Awesome Autumn

October 1st marked the one year anniversary of Dash joining our family. It also marked his return from his working vacation. We monitored his gait over the next week, and I did see what Joan saw – an extreme limp some mornings with total refusal to use the foot. Now what… well we held our collective breaths. Dash was already entered for the Wilmington shows in the middle of the month. I did a refresher of “Use It” to remind him that he did actually need to walk on the foot. We sent Dash off to Wilmington.

On Sunday afternoon, I received a very solemn voice mail – “Kirsten your dog just won a 3 point major. Call me.” (Judge Margaret P. Mickelson) What totally incredible news!!!! Especially as he was 4th of 4 on Saturday. The following weekend he earned another Reserve at the Lumberton shows. Gus and I drove over on Sunday afternoon – forgetting just how far away Lumberton is for us, on a cold, rainy day. But as always, the people are great.

And of course, the October vet visit was inevitable. The limp was definitely back. Fortunately it was just the pin. Over the course of 7 months, it had moved just enough to interfere with the movement of the toe, and on cold days it hurt. So we scheduled his surgery for early November.

A few days before I left for Berkeley for meetings, I received a call. Sarah was in heat and the stud dog they had chosen was not able to provide an acceptable shipment. The vet and stud owner went to great effort to make it work, even coming in on a weekend to attempt a collection. But this time it was not meant to be. So at the tender age of 16+ months, Dash learned about the “Birds and the Bees” firsthand. Apparently, he is a natural - and now marches in at Carterhall - wondering who he gets to breed this weekens... He spent a week at Camp Carterhall and had his preliminary x-rays done on his hips (which we later learned OFA’d as Good! Yippee! so far no collateral damage from the broken toe). Dash then traveled to Williamsburg, VA for the weekend where he won Reserve both days.

The pin was removed on November 6th. The surgery was uneventful, as was the recovery. Even without a bandage, Dash left the stitches alone. Unfortunately, his foot was shaved a bit more than we thought it would be, so we were going to need some time to grow fur back. We pulled Dash from the Furniture City Kennel Club shows the following weekend, but went along to watch. On Sunday, Charlie Bear (Carterhall Captain Crunch) won his first major under Judge Donovan Thompson. Yippee! If it couldn't be us, we are so happy for Judy and Charlie Bear. Late fall and early winter in NC is a great time for dog shows as there are quite a few within an easy drive. Beth joined me in Concord, NC acting as unofficial photographer while I hid from my dog (not that it mattered as we were resoundingly dumped...). Dash continues to have fun in the ring.

Super September!

September started with a bang. After watching every step he took for nearly three weeks, he was not showing signs of lameness so we decided to show him at the fall cluster of shows in Raleigh. Friday Dash was second to a nice mature boy (who went on to be RWD) in his Bred-By class. It was his brother Charlie’s day to shine as Charlie won Best of Breed from the 12-18 month class! This made Charlie the second of the puppies in Dash’s litter to win points. Miss Clover won her 4 points in Myrtle Beach SC in April – including a Group 3 placement! Charlie was handled by his very nervous owner – and they both sparkled in the ring.

That evening, after fighting Labor Day traffic (forgetting that Friday afternoon traffic towards the fairgrounds is already a nightmare), I showed Dash in a match to get some practice as a handler. Dash won his breed and went on two a Herding Group 2 placement. I was completely thrilled with his performance, and gratefully accepted handling advice from one of the professionals sitting ringside who admired my boy. Saturday he was 2nd in his class to the dog who eventually won Reserve.

Sunday morning we arrived in time for a bath in addition to the standard grooming… He showed his little heart out and was eventually awarded Winners Dog for his first two points under Ms. Minna-Lissa Koltes! He followed up with another win on Sunday under Mr. Brian Phillips for his next point.

Because of my travel schedule this fall between work and vacation, we are not enrolled in a training class until January, so we are working on skills at home. Including tricks. Dash has now perfected “spin” and is working on “roll-over.”

Following the 5th Annual Corgi Picnic, Dash traveled back to Camp Carterhall to spend a week with his other family while we vacationed. He was shown in Atlanta in several very competitive classes. He then spent a week with Joan Scott to prepare for shows in Virginia. On Friday he was awarded Winner’s Dog and Best of Winners with Joan’s expert handling for 2 points. Sunday he followed up with another Reserve. I held my breath waiting for the October vet visit to ensue – fearing the Reserve Curse would rear its ugly head. Unfortunately, I received reports of Dash limping/hopping/refusing to use his previously injured foot so it was a matter of time before the next vet visit.... (not to leave you hanging though, as there was no crisis this month).

Awesome August (2006)

Oh goodness – where has the year gone…

To update a few points that were left hanging – Dash did not pass his first blood test, and ended up with another 10 days of Vitamin K and yet another blood draw and accompanying vet visit (so August was taken care of – so I thought).

Dash traveled to Canfield, OH with Joe for the Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club of the Western Reserve Specialty on Saturday August 5 and Canfield cluster of shows. His first show back, he was Reserve Winners Dog in a major under Larry Adams at the Fort Steuben Kennel Club show on Thursday (coincidentally, this is the same judge who awarded Dash a RWD placement in his second ever show back in February 2006). And he then placed second on Friday and fourth in the Sweepstakes on Saturday, and third of four in his specialty class on Saturday. When I picked him up on Sunday he was definitely ouchy on his back – flinching when I so much as moved my hand towards his back. So Monday we headed to the vet’s office. X-rays fortunately show a very healthy spine. Upon further examination, we found a series of scrapes on his back – and one very tender dog – who needed to be muzzled in order to clean him up. Poor little guy – no wonder he wasn’t feeling well on Friday and Saturday – but he was a little trooper in the ring and never flinched.

He followed up with a pair of third place showings in Winston-Salem. And yet another heart stopping moment for Mom. Dash zipped out the door to go visit a neighbor (something he rarely does). On his way to visit, another neighbor came out with his English Setter. The two of them were in puppy paradise running and chasing when all of a sudden Dash let out a scream. I was convinced he had torn something, dislocated something, or broken something… but he continued playing with Katie and keeping away from me without a limp. He did show a little stiffness the next few days, and I think there was a slight muscle pull. We have been much more vigilant with his leash since then and have not had a repeat of the escape.

August ended with a super accomplishment. Dash earned his Canine Good Citizenship certification! We managed to get through the test with minimal embarrassment (what is any Corgi related event without laughter?). After the disaster class in July we ended up missing the weather-related make-up class and the practice class before the test due to a poorly planned return flight from Florida. I debated asking if we could test in October, but then decided that we may as well try the test. We spent a lot of time practicing a sit-stay as that was what he blew continually in class. The night of the test, it was so hot, that Dash was happy to stay put. The heat helped contain some of the rest of his exuberance too and his down was mechanical rather than his signature dive. We almost blew it on greeting a friendly dog – as ML congratulated us on passing the test, he broke his sit and decide to lunge at the Rottie in order to PLAY! It took us a few more passes to get his mind back on the task at hand. After his test was officially over, he was allowed to play with the Rottie and with Casper the Swissie for a few moments.