Properly trained, a man can be a dog's best friend

Credit to Corey Ford for today's title.

Dog training....so much irony in that name. Clearly I'm the one being trained - only no one give me any treats.

The A$$ Crack of Dawn

Just registered for a show that's 3+ hours away from home. One day only. What are the odds that I'll have an 8am ring time requiring me to hit the road at - say - 3am to ensure a timely arrival?

The Cost Of Being Best In Show

NPR On Point featured the World Of Dog Shows last week in honor of Westminster.

Another interesting article on The Cost Of Being Best In Show was also published last week. I should probably start tallying up my expenses at some point - but hey, ignorance is bliss (especially to my husband!).

$8.57 a Minute

Life during show weeks is hectic, at best. The dog that's going has to be bathed - in my tub -carried down 2 flights of stairs to the basement for drying and grooming, and then I have to clean up the trail of water and dog fur that I leave while trekking a sopping wet corgi around the house. Mind you, this is all done late into the night, because I work during the day and have two-legged beings to tend to when I arrive home.

Then there is trying to prevent the boys from playing so that my grooming efforts are not undone by slobber.

Show day usually starts before the sun is up on Sat morning. Prep whatever the husband needs to manage the kids for the day, pack the car, groom myself and hit the road....and drink plenty of coffee to prevent grumpiness.

Arrive, primp, get three and a half minutes in the ring - at $30 an entry, that's $8.57 a minute (plus gas, food, etc.) to show a class dog.

What People Think I Do

One picture is worth a thousand words...

Show Dog: The Charmed Life and Trying Times of a Near-Perfect Purebred

Started reading this in the wee hours after my son woke up with a stomach ache.

I'm still in the Preface, but already love the book.

Highly recommend. Read more about.

Bucket List

I've cancelled my evening plans next week to watch the WKC show. How cool it would be to handle a dog there some day. That one will go on my bucket list.

Living Vicariously Through Others

I took Carter to a make-up class training class tonight, which ended up being Novice Obedience.

There was a beautiful and HUGE Newfie bitch in there. After convincing Carter that it was a canine and not a bear, I was talking with the owner who said the Newfie finished her grand championship this past weekend. To which I replied,

“Are you going to The Garden?” (which means Westminster, next week)

and she says....

“No, because I can’t top last year. She (the Newfie) won best of opposite there.”

At that point shows me this incredibly huge gold medallion that’s hanging around her (the owner's) neck that says Westminster Kennel Club – and so forth.

I just looked at her and said,

“Can I touch it?”

So I basically felt up some lady’s Westminster necklace in dog training class tonight.

Hartford

Counts are up for the 2/18 show in Hartford:

~ 22 Pembroke Welsh Corgis 9-9(3-1)0 ~

3 point major in dogs.

Pockets!

Thank you, Target, for your $25 skirts with pockets. Perfect for bait.

101 Things To Do With Corgi Fur

The newest member of the toy group...we call him "Harry"