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. 

Another Big Adventure, by Twiggy Cadman, aged 5 ¾

It’s turning out to be quite a year!  Mum and I have just come back from an amazing trip to Rieden in Germany.  It wasn’t just any old holiday, no – we were representing Great Britain at the European Open.  A huge honour indeed.

It all started just under 12 months ago when I won my Champ ticket and could submit points for the squad selection process.  We squeaked into the squad with just enough points and attended two selection/training days at the beginning of the year in Nottingham.  In April Mum lost the plot and forgot the caravan when we went to Lincoln for a 2 day show where the squad was going to be selected.  She made us stay in a tent and it was freezing!  I snuggled up to Mum to keep warm and it must have worked because I ran really well over the weekend resulting in a phone call a couple of weeks later which made Mum very happy.  We were Germany bound!

 Fast forward to July and Mum started packing.  Stuff everywhere!  Nanna Cadman was coming with us and we set off with her car loaded to the brim on the afternoon of Monday 20^th for an overnight stop near Dartford Crossing ready for the early meet on Tuesday.  Tuesday morning dawned and Mum was like a kid at Christmas and Nanna was a bit starstruck when she met some dude called Pudsey who was also on the team with me.  The first big test was trying to fit everything in the coach!  Not sure how we managed it but put it this way the lockers were not to be opened until we arrived at the hotel!  We made it through a tunnel just before it shut due to some problems at the French end.  There must be some big moles near Dover to make such a big tunnel?  

It took us all day to reach the hotel, we stopped every couple of hours eventually arriving just after midnight.  It was incredibly hot and Mum had the audacity to nick my cool pad out of my crate and sleep on it.  Admittedly I was sharing her bed so may have taken the liberty of stretching out…

 The plan of action for the first day was to acclimatise (i.e. do as little as possible as it was so hot).  We visited the venue – very impressive and HUGE!!   We had a little training session to loosen up after the long coach ride and just chilled as much as possible in the 40° heat.  A brief thunderstorm lightened the atmosphere a bit but only to a mere 34 ish.  Thursday saw the official training session – another chance to get used to the narrower jumps and sandy arena.  Mum said I was better than the day before and couldn’t wait to get going for real.  The Opening Ceremony was a great opportunity to meet lots of other dogs, some of whom barked in funny languages!  There were over 30 countries represented with just short of 1,500 dogs in attendance.

Friday was Team Day.  An early start saw us arrive at the venue for 0730.  I could just go back to bed but Mum had to go off and walk courses.  Agility was first; it was a long course designed to test various skills at speed.  Mum was going to have to do a lot of running!  She was incredibly proud of me when we went clear!!  Our first international clear also happened to be the first clear for team GB for the weekend.  Our team of 4 ended on 2 clears and 2 eliminations after the agility round.  Eliminations sounds pretty bad but if the truth be known they were amazing fast runs with one tiny error.  Such a shame but eliminations to be proud of.  Our next run (jumping) wasn’t until nearly 6pm.  Mum gave me some Kronch but I was flagging a bit.  I still pulled a clear round out of the bag though!  Mum did her best to scupper my attempts by kicking a jump over.  Fortunately we had already negotiated that jump and it didn't affect my run so the clear stood.  Two clears!

We didn't qualify for the team final but it transpired my agility run was my best run of the weekend – small and medium results were combined although we ran at our own height.  I came 61^st out of 385.  How good is that?

 Saturday saw the individual runs.  I may have been a little inattentive on the start line and kind of forgot to move!  Mum nearly had heart failure but after a fishwife impersonation to wake me up I did get going.  Not the fastest run (0.93 of a time fault) but other than that we were clear.  If I had actually run from the start we’d have been inside the time!  In the agility we were doing a lovely run until Mum shouted close but forgot to mention the small matter of doing the seesaw so we got a 5 for a refusal.  I got my own back though and missed the dog walk.  Ha! 

We didn’t make any finals but watching them on Sunday was totally awe inspiring and we got to cheer on some amazing partnerships, including 5 from Team GB.  One word.  Wow!!

Such a huge honour to be part of such a prestigious event.  Not bad for a Brown Rat!  It wasn't easy in the heat and Mum says that she needs to make sure in future that she feeds me something throughout the day to give me energy.  Sounds good to me!

All that was left was the long trip home.  I have to confess I rather like the only dog thing.  I'm not a huge fan of cuddles but it is nice to be able to snuggle up with Mum when I fancy.  Mum still insists on smothering me with kisses and telling me I'm amazing.  I think she may have lost the plot, although the new bed that has appeared for me is very comfy and I won’t complain.

It was good to see the rest of the gang when I got home (although I won’t tell them that).  Aunty Deb had some biscuits ready for me too!  I need to thank her, if she hadn’t stayed at home again to look after everyone else we wouldn’t have been able to go.  I bought her some chocolates to say thank you.

Fame hasn’t gone to my head.  Mum won’t let it.  She still tells me off when I try and drag Bert round the kitchen by his tail.  Meanie!

My Week Away at WAO by Twiggy Cadman

Well, this last few months has definitely been one of unusual occurrences.  A couple of days when there’s only been me going to a show and some days training with Very Clever Dogs.  Then it gets even stranger!  Nanna Cadman arrived one afternoon, piled stuff into the van and off we went, leaving behind everyone else, even Aunty Deb!  We picked up Sarah and Kita and carried on our journey.  Several hours later we arrived at this ferry place.  Couldn’t see any agility equipment anywhere so I was slightly sceptical when Mum got me out of the van and we went for a walk.  The mystery deepened when Mum took the van into this big floating fish thing with a whole load of other cars, lorries and vans.  Kita and I were transferred to the dog hotel part.  It was actually OK, I mean we had the room to ourselves and everything but it didn’t stop me doing my best to tell everyone I was there and also trying to work out how to get out and go for a sneaky wander round.  Turns out Mum was watching my every move on some sort of Doggycam.  Rumbled!  Honestly, can’t a dog do anything in peace?!

Anyway the next day we arrived in Holland and given that we were too early to check in at the hotel, we did a detour to Amsterdam and wandered round.  Bikes everywhere!  And pigeons!!  After Amsterdam we made our way to Ermelo and our home for the next few nights.  I’ve never stayed in a hotel before with Mum.  It was really posh and I had to be on my best behaviour.  We were in the middle of a forest so there were some great walks, although on hearing that there were wild boar roaming around Mum was a bit dubious.

After a good night’s kip on Mum’s bed we had the morning to ourselves so took the opportunity to wander around Ermelo town before visiting the venue for WAO for a training session.  The venue was amazing!  3 indoor schools and a massive outdoor arena.  Mum and Nanna were well impressed!  Training was hard work as it got a bit warm so I decided to conserve my energy and not run quite as fast as I can do.  We had a short break and then another training session, this time indoors.  Everyone knows I love it indoors so I went much faster and Mum had to work hard to keep up with me.

Next day we had a short training session and then the Opening Ceremony.  Oh and loads of pictures of the team.  I think everyone looked really smart – when they weren’t squinting because of the sun!

On Friday the competition started.  An early start (at the venue for 7am!) before competition kicked off at 8.15.  Mum had to go off and walk some courses whilst I took the opportunity to catch some more zzzzs.  Our turn soon came around in the jumping and we were off.  The course was REALLY spread out which Mum liked although it meant she would have to do some serious running.  Unfortunately I slipped in the weaves so I missed one.  Mum was ahead of me so she didn’t notice until I came out on the wrong side, so we wasted a bit of time as we had to go back and do them all again.  This was to prove very costly. Team England had some good solid runs and looked good. 

I decided to give Mum a near heart attack in the agility.  With hindsight perfecting my ‘launch off the dogwalk’ manoeuvre was possibly not a great idea at WAO and should have been reserved for a slightly less important event.  It certainly took Mum by surprise and as a result she was out of position and couldn’t save a big fat elimination.  Oops.  The top percentage of dogs (I can’t remember how many) went through to Rounds 3 and 4.  I was less than half a second outside that percentage so didn’t go through.  Gutted!  Having to redo the weaves cost us (as did me flying the dogwalk but we won’t mention that…).

Saturday for me was a day off competing.  A REALLY long day doing nothing apart from cheering on everyone else and the occasional mooch around.  Some places for some of my amazing team mates and exciting agility to watch.

On the Sunday Mum and I were eligible for the Bonus Speedstakes.  After having Saturday off I had recharged my batteries and was raring to go.  Another big course and we were flying round until Mum moved about half an hour too early and sent me over a jump instead of round the back.  Doh!  I suppose we were even though, I missed the dogwalk and she didn’t get her timing right.  1-1!  Mum was really happy with me and still gave me a big cuddle.  

All we had left was the Closing Ceremony where we cheered really loudly especially for the three silver medals that England got.  I felt really proud to be part of such an awesome team!

On Monday we made the trip home.  The floaty fish thing was really bumpy which wasn’t very nice but I didn’t get seasick.  Slight technical hitch when there were a couple of roads closed and we had to take a diversion to get home.  Mum said she was really tired.  I wouldn’t know – I slept all the way!

I really enjoyed my week away with Mum and Nanna.  It’s quite nice getting so much attention and hogging Mum’s bed.  I know Mum was really proud of me.  She said I’m a very Special Brown Rat :o)

Mum also said that we wouldn’t have been able to go if Aunty Deb hadn’t stayed at home to look after everyone else so I want to take the opportunity to say Thank You to Aunty Deb too.

Twiggy

xx

Daisy Peel is coming to Dig It!

DAISY PEEL

August 3-4th, 6-8th, 2015 

Dig it Dogs, Sandbach, Cheshire CW5 6DY
and
Cheadle, Staffordshire

"Advanced handling is merely more precise application of the fundamentals"

Daisy Peel is known worldwide as a leading instructor and competitor in the sport of dog agility. She has represented the USA internationally over a dozen times, across three continents, with three different dogs; four times at the FCI World Championships, three times at the European Open Championships, twice at Crufts, twice at the World Agility Open, and twice at the Americas and Caribbean. She has placed individually at the European Open and at the FCI World Championships, is a WAO World Champion, as well as an Americas and Caribbean Gold Medallist. Daisy has won three AKC National Championships, and three USDAA World Cynosport Grand Prix Championships, with two different dogs. She has been a Finalist at the AKC Nationals and USDAA Cynosport games numerous times, and has won numerous USDAA Regional Championships.

Daisy is also recognized worldwide for her abilities as an instructor. Her students have excelled at the top levels in AKC, USDAA, and AAC (Canada), and have themselves been selected to represent their countries at international events. Daisy’s thinking that “advanced handling is merely more precise application of the fundamentals” means that she is dedicated to the improvement of handlers at all levels, regardless of their current level or goals and aspirations. Daisy teaches students of all ages and stages around the globe, in person and through her Online Classes, and is dedicated to helping people further their self-improvement through better training, better handling, and better mastery of their mental game.

 Videos of Daisy Peel:

http://www.daisypeel.com/videos/youtube-videos/

 I have had the amazing experience of representing the United States of America for a number of agility competitions.  Each experience was an amazing one that has been a large part of who I continue to become as a person, and I’m proud to be able to represent the USA. 

•   USDAA Grand Prix of Dog Agility World Champion (2009, 2010, 2013)

•   
AKC Agility National Champion (2007, 2010, 2012)

•   
World Agility Open Individual Pentathlon World Champion (2012)

•   
World Agility Open Snooker World Champion (2013)

•   
FCI World Championships USA Team (2007, 2010, 2011, 2012)

◦                   
3rd Place, Individual Standard, 2010 World Agility Championships, Reiden Germany (link to video)

◦                   
6th Place, Combined Result, 2010 World Agility Championships, Reiden Germany

◦                   
4th Place, Individual Agility, 2012 World Agility Championships, Czech Republic

◦                   
5th Place, Combined Result, 2012 World Agility Championships, Czech Republic

•   
FCI European Open USA Team (2011, 2012, 2013)

◦                   
2011 European Open Individual Agility – 2nd Place

◦                   
2011 European Open Team Agility – 1st Place

◦                   
2012 European Open Individual Finals – 5th Place

•   
FCI Americas and Caribbean USA Team (2011, 2012)

◦                   
2011 Bogota, Colombia – Gran Jumping de las Americas Y Caribe 2011 Champion (gold medal)

◦                   
2011 Bogota, Colombia – Gran Agility de las Americas Y Caribe 2011 Champion (gold medal)

◦                   
2011 Bogota, Colombia – Americas Y Caribe 2011 Open Team Champion with Jester, and Linda Mecklenburg and Wonder (gold medal)

◦                   
2012 Chile – Americas Y Caribe Individual Gold Medalist

◦                   
2012 Chile – Americas y Caribe Team Bronze Medalist with Solar/Juno, and Linda Mecklenburg and Wonder/Scopey

•   
USDAA Grand Prix of Dog Agility Regional Champion (2004, 2009, 2010 (x2), 2011, 2013)

•   
USA Representative at Crufts (2011, 2013)

◦                   
2011 – 1st in Agility, 3rd in JWW, 2nd in the Finals

◦                   
2013 – 1st in Agility

•   
AKC Rose City Classic ISC High Combined Winner (26″) (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)

Monday August 3, 2015.  

12noon - 6pm 

TRAINING TROUBLESHOOTING SESSION: how errors in reinforcement affect weaves, contacts, start line stays, etc. 

£80 for £10 working spots, £40 for auditing. 

Sandbach inside.

Tuesday August 4, 2015.  

10am - 6pm 

GRADE 7 COURSE HANDLING AND TRAINING.

£100, 10 working spots. 

Cheadle outside.

Thursday August 6, 2015.  

10am - 6pm 

GRADE 6-7 COURSE HANDLING AND TRAINING.

£100, 10 working spots. 

Cheadle outside.

Friday August 7, 2015.  

10am - 1pm 

CHALLENGING JUMPING SKILLS, push your dog and your handling skills over some tricky jumping exercises to improve your dogs jumping and your timing. 

8 spots, £50  .

Sandbach inside.

2pm - 6pm

GRADE 1-3 0R YOUNG DOG WITH EXPERIENCED HANDLER, important handling and training skills needed for agility progression.

10 spots, £50. Sandbach inside.

Saturday August 8, 2015   

11am - 5pm 

GRADE 3-5 HANDLING AND TRAINING

£70, £10 spots.

5pm - 7pm 

CLEAR MIND, sports mental management directed towards agility, organizing and clarifying your goals, skills and focus as a team to achieve success. 

Unlimited, £25 per spot. 

Sandbach inside.

ANY AUDIT SPOTS ARE £30 PER DAY

*Note Monday's sessions will have a 30 minute break, Tuesday and Thursday a 1 hour lunch break.  Please bring snacks and drinks, for you and your dog :), thank you.

Booking via email: training@digitdogs.co.uk

Book now to avoid missing out!!

Joyful June: Can You Dig It Show

A lovely quiet show this month for our unaffiliated Can You Dig It Show. The weather decided to kick start June with a glorious sunny day and pale, white legs appeared for one of the first times this year.

Newly qualified Judge PJ set out her Intermediate & Advanced Jumping course which the Dig It Instructors handled nicely. Katie & Bonny, Avril & Oakley and Avril & Dodger all managed 1st place in their classes. Sue & Rosie were narrowly beat in every run leaving them with three 2nd places from the day! Great to see some tight competition in the Advanced Medium runs.

Oscar Pet Food came along and kindly sponsored our Veteran & Anysize classes with some lovely prizes. Bex was selling some yummy homemade treats and running a tombolal, fundraising for her conservation trip to Mexico, not long to go now Bex! And of course we are always pleased to see Bret in the Brunch Box for some yummy lunch.

As the courses changed to Beginners Jumping we saw more success from Sue & Mia, earning 1st place and Katie & Milo getting 2nd! Plus Luna, not to be outdone by big brother Dodger, had a cracking run (helped by Adele of course) in Beginners Agility. 

Quiet entry numbers brought an early finish to a fantastic, relaxing day. It is nice to see people coming to Dig It when there is so much choice for shows over the summer nowadays. We hope that everyone enjoyed themselves! Next month is UKA!

Instructors Take on Success

Success is this theme for the latest Dog Agility Bloggers Action Day. Which is today! Success is broad, everyone has a different interpretation and everyone takes different successes from different situations. The Dog Agility Bloggers Action Day brings together a whole range of people to discuss one topic, and creates a huge varity of answers. The Dig It Instructors have each given their brief take on Success, as part of today's Action Day!

Ruth Turner: My idea of agility success is taking at least one thing from each run that I was pleased with, and that we did successfully, and celebrating that thing.

Audra Hurst: Success for me is when you run your dog and it flows, and you feel like you are a team and you just want to go and do another run straight away because it felt so great.

Katie Burns: Success is competing in partnership with my dog and having mutual trust in each other so smoothly.

Michelle Dakin: To work the dog I have in training at competition. 

Sarah Stokes: Depends on which dog I'm running, for Greg it's the team work as others have stated. For Ffi Fo it's having her confident to be in the ring and having er wagging her tail all the way round.

Rachel Richards: Success for me with Daisy is her having a real BLAST and ending the run with a huge smile on her face no matter what happened in between start and finish.

Lou Cadman: Success is getting the awning down dry! Arriving and having everything set up, dogs walked and dinner on before it gets dark
Beating the course/judge and doing the best run you and your dog could possibly do.
I think success changes as you progress up the grades. When you start out it might be remembering the course or dog staying in the ring. As experience is gained it might be nailing a weave entry or a specific sequence etc.

Sarah McLean: I like to be consistent, so success to me is trying to get as many clear rounds as I can! I love going home from a show saying 5 runs 5 clears :), 2013 we had 1 Elimination all season. Its not all about winning, if I feel we have run the course and stuck to criteria in my handling and also Kita has stuck to criteria then I am happy!
Oh and if you are consistent winning comes without trying.

Bex Bebbington: Success for me and Polly is having focus and having that connection walking into a ring so I know she isn't going to just run off sniffing. Even if she goes wrong or makes up a new course, success for us is just her being focused and staying with me, actually wanting to do agility. Success with me and Gemma is when she does those spot on weaves or gains some speed from nowhere. Gemma also makes me feel success after any run, and never fails to lighten my mood after a lack of interest and concentration from Polly

Read about others interpretation of Success here: http://dogagilityblogevents.wordpress.com/success/

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!

Mild March: Winter Series Show

March is upon us and spring is definitely in the air! I thought I was late when it was light and I was still at home but no, thankfully the sun is starting to peek its head out for longer each day!

Lou had staggered out of hospital and right into the show on Sunday, looking a little green around the gills, but stubbornly Judged for half of the morning. We were all pleased to see her up and about although also pleased to see her go home to rest at lunch time.

Three rings were running once more with FAB and On Track Agility Clubs taking charge of a ring each. The Show ran quickly and smoothly, although the exercise arena was a little stretched at times with some of the little dogs being run over by 100mph collies.

Avril championed the day by doing the triple with her youngster Dodger! Agility, Jumping and Steeplechase Win! Adele and her newbie Luna also performed really well and Rachel and Daisy got 3rd place with Daisy's first show on Standard height in Beginners Jumping. Wowie. It's so heart-warming to see dogs that have come through Puppy and Bronze Obedience at Dig It now starting to find their confidence and produce results at Agility Shows.

One of the comedy moments was Christina running Echo for Rachel! Poor Echo did a lovely stop contact on the dog walk, and Christina, not expecting it, was looking all around thinking she'd lost him! Her fellow Advanced competitors were very... supportive?! (We're laughing with you honest!).

Quickly we were finishing up and the scorers were struggling to keep up! With the night still light we had packed up and gone home for a reasonable finish time!

Only one more show left to do and at the end of March our Club Competitions start outside. Winter shows are brilliant for training and keeping our dogs fit, but we're all itching to start getting out onto the grass!

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!

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!