KAMIKAZE KELPIE

I couldn’t do my Flyball blog on Sunday after training because we went to my Nonna’s house to get Beazli and I had to chase the chickens and then the naughty little white pussycat chased me and scratched my nose and swiped my tail.

And I couldn’t do my blog yesterday because Alex came to our house with Molly and Connor and then we all went for a walk at a new place called GlebePoint and lots of things happened and I got very tired.

One of things that happened was when Molly and I ran up to scare away a big dog we didn’t know and that big dog turned around and barked at me with his big teeth. The only thing I could do was jump off a huge cliff into the water we had been swimming in. It took a long time to get to the water because it was so far down, and then I had to swim back and climb up the cliff over sharp rocks and when I got to the top it seemed like I was just hanging on by my fingerclaws and I might fall down again but I didn’t.

My mum and Alex and the two ladies with the big dog were laughing (but my mum was shaking) and one lady said ‘what is that dog, a Kelpie cross MountainGoat, I’ve never seen anything like it’.

My mum put me on my lead after that but we did find another place for really good swimming in SydneyHarbour only there was no need to jump off any cliff we just went down some stairs.

Flyball was really good on Sunday because of two things: Beazli didn’t come and we had the pool because it was very very hot. I love the pool, the first time I ever had fun at Flyball was the first day we had the pool and I played with Abbey wrestling in the water.

Beazli didn’t come because Dr Janet at LivingstoneRoadVet told my mum he has a very sore back, that’s why he can’t do Overs very well and why he yelps sometimes when he goes Around. Dr Janet told my mum ‘his Flyball career is over’.

I’m happy if he doesn’t do Flyball because I like to have my mum’s attention all the time. And on Sunday she paid me lots of attention, so I did good Overs and I was nice to all the dogs and I did Away from mum, Over 4, Around-on-the-Box-Catch-the-Ball, and back Over to mum and made her happy.There's a video of me doing it

Once she had had enough happiness I thought it was time to do some good chasing – the boys playing soccer, little Mocha, the new dog Billy. But for the first time ever my mum told me ‘No’ in a loud voice when I did that chasing. She turned her back on me after she said ‘No’ and I had to run to her to make sure she still loves me and she does, she told me ‘Good Come’, but she still said ‘No’ the next time I ran away.

I’ll have to think about that a bit. My mum says I should talk to Abbey, and Kaos, and Zeus, who can all do proper racing now without running away and chasing all the interesting things that happen in the training park. Sometimes I want to do that, I want to do ‘Team Ready, Watch the Lights’, and sometimes I just want to chase. My mum and Lisa and Alex shook their heads a lot on Sunday, talking about my ‘shortattentionspan’ whatever that is. They say they can’t work me out.

PET EXPO 2006

Oh boy, a PetExpo is exhausting. We went there for 2 days, from early in the morning til it was dinnertime. On Saturday there were lots of Psychos: Rosie & Kaos, Molly & Connor, Missy & Rascal, Chloe & Mocha, Pjevs, Abbey & Co Co (& me), and we were all wearing our Suppawters jumpers in different colours.
The Flyball was in a big building, and to get there you had to be Brave and walk through crowds and crowds of people looking at dogs sitting on tables. We never sit on tables and I never saw those table-dogs doing Flyball. I wonder what they do for fun?

Sometimes on the Brave walk there were so many people my mum and I had to stand still and wait for a gap. And sometimes we had to stand still so people I didn’t know could take a photo of me or pat me. At first it made me shake but by the end of 2 days so many strangers had patted me that I didn’t really care any more.

After the Brave walk, I was happy to go into the Flyball ring where there was a bit more room, and where I knew what would happen would be Team Ready, Watch the Lights, and then everyone so excited about having their turn.There’s always a surprise at Flyball. This time the surprise was that Abbey and Kaos raced in a Team, and they didn’t have any Blonde Moments or do anything Delinquent, they just raced as fast as they could so their Team could win lots of races.

Co Co and I had some turns going Over 4 hurdles back to our mums. On Saturday Alex took me to the Box and first I got a shock because there was a funny carpet under the Box instead of grass. Alex told me it would be OK if I went Over to my Mum. Ian looked like he was eating a big black thing that made his voice really really loud and I heard him say my name and my mum’s name when I was doing the Overs and I thought about stopping but then I thought I should just get back to my Mum and when I got there all the people who were watching clapped and cheered. My mum says you can watch a video of me doing my Overs on SydneyPsychos website.

I had more turns doing Overs on Sunday, when there weren’t so many Psychos: just Missy and Chloe and Rosie and Kaos and me. Because there weren’t many of us, it was a busy day with millions of Brave walks and photos and patting and heaps of children with those evil balloons. They look like a big soccer ball hanging in the air. They look like fun until they suddenly disappear and make the scariest thunder sound.

When I did the Sunday Overs it was Linda who took me to the Box and this time I knew about the funny carpet so I started right back at the beginning. Ian was eating his black loud thing again and I heard him tell a long story about me and my mum. He told about the awful people who hurt me before my mum found me and he told about my mum and Flyball helping me to be Brave.

I did my Overs carefully and I wasn’t a Delinquent and my Mum kissed me and all the people clapped and cheered again. And Jenny and Linda and Susan and Ian all told me I was a Good Girl, a Darling Ebbi. Ian gave me some cheese and I sat on his lap and kissed his ear.

The PetExpo was like all my Flyball Adventures: some scary things but so much fun that it gives you good dreams and makes you want to go again. And we will! Next time we’re going to UnderSouthernStars, my first competition at night.

WAITING FOR THE EXPO

This morning, before we got up, my mum was watching TV having her coffee, when I heard a man say 'Flyball'. I jumped up straight away and ran to my mum and grabbed her hand with my mouth, to tell her I'm ready for Flyball today. She just laughed and laughed and told me that the man who said Flyball was a man on the TV, a weatherman at the PetExpo, telling everyone that Flyball is on. We aren't going there until tomorrow. Bummer

BRAVE? OR BRATTY?

Last night when we got home from Flyball, my mum sat me down and told me that Ian thought I was being a Delinquent because I am more ‘confident’ now. She said confident is the same as ‘brave’. She said it’s really, really good that I was brave about Measuring Stick and trying on my new Suppawters jumper, but that brave doesn’t mean I can just run away and play with my Flyball friends whenever I feel like it.

I had to remind my mum that I didn’t run away ALL the time yesterday. I did do 7 Overs and 8 Overs a couple of times, as fast as I could, and I did do Over, Around-Catch-the-Ball and Over 2 hurdles when we practised with Alex.

OK, I did run away a bit, like the 2 times I ran up to Mystique and the time I ran after Zeus and 3 times I chased Zoe and the time I ran after little Rascal. One of the times I ran away I went looking for my mum's sister Jackie who came from the long away away in Perth to visit us in the week. But she didn't come to Flyball like the Marianne sister did. And when I couldn't find her Ian chased me back to my mum.

But I was a Very Good Girl when the new lady gave me a pretty jumper to wear.
It was a practise for my Suppawters jumper – I’m going to wear a Melbourne Storm Suppawters jumper at the PetExpo next weekend.

My mum says the PetExpo is a bit like a competition but there won’t be any ribbons or medals. And we have to go for 2 days and I have to be reserve dog and watch my team from the back of the ring. I can hardly wait.

(Beazli): I was measured for a New Zealand Warriors Suppawters jumper. I like the idea of being a Warrior. I think Warriors eat well. I certainly ate well yesterday. Very thinly sliced double smoked ham, and shaved chicken breast, a delightful combination. Delicious, I must say.)
(Beazli: At last! a photo of me!)