Happy New Year

Happy New year to all our readers.

We have joined in the celebrations with lots of food and fun. KnK started with prawn, scallop and salmon shashliks at about 4:30, and we got a taste too. Then they had Oysters Kilpatrick, we got some of the bacon, then about 8:00 they had calamari, and some for us. On top of that we had our dinner and Hannah's Home Made Biscuits.

We are now full as a boot and can't move. The bottle was just a prop for the photo, we don't drink alcohol, but KnK did! They had the white wine and a Whales Tail, that's a drink made from Bundaberg Liqueur Rum, Bundaberg ginger beer and cream.

The fireworks will be on soon, so I have to go, KnK will be asleep by the time the fireworks finish.

Hannah and I wish you all a Happy New Year, and hope to see you soon.

Christmas for Dogs

We had a Christmas Day party at home. Molly came to stay for a few days, and Kevin came just for the day. Poor Audrey could not come because she had an allergy and was on medication. We got home-made dog biscuits, bits of turkey and pork, and all the treats we could scrounge. Molly had to have a lie down, and Tiffany went off on her own a couple of times, but Kevin and I kept it up nearly all day. We were running and playing and drinking and eating non-stop. I was glad when everyone went home so I could have a rest.

The humans had to sit around, just talking, eating and drinking while we played, it must have been boring for them.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everybody.
A few tips to help you to enjoy Christmas.
1) Decorate the house when you can. Shred coloured paper or material and spread it around.
2) Be grateful when your human erects an indoor toilet, and use it as much as possible.
3) If any presents are left by the indoor toilet, open them when you get a chance.
4) If it is edible chew it. To test for edibility, chew it. If in doubt, chew it again.
5) When visitors come, take a big drink then shove your cold wet nose in their groin.
6) Hang out with children, they do not protect their food.
7) At meal time, keep quiet, hide under the table and wait for food to fall.
8) Beware of drinking spilled liquid while under the table. It can make your legs wobbly.
9) Big sad eyes, a waggy tail and a pathetic whimper will always get treats.

Titled Tollers

Last night we went to the SAODC Christmas party, and we were given all these sashes for the titles we got during the year.

I got a Community Companion Dog Sash, and Tiffany got 4 sashes for her CD, AD, JD and JDX titles.

We met Terry the pup last night, he had been stung by a bee and had to get emergency treatment from the vet to stop the anaphylactic shock. Tiffany had a bad reaction to a bee sting when she was a pup, see the post Insect bite ; in 2009

We heard from Summa and Demon in Mt Gambier, and the Cat Gang raided them too, they got away with a Cherry Ripe. (See the comment on the previous post). Just as well the cats got the chocolate, because chocolate is poison to dogs.

Steak Thieves

Well, it was like this officer, the steak was on the kitchen top, almost defrosted, when these three great big cats broke into the house, jumped on the kitchen top, nicked the steak and ran out with it. We were so surprised by the speed of it we did not have time to bark. The cats are part of an international gang of Steak Burglars so it would have been minced and sold interstate within the hour. All we could do was grab the plastic bag the steak was in and bring that back as evidence. While we were checking it out for cat paw prints and cat smells, Keith saw us and then assumed it was us that did it. It could not have been us because we had just had our dinner and we were full. Luckily Keith had some sausages in the fridge so KnK still got their dinner.

Does anyone know if Quick-Eze are OK for dogs?

Hannah's first CD pass

Hannah passed her first Novice trial today, with a second place too. Kathy was a bit nervous, especially when Hannah ran off briefly between exercises, but it was still a good pass. The stays were interesting, Keith was judging in the next ring and Hannah had a good look at him, but she did not move. It was a relief when it was all over, only two more passes and Hannah will be a CD dog too!

I was in the Agility and Jumping, I almost got round the Masters Jumping course, until there was a tight turn on to a broad jump, and I went through the side. Maybe next time things will go better.

The pic shows us on the beach near the caravan park, and Hannah is wearing her Sash.

Wet Dogs

The humans have got us on the road again, this time we are going to Portland in Victoria for the Dog Trials. We stayed at Keith last night where it started raining at 2:00 am and did not stop until about 11:00am. The pic shows us in our "20 years of Tollers" raincoats when we went for our morning walk.

We got to Portland, very windy, but we still went for a walk on the cliff tops, said hello to Buffy, Summa, Demon and Gypsy, did some training and now we are ready for bed.

Top Dogs

We won trophies at the Gundog Club last night. I was the Top Agility Bitch, and Hannah was second Obedience Bitch. The pic shows us with our trophies.

We also got recognition awards for our other titles too, they are the smaller trophies in the pic.

It was Keith's birthday yesterday (he is 469 in dog years). We got him a present each and we helped to unwrap them. That was great fun shredding the paper and spreading it all over the house, a lot more fun than he had from the shirts we got him!

The Dog Walk

Our dog walk is ready. The surface is still a bit slippery so that will have to be fixed, but in the mean time it stops us from jumping off early because we can not get a grip. The pic shows us testing it out.

We have an extra panel for our shelter tent when we are trialling. Kathy made it today and we set it up to see if it fits. That is in the pic background.

We did not do too well in the trials, Tiffany forgot how to heel, and I got distracted by a bug in the Stand for Examination, then I sat. We both did all the other exercised OK, but the humans were still grumpy with us. Ah well, we will have to use the big sad eyes and the waggy tail for a couple of days and they will get over it.

Southern Trials

To paraphrase John Madden, of all my Agility Trials, this was one of them. The pic shows me just about to go into the weavers, but I missed the entry, because I had to "go", so I did and that got us tossed out of the ring. I had already missed a jump so we were not qualifying. I must have had a nervous bladder because I had been three times before we went in.

In the Excellent course I went the wrong way through the hoop, in the Jumping Open I missed a weaving pole and in the Jumping Masters I just got distracted and did a wrong jump. So we had four fails, but it was not all that bad. I did manage some very difficult parts and my times were good, so Keith was not too unhappy.

We now have a mini dog walk at home. Keith made it out of a work platform and some timber he found in the shed. At least Hannah and I can practice Contacts now.

Broken Hill Trials

KnK were judging the trials at Broken Hill, so we were just along for the ride. So far we have had Saturday night and Sunday morning at the trials, but we did manage to get in the ring, we were the make up dogs for the stay exercises. I did the UD and Open stays, and Hannah did the CCD stays. The pic shows some of the trial dogs with their humans, after the trial.

We start back tomorrow, very early, so we will not get a chance to have a look around.

Pass-less weekend at Mt Gambier

No passes in 5 attempts between us. I was in Novice Obedience and got distracted when Fur Dad Rio went past the ring and I forgot what I was doing on the first day, then on the Sunday I did not do the drop in the Distance Control but did everything else. Tiffany was in Master Jumping for the first time, until Keith got lost and went the wrong way, then in the Novice Snooker, Tiffany decided to go a different way to Keith and did not get enough points. The Open Jumping was Ok until Tiffany missed a bar in the distance sector.

It did not start out as a good week-end. Just after we left home the Navara got a fault and we had to take it and the caravan back home. The Honda Jazz was loaded up with everything we needed, accommodation booked, and we had to sleep in the dog crates.

While we were in Mt Gambier we met up with TeamJoseph, they comment on the blog quite often. On the chair is Summa and Gypsy, then Buffy and Demon with Tiffany and me.

Father Woods Tree

Trials time again, this time in Mt Gambier. We got in the car with the caravan hitched up, got 100 metres down the road when a light came on warning something was wrong in the engine. Straight down to Unley Nissan where the Navara was pugged into the computer which could not find anything wrong. The fault was reset and seemed clear, but as soon as we started off again, the light came on!. The caravan and the Navara were taken home, all the essentials were unpacked and loaded into the Honda Jazz and we came to Mt Gambier. Kathy booked us into a cabin for two nights.

On the way we stopped at Father Woods Tree. Father Wood was a local preacher who did a lot of work for the community, and he used to hold his sermons under a big tree. The council has built memorial park across the road from the tree. They cut down a lot of trees and carved statues out of the stumps which represent aspects of Father Woods life. The pic shows us looking at the carvings.

Ms Hannah, Tiffany JDX

Hannah has been converted from a Miss to a Ms and is doing very well. We have to keep her 'quiet and calm', for 2 weeks. We have a better chance of winning the lottery. So far so good, she has recovered from the surgery very well and is actively resisting all attempts to keep her 'quiet and calm'.

I went to the trials on Saturday, and passed two Jumping Dog Excellent trials which means I have another title to my name, JDX.

It was close for the first pass, I almost went passed a jump when Keith called me back, and Judge Joy was right in the perfect position to see if it was a refusal or not. After she said it was less than a centimetre in it, but I got the pass, and my Title. I will have to talk to Demon to see if he can get his mum to put me in the Masters Jumping at Mt Gambier next week.

20 years of Tollers

The Tollers have been in Australia for 20 Years, and to celebrate there was a gathering of Tollers at the United Retriever Club of NSW in Sydney. We were there and Tiffany won 1st place in the 400mm Agility Dog Excellent class,with a qualification. The pic shows her running through the weaving poles on her way to the win. The Jumping Excellent went wrong when Tiffany went the wrong way over a jump after leaving a tunnel , but the rest of the course was good.

I was in Novice Obedience, but it was all too much for me and I got put off by the thunderstorm that went through just before the start of the trial. Anyway, I did the heel work OK, but I would not sit at the start peg for the next exercise so I was sent home early.

There were lots of Tollers on the grounds. There was a Conformation Show, the Agility and Jumping trial, the Obedience Trial and the Retrieving Ability Test for Gundogs, with Tollers entered in all of them. Maybe next year at the 21 year gathering we will do better.

Wisemans Ferry

The Toller Tourists are out and about, this time at Wisemans Ferry, just a short drive from Castle Hill. We stopped at the lookout, and then went down to the ferry and had a walk round the park. Hannah started chasing the blossoms that were falling off the trees and we spent ages trying to convince her they were harmless and did not need to be driven off. We met some people that wanted to pat us, so we put up with that for about half an hour, then went down to the river bank to see the Blue Wren that would not stay still long enough for Keith to get a photo. I don't know which was the funniest, Hannah chasing the blossoms or Keith chasing the wren.

Sydney Trials

We have had a week-end at the Sydney dog grounds at Erskine Park. KnK have been judging for two days, and we have been left on our own. Well we fixed them, we chewed Keith's pillow on the first day, then chewed his hat on the next day.

It's not all been bad, we have had lots of runs on the ground and played with lots of new dogs and watched the end of a RATG trial.

Most of the other dogs have gone home today, so I suppose we will be moving on tomorrow too. Hannah is competing in an Obedience trial next week, and I am doing Agility, with lots of other Tollers. Hopefully we will get some practice in during next week.

The Dogs on the Tucker box

We are in Gundagai, where dogs are required to sit on a Tucker Box.

We stopped for lunch by the monument to the original Tucker Box-sitting dog and posed for pictures. First time for Hannah, but I have been here before.

It seems a long time ago, a bullock team driver broke down and had to walk 9 miles to Gundagai to get help. His Dog sat on the tucker box, which was where the Driver kept not only his food, but all his valuables too. The dog guarded the tucker box until the driver got back. Not much of a story really, but that was probably the most interesting thing that had happened in years. The monument was put 5 miles from Gundagai, as the 9 mile point was not very good for a tourist trap.

Anyway, whenever we pass the humans want us to pose with this statue, so we did.

Champion Hannah

She Did It! Hannah got Best of Breed and Challenge to get the final points she needed to be a Champion.

Her formal name is now

Champion Sherbrooke Highway Hannah CCD.

We went to Monato near Murray Bridge for the dog show. There were lots of dogs there, and Hannah was the best Toller. She did not do any good in the Group line-up, but that does not count for her title.

Hannah did her usual "wag everything while the Judge is approaching" trick, although she did not move from position during the examination and she ran round the ring perfectly.

Now we are both Champions of the Breed.

Whyalla

What a hot week end. The wind came up and blew all the dust about, the sun was out all day and we were hot and sticky. All we wanted to do was lie on the cool bed until we could get back to the caravan and the air-con. Keith expected me to run round the Agility ring, but I was too hot, sticky and uncomfortable to try. Hannah didn't have to run, so why should I?

Anyway, maybe the next run will be in better weather.

Tiffany and Hannah, One Year On.

Just look at us now after one year together. At the top of the page in the header is a picture of us when I was just 9 weeks old after I had arrived here. I have snuggled into Tiffany's side with my Lamb toy. See how big I have grown, I am now bigger that Tiffany, but Tiffany is a Petite Toller being just on the minimum size. We still have the Lamb, although not all his stuffing is still there and one leg is missing, but we still play with him. He is in the picture between our front legs.

Tiffany was at the agility trials yesterday and got another pass in Jumping Excellent with 2nd place and a pass in Agility Excellent with a 4th place. She needs one more jumping pass and three more agility passes for Tiffany to get her next titles.

Testing, testing.

Here we are practising jumping together, I am just telling Hannah to lift her feet, but she will get the idea soon. It took a while to get the picture, Keith set up the video camera then sent us over the jumps several times. This pic was a still taken from the video using Pinnacle Studio.

Blogger has a new interface, so this  post is trying it out, and it is also a test of the email notification system. Leave a comment if it works.

Games Trial

We went to the Gawler Games trial today, and Tiffany passed both of the trials she was in! She was in Gamblers Excellent for the first time and then passed Snooker Novice for her second pass. We were celebrating and then Ricky came over to congratulate her. The pic show the three of us. Ricky has his own blog, see the "Ricky's Ramblings" link to the left under Blogs to Read.

Ricky suggested we add a Submit Button at the top left of the sidebar, so we did. If you add your email address in the space under " Follow By Email" heading, then press the submit button, each day we post to our blog you will get an email to let you know. No post, - no email. You have to go through a verification process to stop spammers, but it is so easy a human could do it.

Bath Time

We have had a lazy few days, not doing much since we got home from the trip up north. Today was bath time. Now most dogs shudder at the "B" word but we love it. We bite the water as it comes out of the spray, we shake ourselves and get the humans wet, then we attack the blow dryer and make as much noise as we can. It is an outdoor bath, because of the mess we make, but the water comes from the laundry and is warm so we enjoy it so much more. I went first because I am the oldest. Hannah was barking and whining while I had my bath and blow dry, then it was her turn while I dried off with some biscuits. We have had our nails clipped, our feet trimmed and a good brushing, so we are ready to face anything the world can throw at us.

Agility Again

Tiffany had another pass in Excellent Jumping yesterday. We were at the Agility Dog Club Trial for the afternoon trials, and Tiffany was in Excellent and Open Agility and Jumping. She did the Excellent Jumping course first and passed, but that was the only pass for the day. Only one fault in the Agility Excellent, missed a weaving pole as she turned into the sun, but was DQ'd for a wrong course in the other two.

We were both back in training on Tuesday, getting ready for the obedience trials.

I am down to one pill a day for the SRMA, and Kathy is going to reduce them to alternate days. Hopefully, I have seen the end of the meningitis.

Back Home

We're Back! After nearly 6 weeks, we are back home. A week ago we were in Darwin in the warm, and now we are in the cold. The pic shows us at Mandorah looking at Darwin from the Cox Peninsula, and then underneath we were standing in the Outback near Coober Pedy on the way home.

For 6 days we have been travelling, only a quick walk break every couple of hours and back to sleep in the car. Now we are home we can run in the garden any time.

KnK are planning the next trip, so we wont be home for long.

Hannah - 99 points

Hannah is on 99 points towards her Champion title. Just one more to go and that will be it.

The trouble is, we have so many things to do over the next few weeks, we do not know when Hannah can try for the final point.

Keith was away in Singapore so Kathy looked after us and took us to the shows. I was there to support Hannah, gave her a few last minute tips, and some woofs of encouragement. She was even given a good long look for Minor in Group, but her shaved patch on her back is still noticeable, and the prize went to a Golden.

Keith is back, we both broke through the back seat barrier to get to him and give him a good licking when we picked him up at the airport, next time he leaves us we will bite him!

6 points and a Big Clock

Hannah got her first 6 points after her first birthday, so she is now 19 points off of becoming a Champion. She also won a dog bowl. After the show, I went in a Trial Class with Keith, and I won a Big Clock. Keith used to say he would not go in a show ring for a big clock, well, we went in and we got one. That's us with our trophies.

The Brace was good fun. First I was on the outside and I started to chew Hannah's ear, so she started to bite my leg, and Kathy went spare trying to control us. After that we swapped sides and did it properly for a while, and then we started playing again. In the end, the pair of Irish Setters won it, I don't know why, we were much more entertaining.

Next day Hannah got an upset tummy, we think she found some old food on the ground. She is going to the vet tonight for a check up because while she is on the Steroids her immune system is not at full strength and we have to make sure she is OK.

PS. Wed. morning. The vet said Hannah had probably picked up some possum poo and got a tummy wog. Some pills fixed her, she seems OK now.

Happy Birthday Hannah

Hannah is one year old today, and to celebrate, Burnie and Cherrie came over from next door for Biscuits. The top pic shows us looking at the Birthday Biscuits, and then underneath, we are getting stuck into them.

In Hannah's first year she has travelled to NSW, Vic, NT and most of SA. She has scored 90 points in Conformation, has a CCD in Obedience and is learning Agility.

The terrible SRMA struck her down at Easter and she is still on medication for that. It makes her tire easily and so she has to rest a lot. We still have time to get in trouble though, see the Great Pen Mystery and the BBQ cleaning episode for examples.

Hannah has packed a lot into her first year, and we expect to pack even more into the next year.

Royal BoB

Hannah won Best of Breed and the Challenge at the Darwin Royal Show. The pic shows her with her certificate and her sashes. She now has 90 points, but only 75 of them count because she is not 1 year old until Saturday.

The judge gave her a good look for Puppy in Group, but it went to a beautiful GSP puppy.

On Sunday Hannah will be old enough to score more points in her quest for a Champion title at the Gundog Show, and both of us are going to compete in the Brace class for the first time ever. In the Brace, we both strut round the ring together and we get judged as a pair. Just imagine Kathy trying to control both of us when we get playful, this could make Australia's Funniest Home Video!

100% Pass

What a brilliant sister I have! Tiffany passed both trials last night, with a first place in Jumping Excellent and a second place in Agility Excellent. There were two Tollers in the competition, and Bernie came in second in the Jumping Excellent class, so it was a Toller double.

The pic shows Tiffany relaxing this morning with her Sashes, Qualifying cards and her first place Trophy, an engraved whisky glass.

We had a moment of panic in the Jumping when Keith forgot the course for a second, and another one when Tiffany nearly missed a jump, but the final sprint home was great with Tiffany finishing two jumps in front of Keith.

I will not be old enough for Agility until I am 18 months old. 6 months to go and I can't wait for it.

Latest Toller video

There were five of us all in the water having a great time. With Hannah and I were Fur Dad Rio, Fur Mum Jaffa and Fur Auntie Cherry. There is a technique we have for making sure the water is free from crocodiles, we wait for a human pup to go in and if they come out it is safe for us. This lagoon is a stones throw from the centre of Palmerston, surrounded by a great big fence and is used by all the humans for miles around, so it is croc free. Mini Mac was worried about us getting eaten, but we were safe. Click on the 'Marlow's Lagoon' link under Video Links to see us having fun in the water, and Fur Dad Rio doing a trick on the dog play equipment.

Dopey Dad

Tiffany is too upset to type today. Dopey Dad sent her over the wrong jump in the JDX class when she was flying round the course. You can see in the picture, Keith is pointing to a jump, Tiffany is running towards it, and did it beautifully, but it was the wrong jump. She had to turn round and go back to the right jump and still completed the course under time, but she got a DQ anyway.

She was still grumbling about it this morning, but she is getting over it. Hopefully things will settle down by next week.

Snookered

I almost made it in the Snooker last night. I got 17 points in the opening round and I only needed 10, then went all the way round the closing sequence right up to the exit colour of the Dog Walk and I missed the colour. I got everything else, but missing the last colour put me out. The pic shows me on top of the Dog Walk when we were at Alice Springs. Karen's brother in law took the photo, so thank you to him for the great action shots.

I missed a jump in the Agility Excellent course and then got DQ for jumping it wrong way, so last night was not very successful at all. Hope the Jumping and Gamblers courses go better tonight.

Fannie Bay

The Touring Tollers were at Fannie Bay today. We went for a drive around, had a look over Darwin Harbour and had lunch at Fannie Bay. The pic shows us on the cliff top overlooking Fanny Bay with the Casino just visible in the background.

Did not do very much today, saving my strength for the Agility and Snooker trials tonight.

Tropical Tollers

Hannah and I are in the tropics at Darwin. We got here today, the humans set up our camp and we had a sleep outside. It is warm all the time, we are finding it hard to find a cool place to snooze.

The pic shows us having a run on the way here at a rest stop. It looks like we are off lead, but it just goes to show you can not trust a picture if Photoshop is handy. The leads made the picture look funny so they got painted out.

Tomorrow we are going to an Agility trial. Not much hope in this heat! I am an Arctic dog, not a Tropical dog. Humans- I could bite them at times.

Max Points and Gamble Dog

Both of us had good news for the weekend in Alice Springs. I am now on 78 points towards my Championship, and I can not get any more until I am twelve months old because I need 25 after my first birthday.

Yesterday Tiffany passed her third Novice Gamblers Trial and now is a Gamble Dog. Her full name will be Champion Sherbrooke Tiffany Ale, CD, AD, JD, GD.

I did not do too well in the obedience trial. The pic shows me doing Heel Free, well I am free, Kathy is nowhere near me. Anyway Judge Clive was not happy and I non qualified. Tiffany just missed her JDX trial by 2.44 seconds. That's how long over time she was after getting a fault free round. At least she is getting close again after losing her confidence a bit after Keith went away for 4 days.

Alice Springs Success

The first day at the Alice Springs show went well for Hannah, she got 12 more points towards her championship title, and I got one more pass in a Gamblers trial. Don't ask about the ADX or JDX trials.

The pic shows me going over a bar jump at full speed, just before I did a wrong jump in the JDX class.

Hannah has had her drugs reduced for the first time after her relapse and she is doing very well. The show judges were not bothered about the bare spot on her back and they both gave Hannah a Challenge worth 6 points each.

We start again tomorrow only this time Hannah is in a Novice Obedience trial too.

Outback Tollers

This is Hannah's first trip to the outback, so I am showing her all the tricks I have learned during my bush experience to the Cape York Peninsula. The pic shows us just north of Port Augusta having a break from travelling.

There are many things a dog needs to know in the bush, such as if you pick up a stick and it wriggles, let it go - it is probably a snake.

Tasty morsels lying around could be a Fox Bait. Little insects have nasty stings. Crocodiles live in the rivers, so don't swim unless a human goes in first! There is lots to show her, luckily she is a quick learner.

Hannah's First Novice

Hannah is feeling a lot better on the extra steroids, so much so that she went in her first novice trial. The individual exercises were done very well with only losing 8 points. The pic shows Hannah coming in on the Recall and is just about to sit.

The stays were going well until the end of the one minute sit stay. Kathy was actually on the way back when Hannah lay down. It was a warm sunny day, and she was a little tired as a result of the drugs, and Hannah could not hold the sit any longer. The three minute down stay was done easily, so Hannah missed out on her first Novice pass by about 10 seconds. "Missed it by that much" as Max Smart used to say. Still, it was a good effort for a pup that has a heavy medication and has only just completed CCD last week.

Relapse

Hannah has got her SRMA back again. On Wednesday night she was a bit sensitive, and by Thursday morning she could not move her head again. The Vet has put her steroids up to a high level and she is feeling a lot better. The pic shows me watching over her after she has had her drugs this morning.

A relapse is not uncommon but she was doing so well we all thought she was over it. This just means that it will take a bit longer before she will be completely recovered and back to being a happy Toller.

Hannah was going to try her first Novice trial this week end, but it looks like we may be a scratching.

Tiffany passes a JDX trial

Tiffany has passed her first Jumping Dog Excellent trial. It was not pretty, but it was a pass. The pic shows her clearing the spread hurdle at the start of the run. There was a twisty bit in the middle that caused a panic when Tiffany went one way and Keith wanted her to go a different way, but they sorted it out and got round with a couple of seconds to spare.

I spent the day resting on my laurels from my CCD title on Saturday. My drugs have been reduced again, I am feeling a lot better, and we are back to playing full time. We got hold of a cardboard box and shredded it all over the house, the toy box has been upended and all the toys are spread everywhere, the house is in a continual mess, but we are happy.

Sherbrooke Highway Hannah CCD

Hannah has passed her Third Trial in the CCD class and is now a Community Companion Dog. She did it with 2 first places, and 1 Second place, in 1 week. Not bad for an 11 month old puppy!
The pic shows Hannah running in to Kathy on the Recall exercise.We all got a bit nervous when the dog next to her in the Stays gave her a long stare, but she just turned her face away and refused to play. That is holding her nerve, and keeping her mind on the job.
Keith will not put me in trials yet because I keep dropping the dumbbell and take too long to drop in the recall, but just to encourage him, I did it right in the practice today.
We are going home to celebrate Hanna's success tonight, and get ready for Agility Trials tomorrow.

Tourist in Whyalla

We spent the day seeing all the sights of Whyalla, and we had Freki with us too. He is just one pass away from being an Obedience Champion.

Our first trip was to the wetlands where we walked round the lakes, then to Flinders look-out for a view of Whyalla, and finally to Hummock Hill. The pic shows us at Hummock Hill overlooking the Marina.

In the afternoon we went to Point Lowly and then round the coast to see the Tuna Farms. We had a walk on the beach, but it was covered in rocks so it was not good to walk on. Now we are home and ready for a sleep.

Terrific Tollers

We have had success today. Hannah passed her second CCD trial in second place, and I passed my first Snooker novice trial, in fourth place. The pic shows us with our sashes and cards. Keith was a bit disappointed when we did not pass any of the Agility or Jumping trials, but we did get round with only a couple of faults in some, and got DQ in others.
Hannah now needs one more pass to get the letters CCD after her name, so hopefully that will be soon.

Hannah wins 1st Place

Would you believe it, I won first place in the CCD trial today with 95 out of 100 points. I had to wait all day before going in the ring. We were there at 8:00 for Tiffany to compete in the Agility, and I had to wait until 2:00pm before I got in the ring. Kathy was worried we would not do very well as we had not done much training while I was in quarantine, but there was no need to worry, Tollers have good memories. The pic shows me with my Trophy, just like Tiffany won last year, so we are keeping it in the family.Tiffany made a few mistakes in her trials, but she still did well, getting round the course with 2 faults in Agility and only one fault in Jumping. She was disqualified on the other two runs, but still did well.

Agility Trials Fail

I went trialling on Saturday, it was a bright sunny day, my siesta was overdue and they expect me to run round the course !
Well I didn't. It began to cool down by mid afternoon when the cloud cover came in, so I did have a go at the afternoon Agility Excellent course, until Keith forgot to call me in after the scramble and I went past the next bar. Apart from that, we went well.
At the end of the day, I ran 4 courses and failed all 4. It was not a total disaster, the pic shows me clearing a bar in the Jumping course. We have more trials next week.
Hannah is getting better. She is allowed out and we went training on Thursday and went out to see a Retrieving Ability Test on Sunday morning then visited Molly in the afternoon. Hannah still gets tired quickly, but we can play a lot more, and now she is allowed out we will be getting more exercise together.

Ch.Tiffany CD, AD, and JD

My big sister Tiffany has passed another trial and got more letters after her name. She is now a Jumping Dog, and she did it with a First Place! The pic shows her with her sash and trophy. The run went well and Keith did not forget to change sides. He did get behind because he has a cold and could not breathe, shout or run fast, but Tiffany waited for him to catch up at the Tunnel and they got round in the fastest time.

I could not be there to see her pass as I am still in quarantine because of my SRMA. I am on less steroids now and I am putting on weight, but my immune system is still not up to strength so I have to stay home with Kathy. Maybe next week I can start going out again, and then I can get letters after my name, just like Tiffany.

Hannah on the mend.

Hannah went to see the vet today and has had her steroids reduced. This means that she is being weaned off the steroids so her immune system can start working again. It is a slow process that will take a long time, but at least she is on the mend. It will still be a couple of weeks before she can go out and mix with the other dogs.

She gets very tired easily, and needs to put on some weight, but you can see from the picture she is looking good.

We have had a quiet week end with just us and Kathy.

Keith disappeared again, this time for 4 days, while he went to WA and we had to stay home. Maybe next year we will all get to visit the West.

Super Models

We have got new coats for the winter. Hannah and I are shown modelling the coats in the photo. The coats cover our backs to keep us warm and dry, but are short enough to let us run about unrestricted. The coats also cover Hannah's bald spot where she was shaved. It took ages to get the photo shoot, we had to get dressed up, then posed, but it was worth the effort. Do you know there are millions of females in the world, but only half a dozen Super Models? That is half a dozen Super Models and two Tollers now!

All the results are back from Hannah's tests. She has SRMA, it did not come from her fur mum, it was possible that she has had it for a long time and the crash into the clothes line stirred it up, but basically, no body knows how she got it or why. Her immune system took a dislike to the lining of her spinal cord and started to attack it. The Steroids will fix it, but it will take a long time. In a few months she will be back to normal but in the meantime we have to be careful with Hannah.