Whidbey Island Dog Show Weekend

Without a whole lot of lead up, the most Bess and I did this weekend was to take a major reserve today at the dog show. It's definitely not something to scoff at to take a major reserve, but you don't get any points for runner up.;o) As it so happens I was actually the Reserve Winners Bitch queen this weekend also taking a major reserve with a puppy that is Bess' half sister (same dam, different sire). That was actually really exciting! But I'll start at the beginning of the weekend because there was also a puppy visit on Sat. night!!



Friday even we had a "lovely" drive through Portland rush hour traffic. It actually wasn't all that bad until we got into that stretch where I 405 meets I 5. Then it was stop and go and really killed my timing. Of course, once we got across the bridge to the Washington side, it was pretty much smooth sailing. The weather wasn't too bad, but it was raining a fair bit and made chunks of the drive a little more "interesting." We got in to Kim's house around 8pm and got unloaded. Bess got to meet Bebe and Liza, who she hasn't met in person before (she was in season the last time we stayed there and she was crated when I wasn't with her). And Tyson, who she has. She was a wee bit overwhelmed that night!LOL Especially since Tyson is HUGE and REALLY wanted to play with her, among other things.;o) Here's a picture I took of them in Kim's van on the way to the show. The picture doesn't do him justice. He's a very handsome boy. And you'd have to see him in person to understand just how huge he is, especially for a boy who just turned a year old today!

Saturday morning we got there early because there were three puppies of Georgia's (Bess' breeder) who were all in the 6-9 month puppy class in addition to a client dog that Georgia was showing. So she needed some extra hands to take the puppies in and I got to show Serena, who is a litter mate to Violet and a half sister to Bess. The puppies JUST turned 6 months old (the minimum age necessary to enter a regular AKC dog show) on the 7th, so this was their very first dog show! Needless to say, they were all just a wee bit excited at all the potential play mates that were running around the fair grounds.:o) This is the first time that I've actually met Serena and she was incredibly well behaved, especially for a puppy that is getting handled by a complete stranger in a very exciting, overstimulating, and potentially scary situation. I worked with her a bit before the show started to get a feel for her to see what she would and wouldn't let me do and to just generally get to know her. She's a very happy girl!

When it came time for us to go in for our class, we were the first ones in. And she did so well. She wasn't as wiggly as you would expect from a puppy of her age. She happily let the judge examine her teeth and go over her entire body. She didn't shy away when the judge got to her rear. She happily stood there munching on bait that I was holding for her! She was really pretty solid on gaiting. I would have liked to get her head up a bit more, but she otherwise moved pretty well without the sometimes expected puppy bobbles. She was totally fine with me hand stacking her front feet. Not terribly enthused about me stacking her back, but I kind of figured out what she would let me do without fussing by Sunday. The end result was that she won her class!! I was pretty excited!

When I took Bess in she was her normal solid self. We ended up going second in our class and didn't make it into the WB ring. I took Serena back in for the WB competition and she ended up taking a major reserve!:O) Definitely not too shabby for a 6 month old puppy at their very first dog show!!

Saturday night we went over to hang out with Karen and play with Mia's new litter of puppies! They were officially one week old and so incredibly adorable!! I don't have any pictures from the visit because I was too busy soaking up all the adorableness!! There was one particular mantle boy that I was holding for a big chunk of the time that we were there. It was just way too cute to have him sucking on finger and making those adorable little puppy grunting noises. He fell asleep a few times and was just a really nice mellow little boy! Thankfully I didn't end up getting peed on, but I did get pooped on. And let me tell you, puppy poo WREAKS!!!LOL Not that you would think it would smell like roses, but it was pretty gnarly! We spend several hours over there just playing with the puppies and chatting about dogs. I LOVE opportunities like this where I get to sit back and just really soak up the experiences of others who have been in the breed for a while. You can learn a whole lot by just listening!

Then it was back to Kim's to catch some shut eye and do it all over again in the morning. I showed Serena again this morning. She went 2nd in her class and so did Bess. However, the bitch that won Bess' class got the major and we got to go back in the ring to compete for reserve (don't ask why it is that they do it this way, that's just how it is!) and we got a major reserve!! So like I said, I was the RWB queen this weekend.;o)

Because the drive was so long (3.5 hours), I didn't really get back with enough day light left to take the dogs out and exercise them and I REALLY don't feel like taking them running tonight either. Heffner has been especially bouncy since I got home and I know that he could use exercise of some sort, but I'm just feeling too lazy for that!

DATD: I am thankful that Bess is such a solid dog in the conformation ring! She knows what it's all about and I can literally whip her out of her soft crate moments before stepping into the ring and she will still be on her game! I don't have to have anyone hold her for me to get her mentally ready. I don't have to stay with her until the moment we step into the ring. And I don't have to worry about having a misbehaving dog on my hands if things aren't "just right" before we enter the ring. She's just a very easy going girl who knows what it's all about and works well for her momma!:o)