The 2021 Dog Achievement and 2022 Goals Thread!

[Karran]

1st of December so its time to review what we've gotten up to!
Link to last years goals here

Mine!

Miss Collie

• To get our KC Bronze Obedience and start work towards Silver - TICK! They don't offer the exams past Bronze at my club but we are now starting focussing on competition level work

• Carry on working towards beating our chase drive issues and hopefully be able at least be able to take part in flyball full team training, even if she's not competition ready! TICK! We might not be fully ready for Open but she's done three starter comps and one Singles event and has three first places and a 2nd.

• Restart agility training with eye to making debut in 2022. We did some 1-2-1 training during the summer and it highlighted a few gaps in our basic training so we've gone back to that for now and hopefully be in a better position for restarting who knows when FAIL - our regular training still hasn't restarted, the only class I can find is a 50 mile round trip and is at weekends so hard for us to commit on top of everything else. We did venture out to do 2 steeplechase classes which frankly were disasters.

• Continue work around the horses. FAIL - I have been shockingly lax at doing work with her on this, and just not bothered taking her up. Didn't help that my mare had a lami attack and was on box rest for several months. So I just left both dogs in the car/at home while dealing with her.

• Work out what's happening with her hormones and get her spayed at some point! TICK! Spayed in September

• Carry on with work to make her more comfortable around strangers/different environments Half a TICK! She's always going to struggle in different environments, she's just too hyper aware of what's going on around her. BUT! She's been on holiday twice this year, staying in a hotel once and with friends that she'd never met the next time and was an absolute star each time. Her behaviour at agility and flyball shows is also drastically improved, although still inclined to be a bit spinny/lungey/snappy moron BUT at least I don't need the double-lead/muzzle/harness combo any more.

Mrs Spaniel

• Find a new agility trainer - our 1-2-1 classes showed that she definitely prefers distance handling and gets less frustrated at having to wait for me so that's something to retrain for - FAIL - As above - I desperately need to find something that fits in with our schedule a bit more and also is closer to home!

• I'd quite like her to go into Grade 2 Agility but everything is so dependent on covid and in her eyes flyball comes first so that takes up most of our summer! FAIL - We only attended one show, she got confused about where I was sending her and did some jumps in the wrong order - would have been a paw-perfect round apart from that!

• We've retrained our boxwork at home over lockdown, i'm hoping it shows in improved racing times at flyball. HALF a TICK - Boxwork has shown improvement in training. It all goes a bit to pot with comps, but hopefully with comps becoming regular again, she will start showing what she's capable of at home

• Always the target - conquer our last dog fears and be more confident if there is a rerun and not run out! TICK! BIG TICK! She's still liable to run out if the change is pushed too tightly but bizarrely has stepped up from Nervous End Dog to Confident Start Dog and we're recording starts of 0.05 - 0.07. I reckon having had to get used to Mrs Collie using her for brakes and constantly getting clattered by her has been "kill or cure"!

 

[Karran]

2022 goals!

Mrs Collie

• Make that elusive Flyball open Debut!
• Attend a few more Obedience Introductory shows - I've got a vague idea about aiming her some of the Pre-Beginners Crufts Qualifiers either next year or year after.
• Start committing properly to agility classes and look to some camps/training sessions that involve booking time off of work to attend!
• Making an agility debut that doesn't involve rugby tackling the judge.
• Finally being on top of our chase impulses and not offering round up assistance to passers-by.
• more work around the horses! I'd love to hack out and have them both with me, where as at the moment only Mrs Spaniel is safe enough to take out.

Mrs Spaniel.

Mrs Spaniel will be 8 this year! 8! So I need to factor that into our goals.

• Try to ensure in the summer at least, that I walk her at least once a week, without Mrs Collie for some 1 to 1 time. She does get jealous and overshadowed a bit by her.
• Continue being an epic little flyball machine, get the box work up to what she shows at home and at training and stay consistent with our times.
• Agility Grade 2? If we can commit to some more training that is! I think if I can reach that dizzy height with her, I will retire her to focus on the flyball as she loves it more. I might retire her regardless at the end of next year and just take her to training classes.
• Keeping fit and healthy - she's currently off games for the first time ever after a trapped nerve stopped her running at the last indoor comp.
  

 

[Clodagh]

I didn't do any targets last year but this year it is to go for a days picking up and not having to come home via the vets for stitches. .

Which means I can continue to pick up, and get more dogs for same. The alternative being...well I just don't know.

And Karran, you are amazing!

 

[Karran]

Injury free dogs are always good!

Not sure about me being amazing, but my dogs definitely are!

 

[P3LH]

Don’t acquire anymore. Especially not another corgi.

Not to kill current corgi.

Find a more mutually effective way of grooming my eldest rough collie (now ten and with a huge coat)

Keep the blue one sane.

Stay sane myself.

Not buy another corgi.

or a whippet, Tibetan spaniel or Sealyham.

not buy another corgi.

never.

Lost the blue one.
Shave the eldest rough collies underbelly, tickle tackle and back end.
Original corgi is still alive and breathing.
I probably wouldn’t describe myself as sane.
Almost bought a whippet.
Did buy another corgi.

failed on a whole.

 

[EarsofaSnowman]

Injury free dogs are always good!

Not sure about me being amazing, but my dogs definitely are!

That's a lot of progress with Mrs Collie?. And yeah to Mrs Spaniel's confidence ?

 

[Annette4]

This year's goals

Fizz

1. Keep her fit and sound Done she's on the mend from her pancreatitis but she otherwise stayed happy and healthy
2. Rebuild her confidence with change overs Half done she's happy to change over with certain smaller dogs but not with anyone bigger than her
3. Get her back out with her team and start building ourselves back up. We have 2 new dogs so lots of team building needed before we can be competitive Half done we've not had many comps and had a few injuries and human illness meaning we've temporarily lost some dogs but we're back and she's smashed her pb.

Dobby

1. Get him to train at flyball training instead on one run then zooming Not done he is only able to train on a lead at our usual venue but was brilliant at a workshop we went to.
2. Get him out at some starters racing Done he did one starters and was fab
3. Try and get him into his first open by the end of the year Done but I wouldn't say it was successful, his non sanctioned open comp went well (it was outdoors) but the less said about his first sanctioned comp (indoors) the better!
4. Get to our first fun agility competition Not done we did manage a virtual comp but no clear round and we haven't made any since
5. Keep building on his freestyle disc and look to build a simple routine Done and he demonstrated his routine at 3 Dogfest's
6. Get to a point where he is able to concentrate around other dogs Not done we're trying but he still really struggles when he's not on a lead but we're working on impulse control

Ginny

1. Keep up with our bonding/walk work so we can look to have her off lead around other dogs without going across. Not done she's much better but not enough to be reliable
2. Keep working on her flyball and try and get her to engage with a box loader who isn't her dad Done she still doesn't go to adult male box loaders but she loves one of our young handlers and our club captain.
3. Try our first starter competition Not done my fault, I was away for the only starter comp this year.

For 2022

Fizz

1. Keep her healthy and sound, she's 8yo next year so keeping her healthy is always going to be my priority
2. Get her to use the bigger box, she runs better in our faster team but currently won't touch the box they use

Dobby

1. Get him racing in open outdoors and get some pre cadet time for him indoors
2. Get to a fun agility show at the local indoor venue
3. Get a full disc routine sorted that he can do off his long line (in an enclosed space)

Ginny

1. Get her running at starter comps
2. Finish getting her measured so she's ready for open (for a dog that hates strangers we have to pick and choose where we get her measured and by who)
3. Get her catching discs so she can do catches in toss and fetch

 

[maisie06]

Didn't have any targets as such for 2021 but we have got upto the following.

Cocker - real prey driven high drive birdy dog, he'll happily trot around a field or wood but when he gets bird scent up his nose he goes up 10 gears - to his credit he never hurts them and if he does catch one he'll bring it to hand unharmed!! BUT he has to learn that they are not all to be flushed or picked as HE sees fit. He has pulled off a super retrieve this season though, as I was retrieveing the little scuzbucket from where he's snuck off to the picker ups from the flush point I was asked to hunt out an area a gun saw a wounded bird head into - sure enough he emerged from thick cover with the bird - The gun thought he was a wonderful dog I just thought Hmmmm if you knew the half of it.

Aim for 2022 - to stop him bogging off and learn to stay and hunt close....I don't fancy my chances there!

Springer - another challenge - High drive Field trialling bred turbo dog, me, novice handler, Like learning to drive in a Ferrari, This time last year wouldn't retrive to hand, no stop whistle to speak of terrible on a lead, this year retrieves for fun and can cover distance a Labrador would be proud of, delivers to hand and has moved on to retrieving game, He's steady in the game pen and will retrieve among live birds, Stop whistle getting much better, Need to work on his focus around other dogs, Going to let him do one drive on this weeks shoot and see where we are at. We did a walked up rough shoot sucessfully back in November but driven is so much more of an excitement level.

For 2022, I have been told to work towards working tests and possibly trialling him but I have such bad stage fright can't see me doing that!! Might run him in a scurry too.

 

[CorvusCorax]

.....OK, so my youngster turned out to be incredibly bendy/pulls insane shapes so I'm waiting until she's 18-24 months and she firms up a bit so will get her health tests done in 2022.

Tracking very nicely but uses her eyes a bit too much. Need to get some help but that requires a ten hour round trip ?

She's focus heeling without a visible target, starting to sit in front, has a really nice down, sit is getting there, starting to work on flipping from 'here' to 'heel' and about turns. Going from point A to B very fast and now over a very small jump.
Has a nice dumbbell hold but shows a bit of pressure because of the way I trained it so no actual retrieve yet until I can get someone more experienced to observed.
Long down stay coming.
Would prefer a bit more ball drive.

Has really found her voice, nice barking and less screaming/bouncing/being hectic. Nice flights but bit too 'on the man'/civil so have to be very careful and focus more on prey work. Good grips but really need to develop her initial strike as she has had so little work in this area, she still isn't quite sure what to do with her mouth yet. Bit grumbly on the sleeve.
But overall, a feisty little bitch

Socially she likes to risk assess everything and does not trust me to handle situations, she is clearly a bit insecure so there is a gap in our training/relationship somewhere which I need to figure out.
Once she knows someone she is climbing all over them and likes to come up on your knee for cuddles. She's extremely affectionate.

That's all with relatively very little work, ten or fifteen minutes a couple of times a day, if that.
Two of her siblings are on the ladder already with relatively inexperienced handlers, making lovely work, which is great to see.
Next year, well, will see what happens!! I have her totally spoiled and she is still very babyish.

 

[Spotherisk]

Gosh you are all very organised!

My 2021 goal was to not get another dog - I got Rew in May.

My goal was to ensure he became my dog and not OH’s as can happen, and this is working well, he looks to me for reassurance and answers.

We are really enjoying our beginners agility and plan to continue in 2022 - I don’t really mind whether it’s agility or some other kind of training so long as Rew really enjoys it and we have fun. Yesterday I started to teach him left and right, all fun!

 

[Terrayza]

I love the way so many of you do agility training with your dogs, I would love to do that with mine but don't know if anywhere in London does it, will have to google!!

 

[MrsMozartleto]

Simple goal - for the Grotties to accept other dogs on their land, which they did today ?

 

[Karran]

I love the way so many of you do agility training with your dogs, I would love to do that with mine but don't know if anywhere in London does it, will have to google!!

I'm SE London way. PM me if you like and I can give you an idea of places.

 

[Terrayza]

I'm SE London way. PM me if you like and I can give you an idea of places.

will do