Viva Dog Vegas!! Or something along those lines. Dog Vegas is a Kennel Club showing, offering up to six classes a day and held at various venues. My favourite is in Thetford where there is 10 days of doggy Vegas (though Tuesday and Thursday are rest days). I attended my first Dog Vegas last year... Continue Reading →
Running Contacts with Sparrow – 1 June 2017
Today's session of running contacts involved trying to phase out the use of the toy. Sparrow normally runs down the contact to a click and treat box, now we want to have her driving from the dogwalk onto another obstacle. Naomi was helping me today (thanks Naomi!), she has been helping me iron out the... Continue Reading →
Summertime Splash – the Benefits of Swimming for our Dogs
Summer is here and for the Jackson gang that means regular trips to the beach where it is cooler by the ocean to walk. It also means plenty of swimming. I encourage swimming in my dogs for fitness and conditioning. Exercising in water, while still strenuous, does not involve weight bearing on joints or spine,... Continue Reading →
UKA Red Run – The Team is heading for the Grand Finals! 20-21 May 2017
The weather was hot, hot, hot. Oh, but then it rained because this is England and we couldn't have sunshine for a whole weekend? Lol! And we were at Red Run's UKA show, the only UKA show near me these days, sadly. But while it might be the only one, it was definitely a good... Continue Reading →
Waxham Sands May 2017 – Learning Curves
If you read my previous blog about the Beachside Finals you'll know that this week I have been competing at Waxham Sands, a beautiful, yet windswept venue, where you definitely know you are right next door to the North Sea! This was Merlin's first show at Graduate level, while Sparrow was still Novice. I knew... Continue Reading →
Flinds, Blinds and Double Blinds: Training with Helen Anderson 10 April 2017
What a fab way to spend a Monday afternoon, training with the amazing Helen Anderson! Both Merlin and Sparrow had their turns. Sparrow is working on tunnel avoidance and it was clear her issue was understanding turning away from the tunnel. We worked at breaking down the exercise and we achieved some success, but have... Continue Reading →
Fun at DBDT KC, 26 March 2017
The sun was shining down on us at DBDT this weekend. Despite a bit of a dodgy sciatica, I managed some great runs with the dogs, coming away with two clears for Merlin and a first placing for Sparrow Merlin's Runs Merlin is back in action after a grazed paw meant he had to... Continue Reading →
Rear Crosses with Sparrow, 23 March 2017
One thing you quickly learn when running a fast dog is that you are often behind them and in the wrong place! (Well, I am anyway!) Being able to rear cross or 'scoop' them over a jump or obstacle is essential. But it is something I have been struggling to train Sparrow. Part of the... Continue Reading →
You know you own a dog when…#1
...you find tennis balls in random places. Dogs and tennis balls, like strawberries and cream, such a perfect combination (and look I made a Wimbledon connection too!). Don't ask me how it happened, but centuries of domestication seem to have turned the average wolf descendant into a ball obsessed loon. I figure if you throw... Continue Reading →