Happy New Year

Well it's 1st January 2013 today and last night my mum was considering carefully both my goals for this year and her own.   Taking Susan Garrett's advice on this she visualised them as having been achieved by this time next year.
 
So imagine now it is 31st December 2013 and look at all these things we have done:

When we go to the beach I just love to chase my toy and bring it straight back for Mum to throw again even if it is my very favourite tennis ball and there might be another dog wanting to steal it from me.

Also on the way to the beach I walk loose lead so nicely next to her that people can hardly believe I'm a sprocker, except I look like a springer spaniel.

We played at least one or two Recallers Games every day.

Last year I learned loads of tricks and games and now I can do even more.   At the rest home where I visit the old people they love to see me hide my face behind my paw and cross my front legs. I do spins and twirls and walk backwards from my Mum.  I can skateboard and hold a pole in my front paws - I often borrow a walking stick to do this trick,  I even do the washing line trick that was Dylan's speciality before he developed his back problems.

We had a brilliant time at Devondogs Summer Camp and Mum learned loads.   She stopped accepting any  C.R.A.P. which is an acronym for (Continually Rewarding an Ambiguous Performance, courtesy of LOH)  from me.    This year she also made certain that when she asked me to do anything she followed through with that behaviour.

We have trained all year weekly for agility with Amy, who I really like although when I first went there I was a real naughty pants and stole her glove and it took me ages before I decided to give it back to Mum.  I was a baby then though, I am more sensible about these things now.  Ponto has been very helpful in my training because Mum trains her with Amy too and because Ponto is a good agility dog Amy is able to train Mum how to handle properly so that she doesn't mess it up so much when it comes to my turn.

All this has resulted in me becoming a good agility dog.  I just love tearing over jumps, weaving through poles and running across contact equipment and we chose to learn contacts with Amy in the 2o2o position and I always get my contacts!

I became a member of UKA and was measured when I was first about to enter a nursery class.  Luckily I am only 16 1/2 inches high at my withers and so I have been classified as Medium height.   Because of this it means that in 2014 Mum and I will go to some KC shows as well as UKA.   KC don't have a third height between medium and large and Mum thought it would be too high for me as she doesn't want me to strain my joints too much.

My first go in nursery at UKA was such fun.   I had to really focus on Mum and rely on her to tell me where to go and what to do even though I was very excited and wanting to run very fast, which I did.   She was so pleased with me at the end because I got a clear round.  I really enjoyed my first Steeplechase run too, there are only jumps and tunnels in that and so no stopping for contacts anywhere.   I got a clear round in that too and Mum was over the moon.  My first show and I won two rosettes.    In September I was old enough to enter the Midi Performance as well as Steeplechase.   Mum didn't want to overdo it with me so we just did three runs, Jumping, Agility and Steeplechase.   Next time we entered the games and it was Gamblers, where Mum decided where we would run before the gamble.   I thought I was just doing agility again but it was different because a whistle gets blown and then we have to race to the last little bit.   I won my first position rosette in that.     It is a big relief for Mum that I am enjoying playing at agility with her so much because she didn't enjoy play at agility with Ponto at shows because Ponto can be a big old grump and have a go at other dogs sometimes.

The other thing Mum has concentrated on this year apart from me, I'm the most important after all, is her studies.   She is taking an Open University Masters Degree in English Literature.  This means that I lie quietly in my crate, same as the older doggies, while she reads or types at the computer a lot.    She has worked very hard and her lowest mark for an assignment was 65% and her highest 85% so she is pleased.  She finds  it very rewarding doing all the reading and research but struggles a lot as, like me, she wants to be good at everything.

Percy and Dylan are still fine.  Percy's melanoma in her mouth hasn't increased at all, so hopefully she will have another year or so of enjoying trips to the beach and forest with the rest of us.  Dylan's back legs don't seem to bother him much either and he still loves racing along the beach with me.

I can't believe it, Grandma was 94 in November. I think she will live till she's 100.