Learning to be a show dog...

Learning to be a showdog is tough work. One has to go to classes to learn to stand still (Mr. Wigglebutt has yet to master this skill). One also goes to obedience class, where Mom spends an hour feeding dinner and making Dash (GASP) work for his food! But practicing is fun…

And sometimes practicing involves getting cookies from the little boy!

As an aside, Gus and Dash are becoming fast friends. The first month was rough because Gus was used to calm, lazy dogs, and Dash was in the jumpy, bitey, obnoxious puppy phase. Fortunately he has outgrown the bitey part! Now Dash and Gus work together…

Of course, the ultimate reward is when you get to go to a show and play with your sister!

But that still means you get groomed, and toenails amputated, and brushed…

So far Dash has been in three matches. He made his debut in Greensboro in November days after he turned 4 months old. Joe & Dora picked him up at 9:00 a.m. to take him over for a makeover and to work on his table manners. Dash is my first show prospect, so I'm learning everything right along with him. I joined them at 4:00 after spending an hour being lost (something about taking the wrong interstate - one would think after living in this state for 13 years that I'd be past all that!). I then got a crash course on dog handling.

Everything was going swimmingly... Dash kissed his first judge. He pulled a bit on the leash, and then he saw Clover and thought she would be much more fun to play with - but behaved himself. So there would never be a "first class" for this novice pair again. Then, in the breed ring, competing for best puppy - disaster (well maybe not really a crisis)... In the middle of the back portion of the down & back - and quite possibly in the geographic center of the ring - someone turned into an Inchworm and deposited quite the poop! I was redfaced - Dash was happy - and everyone else in the ring with me was quite gracious! "It happens to everyone..." Well okay - it has happened to us, and I'm taking steps to make sure it doesn't happen again - constant vigilance on the clock and the poop schedule for me. It helps that as he is maturing he has much better bladder and bowel control.

Our next match was in January in Charlotte. I got a chance to learn more about grooming and about gaiting. And Dash did much better at moving around the ring in his age group. He is still a wigglebutt on the table - and so thrilled to meet new people. Another judge accepted his enthusiastic kisses. Dash was still in the 3-6 month class, and his competition this time was a lovely little 3 month old puppy. Dash was days away from turning 6 months old, so there was quite a difference in the two. In the breed ring for best puppy, he was much more interested in seeing who was following him than paying attention to Mom. But this is a learning experience, and we are learning something new every time out. Mike & Gus came along to watch and Beth drove over to act as our personal photographer.

Match number three was the Happy Trails Match, southeast of Greensboro. The attention here was more on the handler than the dog. It was a good experience for us to spend more time in the ring waiting our turn and moving around with more than two or three dogs. Dash had fun. I got more practice. And we got a bag of cookies (no ribbon this time). We skipped the last January match because Dash had an upset tummy. Now that Dash is 6 months old, he can make his formal debut. And I'm trying to figure out how to get out of his way.

We've started attending handling classes sponsored by the Durham Kennel Club. It is definitely worth the drive as we can get more immediate feedback and helpful tips both from the instructor and from other experienced exhibitors. Happily, I have a dog who LOVES to meet people. However, he is very enthusiastic about his greetings. So, we have to settle him down on the table and figure out how to get him to stand still. Time will solve this problem. I'd rather he be too enthusiastic than too timid.