It’s fun, it’s cold…it’s April outdoor agility training in Scotland

The nice part of training agility outdoor again is the sun and the light, the bad part is how cold it can be in Scotland even mid-April! We had a lovely (very cold) training session on Monday night and it was even better as Iain decided to try one of his new toy! So we now have some lovely pictures.

I am so proud of everybody I am training, I am always amazed of the improvements of all the teams and how everybody is trying so hard.  I wished I had videos of everybody from the first time they came to train with me to now. Being in a farming area quite a few of the handlers are in the middle of the lambing at the moment and I am actually very impressed that everybody is still committed to come and participate to the agility training sessions.

Knowing how tiring lambing is, I must admit that I am not sure I would be able to come training and stay awake most of the night for the lambing especially as everybody who know me also knows that when I train, everybody run…not only the dogs!

So now place to some of Iain’s fab photos. the agility models are Fly, Rosie, Rhum and Doodle. I hope that all of these teams will try to do at least a few agility shows this year…no more excuses!

 

 

 

 

Sheep Herding with Derek Scrimgeour

Well that’s is, the annual 4-day sheep herding clinic at CANINE Pawsibilities with Derek Scrimgeour is officially over and was as fun and instructive as usual!

When we started this clinic with Derek 6 years ago, we struggled to find 6 dog and handler pairs to participate, this year there was 14 lucky border collies! This success is definitely the results of Derek’s passion, patience and enthusiasm to teach all of us, whatever our experience and background are, beginners, triallers, agilitists and farmers alike.

The clinic is a little bit of a family gathering including, Mehwi’s mum Lyn and Mehwi’s dad, Manouk, Mehwi’s brother Fionn, Mehwi’s half-brother Mozzie (Mehwi even met is young half-sister Ninja but she was too young to play with the sheep), Mehwi’s cousins Denny, Blue, Rosie and all his other friends!

Obviously no need to say that we have booked Derek for next year already and I hope that Mehwi and Ninja will be able to participate this time!

A subset of the photos taken by Iain on Sunday are posted below and if you really like herding action shots, another subset can be seen on Iain’s website.  For the participants, Iain took over 500 fabulous photos so next time you come to see us if you bring a usb stick and talk nicely to him, I am sure he will give you a copy of all the photos.

 

Stage de Dog Agility en Ecosse et en Français

France-Flag (1)Aujourd’hui marque la fin de quatre superbes journées d’entrainement d’agilité franco-ecossaises à Canine Pawsibilities avec Claude, Eric, Laah, Mel et Reglys  qui ont parcouru une longue route depuis les Alpes françaises pour nous rejoindre!

En plus de superbes sessions qui nous ont permis de discuter des différences de parcours et de conduites entre les pays, nous avons aussi profité d’un superbe temps pendant les entrainements, un plus pour l’Ecosse!

L’équipe Claude et Mel, qui ont  tout juste commencé la compétition, ont travaillé sur leurs commandes verbales et la clarification des commandes gestuelles afin d’aider Mel à prendre plus de confiance en elle, tandis que l’équipe Eric et Laah, beaucoup plus expérimentée s’est attaquée daptée aux parcours britanniques et ont travaillé l’indépendance de Laah dans les slaloms et les entrées de tunnel.

Reglys , elle à 11 ans, a pris plaisir à nous montrer  qu’elle n’avait rien a envier aux connaissances techniques de ses deux sœurs !

Inclus dans les quatre jours, furent la decouverte des immenses plages et dunes de sable de Newburgh, des promenades côtières et des colonies de phoques et de fous de bassans.

Je tiens à souhaiter a toute l’équipe une bonne chance pour le reste de leur vacance avec bien entendu un arrêt obligatoire au Nord de l’Angleterre pour compléter leur formation de « bergers » avec Dereck Scrimgeour (Killiebrae sheepdogs).

Eric et Claude, amusez-vous bien et à très bientôt j’espère (avec du fromage, du chocolat et votre bomne humeur)!

C’est avec un plaisir immense que j’ai finalement pu admirer Eric et Laah au travail, Claude conduisant son premier border après des années de Bergers Belges, et retrouver Reglys, une petite chienne qui a toujours le sourire aux lèvres, la camarade d’entrainement de Midge et Mollo dans leurs années de jeunesse!

Ci joint encore une fois quelques souvenirs en image des entrainements.

Well  today is the end of four great day of international dog agility training at Canine Pawsibilities with Claude, Eric, Laah  Mel and Reglys who drove all the way from the French Alps to come to see us!

We had some fabulous dog agility training sessions with even some great weather for the training. In addition to the training and the socialisation it was a great opportunity to discuss about European versus UK courses and handling techniques.

Claude and Mel, who have only just started competing, worked on their verbal commands and the clarification of their body language to help Mel build some confidence,  whilst Eric and Laah who are much more experienced, accepted to be challenged by British type courses, independent weaving and unusual tunnel entries.

Reglys at 11 year old enjoyed some fun time on the agility equipment.

It was fun to be able to discuss the differences in course and handling between the continent and the UK (well let’s say Scotland!).

In between the training sessions they all discovered and enjoyed the sand beaches and sand dunes, the costal walks and the colonies of seals and gannets of our great North East costline.

I would like to wish them good luck for the rest of their vacation, they are now on their way to Cumbria for a sheep herding clinic with Derek Scrimgeour (Killiebrae sheepdog).

I really enjoyed to finally be able to watch Eric and Laah running together, they make a great team, seeing Claude finally running a collie after years of belgian shepherd, and last but not least, the smiley Reglys who used to be Midge and Mollo’s training partner during our French trips when they were (much) younger.

Have fun and see you soon (with more cheese, chocolates and sense of humour)!

See below some fabulous pictures of  one of the training sessions.

 

Canine Pawsibilities’ first Christmas party

On Monday 29th of December, we had the first ever Christmas party and I would like to thank everybody who participated (and brought their sense of humour) to make it such a success!

A typical training evening at CANINE Pawsibilities

Starring Ava, Skyler, Clova, Doodle, Patch and Rum, enjoying their time!

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Training with Dianne Talbot – 29/30 March 2014

I am organising a training week end with Dianne Talbot at my house on the 29/30 March. I have just a few spaces left so if you are interested please contact me as soon as possible.

For people who do not know Dianne, She has been my coach for the past 12 years and will continue to be when my new pup will be joining our house hold.

Being the first person winning 2 Agility Champion titles in the UK,  Dianne is in my eyes one of the best trainers in the North East with numerous of her trainees winning Championship tickets and Agility Champion titles. She has been a major influencer for agility training and handling style in Scotland and Northern England

Should you be a beginner or an experienced handler, you will benefit by the training sessions.

If you are interested, just drop me an email.