Blog Update - Olympia 2011

Wow I’ve just looked back to the last time I blogged and have been thinking about all that has gone on and what a mental past month I’ve had!
Deciding whether Ben would be alright to go to Olympia. That decision was made 2 weeks before the event.
The launch of my new website and my ‘INDEPENDENT WEAVES’ DVD.( www.agilitybuds.com )
 Along with lots of teaching and classes.

Olympia
After Ben being at the vets to have a ‘Cancerous Tumour’ that was on his spleen and his spleen removed. (After biopsy they found it was not even a tumour, part of his spleen had died because it wasn’t used enough, and it died off. The dead bit then became sticky attracting and grabbing stuff from around the body building a lump on his spleen.) I was told from the vets he could get back to agility after 6 weeks! Despite this Ben did not do ANY agility for 10 weeks (and 4 days)
We managed 3 training sessions before Olympia. The look on his face when I put him in front of a jump ‘Me ...What, I’m actually allowed to do it again??’ He was soo cheeky in his training sessions! And I can remember the last second training session we had Ben decided he could no longer wait, he was far too excited. Which is a bit worrying, you kind of need a wait at Olympia! Well to get a tiny head start at least! I knew at Olympia he would be in ‘The Zone’ Focused and excited and do his famous wait that everyone laughs at! I was right, he did!
So what was I expecting from Olympia?

I was just so happy to have Ben, whatever happened I was going to be happy! I really didn’t think we would make it to Olympia, so everything was a real bonus! There were such a high standard of young, talented, fit and fast dogs in the line up. We were 2nd to run, what do you do in this position? The course was good; it wasn’t straight forward like the usual Olympia course. I knew it had to be clear to even think of making the final, again with the high competition I knew it had to be reasonably quick too.
I placed Ben on the start line, he followed into his starting position and released. He was a bit slow in places and struggled towards the end, he was not in great shape (fitness) but our clear was there! The first clear.
The clears started to roll in then so did the first pole! It knocked some extremely talented dogs from the final.
I just had to wait to see if we were in the top 10 to make it through to the evening final.
Yes we came 8th. I was so pleased with him. Making it to the final was just something I never expected. I honestly thought he wouldn’t be fast enough due to the lack of fitness training. This made it 4 Years we have made it to Olympia on the trot and 3 of those years have made it into the final!
The final!
Well the final compares to no other agility competition or final in the UK. Ben loves people cheering and the adrenalin really kicks in . He was such a good boy! Again I was proud whatever he did. He knocked the pole after the seesaw. I moved and pushed off for the home straight. We finished 6th. I’m really pleased with him, he is such a pleasure to work and have as a pet. God knows what I would do without him. He is truly one in a million.
Here are some pictures from Olympia 2011

Both competing photos taken by
               Ian Watts

Final Picture.

Ben at the MOJO Futuretec Stand.

              Finalist Picture for KC and Joint Aid

                 Ohhh Chilling again!
 I want to get on the chair and watch the Pairs!

      Hummm PIZZA Look i want THIS!!!! is that a big enough hint?

Lucy Osborne

www.agilitybuds.com

Training Sessions At Skellinthorpe with Lucy Osborne in February and March 2012

Available training sessions
A sneaky peek before they go onto AgilityNet!
Below are a few training evenings that I am holding in February and March of 2012 at Skellingthorpe,Lincoln. Classes are for all height dogs.

Independence & Course Handling Evening G5-7 (10th February)
This 2h evening workshop is for G5-7 dogs. Within the session you will be working on independence within courses to get a quicker time/better result. Perfecting and teaching more independence. It is important to note you will need to bring your dogs’ Favourite toy and treats to this session.
Time - 7.30pm-9.30pm (2h).
Venue: Skellingthorpe, Lincoln

Price: £20 per dog
Contact: Lucy Osborne
Contact No.: 07904 439004
Website: www.agilitybuds.com
EMail: lucyosbornedogtraining@hotmail.co.uk

Fun Filled Foundation Training Evening (15th February) Have you got a young puppy or maybe an older dog you want to start agility with? This 'fantastic, fun filled foundation' session is designed to teach both handler and dog a consistent fun way to train Foundations without the need of equipment. It should give you a better understanding about positions, handling and verbal cues eg 'Go, Come,Left,Right, Wait' etc and how to teach these to their dogs. Also how important maintaining consistany is. Within these series of sessions we will be focusing on Drive, Focus and Shaping! Be Prepared. These sessions involve lots of playing and rewarding. Make sure you bring your dogs favourite toy and the tastiest treats! (Lots of them) There will be no jumping or contact equipment used in this session - Dogs from 5months + This session is a 2-hour session, we will be having regular breaks (time out) as everyone will be working all of time, without breaks the dogs may begin to get tired and loose focus. There will be plenty of exercises you can go off and practice on the park!
Time - 7.30pm-9.30pm (2h).
Venue: Skellingthorpe,
Price: £20 per dog
Contact: Lucy Osborne
Contact No.: 07904 439004
Website: www.agilitybuds.com
EMail: lucyosbornedogtraining@hotmail.co.uk

Independence & Course Handling Evening G5-7 (2nd March)This 2h evening workshop is for G5-7 dogs. Within the session you will be working on independence within courses to get a quicker time/better result. Perfecting and teaching more independence. It is important to note you will need to bring your dogs’ Favourite toy and treats to this session.
Time - 7.30pm-9.30pm (2h).
Venue: Skellingthorpe, Lincoln

Price: £20 per dog

Contact: Lucy Osborne
Contact No.: 07904 439004
Website: www.agilitybuds.com
EMail: lucyosbornedogtraining@hotmail.co.uk

 

Fun Filled Foundation Training Evening (7th March) Have you got a young puppy or maybe an older dog you want to start agility with? This 'fantastic, fun filled foundation' session is designed to teach both handler and dog a consistent fun way to train Foundations without the need of equipment. It should give you a better understanding about positions, handling and verbal cues eg 'Go, Come,Left,Right, Wait' etc and how to teach these to their dogs. Also how important maintaining consistany is. Within these series of sessions we will be focusing on Drive, Focus and Shaping! Be Prepared. These sessions involve lots of playing and rewarding. Make sure you bring your dogs favourite toy and the tastiest treats! (Lots of them) There will be no jumping or contact equipment used in this session - Dogs from 5months + This session is a 2-hour session, we will be having regular breaks (time out) as everyone will be working all of time, without breaks the dogs may begin to get tired and loose focus. There will be plenty of exercises you can go off and practice on the park!
Time - 7.30pm-9.30pm (2h).
Venue: Skellingthorpe, Lincoln