Paws for Puppy Tales - June 2021

6-28-21. Home from the show in Waverly, IA with Winston still on a BOB winning streak. Two days, two shows, and two more BOB wins brings him to a 10 Best of Breed wins in a row!! This weekends shows were held outside and Saturday was off and on rainy, drizzly, wet; none of the dogs enjoyed walking in the grass much and the wet weather didn't help either. The dampness and humidity also wrecked havoc on the dogs coats making their hair "poof" out rather than laying nicely on their backs. Even still, Winston showed fairly well, hopping just a little but my main issue was trying to keep his nose up out of the many smells in the grass. Sundays weather was MUCH nicer and seriously, what a difference it made in how their coats looked. Wow! With his BOB wins & going on to show in the Toy Group and NOHS shows both days, Winston did also pick up a Group 3 placement in Sundays NOHS show. Skye was shown both days by a young 11-12 yr old (?) girl, and won BOS on Sunday for 2 points. She seemed a bit less stressed this trip; maybe because the shows were outdoors and/or maybe because the trip was not as many days. Kathy is not having much luck showing Gem lately; we're wondering with having her GCH title if it is time to retire her and/or waiting on her heat cycle so she can be bred to Winston. Like me though, she is wanting to show her for the rest of the year hoping to be eligible for the NOHS shows in Orlando in December. Kathy will be going to two shows in July that I am not able to attend, so planning on BOB wins for Gem then. Her boy Marshall is inching his points up slow but sure towards his CH, still needing 2 major wins as well. Kathy has also been showing Major and River however, River has got a family interested in her as a pet (she does not seem to have that show attitude), and Major, at a little over 5 months old still has not dropped his testicles so may be unqualified as show quality for that reason. If not there by 6 months old he will likely be sold as a pet as well.

Rosa and her 6 pups came home with me for a week while Kathy & family are visiting family in Colorado. The pups are 9+ weeks old, so some of them will be ready for forever homes in just a few weeks. Three of them (2 females and 1 male) will likely be held back as possible show quality while the others with color faults (and Stubby's short tail) will go to pet homes. Tiny is still a tiny boy and will likely be held back a bit longer than the others to give him time to grow more and possibly have extended testing done to make sure he is 100% healthy. He is tiny but mighty and seems to be doing well.

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6-16-21 Whoa, middle of the month already before I make my first post for June. I guess I was a bit busy with lots of dogs and puppies to tend to while taking care of Kathy's crew and then add in getting things ready for the dog show in Hutchinson, KS June 10-13. All the dogs I had here at home (except for Dolly) went with us to Hutchinson, plus one (Pixie). Rosa's pups still needed tending to and I was happy to see that even though we were busy at the show site during each day, the pups seemed alert and well fed (either by nursing on Rosa and/or eating the wet food we left for them) at the end of each day. They made it through the 5 day trip seeming no worse for the wear. The show was a busy one with 6 shows in 4 days for the adults (4 all breed & 2 Toy Specialties), as well as 3 days with 4-6 Month Beginner Puppy shows for River and Major. It was a juggling act being where we needed to be, but with a little help from our friends the McDannalds, all went well and all shows were covered. Winston had a great run winning BOB in all six shows as well as a Group 3 and 2 Group 4 placements in the NOHS shows. A photographer took pictures of him and information that I found in the online version of The Hutchinson News. Kathy's girl Gem won BOS 5 out of 6 shows earning her GCH title, and Skye (shown each day by Brad & Sharon's grand-daughter Mandy), took 1 BOS and was Select Bitch the other days. Sometimes I wonder if I should show her anymore. She really doesn't seem to enjoy it (though she does pretty good while in the ring, but this trip she even found any hiding place she could even while we were in the camper. She's on her way to earning her GCH title so I guess I will show her at least until she gets there.

Back home now and we are back to just our 3 dogs; ahhh, much better! First full day home and I was able to get back into the summer sister swim fun at Mark & Karen's pool. This year we have the added bonus to use the pool twice a week if we want to and we will definitely take advantage of that weather and our availability permitting. One day there and my tan (initial sunburn) has got a great start. Maybe I won't have to wear pantyhose to our next dog show at the end of this month. hahaha

That's all I've got for now. . . . . . .