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Monday 7 November 2011

exciting events and facing the demons!

Sounds a bit dramatic for a Monday morning!
Its a beautiful winters day here, hard frost, blue sky- just beautiful! Winter has its grip on us and its going to get colder by the day now!
We have long periods here where we cannot train as the sand is frozen solid and its just too cold- so we have some plans to put on some workshops at our local indoor in the coming months to keep us going! (details will be posted on the website)  I love living here its so beautiful but the weather does tie us down with  potentially weeks of being snow bound just around the corner if the last two years are anything to go by!

At Camddwr Canine we have been rushed off our feet- its dog coat season so the orders and deliveries are in full swing!  We have a new member of our team- Clare Davies - Clare is a fellow experienced dog person, she has worked with bull terrier rescue for many years, has been involved in showing and also bred her own litters of beautiful bullies!  I am excited about Clare working with us and what she can bring to the team.
We are frantically getting ready for the exciting launch of our  all new website, this has been quite an enormous task but we are nearly there so we will be launching very soon! Our catalogue will be due out at Christmas also- and we have the opening of our new premisis here at Camddwr Canine and our new Retail store on 1 December! (Just hope the snow doesnt get in the way!)
so  a very busy time for us here!


Training the young woof is going very well and now at 9 months old, I can start his foundation training for Agility. I am continuing the groundwork for a running contact, and have hit a few obstacles along the way but most of this is just a learning process for me, and for Woof so its all good!  My plan is to have a run and a stop behaviour both on command-  I know others have struggled with this concept, but it is something I wanted to try so will post here of my progress, and lessons learnt! I am certainly enjoying it, and the buzz when it goes well are pretty amazing! He has started 'school' and will be attending a puppy foundation workshop with anthony clarke and Sian Illingworth on the 20th which I am really looking forward to- (hope mr woor is also!) Mr Tog has had a mating also- to a lovely little red try called Nell- a shanowl bitch owned by Jackie and roger Griffin.  so we are very excited and if all goes to plan, we may hear the pattering of tiny paws at Camddwr next year!


I posted a while ago about the mental game- and the struggles I have had over the years with' course block' and how this had affected my 'game'- With it being the end of the season, the opportunties to compete become less, and also we need to give our dogs that well earned rest-  Well here is a biggie- I think because of the issues I have experienced, I have always shyed away from team/ squad opportunites, sometimes its easier to protect yourself by not facing your fear, this is when these problems become self limiting and will ensure you become 'stuck' at a given point in your personal development.
An opportunty to try out for the Wales WAO squad was the perfect opportunty for me to raise my game and really face my demons! Anyone who knows me would be surprised at that fact that I decided to 'try out' - but it had to be done- the ultimate test for me, could I control my mental game and would my demons return?
I have to say, I was terribly nervous on the first run. I knew exactly what to expect from Lee Gibsons courses, Obstacle discrimination,  tunnel discrimination,difficult weaves surrounded by obstacles, fast open elements with lots of options for the dog- and thats what we got! I knew every skill would be tested here and at this level- quite rightly!
Noonoo was of her tiny box! She was jumping 525 height which does mean that she was going rather fast!  On entering the arena she screamed and screamed- no toys allowed in here so I had to improvise with the lead- I knew she had sensed my nerves (and probably everyone elses!)
I wont give a blow by blow account, but Noonoo did me proud- some really nice work, a couple of naughty off courses-  weaves were a bit of a problem for various reasons-in particular, my handling of them under pressure rather than the dogs' ability!!  On the whole she performed well, showed her strengths (and her weaknesses')  The amazing thing was I actually really enjoyed the trial- I handled the pressure and best of all, over 5 pretty challenging courses, I didnt even think about course block, the panic had gone and so had the disappointment!  I know I sound like an advert but if you are experiencing problems with your performance and have limiting beliefs about your ability- consider going to see a NLP Practitioner- It  has worked for me 'big style' and I am so incredibly glad I did!
The big news is- I have been selected for the Wales squad- and will be going to Belgium to represent Wales at the WAO in May! I wont be looking back, I am so thrilled, and will be working hard on our weaker areas over the winter to ensure we are ready!

Noonoo ran for Australia last year, and so has been before-  (Sorry Simone for stealing your dog!) Stuart, Binka and Tog are also in the squad  once again - Binka taking the on the spot win with 5 clears!! and tog doing some stupendous work in the 650 cat - We have a very strong squad, and I am thrilled to be a part of it.  A huge thankyou to the management team for giving me this opportunity!

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