Northern New England Specialty Show

It was a great weekend in Fitchburg. It was a little crazy showing all 3 dogs but they were roughly spread out so it wasn't too bad. Certainly easier than showing 2 class bitches! I had some wonderful help in the form of a friend who has a Spinone Italiano she shows, named Spencer. She took pictures Saturday and helped hold Isabella while I was in the ring with Hero. I can't thank her enough for the help!

Firstly my main objective with Oliver was reached, and then some! Not only did he have a lot of fun in the ring, he even remembered how to move and gave me a couple of nice puppy free-stacks! I see so many dogs, especially young dogs be overwhelmed at their first few shows. Hero used to be one. But not Oliver, he enjoyed himself immensely! On Saturday he gave me the cutest play bow as we stopped running around the ring while the other puppy was being judged. He wanted to play! He was nearly half the size of the older puppy but then again, he's a peanut who will likely never get much more than 19-19.5" at the shoulder. Which in my opinion is a nice size, if slightly on the small side for a male. Much better than riding on that almost-oversized line. At least there will be no worry of that! I was very pleased with him and had a few people tell me how much they like him. I think I'll keep him! Saturday his puppy fuzz of a coat was stripped off under Linda and Kristyn's guidance (who knew there was something UNDER all of it?), and what a handsome dude with a very nice shade of orange!

Hero, oh Hero... the poor girl was not happy with me at all Saturday. You see, Isabella ate her quail wing, and then the pheasant wing I was drying as a backup! Hero loses her mind with food bait (typically I don't bait in the ring, but outside it only), so I didn't bring any in the ring with me Saturday. So Hero, was not her usual self in the ring, and I could even feel her movement was way off than what I am used to from her. Sunday we were saved by friend and mentor Linda McCartney-Roy. She had a quail wing and wow what a difference in makes in Hero. When we were first starting Hero would not stand still. No amount of "stay" commands helped. Around the same time I taught her "whoa" (essentially the same thing as stay but used to keep a dog from breaking a point) which she did quite well. Frustrated one evening practicing with her I said "whoa" instead of "stay" and she stiffened right up and did not budge. So now in the ring I bring a quail wing with me, place in in front of her and tell her to "whoa", which she does and looks great doing it. Also I toss it near the judge on our up and back and she gives me a very nice free-stack/point. Hero typically does not lift a leg so this works! It may not work for those that do though!

Isabella, my practice dog. I think I did alright with her Saturday but Kristyn was directly in front of us and Izzy only had eyes for her (noooo Izzy, I'm the one with your lead today!) We did have a nice surprise and walked away with our first Award of Merit! Sunday I caved and brought food in to get Izzy's attention back on me (or at least what I had in my
fingers.) She wasn't the absolute best I have ever seen her, but I think I did my absolute best ever with her! And that, is why I entered her. At one point she and another bitch were pulled out for consideration away from the other specials, the older much more mature liver bitch took the honors as Best of Breed but it was really nice to have my little 20 month old considered in such company! The bottom line is I really think I improved this weekend, and finally felt a glimmer of confidence.


BISS CH Triumphant's Savior Machine
In other brags, my friend Stephanie's dog and Linda's new Special, Bowie, took home his first Best in Specialty Show! He looked fantastic and in my opinion it was a no-brainer. His father is BIS/BISS CH Triumphant's Absolute JH, who is also Izzy's grandfather. So Congrats Uncle Bowie! I hope to see many more wins out of such a handsome example of the breed. But maybe someday I'll get to kick his butt just once... hehe!
We also saw quite a few new Champions this weekend, including TJ owned by Dennis Dugay and brother to our friend Pam's Gibson (a Champion and movie star in his own right!) Isabella's litter-mate and sister, Monique went on to win her first points, making a splash Sunday taking a 4 point major. She is every bit as beautiful as her sister, and I'm willing to bet under the handling of Linda she'll have finished in no time. Monique had a late start due to Joan not being able to show this past year, but I expect her to be caught up in a blink of an eye. We also saw our friends do a great job in the ring with their awesome dogs, and every bit as deserving.



Other highlights included seeing some great friends, getting to play with Izzy and Monique's parents Morgan and Zoe. Izzy is a dead ringer for her father in sooo many ways, just as Monique is nearly Zoe's clone. Our friend Sara and her dog Spencer took their first 4 point major, yay! Also a surprise 21st birthday "party" on Sunday for Kristyn topped a wonderful weekend.