Lhasa Apso Blog: OUR FIRST SHOW OF 2022 AND PUPPY NEWS!

Good ol' Teddy R. was no dummy!

Enough said...

News from Our First Show of 2022

I had been waiting and waiting for the show in Des Moines, IA, which is usually the first show of each year for us -- not that there were not shows in January and early February; we generally do not go to them due to distance and weather worries.

So, I entered Rusty because he needed only one point to finish his championship, and I entered 6 month old Pearl just to see how she would handle all the people, strange dogs, sounds, and smells.

By Thursday AM, my bags were packed and ready to load. Then the snow started and it snowed and snowed and snowed. I am by nature a worrier so I paced and fretted and wondered what to do. Should I call the hotel and cancel the reservation? etc.

As I watched the snow, a song came to mind and to pass the time, I wrote my own version.

Dog Show Lady's Winter Lament

The snow is blowing

My concern is growing

I'm supposed to go to a show

Yes, I do care how much it may snow

I really want to go to that show!

The snow is blowing

But where I'm going

The weather is sunny and clear

I wish it could be that way here

I'm stuck at home this weekend I fear!

The snow keeps blowing

The drifts are growing

I watch with lessening cheer

It soon becomes obvious and clear

I'll miss my first show of the year!

Yes, I do care how much it may snow

I really want to be at the show!

Surprise Surprise! The Thursday evening forecast revealed that the storm had chosen a southerly route and Friday in our area would be clear, but freezing. Realizing that we had a late ring time on Saturday, I decided we could make it on time by leaving really early Saturday morning, so I called the hotel and canceled Friday night, finished packing the car, and went to bed early!

Rusty, Pearl and I left very early on Saturday morning. For the first hour we had some clear and some snow-packed patches, enough to make driving slower than usual. After that, the roads were clear and dry and no sign of snow along the way.

Saturday, Rusty dashed all my hopes of a win when he went into the ring and refused to walk. I was not a happy person. After that humiliation, I tried some tips suggested and worked with him for the rest of the afternoon, trying different leads, and trying to keep the hair out of his eyes. He was stopping because once he would shake, the hair would cover his eyes. Long story short: The work on Saturday paid off and he showed well on Sunday, earned his final point, and walked out of the ring a champion. Whew!

Pearl was a happy girl in the ring, a bit apprehensive on Saturday, but full of herself on Sunday. I cannot say she always had all 4 feet on the floor, but her tail was up and she was moving around the ring and having fun. Not a bad start!

I owe a big thank you to Michelle Hoopes, who owns Sunny and lives near Des Moines. She and her daughter came to the show on Sunday to watch us show. She gave me a great Lhasa bag!

And I gave her a surprise (!) when I told her she was going to go in the ring to show Pearl in the Best of Breed class! She was a good sport about the surprise and did a fine job of taking Pearl into the ring, not too easy because Pearl was very determined to catch up to to Rusty and me. Thanks again, Michelle, for being a good sport about helping!

Here is Michelle's Sunny, a Josh son.

I should have taken photos of Pearl that day, but did not! I guess I was so focused on Rusty and fussing about how he would do in the ring that I just did not think about getting a picture of Pearl. She was so excited to be there that she probably would not have sat still anyway (I tell myself!!)

Here are two I took of Rusty at the show:

When we got home, we took this photo to commemorate his win and championship.

Puppy News

I am happy to announce that we have puppies on the way. The first litter is Archie and Millie's and is due this week. She definitely is full of babies!

Can you see them? You have to look closely!

Here are the parents:

Archie

Millie

Our second litter is due in early March. This is Josh and Autumn's litter, a repeat of the breeding that produced our cute little Emmy!

Josh

Autumn

If you are on the waiting list, I will be contacting you about the puppies once I know all are thriving, but you can email me anytime for news of the litters. I know most of you have been waiting a long time for a puppy.

Notes and Photos from Others

Jim sent pictures of Daisy laying around the house on various soft surfaces and wrote, "She always finds the coziest spots in the house." Here is one of them.

Debi wrote about Lacey: "Lacey is doing well. She is growing up so fast!...She is really good with our grandchildren, ages 3 and 6 mos. and they are very gentle with her. My grandson loves to play with hot wheels cars and she loves to fetch them after he puts them down his ramp. He thinks this is very funny as long as she gives them back, lol. She actually waits at the bottom of the ramp so that she can get the car before he does, but she gives it back and then waits for the next one. It is really cute. She also loves to play with my daughter's cat, but sometimes he cat doesn't want to play with her.

Her new favorite thing to do is steal my husband's reading glasses. He sets them down and they are instantly gone. Lacey always announces that she has them by running around all crazy with them in her mouth. She even goes as far as nudging out our rolling kitchen chairs, with her nose or paws, so she can jump up on the chair to get them off the kitchen table. She has not broken them yet, lol...we are planning to enroll her in some beginner obedience classes. She is doing well with sit and stay most of the time, butI think some classes will be good for her. She can be a little stubborn sometimes, but she always has a good temperament. Our groomer has commented on what a good disposition she has and how beautiful she is. We also get stopped all of the time from people wanting to see her on our pet store visits.We are such proud puppy parents! She is such a joy!..."

From Maryann:
"Minako's coat is VERY nice and RARELY a mat! If so, it is so tiny and on the belly. We love that!...

We have continued taking her places. She knows as

soon as I change my clothes that she is going bye bye

and gets excited. She is still just so sensitive to noise

and people. She excitedly climbs into the van and out.

It is like a light switch within a few seconds after out.

Minako does GREAT with the tail over taking walks as

long as there isn't anything to distract her....She does

GREAT without distractions and follows what we say andin return is excited to give a nice kiss with the tail

wagging when relaxed. She shows MUCH beauty in thatstate of mind! That's the latest, but we came to the

conclusion to just let her do her own thing and maybe abreakthrough later."

Judy G, who now has Onyx (Now Nyx), sent this update on her progress. Those of you who have Onyx's puppies may be interested in reading Judy's update. "Isn't winter wonderful? I am so tired of shoveling. Nyx is certainly enjoying running over the crusted snow and then creating new paths. We always create a maze in the backyard for the dogs, but she creates her own paths! She has mastered the steps (finally) so she thinks she is the master dog. She is silly and funny and twirls in a circle before she sits. She loves the other dogs and if they are sleeping she is nudging them to wake up and play. No wonder she is the first one to fall asleep at night. Many of our Thursday night classes have been cancelled, but she shows no fear on the A-frame and dog walk. Nyx is quick to learn, but a true Lhasa -- only does the obstacles once then is ready to move to the next challenge. The border collies make me crazy! They would do the same obstacle over and over until their owner calls them off."

Ginny wrote "Maple Plus Elk Antler...aka Puppy Pacifier.

Patty wrote, "Joyce, we bought our lhasa from you June 7, 2003. His name was Oliver Norman Bock. The little guy brought us so much joy and love. At the time of purchase we lived in Chenoa, Illinois. A year later, we moved to Central Florida. Oliver so enjoyed being a Floridian.
Oliver Especially loved riding on an air mattress in the pool. 😃 he loved chasing squirrels that ran across the top of the pool cage. Sometimes he didn’t quite make the corner and fell into the pool. I tried to teach him to swim to the stairs. That wasn’t an option for him. I bought him a life jacket. Anytime I put the lifejacket on him, he would only move his eyeballs. Nothing else. He wasn’t having any part of that life jacket. 😂 He was a stubborn little guy.
We had 16 1/2 amazing years with Oliver. He helped us through the ups and downs of life. Oliver went over the rainbow bridge the summer of 2019. Our vet and the tech came to our home to administer his shots. It was a great comfort and honor to hold him in my arms when he left us. We have his ashes. 💙

I am going through some file papers and I found his papers and medical reports on him over the years. I just wanted to write and let you know that we so appreciated you for giving us such a gift. This photo is from 4/2019. Oliver is on the right. You make a difference--you bring fur baby love to us.

I hope this finds you and yours well and safe. God bless you, Joyce. 🐾

How nice of Patty to write about Oliver after all these years! I can tell he was dearly loved.

Jessie asked to be put on the waiting list for another puppy. She sent this picture of San taking a nap and wrote, "San is such a good dog, we are so happy with him."