Another year ...

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Another year, been and gone, and here we are again ... reminiscing over the past 12 months, chewing over the ups and downs, taking notes on our successes and finding the lessons in our not so successful experiences.

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Sometimes, just when you think you've got it all sorted out, someone throws you a curve-ball and your whole world is turned upside down!

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2009 delivered many challenges for me,

and many successes for Westurn ...

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... oooOOOooo ...

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Firstly, we had a new edition to the family. Something I've wanted for a long time and all I can say is "be careful what you wish for" ... "Party" (Belgian Malinois) joined us in August, threw our household into a whirlwind of chaos with her wild and crazy ways. Nothing has changed, she is still the wild child of the house and I've even heard a whisper that someone here would gladly have another dalmatian puppy instead of a "working-line malinois" puppy! now that's saying something!!! Party will continue to challenge and educate us as the new year evolves and I look forward to the journey with her as our relationship grows.

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Latest video of Party on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuaKY61BXGU

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... oooOOOooo ...

The Girls (Mum and Rene) had a really successful year in the show ring with their Papillons, earning numerous "in Group" awards in 2009 including ... Tiger (2 Minor in Groups), Genie (2 Puppy and 2 Minor In Groups), Satu (State Bred & Junior in Group) and Comet (State Bred & Intermediate In Group) also finishing his Championship Title!

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... oooOOOooo ...

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Krash (Belgian Malinois), or Mr Muscle as we call him, gained his Championship Title and continues to demonstrate his friendly personality to the judges that he has been lucky enough to meet.
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... oooOOOooo ...

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Agility has tapered down for me however we still managed a number of achievements ...

• Ticket gained her Snooker and Gamblers titles (SD & GD)
• Chilli gained her Gambler, Excellent Jumping and Agility Dog Titles (GD, JDX & AD) and also qualified in the finals at the State Trial for Agility and Excellent Jumping!
• Summer gained her Agility, Excellent Jumping and Strategic Pairs Titles (AD, JDX & SPD) and also qualified in the finals at the State Trial for Excellent Jumping!

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... oooOOOooo ...

As you all know I also ventured into a new career last year, with thanks to my friends and family who encouraged, and are still supporting, me ... the detector dogs have arrived and I start full-time "dog training" from tomorrow!

This has brought many changes ... in my daily life and also in my own personal values. I've had to make some serious sacrifices, more so than I really anticipated, sometimes frustrating my human and furry family and sometimes at the expense of my own goals and expectations ... as they say, one door opens yet another door closes and occasionally we are forced to re-evaluate our goals, to move our goal posts to a more realistic place.

2009 has brought me many new friends, many unexpected new experiences and relationships. Some will bless me forever, some will be a memory to cherish.

Roll on 2010!

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Hectic! Crazy! ... soooo Busy!

Crazy ...

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It's just crazy ... Christmas is here (almost), Mum's flat out with the kennels, the Summer heat is dictating our routines (with exercising the dogs, watering, training - everything has to be either really early or really late!), everything is growing before our eyes ... meaning more gardening, mowing, raking, weeding ... work is full on - I'm working all the public holidays this Christmas, including New Years Day on a 4am start (so there'll be no New Years Eve celebrations for me this year!), it's just never-ending!

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Anyhow, it's been a while since my last post - I've been really busy! - it’s been an interesting few weeks … with trying to fill my bosses shoes whilst she was sunning herself in beautiful Queensland and a number of unexpected airport shifts, I’ve hardly had time to scratch myself, let alone find the time to play with Party (as she grows up before my eyes!) and then trying to get enough sleep to keep functioning without losing every last bit of the little amount of patience that I have left!

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I have found time, however, to take some video of some of the kids in the backyard ... check them out at our You Tube channel ...

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"Who let the dogs out?" - Krash & Chilli playing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1La2K4K8-8

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"Hunter & the Girls" - BC's Hunter, Delta, Summer & Ticket

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0Qwg5AYzz4

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Krash "Hunting Ants" (you wouldn't believe where Krash finds ants!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_iRRajfWss

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Party "Duck Diving" – toys in the water bucket!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwTOxqWgtZ0

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Lights!

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We've finally got the power connected to the kennels (it’s only taken us 3 years!) so now we’re lit up like a Christmas Tree (just in time for Chrissy) ... and geeze it makes like easier! You don't realise what you make do without until you have it.

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Detector Dogs

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Our detector dogs for work finally arrive 1st January! I’m looking forward to finally getting into it and doing what I came to the job for. With 2 months of “handler training” scheduled for January/February to look forward to, being paid to play with dogs, the new year is looking promising already … a new year and a fresh start in more ways that one!

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Happy Birthday Crash-Man!

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Cash had his 10th birthday yesterday, 12th December ... wow, that means it's that long (10 years) that I've been competing in agility?!!! Thats a decade! Hmmm .... well, Cash isn't any worse for wear, even tho retired from agility years ago he's still thoroughly enjoying the comforts of home ... sleeping on the bed, still bossing the girls around (the boys bash him up!), bench surfing in the kitchen (when we let our guard down ... and oh my, he has done some serious bench surfing damage!!!), and just simply couch potatoing wherever he can.

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My "Heart Dog" ... who weaved his way into my heart, showed me the passion of dog training and taught me so much ... bless him!

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Agility

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Last night was the last agility trial of the year for us. Ticket & Carrie were entered and good ol' reliable "Carrie Dalmatian" gained another Qualifyer in Masters Jumping ... only one more Q and she's achieved her JDM2! I think she really enjoyed herself on this run ...

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She's such a fun dog to work with ... she really takes the pressure off after running a dog like Ticket who is so unpredictable, and regularly knocks bars ... it's actually a nice change sometimes, to run with a dog like Carrie that only needs clear course direction, rather than micro managing and continual support!

Even so, Ticket also did some lovely runs, although no qualifying rounds, but some really nice work. Here's a couple of her runs ...

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Not sure if I'll get time to post again before Christmas/New Year ... so here's wishing you all a very Merry and Safe Christmas and a Happy New Year! Love to all your families and friends and not forgetting your friends and relatives far and wide!

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Agility again ...

Saturday night was the first time in years that I've made it home from an agility trial before 11pm! Well done to Perth Training Dog Club on a very organised trial!

Saturday also saw Carrie qualify in Masters Agility ... and thanks to Sue & Linda for the following video of Carrie's run!

Ticket also did some lovely runs, although no "Q's", we had some fun and she did some awesome contacts!

Only a couple of trials left this year ... Ticket is sitting on her JDO title ... maybe we'll pick up that last Q to finish her title before the end of the year!

... till next time.

Trialling ... back into full swing!

It feels like ages since we've been in full swing with trialling ... I've missed a few trials in the last few months so it was good to get back into it with last Sunday's Agility Club Agility, Jumping and Strategic Pairs trials, followed by this Saturday at the Shepherd Club and a double header at Rockingham Dog Club on Sunday. OK, I slept in on Sunday morning so missed some morning runs ... but I do have an excuse ... two weeks of 4am starts at work I think is good enough reason.

Last weekend I ran Ticket in her Open and Masters jumping, a really nice effort on Richard’s Masters course I must say, just one bar down but some really nice work, and a great run in Open Jumping with a handler error! After her 2nd run I felt that she wasnt quite right, maybe a pulled muscle or something ... so I scratched her from the agility classes. Her visit to the bowen therapist on the following Monday confirmed my suspicions ... pinched nerves.

Qualifier for that day was Carrie, with partner Meg (Gillian’s sweet little BC), in Masters Strategic Pairs, and also taking 3rd Place!

More nice Masters Jumping runs with Ticket this weekend, although no qualifiers, still really nice runs from the little girl. Although a really hot afternoon on Saturday, Ticket just keeps on keeping on.

Here's a link to video of her last run at Rockingham, a really nice open, flowing course by Sarah Wickham: http://www.youtube.com/user/westurnborders#p/u/0/FlqP1CdU9eU.

Next weekend off ... then the first of the night trials on Friday 30th October ... roll on Summer!

Perth Royal Show 2009

Thank God it's over! We say it every year,

yet year after year we go back for more!

It's exciting, it's fun, it's stressful and it's very exhausting;

but we survived another year and here's what we did ...

Saturday 26th & Monday 28th September - Agility & Jumping

This is the first time Ticket has been to the Royal Show ... in previous years I haven't been game to let her loose in such a crowded environment and, given that her biggest fear is the approach of strangers, she coped incredibly well. She had to cope with walking through crowds to get to/from exercise areas and also competing in a ring completely surrounded by strangers, up to 4-5 deep on some sides. She was focussed, held her start lines allowing me to lead out some 4-5 jumps and she tried very hard to do everything I ask of her on course.

As a dog trainer, I feel that I have actually achieved much of what I set out to do when I first took this troubled little girl on at 2 years old. As a team, I feel that we both achieved a lot this weekend, our trust in each other grew and my team mate still gave me her very best in one of the most stressful situations she has ever had to deal with. Well done little Tick - I am proud of you!

Carrie also flew the flag for the Dalmatians, and without making a comic of me, she made a good impresssion in both Masters Classes! and still the only Dalmatian competing in agility in WA.

Sunday 27th September - Group 1 (Toy Dogs) Showing

Sunday was Group 1 Day (Toy breeds, including Papillons). Mum and Rene showed the Pap's and little Tiger won his class for the breed.

Certainly glad I didn't have to go on Group 1 day ... needed a day off inbetween Sat and Mon.

Thursday 1st October - Group 5 (Working Dogs) Showing

The biggest challenge was getting there with two entire males and one very "nearly" in season bitch in the one car! They were all very good and we all got there and home in one piece. Unfortunately I forgot to take photo's of Hunter (Mum's border collie) however, plenty of pic's of the Chilli & Krash (Malinois) ... and a big thank you to Andrea Carde who was there to from dusk to dawn helping us, including showing Chilli for Best of Breed and snapping away with the video and camera too ... thank you Andrea! Will upload video's to you tube soon!

Pic's of Krash (Ch Vanrusselhof Krash) and Chilli (Ch Vanrusselhof On Fire AD JDX GD) ... Krash won Challenge Dog and Best of Breed for the Malinois, Chilli was Challenge Bitch and Runner-up Best of Breed.

Both were great ambassadors for the Belgian Malinois breed,

greeting the public with lots of licks and cuddles, adults and kids alike ...

... and the end of a very long day ...

till next year!

Party video's ...

Video of Party taken this week ... Ladder games at 4 months old ...

More video updates on my You Tube channel: http://www.youtube.com/westurnborders

Time Flies!

Wow, how time flies! It's been almost 4 weeks since I last posted (sorry!) ... since starting my new job and inbetween that and sharing my time with Party and my other kids, time is becoming very precious. Long days at work, early starts and new challenges ... all very interesting, also very taxing at times. Priority One is Party and she's been a darling little puppy, fitting into our lives easily ... as every other belgian we've had has done so.

From day one she has slept right thru every night, she has fitted into our routine and takes everything in her stride ... although, at a million miles per hour, I might add! No, I'm not complaining ... she's just awesome! ... and the happiest little puppy anyone could ever wish to own.

Also in the last 4 weeks Ticket had her first real trial back after injury earlier this year, and so far, hasn't look back ... lookin' good for the Nationals!!! She qualified at the GSDA of WA trial on 25th July in Excellent Agility, also winning 1st Place! Wow ... not what I expected but it's a great start to her re-start.

All pic's on this post are Party at nearly 13 weeks old.

Best of Friends

Best of Friends ... here Chilli & Sketch watching over their backyard (ready to chase any birds who dare to play on their agility gear!)

This Saturday just gone was Gosnells Dog Club double header Agility & Jumping Trials. A successful day with my crew of "casual" girls ... Chilli qualified in 2nd Place in Excellent Jumping at the morning trial, also gaining her JDX Title, then qualified in the same class in the afternoon winning 1st Place! Summer had two good NFC runs in Novice Jumping. Carrie qualified in 5th Place in Masters Jumping in the morning, then to my surprise she qualified in Masters Agility in the afternoon for 2nd Place - not a bad effort for the spotted dog! All placings at this trial were in height classes.

Unexpected Success ...

It seems like forever since we’ve been to an agility trial … since Ticket has been in “rehab” and Summer just finds the whole trialling thing a little overwhelming, I’ve been doing a little more showing rather that trialling … so I really enjoyed the Agility Clubs double header trials last Sunday and had an unexpectedly successful day (considering the little training I had been doing).

I trialled Carrie in Masters Jumping and Open Jumping at both morning and afternoon trials – she did her usual “Dalmatian” thing and was the Class Clown for all of her runs, totally enjoying herself to the fullest!

I entered Summer in “Not For Competition” (NFC) Novice Jumping. As she now has her JDX title which means she would have to run in Masters otherwise, which I am sure she would definitely not have coped with. So a couple of “fun runs” in novice jumping was all she did and I think it did the world of good for her. In the afternoon run she was more relaxed at the start line and seemed to be actually enjoying the run, rather than having her usual “I hope I’m doing this right” doubt on her face. So success it was, and we’ll definitely see her do a few more NFC runs yet … before we tackle any of the hard stuff!

Chilli was the one who TOTALLY surprised me … her first run of the day was her best (as usual) and it was my worst! This was Novice Agility, she was happy and keen (well, as keen as Chilli can be) and almost at the end of the course Chilli came out of the tunnel to the weavers and we collided and I managed a very clumsy “face-plant” in the turf … I realized we were still on a Q and I scurried to my feet to continue on and to my surprise Chilli successfully continued on to do her weavers and finish the course in time! That Q earned her Agility Dog Title!

After our not-so-graceful Novice Agility run we went straight into the Excellent Jumping ring and she was still happy and keen (even after our little tumble). We finished the course in time and clear, and also ended up being the only team that qualified and therefore in 1st place!

In the afternoon Chilli qualified again in Excellent Jumping … leaving just one more pass needed to gain her JDX title! Geeze, I’m not sure she will make time in the Masters ring but then again, she may have some more surprises up her sleeve yet!

Lovely portrait shot of Chilli (above) taken by Tim Abidin (http://www.yourdogphotos.com/).

Till next time …

A New Concept in Trialling ...

Above photo credit to Robyn Evan (Winpara Border Collies)

"Summer" Westurn Secret Sunrise AD JDX SPD

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This weekend just gone saw one of our WA Clubs try a new concept in our trialling format … Perth Training Club ran their Agility & Jumping trial on Monday 27th April with separate courses for all heights. All heights in all classes competed on courses specifically designed for that particular height and class for the very first time in Western Australia.
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It was very interesting … and I have to admit that if I hadn’t had my 200 dog entered I probably would have poo poo’d the whole idea. It was a long day, there was a lot of waiting around to your walk courses and a lot of course changing, etc. HOWEVER, when I finally walked the 200 Masters Jumping course I was pleasantly surprised. It was just delightful (thanks to judge Cindy Didsman) and to see the little dogs run this course it was even better. These little dogs didn’t have time to lose interest, wonder where they were going next, get mislead or stressed … they just flew!!! Dogs that usually lost their handlers on the big courses were focused and really enjoying themselves.
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With that in mind I understand the argument of having courses designed specifically for different heights, and until you’ve actually competed with an extra small (or extra large) dog I don’t know if could really appreciate the true value of this innovation. I certainly would not have supported it if I had only had a 500 dog!

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Unfortunately we don’t have the numbers in all heights in WA to really justify running all trials like this, and I must admit if I was only running a 500 dog I’m not sure that I would bother going to such a long day of trialling. There are certainly changes and improvements to be made to the whole process, and I doubt the 5 separate height courses will stick but I can certainly see a future with maybe splitting the heights into two sections - maybe 200 & 300 dogs on one course then 400, 500 & 600 dogs on another course, or maybe the 400’s could go with the lower heights? Who knows, but congratulations to the club for trying something new!
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Our trialling Results this weekend were fairly positive ....

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Sunday’s double header saw Summer win first place in Excellent Jumping in the morning, also gaining her JDX title, then placing 2nd in Excellent Agility and Monday saw her gain yet another Q in Excellent Jumping, and in 3rd place.
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Carrie (above) competed for the first time in 18 months on Monday, and blowing out the cobwebs in the Masters Jumping class she placed 6th with a lovely run! It was nice to have the spotty dog off the couch and out there having a blast again! She really is a fun dog! You can see her run on YouTube at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl0PKVk2nLI
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Krash came for a day out to the trial on Sunday, and took some time out to pose for the camera. Thanks to Graeme Fairley for these pic’s below (and above of Carrie) ...

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Where's the "ON" Button?!

So what do you do with a Border Collie that just won’t go?! She has energy to burn, in the safety of her own backyard however, somehow couldn’t even get her bum off the start line in one of her jumping runs last weekend ...

(Above Photo - Credit Robyn Evans @ Winpara Border Collies)

I’ve been putting it down to confidence that she pulls these little stunts …she stops suddenly in the middle of a run and starts gazing at the sky or sniffing the ground - basically she just freezes, them moves v e r y s l o w l y a n d c a r e f u l l y. It has happened occasionally in training (away from home), but only in agility, not jumping. Her contact training has been a tad shady (I’ve made a few mistakes in making the criterion clear enough so there is some doubt there) therefore I understand her hesitancy when confronted with contacts (in hindsight, I probably put her in the Agility ring too soon). What I don’t understand is her showing lack of confidence in the jumping ring – something she LOVES in training.

If you saw her tearing around the jumping course at training a few weeks ago you would have thought it was a different dog. She was focused, fast and happy to be there. The next night at the trial, on the very same grounds, in the same spot, was our excellent jumping ring and she once again, lost concentration and started looking for aliens half way round the course!

(Above Photo - Credit Paul Burton)

Seriously, motivating Summer is quite a mystery to me … I’m not sure what it is that upsets her at trials and until I work it out I guess I’m not going to get much improvement out of her performances. Sometimes she will fly round the ring and occasionally when she finds her turbo-boosters it’s in the wrong direction, I have to carefully redirect her, without telling her off, and keep her motivation up. She is always faster running towards the finish line … so how do I get that to begin at the start line?

Hmmm, just another challenge I guess … keep training Helen!

WA State Agility Trial 2009

(Above Photo - Credit to Robyn Evans @ Winpara Border Collies)

I think we had a fairly successful State Trial this year … Young Chilli made it through to two finals and Summer (somehow) made it through to one. Chilli came out with a 5th Place in Novice Agility and 8th Place in Excellent Jumping – enough to secure her as a State Finalist in both classes. Summer placed 5th place in Excellent Jumping, also a place good enough to take her through to the Finals in that class.

(Photo's below - Credit to Paul Burton)

To be honest I didn’t expect either of them to place high enough to even qualify for a final, and we certainly were NOT the force to be reckoned with in the Finals, however, we were there! Summer threw all sorts of stupid little antics at me over the weekend, at one stage she stayed glued on the start line as I sprinted off to do the course all alone! What goes thru her little head I’ll never know but she certainly lacks a huge amount of confidence and I can see it’s going to be a long haul to get her performance up to scratch under pressure (more about that later).



Chilli, was just perfect little Chilli (nope, I’m not biased, I just think she’s perfect) … although not the fastest Malinois on the planet she is turning out to be fairly consistent and steady. I don’t have great expectations of either of these girls so I guess anything is a thrill at the moment.

Dear Chilli ...

This photo really tugged at my heartstrings …

“Dear Chilli, I am so sorry that I sent you into a supposedly safe tunnel only for you to get tangled up in it and have to struggle to free yourself, and finally finding the end, skidding on your face as you exited, totally disoriented as to which was was up.”

This was our Novice Agility run at Cloverdale's trial on Saturday 4th April. After finishing this run I reminded the judge to untangle the tunnel for the next dog so that they weren't caught up like Chilli was, and in doing so we found that the tunnel wasn’t even pegged down to start with!

This left me with two things on my mind …

Firstly, it bothers me that ultimately, I lied to my dog! Not intentionally of course but my dog trusted me and I trusted that the tunnel was safe and it wasn’t! That’s fine when you’ve got a high-drive bomb-proof agility addicted dog BUT … when you’ve worked hard to motivate, focus and build a relationship of trust with your low drive dog and you then tell them that something is completely safe and it isn’t – it certainly sends you backwards in your training as you rebuild that trust back to the same level.

Secondly, this un-pegged tunnel moved quite substantially and set Chilli on an off-course line, a good couple of metres off line to where it should have been, off line for the next jump and yes she took the next jump the wrong way and top it off with the comment from the judge that “your dog should have come to you regardless of where she came out of the tunnel” ... she had to rebalance and reorient herself, and then respond accurately to my desperate calls to come to me (all through no fault of her own, or her handler) .… well, she did come to me and she recovered quickly to continue on with the course … what a good girl.

I felt this situation was very unfair, if a dog had normally skidded and tumbled in a properly pegged tunnel they would not have ended up off course like this, and fair enough, they should then resurrect themselves and deal with their mistake. This was not Chilli’s, or my, mistake and in all fairness, could consideration have been given for a rerun?

Yes, it is the competitor/handlers responsibility to check the equipment is safe when walking the course; however, this tunnel was pegged when the course was initially set up ... whatever happened to the pegs in-between is unknown! Don’t get me wrong, I am not blaming anyone, it certainly wasn't left un-pegged intentionally.

Fortunately Chilli is a very forgiving dog and she recovered quickly to finish the course – however we will definitely need to work on collapsible tunnels this week ...

On a positive note, Chilli did qualify in Excellent Jumping, and Summer qualified in Novice Agility in 3rd Place to finish her AD title, plus qualifying in Excellent Jumping too.

Photo’s on this post of Chilli and Summer, all at Saturday’s trial, by Tim Abidin (http://www.yourdogphotos.com/). Thanks Tim!