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by Jada
FINALLY!
Joni has been saying for MONTHS that she's too busy to let either of us on the computer, but COME ON! This is ridiculous! It's been since last winter since we've been on it and now it's almost winter again! She's got several computers, so what's the problem! Now she's even got a laptop, which she was a bit stingy with at the beginning and is finally starting to let us use. We've even been telling her that we can use her computer when she's sleeping, but noooo, she still won't let us. Where's the trust here!
I don't even know where to begin. SO much has happened! I guess I'll have to summarize alot.
My CPE Trial Updates
Okay, trial-wise I'll definitely have to summarize alot. Since my last posted entry we've done a whopping 22 days of trials! No way can I remember everything we did now! But you know I'd love to try!
Let's see....in CPE we've done alot, but only 2 more titles - my Level 4 Standard (CL4-R) and Level 4 Handler (CL4-H) titles. I'm in Level 5 and working hard for my C-ATCH title hard here! Wait, I still have 2 more legs of my Level 4 Jackpot (groan) to get. Geez, I hate this game! They don't have enough of these at trials, and when they do they keep having "traditional" jackpots and I desperately need some "non-traditional" jackpots! This is the game where I have to finish it up by working far far away from Joni and you all know how much I hate that! I've come so close on some of them, though! I might have gotten some of them if I hadn't objected strenuously at the beginning at Joni coming to a dead stop by this colored tape and insisting that I go on without her. I always forget that it's okay sometimes! I can't remember everything! The last Jackpot we actually got - it was a "non traditional traditional" - which I kinda like. I did have to do a teeter far away from Joni and going away from her AND get that stupid contact - but I did it! When I got off of that I had to go to some off-side weaves. I thought Joni would pass out when I did this!
So the way it's going we'll have runs up to our C-ATCH 3 or 4 levels before I finish this level 5 Jackpot!
Anyway, we've had some good CPE trials. The March trial we had 7 out of 8 Q's (only NQ was Jackpot, naturally). Our April trial was kinda crazy - we only had 5 out of 8 Q's. One NQ was Jackpot (again), but I screwed up on Wildcard and Colors also. Yeah, I know - I never do this sort of stuff. The Wildcard was just me laser-locking into another tunnel while coming out of a tunnel. I LOVE TUNNELS. Joni wanted me to stop after the first tunnel and take some jumps, but I was having SO MUCH FUN flying thru these tunnels that I totally tuned her out. Not a good idea in retrospect! The Colors course also involved a tunnel. There was a tunnel next to the A-frame an both times I was suppose to take the A-frame. I took the A-frame the first time, but the second time I decided to take the tunnel. Again, not a good idea once I had a chance to think about it.
We didn't have another CPE trial then until Labor Day weekend, and that was a 3-day trial. I did great there - had 11 out of 12 Q's. I know y'all are expecting this one....only NQ was...drum roll.....Jackpot. Big surprise. But that Jackpot I was mentioning before (with the teeter) was also at this trial and I got that one!!!!
The end of October was our most recent CPE trial. I was 6 for 8 on this one. In 5 of my 6 Q's we got 1st place in 5 of the 6 Q's and in 3 of them I was the fastest dog of ALL that ran the course! In the other 2 I was the 2nd fastest dog overall! Amazing, in 2 of my runs I was running in the 18+ FEET PER SECOND range!
The two NQ's? Well, we split those. Joni was brain dead on the first day after a long long wait of over 5 hours between our 2nd and 3rd runs. Standard was our 3rd run and her brain just flat-lined for a few seconds. We were heading down a line of jumps towards a tunnel when it happened. All this time I was heading for the right entrance to to this tunnel. At the last minute Joni suddenly tried to call me off of that entrance and into the other one. What was she thinking? I went ahead and went into the right side entrance knowing that I was right! But when I came out of the tunnel Joni was there still insisting that it was the wrong end - so what did she do? She told me to go BACK into the tunnel! For a second I thought maybe she was right and I screwed up - I went back thru the tunnel and we continued on the course. But I was RIGHT! Joni putting me BACK into that tunnel was our off-course! Boy, for once it's nice to not be the reason we NQ'd! I know she felt like an idiot then, but hey, it happens!
The other NQ was my fault. I just love going fast so much that sometimes it's hard to stop! I get on the teeter and I go all the way up to the yellow section and stop and wait for the teeter to move. It goes down as I wait impatiently...and once it hits the ground I'm just DYING to start running again! So sometimes it just seems silly to take one more extra step and get a foot into that ridiculous (yet important!) yellow section. So I forgot - sue me. Guess these CPE judges are less impressed with my athletic abilities than the yellow contact rules. I'll be working on that for the next time!
So that's it for CPE so far for the year. We have 6 days of CPE trials coming up in the next month, so that'll be fun.
My AKC Trial Updates
We did alot of AKC trials also during this "Joni won't let me on the computer" time. I have some issues with AKC and some of their silly rules, but after a few times of testing them out on the rules, I have figured out that they're actually quite serious about them and won't bend any of them just because I think I'm being cute or inventive out there. What I've figured out is they don't particularly like if I drop an occasional bar, or if I decide I've done enough weaves and am ready to move onto the next obstacle. They also don't like me showing off my athletic ability by jumping on the table, and "boinging" off and jumping back on in a blink of an eye. Apparently the judge did NOT blink at that moment and saw it all.
First was the trials in May. The first weekend we were 2 for 5....yep, 2 Q's and 3NQ's out of the weekend. Not good. One NQ was that I didn't see a jump that Joni expected me to see and they got me for a refusal when almost ran past it - then saw it at the last second and then jumped it. One was me popping out of weave pole 10 when Joni glanced up to check out where the next jump was. I swear I thought she was ready to bolt for it - so I left also! Another was a dropped bar that mysteriously fell off when I went over it. Sheesh. Picky picky picky. But I finished my Novice Standard title at this trial.
A couple of weeks later we had a 3-day trial again. This was our first trial at an indoor soccer place with fake grass and boy, is this stuff great! I am SO AMAZINGLY FAST on this stuff! I was faster than Joni anticipated because all of our front crosses were turned into rear crosses since I was flying thru the course! They worked, though. I don't like them, but they worked. But the downside is that I'm too fast for myself! Yes! I was getting to places faster than I thought! I saw an obstacle coming up in a blur then - BAM - I'm there! I couldn't adjust fast enough a few times so they actually called that on me! WTF? Give me a break Did they SEE how fast I was running? I can hardly be expected to come to THAT fast of a stop and make a weave entrance!!! See, this is what I mean about AKC. They're very unforgiving. What a buncha mean people! I'm not sure I like AKC at all! I did get my Open JWW title at this trial, though.
We ended up with 2 Q's out of 6. Not good at all. Joni was beginning to not like AKC as much either, but insists that we keep doing it. Sigh. Guess one of us will have to get their act together!
Next AKC trial was in August. Well, we're up to a 50% Q rate this weekend. 2 Q's out of 4. My first Excellent JWW course and I missed the friggin' weave pole entrance. But it was an exceptionally TOUGH weave pole entrance and alot of dogs missed it also. Still...we all know I'm not like "most" dogs.....
I did get my next Excellent A JWW Q the next day, though! also got my Open Standard run - ran it great! The next day, however, would have been my last Open Standard leg and I ran that great also! But I dropped the bar on the last jump! Joni didn't even know. She was so happy with me and thought we had it! I wasn't sure how to break the news to her - I was so devastated and embarrassed! But halfway back to our seat someone told her and she didn't even believe them! She didn't believe it despite numerous people telling her until she saw it for herself on the video. I felt SO bad then! I don't even know how it happened! I was running so fast and we had run it perfectly! I think someone sneezed or something out there and made it fall!
So two weeks later we were off to another trial that we weren't scheduled to do, but Joni was determined to get me out of Open Standard before our next 3-day trial at the indoor soccer place. She thought having both runs in Excellent would be easier in a 2-ring trial, which made sense to me also! So we went to this next trial and we only ran Standard only. I got my Open Standard title that first day and the next day I got the first leg in Excellent A Standard! Good weekend for us!
Now we're in Excellent in everything and ready for the next trial.....only to end up with 1 Q and 5 NQ's. What a horrible weekend. Joni was to blame for most of this, but I'll take my share also on one or two of them. We did get our 2nd leg in Excellent A JWW's - but that's it. Out of the 5 NQ's I can fully take blame for ONE of them and Joni accepts full blame for 3 of them...the other one I'm not supposed to talk about since it was the judge's bad call that caused it. Nuff said about that. I'd like to bitch about it, but Joni has threatened my computer privileges (such as they are - hmph!) if I get us banned from AKC for voicing our shared opinion of this event.
Okay. My mistake was that I thought it'd be a cool move to jump on the table and bounce off immediately - showing off my awesome athletic abilities - and jump back on instantly. I could hear the crowd gasping and oohing and aahing when I did this....only to learn later that it was really gasps and groans of disappointment and dismay at my instant NQ! *@#$%. Nobody ever told me I couldn't do this! Apparently I was supposed to just "know" this rule. Whatever.
The 3 NQ's Joni was responsible for was just BLOCKING me or distracting me! She did a great front cross in front of the teeter -but misjudged it and was blocking my entrance. I tried to adjust, but going around her screwed up my forward momentum and I was only able to touch the teeter before going off the other side by the first contact. The next time she mis-judged where she was and blocked my weave entrance. I tried to improvise by going into the other side of the weave entrance, thinking that maybe the judge wouldn't notice. Hey - I was desperate! If I stopped it'd be a refusal! I'm TRYING here! Those AKC judges are pretty sharp sometimes, and they saw my slick move and called it. All I could do was try, right? The last one was the most absurd. I came flying off a jump and was just laser-locked into that weave entrance. Joni wasn't blocking it - it was a perfect entrance. Just as I got inches from it, Joni suddenly says "Jada, weave!". WTF did she think I was doing? I stopped to make sure I wasn't doing the wrong thing and was utterly confused for a second - only to find out she wanted me to do the friggin' weaves I was heading into. What an idiot she can be! Oh wait - let's let the judge call that one also. Joni, Joni, Joni. You've GOT to shut your mouth sometimes! You can't take me totally out of obstacle focus and into idiot handler focus!
I tell you what - she has GOT to get the VIDEO up of these runs! She's got them! I think she's just embarrassed about some of this stuff!
Looks like we're all caught up with my trials this year since I've been not allowed on the computer. Next Friday is our Wishbone Wag Team Agility event. Our team is called "Bad to the Bone" and is made up of a few of my best buddies: Charm, a Rat Terrier, and Benny, a big black Lab.
The weekend after that we have a trial on December 3-4-5 - then again on December 31, January 1-2. Hopefully we have some great runs!
We just did our first 3-day AKC Agility trial a couple of weeks ago. Lots of fun, but not sure I like this "half day" thing. We're so used to getting there early and staying ALL day long!
We didn't have to be there until noon...which mean Joni had me there at 10am. Not sure what she thinks she's going to miss out on here. I had to stay outside in a crate in a tent with a bunch of loud Shelties. Not sure I liked that part of it. Joni kept checking on me and leaving me in there. I was a little worried she forgot me sometimes, but I could see the car if I looked thru a blowing tent piece...and it never moved, so that made me feel better!
So I went in there the first day, Friday, with a Novice Standard and a Novice Jumpers leg under my.....collar (I never did like belts). I was hoping to knock out this Novice stuff in the first two days. But that was not to be.....
Friday started out with Jumpers, which I did perfect on and got a first place. Two legs down and one to go!
Then we did Standard. Sigh. I guess I'll take a little itty bitty piece of blame for this, but only a VERY little bit. Most of it I'm putting all on Joni! I have a problem with laying down on the pause table....always have. I'll sit...I'll stand....hell, I'll do backflips, but I don't like to lay down. I just never have liked laying down on command ANYWHERE. There just isn't a point to this. Of course, naturally, I'll do it for FOOD! If I'm going to go to all this trouble to lay down there better be a good reward for me in it. So Joni was worried about if the judge was going to make me lay down on the table. She had me practicing this all week. I did it every time for her, but after awhile I was having fun messing with her head. I'd lay down and roll over. Boy, that really got her more worried! No way I'd do that on a table, but I sure had her thinking I might!
So it turns out the table is a "down". Joni was convinced she could fake me out and I'd think she was going to have a treat for me. I heard her tell a few people this. She didn't even try to whisper it so I wouldn't hear - just blurted it out like I was the village idiot that had no idea what she was saying. So I went in this knowing the big fake-out was coming. We started our run.....and I ran perfectly. We got to the table and Joni said "Down" and I sat....and looked at her. She pretended she had something in her hands and said it again. And I just looked at her. It was hard to keep from bursting out laughing at the panic I know she was feeling. Finally I took pity on her and laid down SLOWLY on the 3rd request. The judge counted down....5 and 4 and 3 and 2 and 1 -- .and Joni took off! What the hell! She's supposed to wait until the judge said "...and GO!" I knew this was bad...but what was I supposed to do? So I followed her. I saw the judge make a motion with her arms out of the corner of my eye and I knew it wasn't good. I was right. Joni screwed up. Uh oh...do you think I played with her mind too much on this one? Maybe. That's why I'll only take a teeny tiny bit of the blame for that. She gets 99.9% of that screwup, though! Now Joni claims she doesn't know why she left - she claims her brain wanted to stay but her legs just took off. Rolling my eyes here....whatever. Even "I" have more control than that!
Later that night we did FAST. I blew this the last time since I have to work away from Joni and I jumped over the contact. I confess I was feeling a wee bit sorry for her for her big screwup earlier, so I was determined that I'd make her feel better by astonishing her with doing this correctly. Which I did...no biggie. We only needed 50 points in this 35 second run, and we got 73 points. The send part with the line that Joni couldn't cross was that I had to go over an A-Frame, then into a tunnel, which I did perfectly. We did only get 2nd place since this zippy little Sheltie got 76 points, but he took 7 seconds longer than us also! But that's okay.
Saturday we went over early also so that I could get my two height measurements by two AKC reps that were there. They measured me shorter than I thought I was....16.5". ??? And here I thought I was 17" tall. This will take some getting used to now. I'm trying hard not to get that "short dog" syndrome now.
I got my last Jumpers leg today! And my first AKC agility title - my NAJ title. I got first place - and had the fastest time of all the 23 Novice dogs! Open Jumpers here I come!
Standard was next. I was relieved to see that the table was a "Sit" - Joni certainly doesn't need the pressure on this one. Maybe today we'd get our 2nd leg, and could get our 3rd leg tomorrow - sounds like a plan! And we did it perfectly. I got 1st place (and a perfect score) with a time of 40 seconds! The next fastest time in the entire class of 23 Novice dogs was 50 seconds! Not too shabby! One more leg tomorrow and we can get that Standard title outa the way!
Sunday we did our first Open Jumpers, and I did another great job on it. We got 2nd place in this division - only 8/10 of a second slower than a Sheltie. One open leg down....
Then came what I hoped was our final novice standard leg. No pressure here! We started off great.....I saw the dog ramp and launched myself onto it. Usually I take the dog ramp at a fast speed, with Joni running alongside me. But today I was so excited about my new title - not to mention my impending NEW title - and had SO much energy that I figured I could go faster! I was a few feet ahead of Joni now when I heard her saying something to me. What? Why are you talking to me now - I'm concentrating on running! It was so hard to hear her with the wind rushing thru my fur and my ears (think of hanging your head outside a moving car!). Now we have a disagreement here....I could just swear I heard her say, "Jada! Go faster! And jump over that yellow piece at the end of the dog ramp!!!" - so I did. Now Joni insists that she said "Jada! Slow down! Wait!".
Sigh. I guess after thinking about it there's no earthly reason she'd be telling me to jump over the contact now, is there. Sigh. Fine. I guess I'll take the blame for this one. [hanging my head in shame]. The rest of our run was flawless...Joni didn't even screw up on the table countdown.
So I guess I'll need another weekend to get out of this Novice stuff. Hopefully I don't drag it out too long or Joni will get her wish and we WILL be there all day long....in Excellent Jumpers and in Novice or Open Standard! Ugh!
Overall I guess I like this AKC stuff okay. It's fun....but not as much fun as CPE games are. We decided we like the strategy and thinking that goes into the CPE games more. It's alot of fun to make up a good course for enough points, or to have to make decisions out there - not ONLY just running 17-18 obstacles in a precise order....
But we'll keep doing this AKC stuff (can't let Ty get ALL the AKC titles in the family!).
We've got our CPE trial coming up this weekend! I can't wait!
Hey, Jada here again. It's been busy around here......we got a new computer and all that entails with moving stuff over, etc. So Joni hasn't let me get on the new computer for awhile. Yeah yeah....there's an old computer now that works perfectly well for me...but no, she won't let me use that one!
We've had a lots of classes and several agility trials since I last wrote. Our August CPE trial was great - another 3-day trial. Boy, I'm loving those 3-day outings! We did pretty well.....we Q'd in 11 of our 12 runs! The only one was didn't qualify in was......big surprise!.....Jackpot! Yep, Jackpot is becoming our nemesis! What's with these Traditional Jackpots? I just don't like doing stuff that far away from Joni! But she keeps trying to make me! But I really really did try! But this was a hard one! I had to run into a tunnel with Joni way way behind me....then come out and go into weave poles. I don't think so! I came right back to Joni and didn't leave again! But I tried to make up for it by doing everything else really great over the weekend.
Next trial we're in Level 5 Jumpers - and Level 4 for Standard, Full House, Snooker, Colors and we're still in Level 3 for Wildcard and Jackpot.
My official stats are out of my 61 CPE runs, I have 53 Q's! I don't think that's too shabby for 7 weekends!
My 8 NQ's have been three in traditional jackpots, two from our first few Snookers, and two of our wildcards early on. Oh....and that stupid standard that I screwed up badly...but I'd rather not talk about that one!
A few weeks ago we did our first AKC Agility trial! We entered the one-day agility trial for the Chesapeake Bay Retrievers National Specialty. First thing I noticed is that it was not an event we needed to get up in the wee hours of the night to get ready for! We didn't have to be there until almost noon! This is great! Sleeping in - whoo hoo! This was at a different place than I was used to - a club called Queen City Dog Training Club. We visited there a couple of weeks before to do a few run-thru's so I could get used to a different building and equipment. Apparently this could have been some sort of traumatic event for me....but I could really care less! Show me some tunnels and jumps and I'll do it anywhere! Anyway, this place is different for me because they don't have indoor crating. What? You mean I have to stay...outside? Apparently so. I'm told they usually have a tent, but didn't today...so I spent lots of time in the car since it was so crowded inside. That was a bit weird for me!
Once we started, though, it was just another agility trial! First we did FAST - which, unfortunately, is exactly like a Traditional Jackpot except it's only 30 seconds long or so. Great. No pressure here! Joni insists this was a fairly easy section where I had to do it by myself, and I suppose it was....all I had to do was go into a tunnel then over an A-frame - no biggie. Except I blew it. I went over the A-frame and saw that Joni was about 6 feet away and looking like she might bolt suddenly and leave me, so I cut the corner a bit on the bottom contact and ran after her. Why can't I remember that she isn't really going to leave me there? !@#$%.
After that was Standard - which we got first place in and a Q. Cool! Then we did Jumpers with Weaves - another 1st place and a Q. Then that was it. Seriously....that was it! We were done already? Feels like we were just getting started!
So...looks like we're going to keep doing this AKC stuff. I wish we weren't doing FAST again, but Joni has endless faith in me and signed us up for it again. Sigh. Will she ever learn?
Our next AKC trial is in two weeks - a 3-day trial. Looks like it's an afternoon event again since we just started and are in Novice...which may be a good reason to never get into Excellent, right? Shhh....don't tell Joni that!
I hear that Joni is doing this because she wants to take me on a long road trip next spring for a trial. Yep - she wants to take me to the Keeshond National Specialty in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. I haven't a clue what that really means...but it sounds fun! And this is an outdoor trial! Wow - will be very cool to do all this stuff outside in the fresh air.....unless it's raining. That could be bad then! I hate getting rain in my eyes! I can barely walk outside when it rains....everyone laughs at me. I squint my eyes closed really really tight - every time I try opening them I get water in them, so I just squeeze them shut again and walk really really slowly. Now this could make for an interesting run, dontcha think?
November is going to be a busy month for us! We're doing the AKC trial one weekend; Tyssen has 4 UKC shows one weekend, and then a CPE trial another weekend. Then a few short weeks after that there's our 4-day CPE trial! I can't wait!
I'm hoping Joni will get those video's of me up soon! I keep bugging her about this...maybe soon!
Well...guess I'm outa here.....wait...what? Oh, hold on. Ty wants to say a few things!
Hey, Ty here! Yeah, you heard Jada - I have my OWN shows coming up here soon! AND I get to spend 4 days at Judy's (where I was born and where my mom and sister live) being pampered while they're at the AKC trial! She wants to use the time to "work me"...which I think is a good thing. I don't really need the "work" since I'm so damn good, but I'll let her think I do. Makes her feel useful....but that's just our secret, okay?
I keep waiting to be entered into an agility, but so far Joni seems to think I need to wait more. Personally, I think Jada is telling her this. She's afraid I'll show her up maybe? Yeah...that has to be it. What else could it be? Joni thinks I'm getting close, though.....the only thing she keeps working on alot with me is those crazy weave poles. Now what's the purpose of these things? They make no sense. In the real world I can see the purpose needing to jump, or go over a ramp - hell, even going thru a tunnel - but there is absolutely NO reason weaves have a functional reason for existing! But.....I'm beginning to get it. Joni told me she can tell the light bulb has gone off for me...but that I have a dimmer switch. I'm not sure what that really means....but I just nod like I do and that makes her happy. But I guess I can keep working with them.
She also thinks I am way too social. She doesn't want to pay for an entry only to get me out there and let me try to meet every single dog on the other side of the ring. Hey - since when is being nice and polite a crime! Sheesh. So I get a "fake" trial - a show-n-go coming up here. Supposedly it'll be "good practice" for me. We'll see.
Oh yeah....also have to mention our latest toy for agility trials! Very cool! Joni got tired of coming up with 16 D batteries each day for our two battery operated fans, so she went and got a "power pack". She got a DC splitter so she can plug in both fans - and they both run on high for 12+ hours in our crate. They might go longer, but she unplugged them after 12 hours of testing them, so who knows how long they'll last. Each day after the trial she just takes the power pack home and recharges it all night - and it's good to go all day the next day with the fans. Pretty cool! She's turned our little home-away-from home into a nice cool place!
Here's the view from the inside and top!
Power pack: Schumacher Portable Power PP-2200 , 22 amp hour / 400 watt, Built in inverter and 12 volt outlet
Tyssen here. Jada is really tough to move away from the keyboard! I had to keep reminding her this is a TEAM effort here! And I just found out that while I was getting my beauty rest, she went ahead and posted again! That Keeshond history thing was supposed to be a collaborative effort! I suppose it won't be believed that "I" did nearly all the research for that, but now she'll get all the credit. Humph!
I'm 2 years old - and 2 years younger than Jada. Both my parents were great Champions and I'm following in their footsteps. (Sure, both of Jada's parents were great Champions also, but this is all about me now!)
Our mother is named Lucy (Am. Can. Ch. Trumpets Spirit In The Sky Esprit HOF) and my dad's name is Bounce (Ch. Trumpet's Jumpin' Jack Flash) (Jada's dad is Andy - Am. Can. Ch. Foxfair Excalibur, BISS)
Yeah, I'm a "show dog" but don't think that I'm some empty headed pretty boy. More about that later.
My name "Tyssen" does mean "firebrand" and they gave a great deal of of thought to my name. I was part of the "fire" litter, so every one of us has "fire" in our registered name. My breeder/co-owner/handler, Judy, wanted my call name to have something to do with "fire" also. Lots of names were tossed around. Joni wanted names Judy didn't want (Kolby and Mavrik were tops on the list - and boy, did she really try hard to find a "fire" connection!) while Judy wanted "Magnum", which Joni didn't like. Joni finally discovered after days and days of research that the name "Tison" meant "firebrand"....and the rest was history. Actually, that's kinda of an interesting spelling, isn't it? The other spelling considered was "Tiessen", but everyone seemed to like the way we did it in the end. At least it's not "Tyson" and forever connected to Mike and chicken!
Y'all probably won't believe it, but it's hard work to go to these shows and look good. I put in a lot of long hard hours doing this! The practicing isn't bad, but ENDURING all the work that is being done to me is the tough part!! Let's see....I get my "show bath" about a week before the big event. Sounds simple enough. HA! First I get to get up early and get line brushed out. That takes about 60-90 minutes. Then I get my nails ground down to the nubs (no kidding - and they call me a wimp! I'd love to get a hold of that grinder and grind their fingers down to stumps!) and my feet trimmed up. Then I get tossed into my bath and washed and conditioned. Then it's up on the table to get blown out. I'd guess nails and bath and blowing out take another 3 hours - then brushed again after that. I'm pretty much falling asleep on my feet as they're finishing me up! Then a day before we leave for the show I get my BLT bath....Britches, Legs and Tail. Oh, and nails again. Pretty much repeat the above scene again with half my body getting washed.
Then I'd be off to the show.....lots of strange barking dogs and smells and staying in a strange hotel room with Joni, where odd sounds and weird room smells keep me up all night. Kinda freaky to be in there with all those smells. Joni brings a blanket from home to put on top of the bed so I can have my comfy home smells, which is nice. We're up early the next morning to - you guessed it - get brushed out again! Then it's off to the show ring where I walk around the ring a few times with my breeder/handler, Judy, then stand in various places in the ring, then let some total stranger look at my teeth and feel down my body and....gasp....feel to make sure I've got all the privates I'm supposed to have. I gotta admit, that one took me quite by surprise the first few times. I just wish these folks would try to NOT have ice cold hands when they do this! YEEOWWWW! [shudder]. After we pick up our ribbons we're usually done for the day, and it's a long day of hanging out in the motorhome or outside in the expen, and I can relax some before heading back to the hotel room. But the next day it starts all over again! Usually the shows lasted from 3-5 days, so you can see how exhausted I was at the end and why I pass out for the trip home! But it's not over yet! I have to get another bath the next day!
So as you can see, it's HARD being so handsome and perfect!
I got my AKC Championship in something like 5 weekends out showing. A week before I finished that I got my UKC Championship in one weekend. I'm taking a year or two off from my show career to hang around the old homestead. Officially the reason told to me and others was that I'm taking some time off to "grow up" before they "special" me, but that's just absurd since I'm exceptionally mature right now. I'm still lurking around hoping to find out the real reason.
Maybe someday they'll let me get my Canadian Championship and I can be an "International Star!" Not to mention I'd LOVE the stamp in my passport, eh! Jada would be soooo envious (although she'd never admit it).
I'm also an aspiring Agility athlete. I say "aspiring" since Joni thinks I should. I think I'm great at it already - I can guess exactly what obstacles she wants me to do at class - but she keeps thinking I need to slow down and wait for her to tell me what I already know. Sigh. Someday she'll get it - I'll just have to keep working on her. I've suspected for awhile that she just changes the obstacle order when it suits her to make it appear as if I'm not doing what she claims she wants me to do....I suppose she thinks this makes her look better. And I'm sure she'll sometime figure out how to keep up with me as I run at top speed - after all, it's HER job to keep up with me and have those treats handy! It's like I've got to keep re-training and re-training her! For awhile I slowed down and tried my best to stick with her, but that got kinda dull after awhile. Who wants to go in 1st gear when I can drop it into 5th gear and tear the course up! So I'm back to racing fast again, and hoping she'll keep up!
Sheesh - the things we have to do for our people. I really wanted to do the next Agility trial, but she thinks I'm not ready. We did Snooker in class last night and I was amazing! I'm not sure how Joni managed to knock down a few bars here and there, though......at least I'm assuming it was her. It certainly couldn't have been ME! I did detect a slight breeze in there, so maybe that was it. Perhaps it is better we wait until she figures out how to do this stuff....I don't want her embarrassing me out there with her pitiful efforts!
I've heard a few whispers about Jada maligning my intelligence in her posts here. HA! I laugh in her face! She just thinks she's smarter than me! But while she likes to show off how smart she is, I prefer to keep that fact hidden to have an advantage over any given situation that might come up! Think about it - it's a brilliant plan! I pretend to be not as quite as sharp as Jada, so less is expected of me. Then when I decide it's time to let them have a glimpse of brilliance they are astonished and gush all over me and I get a bunch of extra treats! Pretty friggin' brilliant, isn't it! But shhhhh - don't tell anyone my secret!
Lessee....what else can I share in this first post? I like to "talk" alot but so far Joni has acted as if she doesn't understand what I'm saying. I've tried every sort of "whoo-hoo" I can think of and she still doesn't get it. Then she has the nerve to laugh in my face and pet me as if I'm the village idiot and just doing this for her amusement. I'm deadly serious with the very deep and personal conversations I'm trying to share with her and I get laughed at! I'm always shaking my perfect head at her obtuseness (look it up - ha!). I suppose I have no one to blame but myself for pretending I'm not as brilliant as Jada. That's one drawback to that tactic!
Before I end this to go pass out in front of my fan, check out my stunning puppy photo - wasn't I just irresistible!! Then a photo from last Fall, after finishing my illustrious class dog career. Not hard to believe a youngster so cute could turn out so damn hunky, is it?
Ciao!
(Had to throw that in because it'd drive Jada nuts thinking I spelled it "Chow" - ha!)
by Jada
