Settled down in front of the TV after a long day out. We headed down to Okehampton today to compete at Dartmoor agility show for Ella’s first G7 classes. Just two runs – agility and jumping, and only Ella & Spud entered so we were on our way by about 2pm. Mak is currently undergoing treatment at the SMART clinic so he missed out, and we’ve made the decision to put more training into Diva before taking her back in the ring. She’s not focused enough on her work not to get distracted, so we need to put a bit more value into this agility game for her.

Spud was his usual brilliant self, despite Martin feeling poorly with a bad cold. They put in a good clear in the Graded 5,6,7 Agility to win the class, but the jumping went a bit to pot after a knocked pole. Ella was her usual dazzling self, but I forgot a very important detail before we went in for our agility run – I need breakfast to function well! Whilst I remembered the course I was twitchy and pulled her off two obstacles – not like us at all. Then in her jumping round I planned a handling move which required advanced weaving skills, a challenge which she failed at twice before completing. More work needed there, but I also need to bear in mind our warm-up routine – a long queue is a struggle for a high-drive dog, and I think she just entered the ring a bit ‘high’. But overall I was pleased with our performance today, some good work and I think we can look forward to a season in G7 next year

Now just waiting for my beautiful boys to return home after a weekend with their daddy. The dogs keep us occupied, but it’s definitely quieter without them around! Busy day ahead tomorrow, all dogs to SMART clinic for appointments in the afternoon and then my Kennel Club Good Citizen classes in the evening. I have a great bunch of dogs working through the scheme at the moment, some real characters. I can see some of them moving onto agility in the future too, will be lovely to watch them develop and grow

Today I’m really grateful for my friend Sue Spring’s advice, to never give up even when things go wrong on course. If I had I wouldn’t have the satisfaction of completing the rest of our jumping round so well, and being able to take up a huge positive – thanks Sue!