IKC

           Zelda, winning someplace with Jackie Fogel handling.
(Zelda was the only dog I have had who actually went off for 6 wks with Jackie as handler.)

Me (yes!!) at the International Kennel Club with my first Belgian, Quiller. He never did well at shows. Nevermind.)

My aim with Doc is to get him ready to attend the IKC show in Feb. He will be JUST 6 mos, which is the youngest allowed at AKC shows.
It is a huge show and benched, which means you cannot leave.
It is stressful on both humans and dogs, especially  youngsters who are not prepared for the noise and activity.
I will try to get my friend Susan to show him. She is a better handler and has finished all her Belgians. Doc, light on his feet, deserves a better profile than having me lumbering about next to him. She does NOT like this show. I, on the other hand, love everything about it except getting in and out, which is a real major pain in the ass.

Cooper and Me

 

 

 

 

Mitchell getting a major with Jackie Fogel

 

 

One of my favorite photos from a dog show. This was at the IKC.

 

I am virtually the only person I know who loves this show. Everyone hates it. They hate getting in and out, they hate the crowds, they hate the benching. Philadelphia is also benched. Westminister is benched.

I don't know what other shows are benched but I live in terror that someday the powers will decide to unbench the IKC, which would take all the charm (if you can call it that) away.

 

It is actually 4 shows: Thursday and Friday are 2 other Kennel Clubs and those shows are not benched. Saturday and Sunday is the International Kennel Club and that is benched.

I have taken one dog for three days once, and was so exhausted and the dog so stressed I vowed never to do it again.

 

A very young Conley in a rare photo with his tail UP.

I don't know where we are but someone else is showing him and it is not Jackie. So I would guess that is Lake Shore.

 

It is also an expensive weekend. The entry fee is high, the parking is exorbitant even with a parking pass, and the wine is $5 or $6 a glass. Extortion.

Some of the really neat vendors have pulled out because they are reputedly not treated well. The price for a space is over a thousand dollars and in the past couple of years I have noticed a drop in both new, cool Vendors as well as people attending to see the dogs.

 

As with all "hobby"-driven activities,dog shows have been hard-hit by the financial climate. It is very depressing. It is also the reason show people are picking shows very carefully. Between the training, the entry fee, the gas and hotel bills, you want to get points if you win.

I expect the IKC costs me much more than I get out of it. We shall see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GAME TIME

This morning Nigel got off his place on my bed and was hauling around on the floor in my room. Nigel is usually on the bed or on the couch. Because he "leaks" I really don't love having him scoot around in the main part of the house. The rug in here is easily steamed clean.
Now. Doc has met Nigel but they have not interacted. Doc has not yet figured out how to use stairs (onto the bed) and the bed is just a bit too high for him to jump onto.
But this morning I had to leave the room,and I left the two of them together, Nigel on the floor, and Doc loose.

When I came back, they were laying on the floor, alligator-mouth wrestling. Both were clearly into the game, but neither was being as rough as I know each of them can be.

The game went on for about 40 minutes. Then they kind of lost interest. Doc needed to go out-- Nigel wanted back on the bed.
But this was as much stimulation as Nigel has had for awhile. It was kind of amazing to me that they meshed so well. (Nigel can be a real grump, and Doc can be a real brat.)

 

 

 

 

The Friends

FROM DOC (with CONLEY)

Yeah well I godda do dis cuz MPerson say I gotta so dis whut Doc tell to rite so donit go blaming me if he say stupit stuff.
                                                               Conley

Dis Me Doc. I growin by leeps an bones ebberday. I lernin to be a showy dog. Gotta lern ta stan still an let odder peepels touch me all ober an lookee in my mouf. I dunno whut dey lookin for in my mouf. I no got nuffin ob theirs in my mouf. Jus teeth. Lotsa teeth.
Dis me tawkin ta Conley tellin he whut to rite:

 

             See I gots da teef in dere but nuffin whut dont belong to me awreddy.

Here me wif Uncle Llewis. We plaze togedder a lot. He getz we in trouble by barkin alla time.

He got dis fing where if I whoosh inn his eer he go shakin his head sumfin fierce:

 

Dis next one is UncleLlewis tellin me not to go whooshin in he eer no more.

 
An den I shows you me: Dis whut I look like on dis side.

An den dis whut I look like on dat odder side:

                                                      I be hannsome.
                                         Dats all. Dats me. Dats Doc.

Conley say dis kid a reel brat but we gots to put up wif he. I done writed what he say to me and now I get a peece of turkey. I done.
Lub to youse all, Conley

HAPPY THANKSGIBBIN EBBERBUDDY

This be we after thanksgibbin:

Me an Nigel

Liddel Doc

An Brudder Llewis.

We all wore out affer da big day. We gotted toikey wif our dinners. I got sum wifout dinner, on da sly, so to speek. It were a good day.
Thanksgibbin won ob are favorite hollydays. Luv dat Toikey.

Happy day to ebberbuddy.
Nigel, Llewis,Conley an Doc

THANKSGIVING 2012

                                                                  Conley

                                                             Doc & Llewis

Nigel

 

All wishing everyone a very nice Thanksgiving Day.

                                                           

FAIRLY DULL

Life has been a little slow lately. We had our opening at the Gallery and no one came except the people who have stuff there. I mean, it was ok. We had maybe 4 sales and 20 people who wandered in because they were lost. It ended up being kind of a private party.

Doc got the rest of his shots.
I am going to stay away from training this week until the stuff has a chance to hit his immune system, what with this "new" Parvovirus out there. I don't trust anyone else when it comes to vaccinations. I need to know MY dogs are protected because I am never sure what other people are doing. (Or, more precisely, NOT doing.)

    (This is just something I am throwing in to break up the text.)

I asked my Vet about the new Parvo but she had not heard much: I probably have more info about it than she does.

Doc tore open 3 twenty pound bags of dirt that John had out back and dragged one halfway across the yard. I was going to put pics of it on here but John cleaned it up.

              Beaver-chewed tree along the Mississippi river

                                 IKC-- Bichon Frise aisle

           A career I am delighted my son never even considered.

THURSDAY

Thursday is a pretty quiet day here usually. Neither DH nor I have anything planned ahead of time. Monday is dog training. Tuesday is the Gallery. Wednesday is John's day. Thursday is...not much. Tomorrow, the 16th I have a Gallery opening to attend most of the afternoon and evening. It is our annual holiday sale.
Incidentally we DO have a website--www.salonartistsgallery.com
It is only about 1/4th done.

So anyway I wanted photos of American's next Top Belgian while he was gaiting. I hired DH to do the photography since I couldn't do it and gait the dog.
It is hard to explain to someone who doesn't do it, what you want in a gaiting photo. I need both side movement and down and back. (I forgot about the down and back. So we had to do that later.)

 

 

 

So back and forth we went and then we stopped and stacked. And it wasn't bad. Puppy did pretty well considering he has only had two lessons.

Then I realised I hadn't done the down and back. For this, the photographer had to squat on the sidewalk (see at least I did this before it snowed) and these aren't as nice--Doc was all  over the place and I didn't seem to be able to keep him in a straight line. Something that he will learn. (one hopes).

 

 

Not too bad. Especially for one so young. And then came the final shot, the one showing all his attributes, the one that takes your breath away and shows exactly what a magnificent dog he is going to be:                                   

                                                    (treats are thataway----)

 

 

BELGIAN SHEEPDOGS 101

Several people have asked me about Doc and what he is going to look like.
He is a Belgian Sheepdog or Groenendael (take your pick) and he will be about 50-60 pounds, square (German Shepherds are rectangular) and have a medium-long black coat and a ruff, similar to a collie ruff, but black.
For show, he may have a little white on his chest and a little on his back toes. The "frost" you see on a Belgian's chin is the hallmark of the breed, and they all have it. The tail is carried below the line of the back when in movement, and down when stopped.
The ears are pricked and upright. We hope they stay that way in the ring, altho mine have all had the habit of laying them back against their necks at just the wrong moment.

This is Doc's Mother

 

Ch. Liswyn's Quiche La Neige

 

Because I do not have a photo of Dad, I am going to borrow one of Cooper:

 

 

Cooper did not have as heavy a coat as some males. But generally, this is about the kind of coat Doc will have.

End of Lesson

 

LEARNING TO LEARN

Went to conformation training with Doc last night. Ummhmmm.
I made liver first.
I hate liver.
It stinks up the whole house. I nuke it first untill it is basically cooked then add some garlic powder and put it in a 320 oven for about an hour, hour & a half.
It doesn't look anything like the stuff you buy at the shows but the dogs don't seem to mind at all.

The trainer is a Judge and someone I have known for a long time.He had a dog from my Basset breeder, a wire-haired dachshund named Mikey who did really well. He doesn't judge herding breeds but has been around enough to know when a dog is well put together no matter what the breed. There really are not too many that had strange angles or extra special parts.

Anyway the trainer really liked Doc, liked his personality and thought he has very good structure which of course is what one wants to hear.

Doc did ok for a 4 month old who has no clue what it is I want him to do. By the end of 45 minutes (all he can do even tho the class is 2 hours: I do not think I have ever kept even a grown dog there for the full 2 hours.) he was doing pretty well but sitting a lot. I think he was pretty tired.
 He was very interested in the other dogs, but we were exceptionally cautious (I was ) since some of these were pretty good-sized dogs -- Setters and a portly Bouvier. (Bouvs always look portly to me. But I think this one actually was.) There were some itty bitties there too-- snack size even for Doc. He met a Malamute he liked.

Around we went and stopped and stood and stayed and around and stop and stand and stay. I have no fingertips left, they have been chawed right off.

He was  very dignified.

None of this:

 Or this:

(That's a tracking flag and no I do not know how he got ahold of it.)

and especially not this:

(That's what you get for playing Alligator Mouth with a Basset who needs a dental!!)

PIECES