Breed dawgs - before and after

As our friend Mel likes to put it, the breed dawgs got together last Saturday for some practice in preparation for a match the following day.  We spent an hour working on stacking, moving the dogs and just having them touched and manipulated by the "judge".  Since Howard was the only man there so he was given the job of being judge at one point while we switched dogs and handlers.  Afterwards we took the dogs on a hike around the grounds and they had fun playing with a glove, running amok and slopping through the mud puddles.  The Weims are wash and wear, the Samoyed not.

Ravi with dirty feet and mud speckles (look closely, you will see them)

 Swing and Hank playing with a glove that Swing found along the way

 To the victor the spoils!

On Sunday we all headed up to Lycoming Mall (outside of Muncy, PA) for a breed match hosted by the Bald Eagle Kennel Club.  It is held in the middle of the mall and it is about as close as you can come to being at a real show.  The rings are not very big (like many indoor shows), there are people with strollers, kids of all sizes, dogs blocking ring entrances, etc. so it is a great place to take a young dog for the exposure.  They even gate off an area for grooming and the mall allowed the club to use an area for crating that use to be a bank.  All but one of us entered our pups in Sweepstakes before showing them in the regular classes.  Howard and Hank (Beau) did a very nice job for their first crack at this breed stuff.  Howard remained calm when Hank's show lead came unsnapped, and the judge spent a good deal of time helping both of them put on a good showing.  Here is their individual performance...

Swing had settled down by the time we got to the regular class and I was very proud of how she held her stack while she was examined.  I would like to see her not on the collar so much when we are moving, but for now it is fine.  She's still a bit easty-westy so her front looks pretty miserable in a free stack and she's also quite leggy/lanky.  I hope she is done growing upwards as she is closing in on 24 1/2" tall.  Here is her regular class video...

Next up is a match at the end of the month in MD where brother Milo will be joining us (right Art?).  We'll do the breed stuff but I also plan to do obedience with Dodge and I think Art is planning on the same.  We are looking forward to seeing Milo again and catching up on what he has been doing since we last saw him.