Hops'N'Lops Rabbit Stud

2010 News

Updated June, 2010

Well 2010 is on us, and we have been busy competing in flyball this year, 7 comps under our belts so far, including the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

Cookie Monster has 303 points, making her a AFch (Australian Flyball Champion), 400 points is her next title, very proud of our mop.

We seem to be over our issues of passing other dogs, although when she gets tired, she lets everyone know!  She is now settling into the sport, and having a ball, everyone can hear her comming, she has a very high pitched bark!

Cookie Monster at the Royal, 2010

We have also done some filming with Better Homes & Gardens, of which Cookie Monster was selected to be part of the promotion of the sport we love.

Showing on 11th June, 2010 at 730pm.

Updated, August 09.

Can anyone believe it, the Monster has just finished competing in her third flyball comp!

Her first flyball comp was at Flyball goes to school, at Dapto in July, 09.  What a scary day for us.  I think i was more nervous over getting the start times right than worrying about what Cookie Monster would do!

The day passed pretty much as a blur, although thanks to Red Bull, lol, i was alert all day!  What an awsome day, Cookie completed all her runs without error, her owner, on the other hand, could do with some improvement, who knew that accidentaly putting the tug through the start gates means Cookie was supposed to re-run! 

Cookie is currently a start dog, as she has attitude with a capital A!  Just a little misguided at times, working to a solution to her issue of not wanting to pass other dogs while going to the box.

Next comp was at Albury, a few weeks later, the Monsters first trip away from home, after some hasty reorganising due to a car being smashed before leaving, we were off to our first adventure in a cabin in a caravan park!  All went well, except for the freezing temperatures!  Awsome day at the competition, Cookie still running well, not a dropped ball to be found, and runs completed, except for the slight brain fart first thing, where the monster decided to stall, and stand there like an idiot instead of running!  Interesting surface as well, pretty much compacted dirt, which makes a very dirty monster, as anyone who has watched cookie train or compete, knows how she likes to body surf on the end of a tug!  Oh yes, and her owner now knows not to put her tug through the gates!

Sutherland comp was by far the closest to home!  Cookie now getting more used to concentrating on her job than watching whats going on around her.  A few friends tuned up, which was interesting for Cookie, as she really likes them!  She seemed to loose focus in the last heats of the day, probably cause her grandmother was watching, but she still completed her runs.  we are working on her foucsing abilities, such as taking the jumps and box to local parks, and sending her for a full run when other dogs are running around in her sight.

No major issues so far, although at each comp, she leaves her owner mortified as she has a complete and utter brain fart (amongst these, running over to the wrong side to pick up a ball, instead of running, stalling and just standing there, and oh yes, sniffing the ground instead of running!!!).  Hoping thats a puli thing, or a young age thing, i keep forgetting how young she is still, being just 18 months old.

The monster just keeps improving, and i am hoping that her focus and times will get better and better, and her fun value of tugging at the end, and body surfing is the best reward! 

Cookie was made welcome at a local flyball club in August 08, yay!  So we started training when she was 7-8 months of age.  No jumping, just other skills needed for flyball.  

It was pretty frustrating stuff, as i didnt know what we were in for, it was very frustrating on my side, not knowing how to train her properly.  Learning the basics to flyball opened a whole new world to us, and as much as cookie drove me insaine, and i drove myself insaine, cookie loves the sport, and has come along nicely.  A lot of training at home, in between training sessions really helps, i just wish i knew more myself to train her better.

For flyball, I made my own jumps, and was using a turning board initially, and the results are paying off at training....  Her first full run at Flyball happened over a weekend training session with the family on the 7th March, there was my little Cookie Monster, looking not very confident, but going to do it anyway, anything to get that ball out of the box, lol!  At last!

Since that day, Cookie Monster has gained more confidence in what she does at Flyball, if only she could concentrate on the job at hand more, i would be over the moon!  Alas, its not easy, and we need to work more on her focus.  She knows how to do the full run, she just gets distracted by other dogs, i think she is fine with people being around and talking etc, but the dogs are the big distraction for Cookie Monster, and working on that is my current challenge.

I was lucky enough to go along to the Royal Easter Show this year, in April, 2009, with my flyball team mates, and managed to get Cookie Monster in the ring in a lunch break, the organisers were kind enough to let the beginners in to have a play around!  Below is footage of Cookie Monster having a go in the ring, and her attempts at a full run, with heaps of distractions around.  After watching this video, like a gazzillion times, i am really proud of Cookie Monster, faults and all, and hope with further training, she will be competing some time later in 2009.

Here is Cookie having a run in the garage in May 09.....