Wellingborough

It was good to have large pitches surrounded by broad roadways which was ideal, however I was dismayed on seeing the narrow strip of land which served as the exercise area, it was not in fact much bigger than my back garden! I made the most of the vast area reserved for camping before it was overtaken by caravans and exercised the dogs there shortly after setting up. This was the only downside to the show although there was a river walk and a country park close by if one felt like going off site.
Although the heat wave had officially ended this was yet another very hot weekend when keeping the dogs cool and in the shade was paramount. For the first time at a show I did not walk the dogs before breakfast as I was concerned that there would be too many dogs in such a small exercise area, instead they had to make do with the garden and after the first shock of not actually going for their walk they settled happily enough. I must admit this made a great difference to me as they are at their screaming best and raring to go for that first walk and I am always stressed out trying to get their leads on as quickly as possible so as not to disturb others so this may well be the new early morning formula! This was a very relaxed show with only 6 rings and was so well organised. There were gazebos at each ring so dogs and handlers could queue in the shade and water sprays to cool the dogs down. Background music was played most of the day which was novel!
The dogs worked well, Kai coming 4th in a tricky jumping course and Chart excelling himself by getting ALL his contacts in Grade 3 agility to come 8th in a large class, so a real thrill. Once competition ended Sara provided scones, jam and cream with a pot of tea and later we killed a bottle of Mateus Rose before taking the dogs out in two groups by which time most competitors had settled in their gardens eating and drinking so we had the small area mainly to ourselves, supper was late but no matter as it was too hot to bother to eat early.
Sunday and another hot day emerged. Strangely Brigg was very lame, he had been fine the previous day so it was something of a mystery. After an examination of the affected leg the painful area appeared to be his pad which was slightly swollen and hot but neither Sara nor I could find anything untoward and it was difficult examining a complaining puppy who was obviously in some discomfort. I thought he might have been stung by some insect during the night however all was well by the time we reached home as he was completely sound again so it saved me a trip to the vet! Kai, Keets and Chart did some good work and earned clear round rosettes. In the Grade 1 to 7 combined Helter Skelter Kai, Keets and Chart all ran against each other and it was great to be able to compare their times, Kai at 21.275 seconds, Keets 21.631 and Chart 22.903! I was especially pleased with Keeto who went like the wind and did 'go on' without me which makes a change for my 'velcro boy'! Chart too is coming on a treat, one has to remember that he is still only 2 years old and like most boys is slow to mature, he will increase his speed as he gets older. Both Roli and Tambi enjoyed their Allsorts runs each day, I was especially pleased that Roli was allowed to jump at Micro height which meant he could manage the course and he was such a happy boy.