Apparently tis the season of babies! Sally had her puppies on the 30th (2 boys & 2 girls but we lost one of the girls), Tanya had her babies last night/this morning (finished around 2am!), 3 girls and 1 boy….and Fancy is pregnant 🙂 Not going to count my chickens before they’re hatched (or my puppies before they’re whelped!) as she was pregnant last time and we didn’t have any puppies, and of course even after they’re born anything could happen. So we’ll see! She’s due a week Sunday (17th), but I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re early (hoping they’re no earlier than the 15th though…). Current guess is 2 or 3!

Bank Holiday Monday saw us at a show with two handlers (T was at home with pups) and three dogs in each class! We overcame this by roping my mother in to hold them at the beginning & end whilst I showed two in each class 😆 I had a wonderful time, though kept expecting the judge to say “oh not you again!” Tyler, Dilly and Jeanie were in the first class and Tyler won it, Dilly was 3rd and Jeanie 4th. In the second class it was Solei, Sarah and Jason – Jason 2nd, Sarah 3rd and Solei 4th. Dilly was 2nd in AV Toy Puppy. Tyler then got Best Puppy in Breed….and Puppy Group 1 again!!

I’d also entered Solei in the May Day Stakes where he came a very respectable 3rd, behind a Greyhound and a Husky! At the end the judge moved every dog again except Solei, and I thought well there goes that! But then he placed him so I’m not quite sure what all that was about, though obviously not complaining! I really thought he wasn’t in with a chance when he moved every other dog. There were bottles of wine for 1st and 2nd, but Solei won a super absorbent pet towel for 3rd which is actually more useful as I don’t drink!

There was a companion show being held in conjunction with the open show, so I entered Darwin and Solei. Darwin came a credible 4th in AV Puppy 6-9mths and Solei WON AV Hound, Toy or Terrier 😀 It was incredibly windy so he wasn’t at his best on the move but there was a lovely afghan in his class, among others, so he obviously didn’t look too bad!

Solei absolutely showed his socks off all day…I was so proud of him. As I say he wasn’t moving as well as he can because the wind was just so strong and a head wind too. Thought he might get blown off the table at one point! Though I think I was the bigger problem, because the chair is so big the wind resistance was incredible and even on my fastest speed I just didn’t feel like I was moving him fast enough. Then a bit unfortunate in the BIS challenge as he was by far the smallest to start with and as we were going along the long side of the ring (judge moved everyone individually again) an enormous gust of wind blew the tape and spooked him (shot into the middle of the ring!). He usually bounces back from the initial shock very quickly, but then every little sound will make him jump so he was flinching away from me every time the chair bumped, which was most of the time!

Bar that little incident Solei was absolutely *fantastic* though…he showed his socks off all day, didn’t drop his tail once and he was standing for ages. I think it’s the Fancy effect! The last time he showed that well was the first show (South Western Toy) he did after he mated her, then he hasn’t seen her since. I took him over with me to T’s on Sunday and he sat in his box whining for at least 2 hours, desperate to get to her. So eventually I let him out to say hello, put him on the floor and he was straight on her back! 🙄

Tuesday evening was match night at ringcraft. I thought I’d take Darwin & Jeanie as neither of them had done too much on Monday, I wasn’t so sure about Solei as he’d done such a lot but it would quite possibly be his last match and he was looking and feeling so good. In the end I groomed him up ready to show and took him with me anyway (I don’t like leaving him on his own – ie without another dog!) and he made the decision by his reaction when we arrived! He *demanded* to show 😆

Solei went like a dream still but was knocked out in the first round. Judge has Boxers and Giant Schnauzers so I doubt she’d seen a Phalene before! However, both Darwin and Jeanie got through to the final of the Puppy Match! So I had to rope in a friend who has Golden Retrievers and has never shown a Pap in her life 🙂 as I only had one pair of hands!

And Jeanie went Best Puppy in Match!!

It was a qualifier for an interclub match at the end of May so we will be off up near Bristol on the 31st, representing our club, assuming she doesn’t come into season! I wish she’d come in *now* (today or maybe tomorrow) so we could get it over and done with and she should only miss one show. Then I don’t need to worry about it for the summer! Hate first seasons, they’re so unpredictable and you never know where you are until they happen.

Bar Crufts I’ve had a lousy year so far in terms of show results – before Monday I’ve only had two firsts in 2009 and one was with a friends dog who I showed for them (so only half counts!), the other was with Sarah. So I hope this is the start of a nice run now, with Solei winning that class on Monday and then Jeanie Best Puppy in Match on Tuesday!