A Busy Day at the Dog Show

The Princess was entered in a show in Doswell, VA, today.  Our ring time was 8am which necessitated a 4am wake up call (Ugh).  We arrived at the show around 7:45 only to learn that the judge scheduled for today had taken ill and there was a judging change - and a ring time change.  New ring time?  11:45am.  Not amused.

Fortunately, we had friends and family to visit with.  Elizabeth and Jon Farleigh of The Chronicles of Cardigan came to the show to cheer for Miss G.  Also visiting were Builder Mama and her son.  We really appreciated the company and had a great time talking dogs in general and Cardigans in particular.
Georgia and Jon are littermates - you can see a little family resemblance in this photo.

We also took some pictures w/Brother Bogey (who is really a half-brother).

 Then it was time to get ready for the ring.

We came out of the ring with Reserve and some nice comments from the judge.  He said she's a nice girl who just needs to mature some.  Since she's just barely a year, I can't argue with that.

When we got home, we tried for some free-stack shots.  This was the best of the lot.  She's not stretched out as much as she should be and, unfortunately, she appears to have twigs growing out of the top of her head :)  I really need to get a copy of Photoshop and learn how to use it.....

Next weekend it is off to Atlanta and, hopefully, a major or two!

What to Call this Post?

The Usual Suspect
Persistence
May I Have Another, Please?

Yes folks, stripped of its protective covering UHM's work-issued Blackberry has become a casualty of the reign of Princess Pretty Pants.  This is phone number three for the Princess.  The first was a joint effort by Georgia and her siblings when they were puppies.  The second belonged to the dog sitter who watched the dogs for us over Thanksgiving.  The Princess has officially used up her allowance for the next year - she's not going to have any spending money at the National now.

Sunday at the Dog Show

Today was our third day of showing this week.  I think I'll let a picture say a thousand words.....

L-R - 1st place 12-18 month bitch
          Winner's Bitch
           Best of Winners
           Best of Opposite Sex

For the non-dog show folks among you, that means Georgia was the best girl in the ring today.  The Best of Opposite Sex award is super important because she beat a dog that is already a Champion to get it.  We call that 'going over specials.'  Many thanks to judge Patricia Hess for finding us in the line up.

On the way home I saw this sign that just cracked me up:

Sorry for the crappy photo quality; all I had was the cell phone.  The business name is "Wags-N-Wheels" it is a critter & car wash.  I actually pulled in to see just how this was supposed to work.  The "critter" wash is a separate building where, it appears, you can do some DIY dog washing.  The car washes are either the coin-op kind or a drive-thru.  The initial visual was incredibly funny though.

Why It's Important to Use Protection

Georgia strikes again!  This time she went shopping in UHM's purse and came up with her work-issued BlackBerry.  Fortunately, the BlackBerry had a silicone skin on it.  The skin was the only thing damaged.  I'm not so sure UHM thinks that is a good thing.  Sometimes it would be nice to be incommunicado.

Good Guests Help with Clean Up

Today The Horde hosted lunch for one of their favorite aunties, Auntie Karen. Karen lives in Dillwyn, VA, and she came up for the afternoon to have a belated birthday lunch. We ordered live mussels and lobster from Maine as the appetizer and entree, respectively. I also made roasted red potatoes and pulled some green beans from this summer's bounty out of the freezer. Dessert was a rhubarb crisp.

The Horde helped with lunch preparations by inspecting the lobster for quality:

After lunch, I had some help with the clean up:

This is Katie. She is a member of the Samily tree as well. Her daddy is Conner (Ch Woodrose All Things Considered HSAs), who is a Sam son. Karen brought Conner along as well.

We had 7 dogs here today and they are all related through Sam. There were 6 red dogs and 1 brindle. Four of the six are half-siblings. The siblings ranged in age from 11 1/2 (Ginny, from Sam's first litter) to 1 (Georgia, from Sam's most recent litter). We were able to let all the siblings run together in the back yard but it was too tough to get a picture of them all together. I tried for video too but they were never in the frame together and Conner kept jumping on me - I'm his favorite auntie.  It was quite a sight to see all those red dogs running amok :)

Off the Deep End

It's official, I've become a dog show whore. Today I ordered chalk and mousse for my dog - those are hair products.

January starts the winter showing season and Georgia and I will be out quite a bit. We are showing 3 days next week in Fredericksburg, VA. One day at the end of January in Doswell, VA. The first weekend in February we are journeying to Atlanta for a weekend of shows. It just goes on and on.

In order to do all these shows you need a boatload of equipment (or a Yacht-load, as that is what my mini van is known as - the Dawg Yacht). Tables, blow dryers, combs, brushes, collars, leads, crates, crate pads - it goes on and on. Then there is the "product." Shampoo, bodifier, Wella Kolestral, chalk. I don't use this much product in my own hair!

We won't even talk about what all this costs in entry fees, gas, hotels, etc. Anyone who thinks you can make money showing and breeding dogs is nuts. What you can do is make great friends, learn to win graciously, accept defeat gracefully and spend time with some of the best and sweetest animals on the planet.

I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

Georgia's First Birthday Cake Experience

Ok, I know that 3 minutes of dogs eating cake is a bit much but I got a Flip for Christmas and this was the first time I used it. I promise, I'll get better at this. WARNING: Bogey barks 2x.

All in the Family

Sending a shout out to Georgia's brother, Jon Farleigh, and his family on their new blog The Chronicles of Cardigan. Stop in and say "Hi" to this member of the Samily.