The eleventh hour

It’s coming to the end of December and its about this time of year you usually read in the press and on TV about how the year has gone. So how has my and the rest of my packs 2011 gone?

Firstly in obedience training I have gained my Kennel Club Good Citizen Silver and Gold awards this year, not bad.

And secondly in Flyball I have also had a very successful year gaining my British Flyball Association Flyball Dog Advanced title and the Silver Milestone Award. I have also run my personal fastest ever time of 4.20 seconds this season. Apart from winning loads of races in open competition I also ended the year in the UK's Number 1 rated Multibreed flyball team, Lightning Cocktail.

The rest of my pack have also done really well in flyball but perhaps most notably our little Chip.

Now I finished 2011 the No 1 rated English Shepherd in the UK but Chip also finished the year as the Number No 1 rated Patterdale Terrier in the UK and was also part of the same UK Number 1 rated Multibreed flyball team as me.

Chip also ran a personal fastest time of 4.5 seconds this year which is very speedy for a 7" height dog. So I suppose it is right and proper that he is enjoying a nice rest in the off season at the moment.

And Chip does enjoy a nice warm in front of our fire.

What does 2012 hold? We will have to see and hopefully you will also continue to check out how we all fare on my blog.

But can me and the rest of my pack, both Human and Canine, take this opportunity to hope you have also had a great 2011 and wish you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year to come.

Wordless Wenceslas Wednesday

It's Christmas morn

Well its always an early start on Christmas morning, straight out my crate in the conservatory, after my night shift guarding the house as normal.




Then its off for a quick zoom around the park after the tennis ball, it was very very empty today which was great.





Then after checking out those presents under the tree.





The traditional Christmas photo call (bit of a pain really)





And then some rest before hopefully tucking into some Christmas day food, hang on is that the starter...





And of course a very Merry Christmas to everyone who reads this blog from all of us!

Tuesday Tinsel and TV

The decorations are now fully up around our house in preparation for Christmas this weekend and I think I have spotted a creature theme about them this year.

Butterfly's in the Christmas Tree




Dogs on the mantelpiece.





An even a bigger furry one under the Christmas Tree...





And on the Television at the moment there are loads of Christmas films and themed programs and of course Christmas adverts. Probably the best one this year in the UK is this great one from John Lewis.

Party humiliation

It started so well this week at my Obedience Club's Christmas party. Some nice games, a recall.




OK I didn't realise the aim was to drop down on the £1 coin, that treat was much more appealing than the 'down' command.




Some more snacks were on offer.




More snacks , I'm here ...




And then it happened, the dreaded fancy dress costumes came out. Me and Auntie Breeze were then dressed as Christmas Stars.




Is this anyway to treat a finely tuned athlete ?

Wordless Winter Watching Wednesday

Attention seeking

I think I have posted before about the different ways that our pack all try get then tennis ball thrown. This seems to depend on the fact that we are three different breeds.

This is how we all did it today when out in the park.

Auntie Breeze being a Border Collie goes for the run out and then 'claps'. Basically she runs out drops down and then waits for it to be thrown.



Dare also is a Border Collie but he has a very strong Collie eye. So he keeps staring at the boss until the ball is thrown and he then thinks he gets it because he has been staring so hard...






Being an English Shepherd and obviously expect the tennis ball to be thrown for me so first I look at the boss expectantly standing close to it.




And if that doesn't work I make it more obvious to them what I am after.






Of course Chip being a Patterdale Terrier always makes it very obvious what he wants...

Gold Good Citizen

Well I finally managed to take and pass my Kennel Club Gold Good Citizen award at my obedience training Club. I had already passed my Bronze and Silver ones so this is the last award.




After Christmas apparently I will start the more advanced obedience training which Auntie Breeze already does. This is the sort that dogs who compete in obedience competitions do. Should be interesting!

Decorations

This years Christmas decorations are going up around the house soon and apparently there might be a clue to this happening here in the living room.




But to be honest as much as I look I have no idea where that clue might be.

December flyball training

As usual we were at Flyball training today but as its December the chilly weather really makes you zoom along to keep warm. No problem with me keeping warm then.




And after training is finished we four can of course always huddle up in the car to keep warm.





But we don't always enjoy the waiting around as much as the flyball training.






Our flyball training venue is at the Dogs Trust in West London and their slogan is ' A dog is for life, not just for Christmas ' quite allot of puppy's are given as as presents at Christmas each year and then abandoned when the novelty wears off.

This is a Dogs Trust video about buying puppy's online.

Its Getting Chilly

The weathers definitely getting colder but I suppose as its now December and only three weeks till Christmas it would be getting a bit chilly.

So its the right time to start getting close to the living room fire (but obviously I can't get as close as Chip)




On the subject of Christmas below is a video of a lovely song that is being released by the Choir of Military Wives on behalf of two charities which hopefully will be number 1 in the UK charts at Christmas.

Wordless Wicker Wednesday

Richmond Park videos

You may have already seen the YouTube video that has gone 'viral' on the Internet. Its basically of an unfortunate situation that an owner found himself in with his dog in Richmond Park recently.





Richmond Park is actually not that far from from where we live. However as there are loads of other Parks around here I haven't been to it yet. Which is probably just as well watching that video.

But Auntie Breeze has and this is a YouTube video of her in Richmond Park way back in 2007 and as you can see is has a bit of a different tempo to the other one. ..





I didn't know they did videos that long ago !

Fly a Kite

Autumn is well and truly in full swing here at the moment in West London. When we haven't got fog its been raining and getting much colder. The trees are also starting to shed their leaves as well.

So its a nice time to get a run out for in the Park and enjoy the bracing autumnal weather.



The Autumn wind has also started to bring out the kites in the park and I don't mean the feathered variety.



OK can you stop taking the photos and get on with throwing that tennis ball please?

Golden Abbie

This is my Sister Abbie who you may have seen before on this blog. You can also see in this picture her recently awarded Gold Kennel Club Good Citizen certificate.



What a very clever (and pretty) girl she is !

Foggy Park

Auntie Breeze had a bit of an upset stomach yesterday so unfortunately we couldn't go to Flyball training today just in case it was catching and the other dogs picked up something from her.

So all we had to make do with a long run in the Park instead.



Its quite foggy again today, hopefully you can see it a bit better in this photo.




We had quite a good zoom about and were weren't interrupted by other dogs which was very nice.




I enjoy Flyball training more on a Sunday morning that a run in the Park but Dare didn't seem to mind.

Uncomfortable

Being an active sort of English Shepherd I find it very difficult to get comfortable




I try to find different and more comfortable positions



But I still somehow struggle to find the best spot




Especially when the Border Collie pinches the pillow

Wordless well again Wednesday

Remembrance Sunday

The Solider

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

Rupert Brooke

1896 - 1915 (aged 27)

Obedience tonight

We were at our weekly obedience class tonight. Well me and Auntie Breeze were as Dare is still recovering. He went to the vets today and its all healing nicely so he should be OK by the weekend hopefully. Thanks for the good wishes and we will check out those better cones.


I think I am getting good at down stays, that's Chewy a terrier in front of me.



And good at sit stays as well.



But obviously I am not in the same league as Auntie Breeze and the rest of her class.



That's a lot of Dog concentration.