The Ark

Thanks Ash. I was very proud of our little boy. He tried so hard, and behaved so well for a bubba. Here's a pic of him.

Congratulations, GoldenWei!!! I'm glad to hear you had a lovely first show with Willow! Dotty, there was one other red merle baby bitch there today and she's in again tomorrow. My dogs have been trapped inside tonight so they don't get dirty. They are exhausted too - as am I! I am off to bed now, about 2 hours earlier than normal. Not sure what is so tiring about sitting around all day patting lovely puppies and talking.... I will attempt to be there in time for Dragon's class tomorrow.

Yes, congratulations to the cutest little baby in the toy ring! Dragon behaved very well for his first show - no ribbons, but he went around like a pro. I was very proud of him and his waggy tail! I really realised today how much help I need in the handling department - I already knew that, but after seeing some photos that Greg took it has been reinforced. I think I need to make a real effort to get to training. We had fun though!!

I couldn't do this as I had a nightmare about 20 years ago in which my (then alive) dog had died and been stuffed, and when I walked past him (the stuffed him) in the lounge room he yelped. Have been haunted by that for years. His ashes are now on our shelf here instead.

I love Cesar, and think he offers a lot of great messages. Read the disclaimer, watch the time lapses, use a bit of commonsense and it is obvious that his methods are not supposed to be taken and used "without professional help". I think it is made very clear, and maybe I'm not a big enough skeptic as I don't believe he has done this only to cover his butt. Anyone who can't apply a bit of commonsense when watching/reading about ANY training methods really should consider whether they should own a dog at all. By the way, the clip was fantastic!!!

I was thinking about Toby earlier, and then forgot to post a HAPPY BIRTHDAY message!!! Happy 1st birthday, lovely boy!!! :rofl: :D

That's about what we have too. I also got a number holder, and some shampoo, plus I bought a brush yesterday, not that she has much hair at the moment, just need to get her used to it. We went to show training last night, first time for Willow. I feel so much better now, she was such a good girl, after the initial where are we and 2 little barks at the other dogs, she was very good and calm. So proud of her. She walked really well around the makeshift ring, and by the end of it was standing longer and not trying to sit down all the time. I wasn't tooo worried about that though. We met a couple of lovely people too.... another baby pointer Aspyre, and they will also be competing at Castle Hill. I can't remember if she said they were doing sweepies or not though. We also met the son of a wei breeder who breeds long hairs and Willow met a BIG german shepherd. She was very good, nice and calm. Happy to hear it went well. Show training is great for socialising puppies, but also for reducing owner nerves!

Good luck with that first show, Goldenwei. You'll be fine - and wonder what you were worried about when it's over! Yes please to the tarp, Bec! I'll probably come in sometime Fri afternoon to put the gazebo up as we are in EARLY on Saturday with the "A" pup! Why couldn't they have been called Italian Shepherds or Spanish Shepherds (I think that's closer to their origins than Australian Shepherd!)??? Greg is coming to watch Dragon's first show, and hopefully the kids may visit their Nan! I'm getting stressed already - usually I only have a min pin to wipe over, but for this show I have an Aussie pup and a Maremma pup (who is WHITE ALL OVER).

My dealings with the person in charge of puppy packs were unpleasant so we have switched to Eagle Pack as a matter of principle. I didn't have any problems with the quality of the Advance food, as our dogs did well on it for 4 years, however the Puppy Pack issue was enough to make sure we spend our few thousand dollars each year with a different company. I didn't want to let our local stockist down by not supporting them anymore (as we buy quite a lot of dog food each week), but luckily they can also order in Eagle Pack so we are all happy at this end now.

Yay, found both Leo and Clouseau (although I couldn't remember Leo's prefix either so I had to look for your name Jess!

Yes, I was going to say good friends too! When did you get a floor mat, Bec?? A trolley is a good investment (depending on your breed) because you can always load it up with everything else you need to take to your site (including your gazebo, walls, chairs) and then put the dog on top or lead the dog! When you get everything else out, doggie goes inside while you set up!

Yay about the car, Jess. We all knew Leo was everything he should be - he is an excellent giant pug (sorry, I meant bullmastiff :D). You do a great job with him, Jess and we are all very proud of both of you! I'll have to check out these profiles!! Chester is on the mend, just not show-ring ready yet!

Aw thanks for the offer ...And, I would take you up on it, but with the squishyness in the toy ring at HB I always get nervous visiting you guys cause last time we went up there we got 'yelled' at for making someones dogs pipe up ;) Anyone whose dog can't handle seeing a dog that is a bit different needs to get out and socialise it more! Unfortunately toys seem to react badly to bigger dogs. It's not about socialization, it's more about their Napoleon Syndromes going into overdrive at the sight of a big dog The best examples of this are Chihuahuas. They don't seem to realise that they're breakfast and it seems the bigger the dog, the more noise they make!!! My min pins happily share space with Maremmas, greyhounds and Aussies because they have to. Not to say they won't ever bark at other people's dogs (big and small) when crated, because they will - but that's because one in particular (not Chester) is a dominant and territorial bugger, not because they are small. I also expect to be able to walk my min pin around any of the other ring areas without him being barked at because he's small. I am more than happy to have big dogs visit my gazebo! In fact, it's looking like Chester won't be able to show this month at all so I'll be set up in the toy ring with only a Maremma and an Aussie. :D

Aw thanks for the offer :D ...And, I would take you up on it, but with the squishyness in the toy ring at HB I always get nervous visiting you guys cause last time we went up there we got 'yelled' at for making someones dogs pipe up Anyone whose dog can't handle seeing a dog that is a bit different needs to get out and socialise it more!

:D At least you can look back and laugh! Sounds like you enjoyed yourself despite all of the above. I almost missed sweepies at my very first show, and also had someone take over from me at one show due to my appalling performance.

Yay - have a great time!!! I don't wear a jacket - just a neat top and pants with flat shoes, usually the same top and pants each time......I find it so much easier to shop for the dogs than to shop for myself these days! :p Some people wear joggers with suits/skirts if they have to run REALLY fast. Can't wait to hear your reports back from your first ever show.

what happened Bec??! Gee me and Leo miss socialising with you guys ;) !! We're hanging out till the next show! ...Speaking of, better get those entries away... I got the quote for that womans car, $2200 what a waste! ...no new gazebo for me for a while!! Oh no, Jess!!!! Sorry to hear that. You are welcome to share ours anytime. Hello RubyStar ;) ...... I've been very slack. I'll try to put some up tonight. I don't have any stacked photos - should have got some last night but I didn't think of that!! Deb

Thanks everyone for the expert judging/training offered last night! We had great fun!! Toby probably went to sleep dreaming of long, slender white legs last night.... Thanks for the comments on Dragon. I think I will enjoy playing with him! See you in the working dog ring, Dotty! Hopefully they won't just want to play with each other in the ring though.

Can I pop in here and ask what the approximate cost is per pup to have them DNA profiled? Thank you.

I think we might make it tomorrow night, weather permitting. Greg is off work this week so can help out with the kids. It will be me and Mr Dragon! That means he'll probably have to spend the day with me at work though - oh well! See you there if it's dry-ish!!

Oh no, Jess!!!! Hopefully I'll actuallly get to watch Leo go around tomorrow as I don't have to get myself ready for anything.

I am really looking forward to tomorrow, even though I have nothing to show!! Bec & Ash & Jess - is it okay if I bum a square metre from someone to hang out for the show? I promise I'll bring my own chair, and pay in puppy cuddles! Greg is going to bring Tally for a look for a while too, so we can pay with 2 puppy cuddles!! See you there! Deb

I'll second the OKS Engineering recommendation - great trolleys, easy to fold up and lift, very strong. They are made very quickly - everything is good! Deb ;)

I used to live in Gunnedah and no-one had anything but the utmost respect for the park owners. Look out RSPCA....

Hi everyone, No dog washing for me! Thanks for the offer of a tarp Sammy, but yeah I just think I'll pull up a chair with you guys if that is okay. It will be really good to catch up! I look forward to seeing your gross monster again Jess! Good luck with the washing AshleyB - are you only taking one boy? To Maitland? I think I'll be sidelined for Medowie as well, but I may well have a cute fluffball to play with and introduce to everyone! Here's hoping for great weather for everybody showing this weekend - wherever you are! Good luck for Lola, LOTG! Deb ;)