Vallhunds in Vermillion

Say that 10 times fast!

Just some snapshots from my cell phone camera during the weekend in Vermillion, South Dakota.

Darby certainly didn't act like this was just her second dog show outing! She looked like an old pro waiting her turn outside the ring, sitting on her cool mat like a good girl.

Saturday was pretty warm under the tent. We were ringside early because we wanted to see Mitcham strut his stuff, and we had to wait quite a while in the afternoon heat. You know it was hot and Hawk was tired, because he never lays down at a dog show! Silly Vallhunds, it was hot under the tent, but both dogs had to be laying on me or against me.

When it was time for Darby to show, Hawk had to wait outside the ring. Anyone who knows Hawk knows he is VERY vocal when he thinks he's missing out on something. The only way to keep him quiet is to pick him up, because he's humiliated that someone is holding him. We enlisted Garrett to hold Hawk on Saturday, and it's easy to see that Hawk is NOT amused with the whole thing!

Baby Frankie, All Growed Up

ahh, baby Frankie, how he's grown. I can't believe he's almost a year old. It seems like just yesterday that he was a baby, and Syd was busy keeping him out of HER pool. We are so pleased about how Frankie is turning out. He's such a handsome little guy, lots of substance, beautiful bone and correct front. Such a little hunk, and lovely to see Hawk in this pretty pup. Now comes the waiting and waiting to see the new Hawk babies, and see how they grow. It will be nice to have more than one puppy to see, and a couple of girls as well!

Hawk's a Dad Again!

News just came in that Mele had her puppies today. Hawk is now the proud papa of 8 new babies, 6 boys and 2 girls. In Vallhund world, that's a pretty big litter!

- Disclaimer: Since the puppies are not at my house, and history shows that the breeder who has the litter is not a shutterbug like I am, I don't know when I might get any photos of the babies. :-( However, in a couple of weeks, Hawk's breeder Bonnie will be visiting, and she promises to take loads of photos of the puppies when she goes. In the meantime, we'll all have to get our daily dose of puppy cute from Jeri and her Cardigan litter!

And, on a sad note, one of the baby boys was euthanized because he was less than 1/3rd the size of his siblings, and it was determined he has a cleft palate. So, the vet thought it best and most humane for the little baby... we won't forget you, little man.

So the count of happy, healthy, nursing babies is 7. 5 boys, 2 girls.

Recap of Darby's Show Weekend...

From left to right... WB/BOS on Friday for 2 points. RWB to the major on Saturday. Best Puppy in Match on Friday. WB/BOW/BOS on Sunday for a 3 point major.

And for OC, yes, that's dog show shorthand that means Little Miss Muffin Darby is doing well.

:-) And now, Darby is going to take a well-deserved nap! (photo by Janet Suber)...

Darby's First Show

Whew, this dog show stuff is hard work! Darby was in her first-ever dog show today. She was a little nervous before we went into the ring, but she settled down and showed like a superstar. And at 6 months and 8 days old, baby Darby went WB/BOS for her first 2 points! Our judge was Helen Lee James, and she was really wonderful with the youngsters. She walked up quietly and just scratched the puppies under the chest and talked to them. Another puppy showing today was just 6 months and 18 days old, so I was appreciative of the gentle demeanor for Darby's first outing. I'm really proud of Darby for being such a good sport.

Then we stayed to watch and cheer for the lovely Scout and our Val-friend Bo in the group. After Best in Show, the Southern Swedish Vallhund Club held a match, and guess who won Best Puppy in Match? Yep, the little Muffin Darby came away the winner once again!

Tomorrow and Sunday are majors in Vallhunds, so we'll just see how it goes. I want Darby to enjoy showing and have a great experience, win, lose, or draw.

In other news, I have permission from Garrett to blog that so far this weekend Justice has a WD and a RWD, Ell has a WB (and maybe BOW too?), and the big news is that Mitcham has won WD and BOW for TWO majors so far! Good job baby Mitcham!

Chillin' in Florida with some Tenny-See friends!

Well, I made it to Florida on the airplane. And guess what? It's raining here just like it rains back in Missouri. sigh.

Mom said I was a rockstar in my sherpa bag. I napped and was a good girl, which is more than I can say for all the small children on our plane. :-)

So now I'm relaxing in Florida, hanging out by the pool, and... wait! Who's that by my pool??? Well, lookie there, it's Miss Janet and Miss Laura, visiting with Spencer and Magic. What a nice surprise to have some doggie friends to play with this weekend.

Excuse Me???

Hi! It's me, Darby! I am really excited, because mom says that next week I get to go visit Florida again. The last time I was there, it was winter, and I lived with my brothers and sister. Mom told me this time we are going to go in an airplane, and we will be in Florida after a really short nap. I think that's good, cuz the last trip was really, really long. So mom, what's this funny looking suitcase for? For me? Huh? What do you mean I have to squeeze in there?

OK, so mom says I just have to duck my head a little, like this, and then I will fit really good. So then what? You are going to carry me like a sack of potatoes? And then I have to ride WHERE in the plane? Won't it be dark? And stinky by everyone's feet?

Umm, I think I'm feeling a little sick. I know you said it's a direct flight, and it's only a couple of hours, but still, I think I'm feeling woozy. So remember, those chewies you promise me for the trip had better be REALLY good.

OK, I guess I can take a deep breath and think about this logically. Direct flight, only a couple of hours on the plane, good chewies to occupy me...

On second thought, I'm six months old, so logic isn't in my puppy vocabulary, and I think we have to repeat this whole airplane thing to get back home later. I'm outta here, find yourself some other sucker to stick in this bag!

Bye Bye Winter Coat

Hi there, handsome. Finally you get to be a post on your own blog again. I missed you last week-you would have loved Montana. But what's going on with your coat? Hmm, usually when I see the first sign of shedding, we start bathing and brushing right away to turn the coat quick. I guess when I'm gone for a week and you decide to blow coat, this is what happens?

Really, I came home from Montana and I noticed Hawk was dropping a lot of hair when he was jumping all over me, bouncing around, barking for my attention. I admit, all the dogs were in need of a bath when I took them over to Jacque's. But I had just put Frontline on, and didn't want to bathe them, and, since they LOVE being "country dogs" out at Jacque's, I knew they would find ways to get as dirty as possible in their big dog yard. So, yesterday was bath day. Eight baths, eight power dries. Oh, my aching back!!!

I did procrastinate Hawk's power dry, though. When I bathed him, nothing seemed too bad. But then I let him shake in the tub, and he instantly became grey and fuzzy. His undercoat seemed to be all on the OUTside! ugh. I knew this was going to be a project. I let him air dry out in the back yard, and then later last night, we went to the front yard for the clean-up.
Hey, this side looks pretty good now. Slightly naked, but pretty, shiny, and sleek! Time to flip around and switch sides...

Yuk. It's funny in these pix you can almost see the dark black line down the center of Hawk's back where the hair is gone from me working on the other side. What a difference! Thankfully, he's almost 6 weeks out from the national specialty, so we have some time to work on new coat!

The Darby Report-With New Photos

While I'm visiting the great state of Montana for work, Darby is on a sleepover with her Cardigan friend Skyla. Skyla's mother Michelle volunteered (ha ha) to supervise the party. Here's what's happening in Darby's world, as transcribed by Michelle:

"Hey there…not sure if you have access to e-mails or not but wanted to update you on your little girl. She is doing great..she slept almost all night. Got me up at 3:45 this morning to go potty…Skyla used to do the same thing at that age… She is eating well and we have only had one potty accident, which I think is pretty good… She is using her litter box during the day and no messes other wise.

Darby and Skyla are having a great time together running around the yard and knocking each other over. I think Darby is almost wearing Skyla out, which is no small feat…

I am going to try and get the camera out tonight to see if I can get a good picture of the two of them. That should be interesting…"

I have to laugh because if Darby was NOT eating well, I'd ask Michelle to take her to the vet ASAP! Darby does NOT skip food of any kind. And I loved reading that they love to knock each other over. Cheap entertainment for the dogs, I guess. :-)

But, I think I should refer Michelle to my "Photographing Darby" post so she can be prepared for her planned photo session of the two girls!

OK, I stand corrected. Michelle actually caught a couple of photos of the girls today! Of course, the second photo is the blur of Darby-tushy that I know and love. :-) It looks like Skyla is a great playdate and slumber party hostess, and the girls are having fun. I can't wait to get home and hug my dogs.