Our morning started with Stella as the only Chihuahua entry. For her first time in the show ring I will have to say we need to work on her been around strangers. She walked “away” for the judge but I had some difficulty getting her to approach. We also have some table work to do. Confidence is something we must definitely build. When we went back in for the toy group she actually walked around the rain with her tail up! Balked on the table bit the judge was beyond patient and awesome. She clearly saw our special girl for who she is and gave her second place. So Proud!

Alexis had two dogs entered today. Priya in the herding group and Breezy in the hounds group. The herding group went first and do none of our surprise, she and Priya were fabulous out there! She then took Breezy in. We have worked so hard getting her comfortable with us, Our home, and our pack of Chihuahuas, that we needed today to see where we needed to go with her show experience. She is much more confidence than she was but she still has a ways to go. She was very happy to do what Alexis asked, but not without reservations. Confidence and table work seem to be in both of our futures.

Priya took first in the herding Group, proving yet again her movement is beautiful and her team work with Alexis is stunning. This teamwork was very evident when they participated in Junior showmanship in the match as well. They earned a first place in class and second in juniors.

After we finished all of the confirmation competition, we moved on over to the Fast Cat luring course. Oh my word is that cool! With Breezy being a site hound we thought perhaps this might be something right up her alley. After watching several others run the course we gave breezy a try. Alexis stood with her at the starting line with me at the finish. Needless to say that didn’t work well. You need to have the person the dog really wants to be at the finish. Alexis is her person! We waited until the very end and gave it another go. With Alexis leading her down the course Breezy did it! We are very proud! Alexis has decided she wants to work with Breezy and get her going with luring. They’re doing Fast Cat in Ocala. Can’t wait to see how these two progress!

Georgie was a complete pistol in the ring! I don’t know if it was because Alexis was on the lead instead of me or if it was because we were outside (He hasn’t shown on grass since his very first show back in January) but he was not going to have no matter what. It’s all good – More practice for outdoor shows and funds go to the club so it’s still a win in my book!

It was about 10 minutes before the start time that I realized that we are single breed entries and all in the Toy Group. Looks like we were going to need an extra set of hands for groups. Emily’s daughter Lorna had taken a liking to both Georgie and KC, more so sweet KC who loved being cuddled in her arms over everything else. I asked her if she would like to show KC for Groups but after a few minutes of practicing, I thought letting them go in for breed too might be good for both of them.

I am here to tell you that for Lorna’s very first time showing, she’s a natural! She did such a fantastic job and KC did pretty darn good too! Her tail was up even with a somewhat stranger on the other end of the lead.

Georgie had a change up too! Instead of me taking him in, Alexis did! I was very curious to see how he would show for someone else and I was pleasantly surprised at how he remained upbeat and feisty.

Her and Boomer were their totally in-sync selves, earning 1st in the Toy Group over KC and Georgie! Lorna handed KC  again and I took in Georgie. Interestingly enough, Georgie was a complete pistol for me. Alexis and Boomer ROCKED It!

It was when I had to bring Georgie back in for the Best Puppy that his feistiness kicked into gear. He strutted around that ring like he owned it though, so much so that to my excitement and surprise, he won Best Puppy in Match!

While Boomer and Alexis were flawless, I was so excited to see Kristie and Pryia win Best Adult in Match – She has comes such a long way on her handling and the win was much deserved!

We also brought Ty, Milly and Sweetie for their first outside socialization adventure and they too did a fabulous job! held and passed around by many, they were real troopers and took in all of the fun like they had been to show events their entire lives!

So who participated in the actual event? Well I intended on entering Tipsy but to help increase the numbers for the club, I entered Smoochie at the last minute. She was brought along initially just for the socialization but into the ring she went. She walked initially but then slammed on the breaks when they approached the table. Last year she was the belle of the ball – this year not so much.  This poor girl has been through so much – Some things we may never know exactly – So to see her fear strangers in such a strong way, I now know we will not put her through such events ever again. Poor baby! And thank you Darius for your amazing patience and professionalism!

Tipsy on the other hand took her first show event on with more confidence than I imaged she could. She started off rough but ended with somewhat of  a walk around the ring and was PERECT on the table! Our working with her has paid off for sure! 15 minutes a day on the lead and she’s not a statue on the lead!!

I also got a bit of ring time, helping Sandy in the ring for the Open Bitches class. Wow! It’s been way too long since I have been in the ring. I actually had to stop and think about which hand I was holding the lead in. I did realize that I do miss the ring! Maybe I should “take the lead” on the training Tipsy and make her my project for the year!