Progression of a Baby Show Dog

• First Attempt: First Time in the ring, less than 24 hours after First Time being stuffed in a sherpa bag and First Time flying. First Time waiting for the 800 collies ahead of us to finish showing in a building that felt like it was 100 degrees so we could get a photo. First Time trying to get Baby Show Dog just to stand on all fours, let alone look like she wants to be there. sigh.

Laura and Janet can attest to the twenty minutes (or so it seemed) that it took to get Darby to stand up and stand still. The photographer was very patient, and I finally told her to just take any photo, and when I asked if Darby looked half way decent, the photographer said, "Not Really, but" and then tossed the toy to get Darby's attention and snapped the photo. I think that photo experience was more stressful than the travel to get to Florida!

• Second Attempt: Oh, so much better. This time around, Darby was already best friends with the other Vallhunds showing, and Cheryl, Kevin, and Lisa (with puppy Rogue) were all around to help set the stage! Everything is better when you have friends around to help! I wish I had remembered to flip her tail up, though.
• Third Attempt: After four long days in Texas, we only had to wait for about 200 Pems to show before this photo opportunity. By now, Darby was ready to get out of her show clothes and get back home. I was not keen on a table photo, because the table is not Darby's favorite place to be. However, the photographer was convinced it had to be a table photo (someone told me once that Cardigans look better on the floor, and I really believe it-with Vallhunds too), so I said OK. In true Vallhund fashion, Darby felt it necessary to post, lean back, and look thoroughly unhappy about the entire situation. ;-) But we won't complain, it could have been worse, and we could have lost and not gotten the points at all!
  

Just looking at the photos, the first two were Darby at 6 months 9 days old, and 6 months 11 days old. The photo from Texas is Darby at 7 months 2 days old. Oh what a difference a month makes. She looked like such a sweet baby in the photos from Florida. In the last photo, I am starting to see a glimmer of naughty in her eye, and that scares me! :-) Oh, and Michelle, seriously, what was up with my hair in the Texas photo?? Did you think to tell me it was going in about a thousand different directions? Or were you just too anxious to get the heck outta Texas?