Show Results and Pictures

It's been a busy week! Last Thursday, I  and three dogs (Rafe, Windy, and Duncan) left for the 2+ hour drive to Bloomington for 4 days of shows. I secured a grooming space for myself and three friends, made new friends with people in the surrounding grooming spaces, and prepared for a lively weekend of showing!

Jan came with Jimmy (formerly known as Gus). Jan and LaVonne co-own Jimmy, officially known to AKC as Joyslyn Golden Tu Mon Ami Inka Dinka Do. We thought that Jimmy and Duncan would have a joyous reunion and enjoy playing with each other again. Nope. Jimmy wanted nothing to do with Duncan, an attitude that perhaps was the result of Duncan coming on too strong. Here's a picture of me with the two brothers.

Friday night the Corn Belt Kennel Club hosted a fun match with a $250 prize for Best Puppy in Match. Classes went as young as 4 months, so Jan and I entered the boys. Jimmy won the class and represented  the Lhasa Apso well in the Puppy Group. Once he decided to get his tail up, he showed beautifully, reminding all who remembered Raven's movement very much of her. The video below is of Jan and Jimmy showing in the Non-Sporting Puppy Group. Although Jimmy did not place in the Group, he did make the final cut, so we were thrilled with his accomplishment at his first dog show! Duncan showed well also. He was happy and kept his tail up. The judge said she had a hard time choosing between the two since she liked different things about each. It's hard to deny a dog that moves the way Jimmy does though! I think we can expect good things from both boys.

Another highlight of the match was that my friend, Jane Chapin, won Best Puppy in Match with her Shiba puppy, Zahara. What a thrill that was! Zahara is just 4 months old. In addition to this Best in Match win, Zahara also has two Best Puppy in Show wins at UKC shows.

Rafe and Windy did well at all the shows. Rafe won Best of Breed all 4 days. Windy took Reserve to the 3-point major on Friday and Saturday and won the major on Sunday. These are her first points and I was so happy that she won a major. (One major out of the way and one to go! We're off to a good start!) I hoped to get a photo of her with the judge, but the judge was elusive and never returned to the photographer's set up for photos. Jan took some pictures of Windy in the grooming area. Here is one of them.

Her coat is growing and she is looking good and showing well as long as there are no unusual noises. Our ring was near a set up that held many Golden Retrievers and it seemed that those people never turned off their forced air dryers!

One big disappointment was the weather. Rain, rain, rain. Friday and Saturday were cold and windy. The rains came Saturday night and stayed. On Sunday and Monday we were lucky for lulls in the rain which allowed us to load and unload dogs and equipment without getting soaked.

Home again, the dogs were happy to get back into their routine. Duncan, who had behaved so well at the show site and the hotel, turned into a holy terror and made up for his good behavior. He's still at it!

I was also glad to be home and sleeping in my own bed. I enjoyed seeing how the babies had grown while I was away. Here are photos of them at 3.5 weeks.

Hunter

Jethro

Lila

The next stop for Windy, Rafe, and me is Fargo, ND! We have a long drive ahead of us, and I hope that all those miles don't have to be driven in thunderstorms!

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

Joyce