NikkiandKane

My bad, the show ran very late and we didn’t get home until 11:30pm. he did very well, I was very proud of him. He is such a sweet boy and loves everyone and every dog. we did have a challenge with him trying to eat dropped treats in the ring, so next time we need to up the value of the treats I offer but he was Best Baby puppy of breed and in my opinion narrowly missed Baby puppy of group. He’s a funny gangly dog still, being that he’s a baby and Amstaffs don’t seem to grow gracefully like some other breeds, he was super tired by the time group came up but he behaved so very well. All great practice for him and for me!

He’s been very healthy since the aloe Vera incident. He’s definitely a more naughty puppy than he was at the last show, so I expect some mischief!

Little Chase is all prettied up for this afternoons show! He is still wet in today’s photo, so you can see his pigment through his wet white fur a lot. He still has a “butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth” look about him. It’s all a ploy

She is a good big sister, she actually mothers him a bit, she also tells him off when he is naughty!

At last weigh in, he was only 15kgs, so he has quite a lot of growing to do! Scout is on the small side for an Amstaff, we love her, in our eyes she is beautiful but as far as the breed standard goes she is very fine boned and only weighs 22kgs, she is quite lean though. I think Chase will at least double his weight yet!

I have a puppy contract in Australia

@tdierikx at your request here is a photo of both Chase and Scout together

I don’t know if it’s just me because I am in love with him, but this photo just melts my heart

This is Frank

That’s Dexter, my daughters dog, sometimes the pile has one more dog, Frank a little black fluffy who belongs to my other daughter.

Here’s a dog pile including Scout. Ignore the smudged dirty glass.

It’s really reached its expiry date, I think one more week and I won’t be able to manage it. Here’s some of the out takes from today’s shot

That’s lovely thank you. I try to do the absolute best for my dogs. In the past I may have been guilty of taking a conservative “wait and see” approach to illnesses, but now I am whipping off to the vet at the slightest sign of illness, I feel a bit silly sometimes but at least I can sleep at night most of the time!

This is getting very hard to photograph, he’s just too big now!!! I’m going to have to start a new method

Hopefully funny antics that don’t cause me so much distress! yes, I believe Kane had Pica, he had an obsessive need to eat things which were not food. Chase has a need to chew but that’s just normal puppy stuff and I thought we had provided a safe environment, I am amazed at the things that can poison a dog! he feels so good today that I had to take him for a walk in the middle of State or Origin to stop him bouncing off the walls, so I feel very fortunate. I’ll update on Friday with his weekly photo, 17 weeks this week!!

That’s for sure! 2020 has cost me a lot in hair dyes! He really seems fine today. I honestly had a mini breakdown in the vet carpark when I had to leave him there, I felt like it was all happening again and O don’t think my heart is strong enough to go through that pain and loss again, so I couldn’t be more grateful that he is ok

Thanks, I expected a rough night with some more toilet trips. He is eating the vet prescription gastrointestinal wet food but he slept soundly through the night. I can hear him quietly snoring now and I am about to start the day. he’s is having 2 types of antibiotic because the vet still believes there may be some bacterial factor to his on and off Illness and she detected a small amount of blood in his urine yesterday. Poor little guy. puppies are scary, exhausting, wonderful little creatures!!

The only way I can start this post is by saying Oh My God! Chase ended up hospitalised on fluids today and we think after looking back it was caused by his chewing on aloe Vera. I saw him chewing a piece yesterday and didn’t give it a thought since humans use it medicinally. Overnight he was very restless, crying in his crate, which is unusual for him and I woke up to his vomiting in the early hours. he didn’t want to eat or drink in the morning and after an initial normal stool he started passing nothing but bloody mucous and then started vomiting again. We got to the vet right away. I was a mess as I’m sure you can imagine. The vet reassured me that it wasn’t likely an obstruction but suggested we admit him for treatment. It wasn’t until I came home and the vet called to update me that he was much brighter after fluids that I recalled the aloe vera. I googled it and discovered it is toxic to dogs!! Seriously. What isn’t? anyhow, thank god for pet insurance! He is home and seems bright and well and wants to eat all of the food, he is on a bland diet and I’m limiting it initially. We opted to still send his stool for analysis, in case it isn’t the aloe. His bloods were perfect which is reassuring because apparently aloe can cause renal failure!! it’s always eventful in our house

Yes, it was a shame. One of my competitors commented that she doesn’t show her dogs until they are 7 months old for that reason but thankfully Chase is very easy going and although he was slightly taken aback he didn’t seem too bothered. I was annoyed because there was no need for it but I am super proud of my little boy and feel very lucky to have a baby with such an amenable temperament.

I just asked the judge who ignored me, so I asked again and he responded “if you want” then he told me that I didn’t need to put him on the table. Oh well, the judge was about 100 years old and clearly didn’t want to stand there in the rain. Don’t blame him I suppose!

I’m so sorry!!! I should’ve come and updated. The heavens opened and it was terrible weather, it rained so hard on our way to the show that we could barely see to drive. I was fortunate that the other Amstaff people were very nice and helpful because the judge and steward were not helpful at all. The judge was a crusty old grump who didn’t allow me even a moment to stack Chase he came straight in for a very invasive examination, forcefully grabbing Chase and manipulating his joints and then going straight for his mouth to check his bite, he then told me “you’re supposed to show me his bite but I’ve already done it’ which was annoying because Chase has been so good at showing his mouth for me and he didn’t want to show the judge. he gaited quite well, I was very proud of that and then that was it. we waited 2 hours for group and during that time Chase slept in his crate in the back of our open Ute and stayed dry. I woke him about 10 minutes before group and he was acting crazy!!! by the time we went on he had settled and he stood very nicely for him, barely moved his feet but we didn’t win, a bull terrier pup won and he looked fabulous so deserved it. Chase enjoyed himself, even wagging his tail when the judge was rough with him. He has such a sweet happy temperament and it was a nice introduction to showing but would’ve been much nicer without the mud and rain. we registered today for the next show on the 28th November. So it was a success I guess

I’m super excited. I know Chase will somehow act up but he’s just 15 weeks so who cares. I just hope he has fun!

Oh gosh, where do I find the paw prints ? we had to register attendees, my husband and young daughter are registered to attend with me but I didn’t register my older daughter and she really wants to come but I think we missed the boat

Yes it is the dogs QLD show. I’ll be watching those Airedale’s and waiting for our turn. Yes I have downloaded it. Chase is the only baby puppy in his breed!

My puppy is entered in his first show tomorrow. I’m super nervous and expect it to be embarrassing haha. he is 15 weeks old today. The show doesn’t start until 5pm, so any last minute pointers??? I can use all the help you can offer.. I’ve never done this before