Success

We have had a successful week-end at Bermagui. Tiffany had a 181 and 2nd place in the Novice trial, and I got 3 Best of Breed in the shows. I now have 30 points towards my Champion title and Tiffany has her first pass towards her Companion Dog Title. Tiffany had some bad luck in two of the trials, she was spooked by someone in the shadows on Friday night and broke the down stay when she was on a pass, then on Sunday she got distracted by a smell, stopped to sniff and that was the end of the trial.

The pic shows us with our awards. Next week there are more shows and trials, so we have some time to rest and recover.

Hannah - 24

Hannah has now got 24 points. She was Best of Breed last night and again this morning, just tomorrow's show to go for her.
The trials were a different story. While we were waiting, a big thunderstorm came in. There were bangs and flashes and lots of rain which caused them to delay the start until 7. pm to allow the thunder to go away. Lots of dogs went home, but Hannah and I did not get upset by the storm. Anyway, I went into the ring and was doing well until Keith gave me a shocking down signal and I was not sure what he wanted. I did my best and we just scraped through. In the Stays, I did the sit stay but halfway through the down stay someone was pushing a dog trolley in the shadows. It was upsetting most of the dogs. I barked at them to go away but they kept on coming. Eventually the Irish next to me jumped up and barked, which frightened me and I jumped up too. Well that was the end of that trial. Another one tonight and then one more on Sunday morning for my last chance of the week-end.

Dogs at Play

Here we are having a run at the dog area of the Bermagui caravan park. Tiffany can't speak because she has a mouth full of tennis ball. There are lots of dogs here, getting ready for the shows and trials tonight. I am in my third show and Tiffany is in the novice obedience trial. Tonight should be an exciting night.
We had a big storm when we first got here, the humans were out in it tying everything down and getting wet through. Tiffany and I stayed in the dry and gave the occasional woof of encouragement. Well, you could not send a dog out on a night like that.

Its Too Hot

We are having a rest from traveling. We have had an early run while it was still cool, but now it is getting hot. Hannah is lying on the cool bed, and I found this spot on the bed where the fan blows cool air from the air conditioner. We keep getting dragged outside in case we need the loo, but we don't stay out long. There is a strong north wind blowing even hotter air on us, so we are back inside as quick as we can.

Hannah won Best of Breed on Sunday so now she has 12 points towards her title.

Hannah's First Points

Hannah has scored her first points in the show ring. All those weeks of me showing her how it was done, calling on all my experience, the rigorous training, and it all paid off. She did forget the bit about keeping calm and aloof in the ring when she wagged her tail off at the judge, but my woofs of encouragement settled her for the triangle, and she performed like an expert. The pic shows her just coming up to the first turn, head up, tail out and stepping high, looking proud as a Toller. It looks like we will have two of us champions, as long as she listens to me!

Tailem Bend

We are off on the road again. We spent all day doing things like packing the van and loading the Nissan, then just when we thought we were going to get our dinner, they loaded us up and took off to Tailem Bend. The pic shows us overlooking the Murray River in flood. The big expanse of water is the flood plain, the river is behind the trees in the distance.
The late start on Thursday meant we were a bit closer to Warrnambool so that the Friday drive was a bit easier. We had stops on the way and got to Warrnambool about 4:30 pm, set up the camp and so we are ready for Hannah's first real show tomorrow.

January at Home

We have been staying home for a while. The humans are doing things round the house and caravan getting ready for the next trip. The pic show us on our walk in the dog park. Hannah is almost as big as me and she is not 6 months old yet!
Our new toys did not last long, the squeak came out of the rabbit, the nose is off the weasel and there is a big hole in the soccer ball. We got hold of Kathy's reading glasses, but they were not much fun, once the plastic ear piece came off there was nothing to chew. Did you know dog teeth can gouge a lump out of a prescription lens?
Anyway, KnK keep using the "B" word so I had better hide before they get the shampoo out.

Merry Christmas

Its Christmas for Dogs Too!

We have Kevin staying with us for a few days, so the three of us went to visit Molly on Christmas Day. We had lots of runs and plays at Molly's place and had a feed of Scooby Snacks for lunch. All Molly's toys were spread everywhere and by 3:00 pm we were exhausted and had to sleep. It was about then that we had to come home leaving Molly to clear up her toys. It was a great Christmas, and we still have the evening to go.

Merry Christmas to all our readers all over the world.

Summer Storm

Here we are, resting after a hard night of thunder storms. Rain, Wind, Thunder and Lightning all night, neither of us got a wink of sleep. The rain started yesterday afternoon, too late to save the Aussie cricket team, but it kept on for the rest of the day and was still raining a bit this morning. Now it is OK for the humans, they have indoor plumbing, but we have to go outside. Poor Hannah aged 4.5 months, had a reef knot in her back legs waiting for a break in the storm. Ah well, things have calmed down now, so we will try to catch up on our beauty sleep.

Party Time

We had a party on Sunday. Audrey and Kevin came to play for the day so there were four of us running round playing chasey, hunt the ball, find the Cricket and the best game of all, see who can scrounge the most food!. The pic shows us playing chasey, Hannah on the left, then Kevin, Audrey the Deerhound and then me with the sock in my mouth. They were all trying to get the sock off me.
There were lots of humans there too, but all they did was sit around talking, drinking and occasionally dropping a snack for us.
Hannah and I slept like babies last night.

Top Lady Dog

I won the Top Obedience Bitch at the club for the year, and all I got was a bit of glass. I can't play with it, I can't eat it, I can't even read it, all I can do with it is look at it.

You would think that after such an award I would have got a new toy, or a lump of steak or even an extra bonio, but no, I had to sit here and pose for ages while Keith fiddled with his camera, and this pic was the best we could do. Hannah was running about barking and carrying on like a pork chop laughing at me while I had to pose. Life is tough when you are a Toller.

Hannah's Show

Hannah has been in her first show as a Baby Puppy. There were two shows and she was the best Toller Baby Puppy both days. I taught her all the things she has to do in the show ring, but she forgot and went to play with the judges and started to gallop a bit in the triangle. Kathy soon brought her into line so there was no harm done. After all she is only 3 months old, and KNK could not even walk until they were 12 months old. The pic shows Hannah stretching out in her turn at the Triangle.

Tiffany is recovering

Tiffany went away for most of Monday, and when she came home she was all floppy, sleepy and could not walk very well, a bit like Keith after he has had a Glenfiddich. She has been shaved on her leg and has stitches in her belly. She was a lot better today, but KNK won't let us play. The pic shows us lying quietly in the sun on the back lawn.
Keith said she has been converted from a Miss to a Ms. and she will be back to normal soon. I just want my big sister back so we can play again.

Agility Trials

Tiffany here, last night I was in the Jumping and Agility trials. We were doing really well until we came to the second jump. I went round it on the first attempt, then got it on the second try. The next section of the course was great, the pic shows me touching the colour on the way off the dog walk. After the weaving poles we had 4 jumps to go but Keith got in my way and I went over the wrong jump, so that was the end of the trial. Not bad for the first attempt. We won't talk about the Jumping class, OK?
Hannah had an evening of being fussed over and patted by everyone. She is losing her puppy hair and is growing her big dog coat. Everyone thinks she is a beauty.
I am going into see Doctor Sally tomorrow to become a Neutered Dog, Not sure what that means, but it is bound to be good.

Bones

Hannah here. We got a bone to chew. It was so big we had an end each and did not get in each others way. It was too big really, so Keith cut it up into smaller pieces and gave us a piece each. That started fun and games, because whatever I have, I always want what Tiffany has, and what ever Tiffany has, she always wants what I have. So for the next half hour we were continually swapping bones until Keith could not stand the noise any more and separated us. At least I got to chew in peace for a while.

The Caravan

This is Hannah's first time in the caravan, and she loves it. We are playing with the new toy we got from Freki, well we got one each but we always play with the one toy.

Hannah has picked up a couple of nick-names. Some called her Buddha because she looks a bit plump with all that puppy hair, but she is quite trim under it all. Her other nick-name is Bat Dog, because if you say her name over and over, quickly, it sounds like the Batman theme. Try it, Hannah, Hannah, Hannah, Hannah, Bat Dog! ........ Now you will be humming the Batman theme for the rest of the day!

Sherbrooke Highway Hannah

Hi. This is Hannah the Toller, or Sherbrooke Highway Hannah if you need my formal name. The pic shows me testing my new cushion I got from Jessie, Billy, Big Mac and Gracie. You can see my coat is getting darker and I am not so fluffy.
Tiffany is in the dog house. A couple of weeks ago she was in a dog trial and got up in the down stay, then in the afternoon trial went even worse. Last night Keith took Tiffany training, and she got up in the down stay again! Keith is not happy. Tiffany had her electric blanket turned down as a punishment.
My 12 weeks in quarantine are up on Friday so I will be allowed out to meet all the other dogs and people that have wished me well. We will be at the Gundog Club show and trial on Saturday, then next week I can go to the dog clubs too.
Look out world, Hannah's coming.

Together

Since Hannah arrived we have been inseparable. I have shown her how to dig holes, how to play chasey, how to get in and out of the house through the dog doors, but I did not have to teach her how to eat! She can eat her own weight in dog biscuits in 10 seconds. If eating was an Olympic sport, Hannah would be the Gold medalist.
I have been under the weather recently with a tummy wog, and Hannah was a bit off colour too. I was supposed to see Dr. Sally to get a special award. I was going to be made a Neutered Dog but that will have to wait now until I am fully recovered.

Blogspot has a Stats link that shows where the readers of the blog come from. Hello to all the readers in Australia, UK, America, Canada, Russia, Netherlands and Saudi Arabia.
I did not realise I was so popular.

Hannah's Video, with me too.

We have done a video of our first meeting and our playing together. It took ages to get all the scenes and a lot went on the cutting room floor, but the finished product is worth it.

Click on the link under "Video Links". It is not as big as my adventure at the Tip of Cape York, but it could still take a while to load.

Hannah and I get on life a house on fire, we play all the time except when Hannah has to sleep, and then I play games with KnK. I don't want them to feel left out now that Hannah is here.

Hannah is Here

My sister Hannah is here at last, just 8 weeks old and she has thick fur, white socks, a white tail tip and already loves to play. She looks quite pale in the photo but she has a nice red colour in real life, not as dark as me, but still nice.
We have been playing in the garden, but she can not do much - yet!
Kathy has put my old basket under the desk so that Hannah can sleep there, right next to my day bed so I can keep an eye on her.
I will have to think up a new name for the blog to include Hannah in it because she will be in everything I do from now on. Perhaps "Tiffany's Tail and Hannah's House - the story of Two NSDTRs"
Keith said Hannah is a palindrome, but she looks like a perfectly normal puppy to me.

New Video of my Adventures.

This kangalow, or maybe buffaroo, has been covered in concrete and stuck in the ground at Camooweal. I kept well away from it.

The Video of my adventure at the Tip of the Cape York Peninsula has just been released, starring ME!.

It tells how KNK could not find the path from the Cape York car park to the Tip, and how I save the day by sniffing out the safe way.

It is about 8 meg so it could take a while to load. Click the link "Tiffany Saves The Day" under Videos on the left of the screen. Turn the sound on, but don't make the screen too big because the video will go all funny if you do.

Agility Training

I was invited to train at the Alice Springs Dog Club. Here are some pics of me doing my stuff. The main one of me on the table was picked because I was standing still and looked sharp. In the others I am jumping the Broad Jump and coming out of the Tunnel but I was moving too fast for the camera and appeared a little blurred. (OK, you can bang on about F stops, ISO settings and light levels, but I was still too fast for the camera!)

We are here for a week, Trials at the weekend and then we are heading home.

When we get home, my baby sister Hannah will be coming to join me. With two of us working on the humans, they won't stand a chance.

Hotter than Hell on a Hot Day

Here I am in the caravan at Camooweal. Why am I in the caravan you may ask, the answer is, because that's where the air conditioner is. I have genetically evolved to cope with Canadian winters, where barks come out as frozen blocks and you have to throw them on a fire so that you can hear them, and they have brought me to the hottest place they could find on the edge of the Northern Territory Desert.

Humans! There are times when I could bite them.

A Real Australian

There is a sign here that says "You are not a real Australian until you have been to Mount Isa", well I am in Mount Isa so I am a Real Australian. It doesn't seem any different, but it must be somehow.

The pic shows me at the Chinaman Creek recreation reserve between Mount Isa and Cloncurry where we went for a visit and a run.

I get a run in the dog park near the caravan park, and lots of people want to pat me here, so life is good in Mount Isa.

Gulf Girl

I am on the Gulf of Carpenteria's south eastern corner at Karumba Point. Hot during the day, and hot at night too. I can not go for a swim in the Gulf because there is an 18 foot crocodile that lives in the river mouth right next to the caravan park. Lucky for me the van is air conditioned or I would not get any sleep at all.

I was taken round the Baramundi Farm here, but all there is to see are tanks full of fish. KnK seemed interested in the farm but I found the lady with the bucket of fish food far more interesting.

Atherton Training

Last night I went to the Tablelands Obedience Dog Club at Atherton. (The pic shows me looking at the Tablelands)
The club made all of us welcome and I had a practice on their Agility equipment. I tricked Keith by doing the weavers perfectly from the left, but I would not do them at all from the right. I have to do things like this to keep him trying.
Anyway, there is a trial on Saturday and Sunday so I will be back for a visit then.

Quiet Time Out

We have settled in Atherton for a while. The park is not very busy and there is a big open area at the back for me to have a run. Keith set up some jumps and weaving poles so I have been doing some training as well as chasing a ball.

KnK found a dog wash and car wash. I went through both. Inside the car for the car wash, I saw this big scary thing spraying soap and water all over us and making a lot of loud noise. I was glad when that was over. Then they put me in the dog wash and cleaned all the sand, grit, mud, slime and anything else that had stuck to my fur while we were camping on the Cape. They turned the blow dryer on me and I attacked it, but it still got me dry.

Since then I have been having a lazy time, playing ball and sleeping.

Cooktown Rock

After being cooped up in a tent for a week, I have finally got a chance to have a good run. I am at Finch Beach near Cooktown where there is a huge rock that I could run up, across the top and then down the other side. It was just like a big dog walk really.

Later on I went along the edge of the sea and barked at the waves, sniffed all the mangrove roots and jumped all over Kathy leaving sandy, wet footprints all over her. Oh what happiness!

Number plates grow on trees.

At Bramwell Junction Roadhouse, I found out where number plates come from. They grow on trees. Here I am next to the number plate tree, and you can see there is a good crop this year.

Our last night in the tent was at Archer River with cows in the same paddock as us! We have had horses, kangaroos and now cows sharing our camp site.

At last I am back in the caravan and do not have to share my bed with wild animals.

PS, the number plates don't really grow on trees, those in the picture have been found on the road after being shaken off the cars by the corrugations. If you come up here, make sure your nuts and bolts are tight.

Tip Top Toller

Swimming on top of Australia

I am as far north as it is possible to go, on the Tip of Cape York at the Top of Australia, and the only Toller in sight.

Right next to the sign that said we were at the Tip was a rock pool that was free from crocodiles so I had a swim, chased fish and cooled down after the long walk across the beach.

The walk back to the car tired me out and I slept most of the way back to camp, except for the times the shaking of the car on the corrugated roads woke me up.

Tiffany of the Outback

For three days now I have been traveling on dirt roads, sleeping in a tent and going as far north as a Toller can go. I am nearly at the most northern point on the Australian mainland. Tommorrow will be the day we get there.

KnK took me through some creeks, but the Jardine River near the top of the Cape York Peninsula is too deep so we took the Ferry. I posed for a picture to prove I was there. We are camped on a beach but I am not allowed off lead on the beach because of the crocodiles, however I did find some Sea Glass for Auntie Wendy.

The Toller on Cape York

We stopped at a lookout on the way to Cooktown, and I posed for the picture of me on the start of the Cape York Peninsular.

All the rain that happened earlier did not reach here so we just might be going further into the Cape, going where no Toller has gone before, well at least not this Toller.

Lots of dogs at the Cooktown Caravan Park, and we are right in the bush too, so we have birds in the trees and those Bush Turkeys trotting around on the ground.

Agility Night

We went back to the dog club for their Thursday night training session last night at the Cairns dog club. Look at that picture of me going through the Weaving poles, I am going that fast I am just a blur among the poles. There were lots of people and dogs at the club and they all made me feel very welcome. They are having trials next week, but I probably wont be here then, so I have to wish them all the best for next week end.

Congratulations to Ricky on his graduation through the ranks of obedience. Ricky the Cavalier is another dog-blogger who also trains in Agility back home.

Why I have to go back to school.

Here is why I have to go back to school. Keith said "heel", so I went to the heel position. Just because I did a loop round his legs first is no reason to get upset. He could have easily got out of the lead round his legs. I can not see any reason for all the fuss!

Back at school

I had a run on a deserted beach between Cairns and Port Douglas. I had to stay out of the water because of the Stingers, Crocodiles and strong currents but it was good to have a leg stretch on the beach, even if I did have to stay on the long lead.
On Tuesday I went to the Cairns dog club training night and had a run on their agility equipment. I did not get to do sequences, just one piece at a time, but I had forgotten a lot of my training so maybe it was just as well.
There were lots of dogs to talk to, including another Toller, Fernando. I will be going back on Thursday night for more work.