Happy Birthday Tiffany

My big sister Tiffany is 2 years old today. We had a bone each to celebrate, Tiffany is shown in the pic as it is her birthday.
In the last year Tiffany has:
Become a Champion of her Breed.
Become a Community Companion Dog in Obedience trials.
Passed 2 Novice Obedience trials.
Competed in Agility, Jumping and Games trials.
Travelled interstate to Vic., NSW, Qld and NT.
Been to the Tip of Cape York.
Visted dog clubs in Vic, NSW, Qld and NT.
Became the Top Lady Dog in the Gundog Club Obedience section.
Played with dogs all over the country.

This is what life is like when you are a Toller.

Tiffany Passed!

Tiffany now has TWO passes in Novice after last nights trial. The pic shows her with her sash and card.
It was a team effort. We were both in the crate and I gave her a good talking to, letting her know she had to stay with Keith all the time. I stayed out of sight and kept quiet while Tiffany was working, she did get out of position a bit, but my pre-trial chat helped her to keep up, and she remembered to get back in position. In the stays, my help with distraction training paid off. Tiffany watched another dog break, but she did not move and kept one eye on Keith all the time. Tiffany needs one more pass to get the title Companion Dog, and that could be in 2 weeks time.
My turn in trials is coming up soon; just waiting on Kathy.

Back in Training

Here we are, back in training. I am practising for the Down Stay, and Hannah is being the distraction. Hopefully I will be able to stay still for three minutes on Saturday at the dog trial.

Last week was not too good. I thought I did well, I did all the jumps in the opening sequence of the Snooker Trial, got all the way round the closing sequence up to the last obstacle which was the Weaving Poles, and just because I missed ONE pole, two from the end, they said I failed! Then we did the Gamblers Trial. I got well over the minimum of 20 points in the opening sequence, did the first two jumps in the closing sequence, and just because I ran past the broad jump, one jump from the end, they failed me again. Most unfair.

Holiday Time

We have finished the competitions and now we are on holiday. The pic shows us at Kiama, on our walk along the cliff path.

We had a day out at Dolls Point while the humans visited relatives and we had a walk along the coast. Dogs were not allowed on the beach so we could not have a swim.

Today we are traveling again, heading for home.

Hannah - Minor Puppy in Group

Here is Hannah in the show ring getting awarded Minor Puppy in Group at the Sapphire Coast Kennel Club Show. She was magnificent in the ring, performing expertly as though she had done it all her life. Out of the three shows, Hannah made Best of Breed three times and Minor Puppy in Group twice. She is on 48 point towards her Champion Title.
I got so excited for Hannah I messed up in the Trial Ring, only passing 1 trial. It has got Keith worrying about what keeps going wrong. He said I was getting worse, not better. It is all too much excitement for one dog to cope with for so many events in two weeks.

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.