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.