Thursday 31 January 2008
Baby photo's
Today I had a panic because i couldn't find Dylan's baby photo's. I eventually found them hiding in a folder that i hadn't opened for ages so it thought i would share some with you. He was a huge baby but to look at the pictures he looks tiny, the first one is at one day old in hospital and the other two are at home around a week old....
Wednesday 23 January 2008
The many disguises of a Fizzy Pop!
I was looking back over some photo's and i found these that were taken out the back in November. Now i know Fizz has had a few 'comments' recently on looking puppyish but i can't believe the difference. Here she is looking like a fox...
and OK she still looks a bit odd but now she has a lovely liver colour and a really soft thin coat...please can we keep it!!!
and OK she still looks a bit odd but now she has a lovely liver colour and a really soft thin coat...please can we keep it!!!
Tuesday 22 January 2008
What shall we do today?
Today Dylan is away from 9am till 3.30pm so there is SO much that i should be doing. So what did i do...
Spent two hours at Wittering beach with the dogs of course!
When i arrived there wasn't many people there but a few so i got Tig out for a bit of training. There is so much space at Wittering in the winter when its not full of cars, but with Tig i was playing the 'look at that dog' game so i hung around the car park to get plenty of new dog opportunities. Tig is really starting to like this game, its from Leslie McDevitt's book Control Unleashed (if i knew how to do a link i would!). The idea is that rather than always getting the dog to look at you you teach the dog to face his fears in a calm manner. With Tig i click when he looks at a dog calmly and he turns around for his treat. What she describes in her book as the band-aid approach is what i always did with Tig, basically saying he must look at me only me and not explore anything, i must be the centre of his universe, this is all very well but he missed out on valuable socialising. So today we spoke to LOTS of golden retrievers and almost as many spaniels and a labradoodle. Once we've mastered this game we will move on to the game called 'there's a dog in your face' which will help him with his really fear which is a dog rushing up to his space when he is on his lead.
After Tig I got Emmy out. I had to walk quite far away from the van as there was a large flock of geese near and i knew she would disturb them so i couldn't risk letting her off near them. With Emmy I played the 'give me a break' game to help build up her focus. This game is great for Emmy as it allows her to sniff (her favourite past time) but only on my terms. The idea is that you do some play or training that the dog likes for say 30 seconds and then tell them to go. As soon as the dog orientates back to you then the game begins again. With not many distractions around (a few dogs and surfers a little way away) Emmy is at the stage where she is pestering me to keep training her which for those who saw her 3 months ago will agree is a huge improvement!
Once i thought Emmy had done enough and before she decided she was bored of me We got the others out of the van and went in to the dunes. They were all really good, I found the dunes a good place to play hide and seek with Emmy as Helen suggested. She enjoyed the game but not as much as Fizzy who soon worked out if she got to me first there would be cheese! Emmy did go off a couple of times but from a high point on the dunes i could see her, she was just running up and down on her own course. So i didn't call her until she came back down to earth. There is alot of work for me to do on her recall as she just loves to run but she does seem to want to stay with me more than she used to and she certainly comes back quicker from seeing other dogs now.
Whilst we were on the beach Tig got loads more dogs coming up to him but off lead on a walk he is very relaxed. He tried to play with a pack of golden retrievers but they were more interested in the girls and all three had a game of chase with two very brave mini schnauzers! Witterings really is a great walk!
Tig found a quiet spot for some well deserved refreshment
Only to be bombarded by a mad Merle and her trusty sidekick
Spent two hours at Wittering beach with the dogs of course!
When i arrived there wasn't many people there but a few so i got Tig out for a bit of training. There is so much space at Wittering in the winter when its not full of cars, but with Tig i was playing the 'look at that dog' game so i hung around the car park to get plenty of new dog opportunities. Tig is really starting to like this game, its from Leslie McDevitt's book Control Unleashed (if i knew how to do a link i would!). The idea is that rather than always getting the dog to look at you you teach the dog to face his fears in a calm manner. With Tig i click when he looks at a dog calmly and he turns around for his treat. What she describes in her book as the band-aid approach is what i always did with Tig, basically saying he must look at me only me and not explore anything, i must be the centre of his universe, this is all very well but he missed out on valuable socialising. So today we spoke to LOTS of golden retrievers and almost as many spaniels and a labradoodle. Once we've mastered this game we will move on to the game called 'there's a dog in your face' which will help him with his really fear which is a dog rushing up to his space when he is on his lead.
After Tig I got Emmy out. I had to walk quite far away from the van as there was a large flock of geese near and i knew she would disturb them so i couldn't risk letting her off near them. With Emmy I played the 'give me a break' game to help build up her focus. This game is great for Emmy as it allows her to sniff (her favourite past time) but only on my terms. The idea is that you do some play or training that the dog likes for say 30 seconds and then tell them to go. As soon as the dog orientates back to you then the game begins again. With not many distractions around (a few dogs and surfers a little way away) Emmy is at the stage where she is pestering me to keep training her which for those who saw her 3 months ago will agree is a huge improvement!
Once i thought Emmy had done enough and before she decided she was bored of me We got the others out of the van and went in to the dunes. They were all really good, I found the dunes a good place to play hide and seek with Emmy as Helen suggested. She enjoyed the game but not as much as Fizzy who soon worked out if she got to me first there would be cheese! Emmy did go off a couple of times but from a high point on the dunes i could see her, she was just running up and down on her own course. So i didn't call her until she came back down to earth. There is alot of work for me to do on her recall as she just loves to run but she does seem to want to stay with me more than she used to and she certainly comes back quicker from seeing other dogs now.
Whilst we were on the beach Tig got loads more dogs coming up to him but off lead on a walk he is very relaxed. He tried to play with a pack of golden retrievers but they were more interested in the girls and all three had a game of chase with two very brave mini schnauzers! Witterings really is a great walk!
Tig found a quiet spot for some well deserved refreshment
Only to be bombarded by a mad Merle and her trusty sidekick
More fun with Dylan...
of the messy variety!
Dylan loves to paint, in fact he loves anything that involves getting messy. I can see us having a lot of pictures around the house as he grows up. I'm happy as long as he keeps it vaguely on the paper!
Dylan loves to paint, in fact he loves anything that involves getting messy. I can see us having a lot of pictures around the house as he grows up. I'm happy as long as he keeps it vaguely on the paper!
Friday 18 January 2008
The best bits about being a Mum
20 minutes later he was having a tantrum about something but the sticking was fun, and yes Granny the work of art is on its way to you!
Friday 11 January 2008
Thank you Dennis
Thanks to Dennis O'bay for the most wonderful photo's of Tig and Fizz. They are the best!
Tuesday 8 January 2008
Happy New Year!
Best wishes to everyone for 2008 and sorry for being a BAD blogger! Here's our little update.
Olympia, well lets just say that its agility and ANYTHING can happen and it usually does! Tig took two poles, why i don't know that probably makes his knocked poles total no more than 10 this year so why two at Olympia? I have his run on video and he just wasn't quite himself for whatever reason. I've gone over it in my head way too many times and the same three things come up when talking to others as well the bigger wings and poles and the way i handled the start.
We have barrels and big solid pedigree wings in our field and some long poles too so he gets to train on these more than most and i handled the set up and the start of the course exactly the same way as I'd have done 100 times over this year. Tig didn't settle until about the 7th obstacle then he became himself again and was flying, we gave it our best shot and i hope I get to take him back to try again one day.
As for Dot well who knows, I for one thought she had her feet on the dog walk but she managed to duck out right at the last minute and came right across my feet, weird things happen out there. Sadly i don't have that run on video because i would love to see what i did that made her think i was pulling her off. I enjoyed the rest of Dot's run alot more than I'd enjoyed Tigs and i was pleased to have a fun run with her in the pairs and she went like a bullet. She really enjoyed the roar from the crowds!
After the long days at Olympia we were pleased to head off for our Christmas Hols with my Mum and Dad in Scotland. The dogs LOVED it as did Dylan. Presents took Dylan most of the day and he got some lovely things. Leslie bought him a mini Stihl chainsaw that has a rubber chain and makes a noise. It drove everyone mad but Dylan loved it and along with his drill he preformed minor surgeries and mended things! He also got a hand knitted Bot The Builder from his Great Granny. Bob is amazing every little detail to his hat and his tool belt. I know my Gran put alot of time in to this and it is very much appreciated, he has pride of place in bed with 'Babbit' and 'Blanket'. I know he will be much loved over the next few years.
Dylan was truly spoilt by everyone.
There was alot of family at Mum's from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day in total there were 10 dogs and i forgot to take my camera out but we had some great walks. It was the Gun dogs versus the Pastoral on behaviour the Gun dogs had it every time but the collies never failed to have a BLAST!!!! After all they were on holiday ;-)
All these dogs let their humans along and even let them join in the feast and what a feast it was!
Finally my best Christmas present was from my sickeningly organised Sister in Law it was an address and birthday book....COMPLETELY FILLED IN FOR ME! Only one problem, i have NO EXCUSE NOW!
Olympia, well lets just say that its agility and ANYTHING can happen and it usually does! Tig took two poles, why i don't know that probably makes his knocked poles total no more than 10 this year so why two at Olympia? I have his run on video and he just wasn't quite himself for whatever reason. I've gone over it in my head way too many times and the same three things come up when talking to others as well the bigger wings and poles and the way i handled the start.
We have barrels and big solid pedigree wings in our field and some long poles too so he gets to train on these more than most and i handled the set up and the start of the course exactly the same way as I'd have done 100 times over this year. Tig didn't settle until about the 7th obstacle then he became himself again and was flying, we gave it our best shot and i hope I get to take him back to try again one day.
As for Dot well who knows, I for one thought she had her feet on the dog walk but she managed to duck out right at the last minute and came right across my feet, weird things happen out there. Sadly i don't have that run on video because i would love to see what i did that made her think i was pulling her off. I enjoyed the rest of Dot's run alot more than I'd enjoyed Tigs and i was pleased to have a fun run with her in the pairs and she went like a bullet. She really enjoyed the roar from the crowds!
After the long days at Olympia we were pleased to head off for our Christmas Hols with my Mum and Dad in Scotland. The dogs LOVED it as did Dylan. Presents took Dylan most of the day and he got some lovely things. Leslie bought him a mini Stihl chainsaw that has a rubber chain and makes a noise. It drove everyone mad but Dylan loved it and along with his drill he preformed minor surgeries and mended things! He also got a hand knitted Bot The Builder from his Great Granny. Bob is amazing every little detail to his hat and his tool belt. I know my Gran put alot of time in to this and it is very much appreciated, he has pride of place in bed with 'Babbit' and 'Blanket'. I know he will be much loved over the next few years.
Dylan was truly spoilt by everyone.
There was alot of family at Mum's from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day in total there were 10 dogs and i forgot to take my camera out but we had some great walks. It was the Gun dogs versus the Pastoral on behaviour the Gun dogs had it every time but the collies never failed to have a BLAST!!!! After all they were on holiday ;-)
All these dogs let their humans along and even let them join in the feast and what a feast it was!
Finally my best Christmas present was from my sickeningly organised Sister in Law it was an address and birthday book....COMPLETELY FILLED IN FOR ME! Only one problem, i have NO EXCUSE NOW!
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