Results from NZRO Rally dog competions in Feilding today :)

Saturday, June 22, 2013
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Certificates and ribbons haul :)
The Nightrave Pack (including our two homestay greyhounds!) took part in the NZARO (NZ Association of Rally Obedience) dog show today at the Feilding dog club. There were 9 greyhounds at this show in rainy Feilding today - our pack plus Rebecca Conole and the beautiful Blondie (Fancy Kate)!

Above is the collection of ribbons and certificates won by the Nightrave dogs.

Our homestay boy Robert (Impulse Buyer) only had a few Rally lessons since he arrived here last week. Today, he took part in the Rally Zoom competition and he won second place!

Rally-O Zoom is a great class, judged on how well the dog and handler can walk around a course of cones and signs marking direction changes. To get the most points, you must not pull the dog's lead, and should negotiate all the obstacles in the right order, at a steady pace. Dear Robert, Bob the Dog, did what he does best, and walked along with Emma like a champion!!

Robert (Impulse Buyer) with his ribbon and certificate :)

Edwina had a go too, but couldn't quite beat Robbie! She came third :)

Edwina walking the course with Rachel. As it was cold and wet, she wore a Winnie The Pooh puffa coat :)
Edwina on the course :)

...and later at home, with her certificate :)

It was also Chevy's first Rally competition, and he won! Such a huge step for him -- he's had so many challenges, and he's really learning to cope incredibly well.

Meanwhile, neither Lucy nor Louie liked the weather conditions. Louie sneaked in with a Gold certificate in his Zoom competition (at Novice, the next level up from Chevy, Rob and Eddie's success), while Lucy was able to negotiate several obstacles she's never done before in Handy Dog Advanced. She successfully completed the weave poles (only one training session ever!) and also managed a 360 pivot, in which she had to place her front feet on a box, and circle her back feet all the way around!

She just hated the muddy ground, though, so she scratched from Standard Rally, which is usually her forte. Cobby, too, felt the only place for a greyhound on such a day was on the couch by the fire, and had to be content with a Merit certificate.

Misha didn't believe in sitting in the wet, but when it came to Zoom, turned in an outstanding performance to take out second place in the Novice.

Yellow, on the other hand, was completely unfazed by the rainy, muddy conditions. He just loves mud and water! He completed his Standard Rally course for a perfect score of 100, winning the class, and also qualified in Rally Zoom, beating Louie!
Yellow (Gold For Thys) and Rachel during their perfect 100/100 run :)

Postcards from our homestay greyhound Mila (Bronze For Macos)

Wednesday, June 5, 2013
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Mila with her new favourite toy, the fluffy squirrel :)
 She found this toy somewhere in the house and fell in love with it :)
Cute Mila (Bronze For Macos) is staying with us for a few weeks, while her family are on the holiday overseas.
I thought to post some pictures of her here, so that her parents can see how their clever girl is doing :)

Mila is an old friend: she used to be our foster greyhound, right after she retired in August 2010. She stayed with us for around two months then, before she went to live with Rachael and Michael in Wellington. We have always kept in touch  ; it is always lovely to have our ex-foster greyhounds come to stay with us! Mila certainly remembered our house, and the garden, and the routine -she fitted in like she never left :)
Mila has always been very dog-social and has made friends with everybody immediately- her new best friend is our Misha (Bodhran Cailin). It was friendship at first sight -these two girls are very similar, and click great:


Mila and Misha running at our local dog club :)
Mila , like all our homestay greyhounds, attends Rally O and CGC classes at our local Dog Club in Feilding, and she really enjoys them. When classes are not on, Mila loves running in our dog club, together with her friends from our pack::
Mila with her half-brother Yellow (Gold For Thys)
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Off we go!
Misha and Mila having a short break with Emma :)
With a new friend :)
And after the run - the best way to relax is in front of the fire with her bestie Misha!