Fin wins Novice at Thurrock Obedience Show!

Having not done many obedience shows we decided to finish the season with a weekend away at Elm Park and Thurrock Champ shows. The weather was forecast to be hideous but it turned out much better than expected.

Although Fin is not totally consistent in the ring and still doesn’t like stays he did really well. He was just out of the places on the Saturday (due to some hand-touching in heelwork) but did a lovely round on the Sunday, winning the class! So we finished the season with Fin winning his first Novice! What a good boy!

4th October 2010

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We have just come back from an amazing week of non-stop dog shows.

We started at the Kennel Club International Agility Festival in Northants, then went on to Dogs in Need in Suffolk.

Fin has had a brilliant week and you can see his achievements on his Agility page. 

I think Fin now needs a rest! He has been brilliant and he is now quite tired! He is a lovely, honest chap and he tried his heart out for all of us! It is easy to forget that he is only just 2 years old and still quite a baby!  What a star!

I will put some of his runs (including the DINAS final) on You Tube in the next couple of days

23rd August 2010

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Fin has had a brilliant weekend. His achievements are:

* Winning Agiltiy Club Starters Challenge Grade 1-2 Combined agility at Wellingborough

* Winning YKC Starters Obedience at Cippenham with Laura

* 3rd place in Novice at Cippenham Champ Obedience Show.

4th July 2010.

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Agility:  Fin has done 7 agility shows and has achieved a top10 place at every show.  He has also won out of Grade1 by winning 2 agility classes and a jumping class, and gaining numerous other places.  He is enjoying his agility and he is coming along really well.

Obedience: We have done 2 obedience shows.  Fin did a nice Novice training round at Chesvale and did a creditable Novice round at Warlingham.  He did his stays at both shows and this was quite an achievement as this has been a problem for him!  He ended up 7th place, just out of the cards but a good effort...  His litter brother won the class, so congratulations to them.

24th June 2010

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You will remember that, although Fin has always been a lovely family dog, with perfect temperament, our training didn't actually start very well. Our early days were filled with anxiety about Fin's lack of focus. He wasn't really interested in toys and seemed to have little drive or work ethic. He wasn't very interested in me and only wanted to play with the other dogs. His recall was pretty poor and he was always very distracted!

I decided that I didn't want to have Fin castrated until he was at least 18 months old, but I was sure that hormones were a bit of a barrier in our relationship! Having researched thoroughly, and with the support of our vet, we used the Suprelorin hormone implant, which simulates the effect of castration. This made a huge difference to Fin's overall attitude to life and he progressed in leaps and bounds.

We still had to work hard on the training, including the recall and our play, but it all started coming together one the hormones were removed from the equation.  Eventually I decided to have Fin castrated and this was done successfully in April.  Fin still gets spooked by strange things (such as clapping!!!?!) and he can be distracted, but our stronger play has started to improve our focus.

Our agility training is coming on very well and you can read more here.

We are planning on having lots of fun with Fin this season. We recently did an agility demonstration at Hyde Heath fete with FRACAS agility club and you can see some photos here. 

Although his obedience is not quite ready for proper competition, his agility is definitely ready and the children are keen to borrow him for YKC. As well as being a show-stopping stunner in the looks department, he is going to be an all-rounder family dog!!!

So my message is - however hard it seems - keep working at it - read your dog - try to analyse the problem and be consistent with your solutions.

May 2010

This page was updated on 4th October 2010