Kiri

 

We recently spent a week competing at a big Agility show.  It was my first ever Agility show and I was very very excited!  On the first day of the show Ami had a word with me and told me that she didn’t care if we didn’t win, she didn’t even care if we got eliminated from every single run.  All she wanted was for me to stay in the ring and not run off!  Well after I had got over the initial shock of her sheer cheek I decided to show her that I do have a use other than being extremely cute and cuddly.  I concentrated really hard and ran my little legs off, I did all the obstacles and tried my hardest to listen to Ami and it paid off because I ended up winning not one but two classes!!  I did have a slight slip-up on the last day when my family came to watch me and halfway through my run I decided I should go and find them, I only wanted to make sure they had a good view of me but it ended up causing me to be eliminated.  Oh well I can’t be perfect all the time can I!!  It was also my birthday recently, I am two years old now!!

 

Tiger 

 

When I found out were going to be doing Agility every day for a week I thought I had died and gone to heaven!!  I won three classes (well I had to go one better than Kiri didn’t I!)  Ami and I also ended up getting a last minute phone call to run in the Pocket Rocket’s Agility team for a relay competition called the Team Dash.  To say Ami was nervous would be the understatement of the century.  She kept muttering to me that we had to run well as we couldn’t let down the rest of the team.  She needn’t have worried as I flew around the course and got a clear round!  In fact I was pretty much perfect all week and it ended up being Ami’s mistake that cost us a win up to grade 3.  We were running in a Jumping class and were doing really well, I jumped over the last jump and we thought we had run clear and possibly won the class... until it was pointed out to us that Ami had missed a jump out!!!  Honestly, you just can’t get the handlers these days!!  It was also my birthday recently and I am now three!

 

Ecko

 

I also went along to the Agility show, I am only seven months old so I am not old enough to compete, but I wanted to see what all the fuss is about.  It was really good fun and I can’t wait until it’s my turn.  I made lots of new friends and was a very good, well-behaved girl J.  In the meantime I have been very busy learning lots of new tricks and going to my obedience class. 

 

 

Tiger:

 

A couple of weeks ago I had my third Agility competition.  It was raining quite heavily and Ami almost didn’t bother going to the show because as anyone who knows me will tell you, I don’t do rain!  My first run of the day was a Jumping class.  I was doing well until I refused to run through the cloth tunnel and so got eliminated.  I did manage to get a clear round in my next Jumping class.

 

It was getting late and Ami wanted to give up and go home, especially as the last class of the day was an Agility class and it had the dreaded see-saw which is the scariest thing in the world to me.  Ami was eventually persuaded to stay and do the Agility class by some friends of ours.  We got half way around the course and then came the see-saw... I stepped on to it and climbed half-way up... Ami held her hand in the air in-front of my nose and started making silly noises and saying things like ‘yum yum chicken’... I wasn’t going to be fooled I knew it was all a hoax to make me do the see-saw...but then I thought, hang on what if she actually does have chicken in her hand, is that a risk I am prepared to take?  So I took a deep breath and did the see-saw, just in-case.  We did a few more jumps and obstacles before crossing the finish line.  It turns out she didn’t have chicken in her hand (grrr) but the hoax worked and I won grade 1 Agility meaning that I have now moved up to grade 2!!! 

 

Here is a picture of me with my rosette and trophy J

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ecko:

Can you believe that I am almost 7 months old now?!  Ami decided that it would be fun for me to learn to swim so she encouraged (bribed) me into a clean stream and once I’d got over the initial shock of the cold water I really started to enjoy it.  In fact I enjoyed it so much that now whenever I see water I feel the urge to dive head first into it and yelp with delight!  I have my own unique style of swimming, it involves diving down to the bottom of the water (the dirtier the water the better) and rolling around on the floor.  When I first did it Ami was scared and thought I was drowning!  I think Ami may be regretting her decision to get me swimming because sometimes when we are out walking and spot water she will start making silly noises and run in the opposite direction, just to stop me jumping in.  She says it has something to do with me smelling of pondweed, doesn’t she understand that it is the most coveted canine perfume - Canal No.5?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Me after I've been swimming

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kiri:

I had a fun day out recently.  Ami had to go out for the day but she decided that it would probably be a good idea to get someone to take Tiger, Ecko and me for a walk (something about her returning home to a trail of destruction).  Anyway, Ami asked Vicky from Regal Walkies if she could come to our house and take us for a walk.  Vicky picked us up in her van and we went to a place with big fields, ponds and woods.  We had a fantastic time running around the fields, chasing the ball and playing with other dogs.  I was really sad when we were dropped back at home but it did the job and we were still fast asleep when Ami came home later that day.

(www.regalwalkies.com).

 

Tiger:

 

Over the last couple of weeks I have been very busy putting all of my Agility training into practice and have started to enter Agility Shows.  At the end of June I had my first ever Kennel Club Agility Show.   Ami was very nervous but when I got out of the car and saw all of the Agility rings set up I got really excited and couldn't wait to have a go.   Our first run of the day was Grades 1 - 4 Graded Jumping.   We were third in the queue and I could tell Ami was getting really nervous.   When it was our turn I ran as fast as I could and made sure I really listened to Ami.   We did really well and won Grade 1 Jumping!!   I got a lovely rosette and trophy, I think I am the first member of my family (both human and dogs) to ever win a proper trophy!  We also did well in Grades 1 - 4 Combined Jumping and managed to get a clear round.

 

My next show was at the start of July and again I did very well and got another rosette for coming 2nd in the Grades 1 - 4 Jumping Sprint.   What a clever boy I am!  :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kiri:

 

We have had a busy few weeks full of lots of exciting adventures.  Firstly the humans had to go away for a few days to something called a ‘wedding’.  Apparently dogs are not allowed to go to weddings so we were sent on our own doggy holiday to a super posh Animal Hotel!  We had our own bedroom with a proper human bed and a basket of toys.  And in the daytime we got to play in the doggy day care with all the other dogs.  We also got lots of walks and cuddles.  I had a great time and even though I was happy to see the humans again when they came to pick us up I hope we get to go back soon!

Besides going on holiday I also took part in a Flyball demo at the Cheshire Dog’s Home open day.  I really enjoyed it and loved the round of applause and all of the ahh’s I got, I don’t understand why humans think it is amazing whenever I do anything, apparently it has something to do with me being so tiny but I keep telling them just because I am a little dog it doesn’t mean I can’t do whatever the big dogs do!  I may be small on the outside but I’m a big dog inside, after all how do you think I manage to keep a hyper Collie puppy under control?!

 

Ecko:

 

I got very excited about going to the Animal Hotel, that was until they put Tiger and Kiri in a room together...and me in a room by myself!  Rumour has it that Ami thought that if all three of us were put in a room together I would be doing somersaults of Tiger and Kiri’s head within ten minutes and end up driving them up the wall! Well I wasn’t going to stand for any of that and decided to put my paw down.  I howled constantly and refused to eat my food (it wasn’t easy but I persevered) until the lovely people at the Animal Hotel had the common-sense to reunite the terrible trio, as soon as I was put into Tiger and Kiri’s room I gobbled my food up and then went to sleep, not once battering the other two (well maybe once).  Once my initial protest regarding the room situation was over I really enjoyed myself, all the playing, walking and cuddles were fabulous.  It was nice to be reunited with Ami again though and I showed my appreciation by jumping up to cuddle her and knocking her over!

 

Tiger:

 

Now the other two may have been happy with being separated from Ami and staying in an Animal Hotel but I definitely wasn’t!  I decided that there was only one way to play this – protest!  I point blank refused to eat any of my food, at all, all weekend.  Luckily Ami had packed me some Barking Bakery treats which I find completely irresistible, no matter how strong-willed I am (very), my hunger-protest stood no chance when it came to Barking Bakery goodies!  The only thing that got me through the weekend was Barking Bakery treats and cuddles from the lovely Animal Hotel people.  They were great with me, they quickly realised that I was nervous and missing Ami and they looked after me brilliantly.  Don’t tell anyone but by the end of my stay I actually secretly liked it and don’t think I would mind going back for another holiday there.

Kiri:

 

I have been busy over the last couple of weeks.  Firstly I had my second ever Flyball competition.  I really enjoyed myself and along with my team I came 1^st in the competition!  Then I had my first ever Agility club match.  I haven’t been going to Agility for very long and I missed a lot of training when I had my dewclaws removed.  I can be a bit unpredictable when it comes to Agility, sometimes I will do it really well and really enjoy myself and at other times I prefer to sniff the floor!  However I did brilliantly in the club match and came 5^th!   This was a big achievement for me especially as all the dog heights were judged together so I was up against some really fast big dogs.  I loved posing for the picture with my rosette, even if the rosette is a lot bigger than me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tiger:

I also competed in the Agility club match and came 3^rd in Jumping and got a clear round in Agility.  However the biggest achievement of the night, and the thing that made Ami the most proud was that for the first time ever I did the see-saw all by myself!  I have terrible see-saw phobia, I don’t like how it suddenly moves under me and even though Ami has been training me on it I have never done it all by myself before, so when I decided to do it in the competition Ami couldn’t believe it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ecko:

I am only 15 weeks old and so am not old enough to do Agility or Flyball yet but I went along to both competitions so I could see what all the fuss is about.  I loved watching the Flyball.  I was instantly hooked and joined in with the other dogs by barking my support!  I also loved the Agility and watching Kiri and Tiger competing was good fun even if I did get a bit jealous and wished that it was me doing it instead of them.  The other great thing about the Agility competition was that it was held in a horse riding arena so there was lots of lovely smells on the floor which kept me occupied! 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello!

My name is Ecko and I am a 13 week old Border Collie.   I have been living with Tiger and Kiri for 6 weeks now.   Being the clever Collie that I am I figured out pretty quickly the general rules a pup needs to learn in order to get along in this world so I thought I’d share a few with you...

 

1. If you are walking along and hear the words 'Awww a puppy' coming from a human then you should quickly seek out said human, sit in front of them, tilt your head back and enjoy the cuddles, cooing and fussing they will give you.   This may mean a 10 minute walk ends up taking 30 minutes but I'm certainly not complaining!

 

2. Tiger is the boss!!   I can boss Kiri around, wrestle with her and chase her and she will happily oblige.   Tiger, however, will not tolerate my puppy silliness.   He doesn't even have to growl, he just has to give me his don't mess with me' look and I know to leave well alone!

 

3. Vegetables are good for you...but you should wait until the plant has grown and is ready to eat before you dive into the vegetable patch and devour all the little green shooty things, otherwise you will soon find out that the human's don't appreciate your attempt at gardening!

 

 

Tiger:

Yes, it’s a puppy.   It eats lots, it plays lots, it...well let’s just say I refuse to walk on the grass in the back garden anymore!   I spent the first couple of weeks hoping it would return to wherever puppies come from but now I have resigned myself to the fact that she is here to stay.   Can’t say much more than that really!

 

 

Kiri:

Well when this puppy first arrived it was tiny, even smaller than me so I thought I can live with that!   Now within the space of a few short weeks it has overtaken me and is even bigger than Tiger and she is only 13 weeks old!!   This concerns me greatly, when will it stop growing?   How big will she eventually get?!   I have been carefully watching the human’s reaction to the giant puppy and they don’t seem too concerned but it is something I have decided to keep a close eye on!

Kiri:

A week ago today I had an operation to remove both of my dewclaws.   I had ripped my dewclaws three times in six months so the vet decided that it would be best for me to have an operation to remove them permanently.   I have bandages from my   paws to the top of my legs and if that wasn't bad enough I have to wear a lampshade collar because I kept sneaking off to my bed to chew my bandages!   I am very very depressed and don't want to play with Tiger, all I want is lots of cuddles which is not like me at all!   Ami keeps teasing me by saying 'Flyball' when she knows I am really missing Flyball training.   I am going back to the vets next week to have my stitches removed and hopefully then I will be back to my normal self and once again causing trouble wherever I go!

Tiger:

 

Last Friday I entered my first Agility competition.   It was a competition for club members at the place Kiri and I go Agility training.   I thought we were just going training at first but I quickly realised it was a bit more than training when I noticed that Ami was getting nervous.  She had no need to be nervous, I was fabulous!   First we did a jumping course which involved jumps, rigid tunnels and a flat cloth tunnel.   I tackled it with ease and even went through the cloth tunnel which I normally don't like.   Then we did an Agility course.   Whilst the dog in front of me was running the course I was revving myself up by barking at the top of my lungs, then it was my go.   I ran as fast as I could and at some parts Ami struggled to keep up with me!   My tail never stopped wagging the whole way around the course and I loved it!   We got a clear round in the jumping course, which means that I wasn't quite fast enough to get a place but managed to complete the course without making any mistakes.   I came 3rd in the Agility which was fantastic and I was very pleased with myself!   We came home with two rosettes and I spent the rest of the evening bragging to Kiri about how great I was.

 

Kiri:

 

One day I hope to do an Agility competition like Tiger did but first Ami says I need to work on staying focused because I have the attention span of a gnat!  

Tiger:

We have not updated our blog recently as we have been too busy playing in the snow!   I absolutely loved it and spent as much time as I could playing in it.   There was only one downside - Snowmen.   These things called Snowmen kept appearing everywhere and no matter how much I barked at them they just wouldn't go away!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kiri:

I liked the snow even though most of the time it was deeper than I am tall!

    

Kiri:

 

As I am completely ball mad Ami decided it would be a good idea for me to have a go at Flyball.  

 

Flyball is a relay race, there are four dogs on a team, each dog has to race over four hurdles, jump on a special box which releases a tennis ball (I use a special mini ball for small dogs) and then return over the hurdles with the ball.  

 

I have joined a team called the Carry Ons and on Sunday I went to my first Flyball competition.   The humans were not sure how I would react to a competition as it is very noisy with lots of people and dogs and this competition was being held indoors and I have only ever practised Flyball on grass.   Well they had nothing to worry about!   I loved it!   Although Flyball is open to dogs of any size, most of the dogs who do it are quite large.   So being a 'tiny' dog who only weighs just over 3 kgs, when it was my turn to run I got lots of 'ahh's' from the people and I think I was the only dog there who got a round of applause everytime I ran back with the ball!   I had a fantastic day and our team finished 2nd so we were very pleased.  

 

 

Tiger:

 

Well I have decided that there is no way that Kiri is going to get all the attention and days out with Ami just because she likes to retrieve a ball!   So after spending 2 years of point blank refusing to take any interest in a ball let alone retrieve one, the other day I started playing fetch and didn't stop for 20 minutes!   Now Ami is very happy because not only do I retrieve the ball but I actually enjoy it, I have even heard Ami say that she is going to take me along to Flyball training to see how I get on.   Honestly, if I'd have known that bringing back a ball would make Ami so happy and could even earn me some interesting days out I'd have done it ages ago!

Tiger:

I love Sundays.   On Sundays Kiri and I go to the Help My Pup dog training club where we have lots of fun doing obedience, learning tricks and doing Canine Freestyle (doggy dancing).   At the moment we are practising very hard as I will be joining some of the other club dogs and doing a Canine Freestyle demonstration as the club open day next Sunday.   Next Sunday (25th October) the club will be holding a fun dog show.   Barking Bakery will have a stand there.   There will be loads of fun things to try like Agility, Flyball, Tricks and Rally-O.   If you fancy a great doggy themed day out check out the Help My Pup link on our links page.   I have heard rumours of me having to wear a tutu as part of the dancing demonstration...I hope Ami is joking!

Tiger:

I have had a very frightening experience this week.   Kiri and I were playing in the park.   We were having a fantastic time chasing each other when I suddenly felt pain like I have never felt.   I started screaming which made all the humans and dogs stop what they were doing and look at me.   Then I collapsed on my side and started shaking and panting.   I think I really scared Ami.   Ami checked me over but couldn't find anything wrong but I was getting worse.   Anyway Ami carried me to the car and on the journey home she found a wasp stuck to me!   I had to go to the vets and have an antihistamine injection.   I have since told Ami that I may look extremely cute and cuddly with my hair long and curly but if I had had it cut short she would have found the wasp a lot earlier!   Time for a haircut I think.   I am all better now but I did take advantage of the extra cuddles and attention that was showered on me by the humans :)

Kiri:

One minute Tiger and I were playing and the next he was screaming!   I did what any other sensible dog would do - get as far away as possible with a look on my face that said 'it wasn't my fault'.   Turns out he was stung by a wasp.   It's quite funny really because Tiger doesn't bother chasing wasps/bees/flies but I love nothing more than spending hours trying to catch pesky wasps with my bare teeth!   Everyone thought it would be me who would get stung first!

Kiri:

I have discovered a new love - singing!!   Now I have always loved a sing-song when Ami plays the harmonica but no matter how hard the humans tried they couldn't get me to sing along to songs on the radio or tv.   That was until, by accident, they discovered my musical weakness - Umbrella by Rihanna!!   No matter what I am doing, even if I am asleep, as soon as my song comes on I'm up, throwing my head back and howling beautifully!   The humans keep singing Umbrella to me but, to be honest listening to them singing is painful, they can't hold a tune as well as I can and they   completely wreck the song!   So Rihanna if you are reading this, I would make the perfect backing singer or even support act for your next tour!

Tiger:

Kiri's singing can be summed up in one word - painful.   I've heard similar noises at the vets when some poor dog is having his temperature taken!

Tiger:

Last week it was both of our birthdays.   I turned 2 and Kiri turned 1.   I don't really understand birthdays but whatever they are I wished they happened everyday! We got presents, my favourite present was a set of rubber ducks, they are really fun to play with, when Ami squeaks them I get ready to pounce! We also got a soft velvety rug, I think the humans thought it would be good for us to lie down and sleep on but Kiri and I have turned it into our very own wrestling mat, we certainly don't sleep on it!

Love Tiger x

Kiri:

Birthdays are fun! Ami bought me my very own fabric kennel.    It's great because I never really liked staying in my bed as there always seemed to be more fun things to do than sleep! But my new 'house' has a roof and is dark so I don't get distracted so easily and stay asleep for longer.   It's great because I now have more energy for playing my favourite game - fetch!

Love Kiri x

Welcome to Tiger and Kiri's blog.  Being the 21st century  super-cool dogs that we are we thought we would start keeping a blog to let the world know about the fun-filled adventures we have.