ABC - no, not the beginning of the alphabet but my dog Ria! Anything But a Collie!

We started with obedience classes but Flatcoated Retrievers learn quickly and get bored just as quickly. She could walk to heel, recall, sit and stay, but the twinkle in her eyes had gone. I looked for something else for her to do. Her brother worked on a shoot but although Ria found shot birds easily she was reluctant to pick them up. Then by chance I heard about a new (at least to me!) sport and so began our adventures with agility. Ria loved it. Sadly she is handicapped - she has a handler with two left feet and a poor memory!

So to me - almost sixty years old, I grew up with greyhounds, (Father a trainer and Mother a kennel maid) and I hardly remember a time when I didn't have a dog. My husband and I now have five Flatcoated Retrievers, ranging in age from almost fourteen years to just fourteen months. Two of them work on a shoot, three compete in breed shows, two are PAT (pets as therapy), dogs and all of them are much loved family members.

Ria was my first agility dog and despite me she has had several clear rounds and has even been placed in competition, (only grade 1 but we all start somewhere). She is now slowing up a bit but she will be 10 years old next April, a good age for a Flatcoat. Her daughter, Tigga at five years is my second dog, not working at present due to a back injury but hopefully returning soon. I hope to introduce Tigga's pup Bebe to Agility next month.

We train on Tuesday nights and are probably solely responsible for the few grey hairs beginning to appear on the trainers' heads! Seriously, a friendlier, more tolerant group of trainers would be hard to find, so thanks to you all!