfc runs and is starting to get it together in the ring. I just need to run her like I do in training and trust her a bit more! |
24/2/15 - Boys are 7 weeks old today and absolutely gorgeous and full of mischief!! I'm so lucky that my Mum and sister have both visited us separately to see the boys and help socialise them and puppy sit. My sister has such a talent for taking lovely pictures and got some cracking ones that the boys new owners are going to treasure. I will update each of the pups own pages with some of the pics!
They have been out in the garden lots, had a ride to Luton airport and met loads of people of various ages over the last week. They have mastered a few basic things like sit, down, recall and nose touches as well as putting their front feet on something-a favourite!! |
14/2/15 - These beautiful boys are now almost 6 weeks old and we are having so much fun with them. They are weaning well and like their parents they are very food motivated!! They have all learnt to sit, lie down and put their front feet up on different things like egg boxes and milk cartons. Life is one big game for them! They love tugging and racing around...tugging body parts of their brothers is another game unfortunately!! So far they have had two car rides with no problem and have been carried out for very short spells of time to watch the world go by and meet people. They are wearing collars no problem during the day and have also had their tiny little harnesses on-so cute!!
|
30/1/15 - Pups are now 3 weeks old and getting so active and adventurous. They play hard and sleep lots. They are such handsome boys (yes I am biased!) but with parents like Brodie and Brooke they are bound to turn out gorgeous :-)
14/1/15 - Brooke had three beautiful boys on 6th January!!!
Mummy and boys are doing well, Brooke is such a natural Mum and very devoted to her pups. She had a shaded sable who is a real mini version of Brooke, one smaller tri who is a mini version of Brodie and the biggest pup who is a handsome darker tri.
The pups are a week old and have all doubled their birth weight! All of these pups have agility homes lined up and I don't envy having to choose a pup out of these boys as they are all adorable! They will get their own pages on here once their KC names are confirmed.
Mummy and boys are doing well, Brooke is such a natural Mum and very devoted to her pups. She had a shaded sable who is a real mini version of Brooke, one smaller tri who is a mini version of Brodie and the biggest pup who is a handsome darker tri.
The pups are a week old and have all doubled their birth weight! All of these pups have agility homes lined up and I don't envy having to choose a pup out of these boys as they are all adorable! They will get their own pages on here once their KC names are confirmed.
5/12/14 - After showing very few signs of being pregnant (lazy on walks and a bit snippy but no sickness or problems eating) Brooke was scanned yesterday and she is carrying three puppies!! Considering her and Brodie only tied once on Day 13 I am amazed that it all went to plan! We didn't do a pre-mate test and let her tell us when she was ready - she obviously knew!
I have very excited potential owners! I have finally ordered a whelping box (didn't want to jinx it!) and another heat pad just in case. I have puppy toys and vetbed galore and some ace puppy sitters lined up! :-)
I have very excited potential owners! I have finally ordered a whelping box (didn't want to jinx it!) and another heat pad just in case. I have puppy toys and vetbed galore and some ace puppy sitters lined up! :-)
31/10/14 - Well exciting times here! Brooke has finally come into season!! We are keeping our fingers and toes crossed for a successful mating. I'm just relieved that they won't be Christmas puppies! I can cope with new year pups, January and February are pretty dull months usually so it will be great to be puppy watching!
Agility wise the ginger two are on their agility holidays at the moment. Brookes is obviously going to be a very extended break! Bracken is having a course of massage treatment by a friend who is training as a myotherapist so she is having a few weeks off. Brodie is staying in training until mid December as we have sheltie show and UKA Grand Finals. Sparkle won't have her agility break until the pups arrive in January. I do like them to all have a bit of agility down time for a month!
Agility wise the ginger two are on their agility holidays at the moment. Brookes is obviously going to be a very extended break! Bracken is having a course of massage treatment by a friend who is training as a myotherapist so she is having a few weeks off. Brodie is staying in training until mid December as we have sheltie show and UKA Grand Finals. Sparkle won't have her agility break until the pups arrive in January. I do like them to all have a bit of agility down time for a month!
30/9/14 - Brooke bean has done it-won into Grade 7 at Nedlo show!! Not to be outdone by Brax who won the C6-7 jumping bless her. They looks very pleased with the pink medals that they won!
Brodie and I had one of my favourite runs of the year, an absolutely stonking jumping run which was clear and out the placings but wow did he motor!! He seems to be enjoying jumping more as he gets older whereas he used to look for the contacts as a younger dog.
Miss Sparkle was the last to run at Nedlo and it obviously didn't suit her! Very little wait to speak of and brain fart at the weaves but some lovely work on the rest of the course including an awesomely tight wing wrap and her first cloth tunnel in the ring!
Brodie and I had one of my favourite runs of the year, an absolutely stonking jumping run which was clear and out the placings but wow did he motor!! He seems to be enjoying jumping more as he gets older whereas he used to look for the contacts as a younger dog.
Miss Sparkle was the last to run at Nedlo and it obviously didn't suit her! Very little wait to speak of and brain fart at the weaves but some lovely work on the rest of the course including an awesomely tight wing wrap and her first cloth tunnel in the ring!
23/9/14 - Wow its our 8th anniversary today and amazingly 14 years since our first date! What a lot has changed since then-losing my lovely Bramble and getting little Brax who still keeps us on our toes at 9 years old! She has been doing very well recently winning a C6-7 jumping class and getting two 2nds, one being only 0.9 seconds behind Brooke!
Brodie and I have never had so many 5 fault rounds in our agility career! He has been very excited about agility recently to the point of frothing at the mouth waiting to run which actually makes him a bit too scatty to handle! No placings sadly but nice to know he is up there time wise still.
Brooke bean has had an amazing amount of G6 jumping wins and at least four 2nd places in G6 agility! That elusive win to G7 will happen eventually! Her contacts are improving all the time and Matthew is still being very sensible in not pushing them just for the sake of that win. As he says he has a whole load of champs to push them in!!
Sparkle is doing so well in the ring-no clears yet but some really good 5 faults with just one little thing like a pole or weave entry. She is now doing 12 pretty confidently so we are getting there!
Brodie and I have never had so many 5 fault rounds in our agility career! He has been very excited about agility recently to the point of frothing at the mouth waiting to run which actually makes him a bit too scatty to handle! No placings sadly but nice to know he is up there time wise still.
Brooke bean has had an amazing amount of G6 jumping wins and at least four 2nd places in G6 agility! That elusive win to G7 will happen eventually! Her contacts are improving all the time and Matthew is still being very sensible in not pushing them just for the sake of that win. As he says he has a whole load of champs to push them in!!
Sparkle is doing so well in the ring-no clears yet but some really good 5 faults with just one little thing like a pole or weave entry. She is now doing 12 pretty confidently so we are getting there!
12/8/14 - My updates are like buses, loads all at once and then non for ages! I'll try and remember what we have been up to! I'll do each dog in turn as its easier :-)
Bracken-Had a good day at the Agility Club show getting into the Champ final but had 5f on her dog walk in it but ran her tiny little socks off. She did a jumping run at Barking Mad and managed to come 3rd in G7 on a very spread out course and last week won an agility at Adams! She is working really well, especially in the hotter weather as we have always said she is solar powered!
Brodie-We haven't managed to get it together recently and have hardly managed a clear but I have a list of things to work on with him including tunnels under dog walks before the UKA finals in December! To be fair to the poor boy \he has only had one run at each show pretty much and I have been an idiot handler!
Brooke-doesn't want to hang around in G6 for long obviously as at Barking Mad she got 4 G6 wins, but three of them were jumping so not quite G7 yet. She is really loving her agility and coping really well with the 6/7 courses. It was the right decision not to push her through the grades too early as she wasn't quite ready. She had another jumping win at Adams last weekend and an almost win in the agility!
Sparkle-has been in the ring a couple of times doing jumps and tunnels and been as good as gold! We are almost there with weaves, dog walk and A frame are looking nice so just need to teach last bits of seesaw and get her doing contacts on different surfaces before she is ring ready. She won't be doing agility in the ring until next year but hoping to get her doing some jumping runs later in the season. She has a couple of fun shows coming up :)
Dolly-still needs that agility win to get out of Grade 1. It does seem unfair that she has to do it in combined rather than graded classes. We were close at Adams as she came 2nd in agility with beautifully held contacts! She is working really nicely and I am so pleased with how she has come on this year!
Bracken-Had a good day at the Agility Club show getting into the Champ final but had 5f on her dog walk in it but ran her tiny little socks off. She did a jumping run at Barking Mad and managed to come 3rd in G7 on a very spread out course and last week won an agility at Adams! She is working really well, especially in the hotter weather as we have always said she is solar powered!
Brodie-We haven't managed to get it together recently and have hardly managed a clear but I have a list of things to work on with him including tunnels under dog walks before the UKA finals in December! To be fair to the poor boy \he has only had one run at each show pretty much and I have been an idiot handler!
Brooke-doesn't want to hang around in G6 for long obviously as at Barking Mad she got 4 G6 wins, but three of them were jumping so not quite G7 yet. She is really loving her agility and coping really well with the 6/7 courses. It was the right decision not to push her through the grades too early as she wasn't quite ready. She had another jumping win at Adams last weekend and an almost win in the agility!
Sparkle-has been in the ring a couple of times doing jumps and tunnels and been as good as gold! We are almost there with weaves, dog walk and A frame are looking nice so just need to teach last bits of seesaw and get her doing contacts on different surfaces before she is ring ready. She won't be doing agility in the ring until next year but hoping to get her doing some jumping runs later in the season. She has a couple of fun shows coming up :)
Dolly-still needs that agility win to get out of Grade 1. It does seem unfair that she has to do it in combined rather than graded classes. We were close at Adams as she came 2nd in agility with beautifully held contacts! She is working really nicely and I am so pleased with how she has come on this year!
24/6/14 - Wow two updates in a week is unheard of! At Watford show Brooke not only managed to win the C3-5 jumping but also the C5-7 agility making her well and truly Grade 6!! Then yesterday at Dog Vegas she racked up another agility win and a second place, it is all coming together now and it was worth taking lots of time to get things right before moving her up through the grades.
Brodie was a clever boy and managed a 2nd in C6-7 jumping at Watford and got a 2nd and 3rd yesterday at Dog Vegas. He ran nicely but think he may have tweaked his hamstring again so no more runs this week for him sadly. Little Brax did a couple of stonking jumping runs yesterday, one E and one just out of the placings by 0.1!
Sparkle had her hips scored and was measured this week bless her. Officially medium now which is great for her sake as I was panicking about her trying to get over those large jumps. Think I'm destined to be in the medium queue forever!!
Brodie was a clever boy and managed a 2nd in C6-7 jumping at Watford and got a 2nd and 3rd yesterday at Dog Vegas. He ran nicely but think he may have tweaked his hamstring again so no more runs this week for him sadly. Little Brax did a couple of stonking jumping runs yesterday, one E and one just out of the placings by 0.1!
Sparkle had her hips scored and was measured this week bless her. Officially medium now which is great for her sake as I was panicking about her trying to get over those large jumps. Think I'm destined to be in the medium queue forever!!
20/6/14 - Brooke had her first G5 show at the end of May and won a jumping class beating the G6 and G7 times as well, she also got an agility win at Axstane so only needs one more to go into Grade 6! Clever little bean pops!
Brodie on the other hand has had a tear in his hamstring muscle which has taken a lot of work by our wonderful physio Sally to get right but think he is there now. It was a shame that we missed Champ at Axstane but glad he is on the mend and should be able to compete this weekend.
Brax did however do champ at Axstane and finished a very respectable 14th in the agility (out of 70) but unfortunately got eliminated in the jumping. She is running so well even at KC height!
Sparkle has got her first couple of outings lined up, I'm just hoping that she tackles everything with the confidence that she has in training! I'm not in a hurry to compete her but want her to get some ring experience. She is doing some NFC runs at UKA and FAB and a couple of jumping runs at a KC show so I better hurry up and finish teaching her to weave! Today me and Sparks are off on a road trip to get her hip scored. I'm not planning on breeding from her but would be nice to know just in case I do and also from the agility perspective.
Brodie on the other hand has had a tear in his hamstring muscle which has taken a lot of work by our wonderful physio Sally to get right but think he is there now. It was a shame that we missed Champ at Axstane but glad he is on the mend and should be able to compete this weekend.
Brax did however do champ at Axstane and finished a very respectable 14th in the agility (out of 70) but unfortunately got eliminated in the jumping. She is running so well even at KC height!
Sparkle has got her first couple of outings lined up, I'm just hoping that she tackles everything with the confidence that she has in training! I'm not in a hurry to compete her but want her to get some ring experience. She is doing some NFC runs at UKA and FAB and a couple of jumping runs at a KC show so I better hurry up and finish teaching her to weave! Today me and Sparks are off on a road trip to get her hip scored. I'm not planning on breeding from her but would be nice to know just in case I do and also from the agility perspective.
21/5/14 - We have recently got back from the IFCS World Agility Championships where Brodie and Bracken were both competing. They were amazing dogs and worked their little sheltie socks off for us! Big write up about it on my blog and lots of pictures of the event. But the big news is that little Bracken same home with a Gold medal for being on the winning team in the team triathlon!! The photo on the right shows them on the podium!
Other news is that Brooke has won into Grade 5 :) Looking forward to seeing her tackling some harder courses as she is crazy fast and loving her agility!
Sparkly pups has come into season at the grand age of 15 months and is a real tart!! Poor Brodie doesn't know what to do with himself!! Her training has ground to a bit of a halt as she had a sore back that needed rest as well but is all sorted now. I have been doing some weave training in the garden with her and she is getting there!
Other news is that Brooke has won into Grade 5 :) Looking forward to seeing her tackling some harder courses as she is crazy fast and loving her agility!
Sparkly pups has come into season at the grand age of 15 months and is a real tart!! Poor Brodie doesn't know what to do with himself!! Her training has ground to a bit of a halt as she had a sore back that needed rest as well but is all sorted now. I have been doing some weave training in the garden with her and she is getting there!
26/4/14 - The dogs have had a couple of shows recently and have been working nicely. Brooke has had a few placings despite held contacts and done some lovely jumping runs, including winning one today at WBSDS. Matthew was over the moon as she won him an Easter egg!!
Brodie and I went to Easter UKA to take part in teh team competition with Jenni and Chantal. Jenni was running Rommy and CHantal was running Brookes half sister Savannah. Having never done the UKA teams before we did it for a bit of fun and ended up qualifying for the UKA Grand Finals!! Our team is appropriately called the 'Shouty Shelties'!!
Brodie and I went to Easter UKA to take part in teh team competition with Jenni and Chantal. Jenni was running Rommy and CHantal was running Brookes half sister Savannah. Having never done the UKA teams before we did it for a bit of fun and ended up qualifying for the UKA Grand Finals!! Our team is appropriately called the 'Shouty Shelties'!!
7/4/14 - We have had our first show of the year and the doglets did really well! Brodie managed to get a 1st in Champ agility and 2nd in Senior Steeplechase. Dolly won her final Beginners Steeplechase by a decent margin so she definitely deserving to be in Novice now :)
Brax came 3rd in Champ power and speed which was great considering who was in her class! Matt managed to run her nfc in agility and she was really good on her dog walk and seesaw. Brooke also ran nfc and despite being a bit unsure on her first dog walk she blasted her second one.
Sparkle was a good puppy and came round the rings quietly which was a big step forward!!
Brax came 3rd in Champ power and speed which was great considering who was in her class! Matt managed to run her nfc in agility and she was really good on her dog walk and seesaw. Brooke also ran nfc and despite being a bit unsure on her first dog walk she blasted her second one.
Sparkle was a good puppy and came round the rings quietly which was a big step forward!!
27/2/14 - Our little furries did really well at the ESSC Spring Open show! They were all entered in Beginners Obedience (as Matthew and I have won out of pre-beginners previously) and Brodie and Brooke were also entered in showing classes. More info on the blog but they did very well :) Particularly Brodie who not only won in the breed ring but managed to come 3rd in Obedience-very proud of all of them as we did minimal practice! The handsome merle Rommy belongs to Jenni and he came 2nd in Pre-Beginners at his first ever obedience show!
5/2/14 - We have been getting back into the swing of things despite the never ending amounts of rain! Fortunately I have enough space to move the agility equipment round so although we are working in a smaller area, the dogs are still getting some training. I worked Brodie this afternoon and he was fab-totally loved it and did some nice work on blind crosses and independent weave work.
Brooke has done a fair bit of training over the past few days as well, she went to a lesson with Dan on Sunday with Matt handling her and she took Sparkles place in puppy class yesterday with me as Sparkly had a bad tummy. She is loving being back to agility after Christmas and her season, she ended up with a 6 week break! The next thing we have to practice is obedience exercises and some ringcraft as she is entered into both showing and obedience at a sheltie show later this month-eek!!
Brax is probably the one that has done least to her disgust (she did share Brookes lesson with Dan) but she is definitely feeling well and bouncy at the moment! She is also doing obedience at the show so we have to practice her not spitting the dumbell out at Matt!!
Sparkly pants has just turned one! To celebrate her birthday I have started her running contacts work :) She loves it and is picking it up really well. The reason for doing running is that 1) I love a challenge! and 2) if she does measure 'large' she is going to need every possible advantage against the taller dogs!!
Brooke has done a fair bit of training over the past few days as well, she went to a lesson with Dan on Sunday with Matt handling her and she took Sparkles place in puppy class yesterday with me as Sparkly had a bad tummy. She is loving being back to agility after Christmas and her season, she ended up with a 6 week break! The next thing we have to practice is obedience exercises and some ringcraft as she is entered into both showing and obedience at a sheltie show later this month-eek!!
Brax is probably the one that has done least to her disgust (she did share Brookes lesson with Dan) but she is definitely feeling well and bouncy at the moment! She is also doing obedience at the show so we have to practice her not spitting the dumbell out at Matt!!
Sparkly pants has just turned one! To celebrate her birthday I have started her running contacts work :) She loves it and is picking it up really well. The reason for doing running is that 1) I love a challenge! and 2) if she does measure 'large' she is going to need every possible advantage against the taller dogs!!
8/1/14 - Happy New Year!! Well after a hectic break over Christmas it is nice to get back into a routine. The older two dogs have had their physio check up and month off work so they can start training again. Bad news is that Brooke was poorly late Dec with a tummy bug so is very late coming into season. Unfortunately the puppies would clash with competing in Holland so we have decided to hold off until her next season (hopefully Sept/Oct time) to breed. She will have a fun season of competing first which I'm sure she'll love!
There are so many things to train at the moment and not enough hours in the day! I don't really do new years resolutions as such but I'm going to try and be better at remembering to do all the dogs different stretches and balance exercises as well as making sure they are fully warmed up before I run them. Oh and the usual resolution of losing weight and getting fit!! (me, not the dogs!) |
16/12/13 - WOW where to start!! I guess the best place is with the UKA FInals - my Brodie toad only went and WON the Midi Masters Overall!! Pic is us on the podium, he was a happy boy as he had a sheltie girly either side of him!!
Brax and Brooke both did well - Brax was on fire and a bit wild if anything - she came 4th in Masters agility and got E'd in the jumping for making up her own course! Brooke was a bit overwhelmed by it all but we are convinced it was more that her Grandma was there - she finds Grandma very distracting! Brooke will hopefully be off work soon as she is due in season and we are hoping to have a litter with her and Brodie. Can't wait! The other very exciting news is that both Brax and Brodie are on the Great Britain team for the IFCS World Agility Championships in Holland next year!!! WOOHOOO!! They are currrently having a month off agility and will start training again next year. Merry Christmas everyone and Happy 2014! |
4/11/13 - Naughty me, ages since an update! Where to start? Well we have been trying our hand at obedience recently having a 2-1 session with the two younger doglets. It was fun and it always amazes me how accurate you need to be. It is very much like dressage in the horse world. Sparkle and Brooke had great fun and were sooo tired afterwards. They both worked for the whole hour and really focused well. I have been getting all the dogs fit doing lots of road walking recently as the clocks have changed so our early morning walk is in the dark!
Agility wise Sparkle has had a couple of weeks off doing anything.I feel that it is important to let them absorb what they learn and go back to it fresh. She is going through a gangly stage at the moment (9 months) so I haven't started her running contact training yet. I want to get her stronger through her core first. Brooke was already doing a raised plank at Sparkles age but she was much more mature physically and more in control of her legs! Brodie hasn't done any proper training for a couple of weeks either so need to get a training plan together! Matthews girls have both done a bit, Brax is being retrained to do a running dog walk again (we stopped training it when we retired her last year) and she has remembered what to do but its a bit inconsistent at the moment.
Agility wise Sparkle has had a couple of weeks off doing anything.I feel that it is important to let them absorb what they learn and go back to it fresh. She is going through a gangly stage at the moment (9 months) so I haven't started her running contact training yet. I want to get her stronger through her core first. Brooke was already doing a raised plank at Sparkles age but she was much more mature physically and more in control of her legs! Brodie hasn't done any proper training for a couple of weeks either so need to get a training plan together! Matthews girls have both done a bit, Brax is being retrained to do a running dog walk again (we stopped training it when we retired her last year) and she has remembered what to do but its a bit inconsistent at the moment.
26/9/13 - Brodie has managed to qualify for the UKA Grand Finals by winning the Masters heat at Ajaxs!! All three shelties are now qualified so it will be a fun day out for them all :) Lots of training to do before then though!
9/9/13 - We have had a few shows over the past few weekends and the doglets have been awesome!! Brodie won a Champ Jumping at UKA last weekend. He has been checked after falling off the dog walk and seems better than ever. Matthew swears that it loosened something up, lol! Lots of winter training planned with my little man, particularly distance stuff so more independence.
Dolly has had a 2nd and 3rd in jumping and a 2nd and 3rd in agility and won a steeplechase at UKA so she is now into NOVICE performance. What a good spaniel :) We are really starting to get it together as a team now. Winter work for her will be weaves and rear crosses I think.
Little Brax WON the UKA HADS Circular Knockout heat! She was just amazing, bless her. It was a huge spread out fast course and she ran her little socks off! The other news is that we have entered her for a Champ class in Oct so need to do some KC height practice in preparation. Her contacts have been very good nfc recently so fingers crossed they stay that way!
Brooke bean has been getting better working with Grandma Lian around and is staying focused on her agility. She did a jumping run for competition at UKA last week and was 2 seconds faster than the midi winner (a very fast sheltie who was 2 seconds faster than Dolly who was 2nd!) but she had a pole. Winter training for her is grids with movement. Having posted her vids on a jumping forum the people on there thought that it is handler motion that causes her to have poles so we can work on that. She is very collie like for a sheltie and very herdy so any motion catches her eye and puts her off. She invariably has a pole if Matthew is ahead of her trying to get in a cross!
Little Sparkle puppy has got over her leg sprain and has started to do a bit of training now she is 7 months. We can string together wing wraps and a tunnel! She loves any sort of work so I have been taking her to a multi skills class which covers basics from obedience, agility, working trials and htm. She is doing really well apart from barking at the odd distraction! This afternoon she is starting puppy classes at Dan's with her boyfriend Trek and another couple of pups so that will be fun :) There are some great winter workshops coming up that I am booking onto with Sparkle to work her in new environments. More importantly some of them are indoors so hoping to stay dry!
Dolly has had a 2nd and 3rd in jumping and a 2nd and 3rd in agility and won a steeplechase at UKA so she is now into NOVICE performance. What a good spaniel :) We are really starting to get it together as a team now. Winter work for her will be weaves and rear crosses I think.
Little Brax WON the UKA HADS Circular Knockout heat! She was just amazing, bless her. It was a huge spread out fast course and she ran her little socks off! The other news is that we have entered her for a Champ class in Oct so need to do some KC height practice in preparation. Her contacts have been very good nfc recently so fingers crossed they stay that way!
Brooke bean has been getting better working with Grandma Lian around and is staying focused on her agility. She did a jumping run for competition at UKA last week and was 2 seconds faster than the midi winner (a very fast sheltie who was 2 seconds faster than Dolly who was 2nd!) but she had a pole. Winter training for her is grids with movement. Having posted her vids on a jumping forum the people on there thought that it is handler motion that causes her to have poles so we can work on that. She is very collie like for a sheltie and very herdy so any motion catches her eye and puts her off. She invariably has a pole if Matthew is ahead of her trying to get in a cross!
Little Sparkle puppy has got over her leg sprain and has started to do a bit of training now she is 7 months. We can string together wing wraps and a tunnel! She loves any sort of work so I have been taking her to a multi skills class which covers basics from obedience, agility, working trials and htm. She is doing really well apart from barking at the odd distraction! This afternoon she is starting puppy classes at Dan's with her boyfriend Trek and another couple of pups so that will be fun :) There are some great winter workshops coming up that I am booking onto with Sparkle to work her in new environments. More importantly some of them are indoors so hoping to stay dry!
8/8/13 - Well we have two very clever sable shelties!! Brax and Brooke puppy have both managed to qualify for the UKA Grand Finals in December! Brooke has qualified in Beginners Steeplechase and Brax won the Overall Masters at the UKA Nationals week! At least it makes it worthwhile going to Somerset!!
Brax and Brodie did well in the last IFCS qualifying day. Brodie got the snooker and 2nd in Jumping and Brax came 2nd in agility and 3rd with an unlucky refusal in the jumping. It is weird to think that this time last year Brax was semi retired and I was doing casual runs with her at UKA! Her thyroid levels continue to be really good and wow she is back with a vengeance! In her Masters agility run (ok she missed her dw and AF contacts!) her time was amazing considering some of the dogs she was up against. The most important thing is she just LOVES running again. Her little face looks so sad when we go to a KC show and she works out she isn't running :(
We did try training her at KC height and she just flew over the jumps so we have decided we might try and enter her into a KC show to make her feel less left out! Possibly a champ class as she has managed to beat some of the dogs that have won tickets recently so we think she deserves to have a go :) Small and mighty - thats Brax's motto!!
Sparkle is much better after her rest period and is now allowed off lead. I have done a couple of jump bump grids with her this week and she is running them nicely. Straight lines at the moment so no twisty turny stuff for her leg. She is getting used to wearing her little wraps now but isn't very patient about having them put on!
Brax and Brodie did well in the last IFCS qualifying day. Brodie got the snooker and 2nd in Jumping and Brax came 2nd in agility and 3rd with an unlucky refusal in the jumping. It is weird to think that this time last year Brax was semi retired and I was doing casual runs with her at UKA! Her thyroid levels continue to be really good and wow she is back with a vengeance! In her Masters agility run (ok she missed her dw and AF contacts!) her time was amazing considering some of the dogs she was up against. The most important thing is she just LOVES running again. Her little face looks so sad when we go to a KC show and she works out she isn't running :(
We did try training her at KC height and she just flew over the jumps so we have decided we might try and enter her into a KC show to make her feel less left out! Possibly a champ class as she has managed to beat some of the dogs that have won tickets recently so we think she deserves to have a go :) Small and mighty - thats Brax's motto!!
Sparkle is much better after her rest period and is now allowed off lead. I have done a couple of jump bump grids with her this week and she is running them nicely. Straight lines at the moment so no twisty turny stuff for her leg. She is getting used to wearing her little wraps now but isn't very patient about having them put on!
23/7/13 - HOT, HOT HOT!!! Had enough of this stupid weather now-it was 33 degrees yesterday and way too hot to do anything much. Fortunately I am managing to keep working by finding nice shady places to walk dogs and at the agility field we have a gazebo and paddling pool which the dogs love! Brax and Brooke are quite happy in the sun and trying to stop them running around is hard. Brodie hates it bless him and Sparkle would happily overdo it being a puppy.
Dolly got her first ever clear round at a KC show in C1-4 jumping! I was very proud of her as she had a re-run as the timer failed so went clear twice. She ended up 12th out of 110 dogs :) Who says Medium classes are small??! In her C1-3 jumping this last weekend there were 96 dogs entered!
Other news is that Sparkle has injured her leg, poor puppy. She had a high speed collision with furniture resulting in a carpal sprain :( She is coping well with being rested considering what an active pup she is. She is a beautiful little girly, her adult coat has come in and her growing has slowed down as she approaches six months (next week!) She is now the biggest and heaviest in the house - 15" tall and a whole 7kg, lol!!
Lots of exciting things coming up, I get to be a nervous trainer on Saturday as two of my guys are in the Starters Challenge Finals at the Agility Club show. Fingers crossed for Jenni and Rommy and Caroline and Bobby!! Brodie and I are competing in the ESSC team on the same day which is a Crufts qualifier. Then we are off to the UKA Nationals for a couple of days next week and then more IFCS qualifiers the weekend after :) Watch this space...
Dolly got her first ever clear round at a KC show in C1-4 jumping! I was very proud of her as she had a re-run as the timer failed so went clear twice. She ended up 12th out of 110 dogs :) Who says Medium classes are small??! In her C1-3 jumping this last weekend there were 96 dogs entered!
Other news is that Sparkle has injured her leg, poor puppy. She had a high speed collision with furniture resulting in a carpal sprain :( She is coping well with being rested considering what an active pup she is. She is a beautiful little girly, her adult coat has come in and her growing has slowed down as she approaches six months (next week!) She is now the biggest and heaviest in the house - 15" tall and a whole 7kg, lol!!
Lots of exciting things coming up, I get to be a nervous trainer on Saturday as two of my guys are in the Starters Challenge Finals at the Agility Club show. Fingers crossed for Jenni and Rommy and Caroline and Bobby!! Brodie and I are competing in the ESSC team on the same day which is a Crufts qualifier. Then we are off to the UKA Nationals for a couple of days next week and then more IFCS qualifiers the weekend after :) Watch this space...
3/7/13 - We have been busy doing a fair few shows recently. The dogs are working well - particularly young Brooke who continues to amaze us! She recently won into Grade 4 in a big class of dogs, she was obviously ready to go up a grade as it was Combined 1-4 jumping. Matthew was really hoping that she would win up on an agility win but she decided otherwise! Brodie has had a C6-7 agility win at KC and did the Champ class at Axstane. He got E'd in the agility round (tunnel trap!) but did a nice clear in the jumping. He has had some good placings at FAB and UKA as well. Little Brax is still very much on form - she won her 3rd IFCS jumping qualifier! Her contacts are being trained NFC at UKA and are still a work in progress...
7/6/13 - We have just returned from a fun filled weekend at Sheltie Camp. The dogs had a great time and got to do a bit of agility each. Even Sparkle did her first ever straight tunnel (with great enthusiasm!) Over the last few weekends we have done a few shows and the doglets are working nicely :) Lots of videos on my YouTube page and write ups on my blog. The main news is that Brax and Brodie have been to a couple of the IFCS qualifying shows and ended up with some really good placings. Little Brax is amazing, having won both the jumping qualifiers to date with good margins. Sparkle continues to be a little monkey, very cute and always makes me smile. She is now as tall as Brooke at 18 weeks and is all legs!! More news to follow but have to dash off as up tomorrow early for a show...
15/5/13 - The most important news is that we now have a kennel name so I should really re-name my website and blog BRAXWAY Shetland Sheepdogs!! I'm really pleased that we got such a good name out of the choices and that any pupsters born will now have an identifiable name. Bracken will get a big ego having pups named after her!! We are not going to bother adding it to our existing dogs name as Licosateria Mai Rising Star at Braxway is a bit of a mouthful!!
The dogs have had fun over the past couple of weekends competing and training and are fit and raring to go. Brax in particular is determined that she is NOT ready to retire and is putting in some really good times on courses. She has had a 1st and 2nd in champ jumping in the last couple of weekends. Brodie has had a couple of champ jumping wins and a 3rd. Little Brooke (officially now a 'toy' at UKA for life) is doing well with her runs at UKA mostly NFC. She is definitely going to be the sort of dog that isn't going to be consistently clear to start with but when she gets it right - WOW! She landed on a pole and somersaulted in the Beg Steeplechase qualifier at the weekend. Matthew checked her over, reset her in a wait and started again and she was still only ten seconds behind the winner!
Sparkle is a naughty, beautiful, friendly, confident and very clever puppy! All the best ones are cheeky ;-) I'm still getting my head round having a puppy that just wants to dive bomb everybody who passes - shelties just don't do that!! She has been out round the rings at UKA and will play tuggy or do tricks for food - love my lil girly, nothing seems to bother her.
We have lots of competitions coming up and sheltie camp at the beginning of June. I will try and post results, etc here a bit more regularly!
The dogs have had fun over the past couple of weekends competing and training and are fit and raring to go. Brax in particular is determined that she is NOT ready to retire and is putting in some really good times on courses. She has had a 1st and 2nd in champ jumping in the last couple of weekends. Brodie has had a couple of champ jumping wins and a 3rd. Little Brooke (officially now a 'toy' at UKA for life) is doing well with her runs at UKA mostly NFC. She is definitely going to be the sort of dog that isn't going to be consistently clear to start with but when she gets it right - WOW! She landed on a pole and somersaulted in the Beg Steeplechase qualifier at the weekend. Matthew checked her over, reset her in a wait and started again and she was still only ten seconds behind the winner!
Sparkle is a naughty, beautiful, friendly, confident and very clever puppy! All the best ones are cheeky ;-) I'm still getting my head round having a puppy that just wants to dive bomb everybody who passes - shelties just don't do that!! She has been out round the rings at UKA and will play tuggy or do tricks for food - love my lil girly, nothing seems to bother her.
We have lots of competitions coming up and sheltie camp at the beginning of June. I will try and post results, etc here a bit more regularly!
3/4/13 - Wow its been ages since I updated this page - oops! To be honest so much has happened in the last couple of months that I don't know where to start! Training wise, Feb and March have been a bit of a disaster as there has just been snow after snow. We made it to the Sheltie Agility show at the start of March but I only did one run with Brodie as we were so busy helping that its not easy to warm them up and focus properly. A couple of weeks later we did Ajaxs UKA and the mediums did great on the Friday (gingers stayed at home with Matt) Dolly came 3rd in agility with held contacts and Brodie came 2nd in a steeplechase run by someone else getting ring experience - never thought he would run so fast for someone else!!
The weekend that we were supposed to be at NADS we went and got a Border Collie puppy!! Meet Sparkle :)
She is an absolute poppet and totally gorgeous! I will get round to doing her page at some point I promise! I saw her advert on agilitynet as Brodie has now turned 6 we felt the time was right. I like to leave quite an age gap between competing dogs and also all ours are at least 2 year apart in age. By the time Sparkle is ready to compete Brodie will be 8 and probably doing slighty less. There are 6 years between Matthews girls but having said that now Brax is on drugs for her condition there is no stopping her!! We trained her at the field at the weekend and she was sooo fiesty, biting Matthews trousers like she used to. Sparkle reminds us of Brax in attitude so hopefully she'll carry that though to agility!
Anyway I went off on a tangent! Once Sparkles breeder had sent photos that was it, we had to see them so a couple of days later we had a puppy! Brodie was the same - a completely spontaneous purchase. Its obviously me as with Matt's two we went and saw them a couple of times before bringing them home. He is generally much better organised than me!! Some people seem a bit miffed that we haven't gone for another sheltie which is a shame :( I have had shelties since I was 13 and always will but there is no rule that said I can't have another breed!! Matt and I have always said we would have a collie so at some point and here she is! To be honest the next sheltie we have will more than likely be one we breed but Brooke is too young to keep a daughter from at the moment. Sparkle is from a mix of working and show lines. Her Dad does flyball and her Mum is from show dogs and has just started her flyball training. Mum and Dad were so friendly and laid back and the puppies were very confident. We didn't go to a well know agility breeder as I didn't want the pressure of living up to peoples expectations that come with owning a dog with a well know prefix! We are enjoying our bundle of fluff so much - she has leant quite a lot already and has been out visiting shops, the train station, the market and the yard. I can't wait for her to be old enough to go on the ground as she is getting wiggly about being carried!!
Back to the shelties (sorry about long update!) We did Bretford KC show at the weekend. It was Dolly and Brookes first KC competition and clever Brooke puppy went and WON G3 jumping!! We didn't enter her in agility as wanted to make sure she was getting round a jumping course well first! Dolly was a clever spanner too and came 2nd and 3rd but they only placed to 1st sadly. She is great fun to run and its nice to be back in G3 again :)
The weekend that we were supposed to be at NADS we went and got a Border Collie puppy!! Meet Sparkle :)
She is an absolute poppet and totally gorgeous! I will get round to doing her page at some point I promise! I saw her advert on agilitynet as Brodie has now turned 6 we felt the time was right. I like to leave quite an age gap between competing dogs and also all ours are at least 2 year apart in age. By the time Sparkle is ready to compete Brodie will be 8 and probably doing slighty less. There are 6 years between Matthews girls but having said that now Brax is on drugs for her condition there is no stopping her!! We trained her at the field at the weekend and she was sooo fiesty, biting Matthews trousers like she used to. Sparkle reminds us of Brax in attitude so hopefully she'll carry that though to agility!
Anyway I went off on a tangent! Once Sparkles breeder had sent photos that was it, we had to see them so a couple of days later we had a puppy! Brodie was the same - a completely spontaneous purchase. Its obviously me as with Matt's two we went and saw them a couple of times before bringing them home. He is generally much better organised than me!! Some people seem a bit miffed that we haven't gone for another sheltie which is a shame :( I have had shelties since I was 13 and always will but there is no rule that said I can't have another breed!! Matt and I have always said we would have a collie so at some point and here she is! To be honest the next sheltie we have will more than likely be one we breed but Brooke is too young to keep a daughter from at the moment. Sparkle is from a mix of working and show lines. Her Dad does flyball and her Mum is from show dogs and has just started her flyball training. Mum and Dad were so friendly and laid back and the puppies were very confident. We didn't go to a well know agility breeder as I didn't want the pressure of living up to peoples expectations that come with owning a dog with a well know prefix! We are enjoying our bundle of fluff so much - she has leant quite a lot already and has been out visiting shops, the train station, the market and the yard. I can't wait for her to be old enough to go on the ground as she is getting wiggly about being carried!!
Back to the shelties (sorry about long update!) We did Bretford KC show at the weekend. It was Dolly and Brookes first KC competition and clever Brooke puppy went and WON G3 jumping!! We didn't enter her in agility as wanted to make sure she was getting round a jumping course well first! Dolly was a clever spanner too and came 2nd and 3rd but they only placed to 1st sadly. She is great fun to run and its nice to be back in G3 again :)
30/1/13 - Finally the snow is gone so we are hopefully going to get some training in this week!
The most exciting news is that Brookes dna CEA results as back and she is CLEAR!!! This means that we can use any stud dog and she will not produce CEA affected puppies. Best of all it means that I can use Brodie as stud dog which is perfect as I wanted a tri dog who preferably had proved himself in the breed ring and at agility. It was very hard to find a dog that had Brodie's credentials and above all his lovely temperament!! Details will go on the planned litter page soon :)
The most exciting news is that Brookes dna CEA results as back and she is CLEAR!!! This means that we can use any stud dog and she will not produce CEA affected puppies. Best of all it means that I can use Brodie as stud dog which is perfect as I wanted a tri dog who preferably had proved himself in the breed ring and at agility. It was very hard to find a dog that had Brodie's credentials and above all his lovely temperament!! Details will go on the planned litter page soon :)
17/1/13 - Due to not being able to train for the last week due to snow, I have been updating the website. I have added photos to the dogs individual pages and also done a sheltie colours page with examples of different colours and markings.
The dogs are loving the snow on the other hand and I'm trying to do a bit of proprioception work with each of them every day to work on their coordination and fitness. Lets just say that Brax is a work in progres...!
The dogs are loving the snow on the other hand and I'm trying to do a bit of proprioception work with each of them every day to work on their coordination and fitness. Lets just say that Brax is a work in progres...!
9/1/13 -The shelties have had some time off agility over Christmas and New Year as the weather has been terrible and I was really poorly with flu. We are bringing them back to work with some grid work and lots of fun foundation work. I love this photo that I took of them at the field, Brooke is pulling such a cute face and Brax looks dinky :)
Brooke and Dolly have been entered into a show in a couple of weeks time. It will be Brookes first show that isn't nfc! It will also be the first time that she has competed indoors so it'll be great experience for her. We are so excited about her potential, she is quirky but we think she is a little superstar in the making :)
Brooke and Dolly have been entered into a show in a couple of weeks time. It will be Brookes first show that isn't nfc! It will also be the first time that she has competed indoors so it'll be great experience for her. We are so excited about her potential, she is quirky but we think she is a little superstar in the making :)
19/12/12 - The lovely picture of Brodie Toad was taken by Lian as we visited her at her farm a couple of weeks ago. The shelties had so much fun playing with their friends! (For more photos and recent training videos please visit my blog) Brooke attended a Toni Dawkins training day last weekend and had so much fun barking her head off while running round - she is definitely getting noisier!
Brooke is booked in at the vets so bloods can be taken for her DNA CEA test. Fingers crossed that she will be clear! Her Daddy is a carrier and her mummy is clear so there is a 50/50 chance she will be a carrier. I'm hoping that she is clear as then I can put her to Brodie :) If not, I have some lovely stud dogs in mind that are genetically clear and very handsome. None of them do agility tho :(
Brooke is booked in at the vets so bloods can be taken for her DNA CEA test. Fingers crossed that she will be clear! Her Daddy is a carrier and her mummy is clear so there is a 50/50 chance she will be a carrier. I'm hoping that she is clear as then I can put her to Brodie :) If not, I have some lovely stud dogs in mind that are genetically clear and very handsome. None of them do agility tho :(
23/11/12 - We had a lovely time on holiday recently - this photo was taken at dinner time in our self catering cottage. The dogs had a fab time and we did miles of walking in the beautiful Cotswolds countryside. The pubs were pretty good too!!
Since getting back I've been trying to get some training done with Brodie as a week today we are off to the UKA National Finals!! Eeek!! I trained at a friends indoor venue yesterday and he worked very well despite being a tad excited :)
I'm hoping to do a bit with Dolly as well if it ever stops raining!
Since getting back I've been trying to get some training done with Brodie as a week today we are off to the UKA National Finals!! Eeek!! I trained at a friends indoor venue yesterday and he worked very well despite being a tad excited :)
I'm hoping to do a bit with Dolly as well if it ever stops raining!
1/11/12 - The dogs all did very well at the ESSC Champ show but particularly Brooke who won Pre-Beginners Obedience with some stunning heelwork. She was such a good girl. Her and Brax were on level marks until the stays and poor little Brax found the floor a bit cold so broke her down stay! Its probably a good thing as otherwise Matthew would have had to 'run off' with himself! Brodie came 4th in Beginners and Brax came 3rd so all of them were placed and behaved soooo well. Brodie particularly finds it hard as he gets distracted by all the beautiful shelties in the same building!!
Bracken has been recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism and is now on medication and is feeling much better!! She is like a different dog so we will do some winter training and see how she does next year :)
8/10/12 - I love this photo of Brooke's dog walk taken by Dog Rad Design! She is a flying sheltie :)
Matthew and I have been hard at work trying to practice our obedience exercises over the weekend as all three shelties are competing next weekend! They are all pretty ok at heelwork, recalls and retrieves, its the stays that tend to be our downfall! Brodie is doing a showing class as well so will have to have LOTS more patience than he does at agility and the girls will have to keep their gobs shut which will be a big ask!!
I am formulating winter training plans for Dolly and Brodie as they both have certain things to brush up on before the UKA Finals. Brodie needs to do tunnels under contacts and Dolly needs to get confidence on rear crosses. Lots of homework then!
28/9/12 - Brodie's results are back from Optigen and unfortunately he is a carrier for CEA so can only be mated to a DNA clear bitch (otherwise there is a 25% chance of having affected puppies). Brooke is already booked in for her test in February next year! If she is a carrier as well (there is a 50/50 chance as her Daddy is a carrier) then we will need to find a suitable DNA clear stud dog. The right dog would have to have a fantastic temperament, be health tested and the right colour - not much to ask for then!! If she is DNA clear then we can use Brodie who for me has all the traits I'm looking for - fab temperament, trainability, looks and has proved himself in the breed ring, at obedience and is working champ level agility :) Me biased?? Never!!
21/9/12 - Brodie has had his blood taken for his Optigen DNA test for CEA this week. We are keeping our fingers crossed that he is clear genetically and not a carrier. His blood gets shipped to America so it takes a while to find out! If he is a carrier then we will get Brooke tested as well as I won't breed from both of them if they are carriers. Its all quite complicated! There are very few dogs that are tested DNA clear. Both Brodie and Brooke are unaffected by CEA but could carry it as a recessive gene. Anyway, enough science!
All three dogs ran at UKA last weekend. Brodie needed a new handler in the UKA Masters as we haven't worked at that level all year and we didn't quite pull of some of the more technical moves! Brax had a fun run in casual and Brooke did nfc runs in steeplechase and nursery. (All the runs are on my YouTube channel.) I also ran Dolly and a terrier Jenson in nursery and steeplechase and got a 2nd and 4th respectively - clever doggies!
29/8/12 - Bad me again!! I have been so busy in the last month I will do a quick overview of whats been going on. Brooke is now pretty much doing all the equipment confidently and at speed (sometimes like a bull in a china shop!!) She is now doing her dog walk to a dead toy and her seesaw is awesome so far. We can't wait to get her out competing properly but she won't be doing KC shows until she has a few more UKA nfc runs. She has been in the ring a couple of times NFC and spart from being a bit distracted by her Grandma Lian the first time, has worked nicely. She has now spoilt her chance of doing two UKA's this weekend by being in season - grrrr!!
Bracken has been recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism and is now on medication and is feeling much better!! She is like a different dog so we will do some winter training and see how she does next year :)
8/10/12 - I love this photo of Brooke's dog walk taken by Dog Rad Design! She is a flying sheltie :)
Matthew and I have been hard at work trying to practice our obedience exercises over the weekend as all three shelties are competing next weekend! They are all pretty ok at heelwork, recalls and retrieves, its the stays that tend to be our downfall! Brodie is doing a showing class as well so will have to have LOTS more patience than he does at agility and the girls will have to keep their gobs shut which will be a big ask!!
I am formulating winter training plans for Dolly and Brodie as they both have certain things to brush up on before the UKA Finals. Brodie needs to do tunnels under contacts and Dolly needs to get confidence on rear crosses. Lots of homework then!
28/9/12 - Brodie's results are back from Optigen and unfortunately he is a carrier for CEA so can only be mated to a DNA clear bitch (otherwise there is a 25% chance of having affected puppies). Brooke is already booked in for her test in February next year! If she is a carrier as well (there is a 50/50 chance as her Daddy is a carrier) then we will need to find a suitable DNA clear stud dog. The right dog would have to have a fantastic temperament, be health tested and the right colour - not much to ask for then!! If she is DNA clear then we can use Brodie who for me has all the traits I'm looking for - fab temperament, trainability, looks and has proved himself in the breed ring, at obedience and is working champ level agility :) Me biased?? Never!!
21/9/12 - Brodie has had his blood taken for his Optigen DNA test for CEA this week. We are keeping our fingers crossed that he is clear genetically and not a carrier. His blood gets shipped to America so it takes a while to find out! If he is a carrier then we will get Brooke tested as well as I won't breed from both of them if they are carriers. Its all quite complicated! There are very few dogs that are tested DNA clear. Both Brodie and Brooke are unaffected by CEA but could carry it as a recessive gene. Anyway, enough science!
All three dogs ran at UKA last weekend. Brodie needed a new handler in the UKA Masters as we haven't worked at that level all year and we didn't quite pull of some of the more technical moves! Brax had a fun run in casual and Brooke did nfc runs in steeplechase and nursery. (All the runs are on my YouTube channel.) I also ran Dolly and a terrier Jenson in nursery and steeplechase and got a 2nd and 4th respectively - clever doggies!
29/8/12 - Bad me again!! I have been so busy in the last month I will do a quick overview of whats been going on. Brooke is now pretty much doing all the equipment confidently and at speed (sometimes like a bull in a china shop!!) She is now doing her dog walk to a dead toy and her seesaw is awesome so far. We can't wait to get her out competing properly but she won't be doing KC shows until she has a few more UKA nfc runs. She has been in the ring a couple of times NFC and spart from being a bit distracted by her Grandma Lian the first time, has worked nicely. She has now spoilt her chance of doing two UKA's this weekend by being in season - grrrr!!