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Where do I begin...?

The 4-day Memorial weekend shows in Bloomington, IL are now history. The weekend started for me on Thursday when I took an afternoon off work to drive to Bloomington (slightly over 2 hours from here) to snag a space for a grooming set up for myself, 2 Lhasa friends, and 3 Shiba Inu friends. Two hours to get there, a half hour to haul grooming tables and wire crates in and set them up, then 2 hours back home. Once home I had to exercise and feed the dogs then bathe and dry Belle. (Zach and Desi had been bathed before I left for Bloomington.) Friday night when I got home, it was Walker's turn for a bath. That was another late night.

Friday I showed Zach and Belle. Desi went along for the ride that day. Saturday was the busy day: I showed Zach, Desi, Belle, and Walker. All went smoothly thanks to much-appreciated help from Rebecca, my Shiba Inu friend, who showed Desi for me, and Sandy, my Kuvasz friend, who kept Walker groomed at ringside while I was in the ring. Sunday and Monday Zach stayed home. Desi, Belle, and Walker were shown. Again, I realize how very much I depend on friends and how very lucky I am to have such good ones who are willing to help me. So Jane, Rebecca, and Leslie...if you are reading this, know that I feel very fortunate to have your support and friendship. You do so much for me.

So, you may be wondering, "What happened. How did those Lhasas do?" It was the debut weekend for the pups, who turned 6 months old on the 13th. In a nutshell: Zach walked. He was not 'showy.' He was tentative, not too sure what was going on or what was expected, but he walked and held his tail up, even wagging it for the judge when he was being examined on the table. Rebecca took on the burden of showing Desi the 3 days she was entered. Desi walked on Saturday and Sunday (but Rebecca had to walk backwards coaxing Desi around the ring with liver bait). On Monday Desi had had enough, thank you very much. She stood still and that was that. The judge was upset and excused her. Rebecca had to listen to the judge's lecture about training a dog to walk. I felt so guilty! As far as placements go, Zach took 2nd out of 2 both days he was shown. Desi was the only one in her class.

Belle actually walked all three days. Now that was close to a miracle. We've been working at home and had some serious training sessions. So...she is walking but requires a very loose lead or she stops and lies down. The problem with the loose lead is that she doesn't hold her head up as she should, so she looks rather dumpy going around the ring. We'll be working on getting that head up now that she is cooperating about walking. With Belle, it is one step at at time. Belle was the only dog in her class all three days.

The most exciting part of the weekend was showing Walker. Actually I entered him because I knew the puppies and Belle would be reluctant to walk, so at least with Walker I'd be showing a dog that moved out and loved to show. He did not disappoint! He was not entered Friday. He won Best of Breed the three days he was entered. Group competition was tough. On Saturday he placed third in the Group under Dawn Hansen. On Sunday under Ed Bivin he made the cut in Group but did not get a placement. On Monday, the Group judge was Kent Delaney. No placement Monday either.

Jan and Karen came from WI. Karen's puppy dog won a point; Jan's Open Bitch took a major on Sunday. The Open Bitch Karen was showing for our friend LaVonne won the major on Monday. Marilyn came from OH and her Open Bitch finished (i.e., got the final points for her championship) on Friday. A lovely puppy dog from the 6-9 Month class won the major Friday and Sunday. Those were nice wins for him. His handlers were excited, and I am sure Sherry his breeder and Linda his owner were also thrilled when they heard the news!

The pictures at the top are of Belle (the light colored dog standing on the grooming table) and of Walker, the red sable dog that is moving. That picture was taken during Group judging on Sunday.

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you. (But it's better and much less stressful if they SHOW when you take them to a show!)

Joyce