The Blog of the Frog

Ok, maybe not quite new year as I’ve been brooding on Darwin for weeks, since 2010….I’d been thinking about it when I wrote my last post, but was in denial! He has always had some “issues”….mainly I think due to lack of certain kinds of socialization as a baby…and he’s quite a difficult dog. These days him and Elton aren’t really working either. I’d kinda decided he was going to have to go back, but if he was mine he wouldn’t, I’d have to try and work through it all….it’s because he’s not, which makes me feel guilty. I feel guilty about “giving up” on him and after nearly two years I do feel I have a certain amount of responsibility….but I don’t feel it’s fair to my own dogs who I obviously have the ultimate responsibility….and the main thing that’s pushing it over the edge is Elton.

So all that said, I made the decision a couple weeks ago, and told T the weekend before the one just gone. I think we’ll all be happier. However, I asked if I could swap for Sarah – T said she was ok with it but she had actually spoken to S the day before about me having Sarah (psychic link win!) and S wasn’t keen. But she’d talk to her again. Anyway, upshot was they said I could show her but they wanted to keep her with them (semi-long story involving her being leased to someone, coming back to be mated and it not working).

A few days later I had a phone call from T and she offered me a nearly 9 month old puppy as a “replacement”. I said to her I’d need to think about it (wanted to make sure I was having her for the right reasons, if you know what I mean) but after sleeping on it still felt the same, so rang her back the next day and said yes, I’d like her. Spooky thing? She’s half sister to Sarah (same father) and half sister to Darwin (same mother).

So that’s been really hard. We haven’t done anything at the moment because I didn’t want her whilst I still had Darwin (thought that would cause too many headaches given the headaches Darwin causes on his own anyway!) and I have Darwin entered in a show this coming weekend, so didn’t think it was fair on him for him to go and then see me a week or so later to take him to a show. So this is Darwin’s last week with me 🙁 Plan is for him to go on Monday…urgh, I’m gonna be in pieces 😆 In some ways it’s harder that he’s only going back to them rather than being sold, even though I can still see him (and no doubt borrow him for shows if I wanted!)

Then there’s Solei. As I’ve been having problems with him for ages…on and off, mental, physical or a combination who knows…well I’ve been wanting to get him to a chiro for a while, and I finally managed it on the 19th. She found a few things out, one of them quite badly.

He does seem a little better, he’d got worse again and was doing a lot of bowing which has all but stopped. However, he still doesn’t seem quite “right” and mentally he’s still screwy – I’m not sure if that’s due to him being in pain for so long or not, and whether it’ll get better or not. I’m sure he’s still not right, so will be making another appointment for him soon (hasn’t yet been 2 weeks since he went so I want to make sure everything has settled down as much as it’s going to)

I’d been having trouble keeping him quiet and a couple of days after the treatment he was really bad – diarrhoea, so miserable, almost constantly in his bow position and I was panicking thinking he’d either done something really bad or put everything back out again.

He improved and when I spoke to chiro she said it was a reaction to the treatment, usually happens withing 24 hours or so, but of course he has to wait 48+!

I miss the Solei I had briefly for those couple of weeks early last summer 🙁

Even Elton isn’t without his problems! He’s been playing me up something awful in the show ring. Fine on the stand, when it comes to moving….ack! He was pulling to get his head down on the ground, fighting me and just generally being a little sod. He threw away any chance of doing well at multiple shows.

We’ve now come to a vague compromise 😉 A bit of bribary and although he’s not going as well as I would hope, he is now much better than he was a couple of weeks ago. He even won his class on the 22nd.

I don’t think I can dispute that 2010 was quite a year! So here’s a look back….

Darwin featured heavily in 2009, in 2010 he hasn’t really had the opportunity to – I’ve only shown him a handful of times, there are a couple of things about him I’m not particularly happy with and I’ve also been concentrating on Elton. However, he has had one BOB and a Group 2, and also a RBIS at a companion show. Later this month he’ll have been here 22 months(!!)

Solei, I think, is actually missing the shows! Back in March he went to Crufts and got a fourth in a large, strong class. That was his one and only conformation show of 2010! The agility fizzled out and I’m now looking for another class, but we had an interesting year with the obedience side of things. I finally gave up on taking his Bronze Good Citizen award through our club, so I took him to an outside test and he passed with flying colours. Now awaiting the chance to take his Silver! His first small obedience show of the year he won his class, then in May we jumped in at the deep end with a two day “proper” big obedience show. The first day he was in one class and ended up just out of the top 10 (47 dogs entered), but got a Certificate of Merit for losing less than 10 marks. The second day he was 13th out for 47, and in the higher class 7th/49 😀 Another Certificate of Merit and also a rosette as they were placing to 10th. Not bad for his first weekend of big shows 🙂

He had a couple more placings in the smaller shows, and then for some inexplicable reason went totally stupid. I think something must have happened, but I have no idea what – and I’ve been trying to bring him back since! This was the beginning of July, and knowing we had our second big show just three weeks away, I spent that time trying to build his confidence back up. Went to the show not quite sure what he’d do, and he worked the round of his life to eventually come 2nd (again, in a large class). Then he went stupid again, and he’s still not the same dog he was. I have one obedience show I want to do with him in March, and depending on what happens there I may retire him….he’ll be back in the conf ring in just over 6 months, so at least we’ll still have something to do. (Solei has always been slightly odd, btw 😉 and he’s super, super sensitive). Despite losing half the year, he was doing so well prior to that I’m hoping he’ll still finish the year within the top three obedience paps, would love him to win it because if he doesn’t do it now he never will. (Won’t know til March/April)

Then of course, there is rocket man 🙂 What can I say?

At the start of the year Elton was a very raw puppy of 7 months old, now I can’t believe he’s grown into a gorgeous boy of 19 months and I can look back on the year we’ve had with utter disbelief! Will keep this to the real highlights, or we’ll be here all night 😉

It started just 16 days into the year, when at 8 months and 2 days Elton was Best of Breed (& BP/PG4) over an entry of 14, including a CC winner. He had a few more Best Puppy in Breeds and Puppy Group placings over the next few months, then at 11 months old (at his last open show as a puppy) was Best Puppy in Breed and Puppy Group 1! Over the next few months nothing amazing but he was consistantly placed, including many class wins.

In July he did his first baby obedience show and won the class (he had the judge walking behind him making noises & comments she was so impressed :lol:) and he also had his first Best Phalene Dog, then in August he was Best Phalene in Show at a club championship show.

Moving on, who could forget September! We attended an open show where Elton was Best of Breed, Group 1 and Reserve Best in Show – also gaining the last points for his Junior Warrant, making him the first male Phalene (and second Phalene ever) to hold this title. He’s also got his Stud Book Number – lifetime qualification to Crufts.

Over that July-September period he was basically unstoppable – from 16 classes he had 13 1sts, 2 2nds and 1 3rd.

He’s continued to be consistantly placed, and in November picked up another Best of Breed, this time following it up with Group 2.

In my wildest dreams I could never have hoped for a year like this, and although I think everybody knows about my “feeling” I never expected it to turn out quite this way…:lol: People are talking about him, both to myself and to his breeders 🙂 I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say he’s changing the way some people think of Phalenes – he’s not like anything that’s been shown in this country before.

Elton’s achievements for 2010 include – 6x Best Puppy, 3x Best of Breed, 11x champ show 1sts, 1x Puppy Group 1, 1x Puppy Group 3, 2x Puppy Group 4, 3x Best Phalene Dog, 1x Best Phalene in Show, 1x Group 2, 1x Group 1 and 1x Reserve Best in Show!

So, as we go forward into 2011 I can only hope it will be as good at 2010! Darwin will still be shown lightly, Solei will dictate whether he wants to continue with the obedience and will resume conf (lightly) as a veteran in July, and Elton…well, I hope for 2011 to be at least as good as 2010, and the judges to fall right 🙂 He’ll also be starting the obedience shows this year, but I’m not planning to really do anything in the way of competing with him until 2012.