of many things: four posts in one

It has been a hectic couple of weeks (/months/years).  I’ve had things to post, and have been too tired at the end of the day, or the internet was running slow, or both.  Time to play catch up.

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Part One:  Lookouts and Hidey-Holes

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Now that I have the giant room in the basement, Dex lays himself out on the steps to the upstairs.  Because, you know, there is a kitchen right behind that door.  With food.  And kitties.

I know I’m a tad biased, but I think he has the prettiest, sweetest face and expression.  It does not speak of brilliance, but he is a lovey boy. 

“Oh no, it’s the pupperatzzi…”

“No photographs, please!”

Ella, on the other hand, has a go-to spot – the place she goes to when the suggestion of nail dremeling or a bath has been aired.

Where’s Ella?

I tried getting a stick and prodding her out, but this was not very successful, and now I wait for her to think the danger has passed and snag her when she comes over to curl up on the couch.

This time, I think it was a bath.

Oh, the dismay.

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Part Two:  Oh Thank Heaven For Little Girls

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Perhaps it was the result of me walking around for a couple of months thinking, “Geez, I wish someone would show up to help me show all these frickin’ dogs…” (Thanks, The Secret!), but a couple of weeks before the Buffalo shows I was approached by a mother and daughter who I had met at the local show in Stockton last year, where I took the blue pupplets for their first show experience.  I’m not sure what they intended to happen – if they were interested in learning about Cardigans, or if the girl was looking for someone to mentor her, or if the mother was looking for something different and fun for her daughter to do – but all of a sudden they found themselves showing dogs!

I have really hit it off with Hillary and her family.  They seem to be very intelligent, even-keel people.  I talk to her mother, Charlene, a couple of times a week, though my current work schedule has not been very good about allowing meetups.  Hillary has a strong performance background, and the greatest little Jack Russel named Dixie.  They also have a Great Pyrenees names Lance.  Hillary is sixteen and much, much better at agility than I am.  She will soon be better than me at conformation, too, though that is not much of a feat.  She has the most impressive natural ability with dogs that I have ever seen.  Mine all loved and obeyed her right from the start.

Junie B. worships her.

We’ll be putting in a lot of practice time, and I’ll probably be bringing her to whichever big show – either Louisville or New Jersey – I end up deciding to go to in March, and to the National.

Below are photos I took at one of our conformation classes, of Hillary working my dogs.

Lucky me!

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Part Three:  The Whelping Box of Doom

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I convinced Amanda Lowery of Alkemi Vallhunds (who is co-instructor for GoGo’s class at the agility center) to let me build her a whelping box, as I’ve been having a whelping-box-building hankerin’ and have no reason to build one.  It became known as the Whelping Box of Doom™ because of the large number of woodchips my eyes collected during the routering process.

It was built so that it could be broken down.  Here it is in its various bits.

The small “starter” box with removable pigrails.

The front is removable for when the two boxes connect, if desired.

In all it’s glory…

With the front on.

With visitors.

With test pilot.

With its new owners!

There have been suggestions that I sell them.  If interested, drop me a line.

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Part Four:  Erie Kennel Club Dog Show

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Hillary washing dogs.  This is the best part of having a helper. 

A VERY unamused June Bug.

Dex getting the curly-butt treatment.

Random picture of GoGo being a horndog.  “Hey, sweetheart…”

And, oh, the trophies!  Ella’s BOW from Saturday was chocolate.

The two throws were Ella’s BOS trophies from Saturday and Sunday

Three umbrellas, one for Dex’s WD, and two for Ella’s WBs.

And the too-expensive braided kangaroo leather lead I finally broke down and bought.  It was custom made overnight by the wonderful man at Terrapin Craftworks, and was ready before I left the show on Sunday afternoon, so I promised to give him the good word.  Guess who it’s for.  Go ahead, guess. 

Some very tired girlies.

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special offer from WearWuf!

Mary from WearWuf! is offering free shipping to any of my readers who order online.  The coupon code is “ELLA” – of course! 

 

ella’s find of the year

Duck egg!

I saw her running around outside with something in her mouth, while the other puppies followed behind, and thought, “What funny little dogs, arguing over a snowball…”

“As a matter of fact, NO, JUNE, I don’t want to share.”

The look of death.

Yummy!

 

ella’s big break

While we’re a long way from the lucrative showbiz and advertising career I envision for her, Ella was in the Erie Times-News on Monday, in a photo taken at the Erie Kennel Club show over the weekend.  Click HERE for the photo with caption, and HERE for the main article.

In addition, she was photographed testing a coat from WearWuf! and will appear on their website.  She was much happier about the coat than she was about the “pants” – her expression of complete distaste and loathing drawing a crowd of chuckling onlookers.  We bought two pairs of pants (for the impending heats), and a corgi-length (i.e. long) purple leopard skin coat is on order.  Their stuff is of great quality and is reasonably priced, and they are just the most delightful women, who held Ella so I could go on a potty break in the “Pawsitivly No Dogs” restroom.

Ever the professional, even when in humiliating clothes, and with the hand of doom approaching. 

Ella was the big dog of the weekend, bringing home FIVE trophies and two more points, putting her at six.  She’s another one who will be singled out soon.

I am working on a big giant post to cover the last week, but the internet was down all day, and I am now the subject of a big giant headache, so I will try to finish it tomorrow.

 

win pics from the weekend

Once again, I HEART Kurtis Photography.

 

what a weekend!

Those of you who are on my Facebook feed, or who read my Twitter feed, already know how we did.  Granted, it is hard NOT to have a good weekend when you have 3 of the 5 dogs entered, but as it was we swept Buffalo!

FRIDAY

Dex WD for a point, putting him at 8.

Ella RWB

June WB/BOW for her first point!

SATURDAY

Dex WD for a point, putting him at 9 and singling him out.

Dex was being a huge turd.  I think he must be having growing pains, because he is getting gawky again and is moving a little off.  I spent most of Friday evening trying to figure out if he was limping or not.  I thought I had him stacked well on the table, but he kept popping that back show-side leg up. I will watch it better next time.

June RWB.

Ella WB/BOW for a point, putting her at 4 singles.

This was Ella’s first Best of Winners, and surprised me a little, though I was delighted and got a photo even though it was just a point.  She looked great that day!  I am always down on Ella, saying she is the worst-structured dog I own – June being the best, IMO.  However, I think Ella is starting to believe her name is “Favorite Dog,” because that’s what I call her half the time.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this bitch, she has so much personality, is so smart, and is so fun.  I doubt she will ever be placed, no matter how badly she might fall apart.  What you CAN say about Ella is that she is one showy little beast.  She loves it and looks good doing it.  She showed great on Saturday, and I actually looked like I knew what I was doing. Even pausing in the middle of her go-around to gnaw on her hock wasn’t enough to deny her the win.  Beating June is a big accomplishment in my book.

Kinda hard to believe that the roach-backed, high-tailed pupplet I decided to keep against my better judgment would end up with that nice of a tail carriage and topline.

SUNDAY

Dexter didn’t show.

Ella RWB.

June WB for her second point.

The other class dog was excused for lameness, so there was no Best of Winners.  Junie B. did very much better today.  She is still not sure what to make of the whole dog show experience.  She isn’t scared, she’s just confused.  I think Mom called it right in Ella’s video. June is looking around wondering, “Why are we here?  This doesn’t make any sense.”  She has gotten better every day and we have been lucky to have very nice judges who have spent time loving on her.  The judge today petted her all over and talked sweetly to her before going over her.  Junie is quite a prize and I am so lucky to have stolen her away from Jeri.

In addition to a long and exhausting dog show weekend, my agility center was having a match and the showgrounds were only 15 minutes away so we bebopped over there to compete.  This was GoGo’s first time running a course.  It was just Starters, so it isn’t very exciting to watch, but I love how focused he is on me.  Most of the other dogs ran off course at some point, or couldn’t even run because they were too distracted.  I, of course, am the one who needs most of the training.

THE FUTURE

We are entered at Erie at the end of the month.  I would hold Dex out, but there are a world of terrific trophies – for WB, WD, BOW, BOS, BOB – and the entry is a very disappointing (in terms of it being supported and me hoping there might be majors) 2-3-1-0, meaning that we have a good shot at bringing home a lot of swag, including the BOS throw blankets.  Which in turn means that some of you might be receiving a CWCCWR logo umbrella or throw or something of that sort, because I don’t need four umbrellas.   How is that for confidence/cockiness, and I’m probably getting too big for my britches!!! The universe may teach me a lesson in a couple of weeks.

After Erie Dex is semi-retired, and I will be looking into attending some supported or specialty shows somewhere in the spring and summer to try to find his two majors, and hopefully have my very first Bred-By Exhibitor Champion! I’m doing a lot of knocking on wood that he doesn’t head into the adolescent gawd-awfuls until after the National.  If he does, he may be waiting until he grows up to come out again.

I will continue to chip away at the girls.  I have a feeling June will catch up with Dex in no time, if not beat him to his Championship.  Ella might be a more long-term project, and a little harder to put majors on, but she’s holding her own so far.

 

weights

At about 10 months:

Dex = 34.6 lbs

Ella = 27.6 lbs

At about 7 months:

June = 29.4 lbs

 

ella asks you to remember…

…who the boss is around here.

Three for Ella and one for June means none for Dex.

Poor Dex.

 

the pre-show

Can’t complain too much, as far as puppy uglies go.  Butts are high, though.

Many thanks to my uncle for helping take the best stacked shots that have ever been taken of any of these dogs.

 

new toys for me, too

Jeri got a new table and dryer.  Traci got a new table and dryer.  I am not one to be left out.

I’ve been hunting around trying to decide on a table and a dryer for well over six months, and I’m taking the dive while I have (briefly) a good job and good money coming in.  I bought the dryer today and will get the table in a week or two when I catch up from the dryer expense and all. those. dog show. entries.

The trio have three shows in a little over a week in Buffalo.  This is June’s debut!  It’s singles again.  Bah!  Then it’s the Western Reserve supported weekend at the end of January in Erie, PA.  WD/WB trophies are CWCCWR logo umbrellas both days, and if I don’t get at least ONE, with THREE dogs entered, I will probably throw in the towel forever and ever.    I love trophies.  AND MAJORS.  I hope there are majors there, and that Dex can pull at least one.  If he gets singled out this month (which is likely – there is only one other class dog in Buffalo, and it’s probably the same one he’s collected his 5 singles on) he’s going to be put away for big shows and likely majors.  Then the REAL work of showing him will begin.

Sorry, I digress…

I ended up going with the K-9 Mini Blower/Dryer and purchased it from PetEdge.  After scouring the internet they had the best price, and shipping was only $12.  They also include a Top Performance shampoo and conditioner as a gift.  And well they should, at that price.

Isn’t she a beauty?  I will probably have to name her.

I promise to take better care of her than my poor ChallengeAir.

With so many colors to choose from, I was going to go with black.  Jeri convinced me of the error of my ways.  She was unable to talk me into purple, but I did order red – to match all my dog show accessories, i.e. red grooming bag, red folding chair, red canopy.  Hot pink was never really in the running.  And I wonder how many brown ones they sell?

Next on the list is a Mardel grooming table.  My Ella-injuring, do-it-yourself job is ungodly heavy and the legs aren’t far enough apart to fold up, so it’s my washing table now, and I’m just getting a new one for grooming and shows and letting it be a reminder to myself that when you try to save money, it ends up costing you twice as much in dollars and suffering as it would have if you’d just bought the damn thing from a professional source.