Can You Dig It Summer Show 2016

This weekend we were in Cheadle for our three day Can You Dig It Summer Show.

It takes months and months of planning and organising and weeks of heavy graft leading up to the show to make it happen. From taking entries and emailing out confirmations to mowing the grass and rolling the field. There's a lot of hard work done by a small amount of people before we even get dogs and people onto the field.

After weeks of heavy rain with little let up everyone knew it was going to be muddy, and the rain continued to come down in showers on the Friday. But the ground held, although we were all resembling a slightly unglamourous spa treatment by the end of the day, and a certain instructor could be heard complaining about "trench foot". 

None the less spirits were high, the dogs and handlers safety was paramount and only a few people needed a tow or push off the field. Come to think of it... it was the same instructor complaining about trench foot who also needed a tow off the field... The rest of us found this highly amusing of course.

With the show over for one day and the remaining campers onto the field without much issue we settled down, cracked open a can of cider and successfully ordered pizza to a field in the middle of nowhere.

Saturday morning arrived and it certainly felt good to roll out of bed and straight into the show. Best commute ever. The ground had dried out slightly overnight and superhero Nick jumped in the tractor and rolled the field to help the day parking area.

There was some great competition in the rings with some cracking runs from beginners at their first ever show and some impressive handling happening in the advanced class.

Outside of the ring a tombola was being held in aid of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, plus we donated the funds from the practise ring and the have a go flyball to the charity throughout the weekend. In the end we successfully raised £180 for Hearing Dogs! Amazing. 

Having recovered from her trench foot and getting stuck in the mud, Katie ran a Have a Go Flyball session on the Saturday and Sunday and we saw lots of people enjoying the chance to try a new sport. Katie had their dogs successfully retrieving a ball over a few jumps and even doing box turns after just a 10 minute session.

On the Friday and Saturday we ran pairs and team agility classes. Everyone was having fun with their friends and their dogs and some teams were formed from people who didn't know each other. In true Dig It spirit they all joined to have a blast with their dogs.

On Saturday night we moved the rings and secretaries marque onto fresh ground and were grateful of the help from the campers to get this done quickly. Kathryn Stickney taught some fantastic workshops, more cider was opened and chinese food was successfully delivered to a field in the middle of no where.

As it was going dark and we left for bed a slurred out-of-tune rendition of "I Will Survive" filled the campsite followed by hysterical laughter and then silence. Sounded like a good time was being had and it certainly gave a few of us a chuckle!

We were on fresh grass on Sunday and with no rain since Friday the ground held out with only minor mud issues here and there. 

Everyone was cheerful and happy and headed home after a very enjoyable weekend. The comments on our facebook page and agility group since have been overwhelming, with lots of praise to the organisers and team and thanks to the judges, ring managers and helpers who are a vital part to the running of an agility show.

It was great to have the support of Canine Magnetix and The Howl Emporium there and overall it was a brilliant weekend. Thank you to everyone who came along, competed, helped out and made the weekend what is was. 

Do you reward your dog?

In dog training we use rewards to tell our dogs that they have done the right thing and to increase the likelihood of that particular behaviour being repeated. There are several different ways to reward your dog and your dog may prefer one or other method at any given time so it is important to discover what motivates your dog to work and what they find rewarding. Find out what makes your dog’s tail wag the most!

Food treats are a good way to reward your dog because they are immediate and innately rewarding but find out what type of food your dog likes best and bring a selection of different foods. However, quickly try to use some or all of the things below so you keep your rewards versatile.

Play is also innately rewarding so find out what type of play suits your dog and its breed and what they like to play best. Try to make the play interactive with you rather than giving them a toy to go and play with by themselves. You don’t always need a toy to play with your dog as some dogs enjoy running around and ‘being silly’ with you just as much.

Verbal praise is also be rewarding for your dog but dogs need to learn very early on that this is a good thing so spend time telling them how lovely they are and what a good girl or boy they are just before you give them a treat for dong what you want and they will soon learn to associate your praise with being a good thing.

Physical fuss for some dogs is very rewarding but remember not all dogs liked to be touched while working and sometimes there are places on their bodies they don’t enjoy being touched so find out by watching what your dog does when you fuss them. If they move away from your touch it usually means they are not really enjoying it.

There will also be lots of things in the environment your dog finds rewarding, like going for a swim, having a sniff, getting to play with a friend so make sure you build these into your reward strategy too by asking your dog for a behaviour for the reward of getting what they find rewarding.

Every dog is different and what your dog finds rewarding may differ from mine and even between dogs in the same household there will be differences. There may even be differences in what motivates your dog depending on the time of day, the location you are training and the mood they are in.

The important thing to observe your dog closely and watch what he really enjoys moment by moment and to try to capture and use what your dog finds motivating in your training and general life with your dog.

Summer Shows... Done!

And just like that, it was all over! Our Summer Shows came and went in a blur. The wind certainly helped to get our tents up quicker on the first Friday, then came sunshine, rain and finally peace and calm descended on the field once more!
We had an absolute blast and it sounds like you all did too! Here are some lovely photos and comments from a few who attended. Without you guys, smiling & laughing, the shows wouldn't be as awesome as they are!

Winter Is Here!

Our Winter Series shows at Alsager Equestrian Centre started this month!

This year we are keeping the shows to two rings only and have limited entry numbers to allow for a suitable finish time, car parking spaces and to release pressure from the exercise arena.

Well it was a little weird at first! Where is everyone?! It's a bit quiet! It was compared to last Winter, but it was perfect! The day ran like a dream.

Also new for Winter 2014, a sexy new scoring system! Katie and Ruth took scoring duties for November and there were lots of excited sequels and high-fives happening as they figured out the ins and outs of working the new program. Lydia wasn't quite so keen on the high-fives...

Big thank you to The Undesirables and FAB Agility Club for running the two rings. There was a fair amount of rivalry between the two parties, who could finish first, who had the better ring. Midway through the day The Undersirables presented a list of demands to Lydia; massage chairs and hot water bottles to name just a few! These were quickly denied with an effective Computer Says No.

The atmosphere at Dig It Winter Shows are always great and everyone was in high spirits and having a lot of fun. 

A few club members were bringing out their young dogs for their first shows or training in the ring after their first summer of competing. Sarah and Lola managed a 1st place at their first ever show! It's so exciting to have seen this dog progress all the way through the Dig It Obedience classes, from Puppy to Gold and then into the Agility ring! Deb and Beanie pulled a 1st out of the bag and everyone took cover while Lou and Paddy went for a Jumping run... he always manages to complete about 20 extra obstacles on his 100mph lap of the course! 

A lot of people are now progressing up the levels from previous Winter Series and some secured their final win this month to now move up. Don't forget: 2 wins in Agility or Jumping and you go up! The Intermediate and Advanced competition is starting to get really exciting.

Thank you to our Judges; PJ, Audra, Rob and Bex and to all who were involved in making the day a success, as always.

We'll see you next week for the December Show!

Awesome August: Can You Dig It Show

This year is flying! August already! The first Sunday of the month brought another of our Can You Dig It Shows.

The weather forecast had been dubious but thankfully the rain held off all day. Lydia set out the Jumping courses and Nigel very kindly offered to judge for the whole day, rather than just for the afternoon as had been previously arranged. Lou Cadman made a rare appearance to a summer show and judged the Agility for the whole day. The course standards were very high, challenging the more experienced handlers to find the fastest lines while keeping it very much do-able for the less experienced handlers and dogs.

Beginners Agility - Lou Cadman

There were many talks and whispers of "this is my first show" heard throughout the day and we are always very proud and pleased to do our best to support and encourage agility newbies. As well as the first timers we also had a good range of experienced handlers showing us what they can do in the Advanced classes. Vic Royle got a little more than she bargained for when she asked for some cake and nearly ended up wearing it. Smiles and laughter all round! There was a real family spirit about this show, as there is at all Dig It events!

3 years on from this photograph and still the same club atmosphere, only now we have a sit on mower!!

A big, massive thank you to Sharleen Toller who kindly baked some delicious cakes to give to helpers for free! There was even a glutton free cake! Poor Sharleen couldn't run her dogs, but despite this she was still seen scriming for well over an hour. 

Ash was a busy bee scoring in the caravan and the results were quickly rolling out. Deb's face was a picture of shock and amazement when we announced that Beanie had won a class! Sue Bebbington rocked up late with Mia and only went and won her Jumping and Steeplechase classes with storming fast times! Mia the tiny pocket rocket! 

Cake, chuckles, lovely judges, lots of beginners, whippet zoomies and an early finish all made for a very very enjoyable day!  Thank you to everyone who contributed to make it so. 

May the Forth Be With You!

Our UKA Shows are normally the more serious of shows at Dig It (not that we ever do serious), however this show was by far the silliest we have had for a while!

It all started well with a bright, fresh start. Dark clouds were looming but the rain held off for most of the day. Chief Agility Judge Michelle opened her ring with a tricky but fair beginners Agility. Gaz and Izzy smoothly made it around the 270, pulling off from the A Frame in style, unlike Milo who didn't even think to avoid the A Frame! At least he did a beautiful 2on2off at the bottom, leaving Katie behind still near the start line.

As a few Eliminations started tumbling Rachel and Daisy stepped up to get 1st place (despite 5F) in Standard Beginners Agility and Lydia pulled off a cracking run with Freddie for a 1st in Medium Novice Agility. 

Instructor Bex was making some yummy home made treats (well the dogs seem to enjoy them, they sound quite tasty for humans too) plus a raffle and she made a whopping £85 for her biology conservation trip!

As the Steeplechase courses were set up and everyone had eaten one to many cream eggs, things started to get a little out of hand! Instead of writing about it we've captured all of the best bits in this funny video... trust it to be the Dig It Instructors larking around the most!

On a serious note we all went away with great plus points. Avril was happy to see her shy little Oakley running with such confidence (so much so he kept on going and didn't turn the corner despite Avril shouting "Stop Running!"). Adele and Luna pulled off a great Steeplechase run at their first UKA Show, Sue and Rosie won a class at Champion level and Guinness and I pulled off some nice handling moves, despite getting E'd in everything.

We finished late afternoon with everyone going home still chuckling about the fun and laughter we had. There are always lovely comments made about Dig It Shows being a nice, friendly atmosphere and I think this show was no exception!

It's going to be a good year!!

It's All Fun and Games at Dig It Dogs

We really are a fun, friendly club!

Easter Eggility Show

Easter Weekend is a busy time for agility shows which makes our little competition perfect for new or experienced competitors looking for a gentle day.

Our combined Intermediate and Advanced courses gave the competitors the perfect balance of small sections of handling mixed with smooth, skill testing parts. We had a large entry of new beginners coming along for their first show and we were really pleased to see everyone getting involved and learning new jobs such as scriming! 

Newly qualified Judge Bex did a full day in the Agility ring and newbie Judge Nigel covered the Steeplechase. They both said they had a marvous time (honestly, we didn't force them to say that) and we look forward to seeing them in centre spot again soon. 

As the results started rolling in the chocolate started rolling out, with cream eggs and chocolate bunnies for those lucky rossette winners!

Instructor Holly and Indie had a storming time winning Agility and Jumping! Rachel & Daisy pulled off a 1st in Agility and a 3rd in Jumping and Sue and Rosie fought off some close competition to get a 1st in Steeplechase! 

Ruth was there with her camera and got some great shots, except for the short rain break in the middle of the day. You can see all of the photographs on our Flickr page! 

http://www.flickr.com/people/digitdogtrainingclub/ 

Not long after a hearty lunch of burgers and bacon baps from The Lunch Box, the day started to come to a close around 2pm. A gentle day finished in style and rumour has it that a certain Dig It Chairperson spent the rest of the afternoon having a well earned snooze! What bettter way to spend your Easter Sunday!

Amazing April: Winter Series Show

Ahh. April is here! Daffodils. Lambs. And the last of our Winter Series Shows!

It was a mostly dry day throughout with one or two short spells of heavy downpour. Ruth kicked things off with a fast, flowing Beginners Jumping that rocketed out some sub 30 seconds times. Over in Ring 1 Matt's Intermediate Agility tested the handlers ability and in Ring 3 the Veterans and Anysize plodded around a comfortable Agility course.

The day ran quickly, although help was surprisingly scares at times, and everyone was itching to hear the overall series results!

Gill Vann from K9 Skool was running a Rescue League throughout the Winter Series and she was busy scurrying around collecting results, while also running her dogs and doing a spot of scribing.

Onto Steeplechase and everyone cheered as Deb and Beanie managed a great clear run! 3rd place! Hurrah Deb, all of that patience is starting to pay off.

Everyone was in great spirits as the day started to come to a close and jokes and laughter were wafting across the radios from ring parties to scorers box.

The Rescue League was announced and up in 1st place, our very own Sue with Rosie! Not only that but they also took Winter Series Medium Advanced 1st place! Two very pretty rosettes for them.

More instructor success came as Lou and Poppy took 1st place in Small Advanced Winter Series and Bex and Gemma 1st place Small Intermediate Winter Series! 

Back to Dig It and both trailers were unloaded onto the field and the rings were erected for our outdoor training rings and our summer shows! It is so exciting to see the field set up in all its glory. Summer is definitely close by!

Thank you to all for making our Winter Series the enjoyable, friendly and fun atmosphere that we all love!

Fantastic February: Winter Series Show

What's this, no rain! February brought the sunshine to our show, but of course we couldn't avoid the mud. Three rings were opened up with FAB Agility Club and Tailwaggers Agility Club running a ring each, the show was nice and relaxed! Big thank you to them for their fabulous ring parties!

Becky Sargent honoured us with her first time judging and said she loved seeing the high standard and different breeds in Beginners Agility. We gave her a bright rosette in her favourite colour!

It was nice to welcome back lots of stalls and we even had a charity selling cute little fluffy chicks and cream eggs! The atmosphere was friendly as always and Bex was approached by a stranger and asked to run her dog which she thoroughly enjoyed! Oscars became our new sponsors of the Veteran and Anysize class and the rosettes looked great with printed tails.

Deb and her youngster Beanie managed half a clear round which was met by much cheering from Lou, be it quiet and collected cheering! There were many new entries and it is always a pleasure to see new handlers and dogs starting their agility journey at Dig It.

Nick was back on the scene and Lydia set him to work scoring on the laptop, without telling him much about what to do. Despite this he took it on like a pro! Watch out Ash, you may be getting replaced.

We finished in style at a reasonable time, with all hands on deck to pack away. Don't forget you get half an hour free arena hire if you help to pack away and unload at Dig It, plus half an hour if you help to set up on the Saturday!

See you in March! Our Club Competitions start in March also, last Friday of the Month!

A Labradoodle at Gundog Classes

Back in September last year Dig It advertised a series of gundog training sessions with Mike Crawford of Cheshire Canine Services and an assistant.

There will be 6 workshops covering...

• Basic Heelwork and The Retrieve
• Distance Control and Memory Retrieve
• Steadiness
• Taking Direction
• Stop Whistle and Redirection
• Assessment

I looked avidly at the course details and fleetingly saw images of my big fluffy labradoodle Pixie in the field, expertly retrieving and delivering items to my hand and sitting calmly by my side. The moment passed and I realised it was probably not going to happen. Pixie is a great flyballer and loves the excitement, noise and flat out sprinting of the race. How would she and I manage the steadiness and direction and I have never used a whistle with her either? However Pixie is a bright dog and loves to learn so I enquired about the course with Katie and Lydia, who both thought she would rise to the challenge. So enroll we did and off to our first class in October.

The first class was held indoors at Dig It - I was a little apprehensive as I thought we may be too inexperienced and be embarrassed by others with much higher standards. Mike introduced himself and his assistant Emma and explained the course content and objectives, and that the first session inside allowed him to assess the overall and individual standards of dogs and handlers in a safe and contained environment. I was pleased to see a wide variety of dog breeds and handlers of differing levels of competence. 

Mike Crawford, Cheshire Canine Services

Mike assessed our on lead heel work followed by our off lead handling including some sneaky drops of tasty treats to tempt our dogs away from our sides and I have to say Pixie fell for it hook line and sinker!  We quickly moved on to retrieves and how to make it so interesting for the dogs to return to handlers by getting down to their level and releasing the dummies into your hand. We were given 'homework' to continue retrieve training at home and practising heel work and stays/waits ready for session 2 a month later. Pixie loved the session and stayed focused and challenged throughout.

Sessions 2 and 3 took place out doors at the Dig It show field. I was worried that the great outdoors and abundance of bunny poo would distract Pixie and wreck her concentration for the lesson. Mike explained that he wanted to ensure that the dogs and handlers really crack the steadiness element of the course as this is the foundation stone to all the gun dog skills to come. A long line of dogs and handlers practised on lead and off lead stays/ waits, walk pasts and recalls. I was very pleased with Pixie - she demonstrated good steadiness and focus except for the time when she did an amazing low slung commando crawl to me when she should have been at a stay!! Mike addressed all training issues both on a group basis and individually so that advice was tailored to your specific requirements. Both Mike and Emma conduct on going assessments of all our training throughout and provide advice and feedback frequently during the sessions. We started exercises using retrieval items beginning with short retrieves, waits before retrieves, heel work away from the dummy then retrieve, which was all to build up foundation skills leading to more complex double dummy retrieves and blind retrieves in the following session. I really learned a lot in these sessions and Pixie responded well although she did steal Ben's dummy bag and run off with it once! 

Session 4 - the first of 2014 and I had to admit, to my shame, that I hadn't done much training with Pixie over the holiday period - but I was not alone in this so Mike concentrated on revisting our previously learned skills to ensure what issues needed to be addressed before we moved onto whistle work and double retrieves and a blind retrieve. Up to now our dogs had seen where the dummies were before retrieving although we had extended the distance over the sessions but the blind retrieve is exactly that and you have to direct your dog with arm and whistle signals to find the item.  I was very proud of Pixie for doing so well with this.

So now off to practice all our new found skills ready for the whistle work session and the much anticipated final assessment. 

~ Kathy

Pixie, doing what she does best

Core Blimey Cara!

Congratulations to Instructor Audra and Cara who won out of Grade 3 and became Grade 4 at Wilmslow Agility Show this weekend!!

Not only did they win Agility but also came 2nd in Jumping! What a great show. You deserve it with all of your hard work Audra.

January 2014 Winter Series: Pudding Bellies

We welcomed January 2014 with our Winter Series Show. Everyone was running a little slower than normal and complaining about tighter waist bands, and I think even the dogs were feeling the effects of a big Christmas dinner.

We were very privileged to have Agility Champion Amanda Hampson judge the Jumping for us. She put out some challenging but flowing Advanced and Intermediate courses that were praised highly.

Karen Stubbs got the Agility started with Veteran and Anysize, followed by Beginners. Katie's Labrador Dave (known more commonly as Doofus) had 3 storming clears while being handled by Sally, and Sally had success with her own Veteran Collie, Bob, who won Agility. After all of that running she welcomed a "rest" by Judging in the afternoon. Rachel's dog Daisy was obviously feeling much better after her recent ill spell and she ran like the supersonic Whippet that she is! Nice to see the competitive Daisy is back.

Post-Christmas diets were ruined by the cheeseburgers and bacon baps (it's good to have a naughty day) and people were starting to flag as the day got later. Eventually the Steeplechase courses were laid out and those who stayed until the end ran it with great spirit. The Large ring was very competitive with friendly Advanced handlers watching each others time and seeing who had the fastest round. 

Avril's youngster, Dodger, won his class despite a tricky course and Sue had a break while Bex stepped in to handle Polly and had a blast running her Not For Competition. 

Lydia was missing from the show due to being on a sunny beach somewhere with a handsome man, but the Dig It family banded together strongly and kept the show running as normal (..hopefully..). We had some fantastic helpers and first time Show Manager Rob was enjoying himself so much that he carried on throughout the whole day! Thanks to Charlie for coming in the morning to show him the ropes.

As it got darker and colder we eventually wrapped up for another late finish. Back to the Club to unload and Lydia's Dad, Rob, took center stage by organising the trailers and getting the equipment to and from the club. 

Thanks to all for another lovely show and what a great way to start 2014!

Christmas Show and Party

Our Christmas Show signals the end of the year and a time to be merry and high!

It was a quiet start with the jumping ring inside whizzing through Intermediate and Advanced classes. Onto the Beginners and we were pleased to see a lot of first timers. Lesley with Buster from Bex's agility class was one of these newbies and they only went and got placed in every class! Bex was really excited.

The Obedience Hall was transformed into a Fun Games Arena - Temptation Alley, Fastest Retrieve, Fastest Recall and sausages galore were enjoyed by over 50 dogs and owners alike.

Sue's spaniel Rosie had us all amazed as she ate (more like inhaled) a bonio in 4 seconds to be crowned the winner of Fastest Bonio. Even the labradors' couldn't keep up with that!

Diane's collie, Jess, won Fastest Recall in an amazing 1.99 seconds and Amy's Jess won Fastest Retrieve at 5.26 seconds. Arthur, Tess and Bella all tied at the Tennis Ball Catching with a huge 17 each.

There was punch, food and stalls for dogs and humans alike and we hear Judge Sally was on the mulled wine in the afternoon! Good job that wall was there to keep her propped up!  ;)

The traditional Fancy Dress competition was well-attended with angels, elves and a burnt Christmas Pudding! Diane and Jess returned to fight to retain their Championship and won it for a second year running!

Although consolation places were given to Woody and the Elf-Dogs for also having fantastic costumes.

The agility stayed very relaxed throughout the day with everyone in good spirit. Jenny's Poppet decided to aim for the "wrong" end of the tunnel each time during her run and I found myself running over a jump by accident, leaving Guinness wondering if we had switched job roles!

The day finished nice and early and we presented Lydia with her Christmas present, a canvas picture of her dogs (taken by Cat's Dog Photography) which she was very impressed with. 

Merry Christmas everyone and all the best for 2014!

Cat's Dog Photography

Cat is a Photographer based in Lancashire that has recently connected with Dig It. Cat's Dog Photography is a new sponsor of Intermediate classes at our Agility Shows. Each lucky winner receives a voucher worth £100, which gets you a free photoshoot and two digital images!

So, you're thinking, that's very cool, but what actually happens at these photoshoots and is this Cat any good?  Well Lydia and a few of her trusty instructors have recently done a photoshoot and we're here to share our experience with you!

Red, Treacle and Freddie.  Team Brown.

A session starts off at a venue of your choice. Lydia and I opted for Dig It HQ for some agility shots. Katie took her troublesome four to Brereton Country Park. 

Cat listens to your ideas and what you want. She respects your decisions and knowledge of your dogs but also pushes you to achieve those breathtakingly, magical photographs. Bring bundles of energy because Cat likes to get stuck in and wants lots of action from the word go!

Lydia and I were able to have three of our dogs working together at the same time, with each taking turns on the equipment. Ben, one of Katie's Labradors' is very people shy, however Cat kept a good distance and blended into the surroundings, leaving Ben at ease to be his normal aloof self.

Ben

The perfect picture takes timing, positioning and a little bit of luck. Cat got herself into some strange positions and she took her life into her own hands by placing herself very close to landing points during the agility shoot. Guinness and Red, being typical Collies, didn't bat an eyelid as they ran closely past her at 100mph. A more considerate dog may have needed a tad more space but it certainly worked for the four dogs we had. She also isn't afraid to get down into the mud or even into the lake!

The whole shoot felt relaxed and unhurried. Cat didn't worry about the time nor stick to a tight schedule and she had a huge amount of enthusiasm and awe for the dogs she was photographing. Her compliments and kind words really reminded me what it is about my dog that I love so much.

Guinness

To view your images you need to take a run up the M6 to Cat's house in Preston. Here in her comfy lounge you can sit back and watch a beautiful presentation of your dogs. It is so easy to get caught up in the moment and love every image! Up on the large screen you can really appreciate the beauty, colour and sharpness of the images.

Be warned, Cat is a pleasantly successful salesperson and she will have you writing a cheque in the blink of an eye! My top tip is to give yourself a budget and aim to stick to it, and then at least you may only slightly waver from it! Plus at the end of the day, your voucher gives you two free digital images and you are entitled to walk home with nothing more, although you may feel slightly guilty doing it.

This truly is a fantastic gift from a highly skilled and professional photographer! The images are amongst some of the best I have seen and Cat is friendly, fun and charismatic throughout the whole experience. 

Don't just tuck your voucher into a draw, vaguely aiming to use it at some point. Get your session booked and take home some amazing photographs that will last you a lifetime!

The author, Ruth and Guinness