Gray Summit Show

We just got back from a GREAT 3-day weekend showing in Gray Summit. It was our maiden voyage for the moho, and she made the 5 hour trip with ease. We had a bit of a rough start as the pups were very surprised by the rattling when we first took off. All 3 tried to climb over/under the front seats. I ended up with Lemon at my feet on the floor board, Jackson in my lap, and Hilga trying to climb over the back of my seat. Jackson finally figured out that he could sit on the bed in the back and look out the window (one of his favorite things to do, what a smart boy), and luckily Hilga and Lemon caught on to that concept for the trip home. Because Chris had class Thursday night, we didn't get to Purina Farms until 4:00 am Friday morning. We got in a few hours of sleep before we set up for the weekend.

Friday:

We decided not to show Lemon. She was a little grouchy after not getting much sleep, didn't want to come out of her crate to get groomed... And we figure 3 days is a lot showing for a puppy. Since we want to keep it fun for her, we let her rest on Friday. It was actually really peaceful only showing one dog. Doing the hand-off between Jack and Lemon gets me a little flustered, because Chris has to bring the dogs over, I have to get new treats, switch my armband, etc... all in time to get back in the ring with the right dog. So, it was relaxing to only have Jack. Well... it would have been relaxing, but he was girl-crazy this weekend. 3 of the Berner girls were in season, so he was very anxious, very determined, and VERY interested in what the girls were doing. It made showing him a challenge, but he still did great! I feel like we reached the next level of handling this weekend, where we aren't totally lost on what we're supposed to be doing anymore!! On Friday Jackson took Best of Breed, which was a big accomplishment as there was some good competition this weekend. The judge was very excited about him, which we appreciated, since we think he is great too!! After group the judge came up again and told us what a wonderfully sound Berner he is (of course, the judge didn't think he was great enough to put him up in group, but we appreciated the compliment anyway!!!). I'm sure part of the problem in group was the soundness of the handler!!! Although... Chris was kind enough to tell me that while we weren't perfect, neither Jackson nor I stuck out like a sore thumb in group. Chris was able to take some pictures which I will post tomorrow!

Almost forgot, we did have one funny incident in group. The Saint Bernard in front of Jackson was peeing on everything, so Jack wanted to follow him and remark the spots as his own. Well, I was really watching him since they really aren't supposed to pee in the ring. He was DETERMINED that he was going to pee on a pole and was pulling me over. I grabbed him around the stomach to pull him away, accidentally applying pressure to the kidney area, and he let out this big yelp (probably out of frustration more than anything that he wasn't getting to pee where he wanted) like I had kicked him in the gut or something. The people watching looked at me in horror for "abusing" my dog in the ring, or maybe because he was so out of control trying to pee on everything... anyways, they were horrified. The good news is I'm at the point in the ring where we're having fun, and I don't really care what the random watchers think!! If only they saw him today when he tried to mark our umbrella while we were standing watching the newfie's show. Unfortunately the umbrella was leaning up against my leg... After that I thought he probably deserves a good punch to the kidney every now and then (not that I ever would!!!). Like I said, with all the girls in season (we'll blame it on them), he was a little out of control this weekend with his macho manliness. Even more out of control than usual.

Saturday:

On Saturday Jackson took Winners Dog, and Lemon took Reserves. Lemon didn't get a point, but it was a nice acknowledgement from the judge, and we were glad to see some interest in Lemon. She was very cute this weekend once she got groomed up. She will definitely benefit from some handling classes, but I'm very excited to show her in Lawrence. The most fun part of Saturday was seeing all the Berners that came out!!! Not only did was have 9 Berners in the show, Jackson's brother, Chief, our old foster Hannah along with her Berner friend Penny, and Lemon's 1/2 brother Ozzy all came out to watch and BBQ afterwards. It was GREAT to get to spend some time getting to know people I'd only emailed with prior to this weekend and meet dogs that I've heard so much about!!! I was going to take a lot of pictures at the BBQ and completely forgot!!!

Sunday:

Jackson took Best of Breed again, and Lemon took Reserves again. The judge showed a lot of interest in Lemon and we may have been close to getting her first point, but she was a wiggly puppy and did not show very well. Again, she'll benefit from conformation classes!!

So, that is a pretty good sum-up of our weekend. We LOVED having the motor home. Made the show a million times more fun and less stressful. Can't wait for the Lawrence show on October 10th and 11th. I'll post some pictures tomorrow.