My girls - 2012 to date - in short :)

WOW, bad blogger! So, the last time I posted was 10 months ago!?! Before xmas 2011!

Im definitely a person that would rather 'do' than talk about,  thats for sure! Also I dont know where everyone finds times to update their blog all the time? So, Im going to have a bash at doing it now then that might be it again for the next year ;)

Considering so many shows have been cancelled due to our piss poor weather in the UK, this years agility season has been pretty good, Fudgie has been to Crufts, won another CC, qualified for Crufts 2013, won the DINAS grade 7 small final,  qualified for 5 finals at the UKA grand finals in Dec and to top it off qualified to represent GB in the World Champs in Czeck Republic last week.... more on that in a while.... unfortunately olypmia was not meant to be this year, I will really miss going, for me this is one of my highlights of the year. Pic below is fudge and pip winning the split pairs qualifier over all heights :) awesome toy dogs :)))))))

Luna has also been a star, winning into g5 at Vyne and into g6 at Thames, Luna hasnt been the easiest dog as she isnt overly confident. TBH, I could have probably won her up to g6 a year ago but this would have been pushing a dog that was not mentally ready to cope with harder courses. Ive spent A LOT of time getting her to RUN hard and enjoy what shes doing. She looks happy to me :)

IMO this is much more important that winning up through the grades quickly. My winter training with her will now be working on grade 6/7 exercises to hopefully get her ready to enjoy next season too (If it ever stops raining!) :) I love this pic of her - WOW! what a stride my little girl has!!!

A few of us were having a conversation in Czech, about our young dogs not getting the full attention they deserve or require to make them the agility stars that they should be, Spice kinda falls into this category Everything is about  Fudge :s .... The top handler/ dogs have these yearly cycles of events they wish to qualify for, which then just go round and round and round.... I know not every one does all of these but most top handlers/dogs will do most .... March -Crufts, April- EO tryouts, May- WC tryouts, July EO's, Sep Olympia Semi's, Oct -Worlds and WAO tryouts, December - Olypmia and UKA finals, and there you have it, another year gone.... Then of course you have all the qualifiers for crufts, olympia and uka finals throughout the year too... are agility people slightly crazy?

Spice for the little agility training she has had is pretty bloody good :) I took her in the ring at KCI and DINAS after a total of about 12 sessions training, she was a star! Apart from weaves, which we cant do with distractions yet,  she listened, she was focused, she didnt look at other dog when she was working. What more could I ask for? oh and her speed in the ring got quicker and quicker as the week went on :)

 Must get that little dog doing contacts now over the winter! She will be 2 next month and hasnt get seen even a plank! Heres hoping for a dryish winter so I can get some training in! (Yes! I am a fair weather agility girl lol)

And Ellie....  Well, we're having serious behavioural issues with her atm, which is upsetting for everyone, we have now had her 2 years...she got better than she was, but recently got worse again, she is now muzzled permanently which is such a shame but also gives us peace of mind. Not willing to risk us or the other dogs as she is permanently stressed.

However we are not giving up on her and her winter training will be going down the route of a TTouch behaviourist, so I will let you know how that goes :) We will try our hardest to get you better Miss Ellie :)

Next blog World Champs ........

Pups and UKA finals

Its 11 days on from the last pup to leave home and their 10 week birthday ;) Ive heard from all the new owners to say how lovely (naughty) they are and how well they are getting on :) 

Do I miss them?? Do I wish I had kept one?? No definitely not, Ive never been more sure of something. I would have been very foolish to keep one just because they were cute and one of the girls was just what I want. I am very much looking forward to seeing these babies grow and develop and all being well, breed from Luna again in a couple of years then keep one. 

I know they will all turn out to be superstars and maybe even be successful in their 'jobs' whether its agility, shooting or search and rescue.  However good or not so good in their 'job' they will still be my superstars and im sure their owners too!!

So, UKA finals

It was a fab weekend of agility, I was totally pooped by the end and im sure the organisers must have been totally knackard, but they all did a super job! For us It was a weekend of ups and downs and being more nervous for the people I train than my own runs! All of my 3 paws lot were just simply awesome, for most, if not all of them, its their first time in a final on that scale and they all did great whether they won (woo hoo!!) got placed, or got E'd they should all be very proud of themselves!! I am!! Bring on next year!

For my own runs, well, the weekend started of with the csj semi which I believe she was 3rd in, this meant we were in the final in the evening :) The top 3 places didnt change from the semi and we came 3rd overall. :)))

Sunday started off with disappointment I stupidly didnt trust her weave entry in the masters jumping and over worked it, I was so annoyed with myself especially when I looked at her time and she was still over a second faster then anyone else with having to take her back.

In the Masters faults get put into time so those 5 faults now meant we had 4 seconds to make up in the agility. Too much especially with her super dooper carefulness on rubber contacts. Its like Ive put glue on her feet or asked her to walk through quick sand!!

Anyway, this was totally irrelevant when we got e'd for taking #2 the wrong way :-s. This it not to say I wasnt pleased with her runs because the rest of the rounds were super, excellent close control, lovely distance control, and a cracking weave entry in the agility.

Her last competition was the circular knockout which she won!!:)))) We had already decided there was a quick course and a slow course because of the way the back line ran. So when I got put on the 'slow' course EVERYTIME! I knew I was going to have to shift my arse! Fudges weave entry was awesome every time. you can see from the video that it was almost right angle into left hand weaves, which so many people were moaning about when they were walking it. So proud of her that she nailed it from a distance every time which allowed me to get my chubby backside up for the push though. There was a straight line going though the back but to create that line and not turn it into a 'naughty flick' I had to chuck her and run. Paul said hes never seen me run so fast which I thought was funny :) anyway mum did a video of all my runs bar the masters jumping, not sure where thats gone?

Puppies 7 weeks - 1 down 4 to go

So the pups are sooooo ready to leave home now. Mighty Meg (Dash) left on Saturday and apparently Rich is completed besotted by her - result!

I thought I would feel sad when she left but seeing his face when he came to pick her up Did nothing but fill me with joy to know she was going to a very much loved home with Richard, Sarah and their 3 Border Collies, the bonus being she has only gone a few miles down the road so will still get to see her. Meg has gone to be a shooting partner for Rich, but also a loved family pet. I hope she is settling in well and is enjoying winding up the 'big' dogs :-)

The next pup to leave home is Ollie (Mr Big). He is off to Live with Wendy and will hopefully have a agility career beating all those collies in Medium ;-) I will be packing his bags later today.

Ravn, Shadow and Fleur are all off later this week and over the weekend. Here are pics of them at 7 weeks

Ravn

Shadow

Fleur

Joyce, Luna's Breeder came to visit the pups Saturday morning and brought Star (lu's Mum) and Twix (lu's Brother from the next litter) to meet them also. Stars reaction was OMG get me out of here!

Twix wanted to play but was not quite sure he was also very patient with them. I couldnt believe how much Like Lu he looks!!

Poor Fudge is just wondering when Its all going to end. She is in her safe place on the Sofa looking at them all playing with a bin lid... Seriously! So easy to entertain puppies lol

Spice and Luna have also been getting some playtime in for the first time in 5 months :)

Ellie thought she would like some more attention whilst all this is happening too, so decided to cut her side open at the weekend, really not sure how she did it. She is a complete wimp, so she must have done it when we werent there. She screams and cries at the slightest thing so we would have noticed :(

Poor Girl, It means she has to keep her muzzle on 24/7 too to stop her licking it. She wouldnt cope with having a buster collar, she would turn into a jibbering wreck. She would still be able to reach it with a cushion collar, so muzzle it is :(

pups 3/4 weeks

So, since the last post my life has been taken over by 5 very demanding little ones, hence no post for 3 weeks!!

I cant believe how quickly its gone, they are already 5 1/2 weeks. The first girl will be leaving home in just under 2 weeks and I still have so much I want to do with them!

I wish I could have given up work for 8 weeks to look after them and enjoy them a bit more as I feel especially in the next 2 weeks there is so much to do.

Any one that says breeding is easy, must be superman or woman!!

Im lucky in some ways, I really dont think I could do it if I worked full time, I know a lot do, and all credit to them for that! Im finding it difficult working 30 hours a week!

So an average day goes something like

(for the first 3 weeks)2 am luna needs out for a wee, cue all the puppies think its time to get up, lots of screaming for half hour then back to sleep.

5am Luna seems to need out for another wee!! all the pups definitely think its time to get up this time!

5.15am with match sticks in my eyes let all the pups out for play time clean and disinfect the pen feed the adult dogs

6.30am pups start to crash out so put back in their pen for breakfast

6.45am pups finish breakfast, pee, poo and sleep :)

7.15 walk dogs

8.15 go to work.

pups seem to sleep until I get back about 2, I can only presume they do as there is no mess in their pen!

repeat the above process finishing with walking dogs about 4pm

clean, tidy, have visitors and new owners round to see the pups. feed the pups have them out for another hour until they crash.

cook and some when around 7.30/8pm have dinner (usually my first meal of the day at the mo!)

have a glass of wine!!!

pups wake up about 10pm, quick half hour play and back in their bed 

We crash sometime around 11pm

Theres a couple more feeds in there and general things that have to be done, shopping, going to the bank, sorting out lessons,  doing training days etc etc, but youve got the picture!

Ive put together a video of the pups around 3/4 weeks.

annoyingly as the videos are all take in the evening it seems really dingy and you cant see the pups too well.

Indoor course practice

Course Evenings

Friday’s 7pm-9pm

6.45pm set up and 1st course walk

Opportunity to run full courses in an indoor arena, on a similar surface as the Hand before the UKA Grand Finals

Half Moon Stud, Motcombe, Shaftesbury, Dorset, SP7 9PL (Wiltshire/Dorset border)

£10 per dog

Toys, targets and Tit bits allowed (please try to avoid crumbly tit bits!)

Friday 28th Oct - Tugg-e-nuff (beg/nov)
Friday 4th November – Beginners Steeplechase (beg)
Friday 11 November – Tugg-e-nuff (beg/nov)
Friday 18 November – Split Pairs – (nov/sen)
Friday 25 November – Masters (champ)
Friday 2nd December - CSJ (nov/sen)

Very Limited numbers - Book now to avoid disappointment!

All evenings are open to anyone, not just 3 paws members, however, dogs must be capable of achieving courses at the level set.

Jump Heights will be small, medium and large, Not UKA heights.

For more info or to book a place contact Amy Lawson – 07830054585 or amz _dogagility @hotmail.co.uk (email preferred)

'Ittlebe' Cocker Spaniels

Yay!! We have heard back from the K.C to confirm we have been granted the kennel name 'Ittlebe' Thank you Ann-Marie!!!

If anyone has any suggestions for K.C names now for the pups, I would love to hear them. Might give the owners some ideas they havent thought of yet too.

Potential puppy names so far are Megan and Fleur for the girls and Raven for one of the boys. All im asking is it start with an L So...   'Ittlebe L  .............'

Im pleased to say we have had no more episodes with luna in the last week but Im still keeping a very close eye on her, As advised we have started to wean the pups early, they have had a mixture of whelpie, and lunas milk since last Sunday and as of yesterday a bit of puppy mush too. When they got the hang of it they really enjoyed it, this morning, they all threw themselves at it and were much more enthusiastic.

Pups first Mush

They were however, not quite so enthusiastic about the wormer this morning. They were all given 0.5ml and im sure only 0.1ml actually stayed in their mouth, the rest of it ended up round their chops, for the others to lick off.

They all weigh 38 or 39 oz this morning so are now all just over 1kg. little chubs!

Big Catch up! Luna, W.A.O tryouts and puppies @ 2 weeks!

I didnt do an update for their 1 week birthdays as Luna hasnt been well, Firstly I didnt have the time to spend on here typing away and uploading piccies but also I didnt know how serious luna was.

Luna in her chair

Luna got diarrhoea on Thursday and I gave her some pro-kolin (always have it at home for these occasions!) By Friday it was really bad and showing no signs of clearing, so I took her to the vets. After a short examination she sent us home instructing me to put her on boiled chicken and rice diet for the weekend with some extra vitamins and  pro biotic tablets for 10 days, said 'this should see her through it, come back Monday if its still the same'.

                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                       

On Sunday,  I had a very early start to get to the W.A.O Tryouts, Fudge and I got picked up at 5.30am with all the other dogs still tucked up in bed! I then had a tx just before my 1st run to say Lunas refusing to eat.  For some dogs I would not worry, but for Luna, Ive never known her not eat! Infact, she even ate about 4 hours before giving birth!  This was then a constant nag and worry to me through the day, I would like to thank all my agility friends for all their kind words and advise throughout the day and after.

Joe was keeping me up to date via calls and txs saying she seems fine in herself but not eating or drinking. Just to get something down her, he gave her just some chicken, (thats all she would take) and then drank the stock.

I bumbled through the day, Some bits we ran nicely, a lot she got me out of trouble and the rest.... well.....

Although it was a lovely day, really hot, well organised and everyone was in high spirits, when it came to running poor Fudge, I really had know idea where I was going on each exercise, as I walked the courses I found my self thinking what could be wrong with Lu. If at any point Joe had said Lunas not right in herself, with out question I would have gone home. In hindsight, I should have gone anyway as I found myself at the end of each run, picking up Fudge, giving her treats and a cuddle and saying 'im sorry'. I hate the feeling of letting my dogs down, of course she has no idea we went wrong! She just loves it sooo much and always has a smile on her face!

Sunday night, after dinner Luna was laying on the floor and I noticed her head shaking, I went over to her and put my hands on her, she was trembling, when I spoke to her and tried to get her to wake up(I thought she was dreaming) her eyes rolled in the back of her head, As I got her up, she walked with a wobble then lay back down again on her side. It was about 10pm by this time. I said to Joe, Im calling the vets and he agreed. I find myself being a little neurotic about this sort of thing   ;-) where as Joe will keep his head and tell me not to bother if he didnt think it necessary. The vet called back within a matter a minutes and went through some questions with me, after deciding that she really ought to see her and warning me that it is going to be a VERY expensive call out, by 10.30pm we were at the vets. She gave her a thorough examination, and decided to narrow it down to eclampsia, aka milk fever.  She said she cant be sure but thats what we will start with. After 6 injections, calcium, folic acid, antibiotics...............more tablets, inc antibiotics we got out of there at 11.30pm and went home. Sunday night was one of very little (no) sleep but by the morning Lu seemed much better and was willing to eat again, she was also willing to feed her pups again :-)

I didnt realise how close a call it was, I didnt realise that if we hadnt got to the vets that night, then we might not of had a luna in the morning. From now until the pups are weened (which we have been advised to do early) Luna will be under 24 hour watch. It will always be something I will look out for in any future litters. I guess you live and learn in everything you do and am very grateful for family and friends support.



So...... The puppies!!!!!

Mr Big - 13 days - 34 oz

Well, They are of course totally scrumptious!!!! and none the wiser, they are, perfectly plump, happy and contented babies which are growing so quickly! They obviously dont realise they are sucking all the calcium straight out of poor lulu. Im glad she didnt have any more than 5 as there would be no room for them at the milk bar anymore!

                                 Miss Dash - 13 days - 32 oz

Miss Dash, has today, opened her eyes, the first of the litter, all the others are starting to open, so hopefully within a couple of days they will be proper puppies! As of yesterday they also think its funny to climb out of their bed and plonk themselves in lunas bed out of their box! This morning I found 3 of them in there and luna on the floor! Time for a bigger box with a higher step into it me thinks! 

                                                                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Mr Ridge 13 days - 34 oz                                                                                         

Although Im cutting the pups claws regularly they are getting rather sharp and Luna's belly looked so sore, So Ive been putting Aloe Vera gel on it. All the scratches and sores cleared within 24 hours and by rubbing a little in everyday, her belly is as smooth as a babies bum! I love this product and use it on myself a lot especially after being at a show all day in the summer, or burning myself on the cooker!

 Mr Titch -  13 days- 34 oz

            Miss Five - 13 days- 34 oz



 

                          'Peas in a pod'

Well, after that huge update, signing off for now, cant wait for them to start changing over the next couple of weeks, so exciting!!!