Summerick Border Collies

KC/ISDS name: Starazaz Venn (ISDS 243681)
DOB: 12/02/1999 (9 years old)
Hips: 5:4
DNA CEA Normal, PRA Clear (16.03.2006)
Breed: Border Collie
Advanced Agility Dog
C Only Obedience

January update: Ricky's arthritis has really improved recently. He still has days where he's a bit stiff but most of the time he's fine. I've decided that I can't contain his exercise any more than I am doing as there's no point him living a long but very sheltered and boring life. So I'm now training him in agility again (just on medium height) once a week to maintain his fitness. He will probably be retired from obedience some time in the summer. As it's been rainy the last week or so we've been doing lots of trick work to occupy his mind and he is learning "face" (paw over face) in the sit, down, and flat positions, he finds the down and flat really easy but the sits much harder. He's also learning to cross his paws and the reverse of the elephant trick, which is proving reeeally difficult (I thought it'd be easy, but not so!) The reverse is when instead of their front feet are on the box, their back feet are, and their front feet move round the box. He is trying soooo hard, but its very difficult, so we are making progress in incy steps!

October update: After lots of sessions with the physio, Ricky hasn't been lame between April and September. However since September he has been lame fairly regularly although he hasn't done any agility since August, and even then he only did a couple of rounds. He has osteoarthritis in both front legs, and extensive tissue damage in his shoulder, we are starting another course of physiotherapy next week however at the moment it is looking like Rix may have to be retired from both anysize agility, and obedience, as his legs can't seen to cope with the physical demands necessary  I am still unsure what to do at this stage as it is obviously very important to keep him fit, but this is proving very hard as if he has too much exercise, he goes lame, but the more we rest him, the more muscle tone he's losing and the more pressure he's putting on his joints. I may speak to the vet about starting him on another course of hydrotherapy as this worked wonders last time, but it is quite worrying that he's struggling so much at only 8 years old.

31st July: Well after Ricky's two weeks worth of stunning rounds that I've waited all my life for, he's decided that obedience really isn't for him and he'll wander along behind me looking as bored as can be! I've done no proper training with him for 3 weeks now, just lots of walks to keep his fitness up. I will put him in C at Redditch on Sunday but if he's gonna be bored I shall just take him out, no point wasting his, mine or the judges time any more than can be helped! He is LOVING anysize though, I have physiotherapy exercises I have to do with him now and these have helped as he is much less stiff now. He'll be in his element next week at Dashin Dogs with 2 Anysize Jumpings, 1 Anysize Agility and a Junior Anysize Jumping!

4th July: Ricky went through a period after the post below of being really embarrassing in his obedience! He just didn't want to know! I don't know whether this was caused by me putting too much pressure on him (I think it was), or what ever, but I decided to train 50% of my rounds, and the other half I'd work but put in extra commands the minute he started to drift. But make it FUN! And not nag him at all. This has seemed to work as he has really brightened up in the last 2 classes he has worked, I am sure that because he's started to work nicer my brain will get excited and subconsciously put pressure on him, so if I do, I'll do some more training rounds. To start with I wasn't sure whether to just accept that Rix didn't want to do his C rounds or try and improve him, now I know that he can get better I'll see if we can work him through his phases. He's had two 4ths now, so both times just missing out on a qualifier for ticket. You never know, with the amount of shows we're doing this year he may even get a qualifier! (Yer, dreaming again!)

14th May: Ricky had a 5th in C Dog/Bitch at Plymouth yesterday. I'm really pleased with how he's coping with C as I was worried he wouldn't be able to cope with the length of heelwork, however in the 3 C's I have so far worked, he has had a 4th and a 5th. Yesterday the dogs in the top 4 places were all ticket dogs, and all very experienced, so I was really pleased that Ricky managed to get in the placings against these!

8/5/2007: Ricky has been retired from agility at full height due to osteoarthritis in his wrists, which was causing him to go intermittently lame. He is currently enjoying anysize/allsorts and next year will be doing veterans as well and has won several of these classes so far.

Ricky is my first dog and I have trained him myself since he was a puppy. I have wanted a dog ever since I can remember, and watching agility at Crufts on the TV spurred me on to get a collie. After a lot of persuasion mum and dad finally agreed, and we saw an advert for a litter of puppies at a show. And that is how Ricky came into my life. 

Ricky has been an amazing dog to own and train, he has been very hard work, as he is so keen and wants to do everything at 100mph. He is a brilliant agility dog, he has so much drive, enthuasiam and power it makes training a joy. His contacts are amazing, he hardly slows down at all to get the contact. I don't think I'll ever have another dog with contacts as fast as his. Ricky has gone from elementary to advanced so can now compete at championship level.

We also compete in obedience, to start with it was so I could compete in YKC classes but as I began to enjoy it more and more we started competing in open shows too. Ricky has won 2 pre-beginners, 2 beginners, 1 novice, 3 A's and 3 B's making him C only.

In the YKC he has also been very successful, and at crufts he has won the YKC Biathlon once, the YKC Advanced Obedience once, the YKC Intermediate Obedience twice and the YKC Triathlon (breed, obedience and agility) three times. He has qualified for Crufts 2007 in YKC Advanced Obedience, YKC Jumping and YKC Team Agility.

Update 15th January: Ricky did his first C round at NAABTS... we both really enjoyed it! I trained it as we still have a lot of work to do before we are ready, but I was very pleased with him, he was very switched on for his heelwork, which was considerably longer than what we have been used to. He did the sit and stand for positions on the move, missed the down as I had the ball in my hand so gave him the wrong signal. He then did a lovely retrieve, sendaway and perfect distance control, so I was chuffed to bits :o)

 

Photos of Ricky age 8 years, taken February 2007

Some photos of Ricky taken 4th November 2006