Kennel Club Good Citizens

 

About a week ago I decided that I was going to do Peggy's Kennel Club Good Citizens Bronze Award. I decided to do this without going to any classes whatsoever - I thought, 'Oh I'll just wing it and see what happens!'

Well of course Peggy passed with flying colours - a testament to the training we do here at home and to the intelligence of the breed.

Then yesterday I decided that since I was at Manchester Championship Show with Elsie where there was an examiner, I may as well give it a bash and try to get her KCGC Bronze as well. 

I must admit that I did have a moment of panic once I was in the ring actually doing the exam - a very busy dog show with lots of loud noises and distractions such as a tannoy system and spectators surrounding the ring cheering us on, made me quite nervous. 

Anyway, I needn't have worried because Elsie passed too!

The Kennel Club Good Citizen Scheme is a great programme and I would definately recommend it. There are 3 levels - Bronze, Silver and Gold. I may well do the others in the near future too. I will probably do some actual training in preparation though 😂

You can read more about the Scheme HERE

Looking Forward

2022 wasn't the best year for me.

It began with the loss of my best friend Adelle, to suicide. Navigating my grief has been very difficult. Suicide leaves a lot of unanswered questions and the next of kin duties, such as clearing Adelle's flat and seeing where she died and then organising her funeral were incredibly distressing and something that will stay with me forever.

With the inquest still not heard and a family statement that I so strongly feel that I need to deliver to the Coroner in person, her loss is still very profound and I feel it every day. It will soon be a year since she left us, and I don't quite know where that time has gone.

Having had the litter of pups with Peggy just 7 weeks before Adelle died and being so in grief that I struggled to speak to anyone about puppies, I somehow found myself keeping two - Nancy and Elsie.

Two was never the plan, however they were an absolute blessing and throwing myself into their training really helped me to get through what has been the darkest time of my life.

This last year I have focused very much on campaigning the pups at shows and both girls have qualified for Crufts several times over. We have also had numerous Best Puppy in Breed placings and even some Puppy Group placings too.

And of course, we have been on lots of wonderful walks, met up with our friends and completed several trick dog titles too!

Because I have been so busy with the pups, Peggy has done only couple of shows this year, but regardless of this she has placed well - again getting a couple of Best of Breed and Reserve Best of Breed Placings. I am likely going to retire her from showing after Crufts this year and focus more on obedience, which she enjoys.

Once Peggy is retired, I will be continuing to show with Elsie.

Nancy is now clipped off - keeping 3 dogs in full show coat as well as working full time is just too much work for a single person to manage! 

The other two doggos - Stanley and Edna are just great.

Edna has some more modelling jobs booked soon so watch this space!

Looking forward to 2023, I may well have another silver litter - we shall see.

I am also probably going to have to pull back from showing a little - my job has changed slightly and the hours are different now, so I won't be showing every single weekend. But that's ok! I can continue to renovate the house during the weekdays I have off and spend some more time focusing on that.

Here's hoping that 2023 is a more positive one than last year.

Modelling



A few weeks ago the dogs and I were asked to model for some budding photographers at a training day held by Nicky Woods Photography.

I still don't have the words to sum the day up! It was just perfect. 

I took all 5 of the dogs along and despite having two rowdy youngsters who had zero modelling experience, they all worked incredibly hard for me.

The sun was out, despite the forecast and it was a real pleasure spending time with other dog crazy people!

We all had a picnic lunch, plenty of tea breaks and chance to chat. It was fascinating watching some of the dogs acting in their working capacity whilst being photographed too.

I don't have all of the images back yet, so may need to update this post again in future but here are some of my favourites.

Lovaton Horse and Dog Show

 

It was a real privilege to be asked to judge the dog show at Lovaton this year.

I have supported Lovaton Show on many occasions over the years, both with the horses and the dogs.

I love the ethos of the show and the atmosphere that Trish; the event manager and her team tries so hard to create - a relaxed fun show in a supportive family environment. 

That was most certainly the case this year. 

My excellent stewards and I saw a lovely array of dogs; from dashing dobermans, to sensational spaniels and everything in between. It was a joy to judge them all. They were all impeccably behaved and a real credit to their owners.

The children's handling class was particularly fantastic and all of the children showed such sportsmanship. It was lovely hearing them encouraging each other whilst they each waited their turn - everything the show is about!

It is no secret that the sausage munching class was the one I had looked forward to the most, and it did not disapoint! I had expected chaos, but again the dogs behaved impeccably and we had so much fun.

Judging the Best in Show was incredibly difficult. We found it so so tough choosing our favourites. 

But in the end there could only be one winner - Bruce the American Bully, who was just 15 weeks old and had never entered a show before. I am the first to admit that these dogs aren't usually my 'type' but he took everything in his stride today and was such a calm gentle little guy. I am sure he has the brightest of futures ahead of him.

Reserve was Masie our lovely lab. Another gentle, kind soul who was handled amazingly well in the children's class and was very much 'with' her young handler.

I'd like to thank everyone who entered the show today for coming along. You all made it what it was. And it really was a superb day!

I'd also like to thank my fantastic stewards - Adam and Jade. They both worked really hard and to have such brilliant photographs of the day is the icing on the cake.

We look forward to supporting the show again in future. Thank you to the Lovaton team for having us! 

Perfect Pasha at Premier Groom

Just wanted to share a proud breeder moment! 

Yesterday, young Pasha competed in his first ever grooming competition at just 8 months old!

Premier Groom is a huge competition,  held at the Kennel Club Building in Stoneleigh.

The aim of the competition is for exhibiting groomers to show transformation and skill in their grooms, so dogs attend freshly washed but haven't been trimmed for quite some time.

Exhibiting groomers are judged on their use of tools as well as the quality of the groom and the competition is timed. There are different categories of entrants, dependant on their level of experience - beginner, intermediate etc as well as breed specific classes for poodles, setters/spaniels, dogs that require hand stripping.

Pasha was groomed into the German trim, which is not an easy style to trim at all. Especially for a puppy who has not yet got an adult coat texture. Unfortunately there was no placement for Pasha on this occasion but I believe that as he matures in both body and coat this style will just get better and better.

I am incredibly proud of Pasha for competing at this event and at such a young age too! It really is testament to his wonderful temprament. I am looking forward to following his journey as a grooming competition dog.

Good boy Pasha!