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!)

A VERY NAUGHTY DAY

My mum has 3 sisters and I know them all but I know Debbie the best. I went to her house and played with the Cousins after the BoorowaIrishFlyballFling. The sister called Jackie has been to my house once (my mum said she lives a long way away in Perth) and the sister called Marianne came to my house from the long way away called Brisbane when my mum was in hospital after she broke her wrist that awful day at Flyball.

(the lady with the blonde hair is the sister Marianne. She's standing next to my mum in the sunglasses.)
I was frightened of Marianne when my mum was in the hospital but I felt happy to see her when she came this time. She likes to play throw the squeaky toy and throw the jingle bells a real lot, so we had lots of fun on Friday night and on Saturday night and on Sunday morning.

Marianne taught me a new thing to do, when she makes a shape with her hand she wants me to bark loud! Usually my mum doesn’t want me to bark loud, she tells me ‘Quiet’ if I bark at the man next door.

I was excited when we all went to Flyball yesterday, me and my mum and the sister Marianne and Beazli. But when we got there I didn’t want to do Flyball, I just wanted to play with my friends and with Marianne.

Mum asked me to do 8 Overs but I only did 1 and then ran down the side. She asked again and I only did 1 and then ran down the side. She asked me to do 6 Overs and I only did 1 before I saw Abbey and went to play with her.

That time my mum took me quietly and didn’t even put me in my house she put me in the Berlingo all by myself. I looked out the window and I saw my mum take Beazli to do some Overs. He’ll do anything for food. He did all the Overs my mum asked him to.

(Beazli: Moist balls of lightly steamed beef and vegetables coated in coconut were on the menu today. Very tender, delicious aroma, melt in the mouth, a wonderful treat. As soon as I realised what mum had in her bumbag I was more than willing to do 2 Overs, 3 Overs, 4 Overs. I put on a bit of speed, too, for a dog of my years, I can tell you.)

When my mum got me out of the Berlingo and back to do Overs it was with Alex, instead of Ian, on the box. We started at 5 and I did them, then we tried 6 and I did them, but when my mum asked for 7 I saw Marianne and went to play with her instead, I thought she might want to play that barking game.

I couldn’t believe it, my mum put me in the Berlingo again, and did more Overs with Beazli, instead of me.

That’s what happened all day. I spent a lot of the day in the Berlingo. It wasn’t much fun. The only fun I had was running away when my mum and Lisa asked me to go Around for the ball on the Box. I had a look at the Box but I didn’t feel like getting the ball, I felt like chasing the boys I could see on the other side of the park. I chased the boys, I ran to Marianne, I chased the new dog Billy, I barked at Alex, I put myself in my house, and still my mum put me in the Berlingo!

She didn’t call me a Perfect Clever Girl once yesterday at Flyball. She told me I had a Very Naughty Day.

(Beazli:I don't know what she's complaining about. It was a wonderful day, I had so many delicious coconut coated beef balls, I can strongly recommend them, they really were worth the effort of a few Overs and a few turns Around the pole. But the best part of the day was enjoying Pjev's & Rosie's birthday cake, without having to do any activities at all. It was a sublime carrot cake, not too sweet, and I was fortunate that I was able to eat Ebbi's portion as well as my own. She always turns her nose up at cake, silly thing.)

PRACTISE WITH MOLLY & CONNOR

Another practise day with Alex and Molly and Connor, but today we went to a new park because there were kids playing cricket in white-fence-park.
It took a long time to set everything up. First it rained a little bit, then there was some thunder. Molly was so scared she jumped into our Berlingo with Beazli and me! Connor didn’t care, he just sat outside looking around while my mum and Alex drank coffee.
Boy they drink a lot of coffee. I tried to taste it once but my mum stopped me real fast, and she said ‘the last thing a hyperactive little girl like you needs is coffee’. I wonder if hyperactive means anything like a Clever Perfect Girl?
I was really excited by the time the rain and the thunder and the coffee and the carrying everything down the hill was over and we were ready to start. I had the first go, and my mum wanted me to do the Full Run (you know, Away from mum, Over 4 hurdles, Around-on-the-box-catch-the-ball and bring the ball back Over all 4 hurdles to mum). I went Over real fast but after I caught the ball and turned Around I saw Molly barking at me from a long way away and I had to run to her with the ball in my mouth.
The next time I had to run to Connor and bark at Beazli along the way. After that I just ran to my house. So my mum and Alex gave Molly a turn, and then Connor a turn, and then I couldn’t believe it, they gave Beazli a turn too! Just like on Sunday, at proper Flyball! Is he going to keep learning Flyball all the time? I don’t really like my mum giving Beazli so much attention.
(Beazli: mmmmm today’s Overs were delicious – they involved Sliced Ham, which is one of my favourites. I love that slightly salty flavour, quite different from the Roast Beef we were tasting on Sunday. I was very willing to go Over for Sliced Ham, especially the first couple of times, before my hips started to get tired).
When it was my turn again, we started at Over, Around-on-the-box-catch-the-ball and bring the ball back Over 1, then 2, then 3 and then I did a Full Run – that’s the Perfect Clever Girl thing I can do. Then I did another Full Run, and then next time I got the ball I thought I heard a mouse in the bushes near us and I quickly went to check but there was no mouse so I went back to the Box and then Over all 4 hurdles back to my mum.
Then Molly and Connor (and Beazli again!) had another turn, and then I did some more Full Runs and most of them were Perfect Clever Girl runs. I only had a couple of blonde moments, honestly.
When we got home my mum told me I have to be a Perfect Clever Girl at training on Sunday to show Ian I can do Full Runs. We’ll see.

A FULL RUN IN FRONT OF WITNESSES

It seems like all night long my mum kept asking me why I’m a ‘Delinquent’ half the time and a ‘Perfect Clever Girl’ the other half. I don’t know what a ‘Delinquent’ is, but I do know that my mum thought I was a Perfect Clever Girl yesterday at Flyball when I did ‘Away from mum, Over 4 hurdles, Around on the Box-Get-the-Ball, and back Over 4 hurdles to my mum with the ball in my mouth.

I did it about 8 times, and everyone was amazed. Except Alex because she knows I can do it, she’s seen me at white-fence-park.

But Lisa kept telling my mum she couldn’t believe Ebbi, and Linda said I was a Darling Clever Girl and Larry and Gail said I was a Good Little Girl, like Digger is a Good Boy because he was doing Away, Over, Get-theBall, and back Over for his dad Larry too.

I even did Away, Over, Get-theBall, and back Over once after Connor, with my mum telling me ‘Team Ready’ before my turn, just like Ian does for my team when we are in a competition. But this was different because I got to go get that tennis ball and bring it back to my mum, instead of waiting in the back watching everyone else do it.

And my mum told me I was a Perfect Clever Girl that time with Connor. But there was another time with Connor when I saw some boys I don’t know on their bikes and I had to run and bark at them instead of bringing the ball back. And I couldn’t do 8 Overs at the start of Flyball because I had to chase Zeus. And then another time I couldn’t do any Overs because I had to chase a new little fluffy dog who came with Coco. Oh and there was another time when I wanted to play with Abbey because she’s my friend, she’s a kelpie too but maybe you know that.

And a couple of times I just didn’t want to do it because my mum was paying too much attention to Beazli. She got him to do Overs and fed him lots of Roast Beef. When he comes to Flyball he’s just supposed to sit near my house and howl a lot. But for some reason my mum kept getting him to have a turn every time I went back to my house.

(Beazli: ‘I don’t know why she’s so jealous. All I wanted to do was participate a little. And I do enjoy my Roast Beef, well actually I enjoy most food, well actually it’s hard to think of any food I don’t like. I’m not really that keen on the whole get-the-ball idea, and going Over those hurdles is a bit tricky with my 10 year old hips, but if that’s what it takes to get some Roast Beef, well I thought I would give it a go. And it seemed to make mum happy, so we both enjoyed it.’)

It was a good day at Flyball, even though not everyone was there. One time I was doing Cross Overs with Pjevs and I saw him coming towards me and I thought how much I like him and I had to stop in the middle and give him a kiss before jumping Over. (He stopped and kissed me back).

But another time my mum asked me to do Cross Overs with Zeus and I had to watch his man, I think maybe it’s his dad, I’m a bit scared of him, I had to watch him carefully the whole time. My mum stayed close to me and kept asking me to do Overs and one time that Zeus-dad-man gave me some cheese.

I was glad when those Cross Overs finished. And I was even more glad when Measuring Stick finished, just before playtime. I’m getting a bit used to Measuring Stick but it still makes me shake when Lisa gets it out. My mum asks me to Stand and that’s when I start to shake. Lisa talks in a quiet voice and says ‘Good Stand’ and then she touches me gently with Measuring Stick. It looks so awful, like it could hurt you. I shake and shake but I try to concentrate on playtime, which is coming next. Playtime means jingle bells and Connor’s squeaky toy and everyone running as fast as they can and it’s just the best fun, having playtime with my Flyball friends.

(Beazli: ‘I enjoy the end of the day as well. I can show how I used to be able to spin quite expertly, and if I approach everyone politely they usually have something delicious to eat in their bumbags.)

PROGRESS?

Molly and Connor and Beazli and I went to white fence park for flyball practice yesterday. It was very hot and very windy and there was a great big truck in the park mowing the lawn. When it was my first turn I couldn't concentrate because of the wind and the man from the truck watching me, so I didn't do proper Overs, I just kept running back to my house.
But after watching mum do fun flyball things with Connor instead of me, and then asking Beazli to do Overs and Arounds instead of me, I thought it would be better to go Over 4 hurdles back to mum.
Then Alex got the tennis ball and put it in the box, and I went Around and popped that ball right out of the box and caught it in my mouth and went back to mum.
She had Connor's squeaky beer bottle and she let me squeak it and tug it, that was fun.
So next time I went Over and Around and popped the ball and went back Over and grabbed that beer bottle right out of my mum's hand.
And then I went Over 2 hurdles and Around, and then 3 hurdles and Around, and then 4 hurdles and Around, and each time I brought the tennis ball back to my mum she let me squeak Connor's beer bottle and hugged me and kissed me.
I only stopped because I was thirsty because it was still so hot.
We played good soccer at the end. Later in the day Beazli and I had a long swim in the pool at home. Flyball is a bit hard when it's so hot even though it's still fun, but swimming is great, you get cool and tired and then you can have a lovely bone.

MY 2ND COMPETITION

Yesterday was a normal flyball day, after lots of great Flyball adventures. Yesterday I showed everyone I can do 8 Overs with single hops in between, that I can catch the ball when the box pops it out, that I can do really good Cross Overs with my friend Connor and that I am trying to be brave when we practise Measuring Stick. But I didn’t want to do Over, Around-Catch-the-Ball and Over because there was a big noisy truck spraying the soccer ground close by and I had to watch that truck very carefully to make sure it didn’t come even closer and hurt anyone (especially me).
It was fun to be at normal training after going to the BoorowaIrishFlyballFling and then to Albury to see Noni. When we first set off for the BoorowaIrishFlyballFling I thought the adventure was to drive for a while, stop and find Flyball friends. We did that 3 times – first we stopped and found Alex with Molly and Connor, and Jenny with Missy. Then next time after driving we stopped and found Linda and Lisa with Pjevs, Susan with Mocha and Chloe, and Sian with Doc. Then we drove and stopped again and found everyone else – Ian and Sandy with Kaos and Rosie, Debbie and John with Maverick, little Connor and Jessie and Larry and Gail with Digger.

They were all together in a kind of park with other people and other dogs and caravans and tents. My mum took me for a long walk with Alex and Molly and Connor and when it got dark all the mums and dads sat in a circle and us kids wrestled in the middle. Pjevs and Chloe do nice wrestling but Doc kept wanting to do something awful to my bottom and I didn’t like it. I had to snap at him to make him stop and Sian told me I was a Good Girl, I was allowed to tell Doc I didn’t like that wrestling.
While we were playing everyone kept talking about a new dog ‘Fabio the most beautiful dog in the Cosmos’. They all laughed and laughed about Fabio and I though he must be a fun dog, I looked around for him everywhere but he was nowhere to be seen. I don’t know why they kept talking about Fabio every time Mocha squeaked his little squeaky bark.
I was sad when my mum put me in my house in the car and drove away. I thought we were going home but instead we went to another place, called a ‘motel’. It was big room with a bed and a table and chairs and a television and a bathroom. At first I was scared but when my mum brought my house into the room I knew we were staying there for a while so I ate my dinner and pretty soon, even though I didn’t want to, I went to sleep.
Very early in the morning we went back to the camping place and then to another place and as soon as we got there I knew this was the proper BoorowaIrishFlyballFling. Our big Sydney Psychos tent was there and our new pool for playing in when we get hot, and there were other teams in their coloured t-shirts and I could see the orange flapping fence that means we have to do ‘Team Ready, Watch The Lights’ inside it.
When my mum said ‘come along Ebbi, let’s go with our team’, I knew we had to walk a long way past a lot of other people and dogs I didn’t know and go inside that orange flapping fence. I was ready to walk down the back and sit and watch my team do ‘Team Ready’ but I saw my mum talking to Ian and she always has some surprises after talking to him. My mum gave me to Lisa and then she went to the end of the hurdles and called me and I ran to her but she took me straight back without saying Good Girl and I realised I had to do Overs like at training. So I did my Overs real fast and my team was happy and then I saw Digger do them too and then we both sat at the end of the ring watching our team racing.
I can’t tell you how many times we did that, just like at HolroydPetFest, except I was with Digger this time instead of Lance. In the middle of the day, we stopped and put on our Indian Feathers. I had been practising Indian Feathers at home, so I wasn’t scared and I didn’t try to eat them like the first time. Everyone in my team put on Indian Feathers and our mums and dads put on new clothes too, with big purple Cowboy hats. The new clothes were for the BoorowaRunningOfTheSheepParade. Everyone was dressed up, but Sydney Psychos were the only Indian Feathers and Cowboys.


Just before the parade started I thought I wanted to run away from the huge noisy truck and the car with wool on it and the noisy motor bikes and the horses and other things I hadn’t seen before. It was too much like the SydneyRoyalEasterShow where everything was terrifying. But I looked at Molly and Connor and they were happy and Pjevs was happy and so I thought I would try it.
It was noisy and hot walking along the street, with millions of people watching us and cheering. They laughed the most when they saw Rosie sitting in a little wagon behind Ian on the bike, and little Connor in his tiny cowboy hat and Missy in her Doggles and Indian Feathers.
At the end of the parade I was glad to jump in our Sydney Psychos pool before going to my house. I wanted to sleep for the rest of the day but there were more Flyball races and my mum kept waking me up to go with my team and do more Overs. In between we had to stand behind Ian and Jennie while they talked to a strange man from the ‘Getaway Show’. His friends had HUGE cameras and they wanted us kids to bark and we were happy to bark for them. (I didn’t look at the cameras too much because I don’t like them).
Boy it’s hard work at competitions. I did everything my mum wanted me to, except for the last time, when she asked me to go Over, Around and Over before the race started. Lisa wasn’t there and I didn’t know the man at the box and I was scared of going Over to him so I ran away instead, right out of the ring. My mum came out too and found me and took me to play in the oval and she wasn’t mad, she told me she knew I was scared of that man and next competition we would make sure there was someone I knew on the box.
She told me that one day I would have my first real race, like Kaos did this time. Ian was over the moon with happiness and kept talking about Kaos getting his first points. I don’t know what that means but it must be good, Ian was so happy.

When the competition was finished we went to sit in the dark like we did at Kioloa. We wrestled a little bit while people talked boring things about ‘who-came-first’. Even Jessie was nice to me while we were sitting in the dark! She used to snap at me all the time but she is nicer now. Maybe she was scared like I used to be? The boring talking made all our mums and dads happy: our team came 2nd and now I have a red medal as well as a green ribbon for coming 1st. Our other Sydney Psychos team came 3rd, and they have medals too.
I had no trouble going to sleep in our motel that night. I was sure we would go home in the morning so you can imagine my surprise when we finally stopped and we were at Noni’s house! I went there at Christmas with my mum and Beazli. This time I was allowed in the house all day, even though it wasn’t the hottest-day-on-record like it was on New Years Day. Maybe it was because I have a red medal.
We stayed at Noni’s house for a week, and every day we went for two long walks as well as going to visit my cousins. This time I got to play with the cousins – they look like little Connor and their house has a big garden like a park and next door there is a big proper park as well. They have squeaky toys and a soccer ball but they can’t play soccer like Molly and big Connor. The cousin called Jasmine chased me a lot and the cousin called Gizmo just looked at me – I think he’s too fat for chasing.
One of the days we went to visit the cousins my mum showed her sister Debbie how to put a stake in the ground with a long rope attached to Gizmo’s harness so that he could run a little bit without being on a lead. My mum told me the cousins are 5 years old and have never been off-the-lead before because Gizmo usually runs away. I played with Jasmine off-the-lead and she didn’t run away, and Gizmo liked the long rope. I knew he would because I used to like the long rope that Ian gave me when I first started learning Flyball.
Maybe next time I visit Noni and my cousins we can all play off-the-lead, without too much running away.
I don’t know what was the best thing about this Flyball adventure, all the things I did, or coming home. Beazli howled and cried and chased me and wrestled and followed me for hours after we got home. I think he missed me! I wonder when the next competition will be?

TOO MANY ADVENTURES

I’ve had so many Flyball adventures since my mum came back from Noni’s house that I hardly know where to start. First we had some normal Flyball days, and some special days with Alex and Molly and Connor in the white-fence park.
Then we had a day when just mum and me went driving for a long time until she found a place she said was like Riverwooddowns but it was called Kioloaholidaypark. When we got there in the dark we went straight to where Missy and Jessie and Little Connor and Maverick were with Jenni and Debbie and John and Sandi and Ian. I sat on Ian’s lap because I’m a bit scared of Jessie. She growls if you look at her and Ian can make her stop growling so it’s good to stay close to him.
We didn’t stay very long and then my mum took me to another house, a big quiet house with no-one else there. At first I didn’t like it, I wanted to go back to my Flyball friends, until Lisa and Linda came with Pjevs! I was so excited I didn't know which leg to stand on!
I love Pjevs, he’s one of my best Flyball friends, and we wrestled and wrestled with each other for hours and hours! He even let me play with his favourite fluffy toy, and it was so much fun I wanted to play all night.
Eventually we had to go to sleep but I made sure that my mum woke up early because I knew Pjevs was somewhere in that house and I could play with him again. After breakfast we drove back to Kioloaholidaypark, with my mum telling me we were going to a competition today, like the Royaleastershow.
When we got there I was happy there were no cows or horses, just all my own Flyball friends together. And millions of other dogs and other Flyball people in their coloured shirts and their tents.
It was a very long day at the competition. My mum kept taking me out of my little house and walking me past all those strange dogs and people I didn’t know to this special part with awful flapping orange see-through walls. I was glad that Digger and Kaos and Little Connor came too, otherwise I would have been really scared.
We didn’t do proper Flyball, like Overs and Arounds. Instead, my mum asked to do unusual things, like jump in a little pool and get a tennis ball out. I liked jumping in the pool except for the lady I didn’t know watching me all the time with a big book and a silver thing in her hand. So I didn’t get the tennis ball, I just kept jumping in and out of the little pool, and mum was happy because I got half a point for going in the pool. She said it was a beginner’s comp and she was happy with me for being a good girl for such a long day until it was dark and cold.

Later there was a party with cake and presents for Alex. I thought maybe we would have another sleepover with Pjevs (more wrestling!). Instead, I got another surprise when Alex and Molly and Connor came with us to the sleepover house. We went running in the dark! I could see Molly and Connor because they had sparkling things on their collars, zooming in the dark as fast as anything.
Inside the house Molly played with me, and Connor played with Molly and they both chased me and it was another night when I didn’t want to go to sleep. And another morning when I woke my mum up very early because I knew my friends were there. We played really good soccer in the big park outside the house while my mum and Alex stood around having coffee. The Albury Advance Flyball team came out of another house, but they didn’t play soccer, they stayed on their leads.
When Alex and mum put all the things in the cars I thought this adventure was over.
But we went to Kioloaholidaypark again, for a walk with Jenni and Missy, over a hill to a sandy park with a big big moving water pool, bigger than the river at Riverwood Downs. Mum said it was the beach. We ran on the sand and chased sticks into the moving water and you can’t believe it the water chased back!

By the time Alex and mum said we should go home I was so tired I was glad to sleep in the car on the long drive. I told Beazli everything when we got home, and dreamt about sparkling things on collars, orange flapping walls, and beaches that chase you.
Yesterday was another competition! In a different place, the Holroydpetfest. The first time my mum took me for a walk with my team I thought maybe she was going to ask me to do the pool/ball thing again. I thought maybe I would do it this time. I didn’t know she would ask me to stand right next to a machine that suddenly made the worst noise, like it was going to eat me.
It’s hard to be brave right next to a machine like that, it’s name is a ‘generator’, when the man puts the big silver measuring stick on your back. Boy was I glad to go back to my house after that.
So I was very nervous next time we went for a walk. I stayed as close as I could to Lance, he’s the same colour as Pjevs, but bigger. Walking at Holroydpetfest. was more like the Royaleastershow than Kioloaholidaypark. No cows or horses (thank goodness!) but zillions of people, children holding floating balls on sticks, prams, little tents, big tents, lots and lots and lots of dogs I didn’t know, loud music and noisy machines.
I followed Lance past those flapping orange see-through walls that made a corridor into a place where there were proper hurdles and boxes. Mum took me to the end and we sat on the ground next to a lady in a chair with a red flag. I kept my eye on that lady to see what she might do with the red flag, until I heard Ian yell ‘Team Ready! Watch the Lights! And then there were lights on a stick and a big hooting sound and Phoebe went Over and then Chloe and then Maverick and then Jessie and everyone screamed with happiness and then they did it again. At the same time there other dogs doing Overs and Arounds right next to them but my Flyball team didn’t pay any attention to the other dogs they just kept getting Ready Ready Ready and doing their own Overs and Arounds as fast as they could.
After a while we walked back to our Sydney Psychos place and I rested in my house and then that’s what kept happening all day. We would rest and then go for a walk past all the people and dogs to the competition part and I would sit down the back kissing Lance (he let’s me kiss him a lot!) and watching everything and keeping my eye on the lady with the red flag and watching Jenni pick up tennis balls, and walking bravely past flapping walls and people and dogs back to rest in my house again.

I don’t know how many times my mum told me I was a good girl and so did Ian and Jenni and Sian and Sandi. I must have been a good girl because my mum bought me a new green snake with two squeaky ends.
But I didn’t play with the snake until we got home. The competition was too exciting to play with a snake. Mum told me our team came 1st! And our other Sydney Psychos team came 2nd! That must be good because she was happy when she told me but I don’t really know what it means. Maybe I’ll find out next time we go to a competition adventure. Mum says we are going to Boorowairishflyballfling. I sure hope it’s soon.

DAD TAKES ME TO FLYBALL

My Dad took me and Beazli to Flyball today, because my Mum has been away again, for ages and ages. After our Big Adventure at Riverwood Downs Mum told me she had to go to Noni's house. Noni is sick and has been in hospital. I don't know if she has a big white thing on her arm like my Mum did when she was in hospital. I miss my Mum but I'm glad my Dad took us to Flyball because I miss my Flyball friends too.
I heard my Dad talking to my Mum on his little phone, telling her that I was a good girl and did Over 4 hurdles about a million times without running away.
Later I heard him talking to her again, after I did Over 8 hurdles another million times. And I also did Over, Around and Over, and I didn't run away at all. When I did that everyone clapped. Sandi told me she was going to ring my Mum too and tell her I'm a good girl.
I hope Mum comes home soon. I like snuggling on dad's lap but he doesn't play catch with me as much as Mum does.

OUR BIG ADVENTURE

We couldn't believe it when Robbo got in the cold cold creek to get the Kong!

OUR BIG ADVENTURE

I've just woken up very late, the day after our big adventure. Straight away I kissed my mum, remembering how much fun we had. Beazli and my dad are still asleep, snoring and dreaming about paddocks and rivers and cows and Flyball.
On Saturday morning my mum told me that when she came home from wherever she goes without me, we would all go on a big adventure. The last big adventure we had was when we went to the place far away that my mum's mother Noni lives, and I hoped we were going there.
All the way in the Berlingo that's what I hoped, but when it got dark and we drove for a long long time on a very bumpy windy road with no houses and no lights I got confused. Finally we found a huge house that wasn't Noni's house. There were laughing people having a barbecue like the Newtown Christmas Party. Except the people were my Flyball friends! Linda and Jenni and Alex and Ian and Sandy and Lisa and Debbie and Susan and John and Robbo and Sian...... Missy and Pjevs were there too and we ate sausages and bones in the dark. I played with Pjevs and kissed Linda and jumped on Lisa and tried to lick Missy and jumped on my mum and got tangled up under the bench and barked at the dark. I thought this was a good adventure already but it only got better.
After the barbecue my dad found a funny cupboard that had little beds on top of each other and we had a squishy cosy sleep. I woke up when mum opened the curtain and looked out the tiny window at the biggest park I had ever seen. We rushed out there, me and Beazli and mum, and ran a long way over wet grass. I could smell cows and horses even though I couldn't see them. I ran under a prickly fence and back again, calling mum and Beazli, and then Jenni and Missy and Alex and Molly and Connor appeared out of their cupboard with beds and we all ran around barking while mum and Jenni and Alex had cups of coffee.
Molly found a plastic bag with bread rolls inside. Beazli found the flyball hurdles under the house. Ian and Kaos and Rosie found us and we played frisbee. Connor growled at Beazli and then Ian made Connor go on his back to stop him growling. Connor was good after that, he went to my mum and put his head on her lap.
The day just got better and better. My friend Pjevs came with Linda and Lisa, and then everyone came and we did Overs and Arounds and Team Ready.
I only had 2 brain snaps, once when I thought I should run to my dad instead of doing Over, and once when I had to go bark at Rosie and Kaos instead of going Around.

I did Cross Overs with Pjevs and with Chloe.
I played with the squeaky baby Mocha, who's very funny, he's so little and fluffy.
Then we had a huge playtime chasing the frisbee again and then a drive in the Berlingo to another part of the park, then a walk and a run down a hill until we found a sort of big swimming pool with stones in the bottom. The water was moving, not like the pool where it is still, and it was freezing! No-one cared though, we all jumped in and made big splashes, especially when Robbo started throwing the Kong and everyone swam fast to see who could catch it. Once the Kong sank and the only one who could get it back was Beazli. Everyone cheered and clapped when he got the Kong back.
Another time when it sank Beazli was trying to fish a leaf out of the water and he didn't see it, so Robbo took off his jeans and walked into the cold water to get the Kong. We couldn't believe it.
He was the only person who got in the water, otherwise all the splashing and playing and Kong chasing was dog friends.
I didn't want to stop, even though I was shivering. And we didn't stop for a long time, we just kept playing in that cold water, chasing each other and the Kong and having the best time ever.
By the time my dad brought a lovely towel I was kind of glad to get dry and warm and snuggle in the back of the Berlingo with Beazli to catch my breath. We cuddled all the way home, with him snoring and me staying awake to see the cows in the paddock on the side of the windy bumpy road. Beazli only woke up to get inside the house and then he fell asleep again, straight away. I stayed up with my mum, while she told me she thought I had a lot of fun on my big adventure at Riverwooddowns, especially in the creek (that's what the cold moving pool is called) with my Flyball friends. She was right.

MEASURE UP, ROUND UP

We arrived at Flyball early today, before everyone else except for Jessie and her dad. I've got a soccer ball of my own now and I tried to show Jessie how to play soccer, how to punch the ball with her nose. She wouldn't do it, no matter how many times I showed her. Instead she kept chasing me, going round me in circles, sometimes swooping in really close, sometimes doing little barks at me.
It's the same with Rosie and Missy and Digger at playtime, except Digger keeps wanting to sniff my bottom as well. Mum says its because Rosie and Missy and Digger and Jessie are all border collies and they like to pretend I'm a sheep. I don't know what a sheep is. Maybe it's like the cows and horses I saw at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.
After a long time of trying to show Jessie about soccer I just got sick of all the rounding up and ran away and jumped in my house. Jessie couldn't round me up in there so it was a good place to hide.
And my house is a good place to rest too, in between all the Overs and Arounds I do at Flyball. I did lots of stuff today, Over 4 hurdles, Over 8, Over 2 and Around and Over 2.
Elaine came with Phoebe and Taffy - she hasn't been to Flyball for ages- and she saw me and couldn't believe her eyes that I can do all these things, and that I go back to my mum now when she calls me. She told my mum she can remember when I used to spend the whole time at Flyball just barking and spinning on my harness.
I was hungry today, so every time I did something good mum gave some chicken or some bacon. For the longest time she made me sit in front of the Box while she hit it and made tennis balls pop out and then gave me chicken. I didn't have to do anything except be Brave. We do Brave at home all the time. That means going close to any of the shiny silver things I'm scared of, like the thing that blows out warm air and the noisy sucking thing and the chair with silver legs. All those shiny silver things remind me of something really awful that happened to me before I came to live with my mum and dad and Beazli.
After I did some of those strange Overs with Pjevs (the ones where he jumps Over towards me - they're called Cross Overs), Alex came near me with a REALLY scary shiny silver thing, a big silver stick. She tried to put it close to me and I was so scared I just laid down and closed my eyes and shivered, hoping it would go away.
When I peeked it was still there, and I was so glad mum let me go in my house, away from the silver stick. Alex brought Connor over and then she picked up the stick and for a minute I thought she was going to hit him with it. He just stood there (he's very Brave) and let Alex stand the stick next to him and slide a part of it up and down until it touched him. He didn't seem to mind, but I was still glad when they took that silver stick away.
I had the best playtime again, mainly with Pjevs and Chloe and Abbey, but sometimes Kaos and Rosie and Phoebe and Taffy joined in too, and Beazli came at the end when my dad came to pick us up.
Pjevs and Chloe like to chase my jingle bells. Abbey likes to chase Pjevs. My mum and Jamie just laugh and laugh at Abbey rounding up Pjevs, pretending he's a sheep. What I don't understand is that Abbey is not a border collie, she's a kelpie like me, except that I am a kelpie cross. How come Abbey likes to pretend about sheep, like the border collies? Maybe one day I'll get to see a sheep and then I'll understand.

DISTRACTIONS

At lunchtime we went to the white-fence-park, where we go to do Flyball with Alex and Molly and Connor. I think it's important that my mum should know there were millions of good reasons for all my brain snaps today. First the plovers, then the paper bag blowing on the grass, then the children playing on my sliperry, then the man in the yellow shirt walking outside the fence. The plovers came back, I had to have a poo, there was a noisy plane, I thought I saw a dog, there were boys playing soccer, then two strangers watched us, I found some ham on the ground, then Jessie arrived with her father and I forgot his name so I barked at him.
In between all of that it's amazing I managed to do some good Overs and some good Arounds on the Box. I even did Over 2 hurdles, Around and back Over 2. But then the box starting jumping back at me again when I went on it. I like the way the tennis ball pops out but I don't like the noise or the jumping back.
I had a look behind the Box and I couldn't find whatever made that noise. I tried walking on it very carefully but it still jumped back at me. So I went to my house. My mum and Alex came and talked to me and took me back and we did some more Overs and then I went back to my house again. I could tell they wanted me to go Around on that noisy jumping Box.
I don't trust that Box.

Sunday 2/07/06
Linda said I had a blonde day today. I don’t know what that means unless it’s like having a brain snap. From the time we got to Flyball everything was different. For a start Beazli came again and I’m a bit jealous of him when mum pays attention to him instead of to me. There were heaps of Flyball dogs, some I haven’t seen for a while like Jessie and Maverick. A big new one called Spike. And the little new one called Mocha, who just looks like a fluffy brown toy, squeaking and squealing the whole time in his house.
Mum usually takes me for a run around the big park before we start Flyball. This time she just left me in my house and took Beazli and tried to teach him Around the pole! When she came to get me to do Over I went Over 1 and ran straight back to Beazli to let him know that Flyball is my game. Of course mum came to get me and tried to make me to Over again and I did 2 hurdles but then I saw Spike standing near the end and I had to run and bark at him. He’s so big I thought I would bark at him first before he barked at me. The next time I saw the boys playing soccer at the other part of the park and I had to run over there to tell them I can play soccer too.
Mum and Alex gave Beazli a turn doing Over. He went Over 2 hurdles. He’ll do anything for some chicken. When it was my turn I showed my mum I would do Over for chicken too and then when mum wanted me to do 6 hurdles I stopped at 4 where she had dropped some chicken on the ground. It was yummy.
Linda tried to play that tennis ball in the box game with me but I didn’t like the box and its noises and jumping today. I saw Mocha learning Around the pole and ran to tell him to be careful because if he learns Around the pole he will have to go on that jumping, noisy, box and he might get frightened.
And then mum tried to make me do a strange Over with Connor coming at me in the other direction. Even though he’s my friend looked like he was coming to bite me so I had to bark and chase him before going Over. Then Lisa brought Pjevs to do the strange Over and I had to chase him when he came towards me too.
At the end, before playtime, I had another turn at doing Over and Ian made sure there was no-one interesting to chase, so I did 4, and then 5 and then 6 and then I did 8 and finally everyone was really happy with me.
At playtime Pjevs and I chased the jingle bells but Abbey is really funny, she just chased me or Pjevs. My mum said she was rounding us up. Chloe tried to join in (she loves my jingle bells too) and she was running so fast and I was running so fast that we ran into each other and I fell over and had to rest. But only for a second. I wasn’t hurt and I had to get back to be rounded up by my friend Abbey.

Friday 30/06/06
Without any warning today my mum put my Flyball harness on me, picked up our Flyball bag, and drove to a park where Alex and Molly and Connor were already waiting for us.
It was a bit squashy in the Berlingo on the way because there was a Box, and hurdles, and my house all in the back as well as me. All the way I was hoping we were going to do proper Flyball and I wasn’t disappointed.
While Alex and mum messed around setting things up Molly and Connor and me played with a Frisbee. Connor has a brown squeaky bottle that he really likes and he had that in his mouth too.
I had the first turn, running back from the Box, going Over 4 hurdles to my mum and my jingle bells. Then Connor had a turn and then Molly and then it was my turn again. This time Alex showed me a tennis ball and put it in the Box and we did Around getting the tennis ball. Then my mum took me behind a hurdle and I went Over, Around, got the ball and went back Over to mum with the tennis ball. Boy were they excited!
Then mum took me behind 2 hurdles, then 3 and then 4. I went Over all 4 hurdles and got the tennis ball and went back Over all 4 again as fast as I could. Mum and Alex squealed and cuddled me and laughed and let me Catch and asked me if I wanted to do it again and I did so we did it again. And they both laughed and cuddled me and told me I was a good girl and then we did it again. The fourth time I still wanted to do it but I hit my leg on the last hurdle and that hurt a little bit so I stopped. Mum and Alex both cuddled me and thought I should have a rest and I agreed so I ran back to my house all by myself and jumped in so I could get a drink and lie down for a while.
From inside my house I watched my mum played with Connor, asking him if he was ready, ready, ready and I saw him go Over 4 hurdles, Around and back Over to mum. And then it was Molly’s turn and she did it for my mum too. I barked and barked while they were doing it, getting myself all worked up.
When it was my turn again I thought I would see if Alex and mum got so excited if I went Over 1 hurdle and missed the rest but they didn’t seem to like it. They didn’t make a sound which wasn’t much fun so I barked at Alex. She just looked the other way so I did 2 hurdles properly and then it started to rain a little bit. Mum and Alex decided to pack up and while they were doing that Molly and Connor and I played with the jingle bells and the frisbee.
I love those Flyball friends. I love Flyball.

Sunday 25/06/06
Today was fun, then more fun, then scary, then exciting, and then really fun. We took Beazli today, to watch me learning Flyball.
Ian made me go Over 8 hurdles absolutely millions of times. And mostly I just wanted to get to Mum and the jingle bells so fast that I went Over all of them as quickly as I could. (I only ran over to Beazli a couple of times, just to make sure he was watching.)
We did Around on the Box and then we did Over, Around and Over and I had heaps of fun showing Alex and Linda that I could do it.
Every time I rested in my house I reminded Beazli to watch me. Once he tried to get into my house with me, can you imagine, that great big Beazli in my little house with me in there too?
Then the scary thing happened. Mum asked me to do Around and when I jumped on the Box it jumped back at me and made the worst noise! I couldn’t believe it! It had never done anything like that before and I was terrified! Alex tried to give me some chicken but I didn’t want to take my eyes off that scary Box, in case it jumped at me again. I was really glad when mum took me back to my house.
After a rest we went to the Box again, with Linda, and she started throwing me a tennis ball. I love Catch and I loved playing it with Linda. Then she made the tennis ball stick to the Box somehow. And then she made the Box jump and tennis ball popped out and I was allowed to chase it. Then mum stuck the tennis ball on the Box and asked me to go Around. As soon as I put one foot on the Box, it jumped again, and popped out the tennis ball. Mum and Linda were so happy when I chased the tennis ball that I thought I would try it again. They stuck the tennis ball on the Box, I went Around, made the tennis ball pop out and then chased it........and it wasn’t scary, it was exciting! I hope I can do it again next time we go to Flyball.

Sunday18/06/06
Ian told my mum a good thing today, he told her he thought I was scared when she twirled that big thing around her head so fast at the end of the hurdles. So she took the jingle bells off the end of the big twirly thing and just waved it so I could see it, and when I came straight in after going Over 8 hurdles she let me Catch it and we were both happy.
How does Ian know so much? He watches everyone and helps all the new dogs and all the big dogs. And Kaos is getting to be really good at Over, Around, Over - he does it like the big dogs do even though he was just a baby when I started Flyball.
We had heaps of things to do again today. Lots of Over 8 hurdles and Over 4 Hurdles and Around and then Over 4 hurdles again. In between I tried sitting down to avoid going back to my house but instead of picking me up my mum just sat down each time and called me to her. Then she would get up and walk a bit closer to the house until I sat down and then she sat down again and called me to her.
It took so long to get back to the house that I just gave in and jumped straight in there. I hate to say it but it’s kind a nice place to rest. My water is in there and I can watch everything that’s going on and no-one bothers me. And I know that when I get out it will be my turn again to do some Over or Around on the Box, or even to play chase at home time.

Sunday 11/06/06
Today I went Over 8 hurdles heaps of times. My mum has put a jingle bells on the end of a twirly thing and she kneels down at the end of the hurdles so that I can see her twirl the thing around and I want to go Over as fast as I can so I can get to the jingle bells.
The only thing is when I get there that twirly thing looks like it might hit me in the head so I do a big circle around her until she slows down. She’s still happy when I come in. It doesn’t matter how many times I do it everyone is still happy with me.
We did Around on the big black Box again today too. It’s great, so much better than the pole. A couple of times I went Over, Around and back Over to mum and then did a tug of war with the jingle bells.
We did a lot of hurdles and Around today. Some of the time it was 8 hurdles, some of the time it was 4 hurdles. Some of the time it was Over, Around and Over and some of the time it was just Around. The only brain snaps I had today where when we had to go back to the house. I just wanted to keep doing everything today, so every time mum wanted me to go back to the house I just sat down and wouldn’t budge.
Mum picked me up and carried me back to the house and Ian wasn’t happy with her. He told her she was teaching me that I could get my own way. Well.....sort of. I still had to go back in the house.