The Blog of the Frog

Last summer when I took Solei’s Bronze Good Citizen award I thought about doing it with Elton as well, but decided not to as there was no hurry and I had enough to think about at the time. I’ve been waiting for the obedience club I’m a member of to hold a test (to my knowledge the last one was January 2010) intending for Elton to do it then, and they haven’t! So Elton still hadn’t taken it.

Last week I was sorting out some schedules, and suddenly had an “oh sh!t” moment! – entries for the first heat of the Pre-Beginner Stakes I want to enter close on 23rd March…by which time Elton needs to have passed his Bronze. There was no test coming up at club, and the earliest he could take it was at UK Toy – 26th March. Uh oh!

Thinking if they were holding tests it was more likely to be at the end or beginning of a month, I frantically started emailing round all the clubs within a 35ish mile radius! Twelve in all. I had some helpful replies, and one said they were holding a test on 1st March and I would be welcome to come along…yes, result!

I was so nervous, although everything he had to do should have been well within his capabilities I can count the number of times he’s been to an obedience class on one hand (the last time not good at all) and we were going to a venue neither of us had ever been to before, with dogs neither of us had never met before – having not specifically practiced either!

So last night off we went. Arrived nice and early, because I wanted to give us both plenty of time to settle – just as well, we needed it! On the whole he was a very good boy, though a long way off what he is capable of which is entirely my fault…I haven’t done enough practice with the chair (partly because I was holding out, expecting my new chair to have been ready ages ago and thus avoiding having to retrain him to another chair yet again!) and I haven’t done enough practice away from home.

Never the less, although not good looking at him from a competitive point of view, as a pet he was fine 😉 and we passed! So Elton now holds his Bronze Good Citizen Award, and panic is over 🙂 I’m so relieved to have to that out of the way. Yay Elton!

In other news, Solei is going back to agility 🙂 I’m so excited, I just hope he enjoys it as much! We started two years ago and then it fizzled out, I’ve been desperate to get back to it ever since. I oked it with the chiropractor, so we’ll have to see how he goes. Fingers crossed.

It seems as if it was meant to be – last week I was looking for something totally unrelated to agility, that I knew I’d seen on a website somewhere but couldn’t remember where. I thought it might have been on an agility website I’d been looking at a couple of days previously, so I went back to see. I didn’t find what I was looking for, but upon looking for that I discovered a notice posted two weeks previously advertising spaces at the club I’d intended to go and have a look at – starting the next week!

So I rang up the number, and after we’d chatted briefly we discovered we actually knew each other….and not only did we know each other, but she’d even given me a lesson once. So that was rather fun! Also awesome because A) I know I like her methods so I feel ok going along next week without having been to look at the club beforehand (no opportunity to go and look before next week), and B) the wheelchair is ok 🙂

First lesson is tomorrow! He’s going as if he’d never done it before, which means it won’t be any more strenuous than a walk, so he’s ok to do that – because I think he’s put his back out a bit again – he’s going back to the chiro on Friday, which’ll be 6 weeks since his last treatment.

What a week!

It’s been such a weird couple of months. Apologies for slightly fragmented post – lots of separate bits to catch up on over the last couple of weeks.

Until last weekend Elton and I had had a lousy time in the show ring so far this year. At the start of the year when the judges were good he messed around and threw opportunities away, then as his behaviour (sort of) improved he wasn’t to the judges tastes. Phalenes and open shows are rather a crap shot anyway, it often doesn’t turn out well!

At the end of January we had the indignity of the judge stopping at the dog before Elton and not bothering to look, moving every single dog in the class for a second time – except Elton – and then finally when placing as he got down to the last two dogs, having difficulty deciding if he should place Elton above the other (Pap) with her tail down. Hmm….! (In the end he decided even he couldn’t put a Pap with their tail down above Elton.)

Two weeks later we had a similar situation – Elton was on the end of the line again and the judge stopped looking at the dog before him. This time he was actually thrown out, which is so unusual and really shouldn’t have happened.

I’m still struggling with him (especially on the move) at times, but he’s not as horrendous as he was at the end of last year/beginning of this!

Two and a half weeks ago I thought my face felt a bit funny….I ended up with the most enormous abscess and I was really poorly for a bit. I even missed a show – that’s how bad it was! 😆 The antibiotics the doctor gave me made me sick, and I almost ended up in hospital. I’m still recovering but feeling much better and almost back to normal activity levels now!

Fern is settling down….she’s been here three weeks now. I’ve had my doubts at times, but things are better than when Darwin was here. The main problem is Elton is still determined to rape her 😛 Urgh, teenagers! He will settle down eventually, I just hope it’s soon! Solei is fine, not bothered – just Solei!

On Saturday we went up to Solihull for the Papillon Club’s open show. I had mixed feelings about this – I’d decided to enter, but for me it’s one of “those” shows. The show where dogs beat my dogs that never beat them anywhere else (and shouldn’t) and where I never seem to do anything. We all seem to have them, the parent breed club is mine!

Upon waking on Saturday morning I didn’t feel great and I was so tempted to just not go, but as well as Elton I had Fern and S had entered Sarah for me, and I’d also said I’d help her – so thought I had to go, really!

Fern had a 2nd in Puppy Bitch, she actually went much better than I thought she would so I was pleased with her. Sarah is very out of practice having not shown for about a year, but didn’t go badly – however, not to the judge’s taste and was thrown out!

Elton was in Post Graduate Dog – I’d decided against Yearling and then wondered if I’d done the right thing! – and Open Phalene Dog, plus the Special Open Dog welfare class at the end of the day. He went in that ring and wow….I can’t remember the last time he showed that well! He went really beautifully, and he won the Post Graduate Dog class! Back in the ring a bit later for Phalene Dog, and he won that as well! He let himself down rather in the challenge for Best Dog, but I’m very happy with winning both his classes! After that I opted not to take him in for the welfare class, because I didn’t want to risk spoiling a good day.

At the end they do a Best Fringes in Show which I decided to enter Elton for because he’s growing lovely fringing….and he won it! So hopefully that’s the jinx lifted and the Papillon Club and I now have a better relationship 😉

Thanks to this show, I’ve also worked out what our problem is – bitches! At an all breed open show the classes are mixed sex and so there have been lots of bitches in the ring, but at the club show with dogs on first when he did the classes, as I say he was brilliant. Then they did the dog challenge after all the bitches, and he was a nightmare, I totally lost him.

So that’s our problem – teenage hormones! Hopefully he’ll exchange them back for his brain at some point before too long 😛 Good news is hopefully that means he’ll be better at champ shows….bad news is Crufts is carpeted rings and there are three days worth of bitches before us!

Yes, Crufts – less than two weeks to go now. Eep!