One reason I was really excited to see this dog show was 7 B&T Coonhounds had entered. Four showed up.
Meet Walker. I asked the handler (who was also the owner) if I could meet him and she was said “Oh, of course, here, feed him some liver!” He liked the liver a lot, but once it was gone he went back to being a bit aloof (normal for the breed with strangers).
Who else is a victim of procrastination? Sometimes, when I feel there is a huge job I must do, I put it off and put it off. I was so excited about the dog show I went to see, but the idea of writing and about all the groups felt like such a big job, I didn’t want to get started.
Then, while driving today I had the idea to just write about one group at a time. This is actually good for two reasons. One, I can break down my thoughts into smaller posts and not be so boring. Two, there are almost 300 pictures. This would overwhelm even the most hard core dog lover. Like your Uncle’s vacation slide show you had to sit through as a child.
Overall the show was fascinating. There were no seats-I wish I had known to bring my own! The day I went had 1600 dogs entered. It took place in 13 rings in 3 different buildings. You could also walk right through all the prep/crating/grooming areas. I got to stand right next to the rings. When I first walked in I thought I had went in the wrong way-I had no idea I’d be allowed to get that close. The little dogs have these carts that have 4 built in cages all in one. I had never seen anything it. In fact, somewhere there is a show dog warehouse full of all sorts of things people ‘need’ at these shows. And phew! The poodle area was hard to breath. They use more hairspray than we did back in the 90’s!
The RV setups were just outside. I know some of the folks do dog showing as a profession but some of the set ups were over the top!
Up first is the Herding group. I didn’t get to see any of these individual breed matches, just the group competition. So my thoughts? I still don’t understand why we want German Shepherds with ankles that almost touch the ground. It looks like they’ve been hit by a car to me. I really liked the smooth Collie. I tend to think I prefer short coats-brushing just isn’t much for me. The Puli was awesome! You just don’t see those often. I saw the handler getting the dog ready. It had the chords all separate, pulled into clips going through them one by one. That is way too much work. My dogs hair can not take longer than my own to fix. (click the picture below to see the album)
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| Orlando Cluster Show-Herding Group |
I am sure you are just on the edge of your seat waiting to hear all about the dog show! Well, please be patient! I am organizing almost 300 pictures into albums. That way, if you love the Terriers and not the Sporting dogs, you can see exactly what you want to. Then I want to put everything down about the day, so I might as well put it in a post that will bore you to tears. Well, I hope not; I’ll try to keep it concise.
In the meantime, can someone please let Daisy know this isn’t the best place to wait on the story?
I’m counting Friday (tomorrow) as weekend time. Why you ask? Well, I’m going to my first conformation show! It is a huge 3 day event, the Orlando Cluster Show. It is within decent driving distance. There is also a rally event afterwords that I will be staying to watch.
So some of the breeds I will not be missing (I’ve printed and highlighted the judging program): Black and Tan Coonhounds, Bluetick Coonhounds, Italian Spinoni, and the Gordon Setters. The Gordons are my secret crush. I might even want one someday. There is a whole list of others I’d like to see, but this show has 1600 dogs in 3 buildings, 13 rings, in 6 hours. Then the Best of Show happens. That will be a whole bunch of running around. I can’t wait!
Yippee!! Weekend is coming!!
Yes, that stringy thing from her mouth to her ear is exactly what you think it is. And yes, it is all over her nose, and YES, she is that dirty.
No picking favorites this time! When the girls are just walking around, it is generally tails out, head low, but not to the ground. Just the perfect height no matter if the scent comes by ground or by air.
I would also like to thank Honey over at Something Wagging This Way Comes for the Versatile Blogger Award. Although I won’t be participating in passing this one along, I am always happy to know that people enjoy reading about the girls as much as I enjoy writing about them. It also reminds me I really should update my Blog list and post it so everyone can see who I’m reading.
Daisy and I went to check out out “local” dog beach. I put that in quotes cause it is just over an hour to get there. We have so many beaches close to us but none will allow dogs.
It is actually a really nice beach. Not actually on the beach, but on the inter-coastal waterway. Since it was so far, I wanted to make a day of it-which meant packing a lunch for Daisy and myself, a sun shade (I burn even with sunscreen), and some beach towels. Well, it turns out you have to walk a ways from the parking lot, through the dunes, and over a boardwalk to get to the beach. Daisy and I just went walking when we first got there. Then I decided to go tot he closest beach access. Well, someone wasn’t following the leash rule and about the time we go their the dog attacked a very young puppy (like 8 weeks). We high tailed it to a different section. I don’t want any trouble.
We were both really hot by the time we made it to the beach. I set up the sun shade and forced Daisy into the water to cool off. Daisy isn’t scared of water, but she prefers to not come in contact with it. You can see it in the video-wagging tail but definite refusal.
We laid around a few hours, watched the boats, and she took a nice nap or two. We also ate lunch. I set up half the sun shade (which is half of a two man tent) for her, but she mostly wanted to take her half in the middle. And, she kept wanting to put her butt where I wanted to put my head! Silly girl.
I will be going back again. I want to take Bella. She loves the water and the beach is really quiet. I might try for one evening so we can just go, walk around, then come home. I don’t think she would agree with the use of an umbrella or a sunshade. They make noise in the wind.
Yum! Frozen kongs on the beach.
Napping next to me
I want my half in the back!
So, if your dog eliminates in the ring, it is disqualified. What if the handler pukes? What then?
By the time many of you read this my entry form for Daisy’s first AKC Rally competition will be in the mail. As I felt nauseated and nervous just sealing the envelope, this does not bode well for the nerves to come.
I really want to do dog sports with Daisy. Well, I wanted to and even took Bella to agility classes but I am sure you know exactly how that turned out with her anxiety. I would love to try agility or nosework with Daisy but classes aren’t an option right now. So, something I thought I might be able to do on my own was Rally obedience. I bought a book, watched some youtube, and cut up some hot dogs. The match is still 4 weeks away but I think we’ll be ready. At least ready enough we won’t completely embarrass ourselves. Actually, so I won’t embarrass myself. Daisy would go out and lay down and nap and be perfectly content.
We’ve had some real rough points. I’m no professional trainer. My dog experience is limited to very basic stuff. I’ve never really needed a dog to do more than sit, wait, leave it, you know-ultra basics. So now I need her doing right finishes and sitting next to me and weaving, and walking around me while I turn in the opposite direction. I also have to motivate her to focus on me for more than 13 seconds at a time. And just in case you haven’t noticed-she is a coonhound. “Biddable” is not exactly high up on her trait list.
Do you do rally or do some other dog sport? Have you competed? What was it like? I think I might go ahead and start the list of things I want to take that day. Number one on my list is Grannie. She will be there for sure! Having fun and remembering to breathe is on the top of my to-do list. I will be trying to work out a couple things we still don’t have down and pray they don’t show up on the course during the competition.
I should let Daisy give me lessons on how to relax.
when your dogs like coming to you. Bella typically has good recall, unless something scares her. Daisy’s recall is great in the house. It is also pretty good outside if there aren’t squirrels out mocking her existence. But put a squirrel in her line of sight and “come” might as well become a four letter word.
Well, confession. Bella’s picture was taken with a zoom lens-so she really wasn’t close to me and with me holding the camera-she stopped short. So much for recall… but the zoom lens is almost the only way to get a face shot of her. And Daisy is a camera hog! Seriously, all I have to do is bend down with the camera and all the sudden my coonie wants to hang out right in front of me!!
Bella and Daisy
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Royalty Living a Regular Life 