Well what a busy year we have had! We have had so many highlights we couldn’t resist sharing our top favourites with you!
January 2018
In January we started our agility training with the fabulous instructors at FromeK9. We already did our puppy classes here and couldn’t wait to start agility training. Jelli was 6 months old and little did we know what this was the start of!
For anyone thinking of starting Agility – please find a proper experienced trainer – at this age puppies should not be doing high jumps or tight turns – as you can see from our video we were only jumping very little jumps and not doing any weaves or complicated sequences. We also only trained once a week for about 40 mins in a group session with equipment to protect developing bones and joints.
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March
March saw the start of Isla’s competitive obedience journey. After being a fabulous Gundog for the past 7 years it was time for her to turn her paw to something else. We started training and practising our heel work, recall and stays ready for the ring! We decided to try and qualify for the Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme Obedience Stakes Semi Finals which were to be held at Discover Dogs in London!
March was also a great month for eating Guru Trip Bones!
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April
With the summer almost here and the days being balmier and warm it was time to get out and about! We were lucky enough to be invited to the No 10 Tea Gardens near Bradford on Avon to review their dog friendly activities! This was to be the start of a great friendship between our hoomans and Sarah who owns No 10! We had a fabulous time trying out her Puppachinos and home made doggie treats and were even more excited to have our friend Judith White come and take some photos of us!
(Photos Below all Credit to Judith White – https://www.facebook.com/JudithWhitePhotography)
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May
Not only did we get to work with Animology reviewing their ‘Furbulous’ Fox Poo Shampoo and Clean Sheets – Read our review here—> http://www.cockersinthecountry.com/all-posts/awesome-animology/
(we are even modelling on their website )
https://www.animology.co.uk/product/animology-pink-dog-harness/)
but Isla had her first obedience competition! We had entered a popular local show and despite being nervous won 3rd place in a large class which was awesome news! Jelli had a go in the ring too and entered some fun classes! She won a second in the waggiest tail and 3rd fastest dog in the hilarious temptation alley! Later on in May Isla also had her first qualifying class for Discover Dogs – despite not qualifying she came a very respectable 6th place!
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June
June was a VERY busy month for Jelli, Isla and Bracken. Jelli turned a year old on the 1st and the occasion couldn’t pass without a ‘Pawty’! We had cake, party hats and lots of presents!
We then attended one of the UK’s best doggy days out! DogFest!!! We had a great day visiting people but our highlight was the Guru stand full of Gurulicious food and treats! We have been fed Guru since Jelli was a baby and highly recommend it to everyone! So being able to meet the team was a great opportunity for us!
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August
Our highlight here was most definitely the Muddy Dog Challenge raising money for Battersea Dogs and Cats home! The hooman decided to raise as much money as possible by running the 5km Obstacle course twice! Thats 10km with two dogs and almost £500 raised for a great cause!
We are already planning to raise more money this year and run the challenge again…TWICE!
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September
Finally we did it! a 3rd place and our Ticket to the Discover Dogs Semi Finals!! Isla was the ONLY Cocker Spaniel to qualify in the Southern Semi Finals and we are also led to believe there were no Cockers in the Northern Finals either – not bad for a wigglebum! A well deserved nap on her favourite blanket was definitely due!
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October
Discover Dogs arrived and Isla took everything in her stride – Perfect sit stays, attentive heelwork and an almost perfect recall. Unfortunately we didn’t place in the top 5 and get through to the Finals at Crufts BUT we did have a fabulous time and already planning our diary for 2019 to give it another go!
It wasn’t just Isla in the limelight this month, both girls were invited to model for the gorgeous dog bed company George Barclay! After a few fun filled hours the photographer had some beautiful photos of the girls and these are frequently popping up on their Instagram and Facebook accounts!
See the girls here —> https://www.instagram.com/p/BrrqvfpgsUa/
Finally October drew to a close with Jelli entering her first agility competition! A nice, small and local independent show, it was a fantastic experience and winning her jumping class was the icing on the cake!
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*****EXCITING ANNOUNCMENT *****
As if October wasn’t excting enough we were VERY lucky to have a chat with two very special people. With Isla and Jelli’s success and the potential for both girls to go much further in obedience and agility (Jelli is now having regular training sessions with the amazing Team GB handler Charlotte Harding!)
Andrew and Lisa from Guru have offered a 6 month sponsorship deal to us which was phenomenal to have the support of such a fabulous brand. We highly recommend Guru to all dogs we meet as it is such good quality and being cold pressed makes it more nutritious and cost effective to feed. I truly think feeding Guru plays a huge part in the health and fitness of both dogs (and Bracken our Springer) and hope our partnership can continue into 2019
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December
Our year has drawn to a close with the support of TransK9 and Ruff and Tumble Drying coats – both have supplied us with some essentials for home and on the road. We are eternally grateful for the support of all three companies and hope we can make you proud in 2019!
Isla is preparing for the selection day for the Crufts 2019 Silver Good Citizen Display Team (paws crossed), our entries are in for the Muddy Dog Challenge in Exeter (have you seen who’s on the page?) and we have bookmarked most weekends for ALOT of agility and obedience! Our main goals are to qualify for the Semi Finals at Discover Dogs and to make the finals for two of the UK Agility classes and maybe even start progressing up the grades in KC Agility!
With several exciting events on the radar you will be sure we will be having fun pinging away in 2019!
A huge thanks to everyone who has supported us and given us opportunities in 2018! We appreciate everything you have done for us and look forward to a PAWSOME 2019!
