The archive of the 2009 entries (after I lost all my PREVIOUS entries in October!)

Saturday 26th December

Feet back on the ground now ;-) No firm plans are in place but all we DO know is we want a tiny ceremony and a huge party!!! And definatly not a hotel type 'do', nothing traditional. Just something at a country pub, with a big hog roast and a bigger knees up! So you can take it that will be with the better weather.... if there is such a thing these days ;-)

The dogs 'kind of' enjoyed Christmas, we had everyone here and with such a tiny house its all about them having the legs run off them then put away for several hours at a time ;-)

Training has been so slack on my part lately ,so come Jan 1st we need to get some kind of rota going. By god, I have Mallie needing tweeking back up for Open tests starting end of March, then Bondy and Tom very seriously needing a bit of a planned campaign. I realise I've had a bit of a misconception with them. I've pushed Tom ahead as he is older..... expected more, but infact his own ability level, and more importantly, ability to retain information, is less than Bonds. Possibly not suprisingly considering Bonds breeding consisting of sharp driven dogs (Not that Toms DAD isn't, but his mum wouldn't be anyones idea of 'driven' except under her own terms when she is a Ferarri when SHE wants!), but its a misjudgement on my part and Tom has hit a bit of a wall. Where as everytime I train BOND he gets better and better and seems to remember everything previously. Smart arse Meercat eh?  ;-)

I'll give an actual example. Initally Tom had a huge desire to retrieve and hold. and deliver. Bondy was more concerned about 'being' with me, so his heelwork and general obedience was superb for a puppy, he made you feel like a good trainer, smooth, sharp, clean and that you were doing it all 'right'. Toms obedience was more hit and miss, willing but more fidgety. He was more hesitatnt and certainly his heelwork was harder to feel comfortable with. But get a dummy out and Tom would go out on memory backs from great distances and even blinds. He WANTED to be 'out there' and 'wanted' to find something. Bondy only wanted to please me. Retrieving for the love of retrieving was not his game. So I said 'Back' and once he understood the word he went, but sometimes only a few feet, and he would dance back to my side and sit quivering with confusion and knowing that it was not what was wanted but he didn't want to leave me, especially if I THEN gave off 'cheesed off but trying desperately to be patient' vibes. If I got cross, keeping it inside of course, he still felt it and wouldn't go out at all! Even if he could see it on the ground... Where as Tom didn't give a stuff and would fly out. So vicious circle. I would get fustrated with Bondy, making him more concerned, and Tom would be king boy, and so lept in confidence as he was always having something to be hugely praised about.

So fast forward to me realising this a while back and playing a different tack with Bondy and suddenly, that and increasing age and general confdence, and he now will do the flying out Tom did when younger. However, in doing one too many memory backs with Tom, as I walked back to him to heel away before sending him, Tom started running in as I turned him at heel. So the first time or so you smile and consider his enthusiasm appealling and promising. And you slip the lead on as you heel away to prevent it. But then trying to progress from that, but having the lead on sometimes, and not slipping it on others, resulted in a puppy that several times, as he went to run in, get bawled at to stop (stupidly.... but part of my misjudgement was I thought him harder than he really is).... and now, in just a few sessions I have a dog that still can run in on a memory back but does it from a belly crawl and sometimes won't go out at all if he got a bawl where I tried one without a lead and it all went pearshaped! So I have to do something easy like running in on a thrown mark and call it a day, and the fretfully wonder why I was so stuipid as to open my gob in such a sergent major fashion, and have to wait till the next day to undo it.... but this only needs to happen a couple of times with a soft youngster and without any brash self confidence to shake it off, they start to fret and stress and pack it in.

As I say, the dog blog is a 'warts and all' admitance that this is a hard game and its all a learning curve and a juggling act. Tom, from Jan 1st is going back to basics to get my confident, happy boy back. Hes not gone far, but I've been a pratt to knock his confidence. Bondy will push ahead but I feel now we need to hook up and train with a person or two to see if it all falls apart in company ;-) I am also going to shorten his sessions and work on one thing at a time. Its about time Bondy started going left and right, for example, but have been quite tied up in distances that this has been skipped over. But there is STACKS of time, he is only 8 months and Tom 9. They are streets ahead of any dog I've trained myself before, but I need to just think them through a bit more and go back to doing a bit of presession planning or it will start to fall apart!

Somehow, with Grahams help, Fish has just lept in confidence, keeness and ability. There are many areas need sorting now, including his stop whistle at a distance, and his hunting (he marking is excellent... but if he hasn't marked something he does tend to hold an unfeasibly larfge 'area' when hunting, he travels so quickly, and its something I am SO not used to! Deeds and Jade holding an area, for example, consisted of them standing still and looking around  their feet... before declaring 'not here! Handle me!' So an expansive throw of the arm and a 'OUT!' would move them fifteen foot and another look round their feet.... ditto 'BACK!!!'  However with Fish. If you stop him and want him to hunt or move fifteen foot to his left you have to whisper 'there' and indicate with a gentle left hand down hunting motion. A loud out and a throw of an arm would put him in Kent... instantly.... and thats 60 miles away   ;-)   ;-)

Have pity for me, so many different combinations of both pedigrees, personalities and natural abilities here from Mallie to Jade to Deeds to Shiney to Fish to Tom to Bond makes for some seriously sleepless nights thinking stuff through! I can see why show people linebreed, to get a familiar and pleasing to their eye kind of a dog, basically every time. I can see why working folks would do so to get something that you could train even remotely like their other dogs! Its like having a old Mini, a Landrover, and a couple of Porches and occasionally forgetting not to slam the accelerator down in the Porche too hard, and not just tap the brakes in the landrover or you would end up in the ditch!   ;-)

However the blinding good news is that Fish loves Humpy Pumpy and his two bitches, last couple of weeks, have both come and gone to their owners satisfaction (if you pardon the phrase) and he, whilst needing a little shoving in the right direction, fully justified ironing his best shagging trousers and is a silent deadly demon! Roll on Shiney coming into season now, probably his next 'target'  ;-)   Happy Christmas all !!!

Saturday 19th December - A VERY Special entry!!!

 So he seemed normal as we drove to our shoot....

... The day was freezing. Seriously freezing. Snow everywhere, fresh, fluffy and picturesque. We were at the place I probably love most in the whole world, our Shoot - Newhouse Farm, surrounded by friends.

I manage the picking up team so when the shoot captain called me to him, into the centre of the ring of guns, beaters and so on, after the health and safety speech, I expected to be bollocked for something last time that happened without me knowing, or to be given my walkie talkie and told not to fall in a river if at all possible.

However the shoot captain said:

" Di, I think someone has something to say to you..."

I turned and Allan was behind me. he went down in the snow on one knee and he said:

" I am not quite sure what to say but I want to ask you, Di, if you would make me very happy and marry me.....?"

Oh my god.

So I said 'yes! Oh my god... oh (unmentionable word), yes!'

And he gave me a ring. And I loved it and it fitted. And I cannot think of something more perfect in my life. We then went out and did 8 briloliant drives on a blue crisp clear snowy beautiful day, with more friends around us than you can shake a stick at, doing the job that everything we do is all about.

Was a girl ever luckier? No!

The moment!!!

'Ahhhhhhhhhhh!'

Monday 14th December

So nearly a month rolls by. And all sorts happens but I never quite get around to writing about it! As regards trial runs I feel that we might as well draw a line under this year really. A week after the trial talked about below we got a call on the Friday night to say we were IN the next day at Blackmore, Essex with Utility Kent & East Sussex. Thrilled I was, thrilled! Then roughly twenty minutes later Al called me to look at Mallie and she was, certainly sitting very strangely. Upon flipping her over she had ripped her belly on what seems like wire. A clean cut, no blood, but deep and huge! We got through the night without disaster and took her along to the vet hospital in Brighton, where they put her out under GA and stitched her up and put a drain in. Meantime I took Deeds along to our shoot and got a few good drives in (what a FANTASTIC season we are having on our shoot this year! But thats another story completely...!) and then shot off and picked her up. She was deeply uncomfortable for a couple of days then, in Mallie style, threw it off, but nevertheless had two weeks of stitches and is only just coming back into work. Poor Smoo. Have pretty much decided to concentrate on the youngsters and take her out shooting and let her 'relax'. She has been fantastic, and played well above her natural game the last two years, and will enjoy some Open tests this summer very much, but at seven there is not a lot you can teach her now, and her bad habit of not delivering live/runner cock birds well will knock her every time, so, chances are we may be lucky enough to get a January run or two, but then thats probably it for Moo.... as regards trialing, NOT as regards Working Testing ;-)

 I think sometimes you have to be realistic. Boy, she has taught me so much about what I want to do and where I want to go with the dogs and I will be eternally grateful for that. Its been a huge pleasure watching faces when they expect her to plod and she doesn't. Or expect her to squeak and she doesn't. Or expect her to run in and (usually! Grin) she DOESN'T!!  ;-) But its all about the kids now... and boy they are taking up my time!

 In general I believe it only stopped raining yesterday after god ran out of water. I mean, wet doesn't even do credit to how its been lately. Does it mean you are getting old when you notice constantly what the weather is doing? Someone once said to me 'there is no such thing as bad weather only bad choice of clothing,' and I can only say, from the bottom of my heart, what absolute bollocks that really is ;-) I could have walked the dogs in scuba diving gear (with snorkle) some days and still got soaked! Its not till you have eight dogs in a small house and garden that you realise there really IS such a thing as 'too many dogs' and as usual, my Mother was right on that one when the last puppy came home.....  ;-)

 Fishy the Fish. What a legend that boy is. Despite doing his utmost to ruin his chances of a leg over sometime in his life by being a 'running fool' from 4 months of age and falling off assorted patio walls, down steps and over his own (outsized) feet, and therefore wreaking his joints, infact he came back with decent enough scoring hips and perfect scoring elbows. Then he wandered into deepest darkest Kent this weekend just gone and passed his eye certificate so he is good to go. His best shagging trousers are neatly ironed and folded over the 'mating stool' and he sits patiently waiting, as his first lady is well and truely in season. The funny thing is hes never been a 'sexy' dog. If anything is going to get humped around here it is Fish. So there is always that moment of heart in mouthness when presented with their first girlfriend... but we shall see! At just about 15 months old he should we well up to the job.... and the thing is, if he ISN'T then you can be sure a small yellow Meercat will be elbowing his way to the front if he had HIS way because Bondy is a world class humper ;-) I feel a large padlock and some boards nailed to the windows might be best for Bondys kennel whilst Fishys girlfriend is here or the Biscuit Nickols child may well be yelling obsenities at the Fish-meister's ladyfriend such as 'Oyyyy darlin.... got any yellow in you? WANT SOME?????!!!!!'...... and so on.... Ironically Bondy probably will be the boy here least in demand because his wonderful FT CH dad is only a few miles away - and rightly so - but I tell you, that child.... well....I mean ..... REALLY!!!!!   ;-)    ;-) The fact that Fishys first girlfriend is a chocolate Deeds daughter may make for some interesting late night kennel chat, I feel, between them! So I'd like a loud chorus of 'Go on, my Son!' vibes for Fish in the next few days please!.... ;-)

Went to Graham (Homes)'s last week. Well now.... what IS it with my car? How does it constantly get me into stupidly embarassing situations? I mean, its had the national income of a small country spent on it in the last two years but ALWAYS seem to have just one more trick up its exhaust pipe... Just a fortnight ago in driving to collect a stray 'Gazebo' for the gundog club from some kind person who found it wandering the fields of West Sussex alone and afraid, I hit a small (and I MEAN small) pothole. BANG! That wasn't just the end of one of the stupidly low profile tyres, but it manged to buckle the whole alloy wheel too.... so saw Allan driving to my assistance in the rush hour miles from home in the pouring rain (of COURSE!) and the Gazebo rescuer having to hoof it down to me whilst I waiting with my flat tyre and buckled wheel for Al to arrive. The fact I was STARVING and had broken down infront of Kates Cakes which is a massive bakery was just torture! The smells whafting at me from every side made me hate my car, hate Renaults in general and LOATHE the French more than EVER!

Ok so we were at Grahams weren't we? Sorry i do waffle don't I? (Don't answer that......) So a long sad episode with my dog guard not fitting properly resulted in it being chucked on the back seat in fury. So also gave complete free rein for dogs to leap from the boot forward to 'where-ever they damn well pleased'. So out we go with Fish to train, and after a short while, Graham says 'Your flashers are on Di' and sure enough, The Meercat is sitting in the drivers seat watching our brilliant session, having stamped all over the dashboard. I thought little of this and removed him to his rightful place. And despite his solemn promises to stay there, five minutes later we are flashing all over the shop again. So Graham says, 'well look swap dogs now and we'll do a bit with the puppy'... so we do.... and very shortly afterwards FISH is sat, driving googles on, ready to start the engine with the flashers blinking away.

Now on a NORMAL car this wouldn't matter apart from needing a SERIOUS valet. But this isn't a normal car. This is my car. This is French. Fifteen minutes of flashing flashers had the battery as dead as a doornail. My pathetically small jump leads didn't even put enough charge in to make it cough let alone start, and so the RAC had to be called. Well of course that involved a bit of thinking outside the box in itself because we were, to put it politely, in the arse end of nowhere and postcodes and landmarks don't come easily to large expanses of open field land! Anyway for a 1pm lesson, it was a great testiment to Grahams patience that by the time I actually limped off having had a lovely jump start from Mr RACman, it was not only pitch black and raining but chances are he had missed his dinner! So...Graham.... thank you! Not only are you a genius trainer, you are a complete gent too (Lets face it, the urge to say 'if you dogs stayed where you put them rather than dancing all over your car and this wouldn't have happened' MUST have been on the tip of his tongue!!)

Stick with me, theres never a dull moment.... ;-)

Tuesday 17th  Nov 

Only Tuesday! Are you impressed...?  ;-) I wanted to drop in and say we didn't get a run on Saturday but then, with 80mph winds going on it was not the hugest hardship in the world I must admit! ;-) What a wimp! So now waiting on hearing from UGS Kent for this Saturday. I am number 29 so who knows? ..... Have to say Mallie is a bit rusty. Been concentrating so much on the youngsters. Maybe thats the answer..... I'll wheel her out having not done a thing for weeks, and she will be so thrilled she is back doing stuff she will behave her brown arse! Hmmmm......   ;-)

I feel we need to stand up and lets hear a round of applause for Bondy. (Clapping......)  ;-) Bondy's penny has dropped. Infact its more like hes won the lottery than had a penny drop.... He LOVES training now... Now I have to take my hat off to Gilly and to a friend, Andrew from Lowforge Gundogs who both strictly told me not to expect too much too soon. To take it very slowly. That it would come in time. And course I twitched and did a bit... then did nothing... then wondered why he just wasn't picking it up well... and then suddenly he LOOKS older, he has broadened out (a bit! Hes still a size zero rolemodel!) he has muscled up a little and his brain has switched into 'I love retrieving' mode! Love that boy! Meercats unite to take on the brown dogs next year!  ;-)

Now you know I spoke about only being happy when I had something to worry about? My new worry is next year and working tests. Its not a huge one, just a little one but I thought i'd share it so, next year, when my working test friends are all moaning at me, I can say 'didn't you read my blog????!! No??? Well I KNEW you guys were going to say this!!!!'  DOUBLE DOGS. RUNNING TWO DOGS IN A TEST. Oh gosh do people moan! I've done it myself (on the weeks I haven't been running two dogs - snigger, giggle, wink....) Looks like we will be having a summer of double dogs.... Puppy tests etc etc.... guys.... cut me some slack.... ;-) There aren't enough puppy tests to run one per week ;-) Well maybe there is.... I shall see who develops first ;-) THERE, I've said it. I will apologise NOW to anyone I have to beg to hold one of my plunging fools whilst I bolt off with the other! I shall bring sweet...... to EVERY test..... and a hip flask..... I hope thats covered me!   ;-)

Still no Fish scores. Not expecting them yet. But be nice if they turned up! Well...... probably!!!!!!! Depending on what they are!  ;-)  

Friday 13th (ohhhhh!) Nov 

Saturday 31st October

Antoine de Saint-Exupery described in Wind, Sand and Stars: " Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outwards together in the same direction..."  This phrase has struck me to the core in reading it. This is not just about human love but canine partnerships. If you are both not trying to see things in the same way, or we cannot try and see things from the dogs perspective as much as HE attempts to understand what we want from him, we are sunk. Sometimes the more I stare at my dogs thinking 'WHY?' WHY did you do that? WHY don't you retain that piece of training? WHY don't you try harder? I can only imagine they look at me thinking 'PLEASE try and understand that I don't understand'.... 'Please try and see I am attempting to please you but I can feel you getting angry and I don't know what to do to stop that other than do nothing....' 

My promise to my dogs. I will try very hard to try for us to look out in the same direction. Its not an easy relationship to find our way to, but if you try your best, I will try harder for that to be good enough.

Dylan - Miss you my boy. Ten months and no easier.

Saturday 31st October (2nd entry today!)

Well you know when its going to be a bad day sometimes? Well somehow in saving the above entry to the Blog I have managed to delete every previous entry! I don't know how....really I don't. I can do one of two things right now. I can put my fist through the computer screen whilst bawling like a big girl, or I can hope most of those reading this had read the previous entries, saw the pictures and enjoyed it and will remember the bits they liked. For anyone 'tuning in' now, I suppose what you didn't know existed, you don't miss!

We had fantastic news last Sunday. I took all three young boys, Fish, Tom and Bond down to Southampton for Fish's hip and elbow xrays for scoring and Tom and Bond for an xray to look at the quality (or otherwise!) of their hips. Its for a bit of peace of mind OR to know the worst as soon as possible. But thank GOOOOD (that god of good joints was smiling!) because all three got the thumbs up from the woman who knows, and although we await Fish's actual scores, I am entirely confidence they will be good ones... and the terrible twins have not managed to trash theirs either with their skydiving and divebombing ways! Lady Luck smiles upon us in this department again!