Time for a Bit of News

Hi Happy Monday! (Although it is now Sunday night, I assume you will not be reading this until tomorrow!)

I know. I know. I haven't posted anything in ages! I understand your frustration because I am following a blog called "The Dirty Western" in which some anonymous folks at the university where I work dig up all the dirt and then let the rest of the world know about it! If they don't put up a new post at least weekly, I start to fret.

My excuse? Lack of good ideas!

So, an update. We have three puppies left from the Twist x Secret litter. Their pictures appear at the top of this entry. They were 10 weeks old on Friday. I call them Desi, Zeke, and Zach. Why? Because my granddaughter came over to play with them and wanted to know their names and that was all I could come up with for the boys. Desi has been named Desi for a while now! I hope to show her. Her name will be Joyslyn MLS Dakota Heart's Desire. Right now Zeke is the "keeper" as far as the boys are concerned. I'd keep Zach too, but two are quite enough for me to keep and train right now.

My weekend was a good one. My Shiba friends and I attended our first dog show of 2010 in Des Moines, Iowa. I showed Walker, who is now old enough for veterans classes and needed to get back in the ring to remember what it's all about. He hasn't been in a ring since August when he took a Group I and Group III at the Burlington, IA shows. The good news is that, although we lost the breed on Saturday, we won on Sunday (Thanks, judge Dr. Smith!) and went on to take a Group 4 (Thanks judge Mr. Fredrickson). In addition to the ribbon, Walker won a lovely microfiber throw – soft and cuddly. I did a quick calculation on the drive home and figured that that throw cost me about $150. (Never, never add up how much it costs to go to dog shows!) LOL

I took Belle, in a last ditch effort to get her comfortable walking on a lead. She was not being shown. She just went along for a training opportunity. I was ready to give up on her. She is so darn stubborn. She drags a lead around the family room (under careful supervision) each evening for at least an hour. If I try to pick it up, she freezes and refuses to move! I am pleased to say that this weekend she turned a corner. She decided to walk! She got lots of attention from other exhibitors as well as the general public visiting the show. The little girls especially fell in love with her -- and with her name. "Oh -- just like the Princess Belle!" She is very, very cute! She learned she liked liver and that hot dogs were not too bad either. So now I guess I need to find a show and enter her and see if she'll be as showy inside the ring as she was outside it!

Have a good week!

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you!

Joyce